‘It’s our future at stake’ – Journalism students call for Sheffield University to sell newspapers in union shop

Students at the University of Sheffield are calling for newspapers to be stocked in their union shop.
Alfie Robinson at Our Shop, in the University of Sheffield's Students' Union.Alfie Robinson at Our Shop, in the University of Sheffield's Students' Union.
Alfie Robinson at Our Shop, in the University of Sheffield's Students' Union.

Journalism students have launched a petition calling for Our Shop – the mini supermarket in the Students’ Union - to stock daily newspapers.

Second year student Alfie Robinson launched the campaign on Tuesday night and it has already been backed by more than 30 students and lecturers.

Alfie Robinson at Our Shop, in the University of Sheffield's Students' Union.Alfie Robinson at Our Shop, in the University of Sheffield's Students' Union.
Alfie Robinson at Our Shop, in the University of Sheffield's Students' Union.
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Alfie, 25, said: “Since we have got the number one journalism department in the country, they tell us almost every day that we should be picking up newspapers.

“I have been thinking about it for a while and Dave Holmes, one of our lecturers, was saying that he was struggling to pick up a newspaper himself and he put an appeal out to journalism students saying that it was our future in our own hands."

The petition calls for the Students' Union to ‘support the future’ of journalism students and the print industry.

It has already reached the required number of signatures to prompt a response from a student union officer.

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He said: “I think it's something the union should be doing for us – it's a basic service.

“Our Shop sells absolutely everything except newspapers."

Alfie said the students were aiming to get 1,000 signatures on the petition, which would force the union to restock papers in the shop.

He added: “I feel that’s really possible because of the amount of people in the journalism department and it’s our futures at stake."