The Carletonian

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.

The Laudie D. Porter Guest Artist Concert on Feb. 28th featured an emphatic and moving performance of “Penelope” in the Skinner Memorial Chapel.

Depending on who you talk to, you’ll hear that the ResLife staffers in charge of pairing first-year roommates seem to possess an uncanny, practically Orwellian, degree of insight into the psyches their awkward, pimply building blocks, an almost alchemistic talent in forging relationships among high-school haters for whom the overused “quirky” is kind. 

Gao Hong Dice, Lecturer in Chinese Musical Instruments, and Carleton students Kim Bauer ’13, Yawen Chen ’15, and Joseph Concannon ’13 are awarded an ASIANetwork grant to continue the efforts of exploring and preserving Chinese ancient temple music. 

Former US Ambassador to Egypt and Israel, Daniel Kurtzer gave a peace talk on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Twin Cities. A busload of Carleton students trekked north last February, 27th to hear Kurtzer’s opinion of what is really going on between Israel and Palestine: is the process towards peace at a standstill or is it possible in the near future?

“Gun control is a serious problem, and something needs to be done to stop that.” So spoke Mary Lewis Grow, founder of the Carleton Challenge Against Gun Violence, Carleton’s newest activist group on campus.

As the time for members of the sophomore class to declare their majors, it seems likely that at least a few of them might not be satisfied with the present slate of options. So some of them might avail themselves of the option undertaken by few Carleton students: declaring a special major.

The Office of Intercultural and International Life (OIIL) held a Women’s History Month dinner on Friday, March 1 at the Great Hall. The dinner was a celebration of the legacy of the Women of Color retreat, which is a leadership retreat rooted in Native American Spirituality.

Last Friday night, Carleton students, St. Olaf students, and Northfield residents gathered at the Northfield Armory on Division Street to partake in the 7th Annual Northfield Winter Stomp.

Most students come to college planning to follow a traditional path: attend four years of classes, graduate, and either find a full-time job or attend graduate school. However, for some Carleton students, college leads them down a less-traditional path.