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Charlie Hebdo, and why we are ultimately to blame
January 31, 2015

There has been much discussion surrounding the recent attacks on Charlie Hebdo, with reactions ranging from unwavering support for the humor magazine’s staff, to condemning the content of the publication. The focus of the conversation should shift away from concentrating on hate speech and freedom of speech. Instead, we should  concern ourselves with the ease with which terrorist attacks can be carried out today, and the global context that Europe and North America has created that means these attacks will continue to happen. More ...

Naive oversimplification should not be intellectually permissible
January 31, 2015

The Lion King is a fantastic Disney classic that most of our generation grew up watching. It features a rather typical narrative: a definite hero and a concrete villain; there is no room for any complexity or greyness in the characters. In fact, the biggest mistake Mufasa and Simba—the film’s heroes—make is that they are overly trusting and gentle with the villain, Scar. That naive understanding of our world was perhaps acceptable when we were younger; we cannot teach a five-year-old the sophisticated nature of people and the world that surrounds them. Yet as we all grow intellectually, to the point where we now attend an elite institution such as Hamilton, it becomes nothing but idiotic to describe our world with the same naïveté as The Lion King’s narrative. More ...

January admits disadvantaged due to Hamilton policies
January 31, 2015

Every spring semester, about 35 January admits come to Hamilton at an awkward time to be first-year students.  While classmates have mostly already found their college identities with clubs and friends, January admits find themselves stuck playing catch-up in an entirely novel environment, both socially and academically. More ...

The Soapbox: Charlie Hebdo and France’s biased secularism
January 23, 2015

The Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, apparently inspired by provocative portrayals of the prophet Mohammed, have elicited a number of responses from the French public. Notably, many French people have decried the events as a blatant danger to the right to free speech, seeing the assault as an attempt to silence dissent towards Islamic extremists. In the context of France’s complicated history with Muslims, however, it is clear that France’s reaction regarding free speech is at best questionable, and at worst completely hypocritical. France has enacted many recent policies that appear to be in the name of French republican values such as secularism and public safety, but in reality unfairly target a growing Muslim population that has never been assimilated into French culture. I argue that the French reaction can be understood as yet another affront to Muslims, disguised under the vague Western idea of free speech. More ...

Lack of organization confuses protests’ purpose
January 23, 2015

Last semester, Hamilton students organized a die-in to express their outrage over police conduct towards minority citizens. The pride in demonstrators eyes as they chanted “No justice, o peace” and “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” was very moving, and even put tears in my eyes. Although their intentions for coordinating the die-in were sound, actual coordination itself was a bit lacking. The demonstration itself was compelling, but acts such as these demonstrate how the possibility of being arrested was hardly considered. More ...

Should Hamilton consider winter programming?
January 23, 2015

After the onslaught of exams and papers during finals, the best remedy is a month filled with relaxation and reunions.  We prepare for this nirvana by packing enormous bags that we can barely lift and hugging our friends goodbye. We are not exactly happy about leaving our newfound friendships behind for an entire month, but our excitement to return home is great. More ...

Update on Diversity and Inclusion Efforts
December 12, 2014

Letter to the Editor: In response to recent conversations around diversity and inclusion, we wanted to update the campus on some progress and ongoing efforts at the College. More ...

Community should be proud of its students for speaking out
December 12, 2014

Letter to the Editor: The profiling and killings by police officers or self-appointed vigilantes of unarmed African-Americans and the recent controversy over New York City’s infamous stop-and-frisk policy police profiling of people of color may finally be generating a real national conversation about systematic, ingrained racism in our criminal justice system and society at large.  At Hamilton, the conversation was most recently manifest in a Dec. 1 community-wide meeting and a Dec. 4 protest that blocked traffic on College Hill Road. More ...

Regarding Title IX and the OCR complaint
December 12, 2014

Letter to the Editor: I write in response to concerns expressed by Student Assembly and The Spectator editorial staff about the recent complaint filed with the Office of Civil Rights (OCR). As Title IX Coordinator, I am determined to be as transparent as possible regarding the College’s sexual misconduct policy and procedures. More ...

Derek Jeter: a lackluster speaker
December 12, 2014

As Hamilton College counted the days until Derek Jeter’s arrival, I was also excited to see the prolific figure. How could a long-time baseball player such as me miss out on someone with Great Bambino-esque?nicknames, such as?“Captain Clutch” and “Mr. November?” Clearly, the man is accomplished, with five World Series championships and 14 all-star selections, all done without so much as a speck of dirt on his professional record. I told my friends  who are Red Sox or Mets fans that going to see Jeter is?a no-brainer. However, I wasn’t going out to the ballpark where Jeter is sure to shine. Instead, I headed out to the Bundy Field House. Having only heard his short, post-game interviews, I wondered about his talents for public discourse.?? More ...

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