Dear Reader,

I am the editor of a campus newspaper, but ironically, I often dread reading the news. For the past two years, I’ve been keeping myself more updated about world news and global crises as part of the job description — and frankly, it’s been draining. Reading about the looming climate catastrophe or the unending humanitarian crises in conflict zones leaves me feeling frustrated and helpless. There are hundreds of thousands suffering around the world: in the streets of Gaza, where Israeli airstrikes indiscriminately target Palestinians; in Myanmar, where the military torture and kill pro-democracy protestors as the world watches; and in India, where the burning of funeral pyres are the only markers of lives lost to the pandemic. I am aware of these problems, but there is no clear and immediate way for me to help. Neither am I sure that what I am doing as a student — supposedly to prepare myself to be a productive member of society — will ever make a difference. 

There is a general sense of dread and resignation amongst the younger generation when it comes to the future. Growing up with a more connected world and with information literally at the tip of our fingertips, the world always seems on the brink of collapse. As we inch closer and closer to the point of no return in the climate crisis, many of the youth are experiencing “eco-anxiety” — a fear of an uncertain future or anxiety about the effect of extreme weather patterns on daily life. The pandemic has also exacerbated mental health problems especially among teenagers and young adults because of the radical changes to social life and future prospects. This generation is supposedly the hope of the future, but the youth are suffering from disillusionment and burnout. How do we save the future, when each day that passes complicates the problems that we hope to solve even more? 

The past year has been especially full of uncertainty and tragedy. It has revealed the inherent flaws in the status quo: ongoing issues of racism, understaffed medical centers with overworked health workers, and a lack of support systems for the most vulnerable. In this issue of The KAIST Herald, we explore the widening economic gap between developed and developing countries as we approach a post-COVID era in International. In Society, we talk about the struggles of the “COVID generation” and the secondary effects of the pandemic on college students unable to return to campus. 

But the worst part is, rather than this shared experience prompting us to fix the fractures in our society, the world seems to be desensitized to this year-long nightmare. After all, it is easier to close our eyes and shut off the world, to just close those tabs of depressing news reports. It is tiring to constantly see a stream of bad news, and even harder to have the energy to care about everything so deeply. Thinking about the future is scary — but maybe this fear is a good thing. As long as we do not let it overwhelm us, it gives us the motivation and the urgency to do better. 

Stringing together all of the catastrophes of the world in this letter may sound too pessimistic and doomsday-ish, but this is the state of our world now. We must do what we can now, no matter how small the action. Carry around reusable containers for the planet. Share that social media post to inform people about the atrocities halfway across the world. And most importantly, remember that the collection of people’s small actions are what end up changing the world. 

Jaymee Palma 

Editor-in-Chief