HC: Tell me about a little bit about yourself. How did you hear about Bowdoin?KM: “I was applying to schools in the US, and my friend who graduated from Colby last year told me all about Bowdoin and Bates. Otherwise I would have no idea about these schools. I applied last year, and I got in, so now I’m here. It’s all because of my friend; she told me about Bowdoin.”
HC: So where are you from?KM: “I’m from the Republic of Georgia.”
HC: Have you always lived there?KM: “I pretty much always lived there. I lived in Russia for a while when I was a child, but I grew up Georgia. I spent most of my time there.”
HC: How do you like the United States so far?KM: “It’s cool. I’ve only been here for only like a year and a half, but it’s chill. It’s a lot different in some ways; it’s a lot similar in some ways. It was weird in the beginning, but now it’s fine.”
HC: There is a lot of debate on campus on how to pronounce your nickname. Is it pronounced “Koh-tay”?KM: “Yeah, it’s ‘Koh-tay.'”
HC: Yeah, I’ve heard lots of variations: “Koat”, “Koh-tee”. Did you always have that nickname?KM: “My full name is Konstantine, but in Georgia, that’s the way it gets shortened. It’s stuck with me since I was thirteen years old. I was at summer camp, and the people working there thought my name was too long. They shortened it to ‘Kote,’ and it’s been with me ever since. But my math professor calls me ‘Konstantine.’ He loves the name.”
HC: So what are you involved with on campus?KM: “I play rugby and I do Robo Cup, which is Robot Soccer. I also work at CPC.”
HC: What are you studying?KM: “I’m a computer science and math double major. Maybe a Russian or economics minor. I don’t really know yet. But definitely a CS major.”
HC: So I’m sure you’re familiar with your popularity on Bowdoin’s Yik Yak.KM: “Yeah, it’s really weird.”
HC: When did you figure out that your name was a trending topic on Yik Yak?KM: “It all started when the rugby team was away for the New England championship in New Hampshire. It was just us at a hotel – me and the rugby guys, and a guy on the team posted one ‘Kote?’ yak. We were in the middle of New Hampshire so there was nothing on the feed, and no one could see the post, except us. Then a couple of other guys yakked it. And then the rugby guys brought it to Bowdoin, and they kept posting it here, and then more people started doing it for fun. A bunch of my friends were doing it in the beginning, but I guess random people started too.”
HC: So it’s not you that posts “Kote?” every time I see “Kote?” on Yik Yak?KM: “No, I’ve never posted one.”
HC: You’ve never posted on Yik Yak?KM: “No! Well I’ve posted a yak…. I’ve yakked, but I don’t post ‘Kote?'”
HC: Do you consider yourself a popular yakker? Do you have a high Yakarma?KM: “I think it’s pretty high, yeah.”
HC: What is it?KM: “Well, I don’t know. It’s like…it’s kind of personal.”
HC: It is personal; I’m sorry that was a very personal question. I’m very sensitive about my yakarma score.KM: “What’s your yakarma?”
HC: It’s in the six-thousand range.KM: “Six-thousands? Oh, well, mine’s higher than that. One of my friend’s is, like, fifty-thousand.”
HC: You just have to write a lot of yaks that are clever and Bowdoin related. That’s what makes a high yakarma. So why do you think you’re so popular on Yik Yak?KM: “I don’t know. I honestly can’t see it. I mean, I haven’t really done anything to deserve it.”
HC: So any final words you would like to tell your fans?KM: “I don’t think I would say anything. I don’t really know what I should tell them. Do I have fans? Ask me something if you want to know more about me, I guess.”