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Features

Supplemental essays: subject to change

October 6, 2016

For many people, the college application process begins and ends at the tail end of high school. You spend months and months touring, interviewing, applying and then you just press the submit button and wait. After my time in the trenches of the Common App, I finally got to the “I’m done” phase. Acceptance letter in hand, I was packing my bags to a semester in London, ready to fly far, far away from college essays. Then I made a mistake. I let my mom read my Common App essay. She loved it. Turns out not only do I like to write, but I also happen to be pretty decent at it sometimes. This was a massive mistake because a couple of years ago my mom finally started the business that she had been crafting in her mind for years: Academic Insight, individualized educational consulting or, more simply, independent college counseling. After reading my essay she started using her dark magic to get me involved in her work. “Can you just read this sentence?” “How does this paragraph sound?” The next thing I knew, I was getting my first paycheck as an editor for Academic Insight. It all escalated so quickly. More ...

All about Family Weekend

October 6, 2016

We’ve been on campus for six weeks now, and let’s face it—the homesickness has begun to sink in. Longing for home-cooked meals and affection from family members is perfectly justifiable, whether you live a couple hours from Hamilton or across the country. Luckily, Family Weekend is quickly approaching to save the day. Students have mixed opinions about this event-filled weekend, as some rejoice in seeing their family, and others panic to find sources of entertainment and, most importantly, a way to come off as a well-acclimated Hamilton community member. The campus responsibilities that keep us busy nearly every hour of the day seem to come to a grinding halt when Family Weekend comes around, leaving us searching for ways to keep the ’rents happy. After the standard campus tour and unveiling of the dorm room, it’s time to showcase the unique qualities that Hamilton has to offer—but how? More ...

Prof talk with Rob Hopkins

October 6, 2016

Position: Associate Professor of Music At Hamilton since: 1983 What was the last book you loved? Robert A. Caro, The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Passage of Power. I love all the Caro books on Johnson. Absolutely fascinating and insightful. More ...

Not just emptying take-out boxes

September 29, 2016

The food culture in America is unlike any other. Traditional“ American” food doesn’t exist in the same sense that it does in Italy or Mexico. Americans tend to adopt the food culture of other countries and then blend those ingredients and flavors into a quasiforeign variation of the original. Chinese food is perhaps one of the greatest examples of this culture blending. Americanized Chinese food is so distinctly non-Chinese, that in many cases popular Americanized dishes aren’t even something remotely comparable to traditional dishes. For example, the Chinese do not typically have broccoli nor do they usually have beef, so the popular “Beef and Broccoli” dish you might find here cannot be found in China. More ...

I'm going to play intramural

September 29, 2016

With classes, jobs, home- work, clubs, rehearsals and vari- ous other priorities, it is difficult for students to find time where they can just relax and leisurely enjoy themselves. However, even though it may be tempting for students to go back to their room, munch on some food from the Diner and just sit around watching their favorite show on Netflix, one of the best ways to have a good time but still stay active is to join or form an intramural sports team on campus. Intramural (or IM) sports allow students to stay athletic and fit without adding onto al- ready busy schedules. They are not as serious and do not have stakes as high as intercollegiate sports, but they still involve the same amount of teamwork and collaboration, involving Hamilton students who play against other Hamilton students. More ...

Amar Kassim ’20: Inbetweener

September 29, 2016

In the midst of the intensity and rigor of the summer program of the Higher Education Opportunity Program, we were required to give a speech about who we are. Many of us stumbled upon the dual per- sonality of this question: simple but complex at the same time. It was difficult to summarize our identities in a few minutes, not that we actually knew who we are in the first place! HEOPstudents gathered to give their speeches and tell their stories in the Kennedy Center along with Ms. Breland, Ms. Davis and even some professors who came solely because they were interested in learning more aboutthestudentstheywereteaching. The first couple of speeches filled the room with an aura of solemnity and sensation, creating a safe envi- ronment for us to express and share freely our stories of fears overcome, life-changing events and existing aspirations for life at Hamilton. As the final days of the summer program were upon us, I started looking forward and becoming anxious about this time of surrealism, when the nostalgic blackness of the stage enveloped us and the emo- tional stories caused glistening tears to penetrate the corners of our eyes. As the day progressed and the final speecheswerearticulated,Iwasstruck by one that spoke to me dearly, that was so accurately descriptive of my state. It was titled “Inbetweener,” influenced by a poem that the nar- rator recited at the beginning of the speech. More ...

Prof Talk with. . . Bonnie Urciuoli

September 29, 2016

Position: Leonard C. Ferguson Professor and Chair of Anthropology At Hamilton Since: 1988 More ...

Auctioning off art at The Wellin

September 22, 2016

As Fallcoming & Family Weekend quickly approaches, the Wellin Museum Initiative for Student Engagement (WISE) has begun preparations for their Annual Student Art Auction. Returning for its second year, the auction allows any student, regardless of major, to submit artwork that will be sold. WISE will give 50 percent of proceeds to the artists. The other half of the proceeds is donated to the Olympics of the Visual Arts Program (OVA), which the New York State Art Teachers Association (NYSTA) runs. The NYSTA is a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the cause of education in art. More ...

Sex and the Campus: Sex Toys

September 22, 2016

Hi, it’s me again! For this week’s column, I’ve decided to touch upon sex toys/vibrators. For those of you who didn’t read the article from last week: I worked in a sex shop while I was abroad in Amsterdam this past spring and learned about and sold dozens of vibrators to a variety of excited customers. Now I’m back in America, stuck here with all of this knowledge in my head, and I figured that I should share it. But first, I will start with a quick history lesson regarding the invention of the vibrator. More ...

Finding balance at CoreLife Eatery

September 22, 2016

In an era of fitness blogs, Instagram-worthy meals and lifestyle Pinterest boards, food, for those who have it readily accessible, has become a social (media) movement. In particular, healthy eating is trending. Hamilton College takes pride in its incorporation of “food service for a sustainable future” and provides students with meals that meet their nutritional and cultural needs. Outside of Hamilton, CoreLife Eatery is a new health establishment, opening in New Hartford Sept. 22. I had the chance to speak with CoreLife founder Todd Mansfield about its inception, its management and how it all pertains to us. More ...