THE STUDENT
LIFE
The Student Newspaper of the Claremont Colleges Since 1889 CLAREMONT, CA
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2018
VOL. CXXXI NO. 1
CMS men’s soccer off to dominant start with seven straight shutouts
IAN POVEDA • THE STUDENT LIFE
Houston Engleman CM ’22, jumps and kicks a ball mid-air during the CMS vs. Cal Lutheran men’s soccer game on Saturday, Sept. 15 at the Pritzlaff Field at CMC. See SHOUTOUT STREAK page 10
5Cs join plastic straw-banning trend SIENA SWIFT Following Scripps College’s lead from 2017, the other Claremont Colleges have limited plastic straw use for the 2018-19 academic year. Bon Appétit Dining Services, which manages both Collins Dining Hall at Claremont McKenna College and McConnell Dining Hall at Pitzer College, implemented a company-wide plastic straw ban on May 31, Bon Appétit Director of Communications Bonnie Powell wrote in an email to TSL.
“We’ve been following the news about the overwhelming problem of single-use plastic and how more than 90 percent of plastic doesn’t get recycled, including straws,” Chief Strategy and Brand Officer Maisie Ganzler said in an interview with the Food Service Director Magazine in June. The movement to ban straws picked up momentum after a video of a sea turtle with a plastic straw in its nostril from 2015 went viral. Since then,
See STRAWS page 3
Harvey Mudd College students report overwhelming workload in recent study ALAN KE Harvey Mudd College released the results of the Workload and Health at Mudd report Aug. 20, revealing widespread poor mental health stemming from excessive schoolwork and the college’s core curriculum in particular. While HMC’s demanding core program aims to equip students with a comprehensive scientific background and the ability to solve problems across disciplines, it is also a large source of students’ stress. According to the WHAM report, Multivariable Calculus and Introduction to Academic Writing
MEGHAN JOYCE • THE STUDENT LIFE
are among the most overwhelming courses, especially when paired with other academic commitments. “Assuming a full course load, students are spending approximately 45 hours per week either in class or on classwork — more than
is required at a full-time job,” the study reported. Previous reports highlight similar struggles. The Wabash Report, an evaluation of HMC’s
See STEM page 2
Pomona Dining Services bans outdoor eating, frustrates students BECKY HOVING
ANOUSHKA SAMEER • THE STUDENT LIFE
Pomona College Dining Services has instituted a new policy at Frary Dining Hall that prohibits students from eating outside while using Frary’s dishware.
Pomona College Dining Services instituted a new policy at Frary Dining Hall that prohibits students from taking Frary’s dishware to eat outside the dining hall beginning Sept. 1. Frary Dining Hall Manager Jose Martinez, who assumed the position in June and spearheaded the implementation, stressed that the policy change was necessary due to loss of inventory, private property concerns, and safety hazards. When students choose to dine on the patio with Frary’s dishware, plates are often left on tables, which attract pests, and risk being broken or stolen. According to Martinez, 20-30 percent of Frary’s dishware inventory has to be replaced every
semester, costing Pomona Dining Services more than $20,000 each time. Students who enjoyed Frary’s patio spaces and lawn areas as an escape from hectic indoor dining area expressed frustration about the policy implementation. “I prefer to eat outside because there are fewer people out there, and the dining hall can be a stressful, jam-packed place,” Bryce Wachtell PO ’21 said. With the new policy implemented this year, Wachtell said he i s more hesit a nt to go to Frary during weekday peak lunch hours. “I certainly have modified where and when I eat because of [the new policy].” In August 2017, Frary Dining Ser vices at tempted to implement the same policy. However,
student complaints led Robert Robinson, Assistant Vice President of Facilities and Campus Services, to revoke the policy prior to starting the new academic year. To combat brea k age a nd stolen dishware, Pomona Dining Services entertained the idea of extending staff management onto the patio area, which traditionally falls under the responsibility of grounds and maintenance. However, Martinez explained that such a n extension would lead to i ncreased costs a nd private property concerns. “For us to have staff manage the outside patio, that would mean having to add more full-
See FRARY page 3
Pitzer overenrolls, faces housing crisis ANAIS RIVERO Pitzer College is facing a housing shortage as a result of overenrollment for the class of 2022, resulting in upperclassmen being asked to move off campus. The college received 16 percent more applications than last year, but only dropped its acceptance rate by 2.8 percent. Many incoming freshmen applied for singles. But some of them were placed in upperclassmen dorm rooms due to a lack of space in the typical first-year residence dorms, which are Pitzer, Atherton, and Sanborn Halls. Perry Sui PZ ’22 said he was told he would be placed in Mead Hall five days before move-in day due to the lack of available singles at PAS. “They told me there was apparently only two singles at PAS. When everyone else got their room assignments, all I was told was that they had to rearrange things,” he said. “They didn’t even tell me if I’d be able to have a single, let alone that they were putting me in an upperclassmen dorm.” The need to hold single rooms for students with disabilities or accommodations is not a cause of the shortage, Kristen Carrier, the associate dean of students and director of residence life, wrote in an email to TSL. The college’s current housing consists of 23 percent singles and 77 percent doubles, Carrier wrote. “In the past five years, Pitzer and other colleges nationwide have experienced an influx of students applying for and receiving disability accommodations,” Carrier wrote. “Over the course of 3 years, Pitzer has experienced an approximate 83 percent increase in requests for disability accommodations. Many of these accommodation requests relate to housing, specifically requests for single rooms.” To remedy the lack of housing, upperclassmen were asked if they would move to Claremont Collegiate Apartments to accommodate new students, according to Valerie Schiro, assistant director of residence life and housing. The email to students offered anyone who agreed to live offcampus $1,520 in housing credit, lowering the price from $9,720 to $8,200 per semester. These students were also allowed to opt out of a meal plan or choose the five-meal plan, while students on campus are required to be on a 12- or 16-meal plan, according to Schiro. Pitzer joins a list of colleges — including Scripps College and Purdue University — that have struggled to house the entirety of their student body due to larger than expected first-year classes. Scripps enrolled more students in the class of 2021 than it could accommodate, resulting in 40 randomly selected first-years being assigned to live off-campus at the Claremont Graduate University Apartments last year. Students at Scripps reported that attending social events and adjusting to normal campus life was more challenging living offcampus. Madisen Barre PZ ’22 voiced similar concerns. “I was nervous about being placed in a single outside of PAS because I’m a freshman and upperclassmen can be scary.” Barre said. “I was afraid it would be harder to make friends.” Pitzer’s administration hopes to avoid these types of issues in the future. Currently, Pitzer houses about one in five students off campus. “We routinely review our policies and practices, and will do the same this year, in order to continually improve housing accommodations for students,” Carrier said.
LIFE AND STYLE
OPINIONS
OPINIONS
SPORTS
Bhad Bhabie, known as the “catch me outside” girl, is breaking into the music industry and has just released her debut album, “15.” But how? Music columnist Ella Boyd SC ’22 analyzes her shift from a viral TV personality to an established artist making waves in the rap world. Read more on page 4.
“Sophistication is the currency of understanding, but comprehension depends more on the medium than the message,” writes columnist Christopher Salazar PZ ’20 on the media’s misunderstanding of Elon Musk’s cannibis cahoots. Read more on page 8.
The Claremont Colleges’ apparent lack of recognition of 9/11 this year shocked Christopher Murdy PO ’22. He writes that we must continue to honor those who died in the devestating attack. Read more on page 9.
Defending national champions CMS Volleyball hosted top-ranked teams in the East-West Challenge over the weekend. The Athenas extended their winning streak to nine before losing to Washington University on Saturday. Read more on page 11.
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NEWS................................1 LIFE & STYLE.....................4 OPINIONS........................7 SPORTS...........................10
NEWS PAGE 2
Pomona attempts to remedy racially, politically uncomfortable climate HAIDEE CLAUER Pomona College is taking steps to improve campus climate after their Task Force on Public Dialogue published an in-depth report in May revealing racial and political discomfort on campus. Students said the discomfort they experienced led to stifled speech. As a result, Pomona President G. Gabrielle Starr introduced a new initiative called “Shaping Dialogue Now.” This initiative, which will include faculty, staff, and students, “will promote creative thought, inclusive environments, reasoned discussions, and intensive engagement,” Audrey Bilger, Dean of Students, wrote in an email to TSL. Starr called on Pomona to confront the link between campus climate and free dialogue in a final statement concluding the work of the task force. “It is clear that dialogue cannot be addressed without attention to improving the inclusivity of our community,” Starr wrote. First-years also had a new session on “Communicating Across Difference” during fall orientation. “Early reports from students who participated in the session indicate that they thought the material and exercises were effective, and would help them in challenging conversations in class and on campus,” Bilger wrote. The task force surveyed 592 students and 146 faculty members last semester and followed a series of incidents at the 5Cs involving campus climate, including a student protest blocking a controversial Athenaeum speaker at Claremont McKenna Col-
lege, an offensive 5C social media group, and CMC becoming the first California college to earn the highest free speech rating from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. Eighty-eight percent of students of all political identities agreed that the campus climate stifles speech that could be found offensive, a statistic 30 percent higher than that of college students nationally and 25 percent higher than that of Pomona faculty. Alejandro Guerrero Varcia PO ’19, who served on the task force last year as Pomona’s junior class president, helped conduct one-on-one conversations as well as a larger open forum to gauge student perceptions of culture and speech on campus prior to the survey. “Dialogue is everywhere on this campus,” Guerrero Varcia said. “[However,] what I really got from those conversations, there’s this big understanding [that] not all Pomona students feel they have the same agency to navigate [dialogue].” In total, only a quarter of students surveyed said that colleges should be able to restrict the expression of upsetting or offensive political views, though 83 percent — including 95 percent of “very liberal” students and 68 percent of “very conservative,” “conservative,” and “moderate” students — agreed that colleges should be able to restrict the use of intentionally offensive language and slurs. The study examined differences in response based on race, gender, and political leaning. Self-identified “black,” “very liberal,” and “female” students were most likely to favor more restrictions on speech. “White,”
“conservative,” and “male” students were most likely to favor fewer restrictions. Three-quarters of conservative students strongly agreed that campus climate prevents them from expressing beliefs that could be offensive to certain groups, more than twice the percentage of “very liberal” students who shared that belief. “I’ve spoken to people of various political beliefs on campus already, and I’ve gotten an impression from people who are more politically conservative that they don’t want to be ‘outed’ as politically conservative,” Jack Weber PO ’22 said. More than half of students, including over 80 percent of those who self-identified as “very conservative” to moderate-leaning, said Pomona is a “good place” for racial and ethnic minorities and LGBTQ+ students. Sixty-five percent of white and Asian students rated the climate as “good” or “excellent.” However, only half of Hispanic students and 43 percent of black students rated it as “good” or “excellent.” Less than half of each demographic of students answered with “agree” or “strongly agree” that they felt confident Pomona “would do what is right” if they raised an issue of discrimination on campus. Only 19 percent of black students in particular responded with “agree” or “strongly agree” with this statement. “The administration is … learning that they need to involve more people in the conversations,” Guerrero Varcia said.
MEGHAN JOYCE • THE STUDENT LIFE
STEM: Work leaves little time for extracurriculars Continued from Page 1 workload and honor code conducted in October 2015, was leaked to TSL and made public in April 2017. One of its findings was that students’ workload left little time for “broader, more liberal arts pursuits both in and outside the classroom.” Autumn Herness HM ’21 was a participant in the WHAM study last fall. “I find it frustrating sometimes how many classes we have to take, even though going in I knew that would be the case,” she said. “I can’t get as involved in the clubs I care about because I have so many required classes.” Mudd students have long called for changes to the core curriculum and their voices have risen to prominence since last spring’s protests held in response to the Wabash Report’s release. Since the publishing of both these reports, HMC has taken strides to alleviate students’ academic stress by making professors more flexible with their office hours, deadlines, and testing. The WHAM study was conducted over the course of the fall 2017 semester. “The general consensus among my class is that [it accurately represented] what we were doing in the fall,” Herness said. “But had they redone the study in the spring, it would be a completely different story.” First-years at HMC are on a pass-fail grading scale their first semester while they adjust to the academics of college. The spring semester opens up students to taking more credits and potentially more difficult classes as well. Louis Stromeyer HM ’22 returned to Mudd this year from a leave of absence due to depression. “Coming back, I was uncertain of how I’d do,” Stromeyer said. “I
SEPTEMBER 21, 2018
THE STUDENT LIFE
thought things would work out, but I wasn’t 100 percent sure. So far, they’ve been very supportive. Mudd does a pretty good job at throwing resources at you, but I think that might be because Mudd has to (recognize) the reality of this.” Stromeyer said he thought the numbers in the WHAM study were underreported, especially in regard to the data on the average time spent on coursework outside of class. “I think most Mudd students get very good at [asking themselves], ‘I have 20 minutes, what can I do?’” Stromeyer said. “So it’s kind of hard to keep track of how much you’re working when that’s how your work habits are.” He recommends that professors ask themselves if the work they’re assigning is worth it. Along those lines, Stromeyer suggests cutting down on the five required laboratories in HMC’s core curriculum. “Students [could instead] pick two laboratories in whichever subjects they think are more important for them and their major,” Stromeyer said. “I think losing one of the labs would really help.” He also said he believes some courses open to all students need to better communicate their difficulty, especially to first-years. “I’m in E11 Autonomous Vehicles, and it’s open to anyone from [any experience level], and people without experience are just struggling like crazy because we’re just flashing through stuff ridiculously quickly,” he said. While Mudd’s academic rigor continues to be one of its defining traits, Stromeyer said, “frankly, none of this is worth it if your students are so burnt out that your students are just cramming before tests and not remembering it at the end.”
Pomona hires career administrator as new dean of students
COURTESY OF BARNARD COLLEGE
Avis Hinkson began as Pomona College’s new dean of students this summer. She was previously Barnard College’s dean of the college.
SAMUEL BRESLOW Pomona College hired Barnard College’s former dean of the college, Avis E. Hinkson, as its new vice president for student affairs and dean of students this summer. President G. Gabrielle Starr announced the decision in an email to students May 30, and Hinkson began work Aug. 1. She was selected by a committee of three trustees, two faculty members, three administrators, two students, and two external consultants. Hinkson replaced Miriam Feldblum, who served in the position for a decade before departing in February to lead an alliance advocating for the rights of immigrant students at U.S. colleges and universities. At Barnard, Hinkson developed a program to support undocumented and DACA students and helped reform the college’s Title IX policies. “We and the search committee believe she brings the right experience, energy and high level of engagement to this crucial role,” Starr wrote. “She is someone who reaches out, listens, and helps spark change where it is needed.” Angela Beam, the 2017-2018
president of Barnard’s Student Government Association, praised Hinkson’s energy in an email to TSL in May. “From stopping by just about every student event on campus, to spending countless hours brainstorming improvements to campus policy to positively [impacting] the student experience — it’s safe to say the concept of 9-5 normal business hours isn’t in Hinkson’s vocabulary. … Her presence on campus is known, active, and meaningful — she is a truly tireless advocate for students,” she wrote. Beam also called Hinkson a “true ally” to Barnard’s student government. “She was a clear voice for both student government and the student body amongst Barnard’s senior staff, and took an extremely collaborative, engaging approach,” she wrote. Alejandro Guerrero PO ’19, ASPC President, and Elvis Kahoro PO ’20, a member of the search committee, both wrote to TSL that they supported the decision to hire her. Silvia Martinez PO ’19, the other student member of the search committee, when contacted, did not disclose to TSL whether she supported the hiring decision.
Not all reactions were positive. ASPC Commissioner of Community Relations Samantha Borje PO ’19 wrote to TSL in May that Hinkson did not do as good a job of conveying her intent to listen to student voices during her candidate meeting with students as the other two finalists. “I’ve spoken with a lot of other students who felt this way too,” she wrote. “We were definitely in favour of the other finalists and I know incoming ASPC senate expressed as much to the selection committee. Frankly, we’re a little disappointed, but we’ll be watching and working closely with Dean Hinkson to see how she (hopefully) proves us wrong.” Hinkson, in an interview with TSL in June, following the initial online publication of this article, said she plans to explore various methods for collecting feedback from students, offering venues that are both “flexible and consistent.” She declined to list specific issues she would prioritize in her first year, instead emphasizing her desire to listen. “I don’t think I’m really coming in with an agenda at this point,” she said. “I’m really coming in with the desire to really hear what people want me to consider for my agenda.”
CARE Center offers free textbook rentals for CMC students JAIMIE DING
Claremont McKenna College is offering free textbook rentals for students through the CARE Center. To rent a textbook, CMC students visit the CMC NextDorm website catalogue and search for a textbook by ISBN, title, or author. If students find their desired book, they email the CARE Center indicating which book they want to rent, and the CARE Center will reserve it for pick-up. If they do not return the book
on or before the last day of final exams, they will no longer be able to participate in the program, according to the textbook loan contract. The idea for a free textbook rental program came from Biniyam Asnake CM ’20, who created the NextDorm online platform along with Ryan Bellissimo CM ’20, Kara Corley CM ’20, and Lincoln Bernard CM ’21. “We were passionate about this issue because we knew the burden of buying expensive textbooks was a problem from talking
to other students and of course from our experience, too,” Asnake wrote in an email to TSL. Though he initially wanted to create a platform for buying and selling textbooks, Asnake wrote that he decided to rent books out for free after reaching out to the CARE Center, which had an existing collection of textbooks from donations. “CARE supports all efforts made institutionally to increase awareness and provide concrete resources to make college more equitable, accessible, and afford-
TALIA BERNSTEIN • THE STUDENT LIFE
Claremont McKenna College’s CARE Center offers free textbook rentals to students.
able,” Vince Greer, the associate dean of students for diversity and CARE Center director, wrote in an email to TSL. The program started off slowly with only 25 of the 300 available textbooks being rented last semester, Asnake wrote. However, the program increased in popularity as students heard more about it. “With the spring semester, we put up more flyers, more boxes collecting books, and [the program] took off,” said Isaiah Tulanda CM ’20, a CARE Fellow. Tulanda worked at the CARE Center over the summer to help organize over 1,300 books that were donated at the end of last semester. Two hundred and eighty textbooks have been rented since the program first began. New textbooks cost an average of $71 on Amazon, according to Asnake, so students’ collective savings would amount to over $19,880. The CARE Center has received so many textbook donations that storage space is becoming an issue, Tulanda said. Moving forward, the program is considering accepting more commonly used textbooks and donating the other books to somewhere that might have more use for them, such as a local library. Even if a student cannot find a book through the program, “we highly encourage them to come to the Dean of Students office to explore avenues of support to purchase textbooks,” Greer wrote. Though the other colleges in the 5Cs have various funds available to offset the costs of textbooks, none have a free rental program like the one at CMC. “Considering the success we’ve seen at CMC, it would be nice to bring this program and application capabilities to the other [5Cs],” Asnake wrote.
NEWS SEPTEMBER 21, 2018
THE STUDENT LIFE
FRARY: Policy change comes after previous attempt last year
ANOUSHKA SAMEER • THE STUDENT LIFE
A student enters Frary from the south entrance. Students are no longer allowed to eat outside and then re-enter the dining hall.
Continued from Page 1 t ime posit ions, wh ic h would mean higher costs. This would t ra nslate i nto h igher-cost i ng meal plans in the future,” Martinez said. He added that cashiers also have to keep track of students enter i ng a nd re- enter i ng t he
dining hall. “At some point, [the cashiers] were retaining the students’ ID cards, which they are not supposed to do because it is personal property,” Martinez said. According to Martinez, the new policy permits outdoor dining if students are using to-go boxes or the compostable table-
PAGE 3
STRAWS: Disability advocates raise concerns
ware available at the cashier table. However, Wachtell points out that this compromise does not exactly remedy the problem. “Eating outside with a to-go container kind of negates the whole idea of eating outside in the first place,” he said. “It means that you can take that container to your room just as easily as you could eat on the patio.” Naomi Baer PO ’19 pointed out that the to-go boxes limit dining choices as she cannot as easily have take-out for soups or salads. “My friends and I now go to Scripps every time we want to eat outside,” Baer said. “We go to Frary significantly less because of the new rule.” Martinez pointed out that beside Scripps, other dining halls don’t permit outdoor eating outside of enclosed dining areas. “At this point on, I’m out of fresh ideas [for letting students eat outside with our dishware],” Martinez said.
Pin pads installed as extra security at Scripps College residence halls
Scripps College residence halls now require both an ID card swipe and a personalized four-digit pin for entry. In addition to increased entrance security, basement laundry facilities are being relocated or further secured, according to emails sent Aug. 31 and Sept. 3 by the Office of Residential Life. Student belongings stored in residence hall basements last semester can be picked up from the Sallie Tiernan Field House, where they were transported over the summer. The Scripps Office of Residential Life did not respond to requests for comment before press time. — Olivia Truesdale
Earthquake shakes Claremont
A 4.4 magnitude earthquake, with an epicenter in La Verne, shook surrounding cities including Claremont Aug. 28 at 7:33 p.m., according to the United States Geological Survey report. Residents as far 30 miles south and 40 miles north of La Verne felt the quake, the Los Angeles Times reported. “I first thought it was some sort of construction because it was really loud and my room was shaking,” Chhavi Monga SC ’21 said. “It wasn’t that bad, but I was really scared.” No injuries or damages were reported at the Claremont Colleges, according to a Campus Safety alert later that night. — Olivia Truesdale
Pomona provides textbook reimbursements
A weekly Financial Aid Friday email from the Pomona College Office of Financial Aid advertised reimbursements for Pomona students receiving financial aid who spend over $500 per semester on textbooks, as Pomona estimates a maximum of $500 in textbook costs per semester. “[W]e would provide Pomona Scholarship funding to cover the difference [in costs] when a student submits an appeal along with documentation of book expenses,” Robin Thompson, Pomona’s director of financial aid, wrote in an email to TSL. “This is available to students who have completed their financial aid application and are eligible to receive need-based institutional scholarship.” The reimbursements are applied as grant credit to student CASHNet accounts for the current semester, according to the Financial Aid Friday email. “Financial Aid is a resource that is provided to meet a student’s full financial need,” Thompson wrote. — Olivia Truesdale
Ofos still available for 5C students
Bikesharing company ofo will remain in Claremont this year, contrary to an email mistakenly sent out to 5C ofo users over the summer. The bikeshare program was first launched Feb. 21 with a free trial period that allowed all 5C students to ride for free. Due to the popularity of ofo bikes, the free trial period was extended. Ofo now costs $1 an hour, but anyone with a .edu email address can receive a 50 percent discount. Monthly pricing has not yet been launched for the new school year. Although all 5C students can use ofo bikes, only Pomona College and Pitzer College are official partners with ofo. “Bikes will be rebalanced to Pomona and Pitzer during the daytime about 4 days a week,” Pomona College Assistant Director of Sustainability Alexis Reyes wrote in an email to TSL. — Jaimie Ding
Pomona prepares for extreme heat
Pomona College prepared a heat response plan in anticipation of high temperatures in the first few weeks of class, Associate Dean of Students Christopher A. Waugh wrote in an email to students Sept. 3. Permanent air-conditioning systems were installed in Harwood Court, Wig Hall, and Smiley Hall lounges over the summer. Free hand-held misters are also available to Pomona students in the ASPC office, Waugh wrote. If temperatures reach 100 degrees or higher for two or more days, Smith Campus Center will remain open 24 hours and cots will be placed in common air-conditioned areas for overnight accomodation. Dining halls will also be kept open later in the evenings to provide additional study spaces for students, Waugh wrote. Of the 16 residence halls at Pomona, six have air-conditioning, six do not, and four only have air-conditioning in the lounge areas. — Jaimie Ding
LUKE MEARES • THE STUDENT LIFE
The Claremont Colleges are limiting their plastic straw use this year.
Continued from Page 1 major companies like Alaska Airlines, Starbucks, and Hyatt have banned plastic straws — Bon Appétit among them. While excessive plastic waste is a pertinent environment issue, not everyone supports banning plastic straws. Disability advocates explain that alternative straws — made of metal, paper, and sometimes plants — pose problems by falling apart too easily or not being flexible enough in the case of metal ones. “When we first announced our straw ban, we saw the dismayed reaction from people with disabilities via direct emails as well as op-eds,” Powell wrote. “After consulting with four disability rights activists, we decided to create an exception and retain a small reserve of plastic straws at all of our locations.” Although the company-wide deadline to eliminate straws
is September 2019, Collins has already removed straws from the beverage area, said Jennifer Carbajal, Manager of CMC’s Bon Appétit Account. Plastic straws are available upon request at both Collins and the Hub. Both will now use paper straws as the alternative option. “We didn’t actually poll students on this because it was a company standard that we knew we were going to put in place, and we also felt comfortable with how to execute it,” Carbajal said. “We know we might get [complaints] about not having them available, [but] CMC is just a place like any college, where students do want to see that activity happen in reducing waste and trying to be more environmentally friendly.” Pomona College’s dining halls only use plastic straws for boba drinks about once a month, according to Jose Martinez, General Manager of Pomona College Dining Services. “We are in the process of
switching to fully compostable/ biodegradable straws,” Martinez wrote in an email to TSL. “We have fully compostable straws available upon request [for students with disabilities].” Harvey Mudd College has also phased out plastic straws but has some available upon request for students with disabilities, according to Miguel Ruvalcaba, the General Manager of Harvey Mudd College Dining Services. They also have paper straws available. Scripps phased out its plastic straws in fall 2017, Elizabeth Hamilton, creative director of marketing and communications at Scripps, wrote in an email to TSL. Powell thinks banning straws will lead to further waste reductions. “Simply getting people to think about whether they ‘need’ a straw is a great first step toward getting them to ask themselves whether they need that to-go box, those plastic utensils, that plastic coffee lid,” Powell wrote.
Hurricane Florence slams East Coast, affects 5C students and families LANEY POPE As Hurricane Florence pounded North and South Carolina last week, several students from the Claremont Colleges braced for the worst and feared for their families living in the region. S o m e s t u d e n t s re p o r t e d flooding and power outages in the homes of their families or friends after Hurricane Florence touched down in North Carolina Sept. 14. Since then, the natural disaster has killed at least thirty two people, according to BBC. In the coming days, coastal residents will continue to face flooding from groundwater — something the Carolinas have not experienced since the last major hurricane struck over 20 years ago. Several 5C students, such as Conor Woods PO ’20, have ties to the Carolinas. Woods said his grandparents’ home in Southport, N.C., is still without power a week after the storm. He added that 90 miles of highway is closed in Southport because of flooding. His grandparents were visiting family in Vermont when the hurricane arrived, so his parents drove three and a half
hours from Charlotte on Friday to shore up their house in Southport to prepare for the storm. “[They] shuttered the windows, bought a generator, water, [and] gas,” he said. The damages in his hometown, Charleston, S.C., were less severe than expected, Woods said. His parents stocked up on supplies because they thought Charleston would be hit hard. Dylan Siegel PZ ’20 lives in New York City but has family all over North Carolina, including in Charlotte, Chapel Hill, and the coastal city of Wilmington. Although Wilmington was one of the most devastated cities in North Carolina during Hurricane Florence, Siegel said his cousins had elevated their homes in Wilmington as a result of past hurricanes. “They didn’t face as many problems as a lot of people [in Wilmington] because they elevated their home,” he said. Siegel added that his family members know how frightening and devastating hurricanes can be after living through Hurricane Fran in 1996. “My grandma was in her bathtub and [the hurricane] took the roof off her house as she was lying down in the bathtub, looking up at the roof flying away,” Siegel said.
While coastal cities are still dealing with the aftermath, inland cities evaded the path of Florence. Jaida Potts PO ’21, who was born in Charlotte, N.C. and grew up farther inland in Fort Mill, S.C., said her family only experienced heavy rains from the hurricane. However, the storm has had an impact on her family because her father works at Duke Energy and is dealing with widespread power outages in the region. “Because [Duke Energy] is the major provider for the area, he has to work because no one has power,” she said. Potts said she has friends attending University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., and they were evacuated because Colombia is flat and close to the coast. Pomona College Dean of Students Avis Hinkson reached out to students on Friday about the devastation of the hurricane. She urged students in need of support to utilize campus resources, including Monsour Counseling and Psychological Services. “I and others at the College are with you in concern,” Hinkson wrote in an email to Pomona students. “We have Pomona College community members as well as family and friends who live in the regions impacted by this storm.”
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THE STUDENT LIFE
SEPTEMBER 21, 2018
‘Mutuality in Dichotomy’: Come for more than the Kandinsky LEORA AKBAROV The Pomona College Museum of Art’s “Mutuality in Dichotomy: Photography from the Permanent Collection,” which opened Sept. 4, is the fifth in a series of studentcurated exhibits featured by the museum. Vivienne Yixuan Shi PO ’19 developed the exhibit last summer, and she focuses on the dichotomous relationship between aerial and close-up photography, revealing that the two modes are more congruous than suggested by their differences in scale and objective. The exhibit consists of works drawn from the museum’s permanent collection, which Kathleen Howe, the museum director, totals at around 15,000 objects. According to Shi, deciding which pieces to include was not easy: “In the final stages of developing this exhibit, we were still choosing from nearly 100 different pieces. … It was very difficult to have to exclude some of my favorite artists.” At first glance, it might not be immediately clear what the photographs in the exhibit are portraying, or that they are photographs at all. Libby George PO ’20, who attended the exhibit’s opening reception last Saturday, said the featured Barry Anderson piece, “Kentucky” (an aerial photograph of a Kentucky landscape), reminded her of eggs. Babs Peisch PO ’19, another attendee, said Anderson’s work looked like egg-breasts. The photographs on display are united by their abstraction of concrete subject matter. Aaron Siskind’s “Detail of Peeling Paint” is a black-and-white
close-up of chipped wall paint that could easily pass for an aerial photograph of a beach or even an abstract painting. Similarly, Barry Anderson obscures reality in “Alabama,” a piece notable for its swirling, fantastical color composition and visually striking effect. This whimsical work clearly has little interest in realistically representing the Alabama landscape which it depicts. In the brochure accompanying the exhibit, Shi puts “Mutuality in Dichotomy” into conflict with a statement that 19th-century poet and art critic Charles Baudelaire made about photography: “This industry, by invading the territories of art, has becomes art’s most mortal enemy.” His argument centers around the idea that photography is meant to capture the physical world, and therefore cannot create and express at great depths in the way that other artforms can. Shi’s inclusion of pieces that deliberately focus on form and framing deconstructs reality, debunking Baudelaire’s idea that photography exists merely as a form of “mechanical reproduction.” “These photographers actively explore the aesthetic potential of topography as abstract form. Their work may be visually mystifying, psychologically soothing, or hallucinatory,” Shi wrote in the brochure. The mutuality between abstract art and photography is highlighted in Shi’s inclusion of “Kleine Welten (Small World),” a piece from a series by Wassily Kandinsky. World-renowned Russian contemporary artist Kandinsky uses angry, twisting lines, and
CHLOE ORTIZ • THE STUDENT LIFE
Vivienne Yixuan Shi PO ’19 curated the Pomona College Museum of Art Fall 2018 exhibit “Mutuality in Dichotomy” as her senior thesis project.
hectic overlay of shapes to convey a sense of existential chaos. The work throws reality into question much in the same way that the photographers, such as Anderson and Siskind, do in their works, which transform the ordinary into the strange and the
unfamiliar. As for the Kandinsky piece itself, Shi remarked that it isn’t the artist’s best work. When asked why she chose to include this particular piece, she explained, “Big names draw big crowds.” However, on the whole, Shi’s
collection has little to do with “big names,” or for that matter, any of the 16 individual works featured in it. The exhibit relies instead on Shi’s ability to connect the pieces to one another, ultimately working to ask the question: what is
the role of photography in modern art? For those open to a conceptually interactive experience, this exhibit is sure to provoke the mind. Those who are not interested in engaging Shi’s narrative might want to look elsewhere.
MUSIC COLUMN
Catch her in the studio, ‘how bout dat,’ Hollywood?
Greil Marcus on failure, Nixon, and coming home BLAKE PLANTE
MEGHAN JOYCE • THE STUDENT LIFE
ELLA BOYD You may know Bhad Bhabie, aka viral internet star Danielle Bregoli, as the “cash me outside” girl, but you can now catch her on all international streaming platforms, as her debut album dropped just three days ago. The album, titled “15,” contains 15 songs with features from YG, Lil Yachty, and Lil Baby, among others. While these featured rappers have become household names, Bhabie’s new music career has the disturbing potential to represent an overall trend in the popular music industry, where the business and image of the artist often mean more than the music itself. Equally concerning are the debatable cultural aspects of Bhabie as an undeniably successful rapper, at least in terms of popularity statistics alone. Her recent nomination for Billboard Music Awards’ Top Rap Female Artist sealed the deal that Bhabie really is a rapper, even though when I searched online, her genre came up as “TV Personality” before anything regarding her music career did. Bhabie has two certified gold singles from the Recording Industry Association of America, and three of her songs made it on the United States’ Billboard Top 100 songs chart. Clearly, there are quite a few people listening to Bhad Bhabie. Her appeal to these listeners may come from the very same reasons other people give for disliking
her: Bhabie is a 15-year-old white female who rose to fame through her obscenely bad attitude and appropriation of black culture, which was broadcast nationwide on the Dr. Phil show. But, Bhabie’s polarizing effect on the public brings up an important element of the music industry: an artist’s image. With so much music gaining traction online, sounds and images are woven together, and an artist rarely exists without their image broadcast loudly, if not louder, than their music. The entertainment industry is all about image, but should the music industry be that way, too? If an artist’s image is not authentic, what does this say about their music? Bhabie’s image is largely fabricated, or at least exaggerated. She is not old enough to drive a car, so starring in music videos “driving” porsches and hanging out in RollsRoyces may not do a whole lot for viewers not willing to participate in this fantasy world. All of these observations are just a way of asking: how much, if at all, do listeners even care about authenticity? Does Bhabie, as an artist, actually gain any merit from owning the watch she raps about in her single “Gucci Flip Flops”? Rap artists used to pride themselves on being “real,” but perhaps Bhabie’s music is spawning a different audience altogether. Bhabie’s contradictory image is not the only issue that arises from
her involvement in the rap scene. Like her image, her overall presence may confuse listeners and pose questions for the future of the scene as a whole. In the past, Bhabie was accused of cultural appropriating black culture multiple times, often with evidence to support the accusations. Her choice to wear cornrows is the easiest and most obvious choice to reject, but her image and an appropriation of a culture that is not hers, goes deeper than her hairstyle. The last controversial aspect worth touching upon is how Bhabie rose to fame. To summarize her journey as briefly as possible, product placement manager Adam Kruger said: “I’m going to find something that’s just so obscure, and I’m going to make it popular. I’m going to pull every trick I’ve ever pulled with brands and make someone into a walking, talking brand to prove my worth.” Kruger “proved his worth” by creating the image of Danielle Bregoli as rapper Bhad Bhabie through brand-dropping and sponsored content. The artistic integrity may not be there, but the lyrics Bhabie spits don’t really match Bregoli as a person, either. Does this mean Bhabie is any less confusing or contradictory to the music industry than before? Maybe, because her presence is not really her own, but the result of marketing and business executives. However, maybe this makes
Bhabie’s presence worse, because she proves that artists may not need integrity to become rich and famous. Ironically, big business and traditional authority prospering are the subjects that rap tends to systematically oppose. Then again, the absurd and entertaining fame of Bhabie may be more the result of the viral potential in internet culture than the result of privilege and orchestrated injustice. The entertainment world operates differently than the real world, and so does the internet. As Bhabie said in a 2017 interview with Fader Magazine: “From social media to the industry, it’s… just a whole different world.” The question that remains is what do listeners — or, should I say, consumers — want to hear more of? One must decide whether or not Bhabie is the type of artist who deserves their continual support, and, either way, if it’s possible to help deserving artists gain traction without caving in to the unethical methods of advertisement seen today. Will old-school ethics survive as modern internet culture becomes the primary method, and workspace, for hopeful artists? Ella Boyd is a first-year from Maine who attends Scripps College. She traded alpine skiing for writing for the student paper, and enjoys creating art through film, music, and poetry.
I’ll admit right off the bat t h a t I h a ve n ’t r e a d a n y o f Greil Marcus’ work. But upon hearing him speak on the annual theme “Fail Better ” for Pomona College Humanities Studio’s inaugural Speaker Series, I couldn’t help but feel entranced. Marcus, a music journalist and cultural critic, spoke with candidness about verity in art on Sept. 13. He shared stories of the rise and fall of stars — failures irrevocable and redeemable — and of their expressions in music and theatre. On a little laptop speaker in the Rose Hills theatre, Marcus played us a song by Charlie Rich. “ I wa s r a i s e d t o d i s l i k e Nixon,” Marcus said as he told us about a time when Nixon had been drowning in the Watergate scandal. Closing out a show, Charlie Rich sang, “I tried and I failed / … and I feel like going home.” There, in an expression of failure and loneliness, in a song he dedicated to the president, Rich touched a string of empathy that stretched out its arms almost universally. Behind all the controversy and the idea of becoming a national joke was a president who had tried, failed, and now, was going home. I m p l i e d wa s t h e s i m p l e truth echoed in Marcus’ book, “ M y s t e r y Tr a i n : I m a g e s o f America in Rock ‘n’ Roll Music”: “[Rich’s words] cut through everything I believe to uncover a compassion I never, never wanted to feel.” Like late Pomona’s English Professor Arden Reed said in his Phi Beta Kappa speech in fall 2017: “Through failure, you join the larger human community.” Failure, Reed seemed to be saying, makes us more human, more relatable, more able to empathize with the struggles of others. Listening to the song in its entirety, I couldn’t help but squeeze my notebook, tighten my grip around my pen, and close my eyes because it had hit a string in me, too. I was struck by something my mother said
to me after I’d come home this summer: “I had all the high goals. I want to cry.” And finally, I think I knew what she meant. To a certain extent, failure teaches us what we want and who we are. After a series of disastrous, experimental album releases, Neil Young had been sued by his record album for “not being who he was supposed to be,” Marcus said. In an interview many years later, Marcus asked Young what had happened. “How can I miss you,” Young responded, “if you don’t go away? How can you find yourself if you don’t lose yourself?” Failure teaches us important lessons. In many ways, it matures us. But it strikes me that there are certain times when failure has higher stakes and is more irreversible. “Is there an optimal time to fail?” I asked Marcus. In his own roundabout way, I think he answered it in part. He told a story about a critic he’d criticized, then met, and continued to keep correspondence with. For that critic, failure at the end of his life hit harder than it would’ve earlier. There had been more wounds, more emptiness. “The earlier the better,” I suspect Marcus was arriving at, but the question hung in the air. At this point, I’ve had Charlie Rich’s “Feel Like Going Home” on repeat for a couple hours. Its melancholy comforts me, as if by hearing failure expressed in such a naked way, soaking in Rich’s feelings as I work through my own, the melancholy becomes a warming hug, or a kind of happiness. Little has changed, but I feel less burdened. Failure as an artist, Marcus told us, is linked with dishonesty. Failure is writing a bad book while knowing it’s bad and having people praise you for it anyway, them not noticing, as you well know, that “there’s a hole.” Being an artist means being honest, always starting over as if you are nothing and nobody, nowhere and empty. And sometimes, it means failing and coming home.
LIFE & STYLE SEPTEMBER 21, 2018
PAGE 5
THE STUDENT LIFE BOOK COLUMN
Dating and Dostoevsky
SAMANTHA RESNICK Last December, while the Skirball Fire tore through the Los Angeles neighborhood nestled next to my own, I was studying abroad 5,000 miles away in Salamanca, Spain. When my sister texted me asking what she should rescue from my room during the evacuation, I didn’t respond with “my cherished childhood photos,” or “passports,” or even “Is everyone okay?” No, what I desperately texted back was: “SAVE MY BOOKS.” Luckily, the fire didn’t make it to our house, but that moment made it clear to myself and my family that I love reading. Recently, though, I’ve learned that I also read to love. For most of my life, I’ve read to relax, to laugh, to think, and especially, to escape — to faraway planets in lonely galaxies, to times long past, to places I’ve never been and will probably never be. It was only in these past couple of months that reading has ceased to be a solitary retreat from reality. Instead, it has become something intimate, something I share with the person I love outside of the literary world. Surprisingly, this bibliophilic epiphany is all thanks to the utter joy that is long-distance dating. Everyone told me it would be difficult, but I didn’t quite realize what they meant until a month of Skype calls had gone by. My boyfriend and I would take turns filling each other in on our respective classes and drama with friends and work and classes and friends and work and— We ran out of things to talk about quickly. But both of us are bookworms, so naturally, while brainstorming how to enliven our conversations, we came up with the most bookish solution possible. We decided to start a book club, just the two of us, so that we’d have specific topics to discuss over Skype. There were only two ground rules: 1. Read (obviously). 2. Don’t read ahead of the other person. These rules proved to be deceptively challenging once he suggested we start with Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “The Brothers
STUDY ABROAD COLUMN
‘Toto, we’re not in Claremont anymore’
JORDAN WONG • THE STUDENT LIFE
Karamazov,” an 824-page tome that makes me feel self-consciously pretentious every time I casually pull it out in a coffee shop. It’s the type of book that I would pretend to have read, when really all I’ve done is skim through the Goodreads reviews mocking it. Still, while it wasn’t a book I would ever have chosen to read on my own, I told myself that this is what it means to be in a serious relationship. I need to try new things. I need to compromise. I found myself repeating that mantra as we got deeper and deeper into the book. It seemed like whole chapters melted in his hands in a matter of days, whereas I stumbled through pages that felt endless. He started texting me: “So, are you done with the chapter yet? If not, can I go ahead?” While I struggled with rule number one, he ended up breaking rule number two. And as we kept chugging along, the difficulties we came across in reading a book together started to parallel those that came with a long-distance relationship. Just like with the book, there were times in long-distance when one of us would be completely comfortable with the situation while the other found it difficult. It was hard to balance homework, jobs, and friends with the demands of an incredibly philosophical and rambly Russian author. Longdistance relationships, and the patience they require to succeed,
MARC ROD Don’t judge a book by its cover. It sounds like an old, tired cliché, but when it comes to study abroad, it is certainly true, because first impressions can be deceiving. This semester, I am abroad in Freiburg, Germany — a small, historic city in the southwest corner of the country. I am studying European Union politics and culture, with a focus on travel and exploration throughout the EU. Coming in, I did not speak a word of German and had little familiarity with German culture and practices. Consequently, I faced a significant shock when I arrived in Freiburg early on a Sunday morning, a few days before my program started, to find the entire city eerily silent and mostly deserted. Nearly every shop and restaurant was closed. The streets were empty. I could walk blocks without seeing a soul. At night, the city was dark, quiet,
and frankly creepy with no one else visible in the streets, anywhere. I went to bed Sunday night with a significant sense of foreboding, worrying about the city I had picked to study abroad in, and feeling as though I had done insufficient research about Freiburg, which I had read was a busy college town. Beyond my concern that the city would be sleepy and inactive, with few people around and little to see and do, I had not felt safe walking around in the streets at night, and I worried I would not be able to go out into the city alone all semester. All of that changed the next morning, however, when I awoke to find the city fully alive, each of the shuttered restaurants and shops open, and the old, narrow cobblestone streets bustling with people, even late into the night. My impression of Freiburg totally changed, literally overnight. I quickly learned that Freiburg, like other parts of Germany, essentially
shuts down on Sundays, as most of the city attends church, and for cultural reasons, most businesses remain closed in observance. I would come to find that, while supermarkets remain closed on Sundays, this Freiburg tradition would be a fairly easy obstacle to work around, and I would quickly grow accustomed to it. This — my very first impression of Freiburg, which turned out to be completely wrong — taught me an important lesson. Despite my experience studying, living, and traveling abroad, which prepared me for differing circumstances and customs, I encountered unexpected obstacles, re-emphasizing to me that initial snap judgements about the culture may not be accurate and are often not useful. Since this first experience, I have worked to reserve judgement and avoid excessive worry about aspects of life that I observe, committing instead to learning about
Freiburg until I better understand more about their cultural underpinnings and the reasons behind them. None of the countries and cities from Pomona’s study abroad program are in Claremont, and therefore none will have the same traditions, practices, or culture. I have learned that study abroad will be much more enjoyable and less stressful if students take new discoveries as they come and learn about them. This applies not only to local culture but nearly every aspect of study abroad. More importantly, I have found that keeping an open mind is the best and most enjoyable way to handle the changes that come. Snap judgements do not help anyone. Marc Rod is an international relations major at Pomona College, studying the European Union in Freiburg, Germany. Fittingly, he enjoys travel and journalism.
Samantha Resnick is a linguistics major at Pomona College. She likes reading words, and sometimes, she likes writing them, too.
A conversation with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist STEPHANIE DU
NINA POTISCHMAN • THE STUDENT LIFE
aren’t any easier. Beyond these lessons, our book club brought us closer in a way I didn’t think was possible for two people 2,000 miles apart. The book, at its best, became more than just a casual close reading session. Instead, it was a conduit for the type of profoundly personal conversations that build intimacy between partners. Without the book as a starting point, it would have been awkward to jump into those types of talks amidst the time lags of Skype and our cyclic complaining about classes. Looking back now, I can admit that we did, at times, take the book club too far. It probably wasn’t necessary to discuss the novel while drinking red wine amidst twinkling fairy lights, Tchaikovsky playing softly in the background. But it worked for us. Now, when we Skype, I find we always end the call with so much left to say. And not just about the book. Our club has reminded me why I fell in love with him in the first place, this boy who quotes “Ozymandias” to me on long car rides and strongly believes something irretrievable is lost when a book becomes a film. Most of all, it reminds me why long-distance — and reading — is worth it.
What is a home? Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas wrote about what it was like not to have one in his new book, “Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen.” In 2011, Vargas revealed that he was an undocumented immigrant in the New York Times magazine. On his website, Vargas wrote, “This is not a book about the politics of immigration. This book is not about immigration at all. This book is about homelessness.” Vargas will be making a stop at Scripps College for his book tour Sept. 26. Hosted by Scripps Presents, the event will be held in Balch Auditorium from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Vargas will be discussing his book with Leslie Berestein Rojas, an award-winning journalist who reports on immigration issues. Chicano Latino Student Affairs, who is co-sponsoring this event, wrote in an email to TSL that there will also be a student session before the event. Students will have the opportunity to ask Vargas questions and discuss relevant topics in a more intimate setting. Corrina Lesser, the director of public events and community programs at Scripps, hopes this event will instill a new perspective in people attending, and create a space to reflect on a shared human experience. She wrote in an email to TSL that the aim of Scripps Presents, “is to provide a forum to discuss the most pertinent and topical issues of our time.” The Public Events Advisory Committee, which consists of students, faculty, and staff, all agreed that immigration fell into this category. Lesser believes that America is synonymous with immigration. She also wrote that, “Undocumented immigrants may be the focus in the 21st century, but
it’s part of a much longer story. That’s why it’s so essential that we keep talking about it.” Vargas’ story began when his mother sent him from the Philippines to go live with her parents in the United States at the age of 12. He was presented with a green card and legal documents by his grandfather. However, upon trying to get his driver’s license when he was 16, Vargas was told that his green card was fake. Vargas’ grandfather later admitted that Vargas did not possess any legal documents in the United States. During Vargas’ journalism career, he had to lie in order to get certain jobs. But he reached a point in his life where he had to make a decision: should he keep hiding from the government? Or should he start to live a full life? Vargas decided the latter. He wanted to change the conversation on immigration. He realized that most people have no idea what immigration is really about. “My goal is to get people to understand immigration,” Vargas said in a phone interview. “We are actually talking about people’s lives; we are actually talking about families. The conversation is way bigger than immigration reform.” For the event, his objective is not to have a conversation about immigration reform nor about DACA. “The politics or policies of immigration doesn’t really reflect the reality of how human beings lived their lives,” he said. Instead, Vargas wants to have a conversation on the mental health crisis that is happening to immigrants, which is the subject of his book. It was also a way for Vargas to understand his own mental state and the actual emotional cost that he experienced. “It would be a missed opportunity for us not to host someone who has contributed so much to the way people are thinking and talking about immigration here in Claremont,” Lesser said.
LIFE & STYLE PAGE 6
THE STUDENT LIFE
SEPTEMBER 21, 2018
FILM COLUMN
Six movies everyone should have seen this summer BEN HAFETZ Nothing goes better together than a 100-degree summer day with 97 percent humidity and an afternoon at the movie theater. This winning combination meant that much of my summer was spent at the movies, and while the air conditioning was always worth my time, the movies tended to vary. In fact, a lot of the movies were quite bad. However, there were some films that transcended the air conditioning and made for true cinematic nirvana. This list of six films contains the very best of the summer movie crop (JuneAugust), and even some of the best films of the past year.
through a supernatural lens. The film follows the Graham family as they reckon with the pain of a loss in the family and filial horror. Unlike most horror films, the true terror of “Hereditary” does not come from the supernatural or the jump scares, but instead from the slow, unrelenting portrayal of grief and the damage that family can cause. This sense of despair that envelops the entire film is most prevalent in Toni Collette’s portrayal of a mourning mother, Annie Graham, whose pain is magnified by the film camera. “Hereditary” uses the surreal nature of the horror genre as a tool to painstakingly portray the trauma of loss. “Minding the Gap”
“Eighth Grade” Just when I thought I had finally suppressed my cringiest middle school memories, Bo Burnham’s directorial debut, “Eighth Grade” came along and re-established every embarrassing memory I tried to forget. The film follows Kayla (Elsie Fisher) in her final days of eighth grade, and the experiences of embarrassment, fear, and humor that come with it. Kayla’s story is not unique — it is similar to all of our own personal middle school miseries — but that similarity is what makes the film so special. Even when the film shows the true cringey-ness of eighthgrade life, it never provokes laughter aimed at Kayla. Instead, the empathy and reliability that Burnham and his star bring to the film force the audience to truly relate with an eighth-grade girl, and the pain and humor that come with being one.
I never thought that a documentary about skaters would
be one of the best portrayals of systemic familial abuse and the decline of the middle class ever aired on screen, but Bing Liu’s debut documentary, “Minding the Gap,” proved me wrong. The doc follows three skater teens: Bing (the director of the film), Kiere, and Zack, as they grow up dealing with wealth inequality, familial abuse, and loss in a small Rust Belt town. While the film is marketed as a doc about skateboarding, the actual activity of skateboarding only appears in beautiful flowing transitions that connect the lives of its three subjects. Because the director is a subject of the film and is close with his co-stars, we get a fully three-dimensional view of these young men. By the end of the film, I felt that I knew them personally, and when the credits rolled I was not ready to let them go.
“First Reformed” Leave it to the man who wrote “Taxi Driver” to be the first person to make a film that truly captures the existential dread of climate change. Paul Schrader accomplishes this in his newest film, “First Reformed,” which stars Ethan Hawke as a small-time pastor whose concept of faith is questioned when he must deal with a troubled environmental activist. Hawke displays what can only be described as a career-defining performance, playing a character haunted by an impending sense of doom. While the film itself is inherently nihilistic, the small tads of pitch-black humor allow the audience to commit to the horrid world Schrader creates. “Mission Impossible: Fallout”
It would be wrong to make a list of the best summer movies and not mention a traditional blockbuster, and “Mission Impossible: Fallout” is one of the best blockbusters of the decade. The sixth film in the franchise (directed by Christopher McQuarrie) follows Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team as they race against the clock to stop a nuclear disaster. But let’s be honest: the plot of this film is merely a vehicle for the spectacle of the set pieces — my personal favorite being when Hunt has to climb up a rope and fly a helicopter, that Tom Cruise actually learned to fly, in order to save the day. The sheer absurdity and technical mastery behind these jawdropping stunts are the straw that stirs the film’s drink, making it the most fun film I have seen in a long time. Also, I can’t forget to mention that Henry Cavill’s
character reloads his fists like shotguns. Go see this movie on a big screen. “Sorry to Bother You” The polar opposite of “Mission Impossible: Fallout” is Boots Riley’s anti-capitalist comedy “Sorry to Bother You.” Reilly’s debut feature follows Cash Green (Lakeith Stanfield) as he struggles to choose between financial success and his morals as he rises up the ranks of the world’s most powerful call center. To be honest, explaining the plot of the bizarre and wholly original film is a futile exercise. Instead, it is best to just describe the moments that make the film truly special. For instance, the film’s use of Cash’s “white voice” (dubbed by David Cross) as a means of satirizing the way capitalism monetizes and exploits race for profit is one of the best pieces of American satire of the 21st century. “Sorry to Bother You” is a flawed film (especially in the last 20 minutes), but it also has some of the most exciting moments I’ve seen on screen in a long time. So, there you have it, a completely arbitrary list of the six best films I saw this summer. However, I do want to quickly mention one film that came out before the summer that particularly stood out this year. That film is Lynne Ramsay’s, “You Were Never Really Here,” which is a masterpiece and deserves to be remembered as one of the best films of the decade. These six films made this last summer a great time for the movies, as long as you avoided “Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom.”
“Hereditary” Like “Eighth Grade,” Ari Aster’s debut feature, “Hereditary,” makes the audience feel a relatable sense of discomfort, albeit
JULIA READ • THE STUDENT LIFE JULIA READ • THE STUDENT LIFE
Ben Hafetz is a Media Studies and Politics double major at Pitzer College. He likes to not only see movies, but also tell his friends why they should or should not like certain ones.
SCIENCE COLUMN
How yeast could save Selena Gomez CAITLYN FICK Professor of Chemistry Sarah Keller has a knack for yeast. While we might know about yeast from its role in creating bread and yogurt, Keller ’s research on it has been linked to processes that can cause diseases such as lupus — an autoimmune disorder that rose to national attention after actress and singer Selena Gomez was diagnosed. Keller, from the University of Washington, spoke at the 5C Chemistry Seminar Series Sept. 11, a program that invites prominent chemists to 5C campuses to share their research and career paths with students and faculty. Here, Keller described her research, which revolves around studying a structure found in yeast cells, the vacuole. This structure is in charge of collecting the cell’s waste, an important function for cell vitality.
However, these structures are generally found in bacterial cells, not in human cells. So, why does Keller care so much about this structure, and what about it relates her work to Selena Gomez’s health? As a biophysicist, she has spent her time exploring the structure of the vacuole. Keller said she was excited to discover that the vacuole’s membrane, a protective outer layer, can adapt to its surroundings. Unlike the membrane that surrounds the cells in our bodies, the membranes surrounding vacuoles have much more freedom to move around — an essential piece of information that Keller found. This concept was coined “phase separation,” and her research has further emphasized that this specific adaptability is essential for yeast cells, which need this p h a s e
separation in order to live. Keller ’s discovery of the vacuole’s adaptability led her to wonder if this was a fluid process, essentially whether or not this change was permanent. She discovered that the vacuole constantly a d a p t s t o i t s s u r roundings. However, what i n trigued her the most was that it only seemed to adapt at a specific temperature, which she noted would help in designing the next round of testing. Although her lab team does not know exactly why this phenomenon occurs, the team is already working on ways to further test this and how it might relate to specific diseases, like lupus.
HOUSE CLEANER / HOUSEKEEPER URGENTLY NEEDED This will be a part time, live-out position from Tuesday to Friday. The position includes childcare and light housekeeping Must be able to interact with children
This yeast we so often dismiss has led Keller to significant discoveries about the vacuole’s membrane. Its ability to change might have even larger effects for the world of medicine, holding implications for celebrities like Gomez and the greater world of autoimmune diseases. Caitlyn Fick is a chemistry major at Scripps College. She enjoys mountains, trees, water, and dogs.
CASSIE WANG • THE STUDENT LIFE
Speak English, and non smoker $800 weekly, 6 to 7 hours daily MUST HAVE REFERENCES You can reach Mrs. Claudia at claudiapredacoop1960@gmail.com
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Colin Kaepernick is a hero. Nike isn’t.
CASSIE WANG, Production Editor JAMES KARSTEN, Senior Design Editor MADELINE MCCLUSKEY, Design Consultant QUIN FRALEY, News Designer MARIA HEETER, Life & Style Designer SHAY LARI-HOSAIN, Opinions Designer JILLIAN BATIUK, Sports Designer HELENA ONG, Design Associate AMBER CHONG, Copy Chief MEGHAN JOYCE, Graphics Editor CHLOE ORTIZ, Photo Manager TALIA BERNSTEIN, Photo Editor
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Annual Turf Dinner Better than Frary dinner
TSL SAYS
PAGE 7
THE STUDENT LIFE
SEPTEMBER 21, 2018
Mounds? Turf Dinner’s meant to be on turf
Investigating Bert & Ernie An excuse to watch old Sesame Street episodes
Puppets coming out? Puppets definitely have sexual orientations
iPhone XS I’m trendy
Spending Daddy’s money Costs an XS-ive amount of money
Cleveland Browns win... Cleveland finally has something to celebrate
Lovable losers Still only one win in 20 months
NATALIE BAUER • THE STUDENT LIFE
EAMON MORRIS On Aug. 14, 2016, Colin Kaepernick sat on the bench at a San Francisco 49ers preseason game during the national anthem. Twelve days later, Kaepernick explained that his protest was an act of solidarity with oppressed people of color and victims of police brutality. Despite his valid and clear justification, Kaepernick and other players that have joined him have received death threats, been blacklisted by the NFL, and been vilified on social media. It’s a controversy that’s been talked about for two years now and has been fading in and out of the media spotlight. It almost seemed like it was close to being forgotten until about two weeks ago, when Nike debuted an ad that featured Kaepernick — someone Nike has sponsored for several years now. The ad depicts a close-up of Kaepernick’s face in black and white with an overlaid text that reads, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything. Just do it.” A movement to end the systemic oppression of people of color and survivors of police violence has been simplified by a sportswear company to three monosyllabic words: “Just do it.” Kaepernick has donated over a million dollars of his salary to 41 different charities from 2016-2018 and raised an additional $400,000 from high-profile individuals in the community, according to his website and data from Forbes. His website describes his work with Camp Taylor — an organization that helps children with congenital heart defects. Kaepernick also founded and fully funded the
Know Your Rights campaign, which aids and empowers underprivileged children. In short, Kaepernick is a hero. Kaepernick’s intentions are pure. Nike’s are not. Nike would benefit from the American public believing that it’s a champion for social change. But it’s just a business — one that saw massive profits in using a controversial activist as a corporate weapon. According to Time Magazine, Nike made $43 million in media exposure in less than 24 hours alone after it began its Kaepernick ad series. Now, two weeks later, Nike’s stock has reached an all-time high. Nike took a gamble on endorsing Kaepernick. The company made itself a target to high-profile Republicans and angry Russian hackers. It gambled well, and as of now, its profits have never been better. It’s highly likely that the use of Kaepernick in the ad campaign is a tactic to encourage the public to forget that it only started auditing its factories for safety concerns in 2002, that it ran a sexist ad campaign in Europe labelled as “The Men vs. Women challenge,” and that its factory workers get paid nowhere near a livable wage for an exhausting work week. Nike’s image, no doubt, would be much better if the public ignored the bevy of sexual misconduct allegations that caused five of its executives to step down earlier this year. But then Kaepernick comes in. By using a prominent and controversial public figure in an ad campaign, Nike has made itself into a kind of rebel corporation that appears to be unafraid to take sides. Be warned: when companies get involved in activism, they aren’t be-
ing “woke.” They’re being manipulative. They’re reading their audience to make profits. One might argue that Nike could generate a similar amount of publicity as it did with Kaepernick by backing a controversial conservative activist. However, considering the makeup of the NFL, that would be extremely bad for business. About 73 percent of the 1,696 active NFL players are athletes of color. That means 73 percent of NFL players are much more likely to support Nike’s sponsorship of Kaepernick than they would be to support an activist on the right. Additionally, several hundred NFL athletes have already kneeled, following Kaepernick’s lead. This may be a generalization, but even if some athletes of color do not support Kaepernick, it makes more sense for Nike’s business to garner media attention with a liberal activist. While Nike has donated to Kaepernick’s own charity, Nike has failed to diversify its own donations. The majority of its charity work has been limited to programs to increase youth health awareness. If the corporation truly cared about stopping police violence, Nike would financially invest in doing so. If Nike was truly unafraid to take a position, the corporation would make it clear by backing non-athlete activists that share Kaepernick’s goals. Nike doesn’t care whether or not Americans back Kaepernick. No, Nike doesn’t care what the American public does — so long as the corporation does it while showing off the brand’s crisp swoosh. Eamon Morris PZ ’22 is from Orange, CA. He is a proud Slytherin and will happily discuss Harry Potter with anyone who bothers to listen.
Safe disaster evacuation is everyone’s business ZACHARY FRIEMAN In 2005, Uncle Peck and Aunt Viv’s home in New Orleans faced the catastrophic epicenter of Hurricane Katrina’s wrath. They and their daughter, Heidi, just a year or two older than me, lost everything. We collected our toys, lots of stuffed animals, action figures, legos, robots, DVDs, and shipped them to Texas, their source of refuge. Then Hurricane Rita struck, and they fled again. Despite all they lost, they escaped with their lives, unlike many. Evacuating and listening to government direction saved them. If directed to, we all must evacuate under mandatory direction, not just for ourselves, but for others as well. The warnings issued before this year’s storm-of-the-century, Hurricane Florence, were heeded by many, but not all. In total, around 1.7 million people were ordered to evacuate. On Sept. 13, I watched fraught CNN anchors report the great-forratings drama of the hurricane on pristine beach fronts in coastal North Carolina. The anchors were shocked to see locals frolicking among the waves in anticipation of the Category 4 hurricane projected to make landfall within hours. Perhaps they should be more accustomed to anticipating a certain amount of innate human selfishness in noncompliance. That doesn’t make it right but, instead, simply expected. Everyone has an instinctive desire to protect one’s property by oneself. This impulse is understandable — Who is going to protect my stuff with as much fervor as I will? — but must be suppressed for the good of the community. It is not only homeowners and the stubborn who are put in harm’s way; first responders die trying to rescue those that stay behind. There are other, very, legitimate reasons why people stay behind. Oftentimes, low-income individuals have an impossible task of finding transportation out of a storm’s path and finding shelter if and when they flee. Some stay to protect their pets. Disabled people face specific obstacles. While government provides
some assistance, it is not nearly enough. In order to protect both civilian and first responder lives, it is worth the government offsetting the loss of income that workers expect to incur from evacuating. Additionally, publicizing free transportation and out-of-town accommodations is key to increasing low-income evacuations. The government should have shelter options for individuals with pets and physically aid disabled people in their exit. Even if the government does those things, though, there’s still the issue of the people who literally don’t have the ability to evacuate. Some prisons in South Carolina refused to evacuate inmates. Not only does this obviously put the prisoners’ lives at risk, but it potentially puts any personnel (guards, prison staff) in danger as well. In fact, people under the protection of the government were abandoned, trapped in feet of floodwater, during Hurricane Katrina. According to the Human Rights Watch, 517 prisoners were never found. Advanced warning of Florence made it exceedingly clear that there was a risk of up to 20 feet of floodwater. Nevertheless, the Department of Corrections refused to evacuate. This is not even close to a moral dilemma and, moreover, the hypocrisy of a government institution not complying with its own government’s mandatory evacuation orders is staggering enough to warrant action. If waterboarding is considered torture, then forcing prisoners to wallow in neck-high (or higher) water during life-threatening storms surely is as well. Everyone must evacuate (or be evacuated) from a potential disaster zone. It saves lives. It is cost-effective. And it remains the most moral course of action. Whether it is a fire, earthquake, or hurricane, it is imperative that we, rule-questioners, follow rules and obey orders. Zachary Freiman PO ’20 is a Music and Public Policy Analysis double major from Sleepy Hollow, NY. He seeks retribution for Merrick Garland in everything he does.
DIAMOND PHAM • THE STUDENT LIFE
OPINIONS PAGE 8
SEPTEMBER 21, 2018
THE STUDENT LIFE
Crossword: Hungry for Knowledge
Coverage of Elon Musk’s weed smoking demonstrates incompetence of TV news CHRISTOPHER SALAZAR
JASPER DAVIDOFF • THE STUDENT LIFE
ACROSS 1. Prometheus exhibitor 5. Suffix with race, sex, or class 9. With 35-across, Jay’s Place companion 10. Water diffusion 13. Mexican president-elect 14. Surf and turf central on Thursday nights 15. A tiny Sony gaming console, perhaps 17. Pad thai central on Friday nights 20. XOXOXO (sans kisses) 21. Apart from that 25. It’s not either 26. Palindromic exclamation 27. Where you can find almuerzo, pranzo, or dejeuner 33. It can be ginger or alcoholic 34. Result if Apple branded Microsoft’s defunct web browser? 36. See 9-across 40. San Diego location, SoHo style 41. Take to the high seas 44. Spot to eat eggs and talk econ
45. One-time Pomona student and composer being honored by the Claremont Colleges Library next week 46. Ampersand meaning 47. Candid, or the companion to 1-across DOWN 1. Org. involved in redlining and the subprime mortgage crisis 2. Italian capital, and its temperature in late fall 3. Tearing this can take you out for the season 4. Rose-colored prefix (often spotted in front of -dendron) 5. Robot’s version of “It’s a boy”? 6. Lowercase 18th letter 7. Defoe character Flanders 8. Cops a squat 11. Soak (up) 12. In chem, it’s 0C and 1 atm 15. Texting lingo: “so not true” 16. Slang for uninspiring
17. Danger of hookup culture 18. Phone charging equipment 19. Yes means yes, this means this 22. 8th month of the Hebrew calendar 23. Thrifter’s dream sight 24. Observer, or misspelling of 22-down 28. Vitamin B3 29. What you’d need to have five fingers attached? 30. Prefix in chem for compounds containing oxygen 31. Reverse polish notation (CS acronym) 32. Texter’s good luck 35. Dyslexic’s Academy Award? 36. Secondary School Certificate acronym 37. Owl call 38. You can sign it 39. Home of Tulane and Bourbon Street 42. Call them if you’re having car trouble 43. Albanian currency
Elon Musk’s brief dalliance with vice on the Joe Rogan Experience, a podcast hosted by comedian Joe Rogan, and the media’s response illustrates the tragedy of the fourth estate. TV news is not a viable means for appropriate discourse. Rogan’s podcast interview with Musk was his most viewed episode to date, with nearly 13 million views on YouTube. The content ran the gamut, from Musk’s flame throwing escapades, to his Los Angeles tunnel ventures, and our advancing existential threats brought by global warming and artificial intelligence. But the media focused on a paltry 30-second segment where Musk smoked marijuana live. “So, is that a joint?” Musk asked. “Or, is that a cigar?” He appeared genuinely perplexed and curious. After Rogan confirmed the goods were legal, Musk pressed the rolled paraphernalia to his lips and inhaled. The event was newsworthy because it’s a rarity for billionaire CEOs to ceremonially burn cannabis on air. Tesla Inc.’s stock was negatively affected, but it hardly warranted the resulting hoopla. It was irrelevant white noise, the kind that incentivizes viewers to seek unconventional news sources, as trust in the media deteriorates. The situation with Musk was a prime example — pot hardly matters anymore, at least not in the reefer sanctuary that is the West Coast. Still, the aftermath demonstrates a troubling, alienating trend that either strengthens President Trump’s campaign to delegitimize the media or worsens an already divisive political atmosphere. It’s a serious problem. The narrative surrounding Musk’s recent appearance on
Rogan’s platform aggravates already frustrated viewers starved for substantial content, and, in their eyes, further cements the media’s irrelevance. Ironically, the major news networks are not helping themselves, and they’ve failed to proactively respond to the growing popularity of the Intellectual Dark Web, where renegade host and social commentators gather to talk seriously about unsettled affairs. These renegade commentators, who feel they’ve been walled off from the accepted narrative, have taken to YouTube or various podcasts to elaborate at length on nearly any topic deemed controversial. They are, in a word, supplanting — at least for a sizable subset of the population — network pundits and their fleeting, chaotic round-table conversations. The phenomenon is captured in Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan’s dictum — “the medium is the message.” Essentially, McLuhan’s claim concerns the scope of change brought about by a new technology or medium, and how those novelties affect the structure and trajectory of societies more than the content of any specific message delivered through that technology or medium. Plainly, the medium alters our orientation to reality. For example, electricity fundamentally altered our relation to the elements. The automobile revolutionized transportation. Radio and television, while undoubtedly transformative, pale in comparison to the Internet. The Internet radically transformed our relation to communication by solving a bandwidth problem. Information flow is nearly instantaneous. The ability of the laymen and heretic to participate in, and influence, contemporary discourse has changed in previously unimaginable ways.
It’s also created a market for complex, hours-long discussions on weighty subjects in a format that old mediums are reluctant, or unable, to adopt. Of course, technological advancements are not unburdened gifts. They solve, as well as create, problems. The same is true at the rough crossroads where both old and new media converge. Given this turbulence, electing to briefly highlight Musk’s flirtations before transitioning to the alarming issues surrounding artificial intelligence, and global warming would have been the savvy, proactive choice. Yet this is precisely the problem: serious, lengthy discussions on pertinent issues are non sequiturs — the medium is not conducive to broadcasting a sophisticated message. It’s a psychological ploy. In essence, TV news favors charmingly glossed-over-complexities in minute chunks. It’s seldom a useful strategy in a world where the currency of comprehension is depth and nuance. So, where news networks fail, YouTube and podcasts succeed. The edges, however, remain disheveled. Future historians will undoubtedly view this epoch as rancor. Nevertheless, Musk’s preference for being an incorrect optimist over a correct pessimist is effective. This is because neither the medium nor the message is limited to screens and dials, but includes language and being. So, the antidote to the choppy transition of old to new is to embody and express the proper orientation to life’s complications, while making the trip worthwhile. Christopher Salazar PZ ’20 is a double major in Philosophy and Classics with a minor in Science, Technology and Society, from La Verne, CA. He once laughed so hard, half a french fry came out of his nose.
Amazon lockers: It’s a ‘no’ from me
EMMA LI • THE STUDENT LIFE
SEAN BURKE Well, we got what was finally coming to us: the Amazon-ocalypse. Pitzer College, safeguard against capitalist brutality that it is, has welcomed the Nero of e-commerce to come graze in our pastures and sate our monstrous consumer appetites. Please don’t think I’m being dramatic: Amazon is a supremely exploitative company. The three Claremont Colleges (Pitzer, Scripps College, and Pomona College) that are supposed to breed card-carrying Marxists giving the green light to this totalitarian corporate leviathan [see: “The Blob” (1958)] show how little we actually care about alleviating the conditions of the working class
(also known as ‘the receiving end of everything terrible that happens in this glorified kleptocracy’). Despite the volumes of horror stories you can read about Amazon warehouse workers being emotionally abused by sadistic managers, worked to the point of hospitalization, and paid imperceptibly above the poverty line, most of us are all too eager to get next-day delivery on our JUULpods to care. Because the Board of Trustees played Edward Fortyhands with the head of the Federal Trade Commission at some frat party in the ‘70s, Amazon has been able to swallow up entire markets and visit commercial war crimes upon competitors. The lucre doled out
t o the h i g h e rups in the Amazon food chain are possible only because of the backbreaking labor of bottomrung employees. The enormous profits reaped by Amazon do not magically appear: they are created by the workers who do the most for the least amount of compensation. This is capitalism, baby. Effectively, no business owner can compete with how brutally efficient the 19th century labor practices are in keeping operating costs unbeatably low. The bureaucratic reptilians in the public
sector, as you might guess, have gone hog wild for this. States are throwing subsidies and tax breaks at the company (publicly subsidized, privately profitable) for it to open up shop in their jurisdictions, just so more of the underclass can get an asswhooping at the hands of vulture capitalism. And we thought nation-states were a bad idea. One explanation for our indifference to these capital crimes is that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has become a liberal icon for some un-
specified reason. Maybe it’s because he had a Twitter fight with Trump; maybe it’s because he likes to shoot things into space. Who knows. Whatever the case may be, the cult of personality around Bezos is another classic example of us, conscientious consumers, being duped into mistaking ‘screwingover employees-in-increasinglymore-insidious-ways-to-bolsterthe-profit-line’ for ‘innovation.’ Forbes isn’t going to save us: we need to take a hard look at the bleak reality that the current economic regime is foisting upon us.
In our data-driven modern world, those who didn’t have the college education necessary to end up playing with numbers for 30 minutes a day are getting left more and more behind. It’s only a matter of time before the salaries, benefits, and employment of both you and I are also on the chopping block en masse. Anyone else wondering if this whole ‘free-market’ thing is really working out for our species? Sean Burke PZ ’21 is an idealist crank from Massachusetts’ North Shore. One time, his old band, Rarig’s Kid, almost played at a Jill Stein rally, but she heard their music and summarily rescinded the invitation. He can be reached on Twitter @ RachaelRaytheon.
OPINIONS SEPTEMBER 21, 2018
Textbook sexism creates misinformed doctors LILY BORAK Science textbooks — bereft of diversity and gender neutrality — use androcentric facts and figures that restrict physicians from understanding how to accurately diagnose and appropriately treat non-male patients. As a result, women and people of color are often misdiagnosed, mistreated, or simply not treated at all, which in extreme cases, can result in death. The United States urgently needs the demographic breakdown of its doctors to parallel the demographic breakdown of the American population, as greater diversity allows for greater cultural competence, increased innovation, and better patient care as a whole. The white-washed, male-dominated nature of the medical world is partially a product of the classrooms from which future physicians are born. Through language with biased undertones, medical textbooks and literature fail to prepare physicians to treat their patients compassionately and competently. The consequences are substantial for patients of color. Researchers from the University of British Columbia found that by displaying only a majority of white patients in such publications, doctors may be ill-equipped to appropriately treat patients with darker skin tones. Some diseases, such as skin cancer, present themselves differently depending on skin color. If doctors are only taught how to identify such diseases on white patients, doctors will not be able to effectively treat other patients. For women, covert sexism may linger behind what may seem to be otherwise unbiased descriptions of biological processes. In her seminal article “The Sperm and the Egg,” anthropologist Emily Martin details how the language in biology textbooks surrounding reproduction overcredit the role of sperm in the process of fertilization, reducing the ovum to a passive bystander waiting to be acted upon by the sperm. Moreover, a 2013 study led by Cardiff University researchers underscored the shortcomings of anatomy textbooks in particular. Some medical students involved in the study highlighted the lack of body diversity, noting how their anatomy textbooks only depicted female bodies with “perfect breasts.” Additionally, many textbooks have historically used androcentric descriptions of anatomy — such as describing the clitoris as a diminutive form of the penis — creating misconceptions surrounding female anatomy. In fact, one group of researchers sought out to combat the confusion surrounding female genitalia by producing a comprehensive account of the clitoris. In doing so, they noted that most textbooks “lack detail and include inaccuracies” when diagramming female genitalia. The same can hardly be said for the penis.
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THE STUDENT LIFE
Weekly comic
This is because current medical textbooks draw upon centuries of data and information collected by male scientists from male subjects. A recent report produced by Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston highlighted the consequences of male-dominated research. By failing to include women in clinical toxicology studies and/or acknowledge the impact of sex on the data collected, researchers have restricted physicians from being able to appropriately care for their female patients. The Institute of Medicine, a non-profit organization dedicated to public health, explains that the difference between possessing XX and XY can have a greater effect on one’s health than historically believed and, therefore, scientists should consider sex at “all levels of biomedical and health-related research.” Cardiovascular disease kills more Americans than any other disease, regardless of gender. Yet, men make up two-thirds of clinical trial subjects. Of the research that does include female subjects, only 31 percent account for sex in the outcome. Cardiovascular disease manifests differently in women than it does in men. Nonetheless, physicians treat female patients based upon data from mostly male subjects. By not presenting images of diverse patients, textbooks have failed the patients of color whose skin cancer was misdiagnosed. Textbooks must include a diverse array of skin tones when drawing upon examples of skin diseases. By not using gender-neutral language, textbooks have failed the women who have been viewed as lesser versions of men. Textbooks need to ensure they present unbiased information in order to avoid perpetuating societal stereotypes and prejudices. By citing research conducted by scientists who neither acknowledge sex in their research or findings, textbooks have failed the 44 million women in the United States affected by heart disease. Researchers must also look into how diseases specifically affect trans and nonbinary people in order to ensure no individual receives second-rate treatment due to their identity. The solution lies in the hands of those who hold immense power in the scientific community: textbook publishers and scientific researchers. Publishing companies must ensure their books are not presenting human physiology in a whitewashed, androcentric manner, and researchers must take sex into consideration while collecting and interpreting their data.
‘
Lily Borak PZ ’21 is a neuroscience major from Newton, MA. She enjoys informing others that Fig Newtons are indeed named after her hometown.
ASHLEY HSIEH • THE STUDENT LIFE
The Claremont Colleges should not forget 9/11, but instead honor its memory CHRISTOPHER MURDY On Sept. 11, 2001, our parents’ generation had a moment akin to that of Pearl Harbor for our grandparents. They could tell us exactly when they first heard about the attacks in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. We, the average college-aged student, cannot say the same. I was a year and a half old when my mom saw the smoke rising from the towers in the distance that morning on the beach. I have no such memory, and most, if not all, of my first-year classmates have a similar lack of recollection. Growing up in New York and hearing the many first-hand stories from that day ensured that I never passed by the anniversary without taking part in a remembrance of some sort. I cannot say the same for here in Claremont. No memorial, no email, no service, no announcement, no mention of it. The day came and went without a 7C memorial on Walker Wall, the bell tower ringing at the time the towers came down, or any other memorial besides lowering the flags to half-staff, which is required by Public Law 107–89 passed by the 107th Congress. While remembrance does not necessarily require one of these concrete actions, to anyone walking around campus last Tuesday, it would seem as if it were just any regular day of the week. Perhaps the easiest opportunity for any of the 7Cs to ex-
press their condolences would be through social media. Peer institutions, such as Bowdoin College and Williams College, released tweets, and lest you think our distance from the East Coast bears responsibility for this, Occidental College tweeted an offer for students to take part in a 9/11 remembrance walk. Collectively, the 7Cs published thirteen tweets last Tuesday, but not one of them mentioned the anniversary. The last couple years at colleges across America have brought students to campus who, like me, have no memory of the day. That, though, should be no excuse to forget to pay tribute to those who lost their lives on that day, as it is such an important moment in world history. The tragedy of 9/11 managed to touch nearly all corners of the globe with 90 countries losing at least one citizen that day. Considering that students at the Claremont Colleges come from around the world, it would be irresponsible not to pay tribute as a community to a moment that had such global impacts. Back in 2010, after also noticing the apparent lack of attention paid to the 9/11 anniversary on campus, Heidi Wolfgruber CM ’11, organized a group to place 2,996 American flags on campus, and the tradition continued for at least the following year. It seems, though, that the school community has fallen back into an apparent disregard for the day. Pomona College’s Timeline
website describes the actions students took on the original 9/11: “On that evening, the wall was painted a uniform black; on the second day, the New York skyline appeared, with the Twin Towers restored and the words ‘You Are in Our Hearts.’” TSL’s archives from the weeks following 9/11 are abound with stories of similar memorials. We can certainly learn a lot from their example. I do not intend to accuse the students or any of the 7C administrations of maliciously ignoring a tragic moment in our nation’s history. Instead, we seem to have forgotten the importance of remembering an important, pivotal moment in our recent history. Furthermore, I am not calling for some grand memorial service that overwhelms people; I am simply advocating for there to be a subtle reminder on campus about the day’s history. For our generation, this proves to be even more important since we, ourselves, have no memory of it. As a community, we cannot let this continue. Whether it be planting flags on any of the campuses or ringing the bell in the Smith Clock Tower to mark the moment that the towers fell, a lasting tradition of remembrance simply is the least we can do. Christopher Murdy PO ’22 is an intended International Relations major from Lido Beach, NY. He has yet to be convinced West Coast beaches are better.
HARSHLIGHT • FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS
SPORTS PAGE 10
THE STUDENT LIFE
Sports Calendar
September 21 - September 27
Pomona-Pitzer Friday, Sept. 21
SEPTEMBER 21, 2018
CMS MEN’S SOCCER
SHUTOUT STREAK: Defense has been crucial in Stags’ dominant start to season
Women’s Volleyball At Occidental 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22 Men’s Soccer Whittier At P-P 11 a.m. Women’s Soccer At Whittier 7 p.m. Men’s Water Polo Chapman At P-P 11 a.m. Women’s Volleyball Whittier At P-P 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 25 Women’s Volleyball At Chapman 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26 Men’s Soccer Redlands At P-P 4 p.m.
EDIT
Women’s Soccer At Redlands 7 p.m.
PICOKR’S IAN POVEDA • THE STUDENT LIFE
William Birchard CM ’21 makes a run in the men’s soccer game against Cal. Lutheran Sept. 15.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Saturday, Sept. 22 Cross Country Men’s and Women’s At San Bernadino 7:30 a.m. Men’s Soccer EDITO At Redlands PICKR’S 7 p.m. Women’s Soccer Redlands At CMS 7 p.m. Women’s Volleyball Redlands At CMS 4 p.m. Men’s Water Polo At Redlands 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 25 Women’s Volleyball At Caltech 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept 26 Men’s Soccer At Chapman 4 p.m. Women’s Soccer Chapman At CMS 7 p.m. Men’s Water Polo At Cal Lutheran 4 p.m.
DELANEY HARTMANN The Claremont-MuddScripps men’s soccer team (70, 4-0 SCIAC) extended their season-opening shutout streak to seven games Sept. 19, defeating the Whittier Poets (3-4, 2-3 SCIAC) 3-0. The seventh straight shutout is the longest such streak since 2004 for the Stags, who are showing plenty of promise after a disappointing 2017 season. Coming into the 2018 season, CMS was ranked sixth out of the eight teams in the SCIAC. However, after the strong start to the season, sophomore defender Will Birchard CM ’21 is optimistic about the team’s ability to break into the top four and compete for the SCIAC title. “We have realized we have so much more to give than last year, and with the team being so young, we have grown a lot,” Birchard said. “We’ve had a really good attitude on the team and everyone has realized they have a lot more to offer to the program.” The most impressive part of the shining start to the 2018 soccer season has been the Stags’ rock-solid defense. Birchard
praised Head Coach Matt EdEdwards has seen this buy-in team, and how they have learned wards for the way he heavily from the players in their hard to adapt to their competition: emphasizes a strong defense in work on the field: “Our team al- “We have learned how to play practice and in games. ways cares and wants to do well. other teams, and how to adjust That emphasis has translated They want to be pushed.” our system to play more effecinto wins for the Stags, and the Edwards is also looking for- tively, and that is what we will defensive work of defenders ward to the challenges that lie continue to do in our upcoming Birchard and Adam Singer CM ahead for CMS. games.” ’20 and first-year goalie Jacob “We will continue to focus on Looking forward, the Stags Mays CM ’22 has allowed for an details and nuances, so we con- are scheduled to battle a string impressive streak of shutouts. tinue to improve,” the coach said. of SCIAC teams, starting with a “We take extreme pride in not Birchard also emphasized marquee matchup at Redlands letting a goal by, and everyone the detail-oriented nature of the (5-1, 4-0 SCIAC) Sept. 22. gives 100 percent to win the ball back,” Birchard said. “Our mentality has been to do anything at all costs not to concede a goal.” The whole team has worked together to help the defensive line, and it has created a strong, cohesive team dynamic. With only two seniors in the program, the team is very young, and it has taken a group effort to create strong team chemistry. However, Birchard emphasizes how “everyone knows their role on the team and everyone has stepped up and bought into the program.” The Stags are excited and motivated to succeed, and Birchard highlighted the commitment to doing the little things in practice to stay healthy and continue to IAN POVEDA • THE STUDENT LIFE play well. CMS and Cal Lutheran players battle for a header Sept. 15.
Sagehen football falls to George Fox in final preparation before SCIAC play Meghan Joyce • The Student Life
Scores Pomona-Pitzer
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Women’s Volleyball P-P 3 Redlands 2 P-P 3 Caltech 0
Women’s Volleyball CMS 3 Emory 1 CMS 3 UT Dallas 2 WashU 3 CMS 1 CMS 3 La Verne 2
Men’s Water Polo P-P 20 Occidental 4 Women’s Soccer P-P 1 UC Santa Cruz 0 P-P 1 Cal Lutheran 0 Football George Fox 40 P-P 6 Men’s Soccer Cal Lutheran 3 P-P 1 Men’s Golf Cal Lutheran Intercollegiate 9th place Women’s Golf Cal Lutheran Intercollegiate 3rd place
Men’s Water Polo CMS 13 Chapman 11 Women’s Soccer Cal Lutheran 1 CMS 0 CMS 2 Whittier 0 Men’s Golf Cal Lutheran Intercollegiate 1st place ADAM KUBOTA • THE STUDENT LIFE
Men’s Soccer CMS 3 Cal Lutheran 0 CMS 3 Whittier 0
NOAH SASAKI The Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens football team (2-1, 0-0 SCIAC) suffered their first loss of the season in crushing fashion Sept. 16, falling 40-6 to the George Fox Bruins. The Sagehens started the season with wins over LewisClark Valley (ID) and Lewis & Clark (OR), and they hoped to carry that momentum into
Saturday’s game against George Fox. However, with a pick-six on the first Sagehen offensive possession, it was soon apparent that the game ahead would not be like the team’s first two. Bruin quarterback Jaden Sheffey then ran for 40- and 65-yard touchdowns, and P-P was quickly in a deep hole. It didn’t help that in addition to the slow start defensively, the
Hens suffered four early turnovers that would account for 100 yards of Bruins’ offense. Going into the second half, momentum truly seemed in favor of the Bruins, and it showed as their defense held the Hens scoreless for the rest of the game. To supplement that strong defensive effort, the George Fox offense put up three more touchdowns to finish off the game convincingly.
Despite the tough loss, the Sagehens will look toward a bye week for some fine-tuning before opening up conference play against SCIAC foe Redlands. Although the Hens did not fair well against George Fox, they have a chance at redemption against the Bulldogs, who also played against the Bruins and came away with a 20-12 victory.
SPORTS THE STUDENT LIFE
SEPTEMBER 21, 2018 COMMENTARY
‘Mob Squad’: the Rams’ rise to NFL prominence KELLAN GRANT When the Rams packed up their bags and left St. Louis for the glitz and glamor that awaited them in Los Angeles, they were welcomed with open arms. It didn’t take long, however, for their homecoming to be spoiled. Within weeks of the start of the 2016 season, diehard Angelenos started to realize that there was a big difference between simply having a team and being relevant in the NFL. Their response? They moved on. For a city full of stars, there just isn’t enough time for mediocrity. Be good, or get lost. The Rams learned this lesson quick, but man, did they get good. On Sunday, the Rams shut out the Arizona Cardinals to seal a 34-0 win on the second weekend of the season. In their past six quarters, L.A.’s opponents have failed to put a single point on the board. Not only that, but the Cardinals did not even take a snap in the Rams’ territory until the final play of the game. A combination of factors can be attributed to the Rams’ dominant rise among the NFL’s elite. To start, their offense is fast, powerful, and currently run by one of the brightest young minds in the league, Sean McVay. If they hand the ball off to star running back Todd Gurley, he’ll make a big play more often than not. If the defense somehow finds a way to shut him down, then quarterback Jared Goff can zip it downfield to his three favorite targets: Brandin Cooks, Cooper Kupp, and Robert Woods. Through the first two games, opposing defenses do not seem to have been able to find an effective way to stop both options. A similar story can be found on the other side of the ball. In a summer where the Lakers might have taken the spotlight in L.A. with their signing of Lebron James, the Rams were sure to remain a part of daily discussions with their offsea-
son moves. Most notably, they paired Ndamukong Suh with Aaron Donald on their defensive line — a tandem that, on paper, could not be stopped by even the best offensive line in the NFL. In addition, they added Pro-Bowlers such as Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib to round out what was already a top-15 defense in the league. The only caveat to their acquisition of Suh, Peters, and Talib is that each player is notorious for having big mouths and even big-
ger tempers. This left many to question whether or not such big personalities would mesh well together on the field. While the Rams have given their defensive line the nickname “Mob Squad,” others have made light-hearted fun of their new collection of players by referring to them as the “goon squad” instead. However, their performance in the first two games of the season closed any thought that might oppose the effectiveness of these players together. The Rams have
proven to be a commanding force on both sides of the ball, and on their way to doing so, they have made NFL football in L.A. entertaining again. In the span of two years, the Rams transformed their team from a laughing stock into Super Bowl favorites. They’ve learned how to win the hearts of L.A. fans and have captured the exact essence and lure of Hollywood: stars, drama, and endless fun. Oh, and the fans that moved on quickly in 2016? They’re back.
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P-P Athlete of the Week Men’s Cross Country Andy Reischling PO ‘19 Seattle, Washington The Pomona-Pitzer Men’s Cross Country team came in third at the UC Riverside Invitational over the weekend. They were also first among all the Division III teams at the meet, and a large part of their success can be attributed to Andy Reischling PO ’19. Reischling ran a personal best time in the 8K race, finishing with a time of 24:21.9. He finished eighth amongst all the runners at the meet and displayed excellent speed after the first mile to close out on athletes near the front. Reischling’s efforts also helped him win SCIAC Athlete of the Week.
CMS Athlete of the Week https://files.slack.com/files-pri/TCR1Y6JUV-FCXCZQSPJ/phoebe_madsen.jpg https://files.slack.com/files-pri/ TCR1Y6JUV-FCXCZQSPJ/phoebe_madsen.jpg
Women’s Volleyball Phoebe Madsen CM ‘20 Santa Barbara, California
PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKI COMMONS
Running back Todd Gurley has been a key part of the Rams’ rise to Super Bowl contention.
The Claremont McKenna junior came up big for CMS over the weekend in the EastWest Challenge, leading the Athenas to two wins over nationally ranked teams. On Saturday, Madsen had 8 kills, 12 digs, and 30 assists in a win over sixthranked Emory. She followed up with two triple-doubles on Sunday, with lines of 11, 22, and 29 in the win over UT Dallas, ranked 28th, along with 10, 10, and 23 in the loss to 12th ranked Washington University in St. Louis. Madsen led the team in assists and was first or second in digs in each of the three games.
CMS WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Defending NCAA champions host East-West Challenge, take two wins against nationally-ranked competition MILLY CHI
Over the past weekend, the defending national champion Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women’s volleyball team (10-2, 1-0 SCIAC) hosted the first-ever, prestigious East-West Challenge at Roberts Pavilion, beating Emory University (3-1) and University of Texas, Dallas (3-2), but suffered a loss to Washington University in St. Louis(1-3). The East-West Challenge, which will ‘swap coasts’ every year, features six teams from across the country ranked top 30 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association coaches’ poll. The challenge was the brainchild of head coach Kurt Vlasich, who said formalizing it required a collective effort among coaches in Division III. “[It] was a tournament I put together in concept a few years ago, and worked with some of my colleagues who are good friends to basically showcase the highest level of volleyball in Division III,” Vlasich said. “You know that every single match is going to be highlevel, and in terms of rankings and
positioning, it can only help these teams to play each other rather than struggle to find teams to play in the pre-seasons.” Entering the tournament, the Athenas were ranked No. 3 nationally with a 7-1 record after winning all four matches they played in Trinity, Texas, the previous weekend. The visit to the Lone Star State had set the tone for the East-West Challenge home games, Vlasich said. For the Athenas, schools like UT Dallas must continue to stay on the team’s radar, due to their proximity and the postseason implications that come with that. “[Of the weekend], the match, for me, that was really important was the UT Dallas match,” Vlasich said. “We have to think more in terms of the region, not just our national ranking. On top of just beating UT Dallas at our tournament, being in Texas the weekend before and winning all our matches against those Texas schools was incredibly important because we’ve positioned ourselves in a manner where we can host the regional if we continue to do well.” The Athenas had a stellar show-
ing against the Comets, with a particularly powerful performance from Phoebe Madsen CM ’20. The junior ended the contest by finishing her fifth kill of the set and 11th of the match, clinching the 3-2 win. However, UT Dallas was not the only heart-racing match of the weekend. CMS started the weekend with a contest against No. 6 Emory, and the two top-ranked teams battled all match. While the Athenas led 2-1 in the fourth set, Emory held a 22-19 lead, and were on the verge of forcing a fifth set. However, they were able to step on the gas and go on a 6-0 run to win the match. The victory was highlighted by Melanie Moore’s CM ’21 solo block to end the match strong. “I think when it comes down to the last point, it’s just all about energy and about heart,” Moore said to CMS Athletics. “You just go for it, and if you get it, you get it. That’s what we play for. We play for each other, and I think that’s what it’s all about.” For team captain and junior Sarah Tritschler CM ’19, the Emory game was definitely the most exciting — not only competitively,
AMY BEST • THE STUDENT LIFE
Amanda Walker SC ’20 is on the cusp of delivering the perfect spike against WashU’s defense in the CMS vs. WashU game Sept. 15.
AMY BEST • THE STUDENT LIFE
Melanie Moore CM ’21 goes in for a spike, set for her by teammate Phoebe Madsen CM ’20 in the CMS vs. WashU game Sept. 15.
but also in terms of fan support and energy. “We lost to them last year in preseason when we played them in their home gym, and this year we were given the chance to even the score,” Tritschler said. “We were ranked third nationally and they were sixth, so it was inevitably going to be a big match because we are both top-10 teams. We knew it was going to be a battle, so we got a bunch of fans and friends to come to the game for support, so it was really exciting, feeling all of the energy in the gym that day.” While the final game of the weekend against Washington University of St. Louis resulted in a loss, the Athenas still ended on a powerful note. During the second set, in danger of falling behind 2-0, the Athenas stormed back from a 17-11 deficit and won 25-20 to tie the match 1-1, according to CMS athletics. However, the Athenas dropped the next two sets 25-18 and 25-21. Despite the loss, multiple players had big games, including 15 kills from Amanda Walker SC ’20, seven blocks by Lauren Gode CM ’21, and 12 digs by Sarah Tritschler
CM ’20. Despite the high tension and high stakes, the Athenas were hardly discouraged by the loss, Tritschler said. “We decided to look at our preseason as a whole rather than at specific matches, because we did what no one expected,” she said. “We did well, with one of the hardest and [most] packed preseason schedules of any Division III team.” Coach Vlasich echoed Tritschler’s sentiments, focusing on the bigger picture. “You’re tired, you’re beat up, we’re extremely injured right now, and we’re playing players that haven’t seen a lot of court time in terms of playing these high level teams,” Vlasich said. “So to battle like we did, to put away a couple of victories, and put on a good show against WashU, I’m incredibly proud. Incredibly happy.” As the team looks on, preparing for the upcoming SCAIC conference slate, Vlasich said he isn’t too concerned about the team living up to the expectations of last year’s National Champion team. “While there are players on the
roster that were in that national championship match, they understand that that was last year, and this is this year,” Vlasich said. “My favorite part about being in the gym so far with this group of young women is that they’ve clearly made it their own identity — they’re not banking on what happened last year in order to be successful this year. They’re trying to create their own success.” U l t i m a t e l y, p l a y e r s l i k e Tritschler are putting the pressure upon themselves to take the team to new heights, rather than focus on the past. “Every team knows we’re the reigning national champions, and they play like it,” Tritschler said. Everyone plays their best game against us, making every match, no matter who’s on the other side of the court, an intense battle. We all want to do our best and win again, but we have to realize we’re a completely new team this year, especially after having graduated eight seniors from last year’s team.” The Athenas are slated to return to the court Sept. 22, playing against Redlands University (6-5) at home.
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THE STUDENT LIFE
SEPTEMBER 21, 2018