Turns out I was wrong

In the recent entry called, "Students make the grade," I marveled at the brilliance of SUNY Potsdam students who were able to convince their professors to sign off on research projects that involved things like going fishing or climbing mountains. And I singled out two students whose project, "The Historical Demography of the St. Lawrence County Almshouse," seemed more like academia as we know it and less like vacationing for a grade.

This is what I wrote: Kalen Casey and Jessica Crandall are the only students whose project didn’t involve getting a tan. They are probably still kicking themselves for choosing a topic ... which required plugging a lot of data into spreadsheets. That’s not nearly as fun as fighting and landing a five-pound smallmouth.

Their faculty sponsor for the research project, Bethany Usher, set me straight with the attached picture and the following words in an e-mail:

Luckily, Kalen and Jessica took advantage of the lovely fall weather, and they also got to stand by the side of the St. Lawrence River and survey the cemetery. So we don't have to feel too sorry for them working with databases! I'm attaching a picture of the day they took me out - it's hard to complain about that!

I guess so.