Staff Writer- Melanie Perez Hernandez
Photo credits: Anyah Moffett
This year, the Women’s Action Coalition (WAC) has brought back The Heterodoxy, which is an online journal that publishes student submissions to their Substack for Gusties and the public to read. Sophomore Ella Rosenberg and Senior Lily-Ann Gabriel are the co-editors of The Heterodoxy, who run the journal by collecting submissions, designing and publishing the volumes monthly.
“Our mission is to provide an online collection of art, media, and writing to highlight women, queer, and allied voices on campus, therefore providing an opportunity for discussion around women and queer talent on campus,” Rosenberg said.
Submissions are highly encouraged and everyone is welcome to submit to The Heterodoxy via their Google form that can be found on The Heterodoxy Substack (@wacheterodoxy). Any form of art, media or writing that focuses on a social or personal issue can be submitted. People interested in submitting their work have the choice to stay anonymous or to be credited in the publication.
If this seems like something you’d be interested in, become a part of Gustavus history and submit what you’ve created.
“One of my favorite things about Gustavus is all the beautiful and creative people we have here on campus,” Rosenberg said.
Volumes are published monthly and the first volume since its return will be published mid-October. Even though volumes will be archived on Substack, the editors do not intend on ending The Heterodoxy tradition of printing the editions.
The Heterodoxy has actually been in Gustavus history for decades but had gone unnoticed until last year.
“The Heterodoxy was not even found in the WAC archives until last year by E-Board member Bronwyn Nuss! She spent a lot of time researching and going through WAC archives last year to get all the information we have about The Heterodoxy now, so big shout out to her!” Rosenberg said.
Another goal of theirs is to archive and catalog past volumes to maintain Gustavus history since it has been neglected for so long.
Women’s Action Coalition itself was founded in 1968 as a space to discuss lesbian feminism and The Heterodoxy was created in 1989 as a space to discuss women’s issues but evolved into a collection of student’s writing and art, according to the Library’s college archives. It was ongoing until 2011 when WAC discontinued because of lack of interest at the time, but was revived in 2020. Now, with Rosenberg and Gabriel’s collective effort, they have brought back The Heterodoxy to have an outlet for women, queer folks and allies alike and will add these works to the archive for generations to come.