Honor Society Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies to publish annual magazine on controversial topics in response to Senate Bill 1

The Department of Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies on Sept. 18. Credit: Daniel Bush | Campus Photo Editor

The honor society in the Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies is centering its annual zine around “controversial topics,” following the passage of Senate Bill 1. 

Triota’s annual zine is a mini-magazine that showcases student talent, featuring submitted written pieces like poems and essays to drawings and photography on a specific theme, said Sophie Chu, a fourth-year in industrial design and women’s, gender and sexuality studies, and Triota’s treasurer.

The theme was chosen in response to the passage of SB 1, Chu said. 

SB 1 is a bill that banned diversity, equity and inclusion programming in universities and faculty striking, per prior Lantern reporting. SB 1 was passed in late March, approximately a month before the end of the spring semester.

“It’s just been on the mind of everybody,” Chu said. “We didn’t really get a chance to really talk about what happened, since we all left school for the summer.”

Bhada Han, a fourth-year in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies and English, and Triota’s president, said that there is a growing interest in how SB 1 will impact the future of the department.

“These are very scary times for the humanities, especially for the fields that are already visibly marked as marginalized,” Han said.

Chu said that because the zine is a student-led project, there are no concerns about SB 1’s restrictions.

“This is a student magazine,” Chu said. “It doesn’t really have anything to do with how SB 1 is limiting what professors can talk about in the classrooms.”

Triota has been publishing zines for years, focusing on heavy themes, including “bodies” and “imaging feminist futures,” Han said. 

“It’s always good to hear other people’s opinions and perspectives on what’s going on in life,” Chu said.

The zine is expected to be published before the end of the upcoming spring semester, Chu said.

“I hope that people, whether that’s other students or educators, or regular faculty and staff, get the fact that we are not giving up just because SB 1 has passed,” Chu said.

Submissions for the zine are due March 17. To view past zines, visit the department’s website.