Hamilton College Admission Journals: All Hamilton Journalists

Work Hard, Play Hard

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 04:16:07 GMT

Well technically we are on break from school. Most of us packed our bags and left on a jet plane... or train or car, but there are a brave few left on campus -- some athletes. I bounced from the Men's and Women's Swim Invite to the Men's Basketball Tip Off Tournament to the Men's Hockey Game. As a former swimmer, I wanted to watch some of my old teammates swim. I realized quickly that I miss swimming. Then the basketball game... it was a thriller. Yesterday they won 89-56, so I was pretty confident in them coming out hard and dominating again. Today's game was much closer... we were behind with 5 minuets left to play. It was strong defense and a solid offensive effort that allowed us to win 79-78. Then off to another nail bitter... the hockey game. I was working the penalty box, so I had a close-up view of the action. By "close-up action" I mean I nearly escaped with my life. The penalty box doesn't have that protective glass in front of it. I counted 1 loose puck that almost took me out and 2 bone crushing, body checks that forced the sticks to come over the wall. When I didn't have my eyes closed and my teeth gritting in fear, I enjoyed the game. We rallied in the 3rd period with 5 goals for a sweet come-from-behind victory. 8-6 was the final score. The opposing team pulled their goalie and with a few seconds left on the clock, man down, we put one in on the open net. Congrats to everyone.

BIG NEWS

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 03:51:20 GMT

I'm too excited to go into any real depth, so we're going to bullet-point it:

1. I've officially secured my internship for NYC next semester! I will be working with Lambda Legal (a big, fantastic civil rights organization) as an intern for their Fair Courts Project. It was my first choice, and I am well beyond excited about it. Additionally, it's just BLOCKS from the Hamilton apartments, so I can also maintain my habitual laziness.

2. I got a job. Specifically, I will be a senior intern in the admissions office next year! While I don't really understand why the good people over in admissions would continue to subject themselves to me, I'm not going to complain. So what does this mean? It means that I may well be interviewing you next year. That's right, y'all: you might actually be FORCED to have a conversation with me. I apologize in advance.

3. I AM HOME! For the first time since May, I'm terrorizing my parents and haunting the streets of scenic Boise, Idaho. I'm eating ungodly amounts of food, wandering around the house, complaining every time I find something that's different from the last time I was here and rediscovering the joys of daytime talk shows.

Things, in short, are fabulous.

No Sweat

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:50:25 GMT

Yesterday, I attended a great presentation led by six students in an upper-level women's studies course that reviewed the presence of sweatshops in America. A full audience watched a documentary and looked over a very interesting map put together by the presenters. The presenters had members of the Hamilton community cut off the tags on their clothing, and the tags were put onto a map of the world that corresponded with wherever the tag said the clothing was "made." Needless to say, the chart was fascinating, and South Asia, China, and Central America comprised the territories tagged most frequently.

I didn't know this, but the brand American Apparel (America's market leader in the clothing industry) has its own sweatshop that provides for its immense profits -- right in California!

The term sweatshop can sometimes be confusing. It sounds horrible, and is horrible, but the definition is sometimes a bit obscure.

Dictionary.com defines sweatshop as "a shop employing workers at low wages, for long hours, and under poor conditions." In California, Dov Chaney, the CEO of American Apparel, pays workers based on the amount of textiles that they produce, which is a major problem, because it incentivizes his workers to work too quickly. Creating textiles requires working with dangerous machinery, and injury therefore becomes a regular part of the job. This is a major problem.

Moreover, he employs mostly undocumented workers (illegal immigrants), the byproduct of which is that it is difficult to ascertain whether the employees are paid fairly, let alone whether their basic human rights are provided for.

Chaney has multiple sexual harrassment suits filed against him, two of which were settled out of court.

I don't know exactly what you as a reader want to do with this information, but the first thing to do is to let others know that the notion of American Apparel being a fantastic, humane company devoted to humane corporate practices is bogus.

Some commenters after the presentation suggested that capitalism was not capable, as a system, of providing for human equality or humane working practices.

I don't fully agree with that. I think capitalism is sort of like the Internet in terms of how it works. The Internet is full of material that many people would find disgusting, but it's not as if binary code comes embedded with such garbage. Capitalism, like the Internet, often manifests itself in ways that match whatever human preferences exist at the time.

Consequently, the real way to resolve the issue is to either a) educate people not to shop at places at own sweatshops or b) convince people that they do not need to obsess constantly over acquiring things that are new. For example, people buy used software from eBay, but clothes constitute a much smaller market. Why? I think it mostly has to do with aesthetic preferences.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share that with you. It was a great presentation. Eye-opening stuff.

See ya.

- Josh

Classes I'm Taking Next Semester

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:42:16 GMT

Registering for classes is sort of complicated and frustrating. Many students sit at the computer and watch in dismay as their classes fill up, while others have to deal with scheduling conflicts. Luckily, when my registration time rolled around on Monday, all of the classes I wanted were still open!

Here's what I'm taking next semester:

Proust. Have you heard of In Search of Lost Time? Or perhaps you've seen Little Miss Sunshine. Regardless, you've probably heard of Proust in some way or another, whether you realize it or not. In this 300-level Comp. Lit. class, we will read all seven volumes of Proust's monstrous work, In Search of Lost Time. It amounts to around 3,200 pages and more than 2,000 characters. I read part of the first volume in my Literature and Ethics class freshman year (a class you NEED to take). I loved Proust's style and his descriptions of music and memory.

Philosophy of Science. This class sounds really cool and I think I will be able to apply a lot of what I've learned from Quantum Physics this semester to it. We'll be talking about reality, objectivity, epistemology, among other things. I've never taken a philosophy course here before, and many of my friends encouraged me to do so because the department is really good.

Electromagnetism. Looking forward to it, but rumor has it that it's harder than Quantum. Super.

Music since 1900. This is a music history class, and I decided to take it because I have never had a formal education in music history or theory. I thought this would be a nice addition to my well-rounded course schedule.

To me, this is the ideal semester. I am SO pumped for each of my classes. It's always really hard to choose only four classes because everything looks so interesting. If I could, I would take so many more than four. There are some cool math courses being offered (including one on fractals), as well as intriguing English, philosophy and history courses. I'm certainly not the only person I've talked to who feels overwhelmed with narrowing the list down to four - it's a good sign when most everyone here is so concerned with pursuing to the highest degree each of his or her unique interests. Sometimes I concentrate so hard on learning when I'm here that I forget about the fact that I am looking to earn a certain letter grade.

It's That Time Again

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:08:28 GMT

For those who have read my past journal entries, you may remember a journal where I talk about shining my shoes. It's a practical-superstition. It makes me feel like a new man and also works to help keep my shoes looking fresh. I have a job interview today (I'll post more on it later) and wanted to get a good shine in. Hamilton has this great career center that helps develop a resume and cover letter. I have those all pressed up and ready to go. Shoe's shined, teeth brushed, and my resume in hand - this means all lights are green. I would ask you to wish me luck but my shoe shine is lucky enough.

NO SWEAT/DETAG YOURSELF

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:45:13 GMT

"Would you like to cut off your clothing tags in protest of sweatshop labor?" This is the question I repeated over and over again to passing students outside KJ.

This semester, as part of my Seminar on Global Feminisms, my class had to do some sort of community activism to raise awareness about any issue of our choice.

After reading about maquiladoras in Mexico and the economics of poverty, we decided to focus our attention on protesting sweatshop labor.

With only three weeks to prepare our event, the six of us got to work trying to come up with creative ideas to raise awareness about the working conditions of garment workers in Third World countries as well as in the United States — it wasn't easy!

We finally came up with two events that would be held in one day.

The first, "DETAG YOURSELF" was today from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. outside KJ. We asked everyone who passed to cut the tags off their clothing and stick each tag to its country of origin on a huge world map we acquired. By the end of the 3 hours, we had cut 300+ tags. The concentration of tags in Southeast Asia as well as Central America definitely got people thinking about where their clothes come from.

However, once "DETAG YOURSELF" was over, we still had a movie to screen! At 7 p.m. we showed a movie on American Apparel (No Sweat) and their unethical practices within the United States; just because it is MADE IN THE USA, doesn't mean it is sweatshop-free!

When our final project was completed at the end of the day — I was so relieved/happy/buzzed/exhausted. There is a definite rush that you get from raising awareness about an issue you are passionate about. Maybe it's the exhaustion speaking, but if I learned anything new from this experience besides all of the facts and statistics about sweatshop labor, it's that I have the power, as an autonomous individual, to influence people's attitudes and ideas — I can create a social movement!

Course Registration!

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:28:09 GMT

Course registration period is always an exciting time. I’m like a giddy kid in a candy shop when I look at all the cool classes I get to choose from, not to mention that browsing classes is an excellent alternative to doing any homework you might be avoiding. Instinctively, my inner nerd tells me that taking 5 science/math classes will bring me ultimate happiness, but this is generally not recommended…something about an unbalanced schedule.

Yes, it’s true! There are no core requirements at Hamilton…but there are some courses that are just too awesome to miss. Introduction to Existentialism (Philosophy) with Todd Franklin is one of them, and it must be with Professor Franklin. Trust me now, and thank me later. The class is an eye-opener. The material is thought-provoking and asks you to consider radical new perspectives, and Professor Franklin conveys complex and often confusing ideas in a very understandable and relatable manner (i.e. he is a GREAT teacher). Plus, Todd Franklin is one of the most extraordinary men I know, I could rave about him all day long, but I’ll spare you. Seriously though, there are many Hamilton students who are inexpressibly grateful to him not only for the experience of his classes, but also for his support and compassion...so go talk to him! Alright, alright, enough of that.

On another note, I often find myself astounded by the Hamilton student’s ability to accomplish the colossal amount of work that is demanded. At times it seems that everyone here has an impossible pile of assignments to get through and we wonder how in the world we are going to get it all done. Somehow, we always make it to the other side (albeit sometimes in a raggedy state).

With that in mind, happy Monday and welcome to the beginning of a new week! Ok, so I have a Physical Chemistry and Modern Algebra exam on two consecutive nights in a row, but we won’t focus on that. I mean, yes, we will, but there’s a bright light at the end of the tunnel…Thanksgiving break starts on Friday! These breaks we get always seem to come just in the nick of time…one week later and we might all explode. Thanksgiving...Thanksgiving...Thanksgiving...BREAK...FRIDAY...ALMOST THERE...

Well, wish me luck with my week (and good luck with yours too). See you on the other side!

Tara

Sunday

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:25:43 GMT

7:00 AM - morning jog, showered, read the news

9:30 - breakfast

1:00 - caught up with an old friend

1:30 - read, homework, music,

2:00 - had a fantastic bowl of chili at Commons

2:05 - studied in the science center/library

4:00 - Cowboys v. Packers Game (I think I’m the only Dallas fan in New York) The ‘boys are 6-2 coming off of 4 straight wins – they’re hot. The Pack is not sitting too pretty after losing 2 in a row – they’re desperately in need of a win. Prediction – a really good game.

Game hasn’t started yet but it has been a great day so far. It has been 57 degrees allowing me to wear flip-flops and shorts. Oh and it’s November. Usually we have a little snow by now. Let’s go ‘boys – turn this great day into a winning one.

Tomorrow -- today? -- I can't wait!

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:34:56 GMT

It's easy to blog about the cool things that have already happened -- and frankly, it's probably easy to choose the method that I am for this entry as well -- but I'm really looking forward to later today.

It's 1:30 a.m., and I'm sitting down to blog --- am I a bit overzealous? Maybe...

Here's what I'm looking forward to:

1) I've finally re-adapted and re-learned the joys of cool weather. Nice sweaters, nice coats -- I like to mix it together with a kurta (an Indian shirt) or some artifacts that I've collected along the way. I don't know...I was never much for fashion, but I've always been a fan of self-expression. What people do in the winter, rather than the summer, tends to be more expressive -- in my opinion anyway. It's just nice to look around.

2) Hindi class. I know, right? Well, actually, I've recently picked up a new attitude toward languages. I used to be somewhat intimidated by the mere prospect of somehow acquiring an entirely different vocabulary and methodology of speaking; however, I'm recently having a change of heart. Why? Two main reasons: first, a quick stop at the Career Center helped show me how important languages will be in the "real world" regardless of the career I pursue; second, I've already acquired the basics of Mandarin, Arabic, and Spanish -- in addition to my current work in Hindi -- and I've been calling in particular on the INVALUABLE language approach lessons I learned freshman year through a course in the Hamilton Chinese language department.

You show know, upfront, that Hamilton's Chinese study abroad program is the best in the world, and Jin laoshi (professor Hong Gang Jin) won a CASE Award (Council for the Advancement and Support of Education) presented by the Carnegie Foundation in 1998, for "Outstanding Baccalaureate College Professor of the Year."

It's legit -- take the program, and you'll speak Chinese. I visited the ACC center in Beijing over the summer and can vouch for the awesomeness of the location and the program. My guide around Beijing was an ACC grad.

3) Full-court basketball from 5 p.m.-ish to -- umm -- however long my legs can last. As is usual, I'll probably be finished by about 7 p.m. Fridays are great.

4) The afternoon will have its usual pleasantries, but the evening will be especially enjoyable. At 9 p.m., I'm attending a "D.C. program student reunion." For readers who do not know, I was enrolled in the D.C. program in the fall of last year -- AWESOME PROGRAM. Oh, and yea, I made a lot of great friends in the process, and it will be nice to relive some memories.

At 10 p.m., Red Weather, Hamilton's literary journal, is hosting a Late Nite. My friend is running the event and I'm looking forward to attending, enjoying the band, eating the delicious Indian food (from Minar -- a fantastic Indian restaurant in the local area), and hoping that my raffle ticket wins me something nice.

Then, a bit later, I'm meeting some friends in one of the dorms for a pleasant get-together. I've been so busy lately that I've been missing some people -- luckily, they brought me into the loop, and tonight should end well.

And...yes, I know this is nerdy...but I'm also excited to finish the night off, because a policy paper of mine needs to be finished up before it is ready to be published by a think tank. I'm closing in on the finish line though!

- Wish me luck !! --

Take care, and you'll all hear from me on a much more regular basis from here on out.

- Josh

A City Upon a Hill

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:52:24 GMT

Following John Winthrop’s famous words, Hamilton literally and figuratively is a “city upon a hill.” Not only is our campus situated on top of one of the steepest mountains, I mean hills, I have ever seen, but I believe that people look to Hamilton as a solid model of liberal arts education. The open curriculum, abundance of student research and strong connection between faculty and students make Hamilton a strong institution.

Academics aside, yesterday I became very well aware of the literal hill of Hamilton. Due to the unusually warm weather for the season (snow on Thursday and 60 degrees on Saturday? What is going on?!) my friend Maddy and I were more than happy to leave her car in the parking lot and make the descent into Clinton to our favorite store — Tom’s Natural Foods. We chatted about classes and Saturday night plans along the 20-minute walk.

As we stepped into Tom’s, the aroma of dried foods was a welcoming scent. The best thing about Tom’s is that they take any type of fruit or nut imaginable — and cover it in chocolate. I stocked up on ginger and pomegranate seeds (chocolate-covered of course!) while Maddy waited in line for the Hamilton smoothie, which actually got its name from the frequent trips she made down to Tom’s in search of a “strawberry-banana smoothie with vanilla soymilk.” Satisfied with our purchases for the day, we snacked along the ascent up College Hill Road, calves burning, anxious to get back to our own “city upon a hill.”