Capstone

I was delighted to hear recently from new Fletcher graduate Hasan, who was kind enough to share the final product of his capstone project, a documentary series on the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Another personal-favorite annual Fletcher tradition has gotten underway! Capstone haikus are particularly fun for being so organic. There’s no Fletcher Capstone Haiku Club (to my knowledge), no formal coordinating structure, no due date, and no real rules. Some debate on that last point, to be honest; one current student’s three-stanza initial call to verse (kicking off the below list) got submissions flowing on the Social List recently, and also started a discussion on the “proper” form and spirit of haiku. As you’ll see from the final entry listed here, some take issue with the branding of these entries as “haiku” in the traditional sense. In typical Social List fashion, others quickly responded with rebuttals, and lengthy disquisitions (including supporting links) on why a “traditional” haiku in fact encapsulates a much broader form and sensibility than a rigid 5-7-5 syllable format with an emphasis on nature.

I’ve been happy to see the revival in recent years of Capstone haikus, one of my favorite unofficial Fletcher traditions. Finals week is a stressful time, and for graduating students, the push to finish the Capstone adds an extra layer of anxiety (as well as likely removing several hours of sleep) to an already fraught period. As students approached the finish line over the past few weeks, many shared these Capstone encapsulations in haiku form on the social list.