The Oppidan Press is an independent student-run newspaper at Rhodes University

Rhodes University

Rhodes University is a public research university located in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, established in 1904. It is the province’s oldest university, and is one of the four universities in the province...

 in Grahamstown

Grahamstown

Grahamstown is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758. The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799 of which 77.4% were black,...

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History

The newspaper was founded in 2007 by two undergraduates Lionel Faull (Editor 2007, Managing Editor 2008), and Ines Schumacher (Deputy Editor 2007, Editor 2008). It received almost no funding from the Rhodes University SRC at the time, and had to rely almost entirely on advertising revenue.

The Oppidan Press was founded not only to provide news and entertainment to the previously disenfranchised Oppidan community, but also to increase the quality of student media at Rhodes University. The newspaper's direct competitor is Activate

Activate

Activate is an independent student newspaper at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa.- History :Activate was established in 1947 as Rhodeo, and during apartheid became an active part of the struggle for freedom of expression as part of the now defunct South African Student Press Union...

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Purpose

The Oppidan Press is primarily a newspaper produced for student readers who live off-campus in digs, although its orientation and coverage necessarily includes campus affairs, because all students are members of the Rhodes community. It is published fortnightly during university term-time, i.e. approximately 12 editions per year. However, this does not exclude special editions published for certain events which fall outside of these parameters.

Financing

Although The Oppidan Press receives a grant from Rhodes University's Student Representative Council, all printing costs are covered by advertisements. The grant is used for the newspaper's extensive training programme, functions and office equipment. This makes the newspaper's editorial side completely independent of the University.

Editors

• 2007: Lionel Faull
• 2008: Ines Schumacher
• 2009: Tumelo Tladi
• 2010: Lauren Minnie
• 2011: Lauren Granger

External links

• The Oppidan Press
• Rhodes University