Hamilton in the News

Vivyan Adair, the 2004 New York State CASE/Carnegie Foundation Professor of the Year, is the feature interview on WRVO (91.9 FM, Utica) radio on Nov. 30. Adair is the Elihu Root Associate Professor of Women's Studies and founder and director of the ACCESS Project at Hamilton College. The interview can be heard online by clicking on the following link.

Cheng Li, the William R. Kenan Professor of Government, was interviewed by the BBC World Service on November 28.  Li discussed Chinese mine safety, labor rights, implication of China's growing energy needs.

Douglas Raybeck, professor of anthropology, was quoted in a Wall Street Journal article that focused on holidays, stress, and childhood memories. According to the article "one big source of trouble is that the holidays evoke powerful memories of childhood." Raybeck said that these situations make us "operate off old scripts that we learned as teenagers or as young parents and assume a different, oftentimes child-like role during family gatherings."

Frank Anechiarico, the Maynard-Knox Professor of Government and Law, was quoted in an Agence France Press article about corruption in the European Union (EU) and its devastating effects. The article detailed how the structure of the EU allows corruption to flourish and is costing the European economy "tens of billions of euros every year." Anechiarico said "in the United States 'performances measurements' in the public service had proved effective in fighting corruption at all levels."  He is the author of Remembering Corruption: The Elusive Lessons of Scandal in New York City and co-author of The Pursuit of Absolute Integrity: How Corruption Control Makes Government Ineffective.

Cheng Li, the William R. Kenan Professor of Government, was interviewed by People's Daily about Secretary of State Colin Powell’s resignation. Li was quoted extensively, explaining how U.S. - China relations improved while Powell was in office. Li said "Powell has continuously strengthened his contacts with China and developed constructive cooperation relations. China [now] plays more roles in international affairs" Li explained. According to the article, one of the main questions is if relations between the U.S. and China will worsen as Powell leaves office and Rice assumes the role of Secretary of State. Li said, "There will be no big twists and turns in the main in U.S. - China relations in the future. But the possibility cannot be eliminated that there might be fortuities that could not be forecast. There are instable factors for the issues of regional security and energy sources in some areas." Li also commented on Condoleezza Rice’s capability, stating, "Rice is a very able person and she can exert much impact on Bush than Powell does. In dealing with diplomatic affairs, she will more likely let strength speak, put unilateralism into practice and maintain U.S. strong status…Generally speaking Rice takes stronger stand towards China than Powell and knows less about China than Powell. Certainly in recent years, Rice has more contacts with Chinese leaders and has deeper understanding of China with some changes on her China stand and attitude." Li was also interviewed on VOA radio on the same topic.

Philip Klinkner, the James S. Sherman Associate Professor of Government, published an op-ed in the New Republic titled "Money Matters." Klinkner analyzed voter performance in the 2004 presidential election and concluded, "Bush improved his performance with voters at the upper end of the income ladder. Among those making less than $50,000, Bush actually lost ground, as his performance fell from 21 percent in 2000 to 20 percent in 2004. Among those making over $50,000, Bush's performance jumped 3 points, from 28 percent to 31 percent. And most of this improved performance was concentrated among the wealthiest of voters, those making over $100,000. In this group, increases in turnout and support for Bush raised the president's performance from 8 percent to 10 percent. In fact, Bush's gains among the wealthiest Americans account for a good chunk of his popular-vote margin of victory."

Ann Owen, associate professor of economics and director of the Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center, was interviewed for the Baltimore Sun article, "Fill the cracks or remodel? All agree that change is necessary for Social Security to survive, but some experts disagree sharply with a Bush-backed privatization plan." According to the article "Social Security became a pay-as-you-go system - current workers paying the benefits for those now in retirement. That worked fine as long as there were plenty of workers and not so many retirees. But the nation's demographics began to shift. The equations that worked when Social Security started in 1935 no longer held. Reforms adopted after recommendations by 1983 commission raised the contributions and the retirement age - to 67 - got a nearly bankrupt system back on its feet." Owen said "That extended the life of Social Security, but didn't fix the fundamental problems with it. Those changes helped, but you are going to need to make more if you are going to preserve the same level of benefits."

The lecture given by Former President Bill Clinton on Nov. 9 at Hamilton College was featured by The Associated Press, CNN, Fox News and MSNBC among others. Clinton's visit was part of the Sacerdote Great Names Series at Hamilton, named in recognition of a significant gift from the family of Alex Sacerdote, a 1994 Hamilton graduate. President Clinton was the fourth former head of state or prime minister to speak at Hamilton as part of the series.

Philip Klinkner, the James S. Sherman Associate Professor of Government, was quoted in The Village Voice. The article "It's the Wealth, Stupid" discussed how "right-wing class warfare swung the 2004 election." Klinkner was interviewed about voter performance among socioeconomic classes. "Two of those [percentage] points came solely from people making over a 100 grand," Klinkner said. The people who won the election for him—his only significant improvement over his performance four years ago—were rich people, voting for more right-wing class warfare.

Philip Klinkner, the James S. Sherman Associate Professor of Government, was interviewed for the New York Times article (11/7/2004) "Can History Save the Democrats?"