WHAT DO YOU PLAN AS YOUR CULMINATING SENIOR EXPERIENCE?

Spot Poll

WE ASKED THIS QUESTION OF 200 seniors; only 20 of the 45 who responded referred to a thesis. (This will change in the future, when the College begins requiring a "culminating senior experience" that, presumably, will entail something more intellectual than a trip to Holyoke.) We also had some suspiciously ambitious answers: "I'm going to do a thesis on damselfly behavior, lead the Glee Club on a stunning southern Spring Tour, and start campaigning for Trustee," said one. Eight people (who must have talked to each other) expressed the desire to commit an immoral act on top of Baker Tower. And we encountered some hostile sarcasm: "I'm trying not to plan, but thanks for reminding me of my impending mortality." "Finding a job" was the second-most-popular answer after thesis-writing. Getting into graduate school came third.

Some other responses:

"I am doing an Honors thesis in biology, 'Iron Uptake in Arabidopsis thaliana.'"

"My culminating senior experience will ideally be finishing my thesis, garnering the third-world history thesis award, getting a Reynolds grant to study in Vietnam, and a job over there. How is that for being compulsive?!"

"Biking across the United States with my girlfriend."

"I am working on a creative writing senior project right now, and though this is not the topic that I will be writing on, my ideal culminating experience would be a series of short stories highlighting the experiences that taught me the most about people, myself, and Dartmouth while I was here."

"Drivingacross the Green on a Zamboni." "I want to do the trip to the sea with Ledyard in the spring."

"To quote Viv Savage of Spinal Tap fame, 'Have a good time, all of the time.'"

"I plan to drive the solar car, Sun vox IV, to victory in the American Tour de Sol."

"I'd like to see the inside of Sphinx."

"Culminating senior experience would be to put some sort of working swingset on this campus for student use."

"I'm researching then writing pieces of musique concrete on die Synclavier."