Kylie Chen (’24) is the Vol. 58 and Vol. 59 Entertainment Editor and an Entertainment Columnist who authors “Banned Book Club.” She was a Staff Writer for Vol. 57 of The Lancer.
Banned Book Club: “The Downstairs Girl” and the importance of representation
by Kylie Chen (’24) | March 31, 2023 This year’s Oscars was a major night for Asian representation, with history-making wins for Michelle Yeoh, “Naatu Naatu,” and more. Yeoh becoming the first Asian woman to win the award for best actress was so meaningful for me: it validated my identity by making people who look…
Banned Book Club: “Beyond Magenta” and the significance of context
by Kylie Chen (’24) | March 10, 2023 In October of 2022, Fox News published an article attacking Ms. Betsy Snow, media specialist for Sequoia High School in Redwood City, for “broadcast[ing] sexually explicit books” that included “kink and pornographic images.” I had the opportunity to talk to Snow, who recounted her experience, beginning with…
From beloved to despised: J.K. Rowling and transphobia
by Kylie Chen (’24), Kiana Allard (’24), and Valerie Wong (’24) | March 10, 2023 This past month, J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter franchise experienced a new surge of controversy around Rowling’s transphobia. In June 2020, Rowling posted a Twitter thread expressing that the existence of transgender people invalidated the experiences of cisgender women.…
Banned Book Club: “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and erasing identities
by Kylie Chen (’24) | February 3, 2023 Disclaimer: Joanna Ho, one of the authors who was interviewed for this article, is the writer’s aunt. As this publication is committed to providing an accurate representation of its subjects, it is important to note that the interviewee has been portrayed as accurately as possible regardless of…
Banned Book Club: “A Raisin in the Sun” and how banning books impacts education
by Kylie Chen (’24) | November 18, 2022 As students walked into Summer Boismier’s English class at Norman High School in Oklahoma for the first day of school, they were greeted by bookshelves covered in red paper with the words “books the state doesn’t want you to read,” written across in black Sharpie. This was…
Banned Book Club: “Gender Queer,” the most banned book of 2021
by Kylie Chen (’24) | October 7, 2022 “Books unite us. Censorship divides us.” These six words were the theme for the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2021 Banned Books week, and they have become especially important in the past couple years, as an increasing number of books are being banned in the United States. According…
Racism in Disney movies: a tale as old as time
by Kylie Chen (’24) and Amaya Malik (’22) | March 21, 2022 Disney animated films are a staple in our lives, functioning as both entertainment and a way of teaching children important life lessons. In recent years, Disney’s CEO Bob Chapek has promised to make films and shows with “an increased commitment” to diversity, and…
Returning to “normalcy”: masking as the mandates lift?
by Kylie Chen (’24) | March 21, 2022 Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the debate over mask-wearing has been heavily politicized, and unfortunately so. Instead of focusing on mask-wearing as a way of promoting public health, many Americans saw (and still see) mask-wearing as a threat to personal freedom—a viewpoint that has been…
Electrical brain activity linked to internal thought processes
by Kylie Chen (’24) | March 29, 2021 While working on different tasks, people often tend to zone out or let their minds wander to other subjects. When will I be done with this assignment? What’s for dinner? Did I forget to lock the door? Do I have anything else to do later today? For…
AI-zheimer’s prediction using AI
by Kylie Chen (’24) | March 1, 2021 Currently, almost six million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, a number projected to rise to 13.8 million by 2050. Despite the increasingly high numbers of those who live with and die of Alzheimer’s, this disease has no cure and continues to hurt patients and family members, both…
How do pandemics end?
by Kylie Chen (’24) | November 16, 2020 Throughout history, pandemic outbreaks have wreaked havoc and destruction throughout the world. Now, yet again, a virus has swept through countries, infecting millions worldwide. Currently, COVID-19 in the U.S. has been reaching record highs, infecting over 125,000 and killing over 1000 daily in the U.S. as of…
I’ve vac-seen enough of you, cancer
by Kylie Chen | October 5, 2020 Imagine being part of a civil war you didn’t even know you were fighting. The war is corrupting your side, and by the time anyone notices this damage, it could be too late. Your opponents may have already infiltrated you without you realizing, waiting for the right time…
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