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Hamilton welcomed a panel of four experts from diverse fields Monday to discuss local efforts on the Hill to combat the effects of climate change, in a debate titled Should Colleges and Universities Divest from Fossil Fuels?   Participants were the Director of Investment Risk Management at the University of Michigan Rafael Castilla; Associate Analyst for 350.org Victoria Fernandez; National Association of Scholars Research Associate Rachelle Peterson; and Katelyn M. Kriesel, a financial advisor for Koenig & Selzer Asset Management Group and president of Syracuse Sustainability Enterprises.

During the Sept. 21 “Empowerment Thru Employment” presentation, Veronika Scott, CEO of Detroit non-profit The Empowerment Plan passionately battled misconceptions about homelessness. Her company, which hires individuals living in homeless shelters to make sleeping bag coats to be distributed to homeless people, emphasizes the importance of pride, independence and helping people help themselves. Hosted by the Days-Massolo Center, “Empowerment Thru Employment” was the second event of this semester’s “Media and Movement” series exploring the role of technology in social justice.

A favorable review of Associate Professor of East Asian Languages and Literatures Zhuoyi Wang’s book Revolutionary Cycles in Chinese Cinema, 1951-1979 recently appeared in Modern Chinese Literature and Culture, a scholarly journal devoted to the culture of modern and contemporary China. The book was published in 2014 by Palgrave Macmillan.

Although social media activism campaigns are started almost daily, seldom do they accomplish their goal of creating and sustaining national interest that lasts for years. Nevertheless, occasionally these movements successfully promote awareness, draw together communities and create lasting conversations that can affect lives across the country, and even the globe. One such campaign is the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, co-founded by Alicia Garza.

Hamilton students recently kicked off their fall semester in New York City by visiting the Whitney Museum's new location in the Meatpacking District. On the guided tour, students witnessed the evolution of American artwork as they traveled from the eighth to fifth floor, which features the most contemporary pieces.

Associate Professor of Economics Emily Conover, together with colleagues at Amherst, Colgate, Lafayette, Wesleyan and Vassar College, co-organized a conference for professors at liberal arts institutions.

Four experts will debate fossil fuel divestment in a roundtable panel on Monday, Sept. 21, at 7 p.m., in the Chapel. The roundtable, “Should Colleges Divest From Fossil Fuels?,” is sponsored by Hamilton’s Environmental Studies department and is free and open to the public.

Prior to yesterday’s Federal Reserve’s announcement that there would be no immediate change in interest rates, Henry Platt Bristol Professor of Economics Ann Owen was interviewed by Reuters news service and American Public Media’s Marketplace on possible considerations. 

Aptly echoing the thoughts of many Americans who awoke to discover that Sept.17 was a national holiday, Michael Lienesch began his Constitution Day lecture with a simple question, “so what is Constitution Day anyway?” As Lienesch, professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, would delineate in his speech, to answer this seemingly simple question, one must first understand where this holiday came from, and why it was created, and how it is celebrated today.

Seven Hamilton College seniors were elected to the Epsilon chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest honor society, at the September meeting. The inductees are Joan Frost, Lauren King, Elisabeth MacC0ll, Kenneth Ratliff, Steven Stone, Hannah Withiam and Rachael Wilkin.