This year, Shannon Mims ’07 and Meghan Morrissey ’07 coordinated a wide-ranging and fascinating program of 10 Think Tank lunches, including one special discussion about Utica, N.Y., led by AmeriCorp VISTA coordinators Haley Reimbold ’06 and Courtney Johnson ’06. Vivyan Adair, the Elihu Root Peace Fund Associate Professor of Women’s Studies and Director of the ACCESS Project at Hamilton College, opened this year’s Think Tank with “The Missing Story of Ourselves: Poverty, Higher Education and the Ethics of Representation.” Adair’s discussion focused on the development, goals, reception, and ethics of the Hamilton gallery exhibit “The Missing Story of Ourselves: Poverty and the Promise of Higher Education.” In October, Gordon Hewitt, Director of Institutional Research; and Meredith Harper Bonham, Executive Assistant to the President and Secretary to the Board of Trustees discussed the impact recommendations of the Commission on the Future of Higher Education might have on private liberal arts colleges with “The Spellings Commission on the Future of Higher Education: What It Means for Hamilton College.” Assistant Professor of Mathematics Michelle LeMasurier led the next lunchtime discussion in October with a graphically-appealing presentation about “The Poincare Conjecture.” Later that month, Stephen Ellingson, Assistant Professor of Sociology, spoke about the role religions have played in reform movements throughout American history, and their surprising absence in the American environmental movement with “Why Isn’t Religion Green?” Assistant Professor of Psychology Tara McKee wrapped up the fall semester with “The Pros and Cons of Diagnosing Individuals with Mental Illness,” a thought-provoking discussion about the social consequences of diagnostic labels.
Hamilton alumnae and AmeriCorp VISTA workers Haley Reimbold and Courtney Johnson commenced the spring 2007 semester with “Utica, N.Y.: Post-Industrial Wasteland?” Haley and Courtney discussed Hamilton student experiences in and perceptions of Utica, analyzing their interactions with the local community, and exploring possible venues for involvement and fun. Brian Rosmaita, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, presented a sobering discussion of the reliability problems of Direct Recording Electronic voting machines as addressed by the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act with “Electronic Voting: Silicon Snake Oil or Savior of Democracy?” Other April topics included “Is Geisha a Prostitute? A Comparative Study with Nightclub Hostesses in Japan” facilitated by Assistant Professor of Anthropology Haeng-ja Chung and “The State of Reform in New York State Public Education” with Chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents Carl Hayden ’63. Janelle Schwartz, Visiting Instructor of Comparative Literature, wrapped up the year with “A College Divided? Thoughts on the State of (Inter)Disciplinary Study.”
