Peter Newlands: Guess who’s back

A letter from the editor

Welcome to a new year at City University London and a new year of the Inquirer, the independent newspaper for the student body.

This newspaper is written for students, by students without influence or input from neither the university nor the union.

We’re here to be the voice of the everyday student on this campus and to expose the faults and failures that affect our educational careers – things that City University London don’t particularly want exposed.

Last year, none of us could read the Inquirer. The first year of a new vice-chancellor’s term was, in effect, unmonitored.

The sale of university halls went through and the student gym was closed down.

Over the previous three years, this newspaper has reported on how political student groups were banned because they might harbour “terrorists”, investigated a “dodgy donor” who provided City with £1m in exchange for help shutting down a local school and opening a city academy, exposed the engineering department for taking hundreds of thousands of pounds from the arms trade and much more besides.

We do all of this without funding or support from powers that be. Everything you can see in this paper and on our website is made by us and paid for by our own efforts – advertising, fund-raising or our own pockets.

We need to raise almost £3,000 each year to pay for the printing of the Inquirer; there are no other costs.

The students who chase up the stories across London, who stay in the computer labs until the early morning designing the pages, and who stand in the rain handing out the newspaper at eight in the morning do this for nothing.

We are driven by our desire to be better journalists and to better this community.

If you read the Inquirer, and you feel that it makes a difference, then please take a moment to donate on our website.

Any money that you give – even as little as a few pounds – will help continue the work that we do, that has been done in the past and that hopefully will be done for many years to come.

Throughout the year you’ll see us in various places on campus .

You will see us on our website at any time in any place, and you will hear us on our podcasts that will be available from all reputable places (and perhaps some disreputable places as well).

I can’t stress enough to you the value of an independent press on a university campus.

Everything you see from the official media team, although made with dignity, enthusiasm and drive, is ultimately vetted by the student union and the university.

How can it truly be trusted to shine a light into dark corners of the university when the university has the power to influence what is printed and broadcast?

We hope that you enjoy our newspaper, website and podcasts this year and we hope that your time at City is worthwhile and enjoyable. And remember, we’re here to serve the student body, so if you’ve got anything to say to us: get in touch!