By Seoyeon Claudia Kim ‘28 • Dec 5, 2025 History is too often written from the perspective of the victors whose national narratives ignore the suffering of victims. Viet Thanh Nguyen’s story begins where those two emotions meet - in the uneasy space between Vietnamese and American, between being remembered and being forgotten. He argues that identity is something shaped and nurtured rather than something intrinsic. Nguyen addresses his identity as a Vietnamese American and

By Seoyeon “Claudia” Kim '28 • Nov 18, 2025 Tis Grammy nomination season, when social media pages are overcrowded with news and predictions of nominees for sundry genres of music. Among the many categories, w hat caught my sight were the nominees for the “Album of the Year”. “Album of the Year” has great value as one of the most prestigious awards in the Grammy Awards, selected by the panel of judges that reside in authoritative positions of the industry. Although I am no cri

Ian Kim '27 • Nov 10, 2025 In many areas of life, competition is seen as a motivator for success. However, when success depends on the failures of others, competition can quickly turn into something destructive. Instead of building community or improving well-being, competition often creates anxiety, resentment, and a fear of falling behind. These effects are visible in both literature and historical events , where the drive to out do others leads to harm rather than individ

By Minsung Kim ‘26 • Nov 10, 2025 Every election season, Americans brace themselves for the same storm. The air fills with political ads, the debates turn hostile, and families tiptoe around dinner conversations. It’s easy to blame “partisan politics,” but polarization runs deeper than campaign slogans or Twitter threads. It’s embedded in the way we vote. Most U.S. states use what’s called a first-past-the-post (FPTP) system. On the surface, it sounds fair—whoever gets the mo

Seoyeon Claudia Kim '28 • Oct 24, 2025 In remembrance of the seventh anniversary of Mac Miller’s death, I would like to pay tribute by understanding who he truly was: not only as a musician, but also as a soul who transcended through art. Through the medium of analyzing the past works of Miller, I’d like to fathom Malcolm James McCormick. K.I.D.S His fifth mixtape “K.I.D.S”, is one of Miller’s most colorful and playful works. It is also what brought Miller his international

Ian Kim '27 • Oct 1, 2025 The global economy is shifting towards a fragmented structure where nations tightly align with one of three blocs: China, the European Union, or the United States. This tripolar framework has more severe consequences than the U.S.-China divide, since economic ties weaken across all three blocs simultaneously. In the downside bipolar case, global GDP could contract by 5.5%, but under tripolar fragmentation, the potential loss rises to 8.4%. China ha