Last Saturday was a day I’d been looking forward to all year. Nimbus literary and arts magazine held our launch party for this year’s edition of the magazine. The magazine didn’t get published last year, so being able to hold our creations in our hands was an incredible feeling. I joined Nimbus last year as a staff editor at the activities fair in the fall. I submitted a few pieces, rated the other submissions, and attended a handful of meetings. I was pretty disappointed when the magazine didn’t get published–I’d always wanted to do the literary magazine in high school, but didn’t want to give up any of my electives to take it as a class. At the beginning of this year, I jumped at the chance to help Maggie and Giulietta out when they emailed the staff looking for people to help them at the activities fair. Since I was the only person to respond besides Kirsten, we became the new publicity head and submissions editor.

the banner I made for the activities fair now hangs in Maggie’s room over their fireplace

All year, we’ve been holding meetings with our staff members in preparation for the magazine launch. We did a LOT of writing workshops before we finally had enough submissions to regularly rate them as a group. Mid-February, the executive board (co-presidents Maggie and Giulietta, submission editor Kirsten, treasurer Cassidy, and me, the publicity head) took it upon ourselves to finish the design portion of the magazine. We took our top-rated works from the communal staff ratings system, quickly determined an order, divided up the pages, and set about formatting out magazine. After many late Wednesday nights in the Carpenter media lab, we finally ordered the magazine.

letter from the editors

We’d been planning our launch party since November, allowing ourselves to get overly excited about the “cocktail attire preferred” dress code and the snacks we’d serve whenever submissions were running low. We chose to dedicate this edition to Professor Jane Hedley, from whom Maggie, Kirsten, and I have all had the pleasure of learning. Her courses in poetics have greatly influenced us (and generations of other Mawrtyrs) as writers and critics, and her retirement this coming summer seemed to indicate that dedicating the magazine to her would be a perfect move. Of course, we also just wanted to invite her to the party.

the magazine!

snacks on snacks on snacks

On Saturday, we gathered in the Goodhart music room with magazine and snacks to share our triumphant creation with all of our friends, staff members, and contributors. Giulietta, a graduating senior, gave a great little speech about her time with the magazine before reading her “We Were No Match for the Chestnuts” out loud to us from the pages of the magazine. Maggie surprised us all with a few of their unpublished love poems, and I even shared one of mine. It was wonderful to see all of the staff and contributing artists who came out to support the magazine and enjoy some tasty treats with us. The absolute best part was when Professor Hedley asked all of us to autograph her copy of the magazine–I truly felt honored!

the executive board and professor Hedley!

Maggie reading one of their poems

Though producing a literary and arts magazine was a lot of work, it was mostly a fun-filled labor of love. I greatly admire all of the artwork printed in our magazine and on our blog, and I am honored to know that their creators are all my peers here at Bryn Mawr. Nimbus will be losing some key members next year, just as Bryn Mawr will be losing professor Hedley, but these losses will be accompanied by influxes of new growth and ways of thinking. I’m so proud to be a part of Nimbus, and I can’t wait to see what we receive next year. As the exec board likes to say, be creative, and spread the lit mag love!

cover art by Maggie

‘Twas the day of the room draw, and all ‘cross the land,
Mawrtyrs’ fingers stayed crossed, hoping all goes as planned,
The draw-order numbers had gone up at noon,
Hopes to be realized or dashed very soon,
The Mawrtyrs were checking numbers of beds,
While visions of window-seats danced in their heads.
And the residence council, with puns on display,
Were ever-so-ready for this fateful day.
As Thomas Great Hall filled up with chatter,
Of Mawrtyrs with maps to clear up the matter,
Dorm President hopefuls securing possible votes,
And heated debates over retiring to Rhoads,
Surreptitiously plugging numbers into phones,
Hoping luck would prevail over living along,
When what to our wondering ears did appear,
But a last run-through of procedure, just to be clear.
When asked to explain, most Mawrtyrs just stare,
“It’s just one of those things, you just have to be there”
Suddenly the first number rang out ‘cross the hall
Her response of “Erdman!” was surely soothing to all.
Now Brecon! Now Denbigh! Now Pem East and West!
In Radnor! In Merion! New Dorm, Rock, and the rest!
Maybe you want a porch? Or a floor made of wood?
Or anywhere, anywhere, anywhere good!
As leaves before the wild hurricane fly,
Rooms dashed out of South in the blink of an eye.
New Dorm went next, closing as well,
Rhoads North was the third place the eraser fell.
Whispering to friends who had yet to decide
Just where they might choose when it was their time.
My roommate wants New Dorm with singles galore,
But I won’t trust myself with a carpeted floor
One heller in Batten, the other just drew
She’ll enjoy Merion, the laundry will be new
A friend suggests Rock, where I lived last year,
But my number could mean the third floor, I fear.
When it comes to the Pems, I’d put West after East,
But it is said that they both suffer from the beasties.
I’d almost forgotten all about Brecon–
But being realistic, I know I’m not up for trekkin’.
I’m not drawn to Denbigh, I’ve no reason why,
And with none of my friends there, why even try?
Worst case is Erd, but I’m not desperate yet
I won’t get back into Rhoads, but I’m not upset
Number 227 had me prepared
For all possible outcomes, any number of stairs
If Athena is willing, I’ll be with my friends
And we won’t be enemies by the time all this ends.
So the numbers drone on, as dorms fill up and close
While successful room-drawers empty the rows
Heads turn at some decisions to closely inspect
Who could possibly think that THAT dorm is the best?
But each to the own, or so I’ve been heard said,
And at least that means my chances aren’t in the red.
My number’s approaching, it’s really crunch time
I’m still frantic, and nervous, and can’t quite decide
Do I need to be social? Aren’t bathrooms enough?
When did knowing what I like suddenly get so tough?
At long last it’s my time, it’s my number that’s called
And I’ve got to announce my residence hall
I’ve gossiped, and searched, and whispered a lot
Thought about coolness, thought it’s something I’m not
But oh, what the hell, I’d rather be around
People I know I like, and Uncommon Grounds
I’ll take red windowpanes, and maybe some volume
If I know I’ll be excited about any room.
So 227–oh goodness, that’s me!
Yes, Radnor is where I’d like to be!
I’ve met with success–I think I’ll be alright!
So to all, a good Room Draw, and to all, a goodnight!

FRIDAY, APRIL 1ST, 3:21 PM – CARPENTER LIBRARY

Students at Bryn Mawr College are reporting severe amounts of overcrowding in their libraries given the recent shift to spring weather. As temperatures outside climb to almost 80 degrees, students are crammed into the tiny study spaces on campus. The scene is vicious, with bags clutched close to chests, computer plugs held menancingly near the outlets, and intelligent young adults reduced to snarling beasts in their competition for seats in the library. “Ever since the sun came out, and the flowers started to blossom,” reports Sara King, a biology major in 2018, “you just can’t keep people out of the libraries. It’s really stressful, knowing how full the buildings are, when all you want to do is focus on your schoolwork and ignore the sun-filled campus.” Students have been complaining about the school-wide increase in work ethic ever since a few days in February climbed above 50 degrees and one or two trees on campus sprouted confused buds. But is it really all about the weather?

admitted student Akili Davis works in Carpenter library: “I couldn’t believe how crowded it was in there, and how focused I felt on the campus. I’m definitely considering Bryn Mawr, but this spring fever has got me worried.”

“Oh, definitely,” says Jamie-Lynn DiDomenico, 2018, “everyone here just hates fun, and sunshine, and flowers, so as soon as spring rolls around, the libraries fill right up. It’s even affecting the students in my graduate school classes–I’ve never seen such perfect attendance. It’s just frustrating.” Students also say that their professors aren’t helping the problem–when a Haverford student suggested they take their lecture outside, Professor Don of the French department was reportedly so horrified that she completely forgot how to speak French, spending the rest of the class trying to communicate only in German. Maya Bhalla-Ladd, 2019, expressed confusion about her ecology professor’s antics when she asked if they’d be visiting the trees on campus again. “She just stared at me and then laughed,” the first-year biology major hopeful said, “and asked if we’d rather just go to Collier to look at slides. Everyone said yes, of course–who wants to be outside, where it’s warm, when we could be in the science library?”

Carpenter Library

As students raced across campus to their classes, never pausing for photographs of the lines of cherry blossom trees erupting into bloom, this reporter was able to stop one student who said they were “a die-hard library go-er.” Maggie Alvarez, an English major of the class of 2017, had a lot of complaints about the recent influx of studiers. “I’ve seen this every year–classic spring fever,” the co-president of Nimbus, the literary and arts magazine sighed, “it’s really hard on dedicated library folks like myself. We’re in there year-round, even when the weather is terrible outside! But now, when the sun is shining, there’s really nothing on anybody’s minds but studying. You can barely get tables in the main libraries–I’ve got a few secret study spots I prefer myself for when times get tough. And no, I won’t tell you where they are–just know there’s a window seat involved. I’ve gotta go–I’ve got a great idea for a snapchat story, but I don’t want to do it until I’ve finished all the work I could possibly think of.” They rushed off, muttering about starting a draft of their thesis months early.

Leyla Fahim, 2018, claims that her recent motivation to excel in physics can only be attributed to how ridiculously beautiful it is outside. “I really struggle with focusing, but when there’s weather like this, you can’t get me out of the library. There’s just nothing better I could be doing–why would I go for a hike in the woods or have a picnic when I could be tackling problem sets and re-reading chapters on mathematical theories?” She acknowledged, however, that the new surge of energy wouldn’t last. Come finals, she said, “I’ll definitely be doing something way more interesting and important than studying, like spinning a stick in circles or bleaching my roommate’s hair. The weather effect will have worn off by then, and we’ll be able to procrastinate again, thank goodness.” At press time, she’d finished her work for the next two and a half weeks, and was frantically trying to shove her computer charger into an outlet already being used by three other students.

Leyla Fahim, 2018, hard at work amidst the crowds

Some students expressed confusion at the notion of spring fever. “What do you mean, it’s spring?” demanded Solana Adonis, class of 2018. “What cherry blossoms? I’m late for being 10 minutes early to class, get out of my way!” she added, before running off towards Carpenter, seemingly oblivious to the picturesque alley of trees that shrouded the walkway. On other college campuses, one might see students lounging about in the sun, playing frisbee, or organizing elaborate photoshoots to capture the spectacular beauty of their campus, but here at Bryn Mawr, schoolwork clearly is foremost on the minds of everyone.

takeout meals are preferred in this spring weather, because of how quickly students can resume studying.