By Ohad Amram, Staff Writer
You may know him as Kansas or maybe you know him as Oklahoma. You may not know him at all. For all who don’t know the Kansas native, Daniel Philip Wilkes is the bearded, sombrero-wearing, linguistics major, whom you may have seen throughout different clubs and sporting events on campus.
The 31 year-old sophomore is quite the traveler and has explored more than half of the United States and Canada since he embarked upon his journey several years ago. Whether through the army or with the Rainbow Family, has resided in Canada, California, Texas, and Georgia and has traveled from South Carolina to New Orleans by moped and greyhound.
The Chronicle: For Starters, tell me about yourself, what do you like to do?
Wilkes: “I used to love casinos man, the roulette wheel, wooo man, the roulette wheel would put me in a trance. Rock stacking is my new obsession though, that and long, Long Island walks, hammocking, slow, slow, real slow bike riding, chucking Frisbees, and shooting them hoops!”
TC: So why Hofstra?
W: “I just had good vibes when I came out here and when I visited the campus I just knew this was where I was supposed to be; the campus is very people-oriented and community driven.”
TC: Are you involved in any community service?
W: “I’d really like to get involved at a soup kitchen and help the local “Food not Bombs” organization; I love helping people. I currently volunteer teach this ESL program where I teach English to this Hispanic community. I’m also on the school spirit squad.”
TC: Who are some of your idols or people you look up to as inspiration?
W: “Tom Brown Jr. and Peter Jenkins; Google them!”
TC: Do you live on campus?
W: “I wanted to find a tree on campus that I could set my hammock on to just live there but I still haven’t found the right one. Right now I pay this guy $100 a month as well as manual labor to live in this cabin adjacent to his home. I’m still working on an outhouse. It’s about five miles from campus, but I enjoy the long walks and/or slow bike rides.”
TC: You choose to live a simple life in which you limit your cell phone usage and refuse a Facebook; why is that?
W: “People are so into these virtual worlds or their own little world that they’ve created for themselves that they miss all the possible interaction with the world right before them in the here and now, “in the moment ” moments, beautiful spontaneous moments are happening if you just walk a little slower with your head up and look around and take off them headphones for a minute and hear the sound of life happening, birds chirping, leaves rustling, heals clicking, instead of the same 10 songs you’ve been hooked on for the last month or two.”
TC: What would you want to do as a job upon graduation?
W: “There are many worthy professions out there, but the other two that I’m really gravitating toward right now are farming of some sort or being an ESL teacher. However, I would want to be a dish-washer in a restaurant in all 50 states; I love washing dishes. Oh, oh, actually I want to be a rock stacker. I want to stack rocks, ever seen those guys that stack rocks?”
“Kansas” hitchhiking to one of the few places he has not been yet. (Ohad Amram)