Hamilton College Admission Journals: Kate Northway

Getting Paid

Sun, 16 May 2010 15:46:53 GMT

9 months out of the year, I pay Hamilton a large sum to study, learn and have life-changing experiences.

However, this summer, Hamilton is paying ME to do that stuff! Thanks to several grants available for research, every summer a select number of students get paid to further their academic pursuits.

This summer, thanks to the Emerson Grant committee, I am able to conduct research on the Hill.

Here is a short summary of my proposal:

After visiting Nuestras Raíces, a thriving community farm in Holyoke, Massachusetts — a city similar to Utica — I am curious to see if a community farm could help increase Utica’s economic prospects, strengthen ties between Hamilton and the local community and provide the local population with a sense of agency. I hope an Emerson Grant will provide me with firsthand experience in applying theory to practice. The research I conduct this summer will become critical to writing my Women’s Studies thesis on local food movements, women, and food as a form of cultural maintenance in immigrant populations. I will be implementing community gardens at Martin Luther King Elementary School and the Resource Center for Independent Living. Work will include interviewing local residents and organizations, obtaining demographic and statistical data from the city, looking into issues of soil lead poisoning in the area and conducting grant research to make the actual projects feasible.

Because I am working to increase the local food movement in Utica, I am pledging to personally change the way I eat my own food:
1. Only eat local meats (within 100 miles)
2. Stop purchasing processed foods
3. Buy as much produce from the farmers market in Clinton & Utica
4. Eat in season

We will see how the summer pans out! Hopefully by its end, I will have lots of information, experience and resources for my Women's Studies senior thesis in the fall and a stomach full of fresh local products.

I Miss Luke

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:48:50 GMT

A lot of Hamilton juniors (35-45%) study abroad each year. While I was not one of them, several of my friends decided to leave campus for the year, or for just a semester.

Fellow journalist and Women's Studies major, Luke Maher, is spending this semester in New York City! Many of you have read all about his great adventures in the Big Apple. The New York City program offers students a chance to study off campus without leaving the country. Each semester has a different theme — the Fall 2009 theme was: "International Political Economy" and the Spring 2010 theme is "Philosophy and Globalization."

Students in the program take a couple of classes to discuss the theme and have a part-time internship as well. The end of the semester culminates in a long, long, long term paper that synthesizes what they have learned in the classroom and internship position.

Perhaps Luke is having too much fun in New York, because he has failed to return any of my text messages or Facebook posts since he left. Because Hamilton is such a small school, it is pretty hard to miss someone's presence (or lack of) on campus. Personally, I miss making Hannaford runs with Luke to get sorbet, hearing him give tours from halfway across campus and gossiping about the Women's Studies department.

So Luke, and all my other friends who are studying abroad ... I love you all very much and would love it if all of you sent me an email letting me know that you are still alive.

Gender & Cyberculture

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 18:25:18 GMT

I'm really glad the study of pop culture has become an accepted part of academic study. Without it, my Gender and Cyberculture class probably wouldn't exist. Each week, we study a different cultural object, slowly making our way from the 1980s (where the idea of cyberspace first emerged) to the World Wide Web of today. Along the way, we analyze and study how technology is changing (or not) our ideas of the physical body and gender.

So far, we have studied Blade Runner, Strange Days, slash fandom and Aliens. To come is — Halo, Tomb Raider, Teknolust, 4chan.org and the blogs of lonelygirl15.

The ironic, or interesting, part of the class is that it is half discussion, half Web-based activity. Our only project for the semester is the creation of a Web site to educate individuals about the links between gender and technology. My focus is on the blogs of lonelygirl15, or Bree. While we haven't formally discussed Bree in class, I have already begun watching her videos on YouTube and reading up on the series history and writing content for the Web site.

At the end of the semester, I will definitely post the link to our site!

Why I Love ...

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 20:26:47 GMT

Wireless Internet is probably the greatest invention of all time. When on a college campus where it exists everywhere — like a bubble — it becomes even greater. ITS has even talked of getting rid of their "wired" connections in dorm rooms next year.

Here are the three main reasons why I love Hamilton's wireless:

1. Internet TV: Like most people I know on campus, I don't have a TV. Why do I need one when I can get all my favorite TV shows online the day after they air? Most of you are probably saying, "Well la-de-frickin'-da" at this point, but I have an even bigger thing coming. Yeah, I can watch TV on the Internet with a wired connection, but with wireless ... I DON'T EVEN HAVE TO LEAVE MY BED. While I do like to curl up with a good book on occasion, there is nothing better than curling up in bed with my computer after a brain-frying day of classes and homework.

2. New York Times Breakfast: Most days of the week, I get breakfast with friends, but on the occasion when our schedules don't jive, I end up eating alone. For most individuals, this might be a horrific social experience — eating by yourself. However, when McEwen is almost empty between 9-10 a.m., I love to grab an omelette, open my laptop and read the The New York Times.

3. Minor Field: This reason is pretty simple — Who wouldn't want to be able to go outside and still be able to check your e-mail? In the early fall and then spring, Hamilton students flock in droves to a little place on campus called "Minor Field." Essentially, Minor Field is our version of the beach. The scene that ensues is straight out of a college brochure — but I promise you, it actually happens. Students are sprawled over blankets in their shorts and sunglasses, throwing a football around, listening to music — all with their computers in tow. While very little work actually gets done on Minor Field, I usually blast music from my computer, surf the web and Gmail chat with my friends.

Spring Break

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:16:56 GMT

The past two years, I have used my Spring Breaks to relax, spend a few days visiting friends at school and hanging out with the family. However this year, my parents decided to take my brother and I for one last family vacation. We aren't beach people, so our vacations are usually pretty jam-packed with visiting friends, family and tourist spots. Fortunately for us, my Great Aunt Kay has been living in France for the past 40 years, making a great vacation spot.

Kay lives in southern France in the Pyrenees Mountains. Memories from my youth involve the crazy car rides up and down the mountainside, weeding and picking vegetables from her extensive garden, visiting the many chateaux in the area and eating lots of French food/bread. These same things as well as several exciting events and trips marked this visit.

On St. Patrick's Day, we traveled the hour south to Andorra, an often forgotten country. Everything in Andorra is tax-free, so many French and Spanish citizens travel there for cheap gas, alcohol and technological products. However, from what I saw of Andorra, there is so much more to the city than these items! We drove through ski resorts, small towns and stopped at roadside Roman ruins.

Over the weekend, we traveled to the town of Limoux and then to the seaside village of La Franqui. The ten Sundays before Easter, Limoux throws a Carnivale in its center square. A troupe of people dress from head to toe in costume, parade around the square and stop in each bar along the way. Everyone cheers, takes pictures and throws confetti. You can imagine by the end of the day that the festivities have the tendency to get pretty rowdy. However after witnessing one parade around the square, we didn't wait for the next one. Instead, we headed east, towards the Mediterranean Sea to Kay's house in La Franqui. While the weather was a little uncooperative, we enjoyed walking along the beach and making friends with one particularly nice local business owner.

On the way back from La Franqui, we stopped in Maury, a town known for its wines and apéritifs. We sampled several good wines and then packed up and headed back home.

The last couple of days were spent at Kay's. We weeded in the garden, sat out on the terrace, attempted to run (mountain running involves running up the mountain then running back down — no flat!) and venturing into the nearby town of Foix for groceries and other essentials.

While this vacation seems so jam-packed with activities, I have rarely come home from a vacation feeling more relaxed. Maybe it's the mountain air or the good food, but whatever it is — I am ready to tackle the rest of the spring semester!