Feb. 18, 2026 | Hannah Field | Editor-in-Chief
The Northwest Passage, established in 1941, is Western’s student art magazine, encompassing many mediums of individual expression.
Historically, the magazine only published literature — being classified as a literary magazine until 1986 — with The Northwest Passage records going back to 1975, digitized in the archive on The Northwest Passage website. The 1975 edition was made with a light green, simple cover, and zero color on the inside, per the times.
Now, The Northwest Passage has made strides since its first release. Editor-in-Chief Sara Gerrick is dedicated to promoting student expression, regardless of method, in bright, expansive color.
“Last term, there was a really cool science project that someone had taken pictures of, like their mini ecosystem that they made, and wrote about it,” said Gerrick. “I’m really trying to get people to just submit the weirdest things possible, because it’s important to share, just, everything.”
Gerrick is in her second year at Western, studying business but practicing art in her free time. “I always love seeing drawings, specifically just because I grew up drawing constantly. But I do love seeing writing, since I don’t see it (very often).”
The process is simple: Gerrick releases a submission date, students send their submissions over email to thenorthwestpassage@mail.wou.edu, the small but diverse editorial board votes on pieces, Gerrick arranges them and receives consent to print before they get sent to the press. Gerrick has made a point to feature art on the front; last fall, the cover was one that the editorial board was collectively partial to.
“I think that a lot of people bring it down to, you can only submit a painting that you did, or like you can only submit writing, but there’s so many things. You can take a picture of something you crocheted, or something you made or even if you have a recipe that you like that you want to share with the world,” said Gerrick. “Do that. If you have a passion … and the board loves it, then you can have it.”
Students are encouraged to submit at any time to be considered for the upcoming Spring term edition, with the Winter term magazine popping up across campus before the end of week 10. More information, as well as digitized editions, are available at https://wou.edu/northwestpassage/.
Contact the author at howleditorinchief@wou.edu
