Dear Readers,

Welcome to The Quadrangle’s special issue for the semester:
The Social Justice Issue.
Our spring semester special issue was the social issue,
covering the social life, unique dynamics and relationships that
Jaspers have. Inspired by a summer of widespread activism and
the personal interests of our writers, we decided on the social
justice issue, covering another side of the unique dynamics and
experiences college communities have in relationship to others
and the world at large. This issue navigates Jaspers’ commitment
to community engagement, feminism, social justice in the arts,
racial justice and true equity at a particularly unique time in our
country’s history.
It is important to me that I note that this issue has been in the
works since our August brainstorming session and our writers
have been passionate about working together on this since we

conceived the idea. Their work is ever-brilliant and I am ever-
grateful for our talented production team.

In September, I finally watched NBC’s “The Good Place,” a
show that centers on questions of human ethics and morality. At
one point, one of the main characters, Chidi Anagonye, a moral
philosophy professor, argues, “We choose to be good because of
our bonds with other people and our innate desire to treat them
with dignity. Simply put, we are not in this alone.”
This quote has been bouncing around in my mind since I heard
it, and I think, in some way, that is what drives me as a journalist,
and drives my peers who worked on this issue. We are not in this
alone. In a time where people may feel isolated or divided, it is
important to remember that we are always acting in community.
In classes I have taken, I have listened to people arguing about
whether or not humans are inherently good or bad. I choose
to believe that people are inherently good, inherently inclined
to help others, inherently inclined to make each other better. I
believe that to be true, and seeing all of the great work Jaspers
are doing that have been covered in this issue, I have more hope
in that belief.
Go forth and do good, readers, and remember: we are not in
this alone.
Sincerely,

Editor-in-Chief

Gabriella DePinho