Siberian Law, Patagonian Politics

The death of Mikhail Gorbachev and Chilean voters' rejection of an extreme-left constitution led me to reflect on the senior thesis I wrote 23 years ago.

Every Princeton graduate writes a senior thesis, an independent work that represents the culmination of one’s undergraduate studies. Unlike those who go to college “in a Boston suburb,” this is mandatory, not just done by those seeking to graduate with honors. Even though I got no honors—missed it by .02 percent in my overachieving major, the since-rena…