On the inexplicable obsession with the perfect ballet dancer. By Magda Lena Griffel Illustration by Iris Pope As a child, Grace Li, CC ’28, was transfixed by the role of Clara in Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker . For Fiona Witty-Daughtery CC ’28, it was the older dancers at her first summer intensive. For the late ballerina Michaela Mabinty DePrince, it was a magazine cover of a prima ballerina that flew to the gate of her orphanage when she was four. She joined ballet classes a

Reflections on protest in the archives. by Magda Lena Griffel Illustration by Isabelle Oh Rumor had it the Rare Book and Manuscript Library had “materials” from the Spring 2024 protests. Curious, I hiked to Butler’s sixth floor, wedged my possessions into my designated locker, and entered the hallowed Woods reading room. Golf pencil sharpened, note paper stacked, I sifted through massive manila folders to find the latest addition, labeled “ Israel-Gaza War Protest .” I flippe