Hunter College
The Sun is Also a StarHunter College becomes Daniel Jae Ho Bae’s chosen path after high school: he declines Yale, moves out of his parents’ house, works two jobs, and attends Hunter part-time. The college is presented not through its campus or institutional history, but through the life Daniel builds around studying there while supporting himself.
Daniel’s Education and Work
At Hunter, Daniel majors in English while balancing his studies with two jobs. This arrangement places education within a demanding routine of work and independence, rather than treating college as a separate, protected stage of life. His decision to attend part-time follows his refusal of Yale and his move out of his parents’ home.
Writing and Emotional Afterlife
Daniel writes small, sad poems. Even the poems that are not about Natasha Kingsley remain, in a deeper sense, about her: the relationship continues to shape his writing after they are apart. Hunter is therefore associated both with Daniel’s practical effort to make an adult life and with an attachment that persists within that life.
Narrative Significance
The college marks a divergence between Daniel’s expected future and the one he chooses. Rather than going to Yale, he studies English at Hunter while working, and the narrative links this grounded routine to the lingering emotional presence of Natasha. Hunter thus represents a continuation rather than a clean break: Daniel moves forward into adult responsibilities, but his poems carry the relationship with him.
