FROM THE EDITOR

Form and Content

Summertime at Reed. A delicious calm envelops campus. Distinguished professors break out in shorts. The dorms are uncharacteristically subdued. The bike racks, stripped of their usual assortment of velocipedes, seem forlorn. At lunch, the quad comes alive with conference-goers, but by late afternoon the sultry heat has driven inside all but the hardcore helioidolators. Phrases of Vivaldi waft through my open window, hovering above the insistent drone of a distant lawn mower.

Yet this languid atmosphere is deceptive. A visit to the library reveals a surprising number of students busily devouring texts. Arcane instruments in the chemistry building—nephelometers, chemiluminescent analyzers—are churning out reams of data. Across campus, arguments are being constructed. Hypotheses proposed. Experiments conducted. Algorithms refined. Stanzas translated. Lines rehearsed. Manuscripts examined. Passages composed. Conclusions probed.

Here at Reed, we have also been busy working on both our form and our content.

As to the content, we are proud to present a slew of features covering an impressive range of subjects, including the magic of flamenco, the implications of genetically-engineered rice, the proper place of hydrogen, the woes of the honeybee, and the kidnapping of the Old Dorm Block beaver.

We have also introduced a couple of new sections. Adventures in the First Person is intended as a column where classmates can share their personal voyages, be they geographical, experiential, intellectual, emotional, or simply unusual. In our first installment, Nick Blake ’05 describes a honeymoon in India shortly after the tragedy of Mumbai. We hope his piece will inspire readers to submit their own expeditionary narratives.

In What We’re Reading Now we invite Reedies to tell us about noteworthy books they have run across lately. These books don’t have to be new: the only requirement is that they be sufficiently interesting that your classmates might enjoy them.

As to the form, sharp-eyed readers have noticed that we have changed the paper on which the magazine is printed. Our goal was to find an uncoated stock, which involves fewer noxious chemicals and is more in keeping with the character of the college, which is sophisticated but never slick. In addition, we also sought a paper that is produced in a sustainable, responsible manner, contains significant recycled content, saves the college money, and prints well—no mean feat! For this issue, we have selected Domtar Lynx Opaque Text Smooth 60, which meets or exceeds all these criteria. Let us know how you like it. We have also switched to a printing process that employs ultra-violet light to cure the ink, reducing the need for solvents—a benefit both to the environment and to the folks who run the press.

As always, we welcome comments on any aspect of the magazine and hope we have succeeded in providing you with some provocative summer reading.

—Chris Lydgate