the continental autumn 2008 SUCCESS excelling after hamilton SPOTTED ON CAMPUS: THE RAY-BAN TREND back in the USSR stylish campaign HIDDEN TREASURES tees UNCOVERING UTICA’S GEMS HAMILTON ENGAGE PROFESSORS’ PLAYLISTS LEARNING TO FENCE the continental | autumn 2008 1 the continental 2 the continental | autumn 2008 the continental autumn 2008 on the cover 24 utica gems 10 excelling after hamilton 34 ray ban trend 35 fashion of politics 28 hamilton engage 20 professor playlists 24 learn to fence 44 back in the ussr on the hill 11 the buzz about jon stewart 12 bicentenial class 13 hamilton rankings talk of the town 14 flobots 16 ill will 17 geek corner 19 europe’s greatest generation features 22 summer internships 26 election survey 27 students work the conventions style 30 spotted 31 run way to martins way 32 cheap fashion finds 50 step by step tanning 36 super melon society 37 hillel 38 els 39 duelly noted 39 samuel kirkland travel 42 adventures in china 45 deutschland with drew 46 editorials ON CONTMAG.COM: EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, WEEKLY TRENDS, AND REVIEWS the continental | autumn 2008 3 the continental a student-run magazine based at hamilton college EMILY SMITH editor in chief AMELIA BARRY managing editor art director LAURA DEFRANK director of photography SOPHIE VERSHBOW features editor KELSEY RICHARDSON style editor LAURA COOK entertainment editor NICOLE T. DIETSCHE travel editor DOUGLAS PAETZELL news editor LILY NATHANSON society editor LEE SCHATZBERG advertising directors CHRISTINE RAIA, ELIZABETH ROWELLA copy editor KAITY HILL senior editors CHELSEA MANN, ERIC KUHN writers HARUKA AOKI, SCOTT BLOSSER, ALEXANDRA BOROWITZ, ANNA CHELIUS, CELIA COAN, CARA DANIEL, NICOLE DIETSCHE, ABIGAIL EVANS, JENNA FAIN, DANIELLE FORTIER, RACHEL FRAZIER, SARAH GOODELL, REBEKAH MINTZER, AMANDA NARDI, LILY NATHANSON, VICTORIA NYGREN, ERICA PETTIS, RACHEL POHL, KELSEY RICHARDSON, JESSICA SIPPRELLE, ASHLEY STAGNER, SARAH STEINER, LAUREL SYMONDS, ERIC THOMAS, ANDREA WEINFURTER photographers SHELLEY HOY, GREG HUFFAKER contributors MIKE HAYES founder KATIE CHILDS founding editor kate stinchfield letters to the editor E-mail [email protected] subscriptions Visit www.contmag.com to download a subscription form. advertisers E-mail [email protected] or visit www.contmag.com to view our press kit. sponsors Please e-mail [email protected] to find out how you can support this student publication. 4 the continental | autumn 2008 The Alexander Hamilton Institute Founded 2007 The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization (AHI) promotes rigor- the continental ous scholarship and vigorous debate in the study of freedom, democracy, and capitalism. Hamil- a student-run magazine based at hamilton college ton College Professors Douglas Ambrose, James Bradfield, and Robert Paquette established the AHI as an independent entity, unaffiliated with Hamilton College, during the summer of 2007. Headquartered in a stately mansion in Clinton, NY, AHI has a national constituency, but Hamilton students are among its greatest beneficiaries. The Institute encourages persons, particularly students, to present programs compatible with the mission of the Institute. These programs could be speeches, organized debates, or reviews of books, among many other possibili- ties. Interested persons should visit the Institute’s website at www.theahi.org, or speak to one of the founding professors. The Alexander Hamilton Institute is located at 21 West Park Row in the Village Square of Clinton, NY, about one mile from Hamilton College’s campus, and about twenty miles from Col- gate University. (315) 859 4118 The Road to Career Success Requires Planning Reach your MILESTONES with help from the Career Center: Get your RESUME done! (by January 1 of your sophomore year) Learn to INTERVIEW! (by the end of your junior year) Secure a *C.R.E.! (Theby the startCareer of your senior Center year) C.R.E = Career Related Experience/Internship We want your wishes to come true. To learn more about what the Career Center hamilton.edu/careercenter has to offer, visit us at http://www.hamilton.edu/college/career/ the continental | autumn 2008 5 in this issue listen explore vote visit Hamilton’s very own Will Pres- Open up the Society section In our newest feautures survey Mike Hayes is adjusting to his ton, aka ‘Ill Will’, is a gifted free and learn about an array of we investiage the political mind new home in China. After style rapper. He and his group Hamilton clubs and organiza- of the student body. See where gradating, Hayes travelled to Triality are preparing to release tions. Each of these groups you peers fall on the ideological the Far East to experience the their self- produced CD this brings a unique and vibrant spectrum and no matter where challenges and rewards of liv- winter. Check out his interview voice to the hill. Flip through you fall rememember to get out ing and working abroad. Share with Talk of the Town Editor the pages as we profile some of there on Nov. 4 to make the in his adventures as he reveals Nicole Dietsche. the coolest groups on the hill. youth voice heard. stories of his daily life. 6 the continental | autumn 2008 We Have Waited 200 Years for You... Welcome to the Hill Class of 2012 The Office of the President (315) 859-4105 the continental | autumn 2008 7 on the cover This year we have decided to break with the traditional couple covers in order to highlight more Hamilton students. For our first cover, we have selected our Senior Adirondack Adventure leaders. The entire photo shoot consisted of the leaders playing their AA games as our photographer ran around catching these hilarious snapshots. The amazing group of seniors consists of: Steve Allinger, Sydney Fasulo,Matt Gordon, Emily Goughary (not photographed), Pat Hodgens, Lars Margolis, Kathleen Marshall, Dave Moroney, Sarah Powell, Amanda Schoen, Jeffrey Seymour, Emma Stewart, Chris Sullivan, Phil Tracy, Peter Woodruff and Rebecca Yaguda. 8 the continental | autumn 2008 the continental | autumn 2008 9 on the hill ready for business In the current faltering economic climate, finding a job and doing well in the world of business has become more and more difficult for students just graduating from college. fectively position themselves as attractive job candidates, and later on as efficient employees in the business workplace, because the students who come here are ambitious, socially adept, and successful before they even step foot on campus. The personal experiences that students have on the Hill facilitate an easy transition to the world of business. Just living in the dormitories for four years, Chambliss explains, allows Hamilton stu- dents to work closely with people they do not know and pushes them to understand “human motivations,” a skill that is crucial in business. Being liberally educated at a competitive school like Hamilton also endows students with what Chambliss calls “a big-picture perspective of the Luckily for us, Hamilton students seem to do exceptionally well world.” That is, we understand perennial problems and trends and when it comes to obtaining a job and excelling in the nation’s top can criticize and generate arguments, abilities for which high-level business companies and corporations. The Eugene M. Tobin Distin- managers are on the lookout. guished Professor of Sociology Dan Chambliss, the leading research- In order to best position themselves for success in the busi- er on how Hamilton students do so well after graduation, tells us why ness world, Chambliss states that “in the very short term, Hamilton we are able to distinguish ourselves after we leave the Hill. students should get experience talking in front of a group and they Chambliss explains that the intellectual flexibility as well as the should learn to use Excel.” Though the latter point may seem very communication and people skills that Hamilton students acquire straightforward, Excel is a necessary tool for the business realm and over the course of their four years here is what makes them appealing employers at the entry- and high-level positions will expect that an to future employers in the field of business. The classes students take incoming employee has understanding of the program. Students at Hamilton provide us with the tools to improve the way that we should also keep their motivation levels high and their happiness in- write and speak; graduates who leave the Hill discover that alumni tact in order to present themselves as committed and confident to from similar colleges are afraid to write reports or to demonstrate their employers. clarity of thought in their communication. Hamilton students know With a Hamilton degree, a positive attitude, and a willingness how to think analytically and tackle problems from different angles. to take initiative, students will be on the road to success. It is clear An anecdote that has been passed on to Chambliss illustrates from models like A.G. Lafley ‘69, current chairman of the Board of the benefit of a Hamilton education. According to the story, a recent Trustees and CEO of The Procter & Gamble company—the larg- graduate from Hamilton was working in a business company. She est U.S. consumer-products company that is famous for excellent went into a meeting one evening, and her boss and colleagues began management—and Kevin Kennedy ’70, former chair of the Board of discussing a difficult issue. Many differing opinions were offered, and Trustees and managing director of Goldman Sachs, that obtaining a the Hamilton grad said: “The real underlying problem is …” and of- Hamilton education means a great deal in the real world. fered a definitive solution that solved the problem. Next thing you - lily nathanson ’11 know, this Hamilton student became vice president of the company. The demonstrated the skills that she honed on the Hill: high intel- lect, confidence, and an ability to communicate effectively.