Student writer, traveler, photographer, directs passion toward helping others

Anthropology and communication double major sophomore Sarah Hashmi has had many experiences that distinguish her as one of the more interesting students on campus. Originally born in Islamabad, Pakistan, Hashmi—who currently resides in Manhattan, N.Y.—has also lived in Denmark and China because of her father’s career as a Pakistani diplomat. 

At just four years old, Hashmi’s first move was to Denmark, where she lived with her brother and mother. In Denmark, Hashmi witnessed the 9/11 attacks and experienced injustices after these attacks all the way across the world in Denmark.

“My mother used to wear a full body burka, and I remember after the attacks happened, my brother, mother and I were on a bus, and no one would sit next to my mother,” Hashmi said. “At the time, many people all over the world were very anti-Muslim. It was difficult for my mother because she was in a city where she knew no one, and didn’t have anyone to talk to or comfort her.”

After living in Denmark, Hashmi moved back to Pakistan before moving again to Manhattan—a place that she fondly refers to as her “home.”

“I was in first grade when I moved to New York,” Hashmi said. “It was my favorite place ever. I have really good memories from New York, I loved the energy and the people. The city is so inspiring.”

Hashmi eventually attended Beacon High School in New York. Known for its art programs, the school was what had a profound impact on Hashmi and shaped her interests in culture, writing and photography.

“Beacon High School had amazing teachers,” Hashmi said. “Attending Beacon is something that I feel changed my life. It was in the beginning of high school that I started to take photos. I had a high school teacher who taught me how to properly take them and there was a dark room in my high school that I was able to work with.”

Hashmi continues to pursue her interest in photography by taking photos for The Lamron. Additionally, her high school gave her extensive training in writing, which she applies in writing articles, including many Invasion of Privacies for The Lamron. 

Hashmi pursued her passion for writing and photography over the summer as well. She moved back to Pakistan for the summer and interned at an advertising firm called Mind Map Communications. She wrote articles, took photos and videos, managed social media accounts and conducted research for the company. 

“At the internship, I helped make a video for an advertisement for Pakistan’s national airline,” Hashmi said. “I also wrote a lot of top texts, which are captions for Instagram posts. The internship really piqued my interest for communication.”

With her experiences living in different countries and meeting people of various cultures, Hashmi’s anthropology major is a perfect fit for her. 

Additionally, Hashmi is currently a member of the Muslim Student Association’s e-board, where she does public relations. 

Hashmi hopes to get a job working at either a non-government organization or the United Nations after graduation. Specifically, she wants to help women in Pakistan facing problems with domestic abuse.

“A lot of the time, our culture can hold us back from doing better,” Hashmi said. “I just think that we could all have more empathy toward other people, because we’re part of the problem. But, I do have a lot of hope for our future."u

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Anthropology and communication double major sophomore Sarah Hashmi has moved to several countries throughout the world, currently living in Manhattan, N.Y. Hashmi refined her talents for writing and photography over the summer when she had an internship at a Pakistani advertising firm. (Ellayna Fredericks/Associate Photo Editor)

Geography major flourishes in multiple disciplines

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Geography major senior Adam Dohrenwend will pursue geography, political science and Latin America at the University of Kansas for graduate school after Geneseo. (Ash Dean/Photo Editor)

Geography major and political science and environmental studies double minor senior Adam Dohrenwend has dedicated his studies, as well as his life, to his two main passions: political science and geography. 

The two subjects coalesce in his main concentration on political ecology—the study of how the consequences of environmental change are distributed across different stakeholder groups.

Originally, Dohrenwend came into Geneseo without any idea that he would one day go into geography. As a political science major, he decided to take a geography course on a whim his freshman year.

“After orientation, they only let you sign up for four courses,” Dohrenwend said. “I was like, ‘Fuck that. I’m paying for five courses; I’m going to take five courses.’”

His fifth course ended up being The Developing World because the course required no textbooks and the professor had satisfactory ratings on the “RateMyProfessor” website. 

As the current teaching assistant for The Developing World, this one random decision catapulted Dohrenwend’s college career in geography. He eventually ended up dropping his political science major to a minor as well as adding an environmental studies minor.

Dohrenwend currently specializes in Latin American geography, which he attributes greatly to associate professor of geography David Aagesen. Due to the vast amount of income inequalities and ever-changing agricultural landscape, the region is ripe for research opportunities.

“[Hypothetically], when you build a dam, you destroy huge plots of land,” Dohrenwend said. “Who experiences these externalities? How are the positive and negative effects of the things that we do distributed across different state cultures in society? Usually, it’s the people who can least afford [these externalities], like the indigenous or the poor.”

Dohrenwend recently studied abroad to Argentina to further his studies in Latin American geography. He has also traveled to a total of 13 different countries. 

“There’s so many things that are wrong [in Argentina], but it’s such a beautiful place, it’s such a beautiful culture,” Dohrenwend said.

Dohrenwend’s passions for geography and political science along with his work ethic have gotten him far—he landed a full graduate scholarship to the University of Kansas and a paid graduate teaching assistant job. He plans to do further research on Latin American political geography and agriculture during this time.

As an incredibly hard worker, Dohrenwend’s efforts demonstrate themselves in a multitude of dimensions. Outside Geneseo, he works 90-hour weeks over the summer as the manager of a kosher grocery store—a position he earned after working at the same store for seven consecutive summers. As the manager, he oversees hiring, firing and scheduling the entire staff.

Within Geneseo, Dohrenwend’s involvement on campus is not to be minimized. Dohrenwend has TA’d five times for both geography and political science classes, is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, the social and house chair for Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity and works as a developmental assistant for the Department of College Advancement. Last but certainly not least, he is the president and longest standing member of Geneseo College Republicans.

“Freshman year, I showed up to my first College Republicans meeting on the first Monday of the semester on the first day of classes,” Dohrenwend said. “I got there 20 minutes early. Nine o’clock comes, nobody shows up; 9:30 comes, nobody comes. They just didn’t have a meeting that day because it was the beginning of the semester. So officially, I have been in College Republicans longer than anyone in this college.” 

While Dohrenwend is the president of the College Republicans, he prides himself on being a liberal, moderate Republican. He adamantly “hates Trump” and publicly trashes the president at meetings.

In the future, Dohrenwend plans on becoming a professor after obtaining a Ph.D. at the University of Kansas. His interests in the intersection of agriculture, politics and people are well exemplified in his somewhat fortuitous college career path.

Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why” glamourizes teen suicide

Netflix original series have completely revolutionized the television industry as we know it, as the online platform continues to produce hit after hit. Most recently, Netflix has begun adapting well-known books into television series. Earlier this year, viewers saw the release of “A Series of Unfortunate Events” and now, a re-working of Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why.

“Thirteen Reasons Why” was released as a television series by Netflix on March 31. The series, based off Asher’s New York Times bestselling novel, follows the point of view of high schooler Clay, who was allegedly involved in fellow classmate Hannah’s choice to commit suicide. 

Hannah leaves behind 13 cassette tapes, each describing a person who contributed to her death, and creates a makeshift scavenger hunt around her hometown. Clay is given a map and ordered to travel to each of the places Hannah describes, all while listening to her voice on an 80s-inspired vintage cassette tape as Joy Division and The Cure drearily play in the series’ soundtrack.

The series has gained mass following and rave reviews, but it is also a perfect illustration of a story that glamorizes suicide. While it is based off Asher’s novel, the Netflix adaptation goes even deeper to create a beautiful, romantic 80s essence around a subject that is neither of these things.

A story about the impact of a person’s death is an incredibly harmful one to impressionable viewers and readers. While the knowledge that Hannah’s death had such a wide impact on her high school peers may be sadly comforting, this is something that Hannah will never be able to experience. This concept is widely overshadowed. As Hannah’s voice is narrating throughout the entire show, it gives the eerie illusion that she is still present.

Furtherwmore, while creating a story of the impact of someone’s death is one thing, blaming others for an essentially personal decision is on a completely different level. As Hannah chose each of her “13 reasons,” she points fingers, creating a lifetime of guilt for 13 people. 

She even threatens to release the tapes to the public if the people who are mentioned on tape do not follow her exact instructions. This aspect of the story highlights the overarching theme of vengeance and manipulation, rather than mental health or suicide.

It may come as no surprise since this book was widely successful when it was first published, to the point where it has finally made it onto the small screen. The concept of “Thirteen Reasons Why” is incredibly enticing due to the mystery and the taboo behind what causes someone to take their own life. 

When it comes down to it, however, the reason behind someone taking their own life is no one’s business other than their own. This is something that the book, and now television series, tragically fails to capture.

As a serious matter, presenting suicide in a juvenile manner to many impressionable viewers is nothing short of irresponsible. 

With the national suicide rate being at an all-time high in the past 30 years, it is disappointing to see that the Netflix producers saw this book as a lucrative business opportunity when in actuality it is triggering. “Thirteen Reasons Why” may be a huge hit as a Netflix original show, but it will unquestionably contribute to our culture’s fascination with mental illness in all the wrong ways.

Connecting via dating apps on college campuses

Online dating has grown dramatically over the past few years —what was once a taboo form of meeting new people has quickly become a social norm among millennials. Using dating apps on college campuses like Geneseo, however, plays a different role in hookups than in regular cities or towns.

Through dating apps such as Tinder, Bumble or Grindr, people generally swipe right for someone they are interested in and left for someone they are not. If two people both swipe right for each other, they will form a match, giving them a chance to message one another. 

One of the biggest pros of dating apps is the elimination of rejection. When flirting in real life at a bar or a party, the fear of rejection is consistent among many. On dating apps however, the apps do not show people who have rejected, or swiped left—only people who have also swiped right. This aspect provides people with a “low stakes” dating life.  

Due to this new “low stakes” dating game and accessibility, many are prone to using dating apps. People on dating apps communicate strictly through virtual means before meeting face-to-face for the first time. “Modality switching” is the label used to describe the transition between online communication and offline interaction. This phenomenon makes the dating scene today completely unique from any other time in history since communicating via messaging creates a different dynamic than the one created through talking face-to-face. 

With 50 percent of all Tinder users being between the ages of 18 and 24, dating apps increase the amount of familiar faces seen on campus. Colleges are notorious for awkward bump-ins with past hookups. Many people share the awkward experience of seeing a Tinder match in person on their way to class or in Starbucks. When combining the aspects of proximity and the large number of users, one is bound to find at least a few people they know on their dating app of choice. 

But dating apps aren’t just for straight people. Dating apps specified for the LGBTQ+ community—such as Grindr—are incredibly important in helping these individuals make connections. Even though the dating pool for the LGBTQ+ community may be smaller than the dating pool for the heterosexual community, inclusivity is vital.

According to a survey from grabhim.net, nearly one in three homosexual males between the ages of 18-50 use Grindr. In a small school environment like Geneseo where many people in the LGBTQ+ community know one another, finding someone on Grindr can be a means to verifying people’s sexual preferences. 

While dating apps are helpful in meeting new people, there are always risks to meeting up with someone you have never met before. Using dating apps in college are generally less risky however, because you are more than likely to share a mutual friend with someone that you match with. This aspect diminishes the anxiety behind meeting a stranger on the Internet—it’s difficult to find someone in Geneseo with whom you have no mutual friends. That said, it is always important to be careful. 

Technology has increased the amount of connections people make on a daily basis, eliminated the fear of rejection and even created apps for women such as Bumble and LGBTQ+ people such as Grindr to feel more comfortable. 

But there are still aspects of the dating process that technology has not and cannot accommodate for. The awkwardness that occurs during the first date—whether you met online or in person—still exists and likely will never cease to exist. False expectations, too, are a risk that one takes when using a dating app as well as dating in person.