LSE Sanctuary on the Ropes

Way back in January we wrote about how the Media Group was facing some serious competition with several new student publications hitting Houghton Street. Well after that, things went rather quiet, didn’t they? The Gateway, a national student-run business newspaper is still publishing regularly, but the paper is frankly so boring that I can’t be bothered to keep tabs on it or write about it here. The Sanctuary, on the other hand, promised to provide an irreverent alternative to the Beaver with its emphasis on satire and arts coverage. But after the first issue debuted back in January, Houghton Street has gone wanting.

Well the Observer can reveal that the reason for this long break has to do (not so surprisingly) with serious troubles among the Sanctuary staff, including multiple resignations within the paper culminating with the chief editor’s departure last Friday. In an email to the Observer, new editor Ariel Elkin describes the paper’s current health as ‘deplorable’. Still, he promises that a new edition will hit the streets before the end of term, at which time the Sanctuary will be looking for a refuge in which to reconstitute itself for next year.

This Observer hopes that they are able to pull it together and put a paper on the stands, as any contribution towards breaking the stranglehold of the Media Group is welcome in my book. If anybody is interested in getting involved with the Sanctuary, their Facebook Group is probably a good place to start.