As the oldest student newspaper in Europe, the archives of The Student are sure to boast a large variety of hidden gems, both of use and intrigue to students today. This week’s edition features memoirs from the October 1944 edition, in which we look back at a witty self-advertisement for students to join the newspaper, heralding the message that anyone who wields a pen also has the capability to write; and some unconventional yet appropriate advice to freshers, which yields a wishful yet realistic understanding of the relationship between expectations versus reality. It’s enough to make you think you’re reading extracts from a fanfiction cross between The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Gilmore Girls.
Looking back at old texts, it’s easy to think that those living in the past experienced very different emotions to yourself; that you are part of a post-modern form of thinking which even the generation above you is unable to comprehend.
However, when looking at these extracts a sudden revelation hits, and you find yourself understanding perfectly the writer when they talk about excessive drinking and an overload of society events, all in the hope of finding this universally-felt unattainable experience called “University life”. As for the staff advertisement, we couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
Images: via The Student Newspaper October 1944 edition