Letter from the Editor

Dear Reader,

The key to writing a punchy editor’s note is addressing the same reliable fact that eases small talk with an enemy or a stranger: we live in a weird time. Recently, I’ve found the only solace in our noisy political landscape is the shared understanding that our world is a little fucked up. I feel this “weirdness” hanging over my generation like a child’s mobile hangs above a crib: comforting and just out of reach. When I accepted the position as Editor-in-Chief of The Catalyst last spring, I had no idea where I’d take the magazine, or if I’d even successfully print the pages you now hold in your hands. However, when our 2024 Spring Launch opened with the reading of a raunchy piece about nipples and hair loss, my mission as incoming EIC became clear to me: Make “T he Catalyst” weird. Come fall quarter, and the problem was, I wasn’t entirely sure how to instruct students, or even myself, of how to achieve this goal. As the quarter progressed, I found myself using “weird” interchangeably with “honest,” urging students to invite absurdity into the very real stories of fear and obsession from their lives. I’ve grown to admire how the truth lies shamelessly in the cracks of fiction. Fiction allows us to better understand our own world by inhabiting a new one, by becoming agents in the story. I hope this magazine inspires you to be a little weirder today. Admire your cluttered bedroom, befriend a bug, fall down and don’t stand back up, tell someone you love them, tell the truth. I hope that you find this magazine weird and I hope that you love it.

Ali Korahais
Editor-in-Chief

† Content Warning: Please be advised that some of the material in the magazine may be disturbing or traumatizing to some readers. The magazine contains language and addresses themes that may not be suitable for young readers. We would like to provide our readers of the UCSB community with additional resources:

  • Campus Advocacy Resources & Education (CARE): (805) 893-4613
  • Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS): (805) 893-4411

Poetry

Prose

The Team

Editor in Chief

  • Ali Korahais

Managing Editor

  • Adam Griffin

Literature Editors

  • Natalie Riley
  • Claire Trask

Design Editor

  • Amanda Lerma

Editorial Team

  • Isis Castañeda
  • Adam DeMars
  • Ashley Evans

Faculty Advisors

  • Olivia Bievenue
  • Brian Donnelly

Writers

  • Kaia Boyer
  • Liv Brebes
  • Isis Castañeda
  • Akela Craig
  • Ashley Evans
  • Eleanor Feighery
  • Ruby Galuszka
  • Zewen Gao
  • Andrea Gaona
  • Jeovany Tzilin Gomez
  • Jocelyn Gomez
  • Adam Griffin
  • Rewind Hamilton
  • Srijita Karmakar
  • Allison Korahais
  • Charlotte Landon
  • Kate Lewis
  • Lauren Ludwick
  • Ella McKhann
  • Leslie Mills
  • Kellen Nguyen
  • June Padera
  • Jakob Post
  • Natalie Riley
  • Simone Rotman
  • Lucy Rothbardt
  • Amanda Rossiter
  • Margo Salmonson
  • Matteo Shahar
  • Danielle Shin
  • Milena Seymour
  • Miles Trachtenberg
  • Claire Trask
  • Melayah Terrell
  • Emily Yoon

Artists

  • Sarah Baldwin
  • Olivia Bievenue
  • Liv Brebes
  • Akela Craig
  • Ashley Evans
  • Eleanor Feighery
  • Ruby Galuszka
  • Jocelyn Gomez
  • Adam Griffin
  • Ali Korahais
  • Amanda Lerma
  • Ella McKhann
  • Madeline Miller
  • Leslie Mills
  • Ingrid Murphy
  • Emily O’Brien
  • Ashley Reckers
  • Natalie Riley
  • Amanda Rossiter
  • Margo Salmonson
  • Niam Schade
  • Milena Seymour
  • Julia Shepherd
  • Danielle Shin
  • Beau Strickland
  • Miles Trachtenberg
  • Claire Trask