The Continental - Hamilton College

the history of an appletraditions from hamilton and kirkland ever-present during senior weekGoing on two hundred years, the Hamilton College communityhas maintained traditions young and old. Especiallyaround commencement time, traditions at Hamilton holdunforgettable memories for the graduating seniors. For one week,seniors are given time to spend together, creating those final bonds withHamilton friends and making memories they will hopefully rememberafter all of the Senior Week festivities.Kirkland College may only hold ten years on record in the Hamiltonhistory book, but its impact on Hamilton’s campus is still celebratedthrough a strawberries and champagne picnic for the graduatingwomen and their families. Started in 1978, the final year that KirklandCollege held a commencement ceremony,Strawberries and Champagne continues to recallsome of the activities of Kirkland’s graduation,including an open mic that was once a part ofthe actual ceremonies. Organized by the femalefaculty, the picnic did gradually integrate the malefaculty of Kirkland College who wanted to honortheir female students.Another well known Kirkland-founded commencement traditionis the placing of a green apple by each Hamilton female on the podiumas they cross the stage. The ladies of the first co-ed graduating classstarted the tradition in protest to the administration’s decision todisband Kirkland College.Nancy Rabinowitz, the Margaret Scott Bundy Professor ofComparative Literature, recalls the comedic scene at graduation as thefaculty scurried on stage to remove the green apples after each woman,having been trained in how to make the apple make the greatest thudagainst the podium, placed it on the stand. The apple placing has nowbecome more of a symbol of honor towards Kirkland College than of aresistance movement, and today, senior women are given a green apple“Kirkland is part of the pastthat needs to berecognized.”-Professor Nancy Rabinowitzpin by female members of the faculty.Why such an emphasis on the traditions of Kirkland College atcommencement time? “Kirkland is a part of the past that needs to berecognized,” Rabinowitz says. She notes that without these Kirklandtraditions, there would be nothing else of the all-female institution thatdeserves more celebration.Countering the women’s picnic, Apolon ’08 has requested with theconsent of the senior week committee and office of the Dean of Facultythat the men of Hamilton College have their own event, a carved hamlunch with ale, appropriately called the Ale-Ham Lunch. In this way, themen of the college can recall the long history before Kirkland College.“The old Hamilton has vanished just assurely [as Kirkland],” Apolon points out. “Thename remains but this is not the same school asit was before.”As May quickly arrives, seniors will soonbecome nostalgic for the past years they havespent on the Hill. Assistant Dean of Students forCampus Life and Director of Student ActivitiesLisa Magnarelli ’96 recalls that senior week is a great time to reconnectwith old roommates and friends while creating a common, individualexperience to share as a class.“Senior week is bittersweet,” Brian Greenleaf ’08 says, “At somepoint in time you have to move on.” Each year new “traditions” areintroduced, as each class year has the opportunity to form its ownevents for the week. Finally, at the commencement ceremonies, eachHamilton graduate will receive his or her classic cane, uniting the classand alumni alike. When another school year officially closes, the Classof ’08 will step aside to let the bicentennial class tackle the academicrigor on the Hill.-alicia wright ’10the continental | spring 2008 11