A week after the first issue, all newspapers have disappeared from their boxes, several emails have popped into our inbox and many conversations have erupted in the dining hall. We look back and think: this is the kind of critical discourse our community needs, and which PANOPT is committed to.
We realize certain individuals in our community disagree with some views expressed in the last issue. Yet as an independent paper on campus, this is inevitable. We will often publish opinions that do not resonate or sit well with everyone. We will even go as far as to say that we welcome these opinions, since these are the articles that spark conversations and make us reflect deeper about our community.
PANOPT is a platform for all voices— from the loud voices to the whispered ones. A newspaper that only sides with the majority is not representative of its community. Moving forward, we welcome guest columnists to write in to us, and we will soon launch a website where these invigorating discussions can occur online.
This issue onward, we will also be introducing a Letters to the Editors section. For every future issue, should you wish to share your opinion on a public platform, please write in to yncpanopt@gmail.com by Friday, 5PM. We do not publish anonymous letters, and each letter has a maximum word count of 200 words. We also want to stress that readers should criticize the arguments expressed, and not the writer. Personal attacks only reflect badly on you, and the ad hominem fallacy is inexcusable. Due to space constraints, we may not publish every letter.
For our last issue, despite having multiple individuals contact us with praise or criticism, we only received one letter to be published, which is on the last page. We urge readers to go beyond private conversations and voice these views with the rest of the community. We look forward to hearing from you.
Joyan and Spandana
Managing Editors of PANOPT