Hey, hey, guess what? Salient is the mother flipping best publication in the world*!
Last week we took out the Fairfax Media New Zealand Award for Best Student Publication at the Aotearoa Student Press Association (ASPA) Awards. It’s the first time since 2004—when I was first year—that Salient has won this prestigious award.
We also picked up five first places and eight other placings out of the 18 categories. For all the juicy details see page 9.
Big thanks to Clive Lind from Fairfax and to Laura McQuillan for organising the shindig (oh, and for just being generally awesome). Big love to every volunteer and staff member who has contributed to Salient this year.
Stop. Back it up. You’ve probably never heard of ASPA. What was I thinking?
The magazine you’re holding is drenched in it. Your hands are covered in ASPA. Don’t worry, it’s not a communicable disease. It’s just a network of student publications—from Craccum in Auckland to Critic in Dunedin.
We share stories, features, ideas, spit and content, as well as providing support and advice to the group as a whole. Each publication is fairly autonomous but we get together twice a year to wallow in our own hard work, awesomeness and superior abilities (when compared to student politicians).
ASPA is an important backbone to all the student mags and one which you should support. The power of ASPA isn’t quite as strong as the power of Grayskull, but, nevertheless, it is strong.
We routinely nab interviews (Anne Tolley, Bob McCoskrie, Bill and Ben) and stories (Tolleycopter, The Roel van Leeuwen scandal) that the mainstream media pass over. Sometimes the mainstream media take notice and run with stories we got first. It’s all very well when they do, but ASPA remains committed to doing what it does best—covering student affairs, for students.
With cuts in tertiary education funding and voluntary student membership of students’ associations on the horizon, we look to ASPA more and more to provide support and pick up on the main issues that run like shining threads through the tapestry of student life. But we can’t do it without your help. How do you help, you ask? Why, by reading, of course! Keep reading (and writing in, and volunteering for us, and so on) and we’ll keep writing. That’s the deal.
And now for something completely different
The New Zealand Republican Movement (NZRM) is spearheading a grass roots movement to get people discussing, thinking and debating about republicanism. This can only be a good thing.
The republican movement has deep roots at Vic—a republican club was formed in 1994 by current NZRM Common Cause liaison, Savage. The movement dominated Salient’s letters pages for the entire year that year. This gem caught my eye:
“Dear Republicans
I like the Royal Family because the Queen mum used to go to all the FA Cup games.
Thanks.
Aston Villa Fan”
This pretty much sums up most of the arguments for monarchism anyway.
I encourage you to head to their meeting in the Common Room of the SUB on Wednesday 1 pm to hear Savage and Lewis Holden talk and argue about why New Zealand should become a republic.
VUWSA by-election shitstorm?
Could be. Interesting things have happened which are only coming to fruition at the time of print. Check out the Salient website on to find out what is going on.
*of student media in New Zealand.