{"id":18292,"date":"2026-08-19T14:08:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T18:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/?p=18292"},"modified":"2026-08-19T15:27:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T19:27:34","slug":"episode-687-ida-kao","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/episode-687-ida-kao","title":{"rendered":"Episode 687 – Ida Kao"},"content":{"rendered":"

Virtual Memories Show 687:
\nIda Kao<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/virtualmemories\/Episode_687_-_Ida_Kao.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>

Podcast: Play in new window<\/a> | Download<\/a><\/p>

Subscribe: Spotify<\/a> | TuneIn<\/a> | RSS<\/a> | More<\/a><\/p>\n

“I can point to a dozen different problems that all meaningfully contributed to why Hampshire is closing now. How all those things accumulated is pretty tragic.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“There are ways to downsize a college, but with Hampshire it felt more like a hollowing-out.” Our latest installment of The Hampshire Tapes<\/strong> features a conversation with Ida Kao (F18)<\/strong> about having a ringside seat for Hampshire College’s decline<\/a>. We talk about how she’s trying to preserve the school’s spirit by co-curating the Post-Hampshire project<\/a>, what it was like trying to pursue an education in the face of Hampshire’s financial crisis and COVID, the ups and downs of editing The Omen<\/em><\/a> during those times, her exploration of The Omen<\/em>‘s archives how it led to a nostalgia for the Hampshire before her time, and how she recognized pretty early on that some of Hampshire’s troubles weren’t fixable (at least not by sit-ins). We also get into Hampshire’s stabs at student government (see her Div III<\/a>), the institutions that came and went before her arrival (more Div III<\/a>) and what that said about ahistoricism on campus, whether she felt short-changed by her time there, and more. Give it a listen!<\/a><\/p>\n

And if you were part of Hampshire, be part of To Remember Is Not Enough<\/a>! Details below:<\/p>\n

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“Education took a back seat to everything else that was going on.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n