Dear Readers,
As we write this note, November is drawing to an end. What a semester it has been! In three months, we have doubled in size, participated in an exchange with NYU Shanghai and ratified our first student government constitution, just to name a few events. As a community, we have also engaged in critical discourse over issues like freedom of expression, gender and sexuality, expectations of the college and administration, the role and impact of the Confessions page, and the need for a student government in Yale- NUS. In many ways, this semester has been a critical turning point for our college.
Panopt has also grown this semester. This would not have been possible without our amazing team who has volunteered time and effort to make all this happen. We are also deeply grateful to everyone who has provided feedback to us; it shows your commitment to improving this publication and has enabled us to reflect and make changes when necessary.
In particular, we have heard your feedback about our publication’s name—Panopt. After much deliberation, the team has collectively decided that we will change our name to “The Octant” at the beginning of next semester.
We chose this due to the octant’s role as a navigation instrument in opening up the seas to explorers and creating a more interconnected world, which is what we aim to accomplish by bringing different parts of the world in conversation with each other. The octant, being the first widely accepted instrument that could measure an angle without being strongly affected by external movement, also symbolizes our commitment to uphold freedom of press and our mission statement— to be an autonomous student-run publication dedicated to critical discourse and free speech.
Next semester brings a host of new developments. We are pleased to announce that our team will be expanding; we have received all applications and will issue responses within a few days. Should you still wish to apply, please tell one of us as soon as possible! In addition, Spandana will be in New Haven next semester, and we aim to publish distinctive content and build lasting collaborations from there.
We hope you enjoy the last issue of Volume II; we will be back come January 2015!
Yours Always,
Joyan and Spandana