Bachelorette: Sabrina Gattine ’18
December 1, 2016Turn On? Cool socks. Turn Off? Socks with sandals. More ...
Features
The power of Words as Swords
December 1, 2016I love reading and writing. I love literature so much that I can sit next to the window with a book for a whole day. My Chinese teacher in middle school loved literature as well. In fact, I have never seen a person who loves literature as much as she does. I do not know whether I love literature because of her or I like her because we share the same love of literature. She has a beautiful name: Xiaoling, it means snowflake in the morning. Most Chinese teachers prefer students to call them by their last names in order to show distance and respect, but Xiaoling wanted her students to call her by her first name. More ...
Country tug of war
November 17, 2016Have you ever asked your- self what it would be like to give up everything you have and live in another country? I have asked myself this question, multiple times. My name is Gregorio, and I haven’t figured out yet to what country I belong. I was born to an American father and an Ital- ian mother in a little rural town in Southern Italy named Spilinga, one of those that you might have heard about from your grandpar- ents. The primary resource of the economy for my small town is food; products like milk, beans, wine and a typical spicy salami you might have never heard of: the ‘nduja More ...
What your childhood cartoon preferences say about you
November 17, 2016Over the past few years, many generalizations have been made about American millenni- als, specifically their work eth- ic, emotions and views on poli- tics. Millennials are generally defined as those born between the early 1980s and 2000, youth who watched a period of turmoil through smartphone screens. In the wake of the recent presiden- tial decision, many point to this highly criticized demographic as America’s best hope, but what factors created us flawed, shining stars? I believe that the major types of millennials are defined by the children’s net- works that raised us. Yes, I know this may sound silly, but there is no denying that childhood experiences have permanent ef- fects on a person’s psyche, and if you are anything like me, you spent endless Sunday mornings glued to the television screen. More ...
Being present is a present
November 17, 2016This past week has been particularly trying. Amidst the heightened academic demands that students face the week before Thanksgiving Break was the campus-wide shock of the results of the presidential election. One way to reduce stress levels before and during Thanksgiving break is to under- stand the power of being present. Being present is what you experience when you are at peace with this very moment. To achieve true presence, it is important to consider the time frame of your thoughts— whether you are focused on the past, the present or the future. The vast majority of us spend most of our time contemplating past events or anticipating the future, diminishing our abil- ity to truly experience the cur- rent moment. When we are not present, our attention drifts in and out. Rather than permitting our minds to focus on making new memories, our thoughts are stuck in an alternate, stag- nant timeframe, and we lose the true power of the resounding now of which we are all a part. More ...
Staff stuff: Thanksgiving appetizer recipes
November 17, 2016Spec shares our favorite festive Thanksgiving appetizers. More ...
Staff stuff: Thanksgiving side dish recipes
November 17, 2016Spec staff shares our favorite Thanksgiving side dishes More ...
Just breathe; animal therapy
November 10, 2016The morning after Nov. 8 was a bleak and unsettling one for most of the Hamilton College campus. So, Student Activities decided to brighten students’ mornings with none other than an oversized furry rabbit located on the first floor of the Sadove Student Center. Tommy Bowden ’18, who has been working for Student Activities since he was a first year, believed that Nov. 9 would be the perfect day for a post-election de-stressor. He invited Utica Zoo Education Program Coordinator, Kathleen McGill and a selection of animals to campus from noon to 2:00 p.m. More ...
Prof Talk with... Margie Thickstun
November 10, 2016Which books that you’ve re-read after a long gap have you most enjoyed? Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens. I read it way too quickly in high school and hated it. But then we tried reading it aloud to our son when he was maybe 12 or 13. It is so funny! And very perceptive about abusive family structures, social class, being embarrassed about home, the way that the legal system creates “criminals.” And the plot is amazingly complicated. So now I teach it as often as I can—and spread the reading out over the semester in the hopes that students can slow down enough to enjoy it all. More ...
Are chair massages worth the time and money?
November 10, 2016In the flood of daily emails Hamilton students receive every day, it can be unfortunately easy to miss the hidden gems that the College has to offer. One of these such gems is Chair Massage Tuesday, a staple in student wellness. Despite its weekly presence on our campus, much is unknown about the activity. What exactly is a chair massage? Contrary to popular belief, Chair Massage Tuesday is not a Brookstone-esque experience of rows of chair massager machines. This chair is motionless, and the experience is personal. Located from 10:00 a.m. to 3:20 p.m. in the Blood Fitness Center Conference Room (why there is even a conference room in the fitness center, besides this feature, I guess, is beyond me), licensed massage therapist Erich Warmuth and his chair contraption are available for massages ranging from a minimum of 10 minutes to a maximum of 20. More ...