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Linda Retallack '00, assistant curator for interpretation at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home presented "Framing the West at Monticello: Thomas Jefferson and Lewis and Clark" on Feb. 4 in the Burke Library browsing room. Retallack spoke about the theme of last year's exhibit at Monticello, celebrating the 200 year anniversary of Lewis and Clark's famous journey. Her presentation was in conjunction with Sophomore Seminar 295: "On the Trail of Lewis and Clark," and the Burke Library's exhibit of Lewis and Clark related books and maps from Hamilton's rare book collection, on display in the browsing room.

Philip Klinkner, the James S. Sherman Associate Professor of Government, was quoted in The Buffalo News article titled "Bush is Off to 'Meet the Press' To Discuss Iraq War, Economy." Klinkner discussed President Bush's Feb. 8 appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," saying that granting the interview is "a high-risk strategy" for Bush that "may be an indicator of mounting concern" at the White House. Klinkner also pointed out the risks for "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert to interview the president, saying that "It can backfire on an interviewer. You have to be careful with a sitting president... As a broadcaster, you want to continue to have access to top people and keep your ratings."

Hamilton College students and community members gathered to listen to Natalie Babbitt, renowned author and illustrator, on Thursday, February 5. The former Clinton resident and wife of former Kirkland College president Sam Babbitt was eager to return to the Hill. Babbitt is the author and/or illustrator of more than a dozen well-loved books for children, including the contemporary classic Tuck Everlasting.

I'm starting to fall into a groove of sort with my internship... I had the benefit of a "dark week" (a week in which there are no live shows) at U-Pick Live to gather my bearings and sharpen my responsibilities as an intern. During the downtime, the producers let me write some segments (look for my yodeling challenge on this Friday's show) and some goofy questions to ask upcoming celebrity guests. If you ever wanted to know whether the stars of Catch that Kid prefer the term "funky monkey" or "chunky monkey," be sure to tune in next week.

The Hamilton College Choir will present the musical Bye Bye Birdie on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 6 and 7 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. in Wellin Hall, Schambach Center for Music and the Performing Arts.  The plot revolves around rock and roll superstar Conrad Birdie and the complications that arise when his agent stages a publicity stunt on The Ed Sullivan Show in which he will kiss one lucky girl from Sweet Apple, Ohio, before he is drafted into the army.

Assistant Professor of Government Robert Martin is the author of an op-ed published in the Rochester, N.Y., Democrat and Chronicle (2/5/04) responding to an earlier editorial about the Patriot Act. Martin writes, “The editorial raises appropriate red flags about the Patriot Act, but wrongly looks to the courts for relief,” and points out historical examples of the judicial system’s failure to protect our freedoms. “The Patriot Act gives lots of new powers, labels some political radicals ‘domestic terrorists’ and repeatedly undermines judicial oversight,” he writes. “The Supreme Court may step in to question the act’s constitutionality, but, given our history, we should not rely on it; the American people must pressure the Bush administration to reconsider the most invasive features of the act.”

Lisa Trivedi, assistant professor of history, was awarded a senior research fellowship from the American Institute of Indian Studies. The award will allow her to travel to Bombay, India during the 2004-2005 academic year to complete her project, "Bound By Cloth:  Women Textile Workers in the Bombay Presidency and Lancashire, c.1880-1930."  While in Bombay, she plans to conduct archival research. 

A campus Blood Drive will take place on Thursday, Feb. 5, in the Annex from 12 to 5 p.m. Sign up sheets will be posted, starting today, in Beinecke. You can also e-mail Marian Lyman (mlyman) with your name, extension, and the time that you would like to participate.  

Hamilton College’s Winslow Professor of Chemistry George Shields has been awarded a Cottrell College Science Award for his research project, "Quantum Chemical Investigation of the Mechanism of Action of the Enediyne Natural Products." The goal of Shields' research, as outlined in his own proposal to the CCSA, is to "use advanced computational methods to gain a thorough understanding of the mechanism of DNA cleavage by the enediyne family of natural products." According to the website, the Cottrell College Science Awards at the Research Corporation supports research in astronomy, chemistry and physics "that contributes to the advancement of science and to the professional and scholarly development of faculty at undergraduate institutions along with their students."

The popular Emerson Gallery exhibit "1968: You Say You Want a Revolution" has inspired many of its visitors to take a step back in time and remember what THEY were doing in 1968. Around the Hill asked some Hamilton employees to share their memories of the year marked by the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy, riots in urban ghettoes and the massacre at My Lai.