Columns

Blah blah blah, sad, blah blah blah, k thnx bye
 
Shit’s about to get all soppy and nostalgic, so if you can’t stomach that sort of thing, I’d recommend you quickly turn the page.
 
I’ve been Editor now for approximately a year, and what a ridiculous year it’s been. After all the late nights, over-caffienating and pseudo-legal suits, I’m still strangely left with a love for Critic and all things student journalism. There are few other work places in which it’s fine to ask a volunteer to try out the hallucinogenic effects of nutmeg, or participate in a séance under the guise of taking a cover photo, or undertake a fashion shoot with no experience or equipment. It’s been a blast. 
 
Critic would be nothing without our brilliant volunteers. As we compiled the final credit roll (page 34), I was overwhelmed by how many people had been part of Critic, whether they’d given one hour or one hundred hours of their time. Critic is built on its volunteers, and without students generously giving their time, we’d have to fill our review section with lolcats, our features section with poorly constructed in-jokes, and our opinion section with drunken doodles on napkins.
 
I would have lost my mind (that is, assuming I still have it), numerous times, if it weren’t for our hilarious staff, who’ve kept me laughing through it all (mostly, let’s be fair, at my expense). Gregor Whyte, back for his second year as news editor, lead the rambunctious yet incredibly talented news team of Aimee Gulliver and Lozz Holding, who have been both the reason for my premature greying and the source of much pride. Despite gambling problems, drinking problems, and a minor concussion, they have managed to produce brilliant work, week in, week out.
 
Lovely Lisa, our sub-editor, has the thankless task of transforming our work into publishable writing. Without her, Critic would be a magazine peppered with spelling mistakes and apostrophe errors. We’d also be bereft of a hilarious Irish woman.
 
Our feature writers Siobhan Downes, Phoebe Harrop, Charlotte Greenfield, Josh Hercus and Joe Stockman have worked for a pittance, but produced brilliant (and at times rather scandalous) work. Our review editors and columnists have kept the content pouring in, and our ad designers Kathryn Gilbertson and Karl Mayhew have kept our ads looking sleek. I would have been lost without the gmail chats of ex-editor Ben Thomson, who put up with my ranty chats when shit hit the fat. And of course, OUSA President Logan Edgar has kept our news pages filled to the brim with ridiculous quotes on promiscuous women and the like.
 
But the biggest thank you of all goes to Andrew Jacombs, our incredibly talented designer. Each week, we spend probably too much time together, the kind of too much time which causes us to act like an old married bickering couple. He has patiently put up with my outrageous demands, listened to my impassioned screeching, suffered through hours of Justin Bieber, and succumbed to my perfectionist tendencies even when it’s 3am. Despite it all, I have appreciated all your kindness, all your hard work, all your above-and-beyond stuff. Couldn’t have done it without you bro. Thankfully, Andrew is staying on next year, so you can expect to see yet another set of beautiful Critics in 2012.
 
And to you, dearest reader, thank you. We make Critic for you, and it’s the promise of your letters and Facebook comments that keep us going; whether they be about my “voracious ass”, the eagle, or Logan Edgar, we’ve enjoyed them all.
 
My four years at Critic may have come to an end, but Critic will go on. Joe Stockman will be leading Critic through a VSM environment, and volunteers will become more important than ever. Be sure to keep volunteering, writing letters to Critic and most importantly, reading our blessed pages. 
 
Last but not least, thank you Cam, Niki, Sarah and Ryan for putting up with me. Sorry for making you guys pretend to have sex/ accompany me to Stilletos/write things last minute/ coming home from work at 4am and making you think that I was a robber (tick as appropriate). I love you guys.
 
Love always,
 
Julia Hollingsworth