Photo by Daniel Caso
Dear Reader,
It is the responsibility of all members of any society to be informed. We must make it a priority to ask questions and educate ourselves when it comes to issues of law and order, government, economics, international relations, and civil liberties. We must be willing to ask the hard questions of others — and of ourselves. The answers we find might be difficult to understand and conflict with what we feel, but that does not mean they are wrong.
During one’s college experience, more than any other time, we are encouraged to think for ourselves. Aristotle said, “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
For most of us, our time at Pepperdine will come and go in only a few short years. Then, at some point, we will move on to become members of whatever new community we choose. The better we educate ourselves while we’re here, the better we will prepare ourselves for what comes next. But education isn’t just solely about attending classes and taking exams — it is also about being informed about the world in which we live.
I believe that the majority of us are here because we understand the value of an education and, after we leave here, hope to make a contribution to society in one way or another. As Nelson Mandela said, “No country can really develop unless its citizens are educated.”
What I hope to accomplish with this special edition is to provoke discussion and facilitate the development of informed opinions. For that reason, I included topics worthy of such discussion and that are societally relevant to all, such as police violence, Brexit, the 2016 election and Title IX. That being said, this special edition is by no means an all-encompassing list of our nation’s biggest issues. This does, however, present some of the most pressing issues facing our generation.
Lastly, I need to thank everyone who worked to make this idea a reality. Thank you to my advisers for trusting me with this project. Thank you to my assistant editor for your enthusiasm from the very beginning. Thank you to everyone else who contributed to the creation of this publication, and thank you for reading it.
Sincerely,
Alec McPike, Editor-in-Chief
_________________
Follow Alec McPike on Twitter: @alecmcpike
