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Where in the world is the Italian minor?

On a last minute whim during the first semester of my freshman year, I decided to take introductory Italian. Though at the time I was just looking for another class to round out my schedule, it turned out to be one of the best decisions of my college career. I never knew what it was like to fall in love with a language, and now I realize that Italian is so much more than just a fourth class. More ...

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor, The other day I came across an upsetting picture of a Facebook party invite from a Hamilton student for a party with the name “ANTONIN SCALIA IS F****** DEAD: A Party.”  At a school of less than 2,000, 800 received invites and over 100 marked that they would attend. This disturbed me not because I am a supporter of Justice Scalia’s constitutional interpretation — full disclosure: I am — but because I am a human being.  More ...

Let me live and give me life: Art as resistance and reformation

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, art is “something that is created with imagination and skill that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings.” I disagree, as this definition implies that art is something that is to be controlled, defined and put aside, never being truly understood. Actress and writer, Josefina Baez, believes that art is unable to be truly defined, as “all matter is meant to be transformed.” More ...

An open letter to Bernie supporters

Let me open by stating that I strongly support Bernie Sanders for the Presidency. He is the most consistent and strongest candidate on the issues of mass incarceration, civil rights, health care, the wealth gap, Citizens United and abortion, among others. I, for these reasons, am one of the Co-Presidents of the Hamilton College for Bernie Sanders group. Bernie represents the future of the Democratic party, embodying true progressive leftism that has been missing from the party for years. His platform is a form of leftism that even Barack Obama has failed to fully embrace. In response to Bernie’s appeal of progressiveness, former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has been forced to drift further to the left. Clinton, like Sanders, who opposes nearly every trade deal, recently came out against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), even though she wrote a large amount of the deal during her time as Secretary of State. Following Bernie’s push for single-payer health care, Hillary was quick to state that she’ll “defend the Affordable Care Act, build on its successes and go even further to reduce costs.” Despite Bernie’s massive grassroots support, Hillary, the “establishment candidate,” is still the likely nominee. She has a dominant superdelegate advantage,  more name recognition among minority communities and represents a form of moderate liberalism that is appealing to older Democrats. She is still a liberal, and one who will continue to push the left wing policies of the Obama administration. It is for this reason that I am urging Sanders’ supporters not to rebuff her in the general election if she wins the primary. More ...

The complexities of Flint’s water crisis

Flint, Michigan’s water crisis, which began as a local government scheme to save money, quickly unraveled into a full-fledged federal state of emergency. Yet the situation in Flint is a mere microcosm of a deep-seated dilemma involving the United States’ water safety systems, power politics, socioeconomic inequalities and enduring legacy of racism.  More ...

How to react to Antonin Scalia’s death

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died at the age of 79 this past weekend. Nominated by Ronald Reagan in 1986, Scalia was unanimously confirmed by the Senate in a 98-0 vote. The longest-serving Justice on the current court, he was an Originalist, and one of the leaders of the current intellectual conservative moment. Scalia, despite his oft-problematic social commentary and opinions, was an absolutely brilliant legal scholar and jurist. To some, he was a conservative hero, while to others, he was a villain and a barrier to the recent onslaught of social progressivism. A devout Catholic, Scalia maintained an extreme distaste for gay marriage and abortion. In 2012, Scalia asked, “If we cannot have moral feelings against homosexuality, can we have it against murder? Can we have it against other things?” In both life and death, Scalia was an intellectual, and a principled heavyweight, albeit one who came to embody the villainous face of conservative bigotry. More ...

How the Femme Monologues spoke to me

This past Sunday on Valentine’s Day, the Womyn’s Center hosted their second annual Femme Monologues.  When I first heard of this event, I immediately knew I wanted to go, but I was a little reluctant.  What if I couldn’t relate to any of the monologues?  Many of the monologues I’ve seen in the past have come off as more of a performance and not genuine enough for me to feel something. I wanted to connect with the womyn performing and I really hoped that I could.  So, although I had my reservations, I went to the Femme Monologues anyway and I was not disappointed. More ...

The power of Rankine’s poetry

What is racism? Though seemingly straightforward, this question has sparked debate and subsequent movements across college campuses nationwide. On Monday Feb. 8 the poet Claudia Rankine graced the Hamilton College Chapel and attempted to answer this question.  More ...

The Iowa Caucus is a waste of time

Over a year after the start of Democalypse 2016—a term coined by the hilarious Jon Stewart—there is a celebrated event that is the proverbial starting gun of the American presidential elections: The Iowa Caucus. But amongst all the pomp and circumstance, one critical truth is often neglected: the Iowa caucuses are the antithesis of the representative and accessible democracy that Americans fiercely fought for and defended over the past two and a half centuries.  More ...

Entering life on The Hill: The Jan experience

I chose Hamilton for its distinctly welcoming community. When I first discovered Hamilton, I was struck by how the school was not just a place to learn, but also a place to grow. After my first visit to The Hill I knew it was where I wanted to go to college.  My decision to attend was easy and quick, but my journey to Hamilton’s campus was unlike the journeys of many of my classmates. I chose Hamilton over two years ago as a junior in high school and as one of the January Admits in the class of 2019, I have been waiting to arrive on campus for what feels like ages. It’s been a long time coming, and now that I’m here it feels necessary to reflect on my recent transition. More ...

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