A-C

A

able-bodied
Avoid this term for people who don't have disabilities. If necessary to make a distinction, “nondisabled” or “people without disabilities” is preferable. (See “disabilities.”)

academic degrees and certifications
Preferred style is to avoid abbreviations: Susan Smith earned her bachelor’s degree (or bachelor's) at Colby College and her master’s degree (or master's) at New York University. John Jones has a doctorate in psychology. (Do not use “doctorate degree”.)

Use abbreviations (with periods) — B.A., M.A., LL.D., J.D., and Ph.D. — only when the need to identify many individuals by degree on first reference would make the preferred form cumbersome. When used after a name, set off by commas: John Smith, Ph.D., spoke at the conference.

Exceptions: Do not use periods when citing MBA or CPA. Also avoid abbreviations for specialized degrees such as an MPH; instead spell out master's of public health.

Reserve Dr. for medical professionals, not people with doctorates; use before the name: Dr. Bob Jones performed the surgery. When mentioning that someone has a doctor of medicine or doctor of dental surgery degree, use M.D. degree and D.D.S. degree.

Use an apostrophe in bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, etc. However, there is no apostrophe in bachelor of arts or master of science. Also: an associate degree (no possessive).

When referring to a member of the Hamilton faculty, do not use Ph.D. or Dr.; instead, use Professor of Economics Stephen Wu or Stephen Wu, professor of economics. See also “titles” and “endowed chairs.”

academic departments, programs
Capitalize names of academic departments and programs. List the area name first: Philosophy Department, not Department of Philosophy; Africana Studies Program, not Program in Africana Studies.

Lowercase “department” or “program” on second reference when it stands alone: He is a professor in the Chemistry Department and next year will be department chair.

Lowercase academic disciplines when not referring to a department or program: The grant will support students interested in biology, psychology, and physics. (Exceptions, of course, are areas such as English, Asian studies, French, etc.)

Below is the listing of Hamilton academic departments and programs. For a listing of areas of study, see “concentrations and minors.”

academic honors
See “honors.”

academic support services
Capitalize the full name of Hamilton academic support services and programs such as Diversity and Social Justice Project; Burke Library; Information Technology Services; Digital Humanities Initiative; Language Center; Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center; Maurice Horowitch Career Center; Nesbitt-Johnston Writing Center; Oral Communication Center; Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning Center; Peer Tutoring Program.

Use the complete name on first reference whenever possible. In many cases, abbreviated names are also capitalized since they contain proper nouns or are used so commonly on first reference: Levitt Center, Writing Center, Career Center. Lowercase on second reference more generic names such as library.

academic titles
See “titles,” “endowed professorships,” and “chairs, departments.”

academic year
2019-20, not 2019-2020.

acronyms
Avoid unfamiliar acronyms on first reference, and do not use them at all unless there are multiple references. When possible, substitute a clear synonym such as “the organization,” “the foundation,” “the consortium,” etc.

addresses
Use abbreviations (Ave., Blvd., St.) only with a numbered address: He lived at 301 Elm St., Clinton. He lived on Elm Street in Clinton.  The following are always spelled out: Alley, Road, Drive, Terrace.

Adirondack Adventure
Hamilton pre-orientation program. Capitalize.

Admission, Admission Office
Not Admissions with an “s.” Capitalize. See also “departments and offices.”

advisor
Not adviser.

affect, effect
Affect is a verb meaning “to influence”: His score on the history final will affect his grade. (Avoid use of “affect” as a noun.)

Effect, as a verb, means “to cause”: The new president will effect many changes in the company. Effect, as a noun, means “result”: Her research measures the effects of global warming on Oneida Lake.

African American
No hyphen. See “Black/African American.”

afterward
Not afterwards.

ages
Always use figures when referring to people: The student is 19 years old. Otherwise spell out one through nine: The policy is four years old. He worked at Hamilton for 11 years.

Ages used as a noun or as an adjective before a noun require hyphens: The 19-year-old student won the prize. An age range does not require an apostrophe: The professor was in his 50s.

ages of history, periods of time
Capitalize widely recognized epochs in history as well as popular names for periods and events: the Bronze Ages, the Middle Ages, the Atomic Age, the Boston Tea Party. Capitalize only the proper nouns or adjectives in general descriptions: ancient Greece.

Lowercase: He studied poetry from the 18th century. Hyphenate when used as a compound modifier: She studied 18th-century art.

Alex
See “Hamilton mascot.”

all-America
Lowercase “all” as both an adjective and noun unless part of the official name: GTE All-America Team. But GTE academic all-American.

alma mater
Lowercase; no italics.

alphabetizing
Follow these general rules for creating lists:

Names are alphabetized by the order of letters in the full last name: Macdonald would be alphabetized with “MAC”; McDonald would be “MCD.” Both Saint Thomas and St. Thomas would be “SAI.” Disregard any punctuation or spacing: O’Malley (“OMA”) and d’Amico (“DAM”).

Company names and foundations should be alphabetized by last name if it is clearly a person’s name (Matilda Wilson Foundation would be under “W”); otherwise, alphabetize by the first major word (Dr. Scholl Foundation would be under “D”; Fillmore Thomas Co. under “F”; Lyford Cay Foundation under “L”).

Alternative Spring Break
Capitalize.

alumni
Singular vs. plural: One man is an alumnus; one woman is an alumna; several men — or a group of men and women — are alumni; several women are alumnae. Casual references to “alums” should be avoided.

Alumni Association
Capitalize.

Alumni College
Presentations offered during Reunion and Fallcoming weekends. Capitalize.

Alumni Council
Capitalize.

alumni names, class years
To designate an individual as an alumnus/a of Hamilton, use the name followed by the last two digits of the graduation year: Robert Brown ’82.

If the alumna is married, include her maiden name (name used as a student) followed by her married name: Susan Jones Brown ’82 (Jones is maiden name).

If the individual is a graduate of Kirkland College, designate with a “K” (no space between “K” and class year): Elizabeth Parker Smith K’76.

When referring to a couple, only one of whom is an alumnus/a, place the class year next to the name of the alumnus/a to avoid confusion. In this case, Doug Smith is the alumnus and his wife is not: Susan and Doug Smith ’88. This is preferable to Doug ’88 and Susan Smith where the alumnus’ first and last names are quite separated. It is equally acceptable in prose to use: Doug Smith ’88 and his wife, Susan, attended the event.

When referring to a couple, both of whom are alumni, the common last name should be repeated: Doug Smith ’88 and Susan Jones Smith ’88. Repeating the last name is preferable to Doug ’88 and Susan Jones Smith ’88 since the husband’s first and last names become quite separated.

When referring to an alumnus/a who is also a parent, use the following: Doug Smith ’88, P’01.

When referring to a couple who are parents, but only one is an alumnus/a, place the class year next to the name of the alumnus/a, and place the parent designation at the end: Carol Smith Reed ’82 and Matt Reed P’01. For clarification it is equally acceptable in prose to use: Carol Smith Reed ’82 and her husband, Matt Reed, are the parents of Josh Smith ’01.

When referring to a couple, both of whom are alumni and parents, the common last name should be repeated and the parent designation placed at the end. Carol Smith Reed ’82 and Matt Reed ’82, P’01.

Alumni Relations, Office of
Not Alumni Programs or Alumni Affairs. Capitalize. See “departments and offices.”

Alumni Review
Discontinue use; former name of the College magazine now known as Hamilton magazine. See “composition titles.”

a.m. and p.m.
Use periods. Lowercase. See “dates, months, and times.”

American Indian
See “Native American, American Indian.”

and/or
Do not use together. Reword sentence.

annual
Do not use “first annual.” An event cannot be annual unless it has occurred two or more times.

Annual Fund
See “Hamilton Fund.”

apostrophe
Note that the tail of the apostrophe points to the left when used to indicate omitted characters: I’ve, it’s, Class of ’82, styles of the ’50s. Do not use a straight foot mark (') or (‘).

area codes
See “phone numbers.”

areas of study
See “concentrations and minors.”

army
Capitalize when referring to U.S. forces: the U.S. Army, the Army. Otherwise lowercase: the French army. This rule has been adopted for consistency because many nations do not use “army” as the proper name.

article titles
Use quotation marks. See “composition titles.”

Asian American
No hyphen. Use when referring to an American of Asian descent. When possible, refer to a person’s country of origin or follow the person's preference, i.e., Filipino American. Do not use “Asian” for “Asian American.”

athletic, athletics
Traditionally, athletic is an adjective meaning “physically active,” and athletics is a noun meaning “sports, exercises and games that require physical skill.” Hamilton style follows common usage that allows athletic to serve also as an adjective: Jon Hind is Hamilton’s athletic director. However: Jon Hind is director of athletics.

athletic teams
Names of Hamilton athletic teams are generally lowercase — the Hamilton men’s basketball team, the women’s tennis team. Exceptions are team and club names unique to Hamilton such as the Bicycle Cooperative and the Ski and Snowboard Guild.

 

B

Baccalaureate
Capitalize when referring to the event held during Commencement Weekend.

bachelor of arts, bachelor of science
See “academic degrees.”

backward
Not “backwards.”

because, since
Since is often used to mean because: “Since you asked, I’ll tell you.” Its primary meaning, however, relates to time: “I’ve been waiting since Tuesday for the letter.” 

Most people now accept since in place of because; however, when since is ambiguous and may also refer to time (“Since she went to college, he found another girlfriend”), it is better to use because or after, depending on which you mean: “Because you are intelligent and careful, your writing has improved since the beginning of this course.”

Because Hamilton
Name of Hamilton's capital campaign. When referring to the campaign, italicize; do not enclose in quotation marks.  On first reference the word “campaign” may be needed for clarity: The College announced that the Because Hamilton campaign exceeded $200 million in gifts.

When using the campaign name as the start of a phrase to introduce a campaign priority, place brackets around the verb or phrase:  Because Hamilton [Communicates] or Because Hamilton [Reaches its Goals].

Bell Ringer Award
Award traditionally presented during Reunion Weekend. Capitalize.

between, among
Between refers to two items; among refers to more than two: “A debate ensued between the student and his professor.” “A debate ensued among students in the class.”

bi-
No hyphen: bilingual, bimonthly, bisexual, bipartisan.

biannually, semiannually
Use semiannually instead of biannually to mean twice a year. This avoids confusion since biennially means every other year.

biennially
Every two years or every other year.

BIPOC, POC
See “people of color."

biracial, multiracial
Use, when clearly relevant, to describe people with more than one racial heritage. Avoid “mixed-race.” Usually more useful when describing large, diverse groups of people than individuals. Be specific, if possible, on first reference, and then use “biracial” on second reference. Examples: She has an African American father and a white mother. The study of biracial people showed a split in support along gender lines. 

bisexual
Use to describe people attracted to more than one gender. “Bi” is acceptable in quotations.

Black/African American (adj.)
Use the capitalized term as an adjective in a racial, ethnic, or cultural sense: Black people, Black culture, Black literature, Black studies. African American (no hyphen) is also acceptable for those in the U.S.; however, the terms are not necessarily interchangeable. Americans of Caribbean heritage, for example, often refer to themselves as Caribbean American. Follow an individual’s preference, if known, and be specific when possible.

Use of the capitalized “Black” recognizes that language has evolved, along with the common understanding that, especially in the United States, the term reflects a shared identity and culture rather than a skin color alone.

Black(s), white(s) (noun)
Do not use either term as a singular noun. For plurals, phrasing such as Black people, white people, Black teachers, white students is often preferable when clearly relevant. 

Black Lives Matter
Use either “Black Lives Matter” or “the Black Lives Matter movement” when referencing the global movement launched after the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin with a goal to eradicate systemic racism and white supremacy and to oppose violence against Black people. “BLM” acceptable on second reference.  

Board of Trustees
Capitalize as a formal noun when referring specifically to Hamilton’s Board of Trustees, otherwise lowercase: The Board of Trustees voted to approve the budget. Lowercase “board” on second reference: The board will meet in Buttrick Hall. Note that board requires a singular verb.

When using “trustee” alone, follow the rules under “titles”: Trustee Jeff Little ’71 or Jeff Little ’71, a trustee of Hamilton.

alumni trustees, nominated by the Alumni Council, are elected to the board by the general membership of the Alumni Association and serve for a single four-year term.

charter trustees are elected by the board to serve six-year renewable terms. Although there are no term limits, trustees must retire from the board at age 70.

life trustees are elected by the board if a trustee has served at least seven years. Life trustees may attend meetings of the board but do not hold voting privileges.

book titles
Italicize. See “composition titles.”

Bon Appétit
The College’s food service provider. Note spelling and accent.

brown (adj.)
Avoid this broad and imprecise term in racial, ethnic, or cultural references unless as part of a direct quote. Interpretations of what the term includes vary widely.

buildings and facilities
See Campus Buildings and Facilities for a list of formal and second-reference names.

 

C

campus-wide
Hyphenate.

cancel
Note: canceled, canceling, cancellation.

captions
Identify people in photos using these guidelines: With few people, insert (left), (right), (center) into sentence, using parentheses. With many people, use (from left) or (front row, from left). Subsequent rows need not indicate direction since a pattern has been established.

CD
No periods. Acceptable on first reference for compact disc.

Central New York, Upstate New York
Capitalize since the region should be widely known to most readers.

CEO, CEOs
No periods. Acceptable on first reference for chief executive officer.

chair, chairman, chairwoman
“Chair” is preferred for simplification and to avoid gender bias; however, chairman or chairwoman is also acceptable — especially in cases where it is part of a person’s official title: Steve Sadove ’73, chairman of the Board of Trustees, wrote a letter to alumni. Susan Smith ’06 serves as reunion gift chair. For capitalization guidelines, see “titles.”

Chair is acceptable as a verb: She chaired the meeting; he chairs the committee.

chairs, department
Faculty members serving as chair of a department may be recognized as such on first reference in a news story; however, such designation is not required. The chair designation is in addition to the full title: Elaine Heekin, professor of dance and chair of the Dance and Movement Studies Department, directed the performance. Shelley Haley, professor of classics and director of the Africana Studies Program, spoke at the conference.

Note that departments have chairs and programs have directors. See “academic departments, programs.” Consult the Red Book for current department and program chairs.

cisgender
Describes people whose gender identity matches the one they were assigned at birth; that is, not “transgender.” Explain if necessary. Not synonymous with “heterosexual,” which refers to sexual orientation.

cities
The AP Stylebook lists cities that stand alone in prose without state affiliation: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Honolulu, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington.

In publications for alumni, add the following New York towns and cities to that list: Clinton, Utica, Syracuse, Albany, Rochester, Buffalo.

class agent
Lowercase: He served as a Hamilton Fund class agent.

class annalist
See “half-century annalist, half-century annalist’s letter.”

Class of
Capitalize the “C” when referring to a particular class with the year: The Class of 1999 celebrated its reunion.

Class & Charter Day
Awards convocation traditionally marking the end of the academic year. Capitalize and use ampersand.

class years
See “alumni names, class years.”

clubs and organizations
Full names of student clubs and organizations are generally capitalized when using the group’s full name, especially on first reference: Hamilton College Debate Society, the Wine-Tasting Club, the Study Buddy Club. Lowercase abbreviated forms of a name on second reference — such as the debate team, the wine-tasters’ group, the study buddies — when it is clear that the reference is to the Hamilton organization.

See the complete list of Hamilton organizations. 

club sports
See “sports teams.”

co-
Use a hyphen when forming nouns, adjectives, and verbs that show occupation status: co-author, co-chair, co-worker. Omit the hyphen in other combinations: coeducation, coexist, cooperative.

collective nouns
Nouns that denote a unit take singular verbs and pronouns: The class graduates in May. The group makes its recommendation. The committee is meeting to set its agenda. Note that team names take plural verbs: The Continentals are playing at Sage Rink.

Exceptions to this rule are “couple,” when used to refer to two people, and “family,” when used to refer to a group. Both of these take plural verbs and pronouns: The couple were visiting campus to see their daughter on Family Weekend. They plan to see her again at Thanksgiving. When referring to a single unit, use a singular verb: Each couple was asked to contribute $10.

See also “faculty.”

College
On first reference with external audiences, use Hamilton College. It is not necessary to use the word “College” on second reference; the word “Hamilton” can stand alone. When referring to Hamilton as “the College” on second reference, use a capital “C.”

College Choir
Capitalize when referring to Hamilton’s choir: The College Choir performed in London during spring break. Lowercase when choir is used alone.

College colors, logo, mascot, seal
See “Graphic Identity Style Guide.”

College Hill
Capitalize when using as a synonym for Hamilton, usually in communications to alumni or the campus community. Also acceptable, the Hill.

College Key Award
Presented to recognize individuals who perform a service or activity that directly benefits a specific volunteer program or the College in a tangible way. Capitalize.

comma
The Communications Office uses the serial comma in all of its materials.  

• Include the comma before a conjunction in a simple series: The professor’s areas of expertise are world politics, economics, and the Middle East.  Do you plan to take a course in economics, chemistry, or art next semester?
• Include a comma when connecting two or more independent clauses: Susie had planned to study at the library all night, but she came home early to get some sleep.
• In sentences that contain a series of words with other commas, use a semicolon to separate them: The committee included Monica Inzer, vice president for enrollment management; Joe Shelley, vice president for libraries and information technology; and Lori Dennison, vice president for advancement.

Commencement
Capitalize when referring specifically to Hamilton College’s graduation ceremony. Also Commencement Weekend.

committees
Capitalize major standing committees. Examples include committees of the Board of Trustees (i.e., Committee on Instruction, Committee on Buildings, Grounds and Equipment, Committee on Honorary Degrees) and committees of the faculty (i.e., Academic Council, Committee on Admission and Financial Aid, Committee on Athletics).  Other standing committees include the Alumni Council, the Honor Court, the Judicial Board, Health Professions Advisory Committee, and others listed in the Faculty Handbook.

Lowercase other committees that are more informal or that change members often such as reunion gift committee, senior gift committee, FebFest planning committee, etc.

Common Ground
The formal name of the speaker series is Common Ground. For clarity, it is acceptable to use Common Ground series, Common Ground program, or Common Ground event: Journalist Jackie Judd served as moderator at the last Common Ground event held in the field house.

communication, minor in
Hamilton offers a minor in communication (not communications with an “s”). Also Oral Communication Center.

complement, compliment
Complement means “to supplement”: The graphs complement his research paper. Compliment is an expression of courtesy: The professor complimented students on their hard work in her class.

compose, comprise
Compose means “to create or put together”: She composed a song. The United States is composed of 50 states. Comprise means “to contain” and is best used only in the active voice: The United States comprises 50 states. The class comprises six men and seven women. Avoid “is comprised of.”

composition titles
Italicize major and stand-alone works such as books, movies, periodicals or journals, newspapers, plays, television shows, paintings, CDs, and symphonies. Smaller works and those contained within larger collections go in quotation marks, such as book chapters, article titles, poems, and song titles.

concentrations, minors, areas of study
The specific disciplines and programs in which a Hamilton student may concentrate or minor — also known as areas of study — are listed below. Those with an (*) are minors only; those with an (**) are not offered as a major or a minor:

Use lowercase in prose: He earned a degree in geology. Exceptions, of course, are English, Asian studies, French, etc. Use of uppercase is acceptable in list form. It is also acceptable to refer to a concentration as a “major,” especially in admission materials.

When citing the concentration of an alumnus/a, use the name in place at the time of graduation (i.e., geology instead of geosciences).

Convocation
Capitalize when referring to the event that opens Hamilton’s academic year. Other events in which the faculty processes in academic regalia, such as Commencement and Class & Charter Day, are also considered convocations.

Continentals
Hamilton’s nickname, referring to a Continental soldier. Use only when referring to an athletic team.

COOP
Acronym for Community Outreach and Opportunity Project, the umbrella organization that oversees community service opportunities for students. Within COOP are such efforts as Alternative Spring Break, HAVOC, and Outreach Adventure. For an internal audience, COOP is acceptable on first reference, otherwise use full name.

course load
Two words.

course titles
Full names of courses are capitalized but not set off in italics or with quotation marks: He took Professor Smith’s course The Social Psychological Study of Self. Lowercase when not referring to proper name of course: He first met Professor Smith while taking his course on social development.

course work
Two words.

courtesy titles
In prose, refer to individuals by their first and last name on first reference. Reserve use of Mr., Mrs., Miss, etc. for salutations in letters or in direct quotes.

cum laude
No italics.