Rehema Figueiredo is the new editor of the Leeds Student, the award-winning free student newspaper. Released every Friday and with so many different sections there is something for everyone and with so much going on on campus every week there’s a lot to do so Her Campus caught up with her to see how it’s all going.
1. What made you want to become editor?
I’d worked for LS since my first year and always knew I wanted to be the Editor. It’s such a great job and I don’t think I’ll have another like it, where I get to have a say in everything from content to photos to design. Getting to spend all day every day with such a fun, creative and intelligent group of people is also a massive perk.
2. What’s the next step for the paper? What plans do you have for LS this year?
Well we have a brand new app for smart phones launching soon which is pretty exciting. The website is growing from strength to strength so continuing to give people exciting content online is definitely a priority, as well as some in-depth investigations for the paper which I can’t say anything about at the moment!
3. What does your role involve? How do you get a balance?
I’m involved in everything from planning content to dealing with photo editors, reading complaints, advertising, overseeing the website, designing the pages…the list goes on! The hours I work are really long and would probably kill me if I didn’t find it so fulfilling. I pretty much live in the office during the week (yes, I even eat dinner here though I haven’t had a sleepover in the Union yet) but I try to get away at the weekends and have a break from the busyness. I’m learning to drive at the moment, enjoy baking and go running along Woodhouse Ridge as often as I can.
4. Have any stories recently caught your eye? Or is there anything exciting coming up that we should know about?
It has to be the Tequila campaign. We were all shocked when we saw the video but I don’t think anyone saw it coming that students would really get behind it and say ‘enough is enough’. The national coverage of the issue was great too. The whole thing showed how empowered students can be when they make a stand. As for what’s coming up, you’ll have to wait and see but expect interesting interviews, intelligent reviews and hard hitting stories.
5. What’s a typical week in the life of LS editor?
Monday night is when we send the magazine, LSi, to print so I’ll be in the office from 9am until the early hours of Tuesday morning checking through everything. It’s the same drill on a Thursday night with sending the paper off but that tends to be even more stressful as it’s where the most controversial stories are printed so they’ll often need to be checked by a lawyer first. The rest of the week I’ll stay into the evening reading through things but not quite as late. I also have the glamorous job of distributing the papers round campus but someone from the editorial team usually helps me out.
6. How can students get involved in LS?
Drop me an e-mail, editor@leedsstudent.org or have a look on the website for details of when and where meetings take place (leedsstudent.org/contact) Anyone can write/draw/photograph/design for us and we are always looking to involve more people in our amazing society!
7. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Be nice to the LS team. They work very long hours as well as doing their degrees so deserve a lot of credit. If you know one or see one wandering about campus clutching papers, give them a pat on the back and tell them what you liked about this week’s issue; they’ll love you forever.
Ella Sagar