June 1, 2020

Welcome the newly designed Que Ondee Sola (QOS) website!

QOS is Northeastern Illinois University’s (NEIU) only Puerto Rican/Latinx publication that dates back to the 1972! It is an honor to be working with a magazine that has been so historic and impactful to the NEIU community. QOS stands as the oldest student-run Latino publication in the United States, however, it is no news that we have been struggling to keep this magazine printing. Within the last few years, QOS has struggled to bring new issues to our NEIU family. Although QOS has met its lowest point, this is our time to make the greatest change but we need YOUR help!

Que Ondee Sola has undertaken some noteworthy changes. One change is that we have been pushing our acronym QOS, reason being that many people would think that this publication is only in Spanish when we were to use Que Ondee Sola. Promoting ourselves as QOS is our attempt to demystify the myth that we are a Spanish only publication.

However, staff at QOS understands the significance of our full identity and so we have committed to acknowledging our full name in every part of us. The next change was made to our logo and is aimed to be more inviting towards all latinx identities. We hold our previous logo, which was a beautiful Puerto Rican flag, close to our QOS hearts and will continue to use it as the homebase of our future publications. We will continue fighting for this publication and our QOS brothers and sisters.

Let me share with you some reason why we refuse to give up on Que Ondee Sola. Firstly, QOS has a strong presence in the Illinois jails and prisons and is read by many detainees that might use our magazine as a form of release. Ceasing publication would mean that the detainees would lose a resource and a connection to community.  Secondly, NEIU has a strong growing population of Puerto Rican/Latinx students that need and will need a way to express their experiences as people of color. It is our duty to hold the doors open to this magazine for them, as those who came before us held it for us. Thirdly, our QOS predecessors have worked extremely hard and given a lot of themselves into this publication since it’s first issue. It is our turn to give it our all to find those students that will be passionate about QOS and that will use this publication as a platform to showcase our accomplishments, injustices, and concerns.

By flipping through this stories, you will see a variety of topics, perspectives and opinions that attempt to characterize our present magazine. We are aiming for our website to have a little for everyone and if you find yourself not connecting to a piece, let us know what you would like to see! Remember that QOS is our brave space where your voice and words become your greatest asset.

Truly yours,

Sara Galvan Orozco