By Noah D. R. Feeman, Class of 2016 “What does Coordinate mean to you?” How many HWS students (alums, staff, faculty, passers-by, families, friends, neighbors, invested local businessmen, the stranger on the street) come and gone, have been asked this question? How many different pieces of school promotional material have contained some version of this phrase; how many of us have had it sprung on us … Continue reading Coordinate System Viewpoint #1

By Kels Veeder, Current Student Though it occurred well over a year now, my most prominent memory at HWS is still the first day of Orientation. Walking through the Hobart matriculation tent alone was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life; being ignored by the Alumni Association and having to endure questioning side glances made it immediately clear that I did not belong … Continue reading Coordinate System Viewpoint #2

This piece was written by a student at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. I walk across campus alongside 5-10 other families on my first tour as a prospective student of Hobart and William Smith Colleges. In the first few steps the coordinate system and the “four main differences of The Colleges” are mentioned. It sounds really cool that women have unique opportunities, but for some … Continue reading Coordinate System Viewpoint #3

This piece was written by a sophomore non-binary student currently enrolled at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. When I decided to come here, I was in the process of accepting my identity as a non-binary person. I struggled with the idea that I was not, in fact, a woman, despite knowing deep-down that I did not fit into the binary idea of gender. Being a … Continue reading Coordinate System Viewpoint #4

This piece was written by an upper-class Hobart and William Smith student. I am a non-binary student. “Genderqueer, also known as non–binary, is a catch-all category for gender identities that are not exclusively masculine or feminine‍—‌identities which are outside the gender binary and cisnormativity. Genderqueer people may express a combination of masculinity and femininity, or neither, in their gender expression.” (Wikipedia, 2018) I am strong … Continue reading Coordinate System Viewpoint #5

By Cameron Gaynor, William Smith ’14 When I was looking at colleges back in 2008-9, I wasn’t out to myself as transgender and non-binary, let alone queer at all. I’d grown up in simultaneously a very gendered and non-gendered world. I am an only child, assigned female at birth, and grew up competitively horseback riding. I was a Rhetoric and English enthusiast and so many … Continue reading Coordinate System Viewpoint #6

This piece is written by a senior Hobart and William Smith student. The Coordinate System and Beyond: What HWS can do Better As a transgender student, I despise the coordinate system. That is not to say that I do not recognize why it exists, nor am I ignorant of the struggle it would take to remove it. So, this article shall be separated into two … Continue reading Coordinate System Viewpoint #7

This piece was written by a recent graduate of Hobart and William Smith. The following list of questions is the best way that I’ve found to express my experience, and that is all I have to contribute right now. Questions I asked myself on a daily basis when I came out as transgender on the HWS campus: Do I have to leave William Smith if … Continue reading Coordinate System Viewpoint #8