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SMART prepares new student training programs

December 1, 2016

SMART’s purpose is to better equip all members of the Hamilton community to help prevent and combat sexual misconduct on campus. One of their concerns is the lack of reporting from student survivors, which they feel indicates a lack of trust in the College’s policy for dealing with sexual assault. Operating around a belief that increased reporting at hamilton would represent a parallel increase in students’confidence in the administration’s ability to protect and support survivors, SMART has been working to find ways to make the reporting process more accesible and comfortable for survivors of sexual assault or misconduct. Currently, Hamilton provides students with a number of confidential resources with whom to discuss this issue, such as the Health and Counseling Centers, the Chaplaincy, and the SAVES-trained Peer Advocates. SMART, however, is creating their own student advisor program as well as working with the Hamilton administration to expand the reach of these confidential services. More ...

Students ask administration to declare Hamilton a safe space

November 17, 2016

Last week’s election results have sparked a wide range of reactions from people across the world. Although some are celebrating and feeling optimistic about the possibility for change, oth- ers have shed tears, protested and ex- pressed their anxiety about the future of our country through various media platforms. College students across the country have had exceptionally strong reactions to the rhetoric used by Pres- ident-elect Donald Trump. Students have been particularly responsive to the immigration policies that he pro- posed during his campaign. Trump’s controversial immigra- tion policies include the deportation of millions, building a wall along the southern border and ending sanctuary cities. Sanctuary cities are areas around the United States that have adopted protection policies for undocumented immigrants by avoiding the use of mu- nicipal funds to enforce national im- migration laws. More ...

NESCAC NEWS

November 17, 2016

Students across the NESCAC band together in protest of Trump election On Tuesday, Nov. 15, at the same time that Hamilton students were marching down the Hill into Clinton, students at various other NESCAC institutions were organizing their own rallies in response to President-Elect Donald Trump’s upset victory in what was to be a nationwide protest event. More than 400 stu- dents, about a fifth of the student population, gathered at Bates College to express their discontent with the election result and their desire to fight against the discrimination and violence that Trump represents to them. Students walked out of their classes and gathered in front of one of the dining halls to listen to a few speakers before marching throughout the campus and chanting. Bates students expressed that the walkout was important to show solidarity as a nation against oppression as well as cause peace- ful disruption. More ...

Levitt Center series on women leaders of color continues

November 17, 2016

Not only was the conference table squished with bodies, but the Levitt Cen- ter Conference room walls were lined with students and staff, ready to be led by history Professor Celester Day-Moore and Elihu Root Chair in Women’s and Gender Stud- ies, Margo Okazawa-Rey, into a conversa- tion titled “Whose Politics? Race, History, and American Politics.” Their goal was to create an open space for honest, deep dialogue full of discovery. To set this tone, Okazawa-Rey invited ev- eryone in the room to share just their first name and then something that people could not tell about them just by looking at them. Responses ranged from the fact that some- one was studying Italian, to having run a marathon, to being the granddaughter of an undocumented citizen, to being Latinx. People showed vulnerability with their an- swers, allowing for an honest and challeng- ing conversation to ensue about the election. More ...

Hamilton and local community join nationwide Our Power rally

November 17, 2016

Last week, following the shocking outcome of the presidential election, students at Hamilton and across the country had a range of responses. At Hamilton College, Michelle Woodward ’17 woke up on the morning after the election feeling like something needed to be done. She told The Spectator: “I was ready to mobilize and I knew many students felt similarly, watching protests and rallies begin in cities as close as New York City.” Along with Barabaro Perego ’17, the girls initiated a movement for solidarity on Hamilton’s campus by creating an event page on Facebook they called “LOVE trumps HATE.” The event, which was originally scheduled for Friday, Nov. 11, quickly garnered support until over 300 students had marked themselves as planning to attend. More ...

Hamilton administration continues to focus on education and policy reform

November 10, 2016

As student groups continue to take initiative in bringing more awareness to issues of sexual assault and misconduct on campus, there is a degree to which the administration’s efforts in this process have been overlooked. In a recent interview with Title IX Coordinator Lisa Magnarelli, The Spectator asked questions about how the administration has been dealing with this issue over the years, and what specific steps it has been taking in response to the increased attention on the issue this semester following the October release of the Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Board’s (HSMB) 2015-16 Report. Magnarelli began by clarifying that the Title IX office had originally viewed the contents of the controversial HSMB report as a sign of progress, in that it represented the highest number of reports in Hamilton history. This seemed to indicate that, in fact, students were actually starting to feel more comfortable with reporting instances of sexual misconduct to the College. Magnarelli commented, “I felt good. We had 24 people take a very brave step, and that’s gotten lost in some of the discussions that followed. I’m saddened by that.” More ...

Election results cause an upset in more ways than one

November 10, 2016

Donald Trump came out on top Tuesday night when he won the presidency over Hillary Clinton in a major upset. The Hamilton College community spent the election engaged in lively discussion and debate, finally coming together on Nov. 8 to watch Trump’s shocking victory to a range of responses. Though the race was extremely close throughout most of the night, with many swing states being won by only one or two percent, Trump edged into the presidency with 279 electoral college votes. At press time, Hillary Clinton had only collected 228 due to the loss of crucial previously blue states such as Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida. This result completely refuted almost every prediction pollsters and the media had made about the outcome of this election, stunning political scientists. As of Wednesday afternoon, it did seem that Clinton had won the popular vote, though it will not cancel out Trump’s electoral college victory. More ...

Student Assembly addresses a broad range of student concerns

November 10, 2016

At their Oct. 31 meeting, Student Assembly updated us on the Water Bottle Initiative. SA has already passed the resolution to reduce water bottle use on campus and they are working on beginning phase one of the process. Currently they are undergoing research to see how other NESCAC colleges have reduced their water bottle use and have found that the best first step is to remove plastic water bottles from the vending machines in student residence halls. This will not apply to vending machines in public spaces. Also, only large campus events that have over 100 attendees will be supplied with water bottles. Representatives will also be meeting with someone from Coca-Cola to talk about the possibility of water bottles being replaced by a different product. During Committee Reports, the Days-Massolo Center recapped their Conversations to Commitment event on Oct. 29 which discussed allyship and how to operate in existing structures. Follow-up events will be happening later in the semester. Facilities Committee announced that trash cans have been removed from Kirner-Johnson classrooms due to the hassle and mess they created. Health and Safety reviewed their meeting with the Health Center to discuss STD testing, their operating hours and how to best communicate information about the Center to the campus community. Finally, LITS discussed changes to the Hamilton App they were working on. More ...

NESCAC NEWS

November 10, 2016

Bowdoin College affected by mumps virus; Tufts University sorority chapter protests organization’s treatment of transgender student; Fliers distributed at Bates College in attempt to suppress student voting More ...

Hamilton responds to election results: support and discussion

November 10, 2016

Students who stayed awake for the entirety of the election did not go to bed until four in morning on Wednesday. Facebook walls were filled with joy and high spirits, or with shock, anger and sadness. A number of students reached out to President Wippman late last night and early this morning, asking for the College as an institution to recognize the violence that they felt in the election results. Furthermore, multiple students reported being verbally harassed by Trump-supporting students driving in a truck Tuesday night, shouting both racist and sexist slurs at the students. The attacked students, joined by many others, ask: are these strongly present concerns, which are consuming the thoughts and lives of a large portion of the student body, going to be addressed? President Wippman sent out the following message to the Hamilton community: “The election campaign has laid bare deep rifts in our society. We can hope that Americans from across the political spectrum will now work to heal some of these divisions. More ...