Graphic by Chandler Littleford/The Choate News
Dear reader,
By now, you’ve probably noticed the unique design of this issue of The Choate News. The bottom half of each page has an entirely redesigned layout, featuring dark blue backgrounds, sans serif fonts, and articles that seem, at first glance, to make little sense. You might be wondering: why?
All of the articles in the redesigned bottom halves of pages belong in 2050 — that is, news articles as we envision them being written exactly 30 years from today. We asked our reporters — all young people preparing to inherit the world — to envision a future they predict, fear, or want to live in thirty years from now. Whether extreme weather will ravage New Haven county or whether Choate will introduce virtual reality in place of outdoor activities, one thing remains true: at the rate today’s world appears to change, anything — miraculous or destructive — seems possible.
It is our parting goal as a masthead to call attention to the future. Climate change. Political polarization. Digitization of society. We are at a pivotal point in the world’s history, when headlines bring new surprises every day. We hope that our final issue will inspire our readers not only to create the world we hope to see, but also to take meaningful action against the one we fear.
Turn to School News for a preview of a net-zero campus. Flip to Local News or Features to consider the impending effects of climate change on life in Wallingford. Read over the Arts and Sports pages for predictions of how campus life will change — an expanded a cappella program, a new state-of-the-art athletics facility.
As we, the 113th masthead, move out of the Newsroom and into senior spring, we want to call your attention to the future. We’re hopeful, we’re anxious, and we’re thinking — actively and deeply — about the world we’re soon to inherit. We’re deeply concerned with the problems that will likely emerge, yet we remain optimistic that our generation can create the world in which we want to live. We hope, after reading our final issue, that you will believe this, too.
