Publishing & Editorial Direction, No. ❶
April/May, 2025
Brown Alumni Magazine
Special Issue: Meet Gen Z
Conceptualized and edited with Dana Richie, Rachel Kamphaus, and Megan Talikoff
Delivered and managed with Pippa Jack, Louise Sloan, Courtney Chen, Sheila Dillon, Lisa Sergi, Kerry Lachmann
WINNER OF THE 2025 EDDIE AWARDS —
ONE OF THE TOP NATIONAL AWARDS IN THE MAGAZINE BUSINESS
FROM the editors
In Our Own Words
Six in 10 U.S. companies have fired a recent college graduate they hired this year. We’re not surprised. We’re aware of the narrative about Gen Z. Entitled and coddled. Addicted to our phones. Obsessed with ourselves and our identities. Unwilling to read. Bad workers (for anti-capitalist reasons, of course).
Much of what has been written about us comes from those who stand outside of our experiences. But, like any generation, we cannot—and should not—be confined to an archetype. While we are the first true digital natives, we’re not all illiterate or lazy or radical. However, we do find ourselves coming of age in a rapidly changing and fractured world that we struggle to make sense of.
That’s why we bring you this issue.
For the first time, BAM was conceptualized, planned, and delivered by four graduating seniors. We’re behind the ideas, the stories, and the questions this issue asks. By providing a window into our world—the problems we care about, the uncertainty that grips us, and the entertaining ways we find joy—we hope to introduce you to Gen Z, on our terms.
While our concerns differ from those of generations before us, our stories are your stories, too. We are your children, your students, your colleagues. And our priorities—stay safe, promote justice—are age old.
Some topics we tackle in this issue may feel foreign. In one feature, we report on how Gen Z grapples with gender and gender fluidity—concepts that have been politicized in recent years and weaponized under the current presidential administration. By speaking to researchers and students in the Brown community and beyond, we show that new terms like nonbinary and gender fluid are not radically new ideas as much as new vocabulary to express old feelings. Additionally, we profile a number of social media “influencers”—people who share curated versions of their lives online. While public opinion often lingers on the (very real) dangers of social media and chronic digital engagement, the students we call “influencers” more often identify as “content creators,” public citizens who leverage their platforms to inform and build connections.
At the same time, our generation experiences familiar anxieties about life after Brown—recently dialed up to an extreme. As the cost of college and living rises, students stress about securing high-power internships earlier and earlier. Even high schoolers are flooding professors’ inboxes, scrambling for research opportunities. Is this race to the top destroying the liberal arts philosophy that Brown claims to stand for? We explore this in our feature on pre-professionalism.
Soon, the four of us will be abruptly thrust out of Brown’s storied gates. What comes next, as our generation grabs the reins? Our country is nose-diving into chaos at alarming speed. Will human rights still exist? Will we be employed? Will home ownership be possible? What will Brown’s campus look like when we visit? Will Providence be underwater? Is my resume any good? Do you happen to have any connections in the dying journalism industry?
Keep scrolling!
APPLICATION ESSAY
EDDIE AWARDS, FOLIO
This special issue isn’t just about Gen Z—it’s by Gen Z. It’s the first issue of an alumni magazine we know of that was conceived, planned, and executed by a team of students, bringing a fresh perspective directly from the generation it explores.
Our student editors take on the narratives that define and constrain their generation, tackling pre-professionalism, social media, gender, the environment, and race, and profiling emerging leaders.
“Meet Gen Z” illuminates the generation of students and alumni that is coming of age for the generations that preceded—and for themselves. What better way to meet our mission of connecting alumni to each other and to the campus?
In a climate marked by major publications treading lightly and the U.S. government banning certain words in federally funded documents, this special issue addresses hot topics head-on—fitting to Brown’s education mission of open inquiry and institutional value of free discourse.
One feature interrogates the idea that trans and gender-fluid identities are just a fleeting trend. Another takes a sharp look at the pre-professional hamster wheel, asking whether the internship rat race is steamrolling the liberal arts. The third dives into the influencer economy (or as they prefer, content creation), challenging the assumption that they’re all just chasing clout.
Other stories address the end of race-conscious admissions, the specter of environmental collapse, plus fun stuff like retro bands, party-planning, and horse-hair braiding.
Our interns felt strongly about retaining nuance and complexity, in each story and overall. We think they succeeded.
By letting Gen Z students and alums tell their story in their own words, we hope to spark meaningful and lively conversations among our readers, keeping BAM as relevant and engaging as ever. This special issue embodies what makes BAM, well, BAM—smart, bold, deeply reported, and just the right amount of irreverent.
SELECT ARTICLES
Influence
The Gender Q
Is Careerism Ruining College?
Why—And How—Should We Care?
Bite-Sized Climate Action
Don’t Read This
Saddle Up
Redefining ‘Retro’
AI’s Robin Hood
Reforming Probation
Fresh Ink
Mass Calendar Invites