Dear Reader,
Welcome to Frank 9. This issue was created to reflect a sentiment that we referred to many times throughout the process: Let's be Frank. (Pun intended.)
When the team for Frank 9 came together, there was a collective desire to show our realities and truths to the world. We pitched around 40 stories, which were examined, contemplated and discussed until we narrowed that number down to the eight that made it to this website. And while these stories all show very different things, they reflect our unflinching honesty about ourselves and the world around us.
But don't let that fool you into thinking we aren't a spirited, boisterous group of college students, because we are. Our meetings and interactions, throughout the entire process of creating this issue of Frank, were full of support, collaboration, and investment in the project, all of it genuine. We encouraged each other's work on hard-hitting topics like loss and abuse, and half of us worked together to bring you a guide to sustainability in the home. We all gave each other feedback to make this issue the best it could be, putting in countless hours and immeasurable energy.
Even when COVID-19 reached the United States, Columbia was forced to close the campus to protect its students and faculty, and the Frank team scattered—most within the greater Chicago area, while Grace and Julia returned to the East Coast—that energy was not lost. Photoshoots were cancelled and reimagined, interviews were conducted over phone or email, and team members met on Zoom, but the goal with this issue remained the same. That honesty is still intact, and we're also sharing how we're handling stay-at-home orders, boredom, and all the other things that come with being an artist and human during this time.
Making this issue of Frank did not come without its challenges. But in the end, we created something that shows some of the truths we know to the world at large, and we are proud of that. We hope you enjoy reading this as much as we enjoyed creating it for you.