The Utica Observer-Dispatch published an editorial (3/21/05) praising a group of Hamilton College students who participated in an Urban Service Experience during the college's spring break. The editorial noted: "There aren't too many college students who would choose Cornhill over Cancun as the place to spend spring break. But five students from Hamilton College did just that, not only raising their own social consciousness, but reinforcing a valuable bond between college and community.
"The students were part of Urban Service Experience, a program that gives students a chance to work for community programs in Utica. It's not a new program at Hamilton, but this was the first time it was offered during spring break.
"I wanted to see the America that is hidden from media and films," said Keshab Ghimire, 21, an exchange student from Nepal. "This part is not like that at all."
"Ghimire and four other Hamilton students spent the week performing an assortment of tasks throughout the inner city -- projects ranging from painting and tutoring to moving furniture and other manual labor at agencies otherwise unable to afford such work. Nights were spent in temporary quarters at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes on Genesee Street."
