When applying for graduate training schemes, I often get asked the question ‘Why do you want to be a journalist?’, and I don’t think I’ve ever really answered it satisfactorily. The real reason is because I genuinely believe that it still matters and is important, and that despite the profession’s bad reputation through the association with the paparazzi and the fear mongering of the Daily Mail, there is something terrifying about the thought of a society without the press. ‘Holding those in power to account’ is a phrase often used to describe the function of journalism, and this seems all the more crucial now, when government decisions are a matter of life and death for the public, even more directly than usual. Even student journalism, which is sometimes seen as merely a practice-ground for people looking ahead to their future, enables students to voice their opinions and represent the general consensus of their peers in a space which has an established readership. And, on a more selfish note, involvement in student journalism has certainly given some shape and purpose to my uni experience, which has managed generally to be simultaneously both turbulent and underwhelming. On that note – here are my five top picks for articles published this week.

Do cats cause mental illness? by Annalise Murray

Hostility imposed overnight: the threat of the EU settlement scheme by Ciara Church

‘Boyhood’: is life just a series of milestones? by Caitlin Painter

Increased demand for male domestic abuse support during lockdown by Livia Dove-Woods

Government prevent strong action against Uighur genocide by Lauren Powdrell

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