Our third and final introduction for our summer team is our Collegiate Intern, Amy! Amy is a rising senior at Scripps College where she is studying English and Hispanic Studies. She spent last summer in New York City, where she first began to see the severity of street-harassment as a social problem. She’s ready to Hollaback!, and we’re so glad to have her on board to jump-start our Safer Spaces campaign and to help develop our Campus Ambassador program for the fall. Welcome, Amy!
Tell us about yourself – what are you into? I am a bi-coastal, feminist, extrovert, English major, going into my senior year at an incredible women’s college in Southern California. I am in love with my friends and constantly need to be surrounded by chaos. I am also the middle of five children, all of whom are conveniently among my best friends and most reliable sources of chaos.
Define your style: My style was once described by a friend as “preppy hippy”, and I’d say that is fairly accurate. I love flannel shirts, lady-like dresses, and (shamelessly) socks with my Birkenstocks.
Favorite Boston fact: I always thought it was fun that Boston streets were said to have originally been formed by cow paths, which were then paved over. It’s a random fact I like to tell my friends from L.A. when boasting about the charm and character of Boston. But as a Google search has just informed me, the “cow paths” explanation is likely a myth… I’ve been living a lie.
Your favorite place in Boston? My siblings and I do an annual Christmas-gift shopping trip to Harvard Square, and I love how festive that part of the city is around the holidays. But I’ve recently loved going out with my friends around there too, its a great crowd.
Have you experienced/witnessed street harassment in Boston? What stood
out most in your memory? I always feel the most uncomfortable and aware on the T into the city with my friends. As a group of young women, dressed up for a night out, this is often reason enough for (usually) drunk guys to start talking at us and asking nosy questions, and then being very dramatic about my unfriendliness. The “calm down, sweetheart” variety of remarks tend to piss me off the most.
What’s your signature response to street harassment – your go-to
Hollaback? I’m not sure I have really worked out a go-to response, it depends on the situation. I think more often than not my response is either ignoring the remark or giving the most, unimpressed, disgusted look I can muster. I respond to more relentless harassers or ones in a closer proximity (like on the T) with a very stern, “I don’t know you”.
Your superpower is… Arguing. Although it is not my most positive quality, I have an incredible ability to talk my way out of being wrong. It’s a blessing and a curse.
What are you excited about in 2014? Already I am excited about being home for the summer, I haven’t been back for longer than three weeks at a time in the past year, and I can’t wait to settle in and enjoy Boston for a few months. I’m also excited about a potential cross-country road trip at the end of the summer to bring my car out to school for senior year – definitely a bucket-list activity.
What inspires you? The women in my life have always been my constant source of inspiration and wisdom, and I am endlessly socializing as a result. Lately though I’ve given more thought to what the men around me also have to say, some of the most enlightening conversations I’ve had about feminism have been with my older brother!
If you could leave the world one piece of advice, what would it be? Write a letter to your grandma, it will be the most well-spent 15 minutes of your day.
–Amy
image credit: Amy Cannistraro
“Introducing” is an ongoing series in which we ask bloggers, activists, allies, entrepreneurs and assorted Bostonians about their inspirations, motivations, super powers and experiences with street harassment. If you know someone you think we should feature here, please drop us a line!
