Hello Everyone! Welcome to the very first issue of Plato’s Response. We’ve got plenty to show you here, but first a word from our senior editor.

Writing is one of the most powerful tools of social activism, used innumerable times throughout history to break free of conformity and to stand up to oppressive forces. Unfortunately, individuality is still under constant attack; whether from the pressures to follow convention, or by ongoing forces that aim to reduce our ability to speak out against injustice. Language is our greatest strength in social transformation, and writing its most powerful medium.

Keeping that in mind, our first issue is about breaking the norms. There were no requirements for submission beyond our interpretation of the student handbook. We refused to restrict the expression of our students, and we encouraged voices from everyone. Some of our writers engaged in the uncomfortably vast art of poetry for the first time. Others tried new mediums that they had previously shied away from. Many writers showed us themes and topics that forced us to take time and contemplate.

This is why writing is the great hand that pulls the strings of social change. Satires like A Modest Proposal sway people just as much as propaganda campaigns like ‘Torches for Freedom.’ As you unravel your brain onto the pages, make sure you are sending a noble message. One that lifts people up, motivates progress, and creates powerful emotions. 

As you read this issue, take the time to feel. Joy, anger, love, anguish, longing, anticipation, fear, power, all of these have their value. Please use the full palette of your emotions to paint a new image, just as our writers have done with ink. Craft your own story, and change the world with it. Perhaps most of all, enjoy.

Jordan Heaviland, Editor in Chief

And, finally, dear reader, we have some thanks to give:

Thanks to Dr. Joshua Myers and Dr. Phillip Lobo, for their initiative and for lending their wisdom to all of us. Thanks to the staff writers who devoted extra time to building a community for the journal, and thanks to readers and writers from the Academy. You all are the reason we exist.

Lots of love,

The Plato’s Response Editors

Art by Bailee Colette