Volume 132, Number 1 (2021) Serotiny

Though referring more often to pinecones than to people, “serotiny” stands as an apt title for this year’s edition of The Purple. The word “serotiny” refers to the process by which some plants release their seeds not in response to their natural maturation but in response to an environmental trigger; in other, less technical, words: external circumstance controls the growth cycle of new life. This is what happens to us. We do not choose our hardships in life, our opportunities for growth. The pandemic, we must note, is something that we did not choose to happen, yet it has altered the life of every human being in the world—all 7.8 billion. When we are faced with this hardship and its existence, we have managed to create something beautiful from it. The art in this year’s edition of The Purple confirms such beauty, and now, we leave you with its pages.
Sincerely,
Griffin Gudaitis, Amber John, Christine McLaughlin