Editor's Note

Dear FM, Vast, malignant forces were conspiring against this issue. Midterms. Sleep deprivation. Housing Day condemning many FM first-years to the river. But in the end, nothing — not even this week’s scrut writer suffering a concussion the weekend before publication — could stop us. In this week’s scrutiny, TCW goes searching for what happened to the arts in Cambridge. Artists used to define the city, but over the past years, rising rents and a changing city landscape have forced many artists to relocate and many art spaces — galleries, studios, and venues — to shut down. Though the city government is trying its best to preserve the culture, the few spaces still open are rarely paying market price. With vivid detail and colorful on-the-ground reporting, the article asks what would a sustainable arts culture look like in Cambridge, and who is going to pay for it? TCW persevered through so much to get this piece out into the world — from biotech sludge to editing by hand after her concussion — but her talent and dedication (along with a boatload of excellent editing from YAK) made the piece turn out brilliantly. In this week’s 15 Questions, AEP hears from Classics chair and incoming Eliot House dean David Elmer about oral traditions, The Iliad, and why he still hasn’t seen or read “Percy Jackson.” AGF gets the scoop on Eng-Sci 24, a class on food fermentation whose experimental student projects at one point led Berklee students to make yogurt-inspired music compositions. CJK and SIR visit a course on oral history, where they learn how to listen to silences in the archive and hear how students use the class’s methodology to document the stories of their communities. Who said history wasn’t practical? A trio of phenomenal profiles rounds out the issue — all with larger-than-life subjects. Sungjoo Yoon ’27, better known as the datamatch leaker, tells JBT, KJK, and AEP about his day of infamy on Sidechat, the book he’s writing, and his non-presidential political aspirations. Professor Gary King, who has founded six companies, written 9 books, and published over 170 scholarly articles, lets NHS in on the secret of how he simultaneously succeeds in industry and the academy — and leaves him with an idea for a startup. Finally, FM^2 (Fifteen Minutes x Folk & Myth) legend SWF falls into the orbit of Caroline Calloway, a former Instagram influencer who got even more famous for repeatedly scamming those around her. “The coin of her realm is attention,” and with a story this well-written, how could you not give her yours? We could not have made it to publication this week without so many wonderful people. Thanks to our AMEs CY and EJS for quick proofing, and especially to MJH for helping us handle the opps. Thank you LLL, BHP, XCZ, JND, OWZ, and all the rest of the multi and design folks for bringing our content to life. Thank you to YAK, whose quick wit, sharp words, and superb editing are undoubtedly aspirin for FM’s body politic. To JL, for being EAL-tastic. To KT, for inexplicably slaying when there’s no slaying involved. And to all the FM Execs, you are my favorites — I wish you the best spring break. FMLove, HD + KT