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RS NOAH FORSLUND
St. Olaf College
Noah Forslund is a junior philosophy major at St. Olaf College in Northfield, 
Minnesota.  He has a particular infatuation with Baruch Spinoza, and spent the 
Fall studying Kierkegaard at the University of Copenhagen. Other specific areas 
of philosophical interest include philosophy of art, philosophy of religion, and 
existentialism. He is also interested in intersections between philosophical and 
psychological examinations of self, and hopes to pursue a career in psychotherapy. In 
his spare time, he writes music and poetry, and plays in several college bands.

MATTHEW A. STANLEY
Wheaton College, IL
Matthew Stanley is a graduating senior in the Philosophy department at Wheaton 
College (IL). His primary project consists in elucidating the structures of finite 
experience. He relies particularly on Gadamer’s hermeneutical ontology to provide 
an account of how we uncover meaning through an ongoing hermeneutical dialogue 
with Being in language. Matthew’s research leads him to examine the interactions 
between philosophical systems in order to discern the value and possibility of different 
starting points in life and reflection. Recently, Matthew’s inquiry has led him to the 
intersection of the Kyoto School (Japanese Zen Buddhists) with Martin Heidegger. 
Nonetheless, his interests remain eclectic as he seeks to draw on thinkers such as St. 
Irenaus, Slavoj Zizek, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Karl Barth. 

LEAH HASDAN
DePaul University
Leah Hasdan is a senior at DePaul University finishing up her studies in philosophy 
and art history. While she is primarily focused on doing research in aesthetics, as a 
first generation student she is influenced by her family's experiences living under the 
Soviet Union. Much of her intellectual curiosity stem's from uncovering the integrity 
behind the politicization of Russian literature and art. Leah is currently working with 
the DePaul Art Museum to start their online journal, whereas her passion project 
currently involves constructing a silk-screen printer so as to promote the application 
of autonomous art. In her free time, Leah enjoys taking ballet classes, cooking with 
friends, and evening runs on the lakefront. 

JAZLYN CARTAYA
New York University
Jazlyn Cartaya is a recent graduate of New York University, Tisch School of the 
Arts, with a BFA in Film and TV and Philosophy. Last year she was accepted to 
Compass: An Undergraduate Philosophy Workshop at Princeton University, where 



89Issue V F Spring 2018

she presented a paper on the philosophy of language (Elisabeth Camp, “Metaphor 
and that Certain ‘Je Ne Sais Quoi’”) and attended a series of lectures. For the past two 
years, she has volunteered as a judge and moderator with the NYC High School Ethics 
Bowl at Columbia University and NYU; an event which promotes ethical awareness 
and encourages philosophical thinking and discourse in high school students. During 
her academic career at NYU, she has taken classes in Metaphysics, Epistemology, 
Logic, Philosophy of Language, Ethics, Ancient Philosophy, Modern Philosophy, and 
Existentialism. Jazlyn currently works as a Visual Effects Artist at jazlyncartaya.com and 
plans to pursue a PhD in philosophy.

MAX FINEMAN
Columbia University
Max Fineman is a senior studying philosophy and political theory at Columbia 
University. Max has focused on phenomenology, German Idealism, and 20th century 
Marxism, though he has recently also become interested in the history of metaphysics, 
especially in Aristotle and Kant. He is also interested in the influence of Jewish and 
Islamic thought on the history of Western philosophy. Max completed a senior thesis 
on the concept of presence and its relation to the Heideggerian question of being. He 
wonders often about the relation between practical and theoretical philosophy and 
about methodologies for reading philosophical texts.

CHRIS FAHEY
Boston College
Christopher Fahey is a sophomore at Boston College. He is majoring in Philosophy 
and Math with a minor in Music. His main areas of philosophical interest include 
Ancient and Medieval Philosophy (especially Plato, Augustine, and Aquinas). He is 
also a member of the MCAS Honors Program. In his free time, Chris enjoys playing 
piano and is a member of the Boston College Chamber Music Society. He would like 
to thank his philosophy professors, including Fr. Gary Gurtler, S.J., for their advice and 
encouragement.

JON STUART VICTOR
Yale University
Jon Stuart Victor is a senior philosophy major at Yale University. His primary academic 
interest is continental philosophy, specifically Critical Theory and existentialism. 
He wrote his senior thesis on the aesthetics of Theodor W. Adorno. In addition to 
philosophy, Jon has done significant coursework in literature and creative writing. He 
was managing editor of the Yale Daily News during his junior year, and has won several 
awards and fellowships for his work in journalism. He is originally from Montreal, 
Canada.


