When second-year Madi Markham got an assignment in Dr. Clarkson’s “Sexual Politics” class to create a public service announcement about navigating relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic, most of her classmates started planning videos. Markham felt inspired to create her project in an alternative medium: a zine. 

“The topic I wanted to focus on was being okay being alone because I feel like we aren’t talking about that enough right now,” Markham explained. “That’s kind of the reason why people are breaking social distancing right now, because they’re not able to sit with themselves—especially in a really rough time like this when we’re dealing with so many emotions and grief.” 

Dr. Clarkson paired Markham with first-year Belle Origlio and they set out soliciting contributions on the forum, creating their own artwork and compiling resources on the theme of cultivating hope and being okay with alone time. 

Markham and Origlio have published the zine on an online platform that simulates a tactile magazine, but they hope to distribute a printed version on-campus in the coming weeks. 

“I think it would be really cool to have physical copies, but even if not, still having it online is a good resource,” Origlio said. 

The pair collected anonymous submissions from students on what is bringing them hope. Responses ranged from simple sentences about cooking with roommates to an ode to the moon. 

“Hopefully it can be hopeful [for] students,” Markham said. “I hope that people are going to take something from it that helps them get through right now.”