By Fynn Wadsworth ’25, Eva Hoch ’25, Amelia Brown ’25, Elyse Shaw ’27

Welcome to the 45th edition of The Writing Anthology – now known as Synaptic. Founded in 1981 by now retired Central College professor Dr. Walter Cannon, Synaptic provides an annual assemblage of remarkable student work that covers a wide array of academic disciplines. This year was the most competitive cycle yet. Following a review and conference about dozens of outstanding student submissions, our editorial team has selected the following pieces for publication.

By Winona Van Berkum ’26, Leighia VanDam ’22

The Ioway and the Otoe were here before recorded time, as were the Omaha and Ponca, moving to new lands before white settlers arrived. The Pawnee used this land for hunting grounds, and the Sioux, Sauk, and Meskwaki were here long before colonization. Let us remember that we occupy their homeland and that this land was taken by force.

By Keilah Brewer ’26

If you think back to your childhood, can you name a character you looked up to in a television show or movie? As young children and adolescents, it’s increasingly important to have strong role models and vast representations in the media. Greta Gerwig’s 2017 film, Lady Bird, is one such film that offers insights into the strong-willed female character, Christine, otherwise known as Lady Bird. The film raises important questions about female identity and relationships, and what it means to grow up as a girl.

By Elizabeth Reinhardt ’24

Red and green bursts showered the night sky in watercolored streams, and the Earth rumbled like trembling hands on a snow globe. Between the thundered boom and lit matches, the air carried the distant chatter of teeth and sloshing liquid against aluminum. Burnt marshmallows and smoke swam through the mid-July air as I trekked across yesterday’s freshly mowed grass. Slouched in a dusty fold-out chair with drooped fabric, I smiled.

By Fynn Wadsworth ’25

In the early English texts Sir Lanval and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, we get two terribly similar knightly characters who can be read as at least somewhat queer. Both men’s stories have them battling the temptations of a woman, and yet both men have moments in their stories which call into question their attraction to women. Analyzing these stories by ignoring these moments of queerness does them a disservice and ignores what these texts can show us about queerness in the Medieval period.

By Cory Fairbanks ’25

Una breve explicación: Este poema se basa en la idea que siempre estamos aprendiendo sobre nuestro mundo. He estudiado pedagogía secundaria y el español, y durante mis estudios en la universidad, he pasado dos semestres en el extranjero y he hecho dos viajes estudiantiles en Guatemala. Durante este tiempo, me interesaron mucho las espiritualidades indígenas latino americanas y las similitudes entre ellas aunque hay una gran distancia entre los grupos.

By Grace Benson ’26

At face value, the 2004 film Hidalgo features all the qualities Americans look for in a good Western movie: competition, violence, a cowboy hero overcoming his enemies, and a little bit of romance. What lingers beneath the surface, however, are harmful cultural stereotypes surrounding Arabs. In the film, American cowboy Frank Hopkins accepts an invitation to compete in a treacherous 3,000-mile race through the Arabian desert in response to Arab claims that his mustang, Hidalgo, could never beat the region’s purebred Arabian horses.

By Carter Piagentini ’25

My dad surprised me with a present one day. He drove up to the Amana Colonies to play Pokémon Go for the afternoon with some of his friends and before he left, he decided to stop at a little shop named The Noble Stone, a crystal and mineral store.

By Various Artists

Sophie Kruger ’24 ART 161: 3D Problem Solving Project: Design a sculptural cup and a related saucer form using the visual language of organic organization (forms, textures, structure) found specifically in botanical lifeforms. Sophie’s cup and saucer forms have wonderful visual appeal in the complexity of structuring and richness of detail elements. The forms are […]

By Emma Murphy ’27

I sit batting my eyelashes which are disproportionately larger than my tiny head, as I swing my feet below the kitchen table trying to reach the floor. I had just turned five years old. Steam slowly rises from the handcrafted soup that sits in front of me. Smelling of basil and tomato, I blow on it with my cheeks puffed. I swirl my spoon around in circles trying to see how fast I can get the little chopped-up carrots to move before I can no longer resist and bring the soup to my mouth.

By Kayla Lindquist ’25

People often ask me what my favorite bird is. The question repulses me; how could I possibly just choose one? And yet I always answer: the Short-Eared Owl.

By Sophie Kruger ’24

In this class, students design and implement an art exhibition of their own creation based on a thesis or cohesive idea. Sophie created a large-scale painting installation examining the relationships built with coworkers at a local restaurant and the profound loss when its owner passed away and the restaurant closed. Over the three-week exhibition, Sophie cut up the main panel and each day painted over the original image with white paint effectively representing the process of dealing with loss.

By Mya Ehresman ’26

When a movie makes a young girl cry, when a show makes a couple hold each other tighter, or when an article turns a man into an activist, there is no doubt that media can influence moods, ideas, and actions. Rhetorical scholars analyze media for this very thing, to discover how parts of a text work to influence its audience (Ott, 2010). Rhetorical theory seeks to understand how symbols portray certain messages, claiming no text or media is without purposeful underlying themes (Ott, 2010).

By Emmy Holthe ’25

M*A*S*H is by far one of the most influential television shows in history, featuring one of the most- viewed series finales ever produced and a powerful anti-war message dressed in sitcom drapings. M*A*S*H, which stands for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, was a sitcom/dramedy that aired from 1972 to 1983. The show took place during the Korean War, in which the US military supported South Korea in conflict against North Korea from 1950 to 1953.

By Sabryn Egli ’25

For this assignment, students were asked to write a poem describing an unusual material object. In the best of these poems, careful depiction of the object merges with storytelling and the creation or re-creation of vivid memories. For her poem, Sabryn chose the vanity mirror on her desk. While I usually warn students away from a non-human point of view, Sabryn pulls it off.

By Hailey Glover ’25

The rhetoric of the Bible possesses a dualistic nature. The Good Book has accessible teachings that can be gleaned from an apparent interpretation of the text, and a deeper meaning found through careful reading and the interpretation of metaphorical language and symbols. An example of this dualistic nature is found in Genesis IX when Ham “sees” Noah’s nakedness.

By Brianna Van Groll ’28

For this assignment, students were asked to create a podcast showcasing a person (or, in this case, people) who they thought deserved more recognition. This student selected three current or former NFL players she knew personally—players that aren’t the stars of their team, and therefore face a number of challenges we might not think about when we imagine an NFL player: challenges with career instability, harassment on social media, and more.

By Andrew Mahaffey ’28

In my CIV 110 course, I changed the historical “Soundtrack of My Life” paper into a video project. Students create their own soundtrack utilizing the music that illustrates the most meaningful moments of their lives thus far through song. They choose about five songs and then weave the soundtrack of their life together as narrator. Andrew’s creativity and professionalism shine through not just the editing process, but the overall journey he takes his viewers through as he depicts the many ways in which music delivers “pure joy and happiness” and “connects the whole world.”