Features
Senior Reflection: Campus tour take two
By Rachel Beamish ’16
April 28, 2016
Tags features
I first visited Hamilton in the fall of my senior year of high school. My dad had randomly stumbled upon it in an article and after briefly exploring the College’s website, Hamilton was added to the list of schools to visit. It was the last of 17 colleges that I visited, and was the exact opposite of everything I was initially looking for – a medium to large size school, in a big city, far away from home. Hamilton fulfilled none of those requirements, with an enrollment of only 1,850 students, a somewhat isolated location and the fact that it was only a two hour drive from my house. However, none of that seemed to matter after my visit and tour. After walking around campus and hearing about all that Hamilton had to offer, I was convinced it was a place I could call home and a place where I could thrive.
Fast-forward four and a half years. Now, with graduation fast-approaching (though I’m still not sure how that’s possible) I decided to tag along on a tour of Hamilton once again, to see how things have changed over the course of my time here and to compare the Hamilton experience presented on the tour with my own experience.
Going on the tour brought up a very mixed bag of emotions for me. As I walked over to the Office of Admissions I felt strangely nervous, almost as much as I had on my original tour. During the tour itself, I fluctuated between feelings of happiness and amusement as certain topics brought pleasant memories to mind, and others led to the horrible feeling that I had failed to take advantage of everything Hamilton has to offer. The tour guide talked at length about athletics, the new arts building and the Outing Club, all of which are wonderful, important aspects of the College. They also happen to be aspects which I have personally experienced very little of here at Hamilton.
As the tour guide spoke about all of the athletic teams and as we walked by various art studios, I felt as though I had missed out, and was actually feeling quite upset and almost guilty. I needed to remind myself of all the amazing activities I’d taken part in over the course of four years. I understand that each tour guide has their own areas of interest and experiences to draw on, and I certainly think the Kennedy Arts Center specifically is a great addition to Hamilton and one of the most significant changes to the campus while I’ve been here. However, I found myself wishing she would mention how many different clubs and organizations there are on campus, and name off a few to give a sense of the range. I may not have played on a sports team or gone on outing club trips but I have had the opportunity to take horseback riding lessons, to perform with a Latin dance group, to work on the newspaper, to dress up as a Harry Potter character every fall and to join a number of other incredible organizations. At Hamilton everyone has the chance to find what interests them, and that’s an aspect of life on the Hill that I feel could have been emphasized a lot more.
One of the first topics brought up on the tour was Hamilton’s open curriculum. The tour guide briefly explained the concept, then went into greater detail about the few existing requirements. This is another characteristic of Hamilton that I would argue deserves more attention. To me the open curriculum policy is one of the best things about the College. It has allowed me to double major in English and Classical Studies without any serious panic about fitting in the requirements, and while still being able to study abroad for a semester. I also made it a priority to take one class just for fun each semester, something I was interested in that didn’t fulfill any of the requirements for my majors, whether it was history or playwriting or dance. I would never have had the opportunity to take these courses if I had to fulfill a bunch of general education requirements.
I must admit I was also surprised by the lack of information shared about the humanities at Hamilton on the tour. We walked through the Science Center and heard about the various departments and the opportunities for research, but the only mention of the humanities came as we were walking through KJ and the tour guide commented only that the most humanities departments are housed there. Perhaps this reflects a trend in our society to value technical skills and subjects like math and science over the liberal arts, though I would argue now is the time to value the critical thinking and communication skills that a liberal arts education provides. In any case, to neglect discussing the value of the humanities and the small discussion-based courses that are common here seems to be neglecting a significant facet of academics at Hamilton.
One of the most amusing parts of the tour was the discussion of housing. First-year housing is another major change that’s taken place in my time at Hamilton. In my brief notes from the first tour I took of Hamilton (I was clearly tired of taking notes by the time I got to my 17th college visit, as I only wrote down about six things) I have written down ‘different room combinations, all different sizes, tons of different living styles.’ Interestingly, I have lived in three different room styles—a quad, a split double, and a single—but all three were in Dunham. Fortunately, this year I managed to escape to Eells—overall a positive change, except for the longer walk to Commons. As we walked by Dunham on the tour, the tour guide mentioned that it is the largest dorm on campus and that it houses first-years in the basement, first and second floors and upperclassmen on the third floor. Not surprisingly, there was no mention of the pieces of ceiling on the floor or puke in the hallways come every Sunday morning.
There were of course also points mentioned on the tour that really do reflect my experience here. The tour guide brought up all of the events CAB puts on, from musical performances to comedy shows to trips to New York City for Broadway musicals, all of which I have been fortunate enough to attend at one time or another. She spoke of all the study abroad programs that are available and of the incredible experiences students have abroad, which I completely agree with as I consider my decision to study abroad in Rome, Italy to be one of the best I’ve ever made. She also talked about all of the resources the Career Center offers and the generosity of Hamilton’s alumni, both of which I have greatly benefitted from in my time here.
In the end what I remember most from my first tour of Hamilton is the sense of community that was so prevalent on campus. I feel so fortunate now to be a member of that community and to experience the respect, kindness and trust that comes with it. I am sorry to be leaving soon, but I know Hamilton will continue to welcome new students and to provide them with incredible experiences.