Issuu

VOL. CXXXIIII NO. 0

FRIDAY, September 2, 2022

CLAREMONT, CA

PITZER WORKERS UNIONIZE

COURTESY: ATLAS PYKE

Left: Students from the Claremont Student Workers Alliance organized a rally Thursday to celebrate Pitzer workers’ union win. Right: Joined by workers from across the Inland Empire, Pitzer union organizers spoke to students at the rally about supporting local labor fights.

MARIANA DURAN After months of organizing, allegations of administrative wrongdoing and an eventual agreement between the college and a local labor union, Pitzer dining and facilities workers officially unionized. A majority of Pitzer workers designated UNITE HERE Local 11 — a labor union that represents workers across Southern California — as their exclusive bargaining representative, Pitzer’s office of Human Resources announced in an Aug. 25 email to the Pitzer community. Pitzer voluntarily recognized the union after a neutral arbitrator confirmed that a majority of workers signed union-authorization cards, the college said in the email. Earlier this month, Pitzer announced that they reached an agreement with UNITE HERE Local 11 on a “fair, appropriate and efficient process” to determine whether dining and facilities Pitzer workers wanted to be represented by the union.

Through a joint statement with UNITE HERE Local 11 released on Aug. 8, Pitzer’s Office of Human Resources announced that it would take a neutral approach to union organizing. “There is currently a renewed national movement toward the right of workers to organize,” the Office of Human Resources wrote in the statement. “Pitzer College, with our academic focus and our very identity centered on social justice, embraces this movement.” Prior to Pitzer’s announced agreement with UNITE HERE Local 11, some administrative members of the college had come under fire in May for allegedly committing actions intended to bust unionizing efforts. Pitzer groundskeeper and union organizer Tony Hoang alluded to this prior struggle in a student rally organized by the Claremont Student Workers Alliance to celebrate Pitzer workers’ new union this Thursday.

A note from the editors

To new and returning students alike: we couldn’t be more excited you’re here. The 7Cs are a special place, but they’re nothing without the students, faculty and staff who make up the core of the colleges. As is summer’s nature, things have changed over break. Some of this change is exciting: Cross-campus dining is back in full force, fostering cross-campus social connections. Some are more sobering. Monkeypox cases rapidly increased and — despite the elimination of many COVID-19 policies at the 5Cs — the virus hasn’t gone anywhere. All t hese c ha nges ca n feel overwhelming at times; however, there’s one important thing that hasn’t shifted at all, and that’s how we should treat each other as the semester begins. At this time two years ago, students were preparing to hunker down for what would eventually turn into a full year of classes through boxed-in screens and childhood bedrooms. When students finally made a full return to Claremont last August, the “I know you from Instagrams,” seemed endless — the shock from off-screen personas and in-person heights after the first real introductions, even more so. So now, in the middle of a rapidly changing and evolving campus that looks much different from the one we left in the spring, holding onto gratitude and caring for each other is key as we navigate another semester where news seems to break at just about every corner. One thing the past few years have reminded us is that the future can be unpredictable. Last semester alone, we went from two weeks of online classes to cross-campus dining’s partial

return to a post-spring break virus surge to cross-campus dining’s full closure again. The year was a lesson in patience and adaptability, but students, faculty and staff did an admirable job rising to the challenge. Of course, we understand how tiring these last two years have been as wel l. O n l i ne school is no easy task, and not being in the same place as each other is tiring and isolating. Being back at Claremont is incredibly exciting and an opportunity that should be made the most of. Sit and revel in a sunset at Skyspace. Enjoy a coffee and ba ked good i n t he Motley. People watch from the Cube. Chicken watch at the Pitzer student gardens. Grab a drink from Muddbucks. Live your best semester. But don’t forget to help others live their best semester too. To recog n i ze t hat we’re all still adjusting in our own ways is important, because it’s within our reach to do the little things that can help us meet each other where we’re at — and ensure that we all feel supported. This happens through our small scale actions: wearing a mask at Malott because that’s what the staff ask of us and supporting mutual aid efforts on campus. This also happens on a bigger scale: paying attention to our staff and faculty’s efforts to create a better work environment for themselves. As we all (re)acclimate to Claremont, let’s approach this semester with intention and empathy. From there, we can work to make it a fulfilling semester for us all.

“I see all of these people more than I see my family,” Hoang said in the rally. “I want my home, this home, to be a place of serenity and peace and camaraderie and respect, and something I noticed right away [when I started working here] was the culture here was sort of in this bad place. And that’s why this union is necessary. That’s why we fought so hard, because we want to stand up for each other.” Also present at the rally were workers from Pomona College’s dining hall, the Hilton DoubleTree, Whittier College and Amazon warehouse workers. Some talked to students about the rise in union organizing movements in the Inland Empire. Pomona College dining hall union member and caterer Salvador Chavez told TSL that Pitzer’s new union was significant to Pomona workers. “Now that we have [a union at] Pitzer, we feel more comfortable, we feel stronger — even more be-

cause it wasn’t just the kitchen that won, it was the other workers, and that’s important,” Chavez told TSL. “That’s why we’re [in this rally] supporting them. Because I know that when we need help, they’ll be there for us.” Now that they are officially unionized, Pitzer workers are preparing for their first contract negotiations with the college, according to Jose Ochoa, McConnell cook and union organizer. He said organizers are conducting surveys with workers to make sure their needs are advocated for. Organizers will be negotiating for better pay, more accessible health insurance, better hours and opportunities for workers’ children to study in Pitzer, Ochoa said. Though the fall semester’s workload may elongate the process, he said he was hopeful about what the negotiations would bring. “I don’t think there’s going to be retaliation from Pitzer,” Ochoa said. “I think they’re going to listen

to us.” T R ABAJADORES DE PITZER SE SIN DIC ALI ZA N Después de meses de organización sindical, quejas de prácticas ilícitas administrativas y un acuerdo entre Pitzer College y un sindicato local de trabajadores, el personal de comedores e instalaciones de Pitzer se sindicalizó este 25 de agosto. La mayoría de estos trabajadores designaron a UNITE HERE Local 11– un sindicato que representa a trabajadores en el sur de California– como su representante exclusivo de negociación, según un correo que la oficina de recursos humanos de Pitzer College envió a la comunidad. Hace algunas semanas, Pitzer anunció un acuerdo entre la universidad y UNITE HERE Local 11 con respecto a un proceso “justo, apropiado y eficiente a seguir” para que los trabajadores pudieran determinar si

See UNION on page 2

5C dashboards diverge as cases surge at Harvey Mudd, Pomona 24 20

CAELAN REEVES • THE STUDENT LIFE

SIENA SWIFT As the first week of classes draws to a close, the 5Cs have taken a varied approach to providing test data as COVID-19 cases fluctuate across the consortium. Scripps College has not updated its dashboard since May 13 and no information has been provided on whether it will be running this fall. When asked to provide data, Scripps spokesperson Rachael Warecki directed TSL to Student Health Services, who declined TSL’s request to share internal data. “Since testing primarily will be optional for the majority of the Scripps community, the Scripps dashboard will not be maintained at this time,” Warecki told TSL via email.

NEWS Samella Lewis, a legendary figure in the movement to elevate and celebrate Black art, as well as a former Scripps professor, passed away at 99 in May. Read more about her life on page 2.

The student newspaper of the Claremont Colleges since 1889

On Wednesday evening, Harvey Mudd College Dean of Students Marco Antonio Valenzuela told students via email that the college had put an end to its COVID-19 case dashboard. Valenzuela’s email also announced a total of 24 positive cases on campus. As a result, students who test positive were told to isolate in place until more space becomes available. Harvey Mudd faced a similar situation last spring in both February and April. “Since we are no longer testing weekly, the dashboard has been taken down. We will be sending out weekly emails instead,” Valenzuela said. Jay’s Place, Harvey Mudd’s latenight eatery, was scheduled to have its first opening of the semester Wednesday night. But Valenzuela

OPINIONS The significant reduction of the 5Cs’ COVID-19 dashboards is an unnecessary cut to make, writes the Editorial Board, and denies community members vital information. Read more on page 3.

said in his email that it has been pushed to next week. Meanwhile, Pitzer College’s dashboard is the most frequently updated out of all the 5Cs, with data available from Tuesday as of Thursday night. For the week of Aug. 22, Pitzer reported eight student positives and four faculty and staff positives. So far this week, Pitzer has reported five students with positive cases and one faculty and staff positive. Claremont McKenna College updates its case count on a weekly basis every Monday on its website, although it does not list the number of tests nor identify whether cases are students or staff. CMC reported six on-campus positive cases for the week of Aug. 22. Pomona College’s dashboard listed 20 COVID-19 cases for the week of Aug. 21 to 27 — five students and 15 faculty and staff have tested positive.

SPORTS Four years after Pomona announced its plans to reconstruct the Rains Center for Sport and Recreation in 2018, the new Center for Athletics, Recreation and Wellness is slated to open Oct. 14. Read more on page 4.

INDEX: News 1 | Opinions 3 | Sports 4

News

PAGE 2

September 2, 2022

Scripps professor, ‘the Godmother of African American Art,’ passes away at 99 RYA SARA JETHA Samella Lewis, led a life of firsts. She was the first Black woman to obtain a doctorate in fine art and art history. She organized the first professional conference for Black artists in the United States. She co-founded the first Blackowned art book publishing house. And she was the first tenured Black faculty member at Scripps College. But growing up in Louisiana in the 1920s, Lewis didn’t expect to become a scholar of legendary importance and deemed “the Godmother of African American Art.” “When I was growing up in New Orleans, I didn’t even know what those degrees were,” she told The Scripps Report in 1974. But “there was always one marvelous teacher” who encouraged her to keep studying. Lewis started college at Dillard University in New Orleans and transferred to Hampton University in Virginia, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree. She went on to earn a Master’s degree and two PhDs from Ohio State University, launching her career as a sculptor, filmmaker, painter, printmaker, curator, author, scholar, mentor and pioneer. Lewis passed away in Torrance, California at the age of 99 this May. She taught at Scripps College from 1970 to 1984, influencing hundreds of students and leaving an indelible mark on Claremont. “I was greatly influenced by her because the Black community at Claremont during that time was very close,” said Valerie Coachman-Moore, who attended Pomona College from 1970 to 1975. “We gathered across campuses, and there was always something going on.” After Coachman-Moore graduated and moved to the East Coast, she continued reading Lewis’s articles and books. When she moved back to Los Angeles, she attended Lewis’s lectures and spent time with her occasionally. Lewis “was quiet, but a force to be reckoned with,” Coachman-Moore said. “She was kind, she was patient, she took time with you — even though she was this huge person. You didn’t know she was a huge person until after you’d stepped back and took another view. There was a softness and a fierceness that were juxtaposed within her. She was amazing.” In 1950, Lewis began teaching at Morgan State University in Baltimore, followed by Florida A&M University and State University of New York, Plattsburg. While in New York, Lewis developed an interest in Asian art and language and left for Taiwan in the early 1960s to work at Tunghai University and visit mainland China. When she returned to the US, Lewis and her family settled in Los Angeles, where she taught Chinese at the University of Southern California and held positions at Cal State Long Beach and Cal State Dominguez Hills. By the time Lewis became a professor at Scripps College in 1970, she was fascinated by the interactions and overlaps between African, Asian and Caribbean art. “I never taught courses where I closed the door: this is African art and this is Caribbean art. I tried to show interrelationships,” Lewis said in an oral history in 1992. “I

UNION: Workers celebrate

See UNION on page 2

COURTESY: ELLA STRONG DENISON LIBRARY

Samella Lewis, a legendary figure in the movement to elevate Black art, as well as a former Scripps professor, passed away at 99 in May.

might bring the two together in Surinam, which is Caribbean in spirit but South American in location. So it’s a challenge. And I might call it African art, but I kind of move beyond. I might call it art of Nigeria or a certain period of Nigeria. And then I also do not deal with the art separate from the people, but identify the art almost through the people,” Lewis said. At Scripps, Lewis wasn’t only a professor. “She had to wear so many hats. Counselor, admissions counselor, support to students — she couldn’t just be an art history professor,” said Crystal Jones, who was a first year at Scripps during Lewis’s last year teaching and was Scripps’ director of development until this year. Jones said the admission department often involved Lewis in the process of admitting Black students — all while she taught courses, mentored students, brought artists to campus and held gallery and museum positions in Los Angeles. Lewis recalled helping students choose where to study abroad. “Scripps [College] had a fine junior year abroad program. I was really fortunate to work at the Claremont Colleges. I sent students to the University of Ghana. I sent students to the University of Nigeria. I sent students to Ethiopia. I sent them to numerous European capitals,” Lewis said in the oral history recorded in 1992, adding that she tried to get the Black students at the college to go to African countries. Lewis also recalled a “thrilling situation” that she encountered at Scripps when one of the

students wanted to study abroad at the University of Science and Technology in Ghana at Kumasi. “They wouldn’t accept [the Scripps student] because they didn’t have adequate backgrounds. The University in Ghana was still on the English system,” Lewis said. “And I was happy about that, because you know how highfalutin the Claremont Colleges are,” Lewis said, laughing. Lewis became an influential force in the Los Angeles art scene during her time at Scripps. She established three galleries in the region, founded the Museum of African American Art and co-founded Concerned Citizens for Black Art to make recommendations to museums about educational programming. At the same time, Lewis extensively wrote and edited work about Black art, establishing it as an art historical genre. She co-edited two volumes of a contemporary guide to Black artists called “Black Artists on Art,” co-founded a journal of Black art and published the seminal textbook “Art: African American.” Lewis said that she wasn’t born a writer but became an author out of necessity. “I didn’t see anyone putting together information on Black artists, and I’d had experience with Black artists since my elementary school days, and I knew that there were very many good ones,” Lewis told The Scripps Report in 1974. “So I decided if no one else was going to write it down, then I was going to learn to write and put it down so people could read it,” she said. Samella Lewis lives on at Scripps in spirit and through a scholarship program and art

collection in her name. “She is someone that raised Scripps’ level of consciousness around non-European art scholarship. She brought it and expanded the curriculum to the rest of the world,” said Jones, who worked with Lewis in the early 2000s to set up the Samella Lewis Scholarship at Scripps. Every year, one Black student at Scripps receives the scholarship for their scholastic achievement, character, leadership and responsibility. “We wanted to really highlight the fact that she was the first African American tenured professor at Scripps and the first African American woman in the country to get a PhD in art history,” Jones said. “We wanted it to be something for African American students, to instill a sense of welcome and belonging [and a sense that] there are people that have gone before you,” she said. In 2007, the college also created the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery’s Samella Lewis Contemporary Art Collection in her honor with the goal of acquiring works by Lewis and other contemporary artists, focusing on women and Black artists. “I carried away an understanding of the place of art in freedom struggles, for people who are making a statement and how art connects to justice,” Coachman-Moore said about what she learned from Lewis. For Coachman-Moore, Lewis’s legacy is “dare to do it and do it. It’s about getting it done. Her museum, her books, her writings. She wasn’t distracted. She kept bringing it.”

querían ser representados por un sindicato. La oficina de recursos humanos de Pitzer anunció que Pitzer adoptaría un enfoque neutral durante este proceso. “Actualmente, existe un renovado movimiento nacional por el derecho de los trabajadores a organizarse,” dijo la oficina de recursos humanos en su correo. “Pitzer College, con nuestro enfoque académico y nuestra propia identidad centrada en la justicia social, abraza este movimiento.” Meses antes de que Pitzer anunciara este acuerdo, algunos miembros administrativos de Pitzer fueron acusados de intentar impedir la creación de un sindicato para sus trabajadores. Tony Hoang, quien es jardinero en Pitzer y organizador sindical, aludió a estas acciones durante un evento estudiantil organizado por la Alianza de Estudiantes y Trabajadores de Claremont (CSWA) este jueves. “Veo a estos trabajadores más de lo que veo a mi familia” dijo Hoang durante el evento. “Quiero que este hogar sea un espacio de serenidad, paz, amistad y respeto, y algo que noté cuando comencé a trabajar en Pitzer fue que la cultura laboral estaba en un mal lugar. Y por esto es que este sindicato es necesario. Por esto es que luchamos tanto, porque queremos defendernos, queremos defender a nuestra familia.” Al evento estudiantil también acudieron trabajadores de Pomona College, del hotel Hilton Doubletree, Whittier College y de almacenes locales de Amazon. Varios de estos trabajadores hablaron con estudiantes de los Claremont Colleges acerca del movimiento sindical en la región del Inland Empire. Salvador Chavez, quien es parte del sindicato de la cocina de Pomona, le dijo a TSL que el nuevo sindicato de Pitzer era muy importante para los trabajadores de Pomona. “Ahora que ya tenemos a Pitzer como compañeros, nos sentimos más a gusto, más fuertes, más porque no solo ganó la cocina, sino también los otros trabajadores y esto es muy importante para todos,’’ dijo Chavez. “Y por eso estamos aquí apoyándolos. Porque yo sé que mañana o pasado cuando necesitemos ayuda estarán ahí para nosotros.” Ya sindicalizados, los trabajadores de Pitzer se están preparando para sus primeras negociaciones contractuales con Pitzer, dijo José Ochoa, quien es cocinero y organizador sindical. Según Ochoa, los organizadores están entrevistando a otros trabajadores de Pitzer para asegurarse de que las necesidades de todos sean escuchadas. Entre sus demandas están tener mejor paga, un seguro más accesible, mejores horas de trabajo y la oportunidad de que los hijos de los trabajadores puedan eventualmente estudiar en Pitzer. Aunque este proceso pueda llevar tiempo debido a un aumento de trabajo causado por el inicio del nuevo semestre, Ochoa dijo que esperaba que el resultado de las negociaciones fuera uno positivo. “Yo creo que no vamos a tener represalias [por parte de Pitzer]” dijo Ochoa. “Yo creo que nos van a escuchar.“

Mandatory tests are out, vending machine tests are in: A look at this fall’s COVID-19 guidelines ELINA LINGAPPA & LARKIN BARNARD-BAHN COVID-19 case counts weren’t the only thing to fluctuate last year — administrative policies and access to testing across the 5Cs did as well. TSL compiled an overview of guidelines for the fall semester, which kicked off Monday, marking the second consecutive year of in-person learning since the pandemic sent students home in March 2020. With another academic year during a pandemic, policies at the 5Cs are again subject to change pending cases on campus, as well as updates from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. What will testing look like? Each of the 5Cs required students to test within the first two to three days upon arrival to Claremont. Additionally, a 5C-wide weekly test mandate has been put in place for the first two weeks of classes. Pomona College’s Dean of Students Avis Hinkson told TSL via email that, as of Monday, a decision regarding an extension of the testing mandate has not yet been made. Hinkson added that the college may consider implementing a weekly test quota later in the semester if a certain test rate hasn’t been met.

“If the College decides to implement an optional COVID-19 testing program for students at a later point in the semester, we will set a floor for the percent of students we expect to test each week,” Hinkson said. “If that percentage of the student population is not reached, a cohort of students will be required to test. That cohort will likely be a class of students such as: first years, sophomores, juniors or seniors.” This fall, testing for all 5C students will take place through Student Health Services at the Tranquada Student Services Center. Faculty and staff who opt to get tested will also test at SHS. Each campus and the Honnold-Mudd Library has added a ShieldT3 Health vending machine stocked with saliva-based PCR tests to provide further testing options. Following the first two weeks of classes, SHS spokesperson Laura Muna-Landa confirmed via email that free testing will continue at the Tranquada Center and throughout the remainder of the academic year. While the number of unvaccinated students remains low at the 5Cs, anyone not up-to-date with COVID vaccines must test throughout the semester. What if I got COVID over summer break? PCR tests may display a pos-

itive result within 90 days of infection, even long after symptoms and contagiousness have passed, according to the CDC. So, if you tested positive over the summer, let your school know — you could be exempt from testing for the beginning of the semester. Harvey Mudd students have an online form available to upload proof of a positive COVID-19 result from the summer. Pomona students should upload test results from a doctor’s office or medical lab to their SHS health portal. Pitzer, Scripps and CMC ask for students to reach out to administration or Hamilton Health Box. What’s the deal with masking this year? All five of the colleges strongly recommend masking indoors but do not require it, in adherence with LACDPH’s latest guidelines. Although masks are generally optional indoors, faculty at each of the colleges have discretion to decide whether to mandate their usage in the classroom. Areas where masks continue to be required indoors include SHS, Monsour Counseling Services and Malott Dining Commons. The 5Cs require the use of masks for any students who test positive, with Pomona, Pitzer, Scripps and Harvey Mudd also mandating masks for those ex-

GERRIT PUNT • THE STUDENT LIFE

periencing symptoms.CMC’s current guidance does not clarify the college’s policy. What if I am experiencing symptoms? If a student starts experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, they should get tested as soon as possible. In accordance with LACDPH’s

current guidance, anyone who tests positive will be required to isolate for up to ten days. However, if the student is negative on a Student Health Services administered rapid antigen test on day six, they may be able to end their quarantine early. Those exposed to the virus are asked to monitor symptoms and test within 3-5 days of exposure, according to county guidelines.

OPINIONS

September 2, 2022

Editorial board: The 5Cs need to find a COVID policy that is here for all of us

PAGE 3

Jasper’s crossword: Get a kick out of this

JASPER DAVIDOFF • THE STUDENT LIFE

XIAO JIANG • THE STUDENT LIFE

The reduction of the 5Cs’ COVID-19 dashboards is an unnecessary cut to make, writes the Editorial Board, and denies community members vital information.

since the beginning of the semester, cross-campus activity is the busiest it’s been in the past two years. As exciting as it is to fully engage with our peers across the consortium, it makes no sense to restrict access to COVID-19 case counts now. Yes, testing will be widely optional, but that’s no reason not to report the results of the tests that are taken. As we have all come to know, COVID-19 is not going away anytime soon, and community members deserve to know what’s happening in their spaces so they can make informed decisions. While community spread of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County continues to fluctuate, based on CDC guidelines, the positivity rate continues to stay high which suggests current cases may be underreported. Summer surges nearly prompted Los Angeles County to reinstate a universal mask mandate, so there’s no reason to believe we won’t see similar trends reemerge this fall. With the dashboards, we could anticipate a surge before it escalates out of reach. Without them, it’s hard to preemptively take action that could prevent more from contracting the virus — all the reason to reinstate weekly updated dashboards. Of course, this isn’t to say that life at the 5Cs should hit the pause button again. You’d be alone if you said you enjoyed spitting in a test tube; but, if we’re cutting COVID-19 mitigation efforts, we should be making up for them somewhere else.

Weekly testing can be incredibly helpful, but it’s not the end-all, be-all of tracking cases; cutting out weekly PCR testing doesn’t mean that we have to give up on tracking the virus entirely. It looks like the colleges bolstering communication and increasing transparency. Cross-campus dining and club activities mean that our campuses are heavily intertwined, so it’s more important than ever that we ensure everyone on all the campuses has access to the information they deserve — and that starts by bringing back the COVID-19 dashboards. It also looks like the colleges directly acknowledging their immunocompromised stu dents in their policies. Reduced COVID-19 transmission does not equal no COVID-19 transmission, and it’s the responsibility of the schools to protect all their students — and that starts by encouraging masking and ensuring students who need it have access to virtual class options We a l l b e l o n g a t t h e s e schools, and especially when it comes to COVID-19, they need to make sure they are supporting all of us in return. TSL’s editorial board is comprised of its editor-in-chief and two managing editors and does not necessarily represent the views of other TSL staff members. Larkin Barnard-Bahn reported on the fall COVID-19 policies this week and recused herself from this editorial.

DOWN 1. 20th century photographer Bing 2. Pre-smartphone era punishment 3. Antidote

4. Declare 5. Krill, to a whale 6. Pay to end a lawsuit 7. Guided by morals 8. “Oh, I’m so grateful!” 9. Drink mix that astronaut Buzz Aldrin said “sucks” 10. “One ___ time!” 11. Brought up (a child) 12. Streaming vid. section of an app 13. Ring of hijacked computers 19. Lil’ 21. It connects the spokes 24. “Keep going!” 25. Wanna-___ (posers) 26. Vase for a memorial service 27. La hermana de la madre 28. Rating for shows like Abbott Elementary 29. Tribute 30. Mess up 34. Certain warrior princess 36. “Te ___, te ___ / She says to me” 37. Genre for Nirvana and Green Day 39. Japanese currency 40. Org. administering the Clean Air Act 41. Texting sys. 43. They might unionize for better housing 45. Chicago gangster Al 46. The Star-Spangled Banner, for one 47. Creative winter zodiac 49. Auction attempt 50. At the original speed, in music 52. Cultural Revolution leader 55. Rip 56. Poncho weather 57. First lady Biden 58. “Baby it’s you / You’re the ___ love / You’re the ___ need” 59. Musk who recently tweeted “Tesla + Twitter -> Twizzler,” so it seems like the lawsuit is going really well 60. Auld Lang ___ 62. Deg. for a sculptor or writer There’s a crossword club now! Sign up: crosscampus.org.

THE STUDENT LIFE Editorial Board JENNA MCMURTRY, Editor-in-Chief LARKIN BARNARD-BAHN, Managing Editor MENA BOVA, Managing Editor

Staff GRACE SAUERS, Production Editor JASPER DAVIDOFF, Puzzlemaker

TSL’s Editorial Board consists of the editor-in-chief and two managing editors. Aside from the editorial, the views expressed in the opinions section do not necessarily reflect the views of The Student Life. Singles copies of TSL are free and may be obtained at news stands around campus. Multiple copies may be purchased for $0.47 per copy with prior approval by contacting editor@tsl.news. Newspaper theft is a crime; perpetrators may be subject to disciplinary action as well as civil and/or criminal prosecution.

OFF THE RECORD

With classes back in session, friendships rekindled after a summer apart and cross-campus dining reopened, it’s great to be back in Claremont. There’s another part of college life that also made a return with students this fall, however — or rather, never left in the first place. That would be the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While another summer came and went, the risk COVID-19 continues to pose to students, faculty and staff didn’t go anywhere — which is why the significant reduction of the 5Cs’ COVID-19 dashboards is a corner they didn’t have to cut. Several members of the 5Cs have grown accustomed to checking the status of case counts on the campuses to determine which activities they feel comfortable participating in. However, in an email earlier this week, Harvey Mudd College notified students that it would no longer update its public COVID-19 dashboard and would instead send weekly updates via email — making it harder to access. Scripps College hasn’t updated their dashboard since May 13, and, when asked to provide case numbers, they referred TSL to Student Health Services, who declined to share internal data. One of the things we do best at TSL is serving as the central source of news for all the 5Cs — a job we can no longer do when those holding data aren’t willing to share what they know. With the reinstatement of cross-campus dining and the full activity of 5C clubs and groups

ACROSS 1. LIKE THIS CLUE! 7. R&B singer James 11. Part of a rack or cage 14. Where someone recently threw cake at the Mona Lisa 15. “And all ___ jazz” 16. Sense of self 17. It might contain a bike lane 18. Cartoonist Lisa behind Bojack Horseman and Tuca & Bertie 20. With 25-across, seasoning blend that excludes a key breakfast item 22. Receptionist on The Office 23. What “Break a leg!” wishes 24. Annoyance 25. See 20-across 31. Title for some investigators, for short 32. Singer Cynthia in The Color Purple 33. He speaks for the trees 35. Where you can invasively track your friend’s Bitmoji 38. Sign of emotionlessness 42. Whole range 44. Afternoon time 45. Limit 48. Frozen fruit dessert that may elicit monkey business 51. Attack on Titan, e.g. 53. Make a sweater 54. School fundraising org. 55. Claremont hotspot where 20, 25 and 48-across can be found 61. “Seriously???” 63. For the most part 64. Originally (for a newlywed) 65. ‘Sloths don’t fart,’ for example 66. Add to the criticism 67. Ambulance letters 68. Species-saving boats 69. Displaying a green dot, perhaps

6:01 Coming to a playground near you.

106° I’ll melt before I reach my class.

5C dining is back Poke night, here I come!

Lines are back, too Time for 5 p.m. dinners.

Water-guzzling grass begone #eradicatesprinklers

Mulch love No more picnics … the grass is always greener on the other side.

Welcome new Scripps president Keen! A very warm welcome.

For now... Please don’t leave us, too.

SPORTS

PAGE 4

September 2, 2022

Pomona’s new gym to open Oct. 14

ANNA HORNE • THE STUDENT LIFE

Four years after Pomona announced its plans to reconstruct the Rains Center for Sport and Recreation, the new Center for Athletics, Recreation and Wellness is set to open Oct. 14.

AVERI SULLIVAN After nearly 18 months of construction, Pomona College is set to debut its nearly 100,000 square-foot Center for Athletics, Recreation and Wellness in early October. The college’s newly reconstructed athletic center will include a dedicated strength and conditioning center with new equipment, double the previous space for fitness classes and LED fixtures powered by a rooftop photovoltaic array. Va l e r i e To w n s e n d , Po m o na-Pitzer’s head volleyball coach and professor of physical educa-

tion, is eager for a homecoming after the new facilities’ construction displaced her students and players for over two years. “It’s really exciting to see this come to fruition. The players can’t wait to get back in the gym,” Townsend said. “The improvements to technology, locker rooms, and having more spaces for more classes — everyone’s going to be really pleased when they see the finished product.” It’s been four years in the making for some athletes to enjoy the new facilities’ main court and upper-level Mount Baldy overlook. The pandemic delaying construction into October felt

Sports Calendar P-P

CMS

Friday, Sept. 2

2 p.m. Women’s Volleyball NYU

9:30 a.m. Women’s Volleyball UC Santa Cruz

4:30 p.m. Men’s Soccer Bethesda

6:30 p.m. Women’s Volleyball Babson

6:30 p.m. Women’s Volleyball Sul Ross State

Saturday, Sept. 3

10 a.m. Women’s Soccer Chicago

10 a.m. Women’s Soccer Concordia University Texas

1:30 p.m. Women’s Volleyball NYU

3:45 p.m. Women’s Volleyball Babson

3:45 p.m. Women’s Volleyball Millikin

6 p.m. Women’s Volleyball New England College

Sunday, Sept. 4

Saturday, Sept. 10 9 a.m. at CMS Men’s Water Polo Concordia University Irvine 1 p.m. at CMS Men’s Water Polo USC 7 p.m. Football Redlands Sunday, Sept. 11 10:30 a.m. at CMS Men’s Water Polo Air Force 1:30 p.m. at CMS Men’s Water Polo Westcliff

even longer for basketball player Emily Church PO ’23. “It was so challenging at times for the Linde [Activities Center] at Harvey Mudd to accommodate Mudd students’ PE in addition to Pomona-Pitzer volleyball and basketball during overlapping seasons,” Church said. Townsend acknowledged it has taken a village to accommodate the volume of indoor sports and physical education courses that had formerly been housed in the Rains Center for Sports and Recreation. “As the fitness coordinator, I was very fortunate that on

campus, Pendleton and Smith Campus Center continued to work with us to host our classes,” she said. “This year, Pitzer and Scripps College have pitched in for our karate, aerobics and indoor cycling classes until we get into the new facility.” But despite the challenges students and faculty have faced during the construction period, student athletes like Cole Barry PZ ’23 remained hopeful. “Losing Rains Center in the middle of my sports career was tough,” Barry said. “But watching it transform into a facility that truly represents the Sagehens and the amazing teams we

play for has been more exciting.” Until the newly renovated facility is finished, Pomona students have other options to stay active, according to a Thursday email from Director of Intramurals Brandon Johnson. An auxiliary fitness facility located adjacent to Strehle track is equipped with treadmills, ellipticals, free weights and a few other pieces of exercise equipment. Pomona students can also access Pitzer College’s athletic space at the Gold Student Center, as well as the various running tracks, pools and tennis courts around campus when varsity teams aren’t practicing.

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9:30 a.m. Women’s Soccer Carleton Saturday, Sept. 10 10:30 a.m. Men’s Water Polo USC 1 p.m. Football Whittier 2:30 p.m. Men’s Water Polo Concordia University Irvine Sunday, Sept. 11 9 a.m. Men’s Water Polo Westcliff

Wednesday, Sept. 14

10 a.m. Women’s Soccer Williams

4 p.m. Men’s Soccer Vanguard

3 p.m. Men’s Water Polo Air Force

Friday, Sept. 16

Wednesday, Sept. 14

TBA Women’s Tennis CMS

7 p.m. Women’s Soccer Redlands

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