A Letter from the Editor

Welcome to 20 Years of Stephenson College! This is a very special publication, celebrating two action-packed decades since our college was founded.

In thinking about twenty years of Stephenson, let’s first look back to what the world looked like two decades ago. In 2002, Vladimir Putin enjoyed broad support as he entered the second year of his presidency, the Bachelor pilot aired on television, nineteen countries ditched their national currencies in favour of the newly founded Euro, and the first Spider-Man film premiered in cinemas worldwide. Boris Johnson was better-known for his appearances on Have I Got News for You than being the Prime Minister and Tony Blair enjoyed a seventy percent approval rating. Quite a different time indeed.

Just as the world has undergone such profound change in this time, so too has our college. We moved to a beautiful new site in Durham City in 2018, in a transition I’m sure some of our readers will remember undertaking. We have new facilities, new members of staff, and new students who fill Stephenson Central over the weekend for a drink with friends. We have grown year on year, along with our sports teams and societies. We keep building on each success, whether that be in performing arts, music, volunteering, sport or within our JCR, MCR and growing SCR. Most importantly, we have retained our progressive outlook and always ensured we are a values-led College.

There’s a lot for us to be proud of, as members of this community, and we all deserve some recognition for the work we’ve put in over these twenty years. I hope that looking through 20 Years of Stephenson allows you to relive old memories, discover the past and present successes of our College, and look ahead to our (undoubtedly bright) future.

Pascal Johnstone Year 2, Accounting and Management Editor