Music to our ears
Many current and former Amherst students remember Shike for his guitar-picking prowess at campus shindigs. As the guitarist for several student bands (including Jester), Shike has helped liven up social events since his freshman year.
"There's so many opportunities to play for an audience in college, it's so easy to stand up at a party and just play; I'm going to miss that aspect of college. Even though the crowds aren't always that big, people are always looking to have fun," she said. "It's very easy to feel like a mini rockstar, at least while you're playing."
Shike recently completed a rock and electronica album, his second recording. Music has been a part of his life for a long time, though his musical career had an inauspicious beginning. He began playing violin when he was three years old, and after his first lesson his teacher was so frustrated with him that he told Shike's mother that her child would never play a musical instrument. The teacher's discouragement put his playing on a short hiatus from playing, but eventually Shike proved him wrong. He resumed playing violin in elementary school and picked up the guitar a few years later.
Though the position is a slightly less visible one than his spot in Jester, participating in orchestra and band has been a significant part of his time at Amherst. Shike said that participating in those groups was "a great creative outlet," and he got to know many people whom he might not have met otherwise.
Out and about
The summer before his junior year, Shike went on a National Outdoor Leadership trip in Wyoming. He hiked for 30 days in the wilderness with minimal supplies. Among a few other items, he had only two pairs of underwear and one T-shirt. He said he loved the trip; it was significant both for the outdoor adventure and for the unique social experience.
Shike feels his semester abroad in Florence was an important part of his college education. "When I was there, it was an interesting time to be abroad because of the focus on the U.S. at the time [the spring following Sept. 11]. Seeing it from an Italian and European standpoint was very interesting. [The Italians and their news services] had a very different viewpoint; not necessarily hostile, just a different way of looking at things."
A complex focus
Along with his musical talents and extracurricular activities, Shike has compiled an impressive academic record. His studies were unfocused for his first two years at Amherst; he estimates he took courses in ten departments. Eventually, he settled on economics as his major.
Shike says Professor of Economics Daniel Barbezat was instrumental in attracting him to economics. "His exuberant fervor for economics," and his open-mindedness contributed to Shike's decision to declare the major.
Barbezat recalled that he became acquainted with Shike, a pre-frosh at the time, the summer before he came to the College. "I remember we talked about music and math and economics. We talked about a book that I was reading at the time," Barbezat said. Shike later found the book, Emblems of the Mind: The Inner Life of Music and Mathematics, and read it.
Among other things, Shike's economics thesis explored the reasons for why Arab women in Israel have considerably higher birthrates than Jewish women. He combined sociological and economic studies under a framework of economic methodology to investigate the fertility behavior. According to Shike, the statistics that he analyzed have tremendous implications for the state of Israel. Israel defines itself as a Jewish and a democratic state. But within a couple generations Arabs will outnumber Jews in Israel. Thus, he thinks, the country will not be able to remain both Jewish and democratic-it will be Jewish or democratic, he said.
"Nathan is a restless scholar," Professor Barbezat said. "It takes a big idea with many facets to get him to focus. His thesis is a perfect example of this. In it, he combined statistical theory, economic theory, sociology and religon to analyze fertility behavior among different groups in Israel. As the topic became clearer, Nathan worked harder and harder and ended up with a very good thesis."
Friends describe Shike with warmth and enthusiasm. "He is one of the most alive people I have ever met," said a student. "He loves people and would do anything for his friends."
When asked how he met Shike, Jude Volek '03 answered, "I'm not even sure-just turned around and was one of his best friends. That happens with him."