by Siddiq Islam

Now that one hundred Poor Prints have come and gone, what better a time for us editors to reflect on our time with this wonderful student publication. The Poor Print for me represents not only a physical newspaper, but the courage and talent with which Oriel students share their writing and art with others. I feel as though I have benefited from the constant stimulus that The Poor Print’s fortnightly themes give – it has encouraged me to keep writing and keep sharing, and I am eternally grateful for that – but more than this, I have enjoyed seeing my fellow collegemates produce such a wide variety of content every issue.

Perhaps surprisingly, I am not old enough to have witnessed all one hundred Poor Prints personally (although I have at this point read every single ’Dear Beary’ entry to date). I have, though, been here for the past forty-four issues (four years of Poor Printing!) I am always blown away by the range of submissions that The Poor Print attracts. We have seen Australian cryptic crosswords; tuck-shop poetry diss battles; a whole series of Horrid Henry–themed poems and drawings; musical compositions, song playlists, and SoundCloud song demos; and not to mention the incredible drawings and paintings of late.

Now in my fourth year as an editor of The Poor Print, I can safely say that the publication has never overflowed with submissions. Oftentimes, we editors scramble to fill the spaces at odd hours (as my botched prose puzzle this week might attest). Nonetheless, it always manages to stay in print, and I am astonished that the students of Oriel never stop giving. Thank you to all those who have contributed to The Poor Print, and I wholeheartedly encourage you to continue. This paper is not made of paper but of the thoughts and dreams of Oriel students, and I hope that The Poor Print will go on to produce hundreds and hundreds more …