The Carletonian

“The X has arrived.” So reads one of the dozens of signs now plastering campus, adorned with the a red “X,” and advertising TED’s need for speakers in the coming year.

It was in Lexington, Massachusetts, that the shot heard ‘round the world was fired.  So it should come as no surprise that echoes from the dual blasts in Boston on Monday reverberate here at Carleton.

Katie McKenna, Bon Appétit’s General Manager at Carleton College is one of three finalists for a 2013 Real Food Award in the Dining Manager or Administrator.  The Award acknowledges individuals who display outstanding leadership in an effort to create a more just and sustainable food system.

Fifty Percent Illusion, performed in the Weitz rehearsal theater during tenth week of last term, brought together three of the best plays in the Western canon in a polished exploration of power structures.

The Perlman Teaching Museum at the Weitz Center for Creativity unveiled a new art exhibit inspired by Lewis Carroll’s classic novel, Alice in Wonderland, on April 5th. Three artists from Minnesota and one from South Africa contributed pieces that illustrate unique interpretations of the world that exists beyond the looking glass.

Talk of divestment is very much in the air on campus.  Divest from fossil fuels!  Divest from Philip Morris!  Divest from Nestle!  Divest from divestment (see http://apps.carleton.edu/governance/cric/divest/)!  Pushing for divestment is one way students, staff, and faculty try to get the College to approach its endowment in an ethically responsible way.

K. David Harrison, Professor of Linguistics at Swarthmore College opened the term’s convocation series with a presentation on language diversity and extinction. Entitled “Endangered Languages,” his talk focused on the rapid disappearance of the world’s seven thousand-plus collection of documented languages, a shift that the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has termed a “language extinction crisis.”

In another recognition of the creativity that Carleton fosters, Sarah Olson ’15, was recently selected as the winner of the 41st annual Nick Adams Short Story contest for “Truth in Lies,” a piece that she wrote in an introductory level creative writing class during fall term.

“Why is college tuition so astronomically expensive these days?” This question, which opens Jordan Weissman’s recent article in The Atlantic, encompasses a common anxiety faced by many high school seniors as well as current college students as they contemplate their college careers. Why is tuition so expensive—and how do colleges even use the money?

Awarded to students of “unusual promise,” the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship allows graduating seniors a chance to spend a year traveling the year exploring something meaningful to them. Continuing with Carleton’s legacy of producing two or three Watson Fellows per year, two members of this year’s Class of 2013, Charlie Bentley and Robin Wonsley, have been awarded the prestigious fellowship.

Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, returned to Carleton to speak about immigration, diversity, and what it means to be an American citizen. Students packed into Boliou to hear Vargas speak.

The half-dozen student shows staged the past two weeks have been an interesting buffet of diverse styles and tastes for the Carleton theatergoer and, as always, a chance to enjoy the class and creativity of one’s peers.