We’re the university’s culture magazine, and we’re all about questioning your own opinions and taking on board others. To find out more of the details, check out the “About” page above.
I’m Joe Walsh, editor of The Zahir. I must say, I’m more than a little humbled to have you visit the site. Heart-warming and such. I look forward to meeting all of you over the course of the next term, and hearing your various ideas for the improvement of the magazine. Remember: there’s no “I” in Zahir.
You’ve arrived at an exciting time. Last term was the launch of a brand new design of the magazine, and it promises only to get better with a bit more experience under our belts. We went from an interior of block text and weak photos to a vibrant magazine that promotes the uniqueness and experimentation that we want at The Zahir. Articles, in turn, became significantly more flexible. If you have an idea and a way in which to present it – something that doesn’t necessarily conform to the basic article format – just hit me with an idea. My Literature editor wrote a denouncement of Shakespeare in sonnet form, for example. If your article is on some kind of cultural split, why not suggest one half of the article is at one point in the mag and the other half is at a different point? At The Zahir, we want you to express yourself in whichever way puts your idea and your opinion best across. I’ll only be impressed if you come to me with a new idea, so don’t feel shy!
The website has also been revamped over summer, in the hope that it will be a much more active aspect of the magazine itself. We want your help – so feel free to send in any videos, articles or links that you think need spreading. It will become much more significant throughout this coming term, but please do have a look at past articles to get an idea about how the magazine has changed, and how the quality that we produce is unerring.
It’s students like yourself who are the driving force behind a mag like this. We’re a culture magazine, not a newspaper. By definition, we shouldn’t be confined by structure and limitations. If you can’t be experimental at university, when can you be? Please don’t hesitate to hit me with ideas – I guarantee anything you think sounds silly will set my pulse racing. And I’ll probably have come up with something ten times nuttier.
Finally, this is the final term with the current editorial team in charge, so the most exciting change will hit us at the end of this term. All positions will become available, and a couple of new ones will be coming into play. We want enthusiasm – so even if you don’t find the time to write for us this term, please don’t consider yourself a write-off for a chance to get a role in the team. It’s what you can bring to the mag as much as anything. Ideas fuel this mag, not experience.
Email me on zahir@yusu.org, or sign up to us at Freshers’ Fair at the end of Week 1 and you will receive more information about all of the above. We also have a meeting in Tuesday Week 2 (18th October) at 5.15pm in V/123 (Vanbrugh) so that I can introduce you to myself and my editorial team. You can also find us on Facebook (the zahir)and Twitter (@zahiryork).
I’m genuinely chuffed you’ve taken a gander at the site. I hope you decide to get involved.
It would make my day. x
