FIFTEEN MINUTES
Volume XXXII, Issue XI
Editor's Note
The past year has been one of tumult, filled with determination and false starts; redoubled efforts and hesitation; tear- and joy- filled phone and Zoom calls filling the physical and emotional gaps of this pandemic — often many hours longer than would otherwise be necessary, but never long enough; shattering loss, and grief, and outrage at the violence so many are subjected to every day, the virus stripping bare inequities from police brutality to economic precarity to plain neglect; and, in the face of that subjugation, magical moments of outrage and movement and love. So for our final issue, we have selected the theme “falter” — and everything the term carries with it: To dream, and plan, and set out. To stop, be blocked, or get lost along the way. To lose or abandon hope; and recognizing that which is false. Leaning and providing support. Reflection: A change in directions, perhaps a circling back. And, when and if possible, to recover. Or, if preferable, to reimagine.
Why Was a Somerville First-Grader Accused of Sexual Assault?
In November 12, 2019, Flavia C. Peréa's six-year-old son was accused of sexual assault. The family has spent over a year trying to get his information out of state and municipal databases associating him with different forms of sexual assault. What, exactly, is going on?
A Form of Hesitation
What happens when the lost object speaks; when, given these material and psychic limitations, we do try to express our malaise? What forms exist to communicate and grapple with Asian Americans’ public and private racial grief and outrage?
The Rise and Fall of David Kane
The discovery of Kane’s involvement with the racist blog and the effect it had on students is indicative of the perils of allowing academic freedom to spill over into hate speech: On EphBlog, ‘Field’ would often make charts and graphs to legitimate his racist claims.
Twenty Minutes in My Empty Mind
Over the past year, during the months living in my childhood bedroom, I often found myself taking aimless drives – canyon, freeway, shortcut to nowhere – discovering and rediscovering my favorite music. It is the only place where a spontaneous two-hour drive feels less like a chore and more like a gift.
The Sky's the Limit for Asa Akira
Whether porn reflects existing racial stereotypes or creates a monster of its own is a classic chicken-or-the-egg question. Porn and racism, most likely, engender a mutually reinforcing cycle. But Akira’s individual responsibility within this cycle is, at most, ambiguous.
The Final Months of a Covid-Plagued Senior Year
I expected the first part of her answer. The point of this article was to chronicle a senior blocking group’s spoiled final year at Harvard. But what I found in my reporting was slightly more complicated.
The Big Blue Unknown
There is something captivating about the freedom of the clouds — the way in which they trust that they will somehow float wherever they need to go, if they need to be anywhere at all. They seemed so unlike me, someone always tempted to plan and prepare for the next semester of classes to take, activities to join, or careers to pursue.
Why Was a Somerville First-Grader Accused of Sexual Assault?
In November 12, 2019, Flavia C. Peréa's six-year-old son was accused of sexual assault. The family has spent over a year trying to get his information out of state and municipal databases associating him with different forms of sexual assault. What, exactly, is going on?
A Form of Hesitation
What happens when the lost object speaks; when, given these material and psychic limitations, we do try to express our malaise? What forms exist to communicate and grapple with Asian Americans’ public and private racial grief and outrage?
The Rise and Fall of David Kane
The discovery of Kane’s involvement with the racist blog and the effect it had on students is indicative of the perils of allowing academic freedom to spill over into hate speech: On EphBlog, ‘Field’ would often make charts and graphs to legitimate his racist claims.
Twenty Minutes in My Empty Mind
Over the past year, during the months living in my childhood bedroom, I often found myself taking aimless drives – canyon, freeway, shortcut to nowhere – discovering and rediscovering my favorite music. It is the only place where a spontaneous two-hour drive feels less like a chore and more like a gift.
The Sky's the Limit for Asa Akira
Whether porn reflects existing racial stereotypes or creates a monster of its own is a classic chicken-or-the-egg question. Porn and racism, most likely, engender a mutually reinforcing cycle. But Akira’s individual responsibility within this cycle is, at most, ambiguous.
The Final Months of a Covid-Plagued Senior Year
I expected the first part of her answer. The point of this article was to chronicle a senior blocking group’s spoiled final year at Harvard. But what I found in my reporting was slightly more complicated.
The Big Blue Unknown
There is something captivating about the freedom of the clouds — the way in which they trust that they will somehow float wherever they need to go, if they need to be anywhere at all. They seemed so unlike me, someone always tempted to plan and prepare for the next semester of classes to take, activities to join, or careers to pursue.
