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The total number of students on Hamilton’s campus may be smaller than an entire graduating class at big research universities, but that doesn’t mean Hamilton’s research opportunities are any more limited. In fact, as Matthew T. Farrington ’12, Diane Paverman ’13, Spencer Gulbronson ’12, Peter Lauro ’12 and alumnus Sam Hinks ’11 are discovering, research at Hamilton is just as engaging as it can be at large universities. The students are working with Professor of Computer Science Stuart Hirshfield to determine if computers can recognize the unique “signature” of a user’s brain.

The men and women of Hamilton’s CSI team have some of the most specialized and important skills on campus. They’re not crime scene investigators, though—CSI stands for COOP Service Intern, one of the many service opportunities offered by Hamilton’s Community Opportunity and Outreach Project (COOP). Each year, a half-dozen first-year students join this selective program, which is focused on matching a student with a local non-profit agency for an extended four-semester internship.

A chance link between Plutarch and Facebook provided the impetus for Emily Greenwood’s talk on Tuesday, Oct. 25, titled “Facebook According to Plutarch.” Plutarch, an authoritative biographer of eminent ancients such as Julius Caesar, Cicero and Pericles, ultimately functioned in a similar role to Facebook.

Among the Bicentennial Kickoff celebration weekend activities were more than 30 Bicentennial colleges and tours. Besides several dedicated to the life and times of Alexander Hamilton, these lectures and historical tours covered topics ranging from the Archaeology of Hamilton College to Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility.  Student writers attended the Colleges throughout the weekend to provide a glimpse of the range of topics covered.  Following are synopses of a few that took place on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 22 and 23.

Two hundred years of learning is undoubtedly cause for celebration. Yet the charter that Hamilton received in 1812 merely continued a quest for knowledge that had begun two decades earlier with Samuel Kirkland and his Hamilton-Oneida Academy, a secondary school that focused on educating local Iroquois youth. Like so much at Hamilton, the Academy began with a piece of writing: Kirkland’s 1791 “Plan of Education for the Indians,” a 15-page document in which Kirkland outlined his ideas for the new school.

“Live your passion.” It’s a mantra Melissa Kong ’08 has repeated many times—she even uses it as the title of her blog.  On Sept. 3, Kong returned to share her passion with 45 members of the class of 2014 at the inaugural Sophomore JumpStart, a program focused on translating the dreams and passions of the sophomore class into concrete skills and ideas for the working world.

“The youth is a revolutionary demographic,” Benjamin Pena ’12 said at the presentation of a new Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center poll on May 12. The poll, titled “Immigration and Racial Change: Are All Generations On The Same Page?” was conducted by the James S. Sherman Professor of Government Philip Klinkner and the students of Government 333: Topics in Survey Research.

The detective lets out a primal yell as he bursts into the small, dark room and pumps two crack dealers full of lead. Dana Quigley ’11 yells “cut!” and the two dealers spring back to life. As four or five other young men filter into the room, Quigley goes over to his cameraman Benjamin Salzman ’13 to check the shot. Quigley and his friends are shooting Dozer and Sasquatch, a five-minute long film that will be screened in 12 hours at the 7th annual 24-Hour Film Festival.  

As a child, Spike Lee admits he “wasn’t even aware people made films.” He recalled spending entire Saturdays at the Leto Theatre in Brooklyn, N.Y., while he was growing up, but said he wasn’t thinking about a career in filmmaking until the beginning of his junior year in college. “Film discovered me,” as Lee described it.

Reading is an essential skill that most experts agree is developed at a very early stage in a child’s education. Yet not all students acquire this vital skill at the same rate, and many need extra help to become fluid readers. To aid some of these students, Hamilton recently began a new community outreach program at Kernan Elementary School in Utica to help second-graders  improve their reading abilities.