Well, this is it: the final regular Basement Medicine issue of the spring 2017 semester.

 
For a first semester as editor, it’s been pretty great. I could hardly have asked for a better staff — though we be but little, we are fierce, to paraphrase Shakespeare. This great news machine has run smoothly, and it’s been a joy to work alongside such wonderfully sassy people. Thank you all so much for your dedication and hard work, and happy graduation to Mary and Emily. Good luck, guys!

 
The end of a year is always a bittersweet experience for me. Tortuous classes end, but so do the really good ones. People part ways, some not to return. But with the summer comes the free time to once again do things like read books, go hiking and pursue creative passion projects.

 
Last semester ended in political upheaval, with a lot of people speaking out against the election results and promising to be more active. As the year has worn on, I’ve felt the tone change — incredulous outrage has become sarcastic annoyance, as each new gaffe from Trump’s administration brings a new slew of jokes.

 
I completely understand turning to humor during dark times — in fact, it’s my favorite form of coping mechanism and I think satire holds enormous power for social change — but sometimes, it feels a lot like we’re accepting our fate and making ourselves feel better by dropping the occasional pithy remark about Trump’s tiny hands.

 
Even as I type this, I recognize that I am as guilty of this of anyone. It can be difficult to find room in a busy college schedule to focus on anything extracurricular, and even if you manage to find the time, you may not have mental room for the stress of it. That’s okay.

 
But summer is almost here. Classes are almost over. Free time is on the horizon for many of us.
This can be your time to act.

 
Not everyone has the ability to go to D.C. and stand outside the White House (or, more effectively perhaps, go to Florida and stand outside of Mar-a-Lago), but there are other ways to make change that might be even more effective. Make satirical art, start a blog, donate to or volunteer for the organizations that do something you care about (and might be at risk of disappearing from lack of funding), start a petition, write to a legislator, take a moment to Google “Can a president and vice president be impeached
together?” The possibilities are nigh on endless.

 
Okay, maybe that last one isn’t so much of an action, but the answer is “yes” if you were wondering. Next search: “Who can impeach the president and how do I contact them?”

 
Summer is a time for fun and relaxation, but it’s also a time for change. Even if you don’t feel strongly enough about the political climate to spend your time on activism, maybe you have another project that you really want to throw yourself into, and I wish you great success with it.

 
And if you’re graduating, good luck with the beginning of your post-college life. Get out there and be awesome!

 
Happy finals, everyone. Be well.

—Cayla Fronhofer, Editor-in-Chief