Hunter College never has a dull moment. Conversations and events are happening, and core memories are being made. We don’t know what to expect when entering campus, but it can range from discussions about the pandemic, light-hearted conversations among peers, to reggaeton playing in the distance.
Inspired by the NY Times, we’re introducing Sky Bridge Diaries, observations of tiny moments on campus from The Athenian’s journalists.
Post-Election Thoughts
Dear Diary:
I am sitting on the benches outside of the 68th Street-Hunter College Subway Station.
A man in a gray coat and pulling a suitcase waves a paper around while he asks the people exiting the station “Is this the 4 train?”
He has to ask twice to get a reply from a woman who, without stopping in her tracks says, “No, 6.” He walks away from the station.
Another man a few paces away from me is watching something on his phone. He’s wearing a blue-gray jacket, a black beanie, and a black backpack. He’s got a high volume on his phone and I can hear something come from it, something about “…son cosas nuevas que el quiere hacer.”
I am reminded of yesterday— when my mother showed me a video on that topic that she had seen. It was about undocumented people who have U.S. citizen children and spoke of having conversations with the family, no matter how hard, about what is to be done in the case of deportation. It emphasized the importance of having a plan of who to leave in charge of your children and who can pick them up from school.
-Leslie Rivera Alvarez
Manhattan Sidewalks (Thoughts and Dreams)
Dear Diary:
The sky is dark, it’s cold out, I love the cold. It’s 6:30pm. People are walking down the sidewalk. Fancy people wearing suits, lots of people walking, having conversations together, listening to music. Everyone is walking with what appears to be some purpose. Where to go and what they’re going to do. There is a lamp on, I see it through the window of one of the fancy buildings across the street, rich people must live there. I saw a few people smoking cigarettes. I think that’s good, people don’t like smokers but they look cool and they’re good for the culture.
I’m thinking about all the strange glorious and depraved things that might be occurring throughout Manhattan on a Wednesday at 6:30. I’m sure there are incredible things occurring elsewhere in the city, this is an incredible city, arguably the greatest. A very important man was assassinated this morning, the killer escaped on a Citi Bike, he rode it into Central Park after he shot the man to death, they’re still looking for him.
-Max Cane
The Sixth Floor’s Surprising Calm
Dear Diary:
The sixth floor—goodness. I usually don’t stay here because it’s loud. “You look so cute, girl!” “guys! [inaudible chatter]. It’s the loudest floor merely because it’s the place people go to fool around, not necessarily study. You can hear the occasional gossip or loud conversation. Unless you have headphones, people’s ad-libbing and noisemaking create a racket that is the exact opposite of what you need for studying. It’s 6:00 P.M. Right now, the room is far more silent than normal. However, remnants of earlier chaos remain. Chairs are strewn haphazardly all over the left side of the stairwell. Who could have possibly been there?
-Sebastian Fraccari
Mini Conversations at The Vending Machine
Dear Diary:
As I’m standing by the vending machine, looking at which snack to purchase. I overheard a conversation amongst three people. The three talked about the recent pandemic, saying everyone has had covid at least once before. Stating, “it’s Covid” as if catching it was inevitable. One girl talked about her father’s results when he took a test. She said his results were a squiggly line and the others laughed. The boy that was previously sitting with them brought up the vaccine era with such nostalgia, as if he couldn’t believe the world went through that. One of the girls shared her vaccine experience, recalling that she immediately got sick after receiving the vaccine. I finally decided on Twix and walked off.
-Shanice Peters
Is That Daddy Yankee Playing in The Distance?
Dear Diary:
I am walking around where Hunter’s West and North buildings connect. I pass Hunter’s game room and hear the song Gasolina by Daddy Yankee playing out loud. Students are in there with the lights off, as there are projector screens and Piñata is in the middle of the floor. It was a nice sight, as it is finals season, and everyone is stressed studying for exams and doing final projects. People were laughing while walking in as it seemed to be some type of club event, and other students were also walking past in confusion, but curiosity still took over as they peeped inside. Even my curiosity took over as I walked by and took a quick peek before I went on about my day with the song Gasolina stuck in my head.
-Alyssa Colon
A Compliment
Dear Diary:
As I walked outside the hunter courtyard I got a whiff of this putrid scent of garbage. I wish the city was cleaner, and maybe smelt a bit better.
Then I see a BMW, shiny as ever, right in front of this pile of garbage. As the duality of the city hit me, a woman came up to me.
“Where is the north building entrance” she asks me.
As I direct her she gets a call from her husband and says
“I am standing by the entrance talking to a very nice young student”
She could’ve added handsome but I’ll take the compliment.
-Andrew Shamailov
Baker Building Blues
Dear Diary:
In the Baker Building lounge, a Media Studies student approached me with a grievance on their mind. This person sat in the corner of the lounge, an industrial stone room surrounded by black windows, dipped in a hue of orangey yellow lighting. Sinking their body into an amber colored armchair, the student released his many racing thoughts.
As treasurer, they feel that the state of their club has never been worse. The moderators struggle with running the initiative, which leads to more stresses around club hierarchy and morale.
During the last event hosted by the group, only 3-4 students showed up for the workshop, a disappointing turnout in comparison to previous semesters. Frustrated by his club’s lack of rigor, the student rushed to counseling services to vent his feelings. Claiming his fellow members are disconnected, he believes the club leaders are unable to determine their audience.
“Being in a club is supposed to be relaxed, have community, talk to one another and build bonds,” he said.
-Nathan Zierlein
