By the time you are reading this I will have finished our final edition of the year and the transition towards the new year of Gair Rhydd will have begun. I may have given an emotional speech at our media awards which will have passed by the time you are reading this, there as here I wish to reflect on the previous year.
We took over a paper which was in bad shape after a period of mismanagement had left us both unequipped to deal with producing a newspaper and lacking the ability to drive our content into the modern media landscape. A year later and over 1000 followers heavier, we have begun something that will hopefully continue into the future, and restore Gair Rhydd as central to student life in our city.
From the first formal complaint in six years from the Honorary Consul of Israel, to interviews with prominent political figures, academics, student leaders and others and organising a debate for the Students’ Union elections, this has been an exceptional year.
Gair Rhydd has been the main thread through my university experience, and central to my final year of undergraduate. As I said at the SVMAs this year has been in some ways the best of times and the worst of times. I still remember my first encounter with the paper at the Fresher’s Fair in 2023, at that point I could not have imagined how important this publication would be to my development as a writer and leader, nor could I then have imagined I would one day lead it.
Coming into this year I had several things to fix, the website, our budget, our team. And I set out with several things I wanted to do. Happily, I can report that I have been able to achieve most of them, such as increasing our viewership online and our readership in print, and publishing articles and interviews which have garnered interest and stoked debate. We have worked with and at times challenged the SU, that is no secret, but we have done it with the best intentions, aiming to provide an authentic voice for our demographic.
Achievement aside, I want to pay tribute to my amazing team. This year has been the most collaborative I have ever experienced. Throughout the year, I have been blown away by the talent and dedication of our members, as they report on the things that matter to students. Some of the team have told me that this year has boosted their confidence in their respective skills, for me this is the greatest reward of being editor.
I want to asy thank you to my deputies, Nye and Bhamini, who have been with me through thick and thin. Likewise I want to thank Heads of Sections, as they have put up with my failings and supported me through the ups and downs of the year. I need to thank other members who have gone above and beyond, such as Oliver Hanlon, Olivia Griffin, Elisa Main, Seven Standen and Ethan Gerrard. But all in all, the team has been brilliant. I could not have done anything this year without you. Gair Rhydd goes on. Furthermore I want to thank Hannah Williams for patiently sitting with me, as we designed the Taf-Od pages, and interpreting them for me as someone who speaks no Welsh.
Free word lives for another year, an unfiltered account of student life to challenge University executives and Sabbatical Officers alike.
Gair Rhydd Am Byth