In an art studio in Los Angeles, Catherine Croft ’21 is adjusting a silicone puppet shaped like the hippocampus region of the human brain—but with a face. After some fine-tuning, Croft steps back and double-checks that everything is in place on her miniature set. Then, she snaps a photo and starts the process all over again. In a typical day, she’ll shoot more than 700 photos to create one minute of film. She’s racing against time to complete a 15-minute stop-motion video as part of her summer research project at Puget Sound.

When Natalie Willoughby ’21 decided to publish a zine featuring her work on intersectionality in online activism, she was adding her voice to a rich legacy of self-published, underground magazines going back nearly a century. Like those zines, Willoughby’s project aims to spark a dialogue about a controversial topic. Taking inspiration from those publications, Willoughby is examining a new medium: online activism. It’s the culmination of a three-month summer research project, which Willoughby hopes will help her fellow students be better advocates for social justice.

In March, the stage lights came up in Norton Clapp Theatre on a very different kind of production. A small group of actors wearing face shields stood in front of rows of empty seats while cameras streamed the performance online. After the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the fall main stage show, Puget Sound’s Department of Theatre Arts found creative solutions to safely mount the spring production of Machinal.

Associate Professor of Psychology Erin Colbert-White always wanted to be a veterinarian, but after realizing she was allergic to most animals, she decided to find a different field. A psychology course in high school introduced her to the field of comparative psychology and the idea of understanding the differences between the ways humans and nonhuman animals think. Now, she studies human-to-nonhuman social interactions and communication. We recently caught up with her to discuss her research and her role as director of the newly created Faculty Development Center.

Preparing for a new baby during COVID-19 was not what Jamilia Sherls-Jones ’05 had hoped for. She wanted to touch the soft cotton of newborn onesies, turn over car seats to choose just the right one, judge—in person—which stroller, crib, and changing table were best. Instead, she was forced to do most of her baby shopping online. Many of her prenatal appointments went online, too. 

Of all the specimens in Slater Museum of Natural History in Thompson Hall—birds, bird eggs, plants, skulls, skeletons—perhaps none is as strikingly colorful as the butterfly collection. We share a few of our favorites. 

A new book by self-described "illust-writer" Hallie Bateman ’11 offers fun guidance for a mindful life.

The coronavirus forced the cancellation of 2020–21 study abroad programs—including the long-running Dijon program that, for many French majors, satisfies a graduation requirement. So the program leaders had to get creative.

When most people think of a music composer, Tracy Doyle knows they usually think of a European white male. But she also understands how limiting that presumption can be. So, since starting as director of the School of Music last July, she has helped expand the school’s efforts to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion. “Historically speaking, it’s been hard for people to step away from the European art-music canon,” says Doyle, 51, an accomplished flutist who came to her position from Adams State University in Colorado.

The pandemic provides multiple teaching moments for students looking at the nation’s food supply.