Dear Reader, 

I have always loved words and appreciated the power they hold. When I was younger, I’d look for invented words that capture the elusive feelings of fleeting moments — sonder, for the realization that every person you pass has a life as complex as your own; onism, the awareness that you’re experiencing just a minute fraction of the world; silience, for the unnoticed excellence of the people around you. I was, and still am, amazed by the wealth of meaning from stringing together a few letters, and the nuance that a single change can bring. Perhaps this is why I joined Herald in the first place, and why I accepted this role as Editor-in-Chief. 

There are times, though, that it feels like the efforts we put on this paper are in vain. Nobody reads them anyway, we bitterly tell ourselves on editing weekend. And this sentiment rings true — KAIST student newspapers have always suffered from a lack of readership. Whether from a lack of interesting or relatable topics or just a general lack of interest, we can never quite figure out. But this month, I’ve come to realize the true impact that the words in this newspaper have. 

This issue of the Herald is my favorite one so far. It features the 50 years of KAIST, with interviews from people who have seen the university grow through the years — from a barren campus in the 1990s to the campus that we live in today. We interviewed the new KAIST president to learn more about his proposed initiatives. We also talked to the two sole developers of KLMS and explored the challenges they face behind-the-scenes. In Society and International, wider issues in Korea and abroad are discussed, from the recent bullying scandals in the entertainment industry to the challenges of COVID vaccine distribution. 

In the making of the Feature page (p. 8-9), we went through the archives and dug up the old issues of Herald, from 1997 to today. The news and articles contained within those pages are a lens through which we can view the past. It was interesting and peculiar to read about how KAIST has changed, and the challenges that older generations of KAISTians had to face as KAIST was changing. There were student protests in the time of former president Robert Laughlin as he tried to enforce privatization and establish KAIST law and medical schools. Student activism continued until the 2010s, when former president Nam Pyo Suh enforced 100% English lectures and raised the GPA requirement for scholarship to 3.3. It was amazing to clearly see how student voices led to policy reevaluation and changes in KAIST, and how those changes affect us today. 

But even though KAIST has changed in many aspects, there are some things that have persisted through the decades. In 1998, students stood guard at West Gate to prevent it from being torn down — evidently, it was and still is one of the most important fixtures of KAIST life. There were also deeper problems: the debate about English classes and value of globalization, the overload of academic stress, and the editors’ letters containing pleas for more student engagement. 

In reading the old Herald newspapers, I was able to see the importance of student journalism in a new light. The words that we write preserve a particular moment in history, no matter how small. Even the hastily written articles (such as this letter) capture a specific feeling that otherwise could have been lost and unremembered. Most importantly, these papers show us how far KAIST has come, and how far it still has to go. 

Going through old issues of the Herald makes me wonder what future generations will think of the papers we publish now. Perhaps, if nothing else, it will be for them that I dedicate my efforts in each Herald issue. 

Jaymee Palma

Editor-in-Chief