Letter From the Editor

The headlines early on this semester have landed as a heavy emotional load. With Kavanaugh being confirmed to the US Supreme Court, with Bolosaro’s candidacy in Brazil, and with ice caps melting, it can be daunting to engage politically. I am having a physical reaction, and I’m more afraid to take risks, more suspicious of men. But I also feel a fiercer love and support for other women, a fiercer drive to build connection and warmth. Though we are a small publication, it is my hope that Hibou Magazine will continue to develop into a warm space for critical thinking and reflection. We are open to all AUP students who wish to confront fear and develop creative and active academic and personal lives.

During our second semester at AUP, Hibou Magazine will strive to build accountability, openness, warmth, academic personal growth, and community. We will combat the danger of monolithic thought, and cultivate the explosive power of an honest expression of the nuances at play in our amazing diverse environment. This is the goal of our writers. This is the goal of our initiative to work together with other student publications. This is the goal of our negotiations with the administration: to build a more comprehensive orientation education, more equity, and more accountability for complex cultural interaction. AUP publications are organizing to ensure there is space for all of us and to promote a healthy competition that will hold us all to a higher standard. Hibou Magazine takes the stance that engagement and criticism are acts of love. We send warm supportive wishes to our fellow students and look forward to building discourse with you this semester.