“So when I speak, / Understand there is power behind my words / I suggest you heed them / My voice is NOT meek.” This quote from student Kimberly Adolphine’s poem “Interlingual”  sums up this 20th volume of City Tech Writer, the school’s journal of outstanding writing from all disciplines, our students invite you to teleport through a constellation of realms. Since this journal’s inception in 2006, CTW has showcased the student body’s explorations of sub-microscopic atoms, vast stretches of geographical distance, the journey that various minorities have taken towards better futures, and above all, the ways that language itself serves as an endless source of power, wisdom, surprises, and delight. This fourth edition of CTW’s online edition is a little different, amplifying students whose voices resound with joy, fear, longing, rage – and above all, the determination to speak change into existence.

This year’s cornucopia of words finds its emblem in the header design, by student artist and writer Christine Retirado. In her artist’s statement about the design, Christine says, “I envisioned writing as more than putting words to paper (or screen), but as a state of flow that does not stop until everything is said and/or conveyed exactly as the writer envisioned it. I am saying this as both a writer and artist contributing to this publication.” CTW aspires to a similar kind of “state of flow” of words and images. As with previous years, this issue incorporates video learning aids, intended for classroom use, to accompany particular pieces. Meanwhile, those with accessibility needs will benefit from alt text, as well as audio versions of student entries, throughout.  

By inviting a wide array of abilities and learning styles to this site, CTW seeks to display the “inclusion, respect, and open-mindedness” championed in the school’s mission statement. The volume’s numerous pieces by immigrants and international students reminds us that some, more than others, must now insist on their rightful claim to those values. Amidst attacks on the flourishing of the city’s immigrant community, CTW intentionally sought the perspectives of those from various countries of origin. This serves as the first stage of a project that will take shape, in earnest, over the next year: City of Ice, a “spin off” of City Tech Writer that will offer a safe space for those of varying citizenship statuses to discuss life amidst this era’s turbulence. 

The twentieth anniversary of City Tech Writer also proudly highlights students’ celebration of another, even weightier milestone: the fiftieth anniversary of hip hop, which African American Studies observed during the 2023-2024 academic year. (One should add the obligatory note that, of course, the hallowing of DJ Kool Herc’s 1973 turntable set may not literally mark the genre’s genesis.) In honor of this occasion, students have offered poems and plays that seek to capture the philosophical and sonic hallmarks of hip hop’s fifty year evolution. We’re particularly excited to present a video accompanying Journey Ford’s “Beyond The Sunken Place,” which offers a kind of visual soundtrack to Journey’s gripping poem.

We’d be remiss not to thank the many professors who nominated student work, as well as President Russell Hotzler, Provost Pamela Brown, Dean Justin Vazquez-Poritz, and English Department Chair Suzanne Miller for their ongoing support. Professor Peter Fikaris, who sponsored Christine’s cover design; Shelly Smith, as well as everyone in Faculty Commons, for their unflagging support of the journal; former editors Megan Behrent, and George Guida. 

Finally, a tip of the hat to our esteemed founding editor, Professor Jane Mushabac, to whom we owe the idea of a college wide journal serving all students and bringing together all their various forms of expression. Twenty years later, we are in her debt. 

Most of all, we want to thank the students who submitted work this year. Your words have power. Keep them coming!