By Winie Coulanges

Editor-in-Chief

Dear reader,

Another month has come and gone, and I’m still in my December headspace! Preparing for the first issue of the semester has thrown me into a loop—creative and reminiscent one that is. In a fit of motivation from my New Year’s resolution to be organized, I did a huge declutter of my room. While doing so, I came across an old American Apparel shirt-a brand that used to symbolize the peak of adolescence (and therefore, to my younger self, the essence of truly living). A couple of days later, in the office, while searching through our archive, I found an old copy of The Plant from  2007 that featured an ad parodying American Apparel commercials on the back cover. That night, while mindlessly scrolling on TikTok, it was brought to my attention that the “She looked so perfect standing there, in my American Apparel underwear” soundbite (courtesy of the Australian band 5 Seconds of Summer) was trending. Was this all a sign? Was there a secret meaning hidden in the throes of a bankrupted controversial brand that was meant for me? 

Following a deep dive on Google, I eventually came to understand that my curiosity stemmed from its brief stint of relevance. The brand was everywhere from Berlin to Tokyo. Then one day, it had massive fall from grace and now exists in a weird limbo—where it used to be cool, but will never be cool enough for a Depop reseller to post it on their feed with the caption : #coquette. I also learned that they used to have a location in my neighborhood, but now that space is a poissonnerie that I don’t care for. Compared to them, The Plant is doing great! We’ve been standing for 56 years and will continue to stand as long as students have a voice, write poetry, make art, and love sudokus. 

Reviewing each year of the paper gave me some insight into the climate of earlier eras, but still left me curious. How many clothing brands have come and gone since then? What about restaurants I never ate at, or parks I never strolled through? Music I never listened to or games I never played? School programs that used to exist and the ones that took their place? What was it like to attend Dawson in 2014, 2008, 1995 or 1979? What was it like going to Viger campus or typewriting assignments? Flipping through more and more copies, I felt nostalgia for a time I never lived in, but I also felt grateful to be part of the tradition of student journalism. Inspired, I asked the team to write their articles within the theme of Y2K: Past, Present and Future. I wanted to look inward into the ideas, moments, and inventions that once shaped—or are still shaping our current cultural zeitgeist, as well as at problems that seemed like the end of the world or viral moments, and imagine how they would play out in the 2020s. I was recently thinking about the white and gold or black and blue dress debacle. Would we still be as invested or would it only garner 3, 4, 5 likes on Instagram? Maybe the public interest would fizzle once it was revealed to be the result of artificial intelligence! What was the 1980s version of the Talking Tom conspiracy theory? Perhaps Alex from Target would have had a successful influencer career and joined a content house instead of being a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. It’s plausible that in 2025, following the VMAs, Britney Spears wouldn’t have faced backlash stemming from intense slutshaming but rather from animal cruelty allegations. Maybe PETA would’ve even had a viral tweet at her expense. With these questions and fantasies in mind, I hope you enjoy this issue and come out of it having learned a little bit or nailed the crossword—whatever floats your boat!

Love, 

Winie