Kaleidoscope Alumni Network – what’s in our name? Everything
Catherine Dunford (BSc 2007, PhD 2012) is the Alumni Relations and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Engagement Coordinator. Here, she reflects on the foundation of the Kaleidoscope Alumni Network, from the vision to the name and beyond.
In Spring 2022, with the aim of finding a single word that might capture the essence of this new community, members of the Alumni Relations team at St Andrews tried their hands at word association. Together, we searched the deep recesses of our minds to come up with something meaningful to represent the network we sought to establish. The eureka moment arrived – courtesy of Elaine Cartwright, Alumni Relations Manager – who suggested ‘kaleidoscope’ and, soon after, the butterfly motif on discovering that a group of butterflies is referred to as kaleidoscope. We thought of all the ways in which the instrument allows things to change and be seen from different perspectives, and how that aligned with the activity and aims of the alumni network we were – and still are – building and decided it was the perfect fit.
Many of us went through a scope phase as children; brandishing imaginary cardboard tube telescopes and kaleidoscopes (or even the real version) as we played adventurers, pirates and sailors. To this day, some of us are still in a scope phase; our telescopes capturing the images and signatures of the outer universe and other scopes venturing into the internal universe of our bodies or the world in minute detail under a microscope lens. All visual tools bringing joy and wonder to the way we explore, understand and develop our individual and collective sense of being Self and Other.
The kaleidoscope is an instrument of joy and has a special connection to the University of St Andrews. Sir David Brewster (1781-1868), Principal of the University’s United College (1838-1859) invented both the kaleidoscope and lenticular stereoscope and gave his name to ‘Brewster’s Law’ – the angle at which light reflected from a surface is totally plane polarised. Comprising mirrors and coloured glass pieces, the kaleidoscope captivates viewers by creating symmetrical and ever-changing images through the reflection and refraction of light. The kaleidoscope’s enduring appeal lies in its ability to merge knowledge and curiosity with aesthetics, and it continues to captivate with its mesmerizing and intricate visual displays.
The word kaleidoscope comes from the Greek kalos ‘beautiful’, eidos ‘form’ and skopós ‘watcher’, and it is by happy coincidence that it is also the collective noun for a group of butterflies, who for millennia have been recognised as symbols of transformation and hope, the human soul, its journey and the afterlife.
Individual cultures emphasise certain aspects of these linked themes. In some cultures, the focus is on the beauty and inevitability of change; when change is accepted as part of the natural order of things this brings greater freedom and expression. Other cultures emphasise the spirit or the soul, the link between this life and the next, by celebrating joy and resurgence through metamorphosis of caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly. Across the spectrum, butterflies are symbols of transformation and positive change. The well-known ‘Butterfly Effect’ captures in words the idea that one small occurrence can have a multiplied and significant impact on a larger complex system. By choosing a butterfly as the network’s motif, we are drawing a direct comparison with the familiar trajectory of the student through higher education and our ability to collectively make changes that can ultimately influence society for the greater good.
Leo Mewse, Senior Graphic Designer at the University, took the wings of our butterfly motif and passed them through a digital kaleidoscope filter to arrive at the three variations of branding for the network that you will see on emails, bookmarks, banners, and indeed our new KAN newsletter. The use and combination of the kaleidoscope and the butterfly is a fitting metaphor for the many different and complex perspectives of our alumni community’s combined cultural and lived experiences. The kaleidoscope is a lens through which we can continue to view the tangible external world but even more so, our internal mindscape of words, memories and experiences – the butterfly.
“Through a kaleidoscopic lens, one that is collective and personal, and influenced by our shared connection to the University, we can see and – using our agency – change form, patterns and relationships.”
The last few years have given us many reasons to pause and reflect. We’ve all been thinking about belonging and what it means to belong individually and collectively. We are thinking about togetherness in a new way through the Kaleidoscope Alumni Network; through the lens of social justice and hope, seeing the potential for building bridges and learning from one another.
When we arrive at St Andrews and matriculate, as future alumni, we bring with us our lived experiences of culture in all their complexity along with the desire to contribute these to our new home away from home. When we leave the East Neuk of Fife, we continue to be a part of our global University of St Andrews community. With this network, built by us for us all, we are going to stay connected so that we can continue to celebrate the significant contributions we make to creating, growing and changing society.