Hamilton College (New York) - Student Life and Traditions

Student Life and Traditions

The current Hamilton College campus consists of the combined Hamilton and Kirkland college campuses. It has three large wooded areas, known as the Root glen, Rogers glen, and the Kirkland glen.

In the mid-1990s, the administration required all underclassmen to live in college housing rather than in fraternity or sorority houses. It created new social spaces for student use, improved funding for on-campus events, and pursued several other social life changes. (Its policy resulted in the closure of all fraternity houses and the Emerson Literary Society's house.) The new policy was controversial, especially the administration's decision to prohibit the fraternities from using their houses. As a result, the majority of fraternities concluded they had no choice but to sell their houses to the college, though some fraternities refused to sell their houses until well into the next decade. As the college purchased the houses, it has carried out extensive renovations. The college has revoked or suspended the charters of a few fraternities for extreme behavior, because of their causing additional controversy among the students and alumni.