A few weeks ago, I lifted my eyes from my rapidly scribbling hand to find The Kid sitting next to me in class—yeah, you know who you are—playing a game on the iPhone craftily hidden behind his open laptop, not even pretending to listen to the discussion over the book which he didn’t...

An unexpected visitor A particularly good reason for repeatedly making conversation with the same stranger arose this year. Which is unusual, because I don’t typically consider myself an extrovert. I’m friendly to those with whom I’m familiar, but as far as engaging with strangers,...

Prosperity and Permanence at the Pueblo Chemical Depot On the arid plains of Southeastern Colorado, just east of the city of Pueblo, are row after row of igloos. That’s a technical term—the Army chose it. Despite their mild curves and the fact that each one is 2,200 square feet, the long...

An open letter to an e-reader Dear My Nook Simple Touch E-Reader, It has been a full two months since we first kicked off this little affair in a Barnes & Noble on Chicago’s Near North Side. Remember how long our first date was coming, my anxious hesitation before I dragged out my wallet...

A bad year not to choose a winner You may be hearing this for the first time: no winner for the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction this year. The Pulitzer Prize awards authors for their works in letters: poetry, drama, history, music, various awards in journalism, and of course, literary fiction. Each...

Gender dysphoria in Dakar, Senegal My host mom hates my faggutz. Or at least she would if she realized those are the kind of guts I have. It’s not for total lack of trying. Every morning over a baguette with Nutella knock-off Chocopain, I tell her “Je suis fatigué.[1] Très fat y...

Prioritizing and specifying a campus initiative for diversity Read the Colorado College mission statement. One of the seven “core values” of our school is to “value all persons and seek to learn from their diverse experiences and perspectives.” With nearly 90 percent of our faculty and...

From biophysics to baking Desirae Leipply is a doctor. She has a Ph.D. in molecular and computational biophysics and spent 10 years pursuing her doctorate. But her true passion lies in cupcakes. Plantain cupcakes with avocado buttercream frosting. Banana cupcakes with banana cream filling and...

Negotiating status and legitimacy in a field of power I am no longer surprised when I hear someone chuckle at my choice of college degree. If you have an affinity for the social sciences, perhaps you know what I’m talking about. I’ve built up a kind of smarmy tolerance for questions like...

Lesbian bartenders and quiet queer spaces Abstract Despite extensive scholarship exploring relationships between space, gender, and sexuality, little attention has been given to lesbian/queer subjects in everyday heterosexual spaces such as bars. Furthermore, there is an absence of work...

A sculptural investigation of individuals and populations   This body of work explores how sculptural objects made from everyday materials can suggest animation and growth. Each piece investigates the relationship between individuals and their populations. The artworks present the...

When I think about art, it is hard for me to place it merely in the realm of creation. For me, art is much more about the experience and awareness of moments that make life interesting. It is the flash of sunlight through an overcast sky, the sting of a hot pan, the smell of freshly cut grass;...

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A translation of poetry from the Cuban Diaspora For my thesis, I translated fifteen poems written by five different Cuban women who are members of the Cuban diaspora. Two of these poets, Lourdes Gil and Iraida Iturralde, left Cuba in the early 1960s shortly after Fidel Castro came to power and...

An excerpt from “Fred Martinez is Punk,” a zine self-published by Rivers McKenzie for her comparative literature thesis, which can be found online...

An analysis of alternatives for water distribution between municipal and agricultural users Water distribution is the newest battleground for users of the Colorado River. At present, a standoff is developing between agricultural water users, who have regional history backing them, and...

How Capitalism is silencing the San Juan and Chama Rivers The San Juan-Chama Diversion Project (SJCDP) is a federal irrigation infrastructure project. This project transports 96,200 acre-feet of Upper Colorado River basin water from the San Juan River in Southern Colorado to the Chama River in...

Cloning the hybrid cluster protein in Escherichia coli Abstract The hybrid cluster proteins (HCP) contain a unique inorganic cofactor: one conventional 4Fe-4S cluster, and a novel, “hybrid” iron cluster with a 4Fe-2S-2O configuration. Although characterization of HCP was primarily done...

Attenuation by thyroid hormone supplementation Polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) are industrial chemicals used as flame retardants in consumer products for homes, offices, automobiles and public transportation (for a review, see Darnerud, 2003; McDonald, 2005). The general chemical formula...