THESISCRAZY, PART 2: Adventures in Carrel City

With four days left until theses are due, Sheek and I decided to spend more time interrupting thesis writers in their carrels. Everyone was looking pretty shell-shocked and very determined to reach the end.

We explored the carrel village on the 4th floor of Olin (which we didn’t even know existed), discovered that stale kosher-for-Passover peppermint patties taste like toothpaste, and realized that every senior has a unique way of saying that they’re going to get really drunk come Tuesday.

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Profiles after the jump:

[singlepic id=83 w=240 h=180 float=right]Rayna Edwards ’10
2nd floor Olin

Working title: “Religious Microaggressions Towards American Muslims: Group Identity and Self-Esteem as Predictors of Affective Response”

Thoughts on the final days of writing: “I feel great. I mean, yeah, I feel pretty good about it. I don’t have a lot left to do. This is just mind-numbing bullshit now, formatting and whatnot.”

After Tuesday: “Get shwasty-face, obvi.”

On the Nicorette gum on her desk: “I’ve been staying here overnight. You get locked in–you can’t leave the building–and you’re basically confining yourself to a night of productivity. The gum gets me through. Do you want a week-old kosher Peppermint Pattie?”

[singlepic id=66 w=240 h=180 float=right]Dan Charness ’10
4th floor Olin

Working title: “Beatle Boomers: The Beatles and their Generation”

Thoughts on the final days of writing: “I feel great. I feel fantastic. I freaked out last week. Now I’m just editing.”

After Tuesday: “You can quote my grandfather on this: ‘There isn’t a big enough bottle of champagne.’ He wrote books. He was a doctor. I’m going to sit with three bottles of champagne.”

[singlepic id=68 w=240 h=180 float=right]Melina Aguilar ’10 and Katie Boyce-Jacino ’10
Joint carrel, 4th floor Olin

Melina’s working title: “The Paradox of the Cuentos Chinos: Future Chino-Ecuadorian Relations”
Thoughts on the final days of writing: “I’m scared. Hopefully I’ll be able to finish everything. I have some extreme editing to do. I have to change chapter structures, then find people to edit it in the next 24 hours.”
Plans for Tuesday: I have a dance practice at 6:00 right after theses are due. Then I’ll celebrate, I guess. I want to sleep a little. I’m gonna be done with school by then because I’m partially enrolled.

Katie’s working title: “The Ardent Voyage: The Struggle of the French Communist Opposition, 1920-1940”
Proofreading strategy: “I sent mine to my grandparents. My grandfather was a lot meaner than my adviser was.”
Plans for Tuesday: “I think I’ll have a bottle of wine with my friends and hang out for a day. I actually have a 15 page paper due Thursday, so I’ll assemble that somehow.”

[singlepic id=63 w=240 h=180 float=right]Jason Krigsfeld ’10
4th floor Olin

Working title: “I don’t have one yet. It’s about parody, organized crime, and organize crime film in Japan.”

On Tuesday: “I’m going to be really, really, really, really fucked up on the steps.

Advice to future thesis writers: “It’s pretty important to have an adviser who is familiar with your subject. Try to get somebody who you’ve taken a class with that you liked, and then take a tutorial with them on the topic you’re interested in.”

[singlepic id=74 w=240 h=180 float=right]Hansel Tan ’10
4th floor Olin

Working title: “Musical Beastliness in Le Roman de Fauvel: Chaillou’s “addicions” and Sensory Danger”

Thoughts on the last days of writing: “It’s an absolute crush right now. There’s so many things to do. I’ve been talking to a lot of people and they’re wondering if this was the right road to take.”

After Tuesday: “I’m gonna get shitfaced and it’s not gonna stop ’til Sunday.”

Advice to future thesis writers: “You definitely need passion to carry it through. If you don’t have passion you’re going to drop it after two months.”

[singlepic id=104 w=240 h=180 float=right]Ian Staub ’10
Microform room, Olin basement

Working title: “Redubbing the Underground: Cassette Culture in Transition”

What he still has to do: “I have to write a conclusion and work some afterthoughts into the introduction. And citations. And formatting citations.”

After Tuesday: (Deep thought) “I don’t know. I’ll probably get drunk. I’ll probably take a nap.”

Advice to future thesis writers: “Don’t go on the Internet.”

[singlepic id=78 w=240 h=180 float=right]Sarah Rosenberg ’10
4th floor Olin

Working title: “On Architecture and the Dancing Body: Changing Visuality”

On how she feels at this point: “Really calm. And compared to last year I feel like that’s kind of the general consensus. No complaining–it’s going to be wonderful once it’s done.”

Plans for Tuesday: “I’ll go to class and then drink champagne between classes and then go to my other class.”

Stay tuned for more! This weekend we venture into Exley, Allbritton, the distant land of Freeman House, and the abodes of those rare seniors who actually accomplish any work in the same place they live.

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.

[Photos by Ashik Siddique ’10]