All News

At first, the streets of Washington were not particularly crowded. When I stepped outside into the brisk, gray dawn at 7 a.m., there were only a few bikers and small clumps of people hurrying to Metro stations. My roommate and I had decided to rise early to try and beat the crowd to the National Mall. The night before, there were rumors of vast throngs and endless waiting, despite the predicted snow. We shared gloves, socks and directions in what we expected to be an adventure.

While studying the Crusades in a class at Hamilton last year, history major Kelsey Rice '10 was intrigued how Middle Eastern thinkers were "light years ahead" of intellectual thinkers in Medieval Europe, yet little-studied in traditional history courses. Seeking to better understand the history of this region, Rice applied for and received an Emerson Summer Research Collaboration Grant with Associate Professor of History Shoshana Keller to investigate the foundations of the rapidly growing field of Middle Eastern History. Her research specifically examined flaws in the Western conception of the Middle East, with her project titled "Misinterpreting the Middle East: Western Bias in Approaches in Middle Eastern History."

On June 6 as part of Reunions '08, Doug Chapman '58, the Fraser Riverkeeper in Vancouver, Canada, and Bob Boyle, who helped found the Riverkeeper movement, discussed their roles in the environmental movement to a Kennedy Auditorium packed with alumni. Boyle spoke about the path to establishing the Hudson River Fisherman's Association, an environmental group that protected the quality of the Hudson River and later grew to the larger Waterkeeper Alliance, a collection of conservation groups which now protect around 200 bodies of water worldwide. Chapman spoke about his role as an environmental prosecutor and the legal battles for environmental issues in the present day. 

Thomas Tull '92, founder, chairman and CEO of Legendary Pictures (the company jointly responsible for producing the films Batman Begins, Superman Returns, and 300), spoke to Hamilton students on April 17 in Wellin Hall about his journey from Hamilton to film production. Tull expressed appreciation for Hamilton's impact on establishing his success, and reciprocated by screening never-before-seen footage of Legendary Pictures' upcoming Batman sequel, The Dark Knight. 

Jennifer Earl, associate professor of sociology and Director of the Center for Information Technology and Society at the University of California, Santa Barbara, presented her studies of online activism on April 15 at Hamilton. Earl suggested that online activism reflects significant changes in the structure and practice of activism, and is worthy of further scholarly attention. 

Tony DeRose, senior scientist at Pixar Animation Studios, spoke to a packed Hamilton College Chapel about the relationship between computer-animated movies and mathematics on April 3. DeRose explained many of the mathematical processes behind computer animation and the role of math in this field, and conveyed his satisfaction at being able to use movies to "deliver [math] in a way that everyone on the planet can enjoy."

MTV news correspondent SuChin Pak spoke at Hamilton about MTV, Generation X and multiculturalism as part of the College's Voices of Color Lecture Series on March 6. Pak used examples from her own life to discuss race, identity and empowerment.

Nadine Strossen, president of the American Civil Liberties Union, professor of law at New York Law School, and twice named by the National Law Review as among "The 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America," gave a speech to a crowded Hamilton College Chapel on Feb. 28 as part of the Levitt Center's Age of Information Series. Strossen discussed the problems of government intervention to censor media and emphasized the need for individual liberty.

Harris Miller, former president of the Information Technology Association of America and CEO of the Career College Association, presented a lecture at Hamilton titled "Can America Still Cut It? Thoughts About the American Worker in the Age of Global Competition" on Feb. 19. Miller called for "a new covenant with the American workforce" and a focus on skills education in order to rebuild the American middle class.

The Green Democracy Roundtable, hosted by the Hamilton Environmental Action Group and the Hamilton College chapter of Democracy Matters on Jan. 31, brought together a distinguished panel of students, staff, alumni and politicians to discuss potential solutions to the problems of climate change. The event, concluding Hamilton's participation in the Focus the Nation global warming teach-in that took place at more than 1,000 schools that day, was notable for the depth of the speakers' knowledge and for their universal commitment to address climate change.