Faced with the tidal wave of student media being produced by hardworking students up and down the country, it’s hard to know what’s worth spending your valuable time to read.
Getting bored of your big-name student paper? We’ve found some of the best independent and alternative student media outlets around to help you find a good read.
Alternative Student Media
York PEN(01 of05)
Student-run branches of this global organisation have popped up at Universities all over the country in recent years, and it’s easy to see why. It’s an organisation that is all about freedom of speech, thought, and expression, and whose central goal is to enable “unhampered transmission of thought within each nation and between all nations”, which is a pretty good goal to have. York’s branch, however, is special. They run a dedicated online blog that churns out good quality content on a regular basis, again, all done by students in their spare time. www.yorkpen.wordpress.com (credit:York Pen via Facebook)
Get Real(02 of05)
Even though it’s only been going for about two months, Get Real has come out with a bang (if you’ll pardon the pun). Focussed on Queer issues, this Cambridge-based magazine aims to get away from heteronormative perspectives on life and the world and find another way in. www.getrealcambridge.com (credit:Get Real)
Chat Politics(03 of05)
Founded by two students from the University of York, Chat Politics is all about presenting politics in an accessible, interesting, and useable format for real people to engage with. These two guys sit in tiny rooms and huge roof terraces with the big names in politics and just chat about stuff. Past interviewees have included Nick Clegg, Nigel Farage, and Paddy Ashdown. Now they’re branching out with another channel called Chat Life, and a section on their website devoted to political commentators. Not bad work for two students.www.chatpolitics.org (credit:Chat Politics via YouTube)
When In Cambridge(04 of05)
Ever wondered what goes through the brain of a Cambridge student on a daily basis? This is pretty much it. Riddled with GIFs and despairing images of essay-ridden souls, When in Cambridge is the ultimate in indulgent procrastination. Hours later, you may well feel like you’ve just gone through a psychotherapy session with someone who understands you completely, utterly, and in every nasty way imaginable. www.whenincambridge.tumblr.com (credit:When In Cambridge)
Cuntry Living(05 of05)
Started a few years ago by a group of Oxford University feminists, Cuntry Living has one fundamental goal: to bring down the patriarchy everywhere, for everyone, now. Fearlessly critical of culture, politics, media, and just about everyone, they present a radical alternative option for how we might live our lives. Their introductory header declares that they believe “wholeheartmindbody that girls constitute a revolutionary soul force that can, and will, change the world for real.” Pretty daring stuff. www.cuntrylivingmagazine.tumblr.com (credit:Alice Nutting)