Barack Obama has been calling himself an agent of change since he launched his campaign more than 18 months ago. John McCain recognized the power of Obama’s message and tried to claim the mantle of change for himself at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. Since the beginning of September, this mantra of change coming from both parties has hung heavy in the air, like gunsmoke over a 19th-century battlefield. How much change can either candidate really hope to bring? The sheer size and inertia of the U.S. government all but guarantees that any change will be incremental and slow. Yet both campaigns use the same word. What do the candidates mean when they talk about change?

In this month’s issue, we take a look at change both in the political spectrum and in the wider world. We start with a story of rebirth at the bottom of the earth in Nathan Bahls’ piece An end to the long dark. For the scientists and support staff posted at the South Pole research station, spring means that not only has the sun risen above the horizon for the first time in six months, but flights to and from the rest of the world will soon continue. Accompanying this story is a series of stunning images by Calee Allen that showcase the stark beauty of Earth’s last true frontier.

Both political conventions this year were marked by unrest and protest. In Denver, Mike Ludwig joined the Black Bloc as they protested the DNC and were put down by the police. His piece, Dissent and repression at the DNC, is a story from inside a protest movement. In St. Paul, I watched in horror as my hometown was militarized in response to widespread protests. Journalists, bystanders, street medics and protesters were all arrested. In A bridge too far, I look at what happened here in St. Paul and some of the possible reasons why.

This month’s book review, by Tracy O’Neill, reviews The Faith of Barack Obama, by Stephen Mansfield, a Bush biographer and evangelical Christian. Mansfield takes an in-depth and thorough look at Obama’s faith and how it has shaped his character and his policy initiatives. Next month, we’ll feature a review of Free Ride: John McCain and the Media by David Brock and Paul Waldman.

Faith and culture play a significant role in shaping a person’s psyche. In Amalgamation, Francelle Kwankam looks inward as she arrives in a new country, reflecting upon the countries that have shaped her: Cameroon, the United States, Switzerland and now Spain.

Change is often assumed to be a positive thing when in reality, it is inherently neither positive nor negative. Drew Dutton explores the negative effects of the changes of urban renewal in Loss through change.

Columbia University is known for hosting controversial figures. Katherine Reedy looks back over the speakers the university has hosted during her undergraduate career in her essay Autumn visitors. From Ashcroft to Ahmadinejad to Obama and McCain, the conversations held at Columbia have influenced the conversations in the wider world, and are invaluable experiences for undergraduates, challenging them to explore what they think about an issue and why they feel that way.

We close this issue with Songs of change, five poems from Rae Pater, who profoundly reminds us that change is a constant, inescapable and universal.

Regardless of who wins the U.S. election this fall, things are already changing. The global economy is sinking, threatening to plunge millions more people worldwide into desperate poverty. Clouds gather on the horizon, and, according to the experts, they threaten a storm of generational proportions, unseen since the grinding misery of the Great Depression. Still, there is reason for hope. The political involvement of Americans is as high as it’s been in my lifetime. There is a sense that it’s time to act, each one of us, to reshape the world into a place that is more equitable, more free and happier. With every crisis comes opportunity. We must not be afraid to seize it.

Aaron Richner I am a writer/editor turned web developer. I've served as both Editor-in-chief and Technical Developer of In The Fray Magazine over the past 5 years. I am gainfully employed, writing, editing and developing on the web for a small private college in Duluth, MN. I enjoy both silence and heavy metal, John Milton and Stephen King, sunrise and sunset. Like all of us, I contain multitudes.