What motivated you to nominate yourself for the role? What do you think others would gain from putting themselves forward?
My decision to apply for the Gryphon Editor role was made off the back of two simple reasons: 1) I thought I’d be good at it, 2) I didn’t have any other plans for after I graduated. In the face of these, I didn’t have a response when I asked myself ‘why not?’.
I had been part of The Gryphon throughout my time at University – first as a writer, then Print Editor of Arts & Culture. I never joined any other society, and became invested in the process of putting the paper together, from researching and writing stories to designing the way the article would be visually presented. I saw ways in which the paper could be improved, and wanted to be the one who improved it.
Obviously, some parts of the campaign process were daunting. It took a few deep breaths to walk up to someone in Parkinson Court eating their lunch and ask “Do you know what The Gryphon is?… Do you know what Lead LUU is?… Fancy voting for me?”. All such experiences show you what you’re good at, and I’m glad I pushed myself.
So, nominate yourself! If you don’t gain the title of ‘salaried employee of LUU’, you do gain insight into what you’re capable of, how you respond to creative challenges, and a good anecdote. Of course, if you win, you get both!
What does your day/month look like as a Gryphon Editor?
Picture this: I wake up in Burley, get dressed, stick on Radio 6 and the kettle, boil and eat an egg, put on my lanyard, and leave the house. Once I get to the office, I settle into my daily tasks. On some days, I fry the egg.
That’s normally what the start of my day looks like, and I like to make sure I live up to the glamourous expectations of life as a media woman. The day goes on, and I get down to business.
This year, we normally print an issue of The Gryphon every month, so there’s a routine I fall into. At the start of the month, I focus on organising content and advertising. There are a lot of things to consider, such as commissioning artwork for the In The Middle cover, following up on interview opportunities, and staying on top of what’s happening on campus.
Once the content is written and submitted, our section editors edit the articles and select which ones will be featured in the printed edition. And then… Print Week.
We have this thing called Print Week where we ‘lay’ what will be the printed pages of the newspaper using Adobe InDesign. It’s half-stressful and half-exhilarating but, once the paper is all layed, the end result is always fully rewarding. We submit the paper to the printers, and around 10am the next day I get a call from the delivery saying the papers have arrived. I meet them with a trolley at LUU Loading Bay and take them up to the office. Myself and the editorial team then go about distributing the papers around campus.
I sit in a dark room for a couple days, and then the process starts again!
On top of this I also organise socials, meet with people in LUU, try to find scoops, and go to Common Ground.
What has been the most exciting thing about being in this role?
I’m very protective over the physical copy of the paper. I think The Gryphon plays an important role on campus. It’s there right in front of you. You can pick it up, read it and leave it for the next person. The stories we publish are the stories lived by those in our community, and it’s vital to have an output for students to report on, question, and celebrate the university life around them.
So, I guess the most exciting thing is keeping it going. While there are individual achievements, I think what I’ll value the most when leaving this role is maintaining The Gryphon as a reflection of student life. Naturally, we’ve had to diversify how we report, and keep a social media presence, but it doesn’t take away from seeing people with copies of The Gryphon poking out of their bag. I love to see each edition come together, and it really is a testament to the talented people we have on campus. Not bankrupting it is also a positive!
Your top 3 tips to anyone who wants to nominate themselves and campaign!
I would 100% encourage you to nominate yourself. If you’re even thinking about it, then you probably have the skill and passion to do it. It’s a fun, rewarding and unique job and one that has shown me I am capable of doing things I didn’t think I could.
You probably want some practical tips. Here are mine:
- Think clearly about what you want to improve about the paper and how you specifically will achieve it. We’re all good at and interested in different things. Use your individuality!
- Assemble a team that will support you. Campaigning is hard to do, and even harder on your own. You just need a few people to help you paint your banner and tell you you’re doing a good job. I think I paid my friends back in pints, and they were grateful for it.
- Know that you can’t do it all. Unfortunately the ‘hustle culture’ of the modern age convinces us we can, but we can’t. There’s always going to be more people you could’ve talked to, more posters you could’ve blu-tacked and more Instagram reels you could’ve posted. Don’t spread yourself too thin. It’s about a month-long process start to finish, and that’s a long time to spend stressed and tired. Take breaks and relax.
So, that’s it! Good luck to anyone who runs, and I look forward to finding out who wins!
(I promise I’ll clean the office before you start.)
This article has been edited for clarity before being published.
