Twenty-eight members of the College Choir traveled the southern half of the United States, making stops in Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and West Virginia to both perform in and explore each state. One of the tour highlights was the choir’s time at Warren Wilson College (N.C). Under the instruction of Hamilton alumnus Phil Jamison ’76, students dove straight into a traditional square-dancing class. Spirits were high and laughter was abundant as choir members learned and performed a variety of square-dancing moves.
That day continued with Hamilton’s joint concert with Warren Wilson’s folk music-oriented choir. The two choirs performed one song together that they were encouraged to play around with and ‘make their own’ — a hallmark of most folk music. However, it was the end of the concert that stuck with most of the Hamilton students. Hamilton’s last song (a South African piece called “Akekho”), had the Warren Wilson students joining in with them.
Alternative Break participants in Kentucky worked on a disaster relief trip with Community Collaborations; the Delaware trip tackled a Habitat for Humanity project; in Syracuse, volunteers performed a mix of local service; and students in North Carolina worked through Every Campus, a refuge program, on an initiative aimed at partnering colleges with local refugee resettlement agencies to help support their integration.
Although the Curling Team did not take the national title, they tied with Cornell University for The Spirit of Curling Award, which is voted on by all the members of the competing teams and broadly signifies good sportsmanship.
