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On Monday September 11, Hamilton hosted a panel discussion, "Debating China’s Future: Two Contrasting Perspectives" presented by the Edwin Lee Fund and the Levitt Center. Two authorities on China, Minxin Pei and James Sasser, spoke, debated, and answered the questions of faculty and students on China’s current and possible future economic and social status in front of a full audience in the Science Center auditorium.

Debra Boutin, associate professor of mathematics, has published a research article in the Electronic Journal of Combinatorics. In the article "Identifying Graph Automorphisms Using Determining Sets," Boutin introduces a new tool for studying graph symmetry. This tool allows each symmetry to be studied by its action on a (small) subset of the graph rather than requiring knowledge of the symmetry's action on the entire graph.

“It is not every day that you wake up and find lion tracks all throughout your camp,” begins one of Caitlin Jacobs’ ’07 updates on her summer research. “But out here in the bush of South Africa, I have been lucky enough to have these experiences on a regular basis.” Jacobs spent her summer interning and learning at the Makalali Game Reserve in South Africa in South Africa, thanks to Hamilton’s Joseph F. Anderson Internship Fund.

Visiting Professor of Communication John Adams was interviewed for a Tampa Tribune article "Words of the War," (9/10/06) concerning buzzwords from 9/11 that have found their way into everyday language. In the article Adams said that "Much of the lexicon people use to describe the tragedies of five years ago is intended to lessen the pain." The article continues: "He says acronyms such as WMDs and IEDs, for instance, are easier to comprehend as abbreviations. 'Acronyms shield us from pain, and so they allow us to move ideas more quickly and concisely,' he says. 'And if we have events unfolding we need to talk about, we find ways to euphemize them so we can live though what we don’t want to be reminded of.'”

Professor of Comparative Literature Carol Schreier Rupprecht participated in the 8th World Shakespeare Conference in Brisbane, Australia, in July.   Her paper, “Othello in Other Words,” compared the Italian novella by Giraldi Cinthio, which was the primary source for Shakespeare’s “Othello, The Moor of Venice,” with the Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito for Verdi’s opera, “Otello.” The comparison, applying translation theory, was traced through Boito’s reliance on a French translation of Cinthio by Chappuys and of Shakespeare by François-Victor Hugo as well as Verdi’s reliance on three Italian translations of Shakespeare, including one in prose.

Associate Professor of English Naomi Guttman published a poem, "The Whelping," in Volume 19 of The Marlboro Review. She also presented a paper, "Sustainable is Beautiful: Pastured Egg Farming in Central New York," at The Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, which "brings together food writers, food historians, scientists, sociologists, anthropologists, chefs and others who specialise in the serious study of food in history, its place in contemporary societies, and related scientific developments." The symposium has been convening since 1981.

Renowned public artist Mary Miss spoke to a large audience of Hamilton College and Colgate University community members in Hamilton’s Science Auditorium on Sept. 8. Miss talked about her long career, in which she has blended sculpture, architecture and landscape design to create innovative works of art around the world, as well as her vision for the future of public art. Miss was the keynote speaker for a two day symposium on Public Art on Campus, sponsored jointly by Hamilton and Colgate’s art departments.

Professor of Physics, Emeritus, Philip Pearle co-authored an article "Quantum Mechanics: Generalizations" in Encyclopaedia of Mathematical Physics, vol 4 (of 5 volumes), pp.265-276, eds. J.-P. Francoise, G. Naber and T. S. Tsun (Elsevier, 2006). Co-author was Antony Valentini of the Perimeter Institute (Waterloo, Canada).Pearle was an invited speaker at the workshop "Beyond the Quantum," held in the Lorentz Center in Leiden (the Netherlands), in June, and at "Quantum Reality, Relativistic Causality, and Closing the Epistemic Circle: An International Conference in Honor of Abner Shimony," at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Canada, in July. At both conferences he gave different talks with the same title: "How Stands Collapse."

Keya Advani ’08 spent her summer interning with The Global Justice Center (GJC) in New York City, a unique non-governmental organization dedicated to enforcing the affirmative rights of women to political representation. Advani was one of 13 Hamilton students who received college funding to conduct a summer internship. While pursuing internships is an increasingly popular move for students, the realities pose certain problems. Most of the available positions are unpaid, requiring students to fund their own housing and living expenses as well as working for free, all in pursuit of the elusive resume-booster “work experience.”

The Hamilton community is observing the 5th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on America. The observance will include a time of reflection and prayer on the Library steps at 4 p.m. Flags representing each person who died in New York and Washington, in buildings and on airplanes, have been set up on the Main Quad, and a Reflection Wall will be set up to record thoughts, reflections and names of people affected by this national tragedy. Sponsored by Hamilton College Republicans and Hamilton College Democrats, the Chaplaincy and the President's Office.