THESISCRAZY: The Final Stretch

In case you haven’t heard, senior theses are due this Tuesday, April 13th. We can be sure to see some hardcore celebration on the library steps after 4 PM, but until then senior thesis writers will be squirreled away in their carrels doing last-minute edits and formatting.

As slacker seniors who aren’t doing theses, Sheek and I decided to profile some of the seniors who haven’t seen the light of day since before spring break. We spent an hour running around Olin and Sci Li looking for these elusive seniors in their native habitat–the carrel.

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Meet the intrepid writers we found today after the jump.

[singlepic id=60 w=240 h=180 float=right]Leah Aronowsky ’10
Open carrel, 3rd floor Olin

Working title: “Rethinking the State in the History of Birth Control”

On her carrel: “People have stopped to ask what I’m doing. They assume I’m some militant feminist or something. Someone asked me yesterday if it made me horny to read all these books. I said no.”

After Tuesday: “I’m gonna drink a lot and not come into the library for a really long time.”

[singlepic id=34 w=240 h=180 float=right]Max Lavine ’10
3rd floor Olin

Working title: “Don’t have one yet. It’s about post-anarchist theory and politics of knowledge production in the neo-liberal academy.”

Thoughts on the final days of writing: “Proof-reading 150 pages of your own writing fucking sucks.”
Advice to future thesis writers: “Get ready for some pain.”

After Tuesday: “Drink until my face falls off.”

[singlepic id=37 w=240 h=180 float=right]Gina Yeomans and Greg Hurd ’10
Carrel neighbors, Olin basement

Gina’s working title: “Justice for All? The Disparate Impact of Mass Incarceration on African American Communities”
Her advice for future thesis writers: “Write about something that’s really, really important to you.”

Greg’s working title: Rocks
Asked if he’ll be drinking champagne on the Olin steps on Tuesday: “I may not want to even be anywhere close to Olin library.”

[singlepic id=44 w=240 h=180 float=right]Mytheos Holt ’10
Group carrel, Olin 3A

Working title: “The Unchanging Republic: Prospects for a New Conservative Fusion”

Plans for Tuesday: “Two words: wine, cigars.”

Advice for future thesis writers: “You want to be absolutely certain that you really like your topic. It has to have been your passion for the past three years. I’ve been reading this stuff for fun since freshman year; this is just an exercise in critically analyzing it.”

[singlepic id=50 w=240 h=180 float=right]Miriam Leshin ’10
Olin 3A

Working title: “The New Great Migration: Re-defining the New South?”

What she still has to do: “I just changed my argument a little bit. So I’m tweaking my last two chapters.”

Advice for future thesis writers: “Do more work in the first semester than you think you need to do. I wrote my first chapter but I wish I had done more.”

Plans for after Tuesday: “Make up for the pain and social isolation of the past two weeks.”

[singlepic id=51 w=240 h=180 float=right]Joseph Nsiah ’10
Cubicle carrel, Sci Li basement

Working title: “The Achievement Gap between Black and White Middle Class Students”

Plans for after Tuesday: “I’m going to get a haircut. I might sleep a lot, too, and also the wine thing.”

Thoughts on the final days of writing: “The paper is just getting really boring. But it’s almost over.”

Advice for future thesis writers: “Space your time properly, and use spring break wisely. Be open to constructive criticism.”

[singlepic id=57 w=240 h=180 float=right]Chris Coleman ’10
Cubicle carrel, Sci Li basement

Working title: “Meteorological and Glacial Ablation Controls on Annual Sediment Accumulation at Linnervatnet: Svalbard, Norway”

Plans for Tuesday: “I actually have practice. For track.”
Plans for after practice: “I’m gonna sit down and enjoy myself for a little while. On Thursday, I’m going to Houston with my research group to present our findings. We’re presenting to Exxon-Mobile, who funded the project. I think they might want us to work for them later on or something.”

Advice for future thesis writers: “Start early. Spring break I was here for the whole two weeks, working 8 to 9 hours a day. Also, keep a good relationship with your advisers.”

Yeah academics!

If you or another senior you know are flipping out this weekend over thesis work, email us at asiddique@wes and mchall@wes with THESISCRAZY in the subject line, your name, thesis title (or subject, if you haven’t named it yet), where your carrel is, and when you’ll probably be there between now and Monday. Props if your thesis habitat is especially well-appointed/cavernous/disheveled/otherwise representative of your current state, let us take a photo of you and your space in all your cracked-out glory.

[All photos by Ashik Siddique ’10]