Dear Readers,

    As many of you may know, all Princeton students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree are required to complete a senior thesis on a topic of their choice and, within their field of study, of course. For me, this entails a subject that incorporates economics, finance and environmental studies.

    All theses are housed in Princeton’s Mudd Library, a small and inconspicuous square building at the northeast of the campus. I have only visited once when searching for a topic and outlining my thesis a few weeks ago to Mudd, but there is an order and solemnity to the place that seems fitting for the final assignments of Princetonians past.

    A preliminary visit with my thesis adviser after that, narrowed my topic choice, but I will have to look into previous literature and academic analyses before finalizing what my thesis will be about.

    Now, however, I am in the middle of fall break and thus have a respite from conducting research on my thesis for an entire week.

    If you recall, every year after midterms at Princeton, we have one week of work-free days to spend frolicking in the fallen leaves, or this year, in the melting snow.

    Unbelievably, Princeton experienced a snowstorm during the last week of October. Halloween seemed to better resemble Christmas and traveling became a nightmare, entangled in the twigs of broken branches.

    Now, all has returned to normal and any remaining power outages have been restored, but the shock is still yet to completely wear off. One can only wonder if the effects of global warming and climate change are reaching us much faster than anticipated, and whether or not humankind brought this upon itself.

    But should we set the gloom aside. Things are still quite good and splendid at Princeton and elsewhere. Stay safe and cozy, my friends.

    Sincerely, Laiyin