Returning From Study Abroad

By Adrian Keller Feld Yes, I am going to be that returning study abroad kid, the one everyone despises, who doesn’t shut up about their time abroad: how much better everything was, and how weird it is coming back. Before going abroad I disliked that person too, thought they were exaggerating, and while they were,…

Orientation Week: A Freshman’s Perspective

By Ray Perry Orientation week is supposed to teach you all about college…right? Well, it sort of did the job.  While some parts were helpful, I did create 120 origami cranes throughout the week due to boredom. Here’s a rundown of what worked and what didn’t.  The departmental information sessions were really useful, and I…

Princeton Review Ranks Reed College #2 for “Reefer Madness”

Reed College is known for its unofficial motto, “Atheism, Communism, and Free Love.” Many assume that, under those three values, cannabis use is ubiquitous on our campus, especially since it’s quite popular in Portland. But somehow, Reed College had the title of the #1 for pot consumption stolen right from under our noses by none…

Black Country, New Road: Why True Friendship Keeps Music Alive

By Owen Fidler; Photography by Owen Fidler We live in an era where music is more accessible than ever, where finding music can be as simple as scrolling through 10-second clips generated from a Spotify homepage category titled “what indie love song r u?” Consequently, one can feel awfully disconnected from the art that beats…

The Overwhelming Realm of Taylor Swift

By Lindsey Babcock I don’t know how many fellow Swifties roam this campus, but as one, my life is never boring. Taylor Swift has recently decided to bombard the world with new updates on her projects much more frequently than is usual for herself or other artists. This frequent release of cryptic messaging leads fans…

Lone Voices and the Power of Novel Sounds

Music is an everyday part of life for many people. It fills the silence as you do chores, thrums in the background as you talk with friends, and drifts through elevators, stores, and concert halls. Music is versatile in how and when it can be played, what stories it can tell, and who it can…

O(pabinia) Week

Transport yourself back 505 million years ago to the middle Cambrian. The earth is unrecognizable. The continents we know today have not yet formed, and the greenery we associate with life has not yet evolved. The land is barren and rocky. The oceans, however, are brimming with life, and it is some of the most…

Opinion: Portland Sucks at Snow

As I am sure you have noticed, it recently snowed quite a lot here in Portland. Overall, this last week got us around 12 inches of snow, with many referring to the event as a  “snowpocalypse.” And while, yes, this was some record-breaking snowfall – the snowiest day since 1943, apparently – this is something…

Update: Elon Musk is Still in Hell

Recently I found myself sitting in the Quest office (Quoffice, if you will), contemplating an increasingly sparse slate of news content, when I thought to myself, “Man, I wonder what Elon’s up to?”  An odd thought, perhaps, but it’s true — I’ve been so busy with my studies lately that I haven’t even had time…

The Turkey Plague Has Come to an End

Rejoice! The Turkey Plague has ceased to be, and Amanda Reed smiles upon us! With our turkey stock replenished, hot turkey sandwiches may be once again found in abundance on Thursdays between 11:30am and 1:30pm in commons. By Will Howes

How to Become a Reed Legend in 13 Easy Steps

Amongst the names and sentiments that have been written throughout the years in the sign-out book at the Reed College ski cabin, this list is between the pages. It dates back to 1979, nearly 50 years ago, and details instructions on how to become a “Reed Legend.”  So without further ado, below are the steps…

Marketplace Drink Tier List

The Reed Marketplace is a highly competitive establishment for drinks. With one of the most diverse drink selections in the country, the meta is always changing, with new drinks arriving and replacing old ones constantly. What makes a good drink is its ability to monopolize a niche. For example, water is such a successful drink…

Opinion: The OGL 1.1 In Summary (& Retrospect)

The Summary (Of Events) In late December, the news outlet Gizmodo reported on a leaked document that would soon provoke massive outrage and give the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) community – and the whole Tabletop Roleplaying Game (TTRPG) community at large – its greatest shake up in a long while. The leaks indicated that Wizards…

Albert’s Fun Facts Science Corner: Blockchain Eats the Internet or Dies Trying

In his 1992 science fiction novel “Snow Crash,” Neal Stephenson coined the word “metaverse.” To Stephenson’s characters, the metaverse represents a sort of egalitarian ideal. Separate from the constraints of material reality, what you can achieve in the metaverse isn’t limited by your wealth, but by your ability to arrange information, to program, to innovate.…

Your Anti-Trans Bigotry Is Not Feminism: On TERFs, From a Trans Woman

This year, among the student body, there has been a small but vocal group of people—colloquially called TERFs, “Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists”—who have given voice to a certain kind of anti-trans bigotry, masquerading as feminism. I, someone who has recently come out as a trans woman, would like to respond to these voices.  I’m hesitant…

Women’s Basketball Is Awesome and You’re in Denial

Back during the start of the school year, I decided that I wanted to get into the WNBA. The  playoffs were just starting, and Oregon Duck darling Sabrina Ionescu was having somewhat of a breakout  year as a starting shooting guard on a halfway decent New York Liberty team. Knowing absolutely  nothing about the league…

It’s Official, Elon Musk is in Hell

It’s come to this. I’ll be honest — when Elon Musk first announced his intention to buy Twitter back in April, I didn’t believe it. I said foolish things like, “This is absurd,” and “he’s just trolling us, there’s no way he’ll actually go through with it.” Well, dear reader, he went through with it.…

Opinion: “Voluntourism” is a minefield. Consider WWOOF to navigate it.

Americans volunteering abroad tends to reinforce the same gimmicky tropes: there’s the group of teenagers building orphanages and finding Jesus, the shameless PR stunts put on by the US heralding development, the environmental projects pinky-swearing they’re saving the *insert endangered animal here* and not just a glorified petting zoo… the list could go on. The…

Opinion: Pool Hall Menace

Reed’s Pool Hall, home to events such as the Thursday tournaments, pool ball, pool formal, strip pool, Them’s and Fems Tuesdays, and many other themed pool-related events, has been returned to its former glory after a short hiatus due to multiple pool cues being repaired. Why did the pool cues require repair, one might ask?…

Opinion: Stepping Into The Road

Let’s step out into the road together. It’s Woodstock, at 17:30 on a Friday, everyone is rushing around to get to wherever it is that thirty-something Portlanders go when they’re not at the office pretending to be useful on Macs and phones and office paraphernalia. Don’t call it jaywalking–call it reclaiming space. (Jaywalking of course…

It’s Time to Bring Back The Scrounge

For some truly risk-loving individuals, the scrounge never left. The Commandments may have been stripped from the Commons wall, the table covered in half-eaten sandwiches and picked-at bowls of rice may have been cleaned and folded and packed away, but for some, the spirit of the Scrounge has remained. Despite the plague risk, the spinning…

Reedies Should Hold One Another Accountable in the Career Search: Maybe We Can Start with the Blackstone Group

Reed’s renowned leftism—“the most liberal college in the country” the Atlantic propounded—has year after year shown its force on campus. Just in the last few years alone, Reedies have fundamentally changed the college’s core curriculum, pressured the Board to divest from fossil fuels, and demanded the firing of a recently exposed racist  and tenured professor,…

The Behemoth Lives On

From all available evidence no black man had ever set foot in this tiny Swiss village  before I came.  – James Baldwin, “Stranger in The Village” When I received my acceptance letter to Reed two Decembers ago, I knew that I just had to make it. I wasn’t worried about making it through my last…

God Save the King? Long Live the Republic?

In November of 2021, Barbados became the first Commonwealth nation since Mauritius to formally remove Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state and declare itself a republic. During the ceremony, the peaceful transfer of power was symbolized by a final salute to the Royal Standard flag, before it was then lowered one final time…

Marino Café and the Importance of Special Spaces

If somehow you find yourself having escaped the Reed bubble, wandering about like a little lamb in the vast, unfathomable void of suburban Portland, you just might have seen it: an unassuming late-night café on Division street known as Marino Adriatic Café. I love this place so much. Striking murals paint the walls, and all…

Let the Voices Extend: A Personal Reflection on Institutional Inequality at Reed as an International Student

A protest against racism was going on. Students were making noises. Our voices need to be heard, so that actual anti-racism actions can be taken. We demand and deserve no tolerance for hate speech. But beyond introducing no leniency on any speaker of racist speech, what are the long-term actions we want, exactly? When we,…

There is a Glowing Blue Presence Beneath the Surface

There is a balm in Gilead. Modern permissive authority is serpentine and consumptive, it is the Apophis to the Ra of individuality. And yet, at Reed, a supposed wellspring of good progressive individuality, we collectively play boss to one another. I find that to be not only antithetical to basic moral hygiene, but also a…

Debt and Financial Justice at Stanford North

Why the Quest’s coverage of the Paradox deficit is deeply troubling  Edited by Cyana Ruiz This is a story of forgetting: how Reed has forgotten social and financial justice. (Though you may still dissect its corpse in your conferences.) But forgetting isn’t something passive or inevitable: at Reed, the administration is enforcing forgetfulness about forms…

The Jewish Experience: Anti-semitism at Reed

Many people who are not Jewish think they understand what “being Jewish” means. In reality, this is often far from the truth. There are a lot of detrimental misconceptions about us that aid in our continued persecution. We will preface this article with an overview of what Judaism is in order to give non-Jewish readers…

Opinion: Why We Need a Speed Limit For the Internet

The term “externality” refers to any effect, positive or negative, on an uninvolved third party because of the actions of a different party. Externalities create economic inefficiencies because the cost or benefit to the third party is not accounted for by the deciding party. In our economic system, there are a few ways in which…

Lines Crossed

My family crossed the border from Guatemala to Mexico in the ‘80s following the purposeful destruction of our indigenous village. My abuelos led their small children across the border where their names were changed to Spanish and their culture was dismissed as basic and barbaric. Our gods were said to be wrong and our clothes…

Diary of a Plague Year: Ten Days in the Covid Quarantine Dorm

Day Zero, Tuesday, 5:30 p.m.: The call comes Tuesday evening. I am in line at Commons, but I step outside for the phone call that I had pretty much guessed was coming. Gently, the Area Coordinator on the phone tells me she has some bad news. I know what she’ll say before she opens her…

How much do you know about the Chinese New Year?

Last week, Reed celebrated the Lunar New Year. The Commons offered a Lunar New Year dinner consisting of traditional Asian cuisine. The International Student Services, in collaboration with Chinese eHouse, OSE, ISAB, and the Chinese department held a variety of activities including: fortune telling, mahjong, paper crafts, calligraphy, a Polaroid camera photo booth, and a…

Opinion: Deep Ecology Doesn’t Care about Divestment

Hello again. I write in often to discuss the social ecology of our shared home, but few of you know that I am, in a practical sense, a nature writer. I was drawn to Reed by the effervescent legacy of alum Gary Snyder and the heady influence of his writing (please read Turtle Island). Gary…

Reed Should Not Have Grass Lawns

Imagine a post-carbon Reed College. What has changed? Our generation and the generations to follow will experience the devastating impacts of climate change, and will inevitably be forced to change aspects of how we live that have been central to long-standing institutions since their beginnings. Fundamental societal shifts will take place, either in order to…

Opinion: Why Reed Will Never Divest from Anything

This article begins with a correction to last week’s story titled “Greenboard Asks for Transparency about Divestment.” The story stated that “Reed President Paul Bragdon announced in 1986 that Reed would be divesting from South African businesses during apartheid.” In reality, Bragdon announced that Reed would only maintain investments in companies that adhered to the…

Opinion: A Reflection on How Things Were Before

I was watching a TV show alone in my apartment, a scene I think we’ve all grown even more accustomed to within the past year, and was thinking about how grand it might have been to share the experience of other people. Because my mind is addled with Reed Lore, I thought first about FK,…

Honor Council’s Letter to the Student Body

Dear Reed community members, Last week, the Vice President of Student Life sent an email that discussed ongoing matters at Reed in a one-sided and condescending manner. The Honor Council would like to clarify that the definition of the Honor Principle that was used to justify scolding the student body is not what the Honor…

Opinion: What We Owe to Each Other

As a Reedie, I had gotten used to the words Honor Principle being tossed around in everyday life. I had heard professors urging their students to abide by the Honor Principle and not cheat, speeches from deans of departments, and the endless O-week propaganda. The Honor Principle is introduced to students right as they arrive.…

Opinion: Reed Unions in a Time of National Division

From the period of 1963 to 1973 the college held twenty one Reed Unions; from 2010 to 2020, the college held five. Reed Unions were originally envisioned by a first year student in the 1940s as a ceremonial way to have a meal as a community and discuss some topic of import. Topics for these…

Opinion: On Fall Break

A week? In the middle of October? Where are you going? Are you spending money on expensive tickets to fly home and spend the same amount for Thanksgiving break? Or are you twiddling your thumbs in Commons, waiting to escape the turkey burgers and claustrophobia? The upcoming fall break is inconvenient for international students and…

Opinion: Untenable Student Life Emails

In a great number of ways, our community is in flux. New administrators are joining, old ones are leaving, students who have not spent time on campus are coming together; I’m certainly excited to be seeing people I haven’t seen in years together again. This commotion is going to cause some friction, but outside of…

Opinion: The Honor Principle is Dead. Long Live the Honor Principle.

Content warning: Discussion of sexual assault Maybe I’m just a fool for thinking the college’s keystone policy would show its face in times of strife. Maybe I should expect nothing more from the institution that didn’t shovel for days after the paths were covered in snow. Maybe we should all be considering Reed as a…

Opinion: Afghan Refugees, U.S. Immigration Policy, and the Demands of Justice

We’ve all seen the harrowing headlines and the gut-wrenching videos. After President Joe Biden officially announced his decision to withdraw the remaining U.S. military presence from Afghanistan in mid-August, thousands of panic-stricken Afghans flooded Hamid Karzai International Airport, some of them clinging onto the landing gear of U.S. planes as they prepared for take-off. The…

Opinion: The Nine Kings of the United States

“The court now stands in defense of one thing, and those are the values of the members sitting on it.” The Supreme Court has allowed Texas its own little human rights holiday. Roe—and to a greater extent Casey—is still the law of the land, but this is simply a minor inconvenience to the 6-3 conservative…

Opinion: The Case for Systemic Student Autonomy

The college had a plan. Under then President Kroger, Reed paid a consulting firm, K&A, to produce a plan on student success. This firm established six chief areas of concern where Reed needed to improve, focusing on: Community, inclusion, advising/wayfinding, wellbeing, the Reed “bubble,” and lack of systematic data collection.   In a few more words:…

Opinion: A (Shitty) Year in Review

“Seattle is in lockdown,” my friend bluntly explained. What was meant to be a quick dinner in between study breaks turned into a long discussion of the COVID-19. I had the privilege of ignoring the coronavirus until that point. But now an entire city was in lockdown.  On my walk back to the library I…

Opinion: The Future is Now, White Man

The HUM 110 curriculum originated as a celebration of whiteness. Because students found this curriculum untenable, it was changed to be a broader survey of cultures and look beyond just Greek and Rome, but HUM 110 is still woefully stuck in the past. Frankly, HUM 110’s failure is just as much the fault of the…

Opinion: Tết during COVID

The silence stood out to me the most this year. The absence of firecrackers in our front yard, drums for the lion dances, and the dozens of voices that should be yelling over one another when my whole extended family reunites for the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, otherwise known as Tết. The author as a…

Opinion: Second Wave of Hate Crimes Hits Asian Community

At the start of January, my dad, a refugee from the Vietnam War, and I were making the usual rounds through Oakland’s Chinatown, popping into a few produce markets and dim sum restaurants to stock up on supplies for the week. As we turned the corner on our way out of the district, a man…

Opinion: I Was Exposed to COVID-19

What happened following a coronavirus exposure on campus On November 4, I received an email from Madison Riethman, the COVID-19 Response Coordinator, asking me to call her regarding “an important public health matter.” I called her when I finished classes, and she informed me I was exposed to COVID-19 and must quarantine for two weeks.…

Opinion: My Experience with COVID-19

An anonymous Reedie shares their struggle with “severe symptoms” CW: COVID-19, Mental Health, Vomit I tested positive for COVID-19, and this is an account of the days I spent in isolation. I do not know how I contracted it; I wore a mask anytime I left my dorm, rarely left campus, and followed safety protocols…

Opinion: The Notorious RBG

A tribute to a titan of the US judicial system Our nation mourns the loss of arguably one of the most brilliant minds our legal system has seen, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Her death comes following countless ailments, all of which never stopped her from sitting on our nation’s highest court. Ginsburg’s death, according to…

Opinion: Turning Outwards

A consideration of U.S.-China relations With so much happening within the U.S., let alone right here in Portland, it is difficult to keep track of what is going on in our own backyards. So a call to extend our field of vision beyond the confines of our national boundaries, themselves wracked by conflict and controversy,…

Opinion: A Review of President Bilger’s First Quarter

While for most students the year is only nine weeks old, President Audrey Bilger has been hard at work for the last four months, toiling away in the summer months before students returned in late August. I reached out to President Bilger and Executive Director of Communications and Events Mandy Heaton to learn how Reed…

Inauguration, Behind the Podium

Reflections on the Inauguration from someone on stage For the folks who were presenting at the inauguration, the event began at 4:00 p.m. We shuffled into the Grey Lounge of Kaul Auditorium because, you know, that’s where one would responsibly put the Grey Lounge: in Kaul. The room was bustling with folks suiting up into…

An Open Letter to the Administrators

From Student Body President Pax Lloyd-Burchett I am beyond frustrated with most all of you. Upon writing this, I just received a petition from the Students with Disabilities Coalition, and their concerns reminded me why I started doing this. They need something necessary for their being here, and they can’t find it in you. Some…

Opinion: Offering Space

As many students and others may know, anonymous graffiti to/about me has appeared in various parts of campus for weeks now, most or all of it critical and provocative. After reflecting and engaging people whom I trust, and who challenge me with equal parts candor and love, I penned the following message to the person(s)…

Opinion: The SATs Are Inherently Inequitable

Rich kids don’t need to pay millions to get into college. They are already virtually guaranteed a spot. The recent charging of 33 parents people with bribing college officials, athletic coaches, and exam proctors to get their children into top colleges and universities across the United States has brought with it a discussion of the…

Opinion: Why We’re Seeking an Updated Investment Responsibility Policy

Over the past forty years, two policies have stood at the center of Reed’s largest student-driven protests: the dissent policy (currently under review due to a history of institutionalizing racism), and the Investment Responsibility Policy. Compliance with the Investment Responsibility Policy (IRP) has long stood as the final bulwark against student movements: it provided the…

Opinion: Addressing the HA Role

We appreciate the opportunity to address two issues that the Quest article “Questions Arise about House Advisor Role” raises: House Advisor (HA) departures and HA/resident boundaries. While we are not at liberty to share any specifics, we can say that four HAs have left their position this academic year. This compares to the one or…

Russia’s Attack on Ukrainian Naval Ships: Context and Implications

On November 24, I lit a candle to commemorate the deaths of at least four million Ukrainians in the Holodomor, the artificial famine of 1932–1933 which the UN recognizes as a genocide of the Ukrainian people by the Soviet government. The next day, I awoke to the news that Russia had attacked several Ukrainian naval…

Opinion: A New War Coming?

The United States has made moves that are muddying up any attempts at international peace. President Trump is leaving the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty). According to the Guardian, President Donald Trump announced in October that he plans to “terminate” the 1987 treaty. The move has raised concerns for countries like Russia and Cuba…

Jewish in America

The History of Hate, Violence, and Anti-Semitism that Led to the Pittsburgh Shooting On Saturday, October 27, at 10:00 a.m., the weekly Sabbath prayer service was just beginning for thousands of Jewish communities worldwide. At the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh, PA, however, the ordinary service became a tragedy when 46-year-old Robert Bowers entered…

Opinion: The Rise of the Right

In the last couple of years, the United States has moved so far to the right that the most vulnerable in our society have now become the most criminal. Questions regarding police violence have remained unanswered and have become more urgent. In the midst of this escalation, old groups have become the new answers to…

Opinion: Women Can Take Down the World’s Kavanaughs

CW: Sexual assault, sexism On October 8, 2018, Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in to the United States Supreme Court. Already, it feels like old news. Public attention has moved onto stories of hurricanes, migrant caravans, and the midterm elections. I still think about it everyday. I was, simply put, raised at a country club surrounded…

Opinion: The Clintons Should No Longer Be Welcome in the Democratic Party

Hillary and Bill Clinton have recently been making clear efforts to join the projected Democratic wave and, once again, establish themselves as leaders within their party. But both their actions and public opinion have demonstrated that they do not deserve to retain their former standing. The Democrats will do better, both in upcoming elections and…

Opinion: Surviving Sexual Assault, Kavanaugh Hearings

CW: sexual assault, Kavanaugh hearings In 1991, a young lawyer named Anita Hill courageously gave testimony to Congress on her experiences of the character and conduct of Clarence Thomas. The all-male panel grilled her in humiliating detail about the sexual harassment she experienced while clerking for Thomas. She was accused of being a pawn and…

Opinion: Challenging Political Neutrality

A quick look at the investment practices of Reed College I urge all members of the Reed community to read through the college’s Investment Responsibility Policy (IRP), and to think critically about what this little three-page document reveals about Reed’s philosophy of engagement with the world. In brief, the policy states that in order to…

Opinion: Response to “From Nightwatchmen to CSOs”

I have many types of privilege. I am a mostly-able-bodied, heterosexual, cis, white woman who is fortunate enough to have been born in this country, and to be employed in a job that pays me a living wage. I am privileged to be a graduate of this institution. That is a lot of privilege. I…

Opinion: Why Sanders Shouldn’t Get the Next Democratic Nomination

On August 14, 2018, Bernie Sanders appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. When Colbert asked him whether he “would put aside all speculation” and commit to not running, Sanders’s decided answer was, “No.” In this political environment, where pivoting and evasion are as natural as breathing, that answer is as good as a…

Opinion: Did America Lose a Human Rights Activist?

The recent passing of Senator John McCain (R-A.Z.) has sparked national controversy over both his career and his legacy. While many mourn his death, there are some who are apathetic or even glad that he has passed. Media attention surrounding his death has focused on McCain’s role in human rights legislation, and many public figures,…