Editors’ Letter

AQUILA 2019/20 EDITORS’ LETTER

REBELLION: What is worth rebelling for? What is rebellion? Is it a violent riot or is it xxxxxxx a non-violent protest for change? Is it both? xxxxxxxxxxxx Is it something completely different?

This is not an editors’ letter to fill you in about our progress xxxxx over the year, how we came up with the theme, how far we’ve come or how we’ve worked together as a team. No one cares. xxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx No one reads it. We don’t want to write it. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx So we won’t.

So what will we write about? Maybe a hate letter about all the xxxxxxx trifle annoyances that we wished we said something against. Maybe a sentimental xxxxxxxxxxxxx reminiscent piece about all the change that has occurred during our time at Pipers. xxxxx Or, the importance of challenging the status quo. xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

We thought about censorship - how people dictate what we learn, what we read and to some extent even how we think. This is where we thought about the importance of a voice, of research, of challenging what you originally think.

But this isn’t about what we thought, or what we wanted. It’s about what the xxxxxx students at Pipers wanted. It’s about standing up for what’s right. It’s about challenging xxxxxxxxxx what is expected; this magazine is about asking why.

This magazine is a challenge. And no one had more of a challenge than our Design Editor. Not only did we want to xxxxxxxxxxxxx go against the status quo, but the other three editors also had no idea about what xxxx could and could not work. So, as with everything we have done, she took great care and used her amazing skills to bring to xxxxxxxxxx life every idea we had, however

insane it sounded. She rose to the challenge, taking every turn with ease and reminded us of her insane talent when it xxxxxxx comes to design.

Too often we take what we read for granted xxxxxxxxxxx (irony reading in this in a magazine is not lost on us). Too often we do not question our sources. Opinions are viewed as facts and facts opinion. This magazine is not to tell you that you are wrong (although beware you might - probably - will be). This year’s purpose is to show you it’s okay to be challenged; xxxxxxxxxxx that xxxxxxxxxxxxx we must ask questions, we must rebel, xxxxx we must learn about rebellion to truly progress as a society. This is because the xxxxxxxxx truth is the greatest rebellion of them all.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx We wanted to introduce this year’s magazine with a statement. Too often the launch for the magazine went by forgotten in an assembly where the whole time students were playing with their shoelaces wishing for the time to go by faster. So one night, whilst most xxxxxxxxxxxxx students were home, the editorial team put up posters all over the school (much to the Environmental Committee’s dismay, still quite sorry about that guys). While covering the Headmistress’ door with our posters we were interrupted… by the Headmistress. However, instead of demanding why we were xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxx there or what we were doing to her office door, Mrs Ness-Gifford allowed one of us to take it a step further and stand on her desk holding one of the posters. However, standing on the Headmistress’ desk

wasn’t quite rebellious enough for us yet. We wanted to go further. We xxxxxx wanted to be different. We wanted people to remember the launch event. xxxxxxxxxxx So, we decided to build a wall.

Before the Trump-related trauma kicks xxxxxxxxxx in, don’t worry, we didn’t build a wall to keep people separated. With the valuable help from the Art and DT departments, we constructed a wall and encouraged students to graffiti (or street art as we sold it to Mrs N-G) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx things that they wanted to xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx rebel against. We had a plethora of things that made students angry, from trivial things such as pineapple on pizza to bigger issues such as racism and HS2.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx We said this magazine would be a challenge, didn’t we? We just didn’t expect it to be that great of a challenge as COVID-19. No one saw it coming. No one saw us being on lockdown, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx our exams being cancelled and the hoarding of toilet rolls.

But with this pandemic it has brought rebellion, xxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxx particularly across the USA, bringing to point this highly controversial topic:

WHAT IS WORTH REBELLION?