Seniors' last hurrah

From the moment you enter into a department, you are bombarded with tons of emails from the administrators about events, study breaks, summer funding opportunities and — most importantly — thesis deadlines. Independent research is one of the main components of Princeton, defining every student’s academic experience and involving countless hours of research, consultation, revision and perhaps a bit of soul-searching. But the senior thesis, as demanding as it is, is the apex of our academic achievement here at Princeton. Students are recommended to write chapters and chapters that often result in over 100 pages of material. Yet because of this, there is a sense of togetherness that forms as each senior goes through this process. In conversations with seniors, there are jokes about how their theses are taking over their lives and about all the quirky study breaks and procrastination techniques they create in order to avoid that dark cloud called the “Senior Thesis.” The interesting point about this rather comical dialogue between students is that it is an expression of solidarity — seniors can all relate to this experience despite their various departments and topics of research. But one idea that might create the ultimate community among our seniors before they walk out of the FitzRandolph Gate at graduation is a celebration for the seniors to honor a project that marks the pinnacle of their Princeton education.

This does not necessarily mean that there should be a universal thesis deadline. Such an idea may be too idealistic given the small time frame for binding the theses. Certain students, particularly molecular biology or chemistry majors, need much more time than average because data may be compromised if rushed or lab substances may need more time to ferment and grow, for example. However, there could be a specific time at the end of April or early May — when it is certain that all theses are handed in — that there could be a University-wide celebration for the seniors.

Now I must note that the Woodrow Wilson School, for example, holds a celebratory swim in the Woody Woo fountain for all of the seniors after they hand in their theses. A few other departments hold similar celebrations, but why can’t there be a larger-scale celebration that brings together all seniors regardless of department? It is worth mentioning that many seniors already feel a bit slighted since they have many friends whose thesis deadlines are 10 or even 15 days before their own deadlines. But for some departments to have celebrations while others do not creates even more inequality and division within the senior class. There should be some sort of culminating event that compensates for the thesis deadline discrepancies and allows all seniors to end their thesis journey the way that they started: together.

I would propose that a similar event to the Dean’s Date celebration be held for the seniors. Each semester, students participate in the “Holder Howl” and then crowd around McCosh for free giveaways and food and the sight of other students rushing to turn in their homework before the imminent deadline. But what makes this experience particularly special — other than every student having the same deadline for projects — is that the entire Princeton community comes together to cheer on students who have completed final projects. The senior thesis should not be any different. Furthermore, this would give seniors who may not have known each other before the opportunity to meet and establish some sort of camaraderie. My opinion is that after four years of hard work at this University, culminating in extensive research that exemplifies our maturation as students and passion for a given topic, there should a reward, a light at the end of the tunnel, that matches the effort. By having multiple deadlines for theses, seniors cannot all celebrate together. However, if there is a celebration, it would be the last time that the members of the senior class could be all together before graduation, after which they will exit the gates of Princeton and go off into the world.

Morgan Jerkins is a comparative literature major from Williamstown, N. J. She can be reached at mjerkins@princeton.edu.