The Ripple is the student newspaper at the University of Leicester, England. The fortnightly free newspaper editions has a potential readership of around 10,000 students. The Ripple currently features a diverse range of content. The Ripple has featured a wide range of interviews with high-profile people throughout its history, from Robert Mugabe and Yasser Arafat to more recent public figures such as Aaron Porter and Peter Soulsby. The President, currently Amy Reeves, is elected by all students and is tasked with managing both the editorial team and the operations team. The Editors, currently Matthew Allen and Laura Mostyn, are internally elected by members of The Ripple, and are tasked with gathering and editing content for copy online and in print. The University of Leicester Students' Union still remains the proprietor of The Ripple.
History
The Ripple was founded by Malcolm Bradbury under its original name The Wave. Past editors include Brian Abbs, Richard Swann, Marc Heal, Andrew Biswell and Aaron Porter. In October 2012, The Ripple launched a website for the first time, providing daily news updates and other content in addition to the print editions published each term. In May 2013, students at the University of Leicester elected President Christopher Everett as the first President of The Ripple. The newly created role of President was designed so that the future editor would no longer be concerned with both content and the day-to-day running of the publication, and is tasked with undertaking responsibilities such as developing strategic goals forThe Ripple, organising and leading the Ripple executive, communicating with the Students' Union, ensuring funding and distribution for The Ripple, and organising extra-publicatory activities for the Ripple's members.
In the news
In early 2006, the BBC revealed that the word "moony" was first used in print by The Ripple as part of the slang used during the 1987 RAG week, and led to the Oxford English Dictionary attributing the paper as the source of the word. This was then followed by a feature on The Ripple as part of the BBC show Balderdash and Piffle, screened on Easter Sunday, 16 April 2006. The Ripple received national press attention again in November 2006 after speaking out against an attempt by the National Union Of Students to restrict sales of a number of lad mags in the students' union shop.
