This issue of G&B has been the strangest complex of emotions. I feel like we’ve really hit our stride in this semester, but it’s bittersweet because there’s only one issue left to put under our belts.
For our spring issue, there seems to be a focus on current events, be it the political climate or current fashion trends. We’ve really stepped our game up when it comes to our fashion coverage, be it online or in print. Our style shoot, Full Spectrum, explores the shift in fashion toward androgynous style and the unlimited possibilities within it. Having the whole team in the studio was a great learning experience for all and really gave the style team a glimpse at how the professionals do it.
People always ask me what the mission of G&B is and what we try to accomplish with what we publish. Between “First 100,” my attempt at examining Trump’s uniqueness, and our other features, “Sorry, We’re Open” and “Mind Gravy,” I feel like G&B has become an outlet to understand the world around us, both local and national.
We were honored to be able to spotlight Nikky Finney, an award-winning poet and professor here at USC. Finney has always possessed such a valuable voice, one that is even more pertinent now. See what she has to say on page 8. Holly Heaton’s piece, “Souls of the Kitchen” on page 12, explores what makes another Columbia treasure, Il Giorgione, so magical.
G&B is always trying to fill its pages with the work of inspirational people. Between Finney and our newest Artist in Residence (page 40), Lauren Chapman, our pages are brimming with inspiration. Chapman’s work touches on female empowerment and commands so much attention in McMaster that it’s only fitting she shares the spotlight. Another welcome voice on the scene is Marcelo Andrés Pérez whose band, Paper Shoes, has resurfaced in the limelight after Perez’s hiatus in Hong Kong. See what makes his act such a standout in Scene & Heard by Erika Ryan on page 42.
It’s these standout acts and explorative stories that have helped shape G&B over the course of three issues. All that’s left is to see where the last issue takes us.
