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OPINION
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THE CONTINENTAL @contmag Contmag@hamilton.edu The Continental issuu.com/hamiltoncontinental
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TABLE OF CONTENTS.
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12 OPINION
FEATURES
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24 TRAVEL
STYLE
ENTERTAINMENT
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EDITORS' NOTE. With every new year, those designated Editors-in-Chief must navigate between making the publication their own and sticking with certain traditions. This year, however, we’ve decided to continue the goals that Mara and Abby laid out last year to update the look of The Continental. One change we made was removing our “Talk of the Town” section and instead adding “Opinion”; we hope this will expand the scope of our articles in the future. We have also tweaked our editorial process a bit. We encouraged section editors to have a much closer and more personal relationship with their writers this year in order to enhance the quality of the written pieces and to foster greater bonds amongst our staff members. Furthermore, we ourselves worked more closely with Layout and Photography. Our goal was to achieve a more cohesive and clean look, and that started with more cohesion between the three branches that make this magazine possible. Moreover, we tried to expand into different media, such as Spotify (see page 42), and to go beyond just using pictures for visuals in the physical magazine. We look forward to trying out new things and taking more design risks in future issues, in an effort to elevate the publication to what we see on newsstands outside of the college setting. Special thanks to our Creative Director Julia Gorlovetskaya and our Director of Photography Emily Magruder for trying out these new ideas with us and making them work. In addition, we would like to thank Charlotte Zee for stepping up to be Social Media Director and all our section editors, writers, and photographers for producing all the content that made this issue possible. Without further ado, keep reading to enjoy a variety of satisfying stories – learn about what Bon Appétit’s staff really thinks about students, things to do on a Hamilton weekend when you’ve already been to Nola’s more times than you can count, hidden gems to check out on your favorite television providers when you feel like you’ve earned a restful night off…and much more. We hope you enjoy reading the issue we’ve put together for you!
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CONTRIBUTORS. Editors-in-Chief Ali Gay '17 Jacob Slovin '18
Creative Director
Julia Gorlovetskaya '19
Director of Photography Emily Magruder '17
Section Editors
Grant Hamilton ’18 (Opinion) Alex Scheuer ’18 (Features) Fiona McLaughlin ’19 (On the Hill) Maura Colley ’19 (Travel) Olivia Paradice ’18 (Entertainment) Anne Homans ’19 (Style)
Editors at Large
Robert Marston ‘17 Meredith LaBelle ’19
Social Media
Charlotte Zee ‘18
Layout Designers
Anika Huq ‘19 (Entertainment) Sarah Kaiser ‘19 (On the Hill) Chenchen Zhao ‘19 (Features) Caroline Knop ‘18 (Travel) Julia Gorlovetskaya '19 (Opinion, Style)
Writers
Liz Barry ‘17 Adam Evertz Henry Shuldiner ‘18 Genevieve Shuster '20 Bryan Edwards ‘19 Ali Gay ‘17 Alex Scheuer ‘18 Meredith LaBelle ‘19 Maura Colley ‘19
Emily Tubb ‘19 Julie Katter ‘18 Joyce Lee ‘20 Sophie Menashi ‘19 Anne Homans ‘19 Joey Dixon ‘18 Olivia Paradice ‘18 Sarah Zeiberg ‘18
Photographers
Emily Magruder '17 Penelope Hoopes '20 Amelia Boyd '20 Bryan Edwards '19 Alex Scheuer '18
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Written by: Bryan Edwards ‘19 Illustrations by: Sarah Kaiser '19
t around 10:00 AM on October 9th, 2015 (with two campus shootings occurring in the U.S. just three days prior), one Humans vs. Zombies player was walking near Dunham with a Nerf Blaster when two maintenance workers spotted the student. The workers mistook the blaster for a real gun and called Campus Safety who put the school in lockdown. Only after maintenance called Campus Safety did the student climb through their dorm window to hide from ‘zombies’ in their room (it is a common misconception that the act of climbing through a window was the cause of the workers calling Campus Safety). Once the lockdown was in place, Campus Police began the search for the suspected threat. They located the student in their dorm room, and after questioning them and realizing the mistake, they called off the lockdown. I interviewed Fain Riopelle, Head Moderator of the game, and Ian Wilson, Moderator, to take us through the events leading up to and following the lockdown.
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Was the administration aware that Nerf Blasters were a part of the game prior to its start? FR: Yes, the administration – and specifically, Campus Safety – was aware that we would be using Nerf Blasters before the game started. We make sure to notify them every year, as well as to send our game rulebook to Campus Safety to see if they have any comments or emendations. IW: An important thing to note is that the game has run for many years without incident. How was the student mistaken for a shooter treated by Campus Safety? IW: The inherent stress of being searched and questioned did leave [them] shaken for a while, as well as making [them] feel responsible for the game being cancelled. I don't know if the college reached out to [them] at all to apologize for the misunderstanding or to check if [they were] alright following the incident, though I haven't heard that they did anything to that effect. FR: I'm fairly fuzzy on this one, but my understanding is that, initially, the student was treated rather poorly. What was the interaction with the administration following the lockdown? FR: I went to Campus Safety to see Fran Manfredo. Director Manfredo and I spoke briefly, and he said that he wanted me to shut down the game, and that it should never run again at Hamilton. While I understood – and still do understand – his point of view, I strongly disagreed with it, and did not cancel the game immediately. Later, I spoke with Nancy Thompson about the issue, via email and a brief phone call. Without getting too much into the specifics, she asked that I cancel the game and apologize for having caused the incident. Again, I understood where she was coming from, but I politely declined both requests. I did not believe that one instance of someone mistaking a Nerf Blaster for a gun was enough to cancel the whole event. I also did not believe that either myself or the game was responsible for someone having mistaken a Nerf Blaster for a gun. So, as of the end of Dean Thompson's and my conversation, the game was not officially cancelled. Later that day, [Jeff Landry] sent out an email announcing that the administration had cancelled the game. For all intents and purposes, this was the moment when the game was officially cancelled. In the few weeks following the game, I began collecting the nerf blasters we (People Who Like to Do Fun Things) had lent out to players. To be clear, this is our standard procedure. Plenty of players rent blasters from us at the start of the game. When they do, they sign a rental contract, which allows us to charge their Hill Cards if they do not return the blasters. Instead of simply charging them, however, Ryan Davis sent an email to the students who had not returned their blasters, threatening disciplinary action if they did not return them. I did not know about this until one of those students, understandably confused and distressed, forwarded me the email. How was this year's game of HvZ affected by last year’s incident? FR: We were not allowed to use Nerf Blasters this year, which altered gameplay quite a bit. Most importantly, we lost a lot of people who would have otherwise played. Many students who had played before told us that they were not interested in playing without the Nerf Blasters. IW: In terms of raw numbers, last year's game had around 200 players, compared to only about 90 players this year.
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WHY HAMILTON? NEW FACES ON THE HILL By Genevieve Shuster ‘20 Clinton, New York is decidedly not a tourist attraction. And what Clinton advertises as “smalltown charm” is matched by its blistering cold. However, Hamilton College consistently entices a few thousand of the brightest students and faculty members from across the country and world to venture to this small, upstate New York town. Two of the Hamilton Community’s newest members, Clayton Bryant, a painter at the physical plant, and Professor Mike Hsu, an assistant economics professor, generously agreed to explain what drew them to Hamilton and what their experiences have entailed thus far. When asked why they initially chose to come to Hamilton, Mr. Bryant noted that he had heard positive things about Hamilton as a work environment, “Steady work and good benefits. I knew a couple people up here that worked in the carpenter shop here and they seemed to really enjoy it.” Evidently, Hamilton has a reputation as a reliable and pleasant work place. For Clayton, this was the main driving point in his decision to join the community here on the Hill. Yet, Professor Hsu had a different response: “Before I applied, I didn’t know about the school… I never studied at liberal arts colleges ever.” However, he had heard very positive things about Hamilton from a fellow visiting professor at Hamilton. “What I learned from him was it’s a small school. Classes are much smaller. But students here are much more engaged in learning. They’re more likely to participate in classes. And the faculty and staff are friendly…Everyone gets to know
everyone else. And it’s cold up here!” As Professor Hsu and Clayton Bryant spend more time at Hamilton, these statements have proven to be true. Professor Hsu describes having positive experiences with his co-workers “I think my colleagues here are pretty cool. They’re obviously very helpful…recommending places to go, prepping for teaching… [they] are pretty easy to get along with.”. Having previously lived in Taiwan and California, Professor Hsu was grateful for the camaraderie and guidance expressed by his colleagues at Hamilton as he entered this new environment. He was equally impressed by the character of the students; “I think students here are very eager to learn and are super engaged.” Professor Hsu also complimented Hamilton’s beautiful campus and great food, claiming the only thing he would change is the cold. Clayton’s high expectations were also found to be entirely justified. He says, “No complaints. I really enjoy my job here. Everybody’s been great. I get along with everybody. I know I’ve got job security…It’s great…Best job I’ve ever had for sure.” Clayton’s expectations have been met and surpassed by Hamilton’s warm and secure working environment. So just what is it about Hamilton that draws people here and convinces them to stay? Far more important than the high academic standing and beautiful campus is the friendliness and dedication of students and faculty alike. This is what makes the Hamilton experience unique and worthwhile. THE CONTINENTAL / FALL 2016 / 9
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BON APPÉTIT: PERSPECTIVES FROM BEHIND THE COUNTER By Henry Shuldiner ‘18 While students wait in line to be served at Commons, McEwen and the Diner, most can be found talking amongst each other, looking around for friends, or just standing patiently until they reach the front. They mingle, hang out, sit down, eat, and leave. While all this happens, many employees of the Hamilton’s dining service, Bon Appétit, are observing, serving, and interacting with these students. I was lucky enough to sit down with a few of these employees and discuss their perspectives on students here at Hamilton. Some workers can have upwards of 3,000 interactions with students daily, estimates Heather Allison, who has been with Bon Appétit at Hamilton for the past 4 years. Serving 3,000 meals a day, granted many of which are to the same people, gives you quite a breadth and variety of interactions with students that hail from all sorts of demographics of the student body. “We see everyone at Commons, from the athletes to the streakers” commented Marge Pettey who has worked at Hamilton for 25 years. Being the only dining hall open on the weekends, the workers at Commons do interact with more students than those working at McEwen or the Diner. “It’s nice here, you’ve got all different people,” said
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Karla Heinrich, who has been working at Hamilton the past 2 years. “It’s nice seeing new faces every day, there are so many of you that I feel like every day I see a new face,” she added. In the mornings, students can be a little different from later on in the day some employees noticed. “In the morning you got your ones that are kind of tired and dragging,” commented Jennifer Hughes, who is a new member of the Bon Appétit team. “I see that they’re in a hurry; they get their breakfast and get out the door,” added Pettey. “I see that they have one mission: in and out.” The workers also saw differences between dining halls, not so much because of interactions with students in each dining hall, but because of the overall ambiance. “I’ve worked at McEwen about 4 times, I like it here [at Commons] better,” said Allison. Pettey on the other hand has worked at McEwen many times but still agreed with Allison, “Commons is a different atmosphere; it’s warm to me, and that building over there [McEwen] is cold,” she said. Heinrich also talked about how she likes Commons more, saying it’s “more of a cafeteria feel over there [McEwen]” because it feels much more separated from the students. All of the workers seemed to really enjoy
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and positively view their interactions with students. “99% of them are really friendly,” said Hughes. “It’s like a regular restaurant, you get your one person that’s demanding and wants their specialty or whatever but most of the time they’re very well-mannered.” Pettey added that “they’re pleasant; they’re good kids.” Spending over 40 hours a week working, some of these workers are spending more time with students than with their own families and children, so the gratitude and kindness that students show towards the employees is greatly appreciated by all. Pettey talked about her experience visiting other colleges dining halls, and how Hamilton shines in comparison. “I’ve been to [other college] dining halls, and I wouldn’t work there for all the tea in china. The kids that come in this door, they treat this like their home.” All of the interviewed employees also seemed to sincerely enjoy when students make the interactions more personal. “What I like is when you’re serving them and you have your name tag on and they say ‘thank you Jennifer’” commented Hughes. Shereé Steinmann, who has worked for Bon Appétit since it first started at Hamilton, mentioned that “it’s nice when they come back to reunion and remember who you are.” All of the interviewed employees seemed to truly enjoy the time they spend with students and getting to know them better every year. “I enjoy watching them grow up from freshmen to seniors and becoming these wonderful people who go do amazing things” said Pettey.
Photos by Emily Magruder '17 and Jacob Slovin '18 THE CONTINENTAL / FALL 2016 / 11
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Jean Shim’17 and Junpei Taguchi’17 are all smiles behind the counter during their shift at Opus 1. Photo by Penelope Hoopes '20 12 / THE CONTINENTAL / FALL 2016
PINION
SO YOU WANT TO BE A BARISTA... BY ADAM EVERTZ '17 The position of Opus barista is, I’m told, a particularly desirable one in the campus community. Why this is, I am not completely certain. Don’t get me wrong – it is an enjoyable, honest job in which you interact with lots of people and work, for a change, with your hands. I think, however, that the campus’ collective imagination has misplaced a disproportionate degree of romanticism in the job; it is not all coffee fumes, flannels, and good times. The path of the Opus barista is paved with nightmarish opening and closing hours, indelible veggie chili stains, countless (at least for someone as clumsy as myself) milk foam burns, and, perhaps most demoralizingly, barren tip jars. Think of us less as a cadre of coffee slinging Darksiders and more as humble civil servants, toiling thanklessly to satisfy the monstrous caffeine-lust of this addicted campus. If all of this still sounds appealing, (and granted I may be selling it a bit short), then I have some advice on the hiring process, standing out from the crowd, and snagging the job. For starters, Opus positions are not listed on HamNet. That means you have to get your hands on a paper application from Larry Bender or Sarah Goldstein, the operators at Opus 1. This is a good opportunity to introduce yourself, do a little schmoozing, and show off your glimmering personality and interpersonal skills. So, what traits are the Opus management looking for during its hiring decisions? What qualities define the epitome of baristadom? In the spirit of investigative journalism, I tracked down Larry and Sarah to bring back pearls of precious wisdom. Both stressed familiarity with and interest in food and coffee culture. Experience in the service industry is helpful, but not at all required. Sarah, in particular, says she looks for “flexibility, someone who has an ability to deal with chaos.” Availability is also an important factor — if you have nothing but late-night or crack of dawn classes, this may be the job for you. Larry emphasized the importance of fitting within the Opus ethos of friendly and attentive service. To quote the man himself, they seek someone who is capable of serving “a cup of joy, and not just the black joy [coffee], but a cup of smiles.” If you have these qualities, and the prospect of a career hustling the only societally sanctioned stimulant sounds appealing, then a job at Opus may be right for you. Soon it could be you, mastering the art of microfoam and ladling soup into little Styrofoam cups.
IN THE MEANTIME, PLEASE TIP MORE. THE CONTINENTAL / FALL 2016 / 13
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A UNIQUE FACULTY PERSPECTIVE TALKING POLITICS WITH PROFESSOR ROBERT PAQUETTE INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY ELIZABETH BARRY ‘17
Hamilton College history professor and Alexander Hamilton Institute charter fellow Robert Paquette is one of Hamilton’s most accomplished and frequently discussed faculty members. Professor Paquette is the recipient of several grants from, among others, the prestigious American Council of Learned Societies, the American Historical Association, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. His current courses are titled Atlantic World in the Era of the Slave Trade, Introduction to U.S. History, The Old South, Revolutions, and Tocqueville's America. Elizabeth Barry ’17 sat down with the outspoken history professor to discuss the upcoming presidential election.
How would you describe your political views? I would describe myself as a philosophical conservative within the traditions of the United States, someone suspicious of concentrated power wherever it exists because of its threat to personal liberty…One who occupies the overlap in thought between Edmund Burke and Friedrich Hayek.
In your opinion, what are the most important aspects of a candidate’s platform to consider before Election Day (economy, foreign policy, etc.)? In a presidential election year with the two leading candidates each deserving of the high negatives they have received from the voting public, the United States and, indeed, the world is facing a staggering array of complex problems and potential catastrophes, some of which may hit simultaneously or in seriatim. Take your pick from a long list: nuclear proliferation, terrorism, civilizational conflict between the West and Islam, Balkanization of the United States, economic stagnation, North Korea, global financial and banking weakness, illegal immigration, intensifying domestic class and racial tensions, mainstreaming of moral depravity, out-of-control growth of the Leviathan state…I could go on, but you get the picture. At a time when this country needs great statesmanship, the country has elevated far too many sleazy political hacks like Harry Reid to public office. At a time when the country desperately needs an educated, vigilant citizenry, I see in its most activist elements a deadly combination of arrogance and ignorance, fostered in no small part by our decaying institutions of higher education. As a people, we have become dangerously dumbed down, decadent, degraded, and dependent.
What role, if any, do you believe mainstream media has played and continues to play during this election cycle? It is no secret that the mainstream media, like college faculties, tilts sharply left. On this question, the utterly cynical remarks by Ben Rhodes, President Obama’s deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, speak volumes. Some months ago he admitted complicity in the conscious construction of a phony administrative narrative to sell the Iran deal to the American public. He counted on the fact that most reporters not only favored the Obama administration, but were generally young and ignorant despite (because of?) their college education. Because the young reporters “know nothing” (Rhodes’s words), he found it easy to mold them into an “echo chamber” resonating with the administration’s preferred—and dishonest—line about the deaL.
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PINION Most professors at Hamilton College self-identify as Liberal. How do you feel about being the only current Hamilton College professor to have donated to the Republican Party or affiliate organizations? I have been clanging the alarm bell about the lack of intellectual diversity on this and other campuses for decades. It didn’t get this way by accident. It appears that the trustees of Hamilton College are just fine with it as long as US News & World Report keeps our ranking high. Or perhaps it is to protect the Hamilton “brand” that they prefer to play the role of the three monkeys: hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. Let me be frank: those who run college campuses prefer comity to quality. Conservative parents, some of them Hamilton alums, are finally beginning to wake up to the fact that their alma mater is out of whack and thus probably not a good place to send their son or daughter. To be honest, I could not recommend Hamilton to parents of children with a conservative sensibility. How can you justify paying more than $60,000 per year to an institution in which conservative students typically have to practice self-censorship in order to survive and prosper? As editor-in-chief of Enquiry, a publication committed to the free exchange of ideas, you can speak better than I about the difficulties on campus getting issues out because of vandalism and thuggery.
IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT IS THE BIGGEST THREAT FACING OUR NATION TODAY? The continued, unchecked agglomeration of power by the federal government.
Do you foresee another presidential election win for the Democratic Party? I suspect the election will be closer than many people think, but I’d wager on a Democratic victory. Power is intoxicating, after all, the ultimate aphrodisiac, and Democratic operatives have more than scented the likelihood that with Hillary’s victory and the continuation of certain of Obama’s policies, a permanent Democratic majority can be put in place.
Do you believe there will be party realignment following this election cycle? The Republican Party establishment will have to undertake serious soul-searching whether Trump wins or loses. Republican elites, many of whom are hardly conservative, have lost touch with the base. The Trump candidacy has acted to reignite long-standing feuds within the party between so-called paleoconservative and neoconservative elements and between libertarians and social conservatives. William Kristol’s lead role in the Never Trump movement speaks to the point. A “populist” problem also exists in the Democratic Party, as the surprisingly formidable candidacy of Marxist socialist Bernie Sanders indicated.
If elected, do you foresee either candidate issuing a significant number of executive orders, as President Obama did? The Obama years have witnessed, in my view, an unconscionable encroachment of the executive branch on the legislative through the power wielded by administrative bureaucracies. One does not have to own the means of production to control it. If Donald Trump wins, I would hope to see an immediate flurry of executive orders and executive memoranda, (they’re roughly the same thing), that would counter President Obama’s record-setting issuance of executive orders and executive memoranda. Trump will need to get the economy going quickly. One way to do that is to chip away at the regulatory burdens that are benefiting corporate rent-seekers and oppressing entrepreneurship, particularly middle-class entrepreneurship in this country.
Have you noticed any change in student involvement with politics during election years? What about during this cycle in particular? My sense is that most Trump supporters on Hamilton’s campus live in fear of being exposed as such. I am surprised that the far-left elements have not chalked the pavement with “Trump for President” to gin up a controversy.
What do you think of Trump’s decision to add Mike Pence to his ticket? I have followed Pence’s career for some time. I regard him as a principled, thoughtful, understated conservative who showed himself while in Congress to be capable of working with folks on both sides of the aisle.
If Donald Trump were to step away from the race, who would you like to see take his place and why?
Carly Fiorina remains one of my favorites, and I am delighted to learn that she is moving to replace Reince Priebus as head of the RNC. I had a chance to meet her in 2014. She has an impressive intellect, a compelling life story, and is a staunch constitutionalist. I might add she was also a history major in her undergraduate days at Stanford before receiving an advanced degree at MIT in engineering. THE CONTINENTAL / FALL 2016 / 15
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FINALLY HERE: President Wippman’s Arrival on the Hill and His New Vision 16 / THE CONTINENTAL / FALL 2016
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The Fall 2016 semester is now in fullswing, and with this new year has come many changes on the Hill – one of them being the long-anticipated arrival of our new President, David Wippman. The Continental’s Ali Gay ’17 had the chance to sit down with Hamilton’s leader to chat about what it’s like to finally be at Hamilton, his plans for his presidency, and his love of cycling (and cider doughnuts). AG: Thank you for taking a few moments to speak with us! So when did you first begin your career here as President of Hamilton College and how has settling in on the Hill been now that you’re finally here? DW: So I started on July 1st, which is the traditional starting date – the start of the school year…I arrived a little bit before that so that I could get the office set up and hit the ground running. I would say that “How am I settling in?” is the question I get most often. People usually ask it with a little bit of trepidation, as though I had moved to the McMurdo Research Station in Antarctica! But actually, I’m from Minnesota, so the transition was very simple. People have been enormously welcoming. It’s a great community – wonderful faculty, students, staff – they’ve all been hugely supportive, as have the alumni. And the Village of Clinton and the surrounding community, they’ve been great.
AG: What are some challenges you’ve had settling in? You’re still new, but if you could name one thing that is a big change from where you came from? DW: Well it’s a very different community. I was at a very large research university – you know, they have sixty thousand students, over five campuses… this is a very different setting. I was at an institution that was both larger and smaller in some respects. The University of Minnesota is much larger; the law school is smaller than Hamilton College. For me, I think the biggest difference is that this is a residential community. Everyone is here all the time. It’s really a complete living-learning environment – students are on campus and they’re engaged with each other. There are so many student organizations –if you look at our events calendar, it’s going from morning to night every day. The law school isn’t a residential community, so that has been a very big difference. THE CONTINENTAL / FALL 2016 / 17
FEATURES AG: So what are some differences you notice in Hamilton now that you are officially here, as opposed to those that you recognized when you were visiting and applying for the position? DW: So I would say for the most part they’re not category changes but it’s a matter of depth. I have a much deeper understanding – though I’m still very much at the beginning of the learning curve – but I’m getting to know in greater detail the things I had just brushed the surface on when I had previously visited. I’m getting to know the faculty better, getting to know the students, and I’m starting to understand some of the challenges and opportunities that we have as a college in much greater depth than I had before. I’m getting to meet the alumni, I’m hearing their aspirations for the school…
AG: What is your vision for your presidency at Hamilton? If you could name a few goals you have, things you would like to achieve? DW: I want to be hesitant about announcing a vision at this point – we’re going to be doing some strategic planning, so I don’t want to prejudge the outcome of that. I will say that Hamilton is, and justly, well-known for the quality of the learning experience – the residential learning experience of our students.
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And that has got me thinking about a number of components of what makes the Hamilton education so valuable and how we can strengthen those. So the first is around the faculty. We have fabulous faculty – they’re passionate about what they do, they’re committed to their students, and we’re experiencing the wakes of retirements. So one big area I’m focused on right now is how do we recruit the next generation of outstanding faculty that provide the education that draws our students here. We’re doing sixteen searches this year, and that is an extraordinary number. In a typical year, historically, we might do three or four. That’s a huge shift, and what that means is that we’re losing some faculty with years and years of experience…a lot of accumulated expertise, a lot of devotion and service for the college. We have to figure out how we’re going to replace that. But at the same time, we have an opportunity to hire some wonderful new faculty who might take the college in some different directions, and we have to think strategically about how we go about recruiting and retaining these new faculty…and how do we think strategically about where we want to build strength, where we want to invest our resources… These are conversations that we’re just starting to have as a college. Well, I shouldn’t say we’re just starting – we’ve been looking at this issue for the last two years or so.
AG: Trying to find a balance of the old and the new? DW: Yeah, and also thinking through shifting enrollment patterns, how should that influence the fields in which we are hiring. We want to make sure on the one hand departments that are seeing a big surge in enrollments are not strained beyond capacity and that their class sizes don’t get too large in those fields. But at the same time, we don’t want to see smaller departments that might be experiencing a decline in enrollment disappear. We want to make sure we have a full range of academic opportunities for students. Another [set of issues] is around student satisfaction and success. We want to make sure that all of our students are getting the full benefit of being at what I think is a wonderful liberal arts college, and that means looking at questions like diversity and inclusion. We really want to create this kind of gold standard. I think we already have, I guess the question is how do we extend it…and do it at a time when there’s a lot of change happening in the world…demographic change, which will affect the kind of students who are coming to Hamilton, and the backgrounds and educational experiences they had may change. There’s social and political change that’s affecting what happens in the outside world – we’re not insulated from that. There is no hard boundary. The third group of issues that I’m looking at is fundraising. To make progress in other areas, almost inevitably requires resources. Hamilton has been extraordinarily fortunate. We have a large endowment because we have very generous alumni. We have to think carefully about how we continue to engage with our alumni, partner with them in building the future of the college. So that means getting their thoughts about the directions in which the college should be headed,
FEATURES and also engaging them in a way that will encourage them to support us financially. We will at some point be launching a large fundraising campaign, so that will take substantial amount of my time and energy. I’ll put you down for $25 million?
AG: I’ll let you know! DW: One thing we know will be in the campaign is money for scholarships. That will probably be the single biggest component of the campaign, simply because the college made this wonderful move in 2009 to go to full need-blind admissions, with a commitment to meet the full demonstrated need of every student we admit, and that was a wonderful thing. But in order to be sure we can sustain that commitment, we need additional support for scholarships.
AG: I feel like that is such a big thing for people who are applying here. I know it was big for me, and it’s like the open curriculum – it’s one of those things you associate with Hamilton as opposed to other liberal arts schools. DW: Right. I think it is now one of the defining characteristics of the school. I think it’s the right thing to do from a social and ethical standpoint, for schools that can afford to do it, and it is enormously beneficial for us – it attracts a broader pool of applicants and a more diverse pool of applicants. So that means we can, and that is one of the reasons we have been able to diversify the student body. And now, with the retirements we’re seeing on the faculty side, that creates an opportunity for us to have a more diverse faculty as well. That takes a little longer, because we have a new student body every four years, and every year we bring in one quarter of the student body completely new, but that’s not true on the faculty side. It takes longer.
AG: I think one of the big things with you is that everyone spots you on Martin’s Way, out and about, sitting with students at Commons – which is kind of a big change people have noticed in president-student interactions. I think people are excited about it! What exactly do you discuss with students when you see them, and how have those interactions been? Have you received any suggestions about changes students want to see made, or things they have reservations about? DW: Yeah. Mostly I ask them to follow me on Insta-
gram. I’m kidding about that, although I like it if they follow me! So usually, it depends on the interests of the group of students. I usually will go up to a group of students in the dining hall, and ask “Do you mind if I sit with you?” And so far no one has said, “Oh god, yes, I do mind! That would be nightmare, please don’t!” Students have been much too polite for that. So they always say yes, and then I sit down with them and we just talk about whatever, but I usually, as part of the conversation, I’ll say, “I’m new at Hamilton, and I’m looking for new ideas. If you were President, what’s the one
thing you would do to improve Hamilton?” And I get all kinds of suggestions. Usually, the first reaction is stunned silence.
AG: Star-struck! DW: I don’t think it’s that…I think it’s more that they want to give a thoughtful answer. The answers range the gamut, and sometimes they’re humorous. So someone will say, “Can you fix the dryer in Bundy?” – which we did! I’ve gotten a number of laundry suggestions. You know, or someone will say, “Can you pay the EMTs?” Usually an EMT will make that suggestion. I would say that you know, the overwhelming majority of students that I talk to will say first that they are having a great experience at Hamilton, that they love the college, they have met a great circle of friends here, they have a terrific relationship with faculty, they find the education rigorous and demanding but really constructive. But then, I’ll push them and say, “Okay, but there must some areas where we can improve,” and then they’ll come up with ideas. But I talk to them about all kinds of things.
AG: We have to talk about Fall at Hamilton. This is the prime season on the Hill. What is your favorite part of fall at Hamilton? Cider mill? The leaves? DW: I do like those cider mill doughnuts! I can’t lie about that. I could happily sit and eat a bag [of them] by myself, no problem. Those are good. Well I like to cycle, when it’s a little warmer than today, and you go out riding in this area, it’s gorgeous.
AG: I think I’ve seen you with the team! That’s pretty great. DW: Yeah, I go with a little group of faculty, sometimes students join us. It’s a lot of fun…That’s what is so nice about riding here, in the fall, getting these amazing colors and great vistas – you can go in any direction and it’s great cycling territory. I really enjoy that. I’d have to pick that over the doughnuts. THE CONTINENTAL / FALL 2016 / 19
FEATURES
Revisiting Revisiting The The Rogers Rogers Glen Glen Dump-Site Dump-Site Article and Photography By Alex Scheuer ‘18
L
ast spring, I wrote an article on the sizable and largely unknown dump-site in the Rogers Glen just past Campus Road. Old chemical containers, chairs, drawers, TVs, mattresses, and electrical remains line the stream embankment, tossed there by our college decades ago. The dump-site is not easily visible from campus, and as a result is mostly forgotten. The dump was officially closed in the 1980s, but the waste remains. It’s unclear why this waste wasn’t taken to a more proper disposal site. However, it is obvious how much of an environmental as well as aesthetic burden the dump-site is on our campus. Last year, I interviewed Geoscience Professor Todd Rayne, who takes his introductory classes to the dump-site annually so that his students can better understand waste disposal and local environmental concerns. What prompted me to write this follow-up article was a response that I received to the first article. Psychology Professor Cameron Brick, who specializes in environmentally sustainable behavior and conservation, contacted me after reading the article. He was disturbed to learn about the waste, and brought his Environmental Psychology class to the 20 / THE CONTINENTAL / FALL 2016
dump-site for a trash cleanup. I caught up with Professor Brick to talk about his perception of the dump-site, and to follow up on my article from last spring with a more psychological perspective. Professor Brick's students picked up dump-site trash in the Rogers Glen on a brisk day in late April. A major focus of his Environmental Psychology course is predicting and influencing environment-friendly behaviors. “The cleanup was their suggestion, not mine,” he said. Professor Brick considered the trash cleanup in the Rogers Glen as not only an opportunity to take action in response to reading the dump-site article, but also to
FEATURES to walk there, but psychologically, it’s very distant to students.” However, once the students saw the dump-site, Professor Brick observed a change in attitude. “We tend to issues that can be seen,” he noted. And he is right. Scientific studies show that individuals will only take personal responsibility for an environmental problem when they recognize an issue, and see it as needing immediate attention. In this case, students learned of the problem, saw it firsthand, and took responsibility by doing a clean-up. In the end, the trash pick-up not only helped the community, but also demonstrated how environmental theory works in practice.
emphasize the psychological dynamics of waste. “Our class studied two main concepts across the term: first, how being in nature could affect health, mood, and academic performance, and second, how people think about and respond to environmental problems, and whether they engage in pro-environmental behaviors,” explained Professor Brick. He decided that getting outside for a cleanup in the Glen would not only engage his students with environmental behavior, but could also improve the moods of his students through social connection and exposure to nature. “We actually felt that the cleanup was enjoyable and fulfilling, connected us to each other, and boosted our mood… probably more than watching an episode of TV would have,” he continued. This did not surprise Professor Brick. He is familiar with the positive social aspects of engaging with the environment. Professor Brick explained to me that going into nature is reliably shown to improve mood. “Research consistently shows that a brief walk in nature boost moods and longterm health,” he noted. Professor Brick went on to describe his students’ perception of distance between them and the dump-site. “I was struck by how many students mentioned that the Rogers Glen felt very far. It only took us five minutes
The students focused their cleanup efforts on the smaller pieces of trash in the glen, as some of the visible trash is large, heavy, and dangerous to handle. However, the success of their small cleanup has broad implications. Their effort exemplifies the potential for the Rogers Glen dump-site to gain much needed campus exposure, as well as gauge further community and administrative interest. If the Hamilton community raises awareness about the dumpsite, more people could start asking what they or the administration can do about it, which could generate a lasting repair of this natural resource. If people knew that a disturbing amount of trash lays in the Glen, tucked away out of plain eyesight, then the potential for more engagement and discourse could only increase. Good intentions can be translated into actual behavior, just as they were in Professor Brick’s class. THE CONTINENTAL / FALL 2016 / 21
FEATURES
WEBSTER’S DICTIONARY OF HAMILTON SLANG UAGE Written by Meredith LaBelle // Illustrated & Designed by Julia Gorlovetskaya
This past summer, amongst the bookshelves in a summer house my family was renting, my grandpa found a book titled A Collection of College Words and Customs. Being a history buff and an avid reader, my grandpa spent the morning reading the book aloud to whoever would listen. The book, written in 1851 by a man named John Bartlett, was a dictionary of old college slang words, featuring Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Bowdoin, and our very-own Hamilton College. Here are a few of my favorites: BAUM: At Hamilton College, to fawn upon; to flatter; to court the favor of any one BURNING OF CONVIVUM: Hamilton students in the second semester of their freshman year read the Convivium. At the beginning of their sophomore year it is customary to burn this book. Funeral services are performed to this book at approximately midnight, including a funeral pyre, an oration, and a brass band playing a dirge. See fig. 1
Fig. 1
THE FRESHMAN CLUB: At commencement, the Sophomore class presents each member of the Freshman class with a heavy club made of walnut. The club is given to whoever can hold it out at arms length for the longest time. This student becomes the leader of the Freshman class. See fig. 2
Fig. 2 Illustrated: crown of Freshman class leader
GORM: At Hamilton College, to eat voraciously. WHINNICK: At Hamilton College, to refuse to fulfil a promise or engagement; to back out.
Pretty cool, right? Reading about our college’s early traditions and slang made me think about how these cultural footprints erode over time. Over 150 years later, these words seem foreign to us, and the customs seem silly and impractical. It is amusing to imagine our entire current class of 450 students all congregating around a bonfire, holding a funeral service for a book (complete with a brass band playing melancholy music). Even more entertaining—the concept of a freshman becoming class president just from of holding a heavy club for the longest time.
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FEATURES
When this book was published in 1851 the college was still a very young institution. For reference, our first library wouldn’t be established for another 21 years, and athletics wouldn’t exist at Hamilton for another 33 years. These documented customs and slang were among the first practiced at Hamilton, and elucidate what college life was like in its first few decades. Reading about old slang used by Hamilton students in the 1850’s made me think about the words and phrases that I’ve adopted since attending this school. Here’s a small list:
NOMMINS: Commons; specifically, when one noms-out at commons. LIT-NEY: When you’re on a jitney and it’s LIT. But really, when is being on a jitney not lit? See fig. 3
Fig. 4 Tank tops, sweatshirts, and t-shirts are all considered "bogus"
THE ACCEPTED STUDENTS DAY STREAK: During accepted student’s day, it is customary for the streaking team to run through Martin’s Way, giving a taste of Hamilton culture to prospective students and their parents. See fig. 5
Fig. 3
Glenventure: Self explanatory. An adventure. In the glen. “SHIRTS ARE BOGUS”: A phrase shouted during parties. Following this, the guests remove their shirts. Because shirts are, in fact, bogus. See fig. 4 for examples
Fig. 5
“WHAT’S THE MOVE?”: A question asked when one wishes to know the road-map for the night, ie: what parties will be attended and when.
Perhaps in about 150 years a Hamilton student will stumble across this article in the Fall 2016 edition of The Continental and get a good laugh at the slang we use today. And next time you’re at Nommins, consider referring to your eating style as gorming, and you’ll be SUPER retro.
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TRAVEL FINDING ON THE GROUND
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TRAVEL
HOW ONE PROFESSOR SPENT HER SUMMER IN SOUTH KOREA By Julie Katter '18 Hamilton students completed a noteworthy array of activities over the summer, from exploring music festivals across the country to producing TV shows. But it’s not just students who spent the summer engaged in remarkable activities. Hamilton’s professors also used their three-month break to do some incredible work. One of these professors is a Professor of Art here at Hamilton: Katharine Kuharic. Kuharic spent her three-anda-half-month summer break deeply immersed in her craft of painting at an artists’ residency just outside of Seoul, South Korea. The very building where the residency took place inspired Kuharic’s project. When Japan occupied Korea from 1910-1945, men and boys of Korea were often forced into labor camps, and this artists’
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TRAVEL residency building once served as a dormitory for some of these captured men and boys.
The “haunting quality of the residence,” as Kuharic described it, enabled Kuharic to formulate her project. Now, the former dorm is a cultural epicenter where people from all over the country and artists from all over the world come together to create art and share cultures. The isolation of the residence also enabled Kuharic to intently focus on her work. She and the other artists, from countries such as Austria, Taiwan, and France, formed a tight community, as there were no TV’s or phones, and they lived and developed their artwork together.
Kuharic believes the remote location is a perfect place to make art because, as she puts it, "art is a discipline, and artists live outside the norms of society." Kuharic’s primary work at the residency is entitled Gone to Ground. The title references the way in which hunting hounds are given scents to catch their prey. Her art in this series features the foliage found at the grave site of the
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boys who tried to escape the labor camp, but who unfortunately perished in shifting title waves that surrounded the former dormitory. Kuharic’s water colors convey vivid images of vegetation – she paints the leaves, flowers, and native grapes present in the grave yard. She also paints dead animals she encountered at the grave site such as birds and dragon flies.
Kuharic tried to capture "the bounty of death," that she felt permeated the residency. The juxtaposition of the building, a place of cruelty-turned-prized cultural center, is conveyed in her work as anything but death-oriented. This project will be on display at galleries across the country including the CB1 gallery in Los Angeles. Check out Gone to Ground and Kuharic’s other works at her website: katharinekuharic.com
Paintings from Kuharic’s 2016 Korean Watercolor Project, Gone To Ground
TRAVEL
LEAVING HOME TO HELP Okay, so you’ve graduated. What now? Do you get a job with that company you interned for last summer? Perhaps move to a big city, try to get a part time job to start, and work your way up the totem pole, so to speak. Regardless, oftentimes a student’s first few years post-graduation are scary – because your future, though bright, is pretty uncertain. Some students, however, will have their first two years and three months post-grad already booked. These are the hardworking, service-oriented students that are going into the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps is a United Statesrun service organization that sends qualified volunteers to nations that ask for help with agricultural, educational, or health work. So Hamilton students, who graduate with a liberal arts background, and an interest in the world around them, are perfect candidates for this kind of service. Leslie Bell, a longtime member of Hamilton’s Career Center, spent over 20 years working with students interested in nonprofit social change and education find their career path. Many of these students ended up in the Peace Corps. “The students at Hamilton who are interested in the Peace Corps are people who really want to make a difference,” Bell says, “[they] understand that Peace Corps is really about service… in whatever ways people can contribute.” And as Hamilton continues to be a campus full of
WHY HAMILTON GRADUATES CHOOSE THE PEACE CORPS By Maura Colley '19
students planning volunteering trips, starting new clubs, and initiating dialogue with each other, it is no surprise that when students leave Hamilton, they’re interested in service work like in the Peace Corps. In fact, between 1961 and 2012, 218 Peace Corps volunteers came from Hamilton. So what made this challenging experience worth it for all of these graduates? Jeannie Folan ’12, who volunteered in Tantará, Peru where she ran a youth group, says that it was “the little things.” It was the sounds of church bells and roosters, and the fact that she came to know everyone in the small town. Folan found that her impact on the community was comprised of all the small things she gave to it every day. Mark Astor ’66, who volunteered in Afghanistan teaching math and science, found that working for the Peace Corps was the perfect way to satisfy his adventurous side, while also getting to help people. But it was the same critical thinking and communication skills that are taught at Hamilton, he says, that allowed him to succeed in his new environment. Hamilton played a role in other alums’ Peace Corps experiences as well. John D. Adams ’06, who spent two years in Ghana, working on improving farming and harvesting techniques, credits Hamilton to his decision to work in the Peace Corp. As he said in the 2012 article From the Hill to the World, “I largely
credit Hamilton with empowering me with the strength of mind to trust that I can handle the responsibilities of my work here, and that the small impact I can make is meaningful.” Some Hamilton professors were Peace Corps volunteers as well, and came to the Hill afterwards to continue educating. Their cultural immersion and exchange of knowledge between people from different parts of the world, had lasting impacts. One such professor is Richard Bedient, a Math professor at Hamilton, who volunteered in the Philippines with his wife from 1970 to 1972. Working in the Peace Corps didn't just promote understanding of other cultures, he says, “one of the things that happens when you really live abroad is that you discover a lot of things about your own culture.” As Bedient points out, what we think of as normal, or human nature, are socialized. In a very unique way, the Peace Corps allows you to experience another culture, and learn more about yourself and your own culture along the way. Through the years, Hamilton students continue to excel in everything they do after they leave the Hill. Graduates that make it through the competitive acceptance process to become Peace Corps volunteers, then go on to help others and make positive impacts, however small or large, on communities around the world.
Alumna Jeannie Folan ’12 with her youth group in Tantará, Peru.
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WHAT TO DO ON A HAMILTON WEEKEND By Emily Tubb ‘19 If you’re looking to escape the Hamilton bubble this fall, but are sick of the typical trek to New Hartford or downtown Clinton, there are a multitude of places to eat and explore in the greater Central New York area! Downtown Utica – not a typical hotspot for Hamilton students – is home to a new and refreshing restaurant. The Ocean Blue Oyster Bar has drawn students into the city for its trendy, rooftop location, and amazing menu. While on the pricier side, it is a great alternative to the usual go-to Nola’s. 28 / THE CONTINENTAL / FALL 2016
Another off-campus venture (for the 21 year-olds on campus) is a visit to the Saranac Brewery. The brewery offers year round tours for $5 per person, with a plethora of samples in their tasting room. Located in Utica as well, the Saranac Brewery is an incredible experience for beer connoisseurs of any level of expertise. Not only do you get to enjoy beer tasting, you are also learning about and supporting a local industry while contributing to the local Utica economy. If you want a more outdoorsy adventure, a trip to Green Lakes State Park would be for you. It’s a beau-
tiful spot to visit year round, as the water of these lakes is a rare, bright blue-green, and the path around the lake is stunning. When the weather is warm, activities in the park include swimming, fishing, golfing, and all types of boating, with equipment rentals available within the park. Once the cold weather takes hold, this state park offers hiking trails and cross country skiing for those who want to explore the outdoors without driving all the way to the Adirondacks. The Green Lakes State Park is a beautiful venue less than an hour drive from campus, with options that appeal to anyone’s interests.
TRAVEL Need to go to Syracuse, but sick of the standard trip down I-90? Instead, try taking the back way down route 20 through the bucolic, New York countryside. From Oriskany Falls, to Morrisville, Cazenovia and into Syracuse, there are beautiful rolling hills, with adorable towns tucked in every valley and great stops throughout the trip. The stretch of land between the small towns of Madison and Bouckville offers a bi-yearly antique show which seems to go on for miles. It attracts vendors from across the Northeast, offering visitors an incredible antiquing experience. ANTIQUE PAVILION ANTIQUE PAVILION ANTIQUE PAVILION
After your extensive antiquing, you can recharge your energy with a visit to Ray Brothers Barbecue, between Bouckville and Eaton. This highly rated barbecue restaurant and bar fulfills all your barbecue cravings, from their pulled-pork “sandies” to their rib platters. Only 25 minutes from campus, Ray Brothers is a top destination, whether you’re traveling to Syracuse, or just need some good ole’ barbecue.
PEAKS COFFEE CO. PEAKS COFFEE CO. PEAKS COFFEE CO.
RAY BROTHERS BARBEQUE RAY BROTHERS BARBEQUE RAY BROTHERS BARBEQUE
Go a little farther through the country side and into Cazenovia, and you’ll find a unique and very cool local coffee company and café called “Peaks”. Located in the valley just outside of the adorable downtown Cazenovia, this coffee company is a perfect getaway from campus to sit and read or write with a good cup of coffee. Find this great hidden gem on route 20 on your trip through the NY peaks! While a trip to New Hartford or a day in downtown Clinton can be great, venturing out of the typical Hamilton student bubble is something everyone needs to try at least once – and any of these spots is good place to start! Photos by Maura Colley '19 THE CONTINENTAL / FALL 2016 / 29
STYLE
Joyce Lee '20 showing off her thrift store snags. 30 / THE CONTINENTAL / FALL 2016
Photos by Bryan Edwards '19
STYLE
Thrifting at a Brand-Focused College By Joyce Lee ‘20
From the moment I stepped onto Hamilton’s campus, it was very clear that several large name brands have a huge impact on our student population. Coming from a school in downtown Manhattan, I’ve become accustomed to walking through streets where there isn’t one uniform style, but rather an eclectic mix of individualism. I went back to the city for fall break and made the rounds at all my old favorite thrift stores in the East Village, one of my favorite neighborhoods for thrifting. Even walking out of the 6 station, I found inspiration from the wardrobes of those around me. As one woman walked in a calf-length, red flowing floral skirt paired with a fur coat, I was reminded of the originality that thrifting gives to clothing. Coming to Hamilton from this background was definitely a shock. On some parts of campus, one student’s closet could be mistaken for a Vineyard Vines catalogue.
The popularity of high-end brands like Canada Goose parkas, LL Bean for their ever-popular Bean Boots, and Patagonia for its active wear is made clear through a stroll through Commons. The association between these big brand names and financial status is something Sarah Young ‘20 understands but debates, saying, “A lot of the stereotypes [of wearing] preppy brands [come from] the price tag associated with them, because it very much limits the people who can buy them, and sometimes it can be perceived as flaunting their money…But that’s not always the truth.” However, I think that a distinct portion of the student body strives for a more individual and less brand-focused style. While the stereotype of the broke college student might not be true for all who attend Hamilton, a generally privileged population, the appeal of thrifting and the cheap prices that come with secondhand
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clothing are obvious. But thrifting is also a way to find originality and express creativity through clothing. For Wynston Pennybacker ‘19, it was a combination of those things that led to her value of thrifting: “I started [thrifting] because I didn’t have enough money to create a unique style by branding up… at the end of the day you’re always going to have a more noticeable look if you thrift rather than buying from H&M or Forever21.” Moral consciousness is a huge part of why K.T. Glusac thrifts as well: “We’re in this age where everything’s so industrialized and globalized that we don’t know where we’re getting our clothes from, and we don’t know if we’re supporting child labor or really, really unfair labor where people’s basic human rights are not being respected.” Furthermore, as thrifting has become trendier, the question of whether or not taking advantage of a resource for those of lower financial status comes into play. Particularly in the context of our notably affluent student body, Glusac describes this process:
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“[When] people who are artsy but wealthy go thrift, not because [they] have to, [but] because it’s in, it’s appropriating another class’s struggle.” Pennybacker shares a similar sentiment: “I have weird feelings about very, very wealthy people thrifting as a moral issue. I think it comes down to the fact that you’re contributing to organizations [like Salvation Army] that ultimately do good in society.” For Hamilton, thrifting’s rise breaks up the monotony of the retail brands that dominate the wardrobes of our student body. Although its isolation from major thrift stores outside of one Salvation Army in Rome makes thrifting less accessible than in major cities, there has even been a move as of late to bring thrifting to campus. Students rave about Audrey Love and Mary Langley’s campus thrift store, asking others to donate clothes to their cause. With the movement to become less homogenous in terms of fashion and clothes, we may also be moving towards embracing a diverse campus in all aspects.
STYLE
Annie Leng ’17 glows with her luminous complexion – and a touch of highlighter.
BY SOPHIE MENASHI '19
WHAT IS YOUR HIGHLIGHTER REALLY SAYING?
It’s safe to say that contouring is one of the top beauty trends of the 2010s. From Kim Kardashian’s perfectly contoured face to crazy trends like unicorn highlighting, contouring has been the buzzword of the beauty industry for years. Modern contouring dates back to the sun-kissed bronzer craze of the 1970s; we can see the roots of contouring throughout history, from the facial definition of ancient Egyptian images to the cheek-bone obsession of Elizabethan England. Recently, highlighters have taken center stage, with everything from signature bronzy glows to rainbow powders selling out in minutes. Strobing, a technique that focuses on highlighting the elevated features of your face to emphasize your own bone structure, has been touted as a more natural way to achieve the perfect contour. Highlighters are also versatile: Glossier’s Haloscope highlighter promises a dewy glow, while Benefit’s Watts Up adds a soft, bronzy sparkle. Achieving that perfect brightness, whether from a highlighter like Jeffree Star’s Skin Frost in Deep Freeze or a luminizer like Fresh’s FreshFace Instant Glow Luminizer, is a popular trend around the world. Korean beauty products in particular, also known as “K-Beauty”, feature luminizers, highlighters, and similar products called “brighteners” designed to brighten dull areas on the face. Simply surfing through popular K-Beauty importer Memebox reveals a huge selection of brighteners. However, Memebox offers a huge selection of whiteners too – whitening agents used to lighten skin tone. In fact, most items listed on the site as brighteners are actually whiteners upon closer inspection of the label, like the Donkey Milk Skin Gel Mask Brightener. This is troubling, especially considering how much popularity K-Beauty products are gaining in the US. The beauty industry is just starting to move away from a light-skinned standard, and the fact that these K-Beauty highlighters are encouraging “a white look” shouldn’t be ignored. This new trend is reminiscent of a recent Snapchat scandal. Back in May, the social media app was accused of whitewashing its users in its many “beauty” filters – like in the popular flower crown filter. This filter makes a user’s face notably lighter, indeed feeding into the beyond-problematic idea of white skin as the beauty standard. Ultimately, it’s up to us as beauty consumers to continue to reject this standard. Bright and highlighted skin is a fun, fresh trend. However, if your favorite brightener, regardless of how it’s advertised, calls itself a whitener, it’s time to consider a new product. THE CONTINENTAL / FALL 2016 / 33
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SJanika P OT T E D Beatty ’17 Who/what are you inspired by? Do you have a style icon?
I thought about this a lot my junior year because I went through an aesthetic change – rather than being inspired by people, I’m inspired by specific trends that pass. I wear velvet and I just want to be swathed in velvet at all times. But, if I had to choose a style icon, it’d be Rihanna because of the risks she takes with her outfits.
Can you describe that aesthetic change?
I went to a charter school in Boston and we had a uniform, so I didn't have a lot of non-uniform clothes when I got to Hamilton. But when I was in D.C. last fall, I had to dress professionally so I started shopping for things I could wear in the office but felt pretty cool in.
Can you describe the effect being able to dress how you want outside of a uniform has had on your identity? Wearing a uniform, I felt so disconnected from my identity as an individual outside of school. Part of why I love fashion so much is that I present myself in the way that I want people to understand me and I wasn’t able to do that during a very significant part of my identity-forming stages in life. At Hamilton, recreating who I am was definitely through clothes.
What’s one rule within the fashion industry that you don’t agree with?
That you have to have a certain body type to wear crop tops. I truly hate the idea that for a crop top to look good on you, you need to be hiding parts of your body. Anyone can wear a crop top and look amazing in it.
Do you know what you want to do post-grad?
This summer I worked in NYC for a startup as a beauty blogger; I think that solidified my career interest in the fashion and beauty industry. I know that I’ll only be happy if I do something related to those things, whether that’s just maintaining a blog of my own or doing social media for an actual company.
How do you balance the material aspect of the fashion industry with your moral standings?
I find the fashion industry to be interesting in that it’s both something I’ve always been in love with, but something I’ve never felt has been in love with me. I love fashion, but it’s something like anything else that definitely needs an upgrade.
In terms of what? In terms of having designers that are aware that you can design clothes for bigger girls that aren’t tents or muumuus – that you can be fashionable at any size. But also in terms of diversity within the fashion industry; catalogues are not diverse, editorials are not diverse…I’d love a fashion revamp of all these things where these issues can be addressed. 34 / THE CONTINENTAL / FALL 2016
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SP OT T E D Dr. Tewksbury Would you say where you grew up (Rochester, NY) has had any influence on your style? Oh, no! *laughs*...Well, it’s not so much where I grew up as when; I turned sixty-five last April, so I grew up and went to school in the late fifties and sixties. The entire time I was in high school girls were not allowed to wear pants, so I grew up wearing dresses. And my mom always maintained that you must dress nicely. My parents were very intrepid. They took me backpacking in the Adirondacks when I was around eight in the fifties. Very Hamilton! Yes, very Hamilton! And when we would return to the car with our backpacks and all of our stuff, we had to wear dresses, because my mom thought, What if we had to stop by Howard Johnson’s for dinner? We couldn’t possibly go in our hiking clothes! So actually, I grew up with the ethos that when you’re out of the house you should look reasonably nice. Have you had your own style evolution? When I was high school I made almost all of my own clothes. My mother and I, we’d go shopping and look at the clothes, and then I’d come home and make them. Do you still do that? I don’t. When my daughter was little she loved dresses with ribbons and lace – the more ribbons the better. Until she was about nine or ten I made almost all of her clothes. I haven’t sewn a lot for myself in a very long time. I make custom-made kilts, and that’s really where most of my handcrafts go nowadays. When did you start making kilts? What is the process like? When our daughter took up Scottish Highland Dancing when she was ten, and became a piper and needed a kilt. I went and learned kilt-making from a little old lady from Scotland, and I've been making kilts ever since. It’s all entirely hand-sewn. You make it out of this one eight-yard piece of fabric, and then there’s all kinds of pleating and facing and fringe and lining and stuff like that. Oh, I have to show you a dress! It’s the last thing I made for myself. This was for the 125th Anniversary of the Geological Society of America – they had this huge gala. I made this to wear – the bustle is detachable! Oh, I had the most fun wearing this. I felt fabulous.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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Untitled
Large Written by Sarah Zeiberg ’18 After a brief intermission, Untitled@ Large Student Theatre is reprising its role as Hamilton’s premiere student theatre group. Untitled seeks to organize, fund, and lend support to projects and productions with students at the helm. The club has a history of funding and supporting diverse student projects such as The Normal Heart and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Past incarnations of the club struggled with how best to accommodate a range of skill sets and interests into one cohesive club. With the current reboot, the Untitled e-board is focused on “creating diverse opportunities like workshops, productions, and other unique events to allow students with a range of artistic goals to be able to have a fulfilling arts experience at Hamilton,” as explained by co-president Ryan Cassidy ‘17.
Untitled@Large E-Board members Sarah Zeiberg ’18, Ryan Cassidy ’17, Kelsey Crane ’17, and Alexei Smith ’19 have fun while doing their warm-up exercises.
At the end of the 2016 spring semester, Untitled initiated this fresh start with the 24-hour Theatre Festival, an event that emphasized collaborative playmaking with actors, directors, and writers working in teams to create short shows in under 24 hours. The event was a success with many participants returning to the club this year.
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Already this year, the club has hosted a workshop on theatrical lighting, run by Master Electricians Eliza Burwell ‘17 and Chris Williams ‘17. Participants learned the ins and outs of the Hamilton College Theatre Department's lighting equipment as well as general programming skills and design concepts. Recently, co-president Sarah Zeiberg ‘18 spearheaded the “It’s Writ” Student Playwriting Workshop, hosted on October 22 and 23. In a similar vein to the 24 Hour Theatre Festival, “It’s Writ” emphasizes the connection between actors and writers. Writers of selected works were given casts and rehearsal time to workshop their shows on the 22nd with a public reading on the 23rd to showcase their hard work. In the future, Untitled hopes to collaborate with other clubs for their performance events, such as Minds for Change. “Ideally,” states Zeiberg, “Untitled will grow into a club that can serve as a sounding board and resource for students who are passionate about theatre and are interested in doing independent, innovative work”.
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HIDDEN GEMS: WHAT TO WATCH WHEN YOU’VE ALREADY WATCHED EVERYTHING By Olivia Paradice ‘18 The countdown to winter break has begun and we all know what that means – most of us are preparing to spend the vast majority of our month off in bed, watching TV and movies online. But if like most procrastinating college students you’ve already worked your way through House of Cards, Transparent, and all those Marvel Netflix shows, and are at a loss as to what to watch next, don’t fear – we’re here to enable your well-earned laziness.
#1 WENTWORTH (NETFLIX)
If you watch Orange is the New Black and have found yourself impatiently waiting to see the result of that infuriating season 4 cliffhanger, Wentworth might be a good outlet for your frustration. Also set in a women’s prison, it may at first seem like nothing more than the Australian Orange is the New Black, but the show is actually a much grittier look at life inside.
#2 ROOM 237 (HULU PLUS)
If you’re a fan of both filmmaking and conspiracy theories, Room 237 is the movie for you. Its subject is The Shining, Stanley Kubrick’s acclaimed 1980 horror film based on Stephen King’s book of the same name, and more specifically on the wide range of conspiracies centered around the film. Did Kubrick use the film to comment on Native American genocide? Is it really a retelling of the Theseus and the Minotaur myth? Is the film really Kubrick’s confession to helping the government fake the moon landing? (Probably not – but what film about conspiracy theories would be complete without at least one claim that the moon landing was faked?)
Photo by Penelope Hoopes '20
#3 CATASTROPHE (AMAZON PRIME)
#5 TANGERINE (NETFLIX)
While the idea of centering a romantic comedy around two people who have a fling and end up having to deal with an unexpected pregnancy isn’t entirely new (see: Knocked Up), Catastrophe really delves into this concept and all the unpleasantness that might realistically follow. The twist is that despite all the ugly truths it brings to the surface, it still manages to remain relentlessly funny.
Although it gained notoriety for being entirely shot on an iPhone 5, Tangerine has much more to it than that. For one, it stars two transgender actresses, playing transgender characters – something almost unheard of, even today – and depicts a day in their lives in a way that is both hilariously over the top and devastatingly realistic.
#4 EX MACHINA (AMAZON PRIME)
As AI technology improves at a rapid pace, this sci-fi thriller is disturbingly relevant. To say it’s thought-provoking would be an understatement, and it should be watched with a friend if only for the intense debates about gender, the nature of consciousness, and what it means to be human that are sure to follow.
#6 STEVEN UNIVERSE (HULU PLUS) Continuing the recent trend of supposed ‘kids’ cartoons that attract a large number of adult viewers (see: Avatar: The Last Airbender and Adventure Time), Steven Universe has gained acclaim for being the first American cartoon to really explore LGBT characters and themes. While it may take you some time to get into it (earlier episodes can be fairly childish), the end result is well worth the wait. THE CONTINENTAL / FALL 2016 / 39
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MURDERED BY 5. Kid Cudi vs. Everyone In a display of incorrigible self-righteousness and thinly-veiled insecurity, Kid Cudi took to Twitter to unleash a fiery rant against popular hip-hop culture. He attacked artists such as Kanye and Drake, accusing them of being “fake ones” and commercializing the rap game, writing, “Everyone thinks they're soooo great. Talkin top 5 and be having 30 people write songs for them”. Whether promoting his new album or simply lamenting his descent from superstardom, Cudi made no attempt to hide his incendiary opinions on the state of hip-hop. Beef Rating: Tenderloin
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Azealia Banks vs. a Literal 14 Year Old Following a series of unremarkable insults aimed at Zayn Malik, Azealia Banks found herself virtually toe-to-toe with Skai Jackson, the star of Disney’s Jessie. Jackson, who was four years old when Twitter was founded, tweeted “Azealia Banks needs to simmer down a little,” prompting a prolonged spat in which Jackson criticized Banks’ misguided aggression and drew attention to Banks’ waning popularity. The vitriol ended when Banks was suspended by Twitter for racism and homophobia. Better luck next time, Banks! Beef Rating: Sirloin
4. Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton Despite the impropriety of making light of the utterly childish banter between the two presidential nominees, their Twitter relationship is too funny to ignore. The most comical exchange began when Trump commented on Obama’s endorsement of “Crooked Hillary.” In a response that was very clearly written by millennial interns, Hillary’s account told Trump to delete his account. Trump happily took the bait and put Clinton on blast for the notorious email scandal, retorting, “How long did it take your staff of 823 people to think that up -- and where are your 33,000 emails that you deleted?” Provoking Trump on Twitter is like antagonizing a shark in the water – you’re fighting on his terms. Beef Rating: New York Strip
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MENTIONS:
The Juiciest Cuts of 2016 Twitter Beef
Written by Joey Dixon ‘18 // Illustrated by Anika Huq '19
2. Wiz Khalifa vs. Kanye West Twitter heavyweight Kanye West is not to be trifled with. In January, Kanye used Twitter to announce the name of his forthcoming album: “Waves” (now known as The Life of Pablo). Wiz Khalifa took issue with this name, asserting that “Max B is the wavy one. He created the wave. There is no wave without him.” Kanye responded with a veritable tirade of intensely personal remarks, tweeting 27 times over the next half hour. His assaults ranged from Wiz’s sense of style to his past relationship to the length of his neck. His tongue-in-cheek, no-holds-barred approach is best summed up in this tweet: “maybe I couldn't be skinny and tall, but I’ll settle for being the greatest artist of all time as consolation.” Kanye ended the diatribe by reiterating that his album was due out in February, demonstrating that everything (even perceived attacks against his person) can be twisted into publicity. Beef Rating: Rib-Eye
1.
Amber Rose vs. Kanye West If anyone can go pound-for-pound with Kanye on the digital airwaves, it’s Amber Rose. The crème de la crème of this year’s Twitter beef came in the wake of the Kanye/Wiz dispute when Rose, Wiz Khalifa’s ex-wife and Kanye’s ex-girlfriend joined the conversation. Evidently hurt by the crusade against Wiz, Rose jumped to his defense with an absolute haymaker of a tweet. Kanye began to backpedal almost immediately, claiming, “Exes can be mad but just know I never let them play with my ass…I don’t do that…I stay away from that area all together.” Of course, this damage control didn’t prevent the multiplicity of memes that flooded Twitter and Instagram alluding to the alleged butt-stuff. Beef Rating: Filet Mignon THE CONTINENTAL / FALL 2016 / 41
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Check out what Hamilton students are listening to this Fall – we’ve selected ten tunes you’ve never heard from our collaborative Spotify playlist to add to your music library, for your next workout or Thursday night hang. Special thanks to our contributors (mentioned in parentheses)!
-"Please Tell Rosie"- Younotus (Jared Belsky) -"Finessin"- Baby E (Da Bearz) -"What We Live For"- American Authors (Hannah McLean) -"What if I go?"- Mura Masa (Holly Bobola) -"Special Affair"- The Internet (Anne Homans) -"True Affection"- The Blow (mlabs8) -"Wolves"- The Cat Empire (Sam Bernstein) -"Man of the Law"- Savant (tom.emp) -"Do You Remember"- Jarryd James (Julia Gorlovetskaya) -"Drive"- Oh Wonder (Maddie Brown)
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FALL INSTAGRAM CONTEST Favorite Study Spots on Campus WINNER
@geoffrey_rm
@itouchedthebut_ler
@hamiltonadirondackprogram
@kaithayer9 THE CONTINENTAL / FALL 2016 / 43
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Photos by Emily Magruder '17 THE CONTINENTAL / FALL 2016 / 45
THE CONTINENTAL @contmag Contmag@hamilton.edu The Continental 46 / THE CONTINENTAL / FALL 2016
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