Picture perfect
Hashimoto, who was born in New Jersey but raised in New York, is the older of two siblings. Growing up in New York City since she was two years old made Hashimoto's baseball allegiance an integral part of her identity. In describing her baseball loyalty, Hashimoto stated, "I am a huge Yankees fan. It's so hard to be here. This is Red Sox country!"
Hashimoto's love for photography earned her the nickname "paparazzi." For Hashimoto, pictures are a way to remember happy moments. "When I'm having fun, I want to remember it later, so I always carry my camera with me," she said. "I'm just grateful for the opportunity to take a happy picture."
Hashimoto also finds joy in kickboxing and surfing. Though she says that she used to be afraid of hitting things, kickboxing, which Hashimoto picked up during a free training session in New York, has given her confidence and satisfaction.
Culture jockey
In reminiscing about high school, Hashimoto shared that she was a much shyer person before she came to college. However, her interest in cultural issues helped her become more vocal. "I was a lot quieter in high school when I was involved in cultural clubs," she said. "[Cultural issues] just gave me something to talk about."
Hashimoto utilized her new-found voice in her involvement with several cultural organizations at the College, including the Asian Students Association (ASA) and Asian Culture House (ACH). As a member of ASA, Hashimoto helped invite spoken word artist Ishle Yi Park, whom she idolizes. "I fell in love with spoken word through [Park]!" she said.
According to Hashimoto, Park inspired her to attend more spoken word events. "I began going to open mics and poetry slams, collecting chapbooks, joining writing workshops whenever I could," she said. "At one point I felt so inspired that I kind of dared myself to read at an open mic, and from then on I kept going."
One event that Hashimoto will always remember occurred in the fall of 2003 when two white males from the College were attacked by four Asians from off-campus at the bus stop in front of Converse Hall. Although the event itself upset Hashimoto, she shared that posts on the Daily Jolt (a commercial Web site dedicated to Amherst), consisting of slurs against Asians in response to the event, concerned her even more.
In response to the growing sentiment against Asians, Marika and other ASA members began a banner campaign entitled "We Object-We Embrace" and organized an open meeting inviting anyone to talk about the event and the posts. Hashimoto shared that she was most interested in how the campus responded to the incident, citing an example of how the police called Asian girls to get more information, though many of them did not know the suspects.
Hashimoto also reached beyond cultural activities, participating in Dance and Stepping at Amherst (DASAC). She did not plan on joining the dance group, but found herself a member after trying to coordinate a dance show between AIKYA (the South Asian students organization) and DASAC. Although Hashimoto joined DASAC by accident, it quickly became one of her favorite activities at the College.
Another of Marika's eclectic activities at the College is WAMH, the College radio station. She hosted "Are We There Yet?" with Erika Kweon '08, a show that plays music in alphabetical order. "She has great taste in music!" said Kweon. "She introduced me to music that I never would have listened to otherwise." Hashimoto also hosted a show consisting solely of movie soundtracks. According to Hashimoto, the WAMH station is one of her favorite places to be on campus.
Hawai`i
As part of a semester exchange program, Hashimoto studied in Hawai`i. Although she went to take Japanese translation classes, Marika feels she returned to the College with much more.
She compares her exchange experience with a break abroad - having fun, seeing the place where her parents married and meeting family members who live in Hawai`i. "[I felt] like I went abroad … When you're there, you talk about the 'mainland'," Hashimoto commented. "I liked it so much, I stayed for the summer after."
A unique perspective
Marika enjoys surprising others with her array of interests, and being a black studies major seems to have done exactly that. According to Hashimoto, many have been confounded by her answer to the "What's your major?" question. Her ability to explore has made her a unique individual who slips through the grasps of those attempting to categorize students into particular fields of study.
Hashimoto contributes a large part of her success to the black studies department. According to her, the department's emphasis on student participation sets black studies apart from other departments. "It's really important to listen to what your classmates have to say," she said. "I liked how that was a priority in the department."
Hashimoto feels that the interdisciplinary aspect of the black studies at Amherst allowed her to experience classes from other departments with a lot of freedom. With the liberty to take a variety of classes, Hashimoto enrolled in courses ranging from tourism to art and architecture.
Hashimoto thought only of her Doshisha Fellowship when she received notice about an award at the Senior Assembly. However, she was caught off guard when her name was announced, not for her fellowship, but for the Edward Jones Prize. According to the Amherst black studies' Web site, the department annually awards one student for a thesis that addresses "a present or future issue of concern to black people in Africa and the Diaspora."
Although Hashimoto began the thesis, "Ndebele Architecture: The Home in Post-Apartheid South Africa," with no background knowledge, she soon found herself engrossed in it. Her work delves into the artistic and political aspects of the brightly colored houses painted by Ndebele women in South Africa.
Hashimoto shared that it is interesting how the paintings on the buildings consist of modern elements such as airplanes and antennas-all objects that the Ndebele people most likely have never experienced firsthand. "In my opinion, there is nothing closed in about these house paintings … by including things like airplanes, the women show that they are acutely aware of the larger world," she said.
In her thesis, Hashimoto also looks at the relationship between the houses and women. "I loved this concept that I came across, that the Ndebele house is a metaphor for the female body," she said. "The original round house was supposed to represent the womb, and women are solely in charge when it comes to the architecture of their homes."
Although Hashimoto admits that she was nervous about providing the defense for her thesis in front of a panel of professors, she urges fellow students to take advantage of doing research. "I really encourage anybody to write a thesis if there's a topic they really like," she said. "It gave me a boost of confidence."
To the "Capital of Capitals"
After graduating from the College, Hashimoto will teach for a year at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan, as a Doshisha Fellow. The flexibility of the program motivated Hashimoto to apply. "What attracted me was they give you a lot of freedom to develop the class and also pursue your own research studies," she said. "I wanted to jump at the chance … to learn about stuff I wanted."
Hashimoto hopes that she will be able to introduce race studies in Japan. "For starters, I'd like to find out how Doshisha students will make distinctions between race, ethnicity, and nationality," she said.
As a part of her interest in race studies, Marika also plans on evaluating "pop culture vs. history." She explained that the United States' culture is very popular in Japan, although the Japanese do not understand many aspects of it. For example, racial jokes in American movies are often not understood in Japan, though the Japanese may laugh at them.
To be a part of the Japanese academic scene has always been of interest to Hashimoto, and the Doshisha Fellowship provides Hashimoto with exactly that. "I am so excited. I always wondered what it would be like if I went to a Japanese university," shared Hashimoto. "I'm really excited to go to school with Japanese students."
Connect the dots
Any individual at this point might be confused by the relationship between Hawai`i, black studies and most other activities of which Hashimoto has been a part. However, making everything connect is Hashimoto's specialty.
In Hawai`i, Hashimoto connected black studies with the island by creating parallels between black history and Hawai`ian history. Hashimoto shared that Hawai`ians face prejudice with cartoons often portraying them as blacks and with the discouragement of Hawai`ian nationalism. According to Hashimoto, both black and Hawai`ian communities should respond to such prejudices.
Hashimoto further connected her experience in Hawai`i with black studies by inviting professor and poet, Kathryn Waddell Takara from Honolulu for a lecture entitled "To Be Black in Hawai`i: Contradictions in Paradise." With Takara, Hashimoto hoped to portray race dynamics in a state where "blacks are still a minority, but a minority where the minority is a majority."
Hashimoto also relates her love for architecture to her interest in sociology. "I like that there's a creative aspect [to architecture] and at the same time, you have the potential to hopefully positively influence the community where you're building something in," she said.
Missing school
Hashimoto will miss her friends and professors the most when she leaves the College. Fortunately, she carries with her lifelong memories of her experiences at the College. She was particularly fond of cooking for her fellow ACH members during study breaks.
Marika also shared that she will miss planning her room, which was her favorite part of moving in during the fall. In planning for her room, Hashimoto spent her summers drawing sketches-kindling her interest in interior design and architecture. In addition, Hashimoto enjoyed playing April Fool's Day pranks on her friends, which included toilet papering their doors.
Hashimoto's friends also shared their fond memories of her, revealing a fun and carefree side. According to Brown, Hashimoto has the potential to burst out singing. "One day I stayed in her room for hours while we sang along to her CD of old T.V. show theme songs," shared Brown. "Sometime around 3 a.m. yodeling 'Green Acres,' I realized we were crazy, but it was amazingly fun."
Kweon also complimented Hashimoto's personality and expressed regrets that she was leaving the College. "She's very cool and laid back, and we share the same interests, so it's always fun talking to her. One of my favorite memories is when we played Japanese and Korean music for an entire show," said Kweon. "That was awesome, since we also started surfing the Internet to look for video clips to go with the music and discovered the wonders of Asian music videos."
Experience has taught Hashimoto that students at the College often lose themselves in a tangle of extracurricular and academic commitments. As a result, Hashimoto advises students to learn how to say no to activities that may be difficult to commit to. She hopes that learning to prioritize will help students to decrease the chances of overburdening themselves and lead to more effective campus organizations. "There's so much stuff to do here that there's no way that you'll get to everything," says Hashimoto. "Just do what you really want to do."