91̽��

As 2014 comes to an end to make way for a new year, review these "Photos of the Day" as a reminder of what makes 91̽��, 91̽��. From stage productions to athletic contests, from Harkness tables to off-campus programs, students are living by our motto, "Dare To Be...

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Díaz spoke with students this week not only as a creative writer, but also as a Dominican-American immigrant and an activist. Hosted by 91̽��’s student Latino Association, Mr. Díaz spent the morning answering questions from a packed room of students, on topics ranging from the writing process to the response to Ferguson, from gender equity to immigration.

With a personal history grounded deeply in the immigrant experience—Mr. Díaz came to the United States when he was six years old and grew up in New Jersey—he said that much of his own writing is informed by what he knows and what he experienced. “However,” he said, “there are endless ways to approach any craft. When your teachers tell you to ‘write what you know,’ they are teaching you to scale things correctly. In other words, if you can’t draw a cup, it’s going to be hard to draw a battle station. Until you can accurately describe your own world, it’s probably going to be difficult for you to describe someone else’s.”

Knowing Mr. Díaz’s significant background and work in activism and advocacy, students posed questions about the Latino community’s response to the grand jury decision in Ferguson, about the reality of the “American Dream,” and about the role power plays in the country’s dialogue on race.

The Community Service Board has been working hard over the past weeks, preparing for the holiday season. Every year, 91̽�� students and adults commit to raising money and buying holiday gifts for local children and families in need, through nonprofit organizations and the Department of Children and Families. This year, students, faculty and staff purchased 30 coats for children of the Brookview House. Students gave children their gifts at the Brookview House holiday party this past weekend. At this fun and festive event, children participated in arts and crafts and enjoyed performances by 91̽�� students.

“What is safe water?” asked Dr. Daniele Lantagne as she spoke to students about the roles math and science play in her work on household water treatment in developing countries.

Dr. Lantagne’s research focuses on developing, implementing and assessing the effectiveness of water and sanitation interventions in developing countries and emergency contexts. She worked for the CDC for eight years, and she spent 75 percent of her time traveling to more than 50 countries. She explained to students how she went from an undergrad at M.I.T. to a scientist landing on a remote airstrip and hiking three days to get to her destination. When she’s in the field, she works closely with local populations, coordinating safe water techniques while also considering the economic realities and culture of the area.

“History is not science. It’s spin,” Professor Blake Gilpin proposed to students this week. This year’s Henry R. Heyburn ’39 Speaker in History, Dr. Gilpin used his expertise on the 1850s abolitionist John Brown to illustrate how the narratives of history are created: by combining fact, perspective, and sometimes imagination.

Dr. Gilpin, a professor of history at Tulane University, has spent a decade studying John Brown and the cultural phenomena surrounding the man and his legend. “Many historians have written about John Brown, and using the exact same facts, the same details, some have painted him as a lunatic; some as a depraved criminal; and some as a civil rights hero akin to Martin Luther King.” Dr. Gilpin walked students down a short but rich biography of John Brown—details that made clear what led him to the events at Harpers Ferry, Virginia; his trial; his death; and the connection of his actions to the American Civil War.

Journalist Anand Giridharadas had an “almost American life” growing up. Born in Ohio, the son of Indian immigrants, he shared with students the story of what led him to live in India for six years. A New York Times columnist and the author of India Calling: An Intimate Portrait of a Nation’s Remaking, Mr. Giridharadas was this year’s Hong Kong Distinguished Lecturer.

Growing up outside of Cleveland, Mr. Giridharadas was constantly asked where he was from because of how he looked, despite his American accent and upbringing. “My sense of India was a place my parents chose to leave,” he says. “When we visited, it seemed like a stagnant, slow moving place.” As a young, aspiring writer, he decided to challenge his feelings toward India and move to Bombay. Within a year, he was working as a journalist for the International Herald Tribune.