Thesis requirement still a unique Princeton endeavor

After snowflakes encased the cherry blossoms and daffodils yesterday, it became clear that Spring has not yet settled in at Princeton. But the senior thesis has.

There has been a run on Diet Coke and Starbucks Double Shots as members of the Class of 2003 churn out pages and put the final touches on the pièce de résistance of their last year at the University. This does not happen on many other campuses—or at least not to such a degree.

Some departments at other universities require students to write a thesis only if they wish to be considered for honors by the department.

Yale students majoring in economics, for instance, must write a senior essay to be considered for "Distinction in the Major."

Yale History of Art and Electrical Engineering students, however, do not have an option. Art history students must write a senior essay and electrical engineers must submit a research or design project.

Mackenzie Blumer, an art history major at Yale, is in the thick of her senior essay, and described an experience familiar to many Princeton seniors.

"I selected my own adviser and basically we meet once or twice a week and discussed my progress on it," said Blumer, who is writing about the role of Julia Morgan and Phoebe Hearst in the women's movement. "But basically for my major it's very much independent because it's mostly a research kind of thing as opposed to breaking new ground. I'm not really breaking any new ground with mine."

Laura Gaffney '03, a comparative literature major at Princeton, also paved her own way along with the input and suggestions of her adviser.

"Well basically as a comparative literature major you have your foreign languages, so you want to find something that will incorporate those languages and whatever interests you. It's mainly up to you and then you approach your advisor just to get advice, to make sure it's a feasible thesis topic," Gaffney said.

"Whatever interests you," is a key phrase in Gaffney's statement. Other students at Princeton feel it is important to pick a thesis topic that is appealing and exciting, considering the thesis demands a great deal of one's time senior year.

Jeremy Hersch '03, an economics major, chose to write about marijuana decriminalization. "I put as much into it as I wanted to. I don't really care about what grade I get so much as what I got out of writing it," Hersch said.

Jon Darman, a history and literature major at Harvard, had a more blasé attitude about his senior thesis. His department requires a senior thesis, unlike other concentrations at Harvard, Darman said.

"[My thesis] was a big deal. I don't think that it was the be all to end all of my Harvard education. I think it was an important and an interesting exercise, but I don't think it will be the thing that I remember most about my time here," Darman said.

One thing is certain. Whether it becomes a milestone or simply remains a benchmark on the academic yardstick, all senior theses will soon be done. And — at least at Princeton — they will take their places on the library shelves that already contain the theses of undergraduates who have long since passed through the gates that guard Nassau Hall.