When we began working on our winter issue, I knew that I had three specific goals.
One: I wanted to prove that the fall issue wasn’t a fluke and that I hadn’t just lucked my way into a magazine. If this magazine managed to make it to your hands, I think that means we succeeded.
Two: we wanted to stop being afraid of addressing those topics that feel taboo, the topics that we were scared of not being smart or informed enough to tackle. Too often, students are afraid to provide their own voices to stand up for the injustices we see around us. Choosing to cover subjects that feel especially poignant politically, like DACA and queer visibility, is absolutely critical in understanding the new identity of the student — someone who is socially conscious, aware of ideas on a global scale and empathetic to those who have not been able to experience the same privileges we have. This year’s staff has been committed to the promotion of queer and minority voices, and these pages are a testament to that.
And three: that we could reflect on 2017 and understand how we grew as students, people and a community. I tasked my staff to address the world around them and dive into it with a critical eye, asking themselves, “Who am I and how do I fit here?” The articles encased in these pages are a critique and reflection of the things this year has forced us as a community to become more aware of.
Now more than ever, talking about race, class, gender and sexuality has come to the forefront of contemporary politics, as well as our education and social values. Dissecting that as students preparing to enter the so-called “real world” has never been more pertinent. These pages serve not only to provide you with our answers to these questions, but also to educate and inform in hopes that you will begin to form your own context. Looking ahead toward 2018, I am overwhelmed with excitement to continue to be able to bring these conversations to our students and beyond. As always, thank you for reading, and we’ll see you in the new year.
