Attend senior capstone presentations. A schedule is available here.

Thursday, May 9
The President’s Forum, featuring a conversation with professor emeritus Dr. David Gibbs on “Principia’s Impact and Promise,” begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Chapel. If you can’t attend in person, listen on Principia Internet Radio (PIR).

Friday, May 3
Graduating international students give their farewell speeches in Wanamaker Hall at 4:30 p.m.

The Performing Arts Abroad has returned from Europe and will give a performance at 8:00 p.m. in Wanamaker Hall.

Saturday, May 4
The Principia College choir, orchestra, and jazz band will give a concert in Davis Music Hall at 7 p.m.

Friday, May 10
This year’s awards ceremony recognizing students’ departmental and all-campus achievements begins at 10:30 a.m. in Cox Auditorium.

Don’t miss the baccalaureate ceremony featuring student speeches on Friday, May 10, at 8 p.m. You may also listen to them on PIR.

Saturday, May 11
Commencement exercises begin at 2 p.m. in Cox Auditorium.

During a remodeling project, Principia College facilities crew members hit a small, hard, white chunk while digging a manhole. Realizing they had found something unusual, they took it to Principia science faculty, who, along with experts from the Illinois State Museum, identified it as a mammoth tooth. Principia’s mammoth was later named “Benny” in honor of the backhoe operator on the crew that made the discovery.

Benny had been buried within several yards of Rackham Court for about 17,500 years, submerged in loess (wind-blown silt) derived from glacial outwash deposits left behind in the waning days of the Ice Age. In his prime, he would have measured about 11 feet tall at the shoulder, weighed approximately six tons, and eaten 400 pounds of vegetation each day. His enormous tusks, which were eventually excavated, are 6.5 feet long.

From 2002–2012, Principia College students excavated the mammoth remains as part of a geology class taught by Dr. Janis Treworgy (C’76). Students learned and practiced a range of skills, including excavating with trowels and bamboo skewers, pedestaling bones in preparation for removal, mapping (using a grid system), wet sieving matrix (dirt) samples, and cleaning and consolidating skeletal elements.

The most exciting—and challenging—excavation event happened during the summer of 2005 when Treworgy, along with Principia staff and students, removed the skull block, a delicate procedure requiring tremendous care. Students have since worked on the skull block in the lab, revealing Benny’s articulated cranium, tusks, and upper teeth. Other significant skeletal elements that were excavated include both upper arm and leg bones, a lower arm and a lower leg bone, both shoulder blades, and a number of vertebrae and ribs.

Benny has been a wonderful ambassador for Principia. More than 9,000 visitors, including university students, school groups, girl and boy scout troops, geology clubs, and a variety of adult groups have toured the excavation site over the years. Scientists from other institutions have participated in the project, and Benny has been featured in major print, radio, and television news media, as well as scientific literature.

Eric Lines (C’08), who took Treworgy’s class on the mammoth, spoke at yesterday’s commemoration ceremony. “What I loved the most among all the theoretical learning was the chance to actually interact with the subject matter,” he said. “It was great that, after a lesson on the anatomy of an extinct animal, we got the chance to handle the very bones we were discussing.”

Treworgy shares Lines’s enthusiasm for the project. “It has been an opportunity of a lifetime for me, not only to be able to excavate a mammoth but to involve college students in the project,” she says. “Nearly all the field and lab work has been done by students, and they have done a great job. I love teaching with an experiential focus, so I will miss this project, but I will continue to give talks and tours of the lab in order to extend the educational benefits of the project. Benny is a gift to education that can keep on giving.”

Nafisi currently teaches aesthetics, culture, and literature as a visiting professor at Johns Hopkins University. She studied in the U.S. in the 1970s and then taught at the University of Tehran. But in 1981 she was expelled for refusing to wear the mandatory Islamic veil. After going six years without a classroom, she taught at the Free Islamic University and held a fellowship at Oxford University, where she conducted a series of lectures on culture and the important role of Western literature and culture in Iran after the 1979 revolution. Nafisi returned to the United States in 1997, earning national respect and international recognition for advocating on behalf of Iran’s intellectuals and youth, especially young women.

Nafisi began her talk by describing her afternoon walk along the campus bluffs to get a feel for Principia’s campus. “As I looked across the Mississippi River, I was reminded of Mark Twain, one of my favorite American writers,” Nafisi said. “I especially love the character Huckleberry Finn because he took tremendous risks to preserve what his heart told him. This is what we all must do and what literature teaches us. We should continually question our own point of view and not fall into groupthink.”

Nafisi also spoke about immigrating to America from Iran after witnessing violence and oppression during the 1979 revolution as well as the unrelenting efforts of the new regime to oppress women, minorities, and culture. Even her own grandmother, Nafisi said, who had a very traditional view of religion, disagreed with the post-revolution practices. “She wore the veil her whole life yet strongly felt that wearing or not wearing the veil is a matter of choice, “Nafisi explained. “My grandmother was greatly troubled that authorities told others how to practice their Islamic faith and how to believe in God.”

But Iran isn’t the only nation that concerns Nafisi. “I worry that America has become a country afraid of confronting tough questions,” she said. “I’d like to start a national debate about who is going to bail out our children’s future because imagination and clear thought have ceased.”

For senior Clayton Harper, Nafisi’s warning bell rang loud and clear. “Her words remained in my thought long after she left campus,” he says. “Her plea for passion, imagination, and bravery is something that this world—and this campus—needs to hear. For me, it all boiled down to the passage she shared from Huck Finn. If we aren’t willing to risk our honor and salvation to uplift another person, then we’ll never understand what our principles are for.”

The students are modeling a NASCAR pit crew, using tables and chairs instead of cars and tires. It’s all part of a workshop called “High Performance Teams” put on by the Leadership Institute. The students are discovering firsthand the characteristics of highly successful teams, such as clarity of purpose, defined roles, communication, and the need to involve each team member.

Earlier the students competed in a duct-tape relay, where the teams stood on two long strips of tape (sticky side up) and had to move in unison (see photo). It’s not all fun and games, however. Leadership Institute Director David Wold uses the activities to bring key concepts to life and make leadership and teamwork interesting and relevant.

At a workshop earlier this semester, the students engaged in a tug-of-war that started as a one-to-one contest, then two-on-two, then three-on-three, up to a team of eight. The exercise illustrated research showing that people tend to exert less effort in a team than on their own and often let up when others are available to share the load. As Wold says, “Talking about concepts like ‘social loafing’ and the ‘collective effort model’ is a lot less interesting than experiencing them in an activity. Exercises make ideas more engaging and memorable.”

Workshops this semester have centered on the theme of teamwork, which makes them highly relevant to student leaders. Participants include house presidents, student senators, team captains, resident assistants, and others who work in teams. Sophomore Marshall McCurties comments on the workshops’ value: “I’ve picked up really useful ways to assess teams and learned practical steps I can use to address issues. I look forward to applying them on the rugby pitch!”

By contrast, Laura Perry, who will be graduating soon, has found the workshops a useful lens for reviewing her years at Principia and the many leadership roles she held during that time. “Working with the Leadership Institute has helped me step back to identify what I’ve learned and tie it together,” she says.

Iraq: Ten Years of War, 2003–2013
Faculty: Janessa Gans Wilder
Live sessions meet Monday evenings, 7:30–8:30 p.m. CDT.

Sort out the lessons to be learned from the war in Iraq with Janessa Gans Wilder, a former CIA analyst in Iraq who later founded the Euphrates Institute to improve understanding between the West and Middle East.

Climate Change: The Science and Politics of Global Warming
Faculty: Pete Spotts
Live sessions meet Thursday evenings, 7:30–8:30 p.m. CDT.

Learn about scientists’ study of the climate system, and discuss the uses and abuses of their research with Pete Spotts, science reporter for The Christian Science Monitor.

Read full course descriptions and register today!

College commencement is next Saturday, May 11, and School seniors claim their diplomas the next Sunday, May 19. If you are not able to attend in person, check the Principia Internet Radio (PIR) schedule and tune in to hear the festivities live.

The lineup of College graduation weekend activities includes the President’s Forum, featuring a conversation on “Principia’s Impact and Promise” with professor emeritus Dr. David Gibbs on Thursday, May 9, at 7:30 p.m. and the always-inspiring baccalaureate ceremony with College student speeches on Friday, May 10, at 8 p.m. Both events will be broadcast on PIR.

As we wrap up a year of challenge and growth, College seniors are presenting capstone projects while Upper School seniors are exploring their unique interests and talents through independent projects ranging from writing and illustrating books and comic books to training horses and volunteering in a school in Bali. These explorations help prepare students for their next educational steps and provide opportunities to prove and hone their skills.

The week following graduation, underclassmen in Upper School will embark on their class trips. Freshmen will travel to Santa Fe and Los Alamos, drawing together a year of multidisciplinary study in the Freshman Experience program. Sophomores will take a service-oriented trip to the Dominican Republic. And juniors will visit New England for a historical tour focused on the history of the Christian Science movement.

Middle schoolers recently returned from their own experiential learning trips. Sixth grade visited Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. (“Every second something new happened,” as one sixth grader explained.) Seventh grade toured New York City and saw three Broadway plays. And eighth grade explored the jungles of Costa Rica. Check out the video/slideshow to see and hear directly from these energized Middle School learners.

We are looking forward to launching new lifelong learning options this summer. Soon, you will be able to take non-credit, online courses on demand. Anyone with an Internet connection will be able to take advantage of the Principia experience online, anytime. Courses will range from those in the Old and New Testament Bible Series to Marketing Your Business Online.

Meanwhile, you still have time to enroll in two live online seminars that begin next week. Euphrates Institute founder and former CIA analyst Janessa Gans Wilder is teaching Iraq: Ten Years of War, 2003–2013. And as part of our partnership with The Christian Science Monitor, science reporter Pete Spotts will teach Climate Change: The Science and Politics of Global Warming.

During the celebrations taking place over the next few weeks, I will be embracing this year’s metaphysical theme—“Delight in the law of God” (Romans 7:22). It’s impossible not to be delighted when we see our students successfully overcoming challenges and moving forward. Mary Baker Eddy tells us that “progress is the law of God” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 233). Knowing this brings a confident assurance that each Principian is headed toward inspiring new opportunities.

As Principia College’s 2012–13 Annenberg Scholar, Haigh has been working with faculty and students in many disciplines—economics, political science, religion, sustainability, art, art history, and mass communication. For the Cities project, she conducted a series of seminars and field studies in conjunction with Old North Saint Louis Restoration Group (ONSLRG), the organization guiding the revitalization of a once-prosperous village that later experienced decades of deterioration after being annexed by the City of St. Louis.

During the roundtable discussion, Sean Thomas, executive director of ONSLRG, praised Old North residents’ efforts to rebuild. “I’ve been incredibly inspired by people in the neighborhood as they’ve seen through the fog to recognize what this area could become,” he noted.

Fortunately, that kind of vision isn’t unique to Old North. “Current urban analysts see a trend of people moving back to cities,” Haigh explains. “Growth in the 1950s and 60s tended to be on the peripheries in vast suburbs, while city centers emptied. A so-called ‘Fifth Migration’ is now taking place, resulting in design initiatives to reclaim historic areas. This pattern is playing out in St. Louis, providing an excellent opportunity for students to consider these complex global issues that touch the lives of so many people.”

Indeed, complexity—in the form of interdisciplinary study—was central the Cities project, which was designed and directed by Professor Duncan Martin, chair of the Art and Art History Department. As he explains, “Redesigning cities in the 21st century demands a holistic approach including cultural and artistic enrichment, architectural preservation, and the integration of sustainable building and living practices.”

Kelly Pollock, executive director of COCA (Center of Creative Arts) and a participant in the roundtable, couldn’t agree more, especially about the role of the arts in community restoration. “The arts set the trend in a community and define the city,” she noted.

Along with the importance of an interdisciplinary perspective, time spent on site in Old North emerged as a highlight of the project. “Students consistently spoke about how their eyes were opened, perceptions changed, and assumptions and pre-conceived ideas about urban neighborhoods challenged,” Martin noted. Senior Kanoe Wagner, who visited Old North with Professor Tom Davidson’s economics class, underscores this point. “I thought it was so cool that rather than clearing out everything because some places have foundered, the community chose to restore what was salvageable,” she says. “There is much worth saving! Restoration rather than gentrification is wonderful because it communicates a visual sense of hope.”

Mass communication students in Professor Paul Wesman’s Feature Writing class found the on-site experience challenging but ultimately rewarding. Earning the trust of local residents took persistence, but in the end they refined their reporting skills on topics such as green space and the much-loved Crown Candy Kitchen, a retro diner that has become a St. Louis tourist attraction after being featured on the Food Network.

As a way of documenting and extending students’ learning, the Art and Art History Department will publish a book on the Cities project.

Note on the Annenberg Scholar: Principia College received a grant from the Annenberg Foundation in 2006 endowing the Annenberg Visiting Scholar program to bring leading scholars, diplomats, writers, and civic leaders to campus for short-term teaching and writing opportunities. This year’s Annenberg Scholar, Diane Haigh, teaches architecture and is a Fellow of Trinity Hall, Cambridge University, England. She was involved in refurbishing Royal Festival Hall in London and the new planetarium for The Royal Observatory in Greenwich. Haigh also served on special design review panels for the legacy master plan for 2012 Olympics infrastructure projects.

Presentation of U.S. Founding Documents to the Junior Class, April 12
Upper School teachers Howard Bay and Clark Beim-Esche (retired) will speak before copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights are presented to students. This presentation is sponsored by the Koch Foundation, established by Donald Koch (US’64, C’68) and his wife Christina (C’66). Ridgway, noon.

Jazz Band Concert, April 19
Our award-winning Upper School musicians will have your toes tapping with their lively rendition of old and current favorites. Ridgway, 8 p.m.

Electronics Recycling Initiative, April 20
The Upper School’s Roots and Shoots Club is joining with WITS Inc. in sponsoring an electronics recycling event. Bring your unwanted items—batteries, computers, calculators, cell phones, TVs, toaster ovens—to the parking lot by the football field. If it has (or ever had) a power cord or batteries, it will be accepted!

Upper School Student Talent Show, April 20
Join us at 7 p.m. in Ridgway for this great opportunity to enjoy our students’ many talents!

Upper School Theatre Arts Senior Monologues, April 23
Students in the advanced class will deliver stirring excerpts from well-known plays, movies, and/or historical events. Drama Workshop, 8 p.m.

All-School Choir Concert, April 26
Singers from Middle and Upper School will entertain the audience this Friday evening, starting at 7 p.m. in Ridgway.

Friday, April 5
Longyear Museum presents a new film The House on Broad Street at 7:30 p.m. in Wanamaker Hall.

Saturday, April 6
Come to Crafton Athletic Center at 11:00 a.m. to cheer on the paddlers in the 5^th annual Principia Cardboard Canoe Regatta.

Longyear Museum presents the new film The House on Broad Street at 7:30 p.m. in Wanamaker Hall.

Come to Cox Auditorium for the Parents Weekend Variety Show “Broadway Live.” The curtain will go up at 8 p.m.

Monday, April 8
Principia’s Sustainability Center will host a screening of the award-winning documentary Switch at 7:30 p.m. in Wanamaker Hall.

Thursday, April 11
Principia’s Speaker Series presents professor and author Azar Nafisi as this year’s Ernie and Lucha Vogel Moral Courage Lecturer at 7:30 p.m. in Wanamaker Hall. The title of Nafisi’s talk is “The Republic of the Imagination” and will draw on her much-acclaimed book Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books, which has been heralded as an incisive exploration of the power of literature over politics.

Thursday, April 18
Dr. Benjamin Santer, atmospheric scientist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, will speak on climate change at 8 p.m. in Wanamaker Hall.

Wednesday, April 25
Lindsay Garritson will be on campus to perform part one of works by Van Cliburn at 9 p.m. in Davis Music Hall.

Thursday, April 26
Lindsay Garritson will perform part two of works by Van Cliburn at 9 p.m. in Davis Music Hall.

Wednesday, May 1
Come join a special commemorative celebration of the wooly mammoth discovery at the excavation site adjoining Rackham at 1:00 p.m.

Principia’s a cappella group Plus One will give a spring concert at 9:30 p.m. in Davis Music Hall.