Fall 2025

• Eric Baker
• Greg Deinert
• Dalton Greene
• Susan Pramschufer
• Sydney Sharpstene
• Carina Jiaxing Shi
• Rachel Waugh
• Aubrey Zinn

Dear Reader –

riverrun, past Interpolations, which once again highlights some of the best writing and most original thinking our exemplary English 101 students have to offer. This year’s edition represents, primarily, work composed during the 2024-2025 academic year--another year of transition for the Academic Writing Program as we think through how new forms of technology are helping or hindering the intellectual progress we always see from our students over the course of the semester. Sometimes it seems that the university has already made its choice, a choice that sides with some of the most significant corporate donors and interests. A choice that often seems to view a university education as little more than job training. We are told repeatedly that our students will need to use these various generative AI and large language model technologies in their future jobs, despite “generative artificial intelligence” being neither generative (it’s merely iterative) nor intelligent (though I will grant its artificiality). In my view, English 101 remains a bulwark against this AI bubble--whereas LLMs are explicitly anti-labor, what we do in our 101 classrooms focuses on celebrating the work of writing, which is really, as we all know, the work of thinking. Good writing is not something that can be outsourced to an algorithm, because good writing takes time, effort, and consideration. It is more than mere communication of information; it is an exchange of ideas, of research, and of knowledge. It is, as we emphasize in our classrooms, a conversation between and among people, not machines, and one of the most pressing questions facing The University in the years to come is, I think: how much of our students’ cognition are we willing to outsource to an algorithm? Where is the line that we draw between what is and is not thinking? How do we move forward as critical readers, critical writers, and critical thinkers in a world where even University administrations seem happy to back technologies that preempt the very process of thought?

This issue of Interpolations will, I hope, inspire you by showcasing some of the very best creative thought and composition from students who take seriously the value of writing and thinking. This issue sees the publication of five outstanding pieces from our English 101 students. In this issue, you will find Glory Abatai’s excellent analysis of the rhetorical effectiveness of a TED Talk on empathy that, though its central metaphor may be considered controversial fifteen years after the talk was given, remains relevant to the way we might hope to approach those around us. Erika Falco’s position paper looks at the ways in which technologies, including social media technologies, are affecting the way we talk about mental health in ways that, on the one hand, can foster community, but on the other, can also lead to trivialization and romanticization. Angelique Alphonse takes a deep dive into why there is such a lack of diversity in STEM fields, and what we might do to help correct that imbalance, an argument that feels ever more urgent. We also are able to showcase two very excellent position papers with their public remediation projects, from Kayla Johnson, who writes compellingly about combating fatphobia in the fashion industry, and Maddie Simpkins, who writes passionately about protecting horseshoe crabs while still meeting the needs of biomedical research.

As we continue to think about what kinds of writing we want and need to see in the world, particularly in a time of upheaval and change with even the ways in which we write, the pieces published in this issue represent a wide and impressive range of thought and style. All of them, though, share a desire to make the world a better place, and an understanding of how we might be able to affect that change through the work of composition, rhetoric, and argument. I am, as ever, blown away by our students’ passion, dedication, and talent.

This will be my final issue as editor-in-chief for now, closing a four-year term that has been my honor and privilege. I want to thank, as always, our inimitable managing editor Scott Eklund, without whom Interpolations would not be remotely possible. Additionally, my thanks go out to the always-exceptional editorial board, who, along with Scott and myself, worked with our students to prepare these pieces for publication: Eric Baker, Greg Deinert, Dalton Greene, Susan Pramschufer, Sydney Sharpstene, Carina Jiaxing Shi, Rachel Waugh, and Aubrey Zinn. The repeat board members and new board members alike have guided these pieces through extensive revision, and their helpful insights are always invaluable. I now pass the EIC baton to Susan Pramschufer and wish her the very best going forward with this important publication.

As we face an uncertain future, take heart: our students remain dedicated, inspiring, intelligent, creative, empathetic, kind, and generous. The kids are indeed alright.

-joshua