All News

It's that time of year again. After dozens and dozens of college fairs, campus tours and student interviews, Hamilton's admission officers have begun poring over the anticipated 4,400 applications from students considering joining the Class of 2008. Although many factors go into the college selection process, cost is certainly at the top of most everyone's list. Each year, Hamilton devotes 17 percent of its overall budget to financial aid and provides financial assistance to more than half of all students. Other families are offered payment plans and loan options to help spread costs over more than four years. Working behind the scenes to coordinate all of this and help families understand the financial aspects of a Hamilton education is the College's financial aid staff. In this month's "All Systems Go" column, ATH brings you a snapshot of that department and the five members who keep it running smoothly.

Hamilton student Lela Gascoigne '06, who works part-time for Vector Marketing Corp., donated an incentive prize of $1000 to the College's Theatre department.  She was one of the top 10 sales representatives for the Midwest region for Vector's summer 2003 campaign. Each of the top 10 receive $1000 to donate to their college. Gascoigne chose the Theatre department because she has taken three classes which she says she really enjoyed. Theatre department chair Craig Latrell said the funds will be used for student prizes and scholarships.

Club Water Rock, a gospel nightclub to include worship, praise, dance, poetry, and other creative spiritual outpourings will debut on Thursday, Feb. 5, at 7 p.m. in the Fillius Events Barn. It will include an appearance by Christian Rock Band, the Full Armor Band, and the debut of the Hamilton College Gospel Choir. Free and open to the public.  

When the chemistry department moves into the new science center summer 2004, it won’t be taking its 13-year-old NMR along. A nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer (NMR) is a versatile, yet fundamental piece of equipment for chemists.  Hamilton College, under the leadership of Robin Kinnel, the Silas D. Childs Professor of Chemistry, has been awarded a $238,356 grant from the National Science Foundation’s Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program to support the purchase of a new 500 Mhz NMR.

Jonathan Rick '05 published an op-ed,"N.H. primary: Best and worst of politics," in the Utica, N.Y., Observer-Dispatch.  Rick, who volunteered for Senator John Kerry's presidential campaign in Keene, N.H., said, "Listening to the Democratic candidates... led me to some general reflections... First, ideas matter. A lot. Fundamental political differences are, in fact, differences of worldviews."

The Kirkland Project at Hamilton College will host a panel discussion of the beginning of Kirkland College, “Women’s Education/Women’s Movement(s):  Kirkland College in 1968,” on Friday, Feb. 6, at 4:15 p.m. in the KJ Red Pit (Kirner-Johnson 109), at Hamilton. Panelists will include Kirkland graduates and its president. The discussion is free and open to the public. 

And so I begin my third week of life in New York City.  I am still using free time I have to explore, but most of my time is spent preparing for class, working at ABC, and recovering from work. ... In the world of news coverage, everyone is busy, stressed, and frenzied all day, everyday. ...Things really got moving when I was asked to help with the final work on the Michael Jackson piece that aired on Primetime last Thursday.

Wake up to NPR 88.3 WBGL 6:14 a.m. - one minute to relax and motivate. ...Put on my coat, "do I have everything?"  Take a deep breath and leave. Walk around the corner to catch the 1 or 9. Greet the security guard outside the GOP office, "Hello, how are you?" Sit down in my cubicle at 8:15. The week begins.

...by 10:30 the place is buzzing. Phones are ringing, people are running around, and deals are being made. We only have an office of about 30 people but for me it feels like the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Once 12:30 rolls around most people break for lunch, but this is not some leisurely bite to eat at Commons. I hurry down 20 floors to the local deli, pick up a sandwich, and head back to my cubicle. As my boss says, every minute spent away from the desk is a lost opportunity.

I have found the "good life" in New York. It cannot be found in the lights of Times Square or the gleam of the marble floors at the Met. You will not find it on the ice at Rockefeller Center, nor in the constellation of Grand Central Station.