This Spring,  Managing Editor Neelanjana Banerjee worked with 13 amazing students at UCLA in the Asian American Studies 104B: Asian American Publishing With Kaya Press class. In addition to learning about the Asian American publishing industry and the challenges that can occur, these students also were tasked to create and publish a zine all on their own. Students had to think of a concept, ask for submissions, edit said submissions, and then design and publish the final product. This is the first in a series of posts sharing these publications. 

In this first installment of these zines, we focus on a major event happening right now: quarantine. How are individuals coping with quarantine? What aspects of their lives were changed by the sudden isolation or upheaval of their day-to-day lives? How are they handling being stuck with family members? These zines hope to answer these questions and show the impact of the pandemic on different communities and individuals.

Queerantine: Stories From The UCLA LGBTQ+ Community by Cele Ramirez, Maili Hamamoto, and Jacqueline Nguyen focuses on how LGBTQ+ Asian American and Pacific Islander UCLA students are handling the pandemic and showing how they’re remaining connected during this time.

The Displaced Workplace by Edwin Zhou takes a close look at how people’s workspaces have changed as people were forced to work from home or their rooms. 

The Tiger Balm Project by Curtis Wong examines Asian American individuals and their families and the issues that arise as they persevere through quarantine together. 

KÓKKi: The 2020 No One Expected by Ken Pitts explores the pandemic outside of the United States and gives a voice to those who were affected by it worldwide and the impacts that COVID-19 has had on their homes and communities.

Stay tuned for more!