High Anxiety

Kenyon alumni from different disciplines explain how long-term stress takes a toll on our health — and how we can reverse its impact.

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Of Molecules and Metaphors

From doughnuts to e-cigarettes, Kenyon students use science to educate middle schoolers on addiction.

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The Cheerful Critic

How Margaret Willison '07 turned her love of pop culture into a mini media empire.

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Also In This Edition

Photography intern Cameron Peters ’20 captured one of her favorite winter hangouts — the Kenyon Greenhouse — where it’s always warm and bright.

Middle Path has been extra snowy this winter, making hats, gloves, scarves and fuzzy boots the hottest accessories on campus.

Kenyon in the World

Beyond Borders

An internship with the Immigrant Worker Project inspired Eric Thornton ’18 to change course.

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Student Life

On the Ball

For Julian Kobena Morgan ’18, passion for basketball stretches beyond the court.

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Kenyon in Quotes

“How do you balance the concept of free speech with the concept of civil discourse? Free speech is in some ways the easy part of that to define. Civil discourse is hard in part because civility is subjective and that’s the piece that’s important for us to grapple with.” — President Sean Decatur, speaking with USA Today’s Paul Singer ’88, for the “Cup of Politics” podcast.

Feting the Founder

Kenyon’s annual Founders’ Day celebration
in October brought with it the signing of the Matriculation Book, reflections on the College’s history and faculty awards. Professors Joel Richeimer P’21 and Clara Román-Odio P’11,’18 received Bishop Philander Chase medals for 25 years of distinguished service, and Professor of English Sarah Heidt ’97 was awarded the Faculty Advising Award. 

Cultural Conversations

This winter, two separate issues received much attention and discussion both on and off campus. In February, Playwright-in-Residence Wendy MacLeod ’81 canceled an on-campus production of her original play, “The Good Samaritan,”  after members of the faculty and student body expressed concerns about its representation of a Guatemalan youth. Unrelated, but around the same time, a new “whiteness” discussion group formed at Snowden Multicultural Center, with a goal of exploring “what it means to be a white person while benefiting from societal privilege, as well as what it means to be a white ally to marginalized groups,” according to the Collegian. The Bulletin is considering how to bring some  of the issues raised on campus, by alumni and others, to these pages in future issues.

Silver Lining

Nate Silver, the statistician and journalist best known for correctly predicting the electoral outcome of 49 states during the 2008 presidential election and all 50 in 2012, will give the graduation address at Kenyon’s 190th Commencement ceremony on May 19. “Nate Silver is uniquely positioned to offer remarks to our graduating class on what it means to apply rigorous thinking and careful analysis to a variety of questions,” President Sean Decatur said. 

Class Notes

Recent Class Notes
’08

John D. Bence moved to Philadelphia in July to take a new job at the University of Pennsylvania. “I miss Atlanta but am comforted by that proximity to delicious hoagies.”

’13

Rachel K. Max moved back to Washington, D.C., after 10 years in California and bought a house with her husband in the Brookland neighborhood. “Thrilled to be back on the East Coast experiencing my first autumn, literally, since Kenyon,” she informs.

’12

Ellen D. Blanchard moved back to northern Michigan and served as venue and volunteer coordinator for the Harbor Springs Festival of the Book. “For a three-day festival with 1,300 participants, I was in charge of the 200+ volunteers making 35 sessions happen at nine venues! We had 41 authors present, including the playwright Sarah Ruhl, who penned ‘Eurydice,’ a show that was part of the 2009 Kenyon season — and backstage is where I first met Margaret J. (Higby) Ericksen and Rob Fine. I was also in Ruhl’s ‘In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play’ in Ann Arbor in 2017. I got to meet her, and she signed my script!”

Past Editions