Winsor Panel to Become Winsor Banner

This spring, after thoughtful discussion around the history and future of the student newspaper, Winsor students voted to usher in a new era and change the name of the publication from The Panel to The Banner. 

As documented by Dianne Healey in “Generous Minded Women,” The Panel was originally established in 1953 as the Belmont Hill school newspaper, named for the Belmont Hill tradition of seniors carving wooden panels that are displayed throughout the school after their graduation. 

The newspaper became a joint publication between Belmont Hill and Winsor in 1973 as a part of the Coordination Program between the two schools; however, the Editor-in-Chief continued to be a Belmont Hill senior until 1979, when a Winsor student became a co-editor. 

Given that Winsor students have no connection to the Belmont Hill senior panel tradition, Winsor senior and exiting Editor-in-Chief Teresa Lawlor ’19 helped lead the initiative to make a change. “We wanted to change the name of the newspaper in order to reflect the traditions and characteristics of our own community,” says Teresa. “Collaborating with BH students on joint issues is a valuable experience and will certainly continue, but we believe that it is time for Winsor’s school newspaper to have a name that represents how the publication has developed into its own entity over the past 46 years.”

From among several student-proposed names, the vote went to The Banner, named for the long-standing annual tradition of Class VI sewing a class banner for Class VIII that is displayed at Commencement, and again every five years when the class returns for their reunion.

In the June issue, distributed at Commencement, the newspaper’s new executive staff, Haley Kwon ’20, Editor-in-Chief, and Executive Editors Caitlin Smith ’21 and Crystal Yang ’20thanked the outgoing executive team for its vision and leadership. “You worked to make the Panel a more accurate representation of the Winsor community by initiating the process to change the publications’s name. This initiative demonstrated that you were not afraid to take risks this year when it came to bettering the newspaper,” adding in closing, “You have shown us why the Panel is a necessity in Winsor’s community, and we are thrilled to work in your legacy to uphold the precedent that you have set.”