FROM THE EDITOR

How do we promote social and political change in a society characterized by complex institutions, environments, and identities? This is the question AdHoc tries to address. In order to succeed, we must allow for complexity in our own thinking. It is therefore fitting that this issue's Progressive Dilemma attempts to delineate an elaborate judicial review of legislative authority in the use of eminent domain. And in response to Columbia's overuse of that vague concept, diversity, we explore the various connotations of the term, why diversity is important, and how Columbia will attempt to realize it with a $15 million diversity initiative.

But progressives must do more than critique policy: they must pull at the seams of rigid social categories and assumptions. To this end, our writers look at gender and sexuality: we examine standards of beauty, stereotypes of masculinity, and transgender identity. In a culture that constantly asks for the new, we look to the old by way of our Retro Review, which tells us why Betty Friedan is still relevant and why Kate O'Beirne is not. And on a related topic, our fiction piece deals with the problem of monkeys.

In recognition of the importance of dialogue, we ve printed a long letter in response to last issue's “No Handouts for Conservatives.” This is exactly the kind of dialogue we believe will help progressives to define our mission, and so we ask our readers to continue sending us their reactions.

Kristen Loveland,
Editor-In-Chief