A Very Quiet Coup?

Rumours of an editorial coup have rocked the student body's monthly publication, the Vervezine.

The magazine, which has not printed any issues this semester due to a number of technical and managerial problems, will definitely not print anything until after Christmas.

In a surprise move the Communications Officer, Rishi Pancholi, has also replaced Editor Steve Gray. Rishi indicated to members of staff that Steve had chosen to leave on Thursday night, the final deadine for printing.

When asked about his decision, Steve denied having given up editorship, claining that "he [Rishi] hasn't said a word to me".

"I think I'm going to have to take over." - Rishi Pancholi

When asked why the magazine would not be published, Rishi claimed that the layout was not printable. When asked, Layout Editor Victor Delveccio confirmed that the magazine was essentially ready to go.

When asked abotu this, Rishi then claimed that the piece had to go through checking by the university. He alleged that Student Support Officer Eddie Rowley had committed "censorship" by removing a piece about the university's financial crisis. We have emailed Mr. Rowley regarding this claim and will update once he responds after the weekend.

Discussions with Vervezine staff make it clear that this is the last straw. Complaints include the failure to publish their work, the feeling that journalism students' specialist skills are not being taken seriously and concerns about the lack of a process to select the editor.


(Declaration of Interest: The writer is also a member of the Vervezine team.)

Candidate Comment: Steve Gray

Steve Gray stood as candidate for the role of Participation and Development Officer, for which he was ultimately unsuccessful. Here he shares his thoughts on the elections.

The first thing I’d like to do is thank everyone who supported me in the election campaign. To come so close (10 votes in the end) to getting the spot given the situation was testament to the faith they had in me, so thank you all.

The one thing struck me when I was read the results of the elections and that was the turnout. 459? That’s pitifully low. Depressingly so, even. That is why we needed people with experience and drive to take the positions on offer and, unfortunately, we only have a couple of people who fit that bill actually elected into office.

I am still astounded that people who don’t put any posters up and show no visible signs of campaigning can get elected into office. This occurs through what I like to call the ‘society effect’, or in laymen’s terms, a popularity contest. It’s more to do with who you know than what you have to offer and that’s a factor as to how the people with competition actually won.

I wish Tarequl all the best with his role as Participation and Development Officer because it isn’t going to be a stroll in the park, as is evident from the election turnout. Students just don’t care about the Union and he has to work to counter that. We shall find out whether he can fulfil his commitments and hopefully make more time for the job he is going to be paid to do than he did talking to students or attending hustings.

I shall deal with this setback by concentrating on the continuing development of the student magazine and shall come back even stronger for next year’s elections.