All News

As students and faculty adapted to new ways of learning and teaching, hundreds of staff members worked behind the scenes this semester to ensure that campus operated as smoothly and safely as possible.

Resident Advisors (RAs) have a lot of responsibility, acting as peer counselors and leaders in the residence halls. But this year they added another task to their duties – serving as social directors during a time when COVID-19 restrictions limited gatherings and interaction among students. Hamilton RAs proved to be up to the task, planning and orchestrating a variety of programs for residents throughout the semester. For example, Desiree Pico’22, an RA in Minor, held a program called “Let’s Start from Scratch!”

Oh, the beloved comfy couch. A place to read, watch TV, check your social media … and take a college campus tour? At Hamilton, yes, thanks to a new Admission Office initiative called Tours From Your Sofa.

Medical professionals Kevin Graepel ’11, Christine Laine ’83, and Jack Syage ’76 shared perspectives on the development of vaccines for COVID-19 in a Zoom event on Nov. 10. The event was moderated by Dianne-Lee Ferguson ’22 and Alyssa Bonanno ’21, and attended by both students and alumni.

During the course of the pandemic, Hamilton’s Counseling Center has had to quickly adapt to better meet the needs of students navigating social restrictions and a high-stress environment. We asked David Walden, director of counseling and psychological services, some questions related to all that. This is what he had to say, edited for length and clarity.

There is only one place that you could find a fashion runway, a flower crown display, and a coronavirus-themed collage all in one space — the Wellin Art Share.

It took some elaborate planning and extraordinary safety measures, but the Music Department hosted a porch concert featuring Hamilton musicians and members of the College Choir at the Babbitt Pavilion on Sept. 29.

Professor of Biology Herm Lehman discussed “The Fundamentals of COVID-19, Contact-Tracing, and Campus Safety” in a Zoom lecture on Sept. 16. He provided background information on the virus, before explaining the role of contact-tracing and detailing his work with Oneida County over the summer.

As a math major considering a graduate degree in applied mathematics, it didn’t take Summer Sheng '21 long to realize that a pandemic-based project would be relevant to the emerging crisis and to him personally.

Members of Hamilton’s class of 2024 have arrived, moved in, and completed orientation, and upperclassmen have returned to the HiIl for a fall 2020 semester that will be remembered as unlike any other in Hamilton’s long history.