A Note From the Editors
By Stacy DeBoef '97 & David Chivers '98
The Writing Anthology is paramount in recognizing students who have shown excellence in writing. Professors across the curriculum are invited to submit papers which, in their judgment, demonstrate good writing.
This year Central’s various academic divisions were well-represented by over fifty submissions, making the selection process extremely difficult. To accommodate the increased number of qualified entries, we selected four additional essays to appear in this year’s Anthology. We are pleased with the diversity of the papers published, which range from math and science to foreign language.
Two awards are given to recognize essays which we feel set a precedent for outstanding writing. The John Allen award for overall excellence goes to Stephanie French for her essay “Change” and Nancy Vander Ark for ”·The Sacred Function of Sex in Whitman’s ‘Children of Adam.”‘ French’s essay was chosen for its unconventional perspective of seemingly inconsequential encounters with beggars in other cultures which challenges a set of values often overlooked. Vander Ark’s essay illuminates the selected Whitman poems through insightfully applied literary criticism.
The Maureen Danks award for w1iting in math and science goes to Chad Gross for his essay “A Matter of inches: The Effects of Erosion on Crop Yields.” The essay achieves meaningfulness for the general reader and presents a well researched and constructed argument. We also give honorable mention to Travis Vande Berg’s essay “Reaction to Barton J. Bernstein’s ‘The Atomic Bombings Reconsidered.”‘ Addressing a hotly debated issue, the essay eloquently defends a controversial opinion.
We extend a huge thanks to Randa Van Dyk for layout design and typesetting and for allowing us to invade her space and time in the preparation for the Anthology and to Chad Erpelding for providing the artwork.
Stacy DeBoef and David Chivers, editors
Walter Cannon and Pam Steinke, faculty advisors