The (Final) Pi Perspective

Image via Wikimedia Commons

At Pi Online, we are a massive group of editors who work together to curate content for the website. But who are we really? What do we like, dislike, observe, think?

Each week, we’re pulling back the curtain with a new editorial spotlighting what’s been on our minds.

Editors-in-Chief

The last week of term two is never easy, bringing a close to lectures and tutorials for the year. But this one is particularly rough on your favourite EiCs, with both of us wrapping up our final years here at UCL.

It’s been our greatest joy, privilege, and honour to head Pi Online, and to work with so many brilliant section editors and writers. What I’m sure we’ll miss the most is the community feel, headlined by our weekly newsrooms and committee socials.

We’d like to thank our president, Hermione, for being the backbone of Pi this year, and you, dearest members, for showing up and supporting us week after week. Let us be the first to wish you all the best on your exams and internship searches… and to those graduating with us, we look forward to reconnecting with you someday, perhaps on the job market.

With love and gratitude,

Saniya and Tiegan x

News

During the last year at PiNews, our editors have worked with writers on topics ranging from international conflict to local, UCL based events. Although much of the news we cover is devastating, frequently having a direct impact on UCL’s international community, it has been inspiring to find a community equally passionate about student journalism. Pi’s news writers and editors have worked together to ensure our community stays informed on current affairs and their potential implications. As editors, we hope to have inspired both writers and readers of our section to continue maintaining involvement with local, national, and international news. 

Outside of our official responsibilities at Pi, it has been a pleasure to get to know fellow editors, both from News and other sections. Our weekly newsrooms were always a place of laughter and inspiration, reminding us of our individual whys for getting involved with the paper.

I want to extend a special thank you to my fellow news editors, Annabel and Sara, for their continuous support, friendship, and grace over the last year. Our newsroom conversations, ranging from Bridgerton Season 4 debriefs to discussing tariffs, were something I looked forward to every week. 

Stay informed & all the best,

Annabel Thomas, Sara Al Kaisi, Sterre Schlosser
Features

“You can’t join us for dinner on Tuesday right?” “Yeah, I’m going to Newsroom.”

This is an exchange I have had with my friends almost every week throughout the year. Over the last few months, my time as one of the Features section editors has been nothing short of rewarding. Thinking of commissions to pitch pushes me to consistently expand my current affairs knowledge, editing your pieces keeps my knowledge of the English language on its toes, and watching the final drafts get published truly feels like a successful harvest.

Pi Media is the most meaningful society I have joined because it provides a platform for so many voices, ideas and stories at such a large scale. Student journalism has always played that crucial role in institutions of higher education and I am still in disbelief that I am part of something so impactful.

In 2016, the then-president of Pi Media, Rebecca Pinnington, received threats of expulsion after publishing an article which exposed UCL for lying about their rent cutting plans. One could say that she should not have messed with confidential information, but are we supposed to quietly suffer in the dark? What I love about journalism is that it empowers the truth to be told and provokes readers to think or act accordingly. Rebecca Pinnington’s case motivated Cut The Rent strikers to not give up on their cause. It is important that we continue to keep this spirit alive. 

Now that Newsroom has ended, things are going to be a bit more quiet without our weekly yap on current affairs and life. The Features editors would like to thank everyone for your enthusiasm and contributions over the past few months. I also want to thank my co-editors Amelia and Maria for their support throughout this journey; I’m going to miss them so much. To all of you reading this, I hope to continue seeing your names in our inbox. I’m not going anywhere, my journey with Pi Media is just getting started.

With love,

Xin Ying, Amelia and Maria

Opinion

What a year it’s been at Pi! From hosting Maryam Moshiri to launching UCL200, and holding our first set of writers’ rooms, our contributors have continued to exemplify the very best of student journalism. Editing your work this year has been an absolute pleasure. The range of topics we’ve covered, spanning celebrity feuds, clubbing culture, and Keir Starmer’s embattled government, has been truly impressive.

Of course, I’m biased, but opinion writing offers a uniquely powerful avenue for self-expression, and being able to facilitate the rise of new student voices has been immensely rewarding. Collaborating with contributors to hone their personal style and sharpen their articulation is something I’ll really miss next year (though don’t worry, as your next President, I’ll be keeping a very close eye on the section I’ve helped to curate).

From all of us in Opinion this year: thank you. Please keep writing for us if you’re staying at UCL, and if not, I hope we can count on you as one of our faithful readers.

Have an incredible summer – wishing you all the very best,

Jamie, Ben, Argentine, and Zayna

Lifestyle and Culture

It’s easy to feel a flicker of imposter syndrome as a Lifestyle & Culture girl. In a newsroom buzzing with modern warfare, economic disasters, and divisive politics, your Wicked and Harry Styles commissions can feel… a little unserious.

And yet — what a year for culture. We’ve had the privilege of editing your sharp, thoughtful takes on the biggest releases, boldest trends, and moments that actually linger: from Manosphere to Marty Supreme, and everything in between.

Because here’s the thing we tend to forget: culture is political. It shapes how we see ourselves and each other; it decides whose stories are amplified and whose are politely ignored. The films we champion, the music we loop, the clothes we claim as “us”, all of it speaks to power, identity, resistance, and change.

Writing about culture isn’t spectating: it’s taking the temperature of a moment. It’s asking why something resonates, who it serves, and what it says about the world we’re living in (and quietly reshaping).

Caring about pop stars, theatre, or trends isn’t frivolous, it’s focus. And attention (in an age of endless noise) is its own kind of power. Long after the breaking news alerts stop buzzing, it’s the cultural moments we revisit to remember how it all felt.

Hard news tells us what happened. Culture tells us what it meant.

So, on that note, this is Jemima, Inkar, and Mia (your 25/26 L&C Editors), over and out. See you next year, Pi divas!

Sports

As our year as Sports Editors for Pi Online comes to an end, it’s time to reflect on what’s been an amazing two terms. We’ve tried to diversify the content on the website so that it’s not only focused on football but showcases other sports, as well as trying to include university sport spotlights more. Our fantastic writers have always been so quick to write to deadlines, as well as being open to accepting our edits. We hope that next year, the sports editors continue to write about niche topics, as well as go further in reporting on the university sport scene. Whether that be through a sports correspondents scheme, or interviewing members from a sports society, our university is home to so much sport that it ought to be given that exposure. Palatinate won best sports section at the SPA awards this year so let’s try and rival that next year!

- Olivia and Charlotte