editor's note
Dearest hb reader,
So, just between the two of us, how did you end up with this issue of hardboiled anyways? Was it that ridiculously persistent girl on Sproul shouting, “Why don’t you care about Asian American issues?!?” (Sorry about that). Or was it that friend who does all of those “Asian things” on campus who passed it on to you? Well, the fact of the matter is that I could care less if you’re a big shot Asian Pacific Islander community organizer or just someone who hasn’t yet mastered the skill of Sproul avoidance (iPod headphones in and eyes averted while incomprehensibly muttering to self). What matters is that you’re sitting here with an open mind, willing to peruse a newsmagazine about real issues that affect our world.
I first heard about hb as a dorky freshman, eager to grab any opportunity to hone my journalism skills. One year and three huge changes in my major/career track later, I am now a dorky sophomore who no longer intends to pursue a media-related career. Yet I’m still utterly in love with this publication. Why? After writing a series of articles for hb, I realized that it wasn’t so much the writing that got me fired up; it was the issues. It was the issues that I don’t find, and probably won’t ever find, on the cover of mainstream newspapers. It is the story angles that forced me to think critically about what a policy or international event meant to me and my community. hb is the first publication that I’ve been exposed to that rejected the “objective” stance and wasn’t afraid to be bold and embrace opinions rather than mask them with pseudo- impartiality.
My wish for you is that hb will sneak up on you just like it did to me. Who knows, maybe an article about injustice against ethnic minorities in China or the plight of North Koreans will get you riled up enough to do something about it. Call me idealistic, but I’m a firm believer in accidental activism.
Here’s to hoping,
Cecilia Story Editor
comic
