From the Yale–Harvard protest to the coronavirus pandemic, the last academic year was among the most notable in Yale’s long history. Commencement was canceled. Bulldog Days moved online. We hope that this “spissue” — a “special issue” of the Yale Daily News — helps you learn more about New Haven, the University and its students before you begin your Bright College Years.

Unlike typical YDN issues, the articles in this “spissue” are written entirely by the rising sophomore class, and are edited primarily by the rising juniors. This is a learning experience on every level: Former first-years get the opportunity to write about the biggest stories of the year, and the former sophomores — who will soon be editors themselves — can try out editing. The YDN is proud to present its First-Year Issue!

No matter what happens this fall, we hope that you consider joining the YDN. From opinion pieces to science writing to data analysis, there’s a place for everyone at the oldest college daily. If you are interested, please reach out to anyone you see here, or email sammy.westfall@yale.edu.

The following editors contributed to putting together this issue.

A-Section
Jose Davila IV
Matthew Kristoffersen
Alayna Lee
Phoebe Liu
Meera Shoaib
Charlotte Zimmer

Sports
William McCormack

Opinion
Rabhya Mehrotra

WKND
Elizabeth Hopkinson
Zoe Larkin
Phoebe Liu

P&D
Zully Arias
Isabella Huang

Tech
Julia Burgiel
Yaa Owusu

Photo
Zoe Berg
Lukas Flippo
Amay Tewari

Copy
Erin Bailey
Ako Ndefo-Haven
Hailey O’Connor
Natalie Simpson

Illustrations
Dora Guo
Sophie Henry

YTV
Sevi Burget-Foster
Natalie Kainz
Maya Weldon-Lagrimas