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Leap year means 1) there are 29 days in February. 2.) it's a presidential election year 3.) in centuries past it was the traditional time that a woman could propose marriage to a man. 4.) and, at Hamilton, it's an opportunity to make a gift and participate in the Annual Fund Leap Year Challenge.

Reserved seats for large groups attending the Aretha Franklin concert in the Sacerdote Great Names series at Hamilton on April 5 are full. No additional large group reservations will be taken. The event is free and no tickets are needed but seats for the general public will be limited to approximately 1,000, on a first-come, first-served basis on the day of the concert. Franklin will perform on Saturday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m. in the Margaret Bundy Scott Field House.

Assistant Professor of Africana Studies Nigel Westmaas published an op-ed in the popular online CaribWorld News (Daily Caribbean Diaspora News). The piece titled "Horror and the Response to Horror: the Guyana Situation" critiques the Guyana government's response to two brutal sets of gang killings in January and February in two communities in the South American Republic that resulted in the murder of 23 villagers including children. The reaction of the Guyana state to the murders failed, according to Westmaas, to take into account the fractured nature of the society and urged a more holistic response that addressed the political, social and criminal origins of the execution gang.

Nadine Strossen, president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and professor of law at New York Law School, will speak at Hamilton on Thursday, Feb. 28, at 7:30 p.m. in the Chapel. Her lecture, on the topic of cyber censorship, is part of the Arthur Levitt Public Affair's Center's continuing "Age of Information" series which addresses the cultural, political, legal and economic consequences of recent innovations in information technology. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Alumnus Dr. Ian Howat '99, an assistant professor of geoscience at the Byrd Polar Research Center at Ohio State University, will present "Speeding ice and shifting paradigms: timescales of ice sheet collapse" on Friday, Feb. 29, at noon in room 1035 in the Science Building.

Hamilton’s Environmental Action Group (HEAG) and Recycling Task Force distributed free mugs to members of the community who signed a pledge to sort and minimize waste. The reusable mugs, distributed as part of Hamilton’s Recyclemania campaign, will be used instead of disposable paper cups in Commons. Hamilton is one of 400 colleges across the country participating in Recyclemania. This contest, sponsored by the EPA, encourages waste reduction and waste minimization with a friendly challenge to improve campus recycling.

Professor of Government Stephen Orvis gave a lecture at the "Policy Lunch Series" at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany on Feb. 26. His presentation, "What Went Wrong in Kenya?," addressed the set of developments - social, political, economic, domestic, international - that led to the violence in Kenya following elections; the prospects for the future; and possible solutions to enhance the development of a more stable democracy.

Professor of Religious Studies Richard Seager was interviewed by Religion News Service about the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, released Feb. 25 by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. The survey found that Buddhists struggle hardest to pass the faith from one generation to the next.

The photography of Visiting Instructor of Art Sylvia de Swaan is included in a four-page spread in a new book titled The Elements of Photography – Understanding and Creating Sophisitcated Images. De Swaan's "Sub-Version Series" is represented with four images and is accompanied by an artist's statement and her comments on framing and borders.

Visiting Professor of Communication John Adams was interviewed by BBC World Service news about the importance of rhetoric in U.S. politics (2/21/08). Mehrnoush Pourziaie talked to Adams about the rhetoric of Sen. Barack Obama, whether it is a strategy, weak point or strong point and whether what he does is a tool for exciting the masses. It aired on BBC's Persian network. Adams talked about the ancient roots of this idea--how eloquence has been culturally attached to "emptiness" in Western  thought.