Editor's note

In the pilot episode of sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat,” Eddie Huang goes to school with a bowl full of noodles. The other white kids at his school deem his lunch “worms,” pass it off as disgusting and alienate him for it. To change his fate, he goes to a suburban supermarket to buy “white-people food,” which comes as a tray of Lunchables. Yet, Eddie can never reach the top of the pecking order. He is permanently the foreigner. Although TV is inevitably dramatic, Eddie’s story isn’t far from an experience many immigrants of color have when arriving in predominantly white areas.

In this month’s in-depth, we catalogue the experiences of many immigrant students across Ladue, some “fresh off the boat” like Eddie and some the children of immigrants. We also discuss the alienation of such students, which many times does not come in the form of overt bigotry, but a buildup of subtle, yet painful reminders that their histories do affect how people see and treat them. Overall, we want to unveil these unique experiences that can often go unnoticed if not considered carefully.

We also dive into the question: “What are you proud of?” Before, we asked the question, “What makes you happy?” But beyond our happiness, we thought we could celebrate our prides. That's why for our editor photo, we chose the spreads we were most proud of. In this section, we cover a chess prodigy, Pakistani culture and a sociology teacher’s passions.

In other sections, we report on a neighborhood flood across from the high school, the new girls lacrosse coach and our favorite movies of 2022. We discuss the connections between African and American cuisines, personality quizzes and celestial events.

We hope you enjoy the February Issue of the Panorama, see you next month!