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New York City has a historic connection with neighborhoods and community intimacy. The five boroughs each have distinct qualities, and even smaller communities within them take pride in what they have assembled out of the masses. However, Kevin Rowe ’10 fears that these neighborhoods have surrendered their rights to the organization of their own community. This summer he is researching community-based urban planning programs like West Harlem Environmental Action (WE ACT) and Sustainable South Bronx (SSB) that work to reverse this effect.

The world of modern art comes to mind when students mention their internships at cutting-edge museums. However, Katie He ’11 feels that her internship at the Rubin Museum of Art, which collects Himalayan works from as early as the 2nd century, is just as “hip” as the more offbeat pieces held in other museums. The Rubin explores the artistic and cultural legacy of the Himalayas in a way that makes it both an art museum and a history museum. It also organizes programs and events to encourage a deeper appreciation of art in the Chelsea, New York City, community.

An article by Michael Gregg ’08 and Associate Professor of Physics Seth Major titled “On Modified Dispersion Relations and the Chandrasekhar Mass Limit,” has been published in the International Journal of Modern Physics D [Vol 18 (2009) 971]. In the article, based on Gregg’s senior project, they report on the results of their study of the consequences of modifying special relativity.

Andrew Steele ’10 is working at a quiet organization this summer, with fewer than 30 staff members and 10 to 12 interns. Despite the fact that it is relatively calm inside, the Center for Study of the Presidency and Congress (CSPC) is surrounded by the commotion of the nation’s capital. Steele says he is excited to be in a place like Washington, D.C., where bustling streets represent the constant hum of political activity.

On the eve of the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, Maurice Isserman, the James L. Ferguson Professor of History and Woodstock attendee, was interviewed by Minnesota Public Radio with Woodstock performer Richie Havens and longtime New York disc jockey Pete Fornatale. The Chronicle of Higher Education published Isserman’s essay, “3 Days of Peace and Music, 40 Years of Memory” on the same day, Aug. 10.

In Bollywood movies, romance is trailed by an international shadow. The majestic palaces and cathedrals of Europe have become iconic of love themes in Hindi language movies. It is also common to see scenes of men sweeping women off their feet as mountains like the Swiss Alps rise to a clear sky in the background. The ways in which both women and nation are portrayed in Bollywood movies are fascinating to (Catherine) Fiona Kirkpatrick ’10, whose research this summer will analyze these gendered and nationalist discourses. Her collaboration with Assistant Professor of Anthropology Chaise LaDousa is funded by the Emerson Grant Foundation, created in 1997 to encourage students to work with faculty on research that suits their specific interests.

As a sequel to the biological sampling from earlier in the summer, Kira DesJardins ’10 is taking the next step in identifying the species that inhabit the depths of Green Lakes. Other students have extracted the DNA of organisms in the water samples and prepared them for genetic analysis. DesJardins has created a “clone library” out of the fungal DNA with Professor of Biology Jinnie Garrett.

Women stick together in hard times. During World War II they lifted one another’s spirits when their husbands left for the battlefield. Organizations like NOW (National Organization for Women) have constructed alliances that combat forces deterring women’s rights. Even female textile workers as early as two centuries ago formed supportive and cooperative groups. These social groups were known as British friendly societies, and they provided mutual aid to women in the era of the rise of the British welfare state. Lauren Perillo ’10 is working on a Levitt-funded project with Associate Professor of History Lisa Trivedi to examine the advantages of friendly societies to women who needed more financial assistance.

A few months shy of her 50th anniversary at the College, Shirley Croop, the Admission Office operations manager and the longest-serving staff member at Hamilton, decided to retire. On Thursday, Aug. 6, many members of her admission family gathered for a dinner in her honor including all the former living admission deans for whom Croop worked.

Henok Alemayo ’10 feels connected to a very specific area of the world due to his upbringing. He is a former refugee from Ethiopia who escaped persecution during the Red Terror. His father, a suspected insurgent and rebel during the reign of a military dictator, spent four years in prison and experienced torture and death threats. After a few years, he and his family escaped to the United States. Alemayo says he cannot imagine a career unrelated to peace-making or international relief.