Dear Readers,

It’s that time of year when Reed traditions abound: HumPlay is tonight, Nitrogen Day just passed, and only two weeks remain until Renn Fayre. To catch you up on some of your favorite Reed quirks, the Grail is here with our penultimate issue of the semester. First, study up on the history of HumPlay with Guananí Gómez, Avril Carrillo, and Eileen Vert (1). Take a short and sweet break from the mass of Reed-related information on pages four and five, where you’ll find a comic by Cecile Kenny (4) and a short story by Alex (5). Then, dive back into reading up on campus culture with Guananí’s in-depth look into the origins of Nitrogen Day (6). Finally, finish off the issue with some life advice from Dan to help you through finals season (8), followed by romantic advice from Miss Lonely Hearts to get you excited for those summer flings (10).

P.S. Interested in submitting? Join us Mondays at 6:30 p.m. in our NEW meeting space, the Lib Lob, or email Claire P. at clapask@reed.edu.

Love,

Claire P., Claire S., and Guananí

News & Features

Featured
History of Humplay
Volume 9 Issue 4
History of Humplay
Volume 9 Issue 4

You may find yourself tailgating in Eliot Circle on an absconded piece of furniture. You might find yourself streaming into Vollum with the wailing crowds into seats that are familiar from many a lecture, only this time things are different: there are togas. There are people screaming. There are memes. This is HumPlay. You may ask yourself, how did we get here?

Volume 9 Issue 4
Nitrogen for All
Volume 9 Issue 4
Nitrogen for All
Volume 9 Issue 4

A cloud of heavy vapor spills over the table and onto the sidewalk in a chilly plume, slowly clearing to reveal homemade ice cream. Reedies chatter and bob up and down in the nearby bouncy house. Making your way across the quad, you might encounter shards of onion or a used whippit canister on the ground. It’s Nitrogen Day!

Volume 9 Issue 4

Fiction & Poetry

Featured
Volume 9 Issue 4
Umbrella
Volume 9 Issue 4

The little orange cocktail umbrella is the first thing to go and the only thing that doesn’t die.

It starts one humid Friday night on the balcony of a high-rise apartment near the Everglades. Aaron Cole raises his sangria glass. “Why didn’t I come visit you sooner, you old bastard?” he says with rough and slightly tipsy affection, and Joel Stone responds in kind.

Volume 9 Issue 4

Miss Lonely Hearts

Featured
Shiver Me Tinders

Dear Miss Lonely Hearts,

While I've enjoyed some lovely long-term relationships in my time at Reed, I've never had a fling and feel like my college time to explore is quickly running out! I'm absolutely no good at flirting and don't like parties with alcohol very much, so meeting people for brief encounters that way doesn't seem like an option. Friends have had mixed experiences with Tinder, from downright unpleasant to amazing encounters that confirmed their being lesbian.

Should I sign up for a Tinder of my own? And if I do, how can I find a fun fling before getting spat out into the Real World?

Sincerely,
Shiver Me Tinders