The Spectator - Editorial archive

Editorial

In Support of Divestment

March 6, 2014

Last December, following a 26-3 Student Assembly vote in favor of gradually divesting our $775 million endowment from the biggest carbon-emitting companies, The Spectator offered conditional support for the initiative. We applauded student efforts toward divestment, but questioned whether the December proposal was practicable enough to balance Hamilton’s fiduciary duties with its moral obligations. Following improvements to the divestment proposal and, on the heels of a supportive faculty voice vote, The Spectator now stands behind the Divestment Committee’s most recent letter to the Board of Trustees (see p. 7). More ...

‘Thank you’ goes a long way

February 27, 2014

Since its founding in 2012, STOP Day has quickly become a Hamilton tradition. Thanks to the efforts of students and administrators, the message of the STOP campaign now holds a firm place in the Hamilton lexicon: Our generous alumni deserve thanks for financing around one-third of the cost of attending Hamilton for a year. Without such generosity from our donors, even students whose families can afford full tuition would find themselves paying up to $10,000 more per year to match the same experience. More ...

Lessons from Patsy

February 20, 2014

On the morning of Feb. 17, Patsy Couper passed away surrounded by family members. With the the death of Ellie Wertimer in January, the Hamilton community has lost two of the most iconic women to ever grace the Hill. Like Wertimer, Couper had a relationship with the College that dated back to the 1940s, and both women maintained strong presences in the community even after their husbands--and direct connections to Hamilton--died. More ...

Let’s talk about sex, Hamilton

February 14, 2014

Since at least the release of the film Animal House in 1978, college and a loose sexual lifestyle have been inextricably linked. To this day, the popular perception of residential colleges often invokes images of libertine gatherings, with hormone-influenced young people drinking and engaging in ménages à trois with reckless abandon. In our first-ever “Sex and Love Issue” (the last seven pages of this issue), however, The Spectator seeks to find the reality behind these stereotypes. More ...

Counseling Center changes are commendable, not condemnable

February 6, 2014

Nestled on the second floor of the Thomas Rudd Health Center, Hamilton’s Office of Counseling and Psychological Services has provided a safe haven for students to confidentially discuss personal issues. The four counselors offer individual appointments and group therapy sessions free-of-charge, in addition to being on call 24/7 to deal with whatever crises might arise within Hamilton’s community. More ...

Increasing college access: good for Hamilton, good for America

January 30, 2014

While President Obama focused primarily on political hot-button topics such as reducing income inequality and reforming America’s immigration system in Tuesday’s annual State of the Union address, he also noted an issue directly involving Hamilton: ensuring that colleges increase both educational access and graduation rates for low-income students. More ...

Saving Carnegie sacrifices singles

January 23, 2014

Before students first arrive at Hamilton, they are given the option of living in a double, triple or quad; no freshman can avoid socialization by requesting a single. This forced cohabitation ensures that students learn to live with others in close quarters and that first-years have a ready-made base of potential friends. More ...

Reflecting on Race at Hamilton

December 5, 2013

A little over two months ago, on Thursday, Sept. 26, Hamilton held a town hall meeting to talk about race as it pertained to our community. The meeting brought together hundreds of students and faculty to openly discuss tensions on the Hill stemming from the Days-Massolo Center’s controversial—and subsequently cancelled—event, “Real Talk: A Dialogue about Internalized Racism,” along with the variety of heated responses in the form of campus-wide emails, speeches at Student Assembly, anonymous postings on HamiltonSecrets and signs along Martin’s Way. More ...

Jitney changes call for student accountability

November 14, 2013

When rumor first spread that an unnamed individual tore the door off of the late-night Jitney, the obvious question was: Who is this individual with superhuman strength, and how can we put him or her to better use? More ...

Does Hamilton’s hookup culture need improvement?

November 7, 2013

On Tuesday, professor and author Donna Freitas gave a well-attended and provocative lecture titled, “The End of Sex: Putting the Meaning Back into Sex for the Hookup Generation” (see cover story). Freitas’s basic premise, per the title of her new book, is that hookup culture is leaving a generation unhappy, sexually unfulfilled and confused about intimacy. Based on the results from research she conducted through surveys and interviews, Freitas argues that students privately desire more traditional dating and romance, but feel as though those ideas are taboo on college campuses where brief, emotionless flings are the norm. More ...