Welcome to Issue 1207 of Gair Rhydd.
It truly has been a while since I have written my editor’s note, so a lot of things have transpired.
First things first, we have been shortlisted for three awards at the national Student Publication Association! This is an incredible achievement as we have not been shortlisted for this many awards since 2019. We are up for Best Newspaper Design, Best Sport Section, and our head of Sport, Aimee Szulczewski, is up for Best Sport Reporter. The Gair Rhydd team are excited to travel down to Exeter for the conference and award ceremony so hopefully we are able to come back winners, or at least highly commended! A massive congratulations to our Sport editorial team for this achievement.
It might not be fashionable to admit, but I am proud of myself. When I started at Gair Rhydd, there was little focus on the visual elements of the newspaper. Due to tight deadlines, Gair Rhydd was simply not living up to its potential. Since becoming editor-in-chief, I knew I wanted to reinvent the visuality of the newspaper. I do not have a design team. A large majority of the newspapers design elements are done entirely by me and to be recognised for that on a national level is an achievement in itself. Even if we do not win, to be acknowledged as one of the best designed student publications in the UK is something I am incredibly proud of.
In other news, our team has significantly expanded. Our Taf-Od editorial team now has nine incredible Welsh-language editors, all committed to high quality Welsh articles. Our Science team has three editors, and our Spotlight section is bigger than it ever has been before!
I hope that you enjoy the last digital issue this academic year. We truly have some interesting and informative pieces for you. Happy reading!