The Journal secures distribution rights after EUSA AGM

Edinburgh University Students' Association has retracted its campus ban on The Journal, allowing it the same distribution rights as the university's established publications, Student and Hype.

At an open vote at the Students' Association General Meeting, The Journal was supported by a sizable majority of students. Althought the number of students present wasn't high enough to make the decision binding, student president Josh MacAlister said he would accept the GM's vote as indicative of the wider student body.

Mr MacAlister told The Journal:“After many discussions with The Journal team it looks like we have come to a resolution which will allow distribution and protect the existing student newspaper."

As was reported in October, when the ban was first made public, Mr MacAlister reiterated that the original reason for the ban was advertising-related. He had feared that if The Journal was given full distribution rights, it could undermine the profits Student collects from advertising and have a negative impact on EUSA, which takes a percentage cut of the newspaper's revenue.

Two prominent EUSA members, presidential candidate Nick Ward and former EUSA president and columnist at The Journal, Tim Goodwin were instrumental in overturning the ban. Other key supporters of The Journal included notable Student journalists, John Herrman and Jasper Jackson.

Ben Judge, founding editor of The Journal, said afterwards: "Obviously, this is great news for everyone that works on The Journal. We see this as a real vindication of all the hard work put in by the entire staff and we are pleased to have had such support from our fellow students.

"Now that we have distribution rights at Edinburgh, we at The Journal are looking forward to furthering our relationships with both the Students' Association and the other student publications at the university in a way that is beneficial both to the parties involved and to the student community as a whole.

"Behind all the rhetoric about freedom of speech and freedom of the press, the real effect of the overturning of this ban is to allow our members of staff an easier time of it, as distribution is all of a sudden one less thing to think about, which - when you're a full time student - is very helpful indeed."

The meeting was the third general meeting in two years to fail to reach its quorum of 300 students, meaning that decisions taken on the motions discussed were not binding. This has raised questions about the suitability of the decision making process and brought alternative proposals into the limelight.

Mr. MacAlister told The Journal: "General Meetings are simply not the best way to engage students with the issues. Whilst the AGM and GM are clearly not the only way we engage students, it was disappointing not to see more students turn up.”

Student presidential candidate Harry Cole has made a big deal of constitutional and systemic reform of the Students' Association, in particular with regards to replacing the general meeting system with an online voting process.

Other motions discussed at the meeting included: a proposal to remove Eden Springs mineral water from university property as a result of claims that they are breaking international law; a proposal to mandate EUSA to campaign against the graduate endowment fee and a motion to lobby the company Edinburgh First to give preferential treatment to student societies in hiring rooms and catering. All motions passed on the night, however it is unknown whether they will be adopted as policy by the Students' Association.