ENQUIRY
A publication of the AHI
Undergraduate Fellows
Free thought and discourse
VOL. IV .... No. 3 | CLINTON, NY. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2016
1
9/11 Memorial
Vandalism
By ELIZABETH BARRY
EDITOR IN CHEIF
Early last Friday, the
Hamilton College Republicans
and Democrats clubs joined forces
to place nearly 3,000 flags along
Martin’s Way in remembrance
of the brave Americans who
lost their lives in the devastating
attacks of September 11, 2001.
For the last fifteen years, student
organizations at colleges and
universities around the country
have done the same, setting aside
political differences to honor
the fallen through memorials,
speeches, and candlelit vigils.
This year, however, a group
of students from Occidental
College, a small liberal arts
school located in Los Angeles,
California, demonstrated the
utmost disrespect for the victims
of 9/11 and their families by
turning the college’s memorial
into a political statement against
both the war in Iraq and, more
broadly, American patriotism.
At approximately 1 a.m.
on the Sunday morning of the
anniversary, members of the
Occidental College Republican
Club, the group sponsoring the
memorial, discovered that some
of the 2,996 flags they had placed
in the campus quad had been
broken and others were tossed
in the trash. These students
worked to restore the display
and requested a member of
campus security to stand guard.
Shortly after, the club alleged,
four students walked up to the
memorial and broke flags in front
of the club members who had just
finished repairing the display.
“When we confronted them,
those cowards got away as fast as
they possibly could,” a member
of the club explained. “We had
thought the storm had passed.
However, we were very wrong.”
Later, hundreds of flags were
knocked down and others were
smashed and thrown into the
trash. “Of course, we put them
back in the ground,” a member
of the club said. Following
the second destruction of
the memorial, the club asked
“that all students respect the
memorial for the remainder of
its time in the quad. If you try
STAY CONNECTED
@ENQUIRY_AHI
9/11 Memorial Vandalism
to destroy it, we will rebuild it.”
Following the destruction
of the memorial, members of a
student group, Coalition Oxy for
Diversity and Equity, placed fliers
around campus that displayed
the image of the two World
Trade Center towers, including
the message: “R.I.P. The 2,996
Americans who died in 9/11. R.I.P.
the 1,455,590 innocent Iraqis who
died during the U.S. invasion
for something they didn’t do.”
2
22nd Congressional Race Heats Up
3
The Libertarian “Dichotomy”
This Week’s News in 140 Characters
EDITORIAL REPORT
The proliferation of such
posts confirms that the
attack on the memorial
was not a partisan jab at
the Republican club
To accompany the fliers, the
Coalition posted a statement
on Facebook saying: “We were
concerned by the complete
disregard for the various peoples
affected by this history. When
this institution allows thousands
of American flags to be placed
in the center of campus, it speaks
volumes to the students that
have lived their lives under the
oppression of this flag. From
Native students whose land was
stolen to undocumented students
who live in fear of deportation
continued on back page
22nd Congressional
Race Heats Up
By ALEX KLOSNER
STAFF WRITER
New
York’s
22nd
congressional district is one of
the most competitive House seats
in the United States this year.
Home to Hamilton College, the
massive district includes eight
counties in Central New York and
stretches from the Pennsylvania
border in Broome County to the
Adirondack mountains. State
Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney
(R), independent Martin Babinec
of Little Falls, and Broome
County Legislator Kim Myers (D)
are running for the seat. Last year,
incumbent Congressman Richard
Hanna announced his retirement
after three terms in office. Hanna,
one of the most liberal Republicans
in the House of Representatives,
also became the first House
22nd CONGRESSIONAL RACE HEATS UP cont.
Republican to announce his
support for Hillary Clinton and
this sparked outrage among
local Republican organizations.
Tenney is a New Hartfordbased attorney and small business
owner. She has battled corruption
her entire career; she was the first
member of the New York State
Assembly to call for the resignation
of former Assembly Speaker and
corrupt felon Sheldon Silver.
Based on her successful track
record and bold leadership, it is
evident that Tenney is the most
qualified candidate to represent
the people of the 22nd district.
Based on her successful
track record and bold
leadership, it is evident
that Tenney is the most
qualified candidate
In 2014, Tenney challenged
Hanna in the Republican primary,
but narrowly lost. During the
primary, Tenney faced an uphill
battle; despite starting with few
resources, she garnered massive
support and national media
attention. She battled against
the Republican establishment
and faced opposition from
two Super PACs. Had the
election been held a few weeks
The Libertarian
“Dichotomy”
By ANDREW JUCHNO
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
An article run by the Harvard
Crimson titled “Down With
the Dichotomy; if you’re truly
liberal, you’re fiscally liberal”
quips that people who politically
identify as socially liberal and
fiscally conservative attempt to
“reconcile do-gooder inclinations
and the economic theory learned
in an intro class.” The author,
Megan Corrigan, is correct.
I myself believe in both social
liberalism and fiscal conservatism.
I do not wish to limit a woman’s
rights to an abortion, nor do I
wish to impede upon anyone’s
marriage: gay, straight, or
otherwise. In addition, I do not
wish to increase the national
debt. Ms. Corrigan oversimplifies
the political spectrum in
characterizing this as a dichotomy.
Corrigan’s argument goes
as follows: a strong economy
begets a strong culture. She claims
that reducing spending, which
weakens the economy, cannot
lead to an increase in cultural
strength, and therefore limits
the proliferation of social rights.
Accordingly, to be both socially
liberal and fiscally conservative
Please recycle this issue of Enquiry
9/11 MEMORIAL VANDALISM cont.
to black students who see their
communities
destroyed
by
state-sanctioned murder, this
school is saying your fear and
trauma do not matter here.”
Students, the Coalition said,
were confused by the display
and asking about its purpose.
“This is not a critique of desiring
to remember the fallen, this is a
critique of failing to comprehend
who, or what, has been lost,”
the group said. “To this end,
we wanted to provide more
information and more context
in order to center the actual
lives and individuals affected
by 9/11 rather than simply
placing a symbol of one nation.”
The proliferation of such
posters and Facebook posts
confirms that the attack on the
memorial was not a partisan
jab at the Republican club, as
many members of the club first
thought. Rather, the actions of the
Coalition were, in effect, a protest
against America’s handling of the
war in Iraq, and frankly, an assault
on both the demonstration of
American patriotism and the
commemoration of lives lost.
“This is beyond politics, this
is about those lives that were so
tragically taken,” the Republican
club said in a statement on
Facebook. Indeed, both the
comments made by the Coalition
and the actions of individuals
who destroyed the memorial went
far beyond the pale. Regardless
of what they believe the
appropriate military response to
the September 11 attacks should
have been, they cannot deny that
the thousands of Americans–
mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers,
husbands,
wives,
children,
and friends__lost on a sunny
Tuesday morning fifteen years
ago was, and still is, a national
tragedy worth remembering.
22nd CONGRESSIONAL RACE HEATS UP cont.
later, Tenney would have won.
In the 2016 Republican
primary,
Tenney
faced
businessman Steve Wells and
George Phillips, a Broome County
history teacher. Despite being
outspent ten to one by Albany and
DC special interests, Tenney won
41% of the vote. Steve Wells and
George Phillips received 34% and
25% respectively. Additionally,
Tenney battled against a barrage
of false attack ads from Grow
the Economy PAC. Oneida
Nation Enterprises CEO Ray
Halbritter funded the super PAC.
Democrat Kim Myers ran
unopposed
during
primary
season. Funding will not be a
problem for Myers; her father,
Dick Stack, founded Dick’s
Sporting Goods in 1948. Myers is
a partial owner in the corporation
and her brother, Ed Stack, is the
CEO. Although started in the
region, the company relocated
its headquarters from upstate
New York to Pennsylvania to
take advantage of lower tax rates.
Interestingly, Myers voted to raise
taxes while in office. It seems
that Myers is more concerned
with maximizing her dividend
income than the livelihoods of
the working people of upstate
New York. Hannah Andrews,
Tenney’s
communications
director, remarked: “Kim Myers
is a millionaire heiress who
acts as though she is entitled
to the job of representing the
constituents of NY-22. Her
family business, Dick’s Sporting
Goods, which she uses to justify
her candidacy, has a long record
of hurting New York workers.
Despite claiming to support
minimum wage increases, union
labor and American workers,
Kim Myers has made millions
at their expense through her
company’s practices. The truth is,
she puts herself first—whether it’s
before children, families or New
York’s manufacturing workers.”
Furthermore, an audit report
released by the New York State
Comptroller in 2014 revealed
that the Vestal School District
fell into fiscal mismanagement
while Myers served as president
of the school board. “Even
though Myers hiked taxes as
a board member, teachers,
counselors and teacher’s aides
were cut,” Andrews stated.“Multimillionaire Kim Myers does
not deserve to represent the
taxpayers of our community.”
Recent polls reflect such
concerns. According to a
poll released by the National
Republican
Congressional
Committee earlier this month,
Tenney has a six-point lead on
Myers. It is clear that Tenney has
the momentum going into the
race, but polls may tighten as
Myers begins to spend massive
amounts of money campaigning.
If so, the debates will be essential
for a Tenney victory. Tenney
has a history of successful
debates, and Myers will likely
crumble in the upcoming ones.
However,
Myers’
unlimited
access to money will allow
her to hide behind false attack
ads and political consultants.
self-determination. Moreover, in
portraying political beliefs in such
simplistic terms, the Crimson
piece serves only to exacerbate the
current trend of polarization along
predetermined ideological lines.
Ms. Corrigan fails to
recognize the overriding
goal of fiscal conservatism
paired with social
liberalism__efficiency
paired with selfdetermination
Ms. Corrigan boils fiscal
conservatism down to a reluctance
to spend public funds. I, however,
do not believe that we should
haphazardly cut government
spending. When I state that
I am fiscally conservative, I
mean that I do not support
extravagance in expenditure. Just
as Ms. Corrigan advises I might
forego a second boat in order to
increase my tax contributions,
the federal government might
forego some portion of the
defense budget (a budget equal
to the combined spending of
the next seven highest national
defense budgets). Similarly, the
federal government might avoid
wasting thirty percent of the
healthcare budget. In this way,
my wish to avoid national debt
does not target social programs,
but seeks to match spending
with direct outcomes and an
overall decrease in the presence
of the national government.
By limiting the scope
of the federal government’s
involvement in civilian life, the
national debt can decrease while
necessary and efficient social
vol. IV
programs can thrive. The first
point is apparent: a reduction
in government programs, when
responsibly handled, necessarily
leads to decreased government
spending. The latter point,
which Ms. Corrigan claims to
be counter-intuitive, is entirely
rational. Take the Bathroom Bill
in North Carolina, a thoughtless
piece of legislation that aimed to
discriminate against transgender
people. Courts striking down this
bill incur no additional public debt
and can increase the social wellbeing of a marginalized group
within our society. Ms. Corrigan
would point out that this is lovely
in theory, but fear of incurring
costs can stunt a libertarian’s
capacity for social liberalism.
I disagree. My lack of support
for a single-payer healthcare
system, for example, rests not on
the basis of cost (programs can
be made efficient), but because
I believe in the importance of a
limited government that fulfills
its restricted responsibilities.
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
1
9/11 Memorial Vandalism
2
22nd Congressional Race Heats Up
3
The Libertarian “Dichotomy”
#memorialvandalism
#congressionalrace
#libertariandichotomy
ENQUIRY
Elizabeth Barry
Editor in Chief
Will Utzschneider
Andrew Juchno
Associate Editors
STAFF WRITERS
Alex Klosner
Sam Benevelli
Claire Kitz
Amy Elinski
Allison Zuckerman
THE LIBERTARIAN “DICHOTOMY” cont.
is a contradiction. By narrowly
defining social and fiscal policy in
terms of liberal or conservative,
Ms. Corrigan fails to recognize
the overriding goal of fiscal
conservatism paired with social
liberalism—efficiency paired with
The opinions expressed in these articles are the views of their authors
and do not represent the views of Enquiry or the Alexander Hamilton
Institute.
Enquiry accepts articles of 500 to 800 words at ebarry@hamilton.
edu and [email protected]. Please be aware that we do not
accept anonymous submissions.