All News

Philip Klinkner, the James S. Sherman Associate Professor of Government, was quoted in the Scripps Howard News Service article "Almost everyone's in a voter bloc this year."  Klinkner said, "It's 'leave no voter behind' this year when the election is so close that both sides are trying whatever it takes to increase turnout."

Alan Cafruny, professor of international affairs at Hamilton College says, "The presidential elections are extremely significant for Europe. The Bush administration has alienated most of Europe's leaders and therefore there will be considerable behind-the-scenes support for a Kerry victory. Kerry's plan to halve the deficit also has substantial appeal to Europeans who are concerned about the effects of the growing U.S. budget deficit."

Monk Rowe, Joe Williams Director of the Jazz Archive, was interviewed by Investor's Business Daily for the article "Pianist William 'Count' Basie; Be Determined: Musical innovation helped make him Big Band royalty."  According to the article, "It was that fresh approach that made him one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, greatly changing jazz and prefiguring bebop. Instead of keeping the beat with his left hand on the piano, he relied on a rhythm guitarist and upright bass player."  Rowe said, "This novel method allowed Basie (1904-84) and the drummer to play in a minimalist style, as the rhythm section ticked off the beats like a metronome. Basie always said, four beats to the bar and no cheating. That meant every beat got equal weight, and it just flowed."

Professor of Music Samuel Pellman will perform his composition, "Perelandra," on Friday, Oct. 29, at 7:30 p.m. in the Colgate University Chapel.  The sounds of this composition are digitally sampled and synthesized timbres performed with the assistance of control software running on a laptop computer.  Synchronized with this live performance will be the projection of a video realization, by Lauren Koss ('00), of the work.  The concert program will also include digital music by University of Chicago composer Howard Sandroff and by Colgate composers Mark Volker and Dexter Morrill. The performance is free and open to the public.

Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz, the Margaret Bundy Scott Professor of Comparative Literature, participated in a local high school career event, the Women and Careers Program, at Proctor's Academy of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences in Utica on October 28.

Ann Owen, former Federal Reserve economist and economics professor at Hamilton College says, "The most significant part of John Kerry's economic proposals is his plan to reduce the deficit. Unfortunately for Kerry, however, deficit reduction is a difficult issue on which to win an election. Many people don't entirely understand what the deficit is or how its reduction will affect them personally, even though in the long-run the effects could be very significant. A debt-laden economy will also be in poor fiscal shape to deal with the challenges ahead--rising health care costs, an insolvent Social Security and Medicare system, and the challenges of increased global competition."

"Neither candidate fully addresses all of the issues and problems regarding health care," says Hamilton College economics professor Stephen Wu. "Senator Kerry's plan is more ambitious and will likely lead to more individuals gaining a source of affordable health insurance, but at a higher cost.

"Kerry's own record and stated campaign positions show that he is in favor of reducing fossil fuel dependency on environmental grounds as well," says Peter Cannavo, a professor of government at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y.  "For example, he has favored efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and he has opposed oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  On the whole, Kerry shows considerably more commitment to environmental responsibility than does George Bush. The president has been more focused on reducing what he sees as the excessive regulatory burden on business."

The Red vs. Blue division that the media reported following the 2000 elections is largely fiction according to Philip Klinkner, Hamilton College political scientist and author of "Red and Blue Scare: The Continuing Diversity of the American Electoral Landscape," published in The Forum: Journal of Applied Research in Contemporary Politics, 2004.

Author Robbi Clipper Sethi will give a reading from recent fiction on Thursday, Oct. 28, at 8:30 p.m. in the Fillius Events Barn. Sethi is the author of The Bride Wore Red, a story collection (and Barnes and Noble Notable Book) that works from Sethi's experience as half of a cross-cultural (American/East Indian) marriage.  Her novel in stories, Fifty-Fifty, has recently been published to warm reviews. Sponsored by the English department, this reading is free and open to the public.