Dear reader,
What is space? From finding safe spaces, to taking up space in the world and society, and even to considering the ethics of space exploration, we are always inhabiting space and space is always affecting us. It reflects us, curates us, harms us, and accommodates us—just as we do to it.
Our fall magazine contains 12 pieces, each concerned with aspects of an intangible and nebulous concept: space. We have pieces that range from Tamara Frooman’s personal essay on emotional geographies to James Newell’s found poem, which utilizes dialogue from the TV show, Star Trek. We have reflections on safe spaces on campus, living as a woman of colour in an “inclusive” community that is unwelcoming to you, and taking up bodily space in a world that demands smallness and able-bodiedness.
A special thanks to my fantastic team for offering their time, expertise, and care to ensure that our magazine is the absolute best that it can be. Thank you to Keith for your hours in the office, your patience, and for being calm while I freak out over page count. Thank you to Hadiyyah for editing all our pieces with love and enthusiasm. Thank you to Leo for your sharp editing, emotional support, and for telling me “yeah we can do that” even when I make the most ridiculous suggestions. Thank you to Amy and Ilya for providing most of the wonderful visuals in our magazine—it truly would not be the work of art that it is without you. And, of course, thank you to our wonderful contributors, artists, photographers, and the rest of The Strand’s masthead for their support and passion over the last month.
I hope you enjoy our first magazine of the year.
Peace, love, and everything else,
Rebecca Gao
Editor-in-Chief
Table of Contents
Safe passage by Tamara Frooman
Anger by Beck Siegal
The ethics of space exploration by Tara Costello
The politics of space by Vibhuti Kacholia
Taking up space by Meg Jianing Zhang
Faith, or lack thereof by Gillian Chapman
Our own safer spaces by Sai Lian Macikunas
microcosmos by Khadija Alam
Exiting the shadowland, envisioning utopia by Dhvani Ramanujam
Spring cleaning my sorrow by Latisha Lobban
Boldly go by James Newell
Pain, unseen by Ellen Grace
Art by Amy Jiao
