2015 2016 GUIDE EXEc society magazine
Welcome (or welcome back) to Warwick for 2015/16, and welcome to Cobalt! The next few pages are going to tell you everything you need to know about what we think is the best arts publication on campus Cobalt Magazine. Not only are we a termly online magazine (you can turn the pages and everything, it’s super snazzy), we’re also a fully fledged Warwick SU society - that little badge over there proves it. So keep reading - we promise you won’t be disappointed... 02
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We make an online magazine at the end of every term. It is entirely created by students, with virtually no outside funding.
Cost to join: £3
You’ll find that pretty much every society at Warwick charges for membership, and we reckon this is a pretty good deal - we can guarantee a whole host of events as well as just generally creating a good experience for you, the society member! So your money is in safe hands.
What you get:
Not only do you get your writing, comics, photography, recipes, reviews, and more published, but we also have launch parties in Leamington with FREE drinks (but once it’s gone, it’s gone!) as well as workshops for editing, magazine design, and creative writing, and a whole load of socials throughout the year!
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SO WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU DO? 05
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MEET THE EXEC 07
PRES IDENT The great thing about Cobalt is that it’s not just about the magazine. We have a whole exec dedicated to all aspects of the society, and we’re not only interested in existing talent - we want to find and nurture emerging talent too!
As president, it’s pretty important to have my finger on the pulse, so if you’re not sure who to go to, I’m the one to ask! If I can’t help, I’ll make sure I find someone who does - probably one of the wonderful exec, who you’ll learn about over the next few pages. Cobalt wants creative people all over campus to come together and be a part of something really exciting - bringing art, design, and writing together into one product that people not only want to read but are also then inspired by. I really hope you enjoy Cobalt Magazine and the society that keeps it going, and I’m really looking forward to working with you this year - it promises to be bigger and better than ever!
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SECRETARY
Hello! I’m Hannah, and this is my second year as Cobalt secretary. I study English and I’m Chief Subeditor of the Boar. Most of my favourite things are music-based: I’ve always loved to sing, and I’m a massive fan of folk music and musical theatre. I’ve also just started learning to play the harp! A random fact about me: I was my village May Queen at our festival last year, and have always been involved in the May carnival parade. Past costumes have included Lego, a jellyfish and a camel.
As secretary I’ll be making sure Cobalt runs smoothly and keeping everyone up to date with everything going on.
One of the things that’s so brilliant about Cobalt is how much it is shaped by everyone involved, and I can’t wait to see it go on to bigger and better things this year
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TREA SUR ER
Hi, I’m Kristen and I’m in my second year at Warwick, studying English Literature. I am the treasurer of Cobalt Magazine, and this year I want to hold fun events, from pub quizzes to charity fundraisers, to bring in some money and to raise awareness of our society and what it does. I’malso a member of Lit.Soc, and last year I did climbing - this year I’m joiing the netball club! I also did a bit of filming with BFT last year and am hoping to do a lot more with them - perhaps you can tell I’m really interested in film and media! I love writing and while I may be new to managing money, I’m throwing myself in at the deep end and hopefully, together with the rest of the exec, we can come up with some really good events that will make Cobalt even better than it was last year.
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SOCIAL SEC
Hi! I’m Sofia and I’m a second year English Lit student here at Warwick and your Social Secretary this year.
When I was a fresher I was super keen and threw myself in to so many different societies (which I totally recommend that you all do!) and one of the few that I actually stuck with was Cobalt Magazine. It’s great being part of such a creative society and in my role as Social Secretary I’m going to make sure that we have a lot of fun too! As well as editing for Cobalt, I am an ambassador for the Aerobics society, a member of the Literature Society, the President and founder of VocSoc and I’m hoping to join even more this year.
Societies are such a great way of making the most of your time at university and joining Cobalt magazine will not only be an outlet for all you creative types out there (and look good on your CV!) but also it will give you the chance to meet a lovely group of people too!
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MEDIA &
MEDIA Hello you lovely readers and contributors! My name is Abi Browning, I’m one of our two Media and Publicity Officers on the exec team this year for Warwick Cobalt. That means I get the brilliant job of promoting a splendid society and publication that shows off our talented Warwick students. I am a third year English Literature student from Hertfordshire with a heart that is deeply set in a fantastical world of Victorian novels, the Great British countryside and routine visits to cute vintage tearooms! I love music of all shapes and colours, shopping, cooking, film watching, messing around with Pinterest/Instagram upcycling ideas, handwritten letters and wrapping up warm in a nest of blankets and pillows enjoying a good classic book or episode of GoT. I can’t wait to get to meet more new faces this year and I’m super excited about our fun socials and keeping you all up to date with ways to get involved with the wonders of Warwick Cobalt. Keep alert for new competitions, writing inspirations and fab ideas for surviving your student experience!
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PUBLICITY
A& Hi I’m Hebe, a Cobalt editor, and also half of your marketing and publicity team, alongside Abi!
As I’m an English and creative writing student, my timetable is pretty sparse, so you’ll probably find me at most of the socials during the year (especially if there’s food). I also play polo and love horses in general, or maybe just animals in general - I have three pet degus at uni with me, which you are welcome to come and visit if you get furry-thing withdrawal like I did in first year. They are the cutest things ever.
Other than that, I’m not sure what else to say… I wish Leslie Knope was real, I surf a little in my free time but am hoping to get better, and I can’t wait to meet all you ‘fresh’ faces!
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WELFARE
Hey, I’m Katie and I’m a biology student, but you’ll probably get to know me better as the welfare officer for Cobalt society. I look after everything from health and safety to equal rights. I’m very approachable so don’t hesitate to come and talk to me about any issues or ideas you may have. I look forward to working with our fantastic exec team this year and getting to know everyone who gets involved with Cobalt. I’m not much of a creative writer, but look out for my recipes and photographs instead!
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PHOTO
GRAPHY
Hi My name is Gemma. I’m a second year English Lit student and I joined Cobalt last year. I really loved what it was doing as a society and a magazine, even though it’s such a young society. I’m Cobalt’s Photographer, so you might see me about at Cobalt events taking pictures of your beautiful faces for our blog and Facebook page. I also want to encourage more photography from the societies members featured in the magazine itself and would love any image submissions. I’m still wielding a tiny red bridge camera, and learning as I go so don’t worry if you haven’t mastered a DSLR and are taking pictures like Patrick Demarchelier yet. As you’ll see in Cobalt, we welcome anything and everything, so if you have an image you love, we’d love to see it! Just send submissions to Cobalt’s email or feel free to email me with any questions or images at G.Albin@warwick.ac.uk
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Here’s where to go and what to do to get our attention:
cobalt.warwick@gmail.com
For enquiries, submissions (put your name, genre, and title of piece in the subject line), and anything else you’re not sure about.
facebook.com/cobaltmagazine
Our facebook page - give it a big old thumbs up to keep in the loop with things as soon as they happen.
Cobalt Magazine Society group
Search us up on Facebook and ask to join so you can interact with other members.
issuu.com/cobaltmagazine Our past issues - have a flick through!
@cobaltwarwick Instagram and Twitter.
cobaltmagazineblog.wordpress.com
Self-explanatory. Our beautiful blog, updated regularly with all the stuff we can’t cram into the issues.
warwicksu.com/societies/gallery
Our personalised SU page, where you can actually sign up to the society. Fun fact: it’s ‘/gallery’ because we like to think we’re showcasing a virtual exhibition of art and talent.
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WHERE CAN I FIND YOU? 17
We publish at the end of every term, but we accept pieces all year round - if we think it’s suitable for an issue, we’ll keep it safe until we can publish it, and if it’s something more topical or better suited to a more informal format, we’ll place it on the blog. We don’t really run with themes - we like how each issue is different because of the diversity of the art that fills it up. But if you’re struggling, we can always give you some guidance. We have contributors from English, History, Economics, Maths, Computer Science, Biology, Chemistry, Politics, and beyond, so if you’re artistically minded, Cobalt Magazine is for you! Get in touch on Facebook or by email, as outlined on pages 16-17.
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WHEN CAN I SUBMIT TO AN ISSUE? 19
Aaaand we’re back to the blue wall. Nice. If there’s anything this guide didn’t cover, drop us a message and we’ll be more than happy to clear things up. We hope you’ve enjoyed Cobalt Magazine 101 and that it’s given you a flavour of what we do here - visually, creatively, societially (is that a word? It is now.) Finally, here are some important dates for the diary - hopefully see you soon!
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Thursday Week 1 - Freshers Fair in the Sports centre, 10am-3pm Sunday week 1 - OUR FIRST SOCIAL! 6pm welcome meal at Varsity, really close to campus way more socials to be announced soon FOR FRESHERS AND THE NEW TERM - get involved ON FACEBOOK/ AT WARWICKSU.COM/GALLERY so you don’t miss out
Issue 1 publication and launch party - 27th November 2015
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COBALT
2015-16 GUIDE 5TH OCTOBER 2015 WARWICK UNIVERSITY