Vol. CXXX, No. 6

Life & Style

Opinions

Get the scoop behind Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye’s highly-anticipated spoken word performance.

Opinions columnist Jo Nordhoff-Beard SC ’19 explains her love-hate relationship with “The Bachelor.” Page 8

Page 4

THE STUDENT

LIFE

The Student Newspaper of the Claremont Colleges Since 1889

CLAREMONT, CA

FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2018

VOL. CXXX NO. 6

Pitzer Senate Loses Track Of $40,000

Lack Of Accounting, Oversight Led To Questionable Spending Decisions Laney Pope & Samuel Breslow At least $40,000 disappeared from the Pitzer College Student Senate budget by the end of the fall 2017 semester, the most egregious example of chronic disorganization and accounting issues that have plagued the organization for years. Current and former members of Pitzer Senate, including former Vice President Lora McManus PZ ’18, who resigned Tuesday, have revealed systemic failures that opened the door to abuse of funds, and a culture without safeguards against questionable spending decisions. Because no one tracked expenditures using the Senate’s credit card, it would have been possible for someone to use the card for personal purchases without getting caught, McManus said. All Pitzer clubs and the executive board use Senate credit cards that draw from the same pool of money, so anyone in any Pitzer club could have spent the missing money, McManus said. The unaccounted-for $40,000 — roughly 15 percent of the total budget — was all spent on the Senate credit cards, McManus said. When students used the credit cards, the receipts were rarely entered into the master accounting spreadsheet. McManus thinks someone could have bought a TV on the Senate credit card and no one would have noticed. “You could literally take [the credit card] from the student Senate office and probably no one would notice that it was missing for a good week or two,” she said, “and then put it back with ... $5,000 [of charges] on it.” Senators first noticed the missing money in November after comparing the amount of money spent on Senate credit cards to the spending logged in the Senate’s records, Senate Secretary Kamyab Mashian PZ ’19 said. To determine how much money

was left at the end of the year, senators pieced together receipts and credit card records and compared them to the numbers in their books, Mashian said. At the end of the comparison, the Senate noticed they had recorded $40,000 less than receipts indicated they had spent, leading Mashian to conclude there were “transactions that had somehow not been entered into our master spreadsheet.” The missing funds came as a shock to senators. “We were caught a little bit offguard by the magnitude of it, especially since we had kind of been operating under the assumption that all of our previous treasurers had been quite good at keeping records,” Mashian said. However, Mashian suspects that the situation is not as bad as it looks on paper. “It looks like most of the money was spent the way it was supposed to be spent,” he said. Instead, the transactions somehow had not been entered into the master spreadsheet and therefore had not been tracked, he said. The clubs that were close to exceeding their allowances kept good records, “but there would have been nothing stopping them [from overspending],” he said, because there was no functioning system in place to keep clubs and organizations accountable. McManus suspects this is not the first time Senate funds have gone missing. “I’m sure it has been happening for years; I just don’t think anyone has ever caught it until this year,” she said. Many senators believe the financial mess stems from the overwhelming number of responsibilities of the Senate treasurer, which is “absolutely impossible to do as a single person who is also a full-time student,” senator Simone Bishara PZ ’18 said. There have been four different treasurers this year, excluding

CMS Basketball’s Record Streak Finally Snapped In NCAA Tournament Hank Snowdon & Kellen Browning Down 12 points to the No. 1 team in the nation with five minutes to go, in front of a raucous, sellout Whitman College crowd in the second round of the NCAA tournament, it looked like the Stags’ stellar season was over. However, the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men’s basketball team, as usual, refused to fold. Miles President HM ’20 and Scott Lynds CM ’18 drilled two threes each, and the Stags were able to cut the deficit to two with less than 30 seconds remaining. Lynds brought the ball down the floor and managed to sink an acrobatic, spinning layup, tying the game at 76 with 12 seconds left on the clock. Luck was on the Stags’ side — a Whitman player flubbed two free throws with one second remaining, and the game was miraculously sent to overtime. The Stags’ magic ran out in the extra period: While CMS hung on for dear life, they just

couldn’t stop the Blues’ offensive barrage. As the final buzzer sounded, the Stags’ bid to complete an improbable weekend of upsets in Walla Walla, Washington, ended in a heart-wrenching 89-84 loss, snapping a program record 17-game winning streak. It was déjà vu for the Stags, who fell just short of a Sweet Sixteen birth two days after defeating the nation’s No. 2 team, Whitworth, in a 83-82 nailbiter. In 2017, the team’s tournament draw was exactly the same, and had the same result: a win versus Whitworth, and a loss to Whitman. END OF AN ERA The difference between this year and last: When that final buzzer sounded, a memorable cast of seniors, including twotime SCIAC Player of the Year Michael Scarlett CM ’18, stepped off the court for the final time. For Scarlett, the overtime loss to Whitman was understandably tough to swallow. “I had dreamed of a rematch

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Jaimie Ding • The Student Life

the senators who stepped in on a temporary basis, McManus said. “We need ... a paid staff person to help us to do this because it’s not a student’s job,” she added. Events Board Chair Elijah Pantoja PZ ’18 said there have been at least seven treasures in his four years at Pitzer. Because of the workload and the turnover, accounting transactions and records have often fallen through the cracks, multiple senators said. Last year’s Senate president, Josue Pasillas PZ ’17, said there were “no financial records left [of some executive board expenses], because when the transition happened from treasurer to treasurer,

[the records] weren’t kept by the new treasurer,” he said. Last October, following the resignation of treasurer Jacquelyn Aguilera PZ ’19, “there were no financial reports made for the rest of the semester,” Bishara said. “While we all stepped up to fill different parts of the [treasurer] position, the financial reports fell through,” she said. Some questionable purchases were discovered last November when treasurer Jacquelyn Aguilera PZ ’19 requested the Senate’s credit card statements, which are managed by Pitzer’s Office of Student Affairs. “She was the first treasurer to ever get access to the Wells Fargo account,” McManus said. These bank statements included

expenses from the Presidential Leadership Conference in the summer of 2017, which Hammado and Pasillas attended, totaling $1,579.60. Former communications secretary Claire Wengrod PZ ’19 said their spending was approved, but Mashian, who was not on executive board at the time of the expenditure, disagreed. “The executive board didn’t sign off on this. It was just two members of that executive board making the decision to spend this money that way because they had leftover funds,” Mashian said. The most troubling charge for Mashian was a $100 cash withdrawal from an ATM. It is impossible to trace how that money was spent. “I don’t think at any point student

activities fund should be able to be withdrawn as cash,” he said. “I think that’s a terrible idea. But it’s not against one of our rules.” Hammado said all of these funds were used appropriately. “This allegation [that funds were misused] was brought to the executive board’s attention last fall and ... it was put to rest by facts and truth some time ago,” she wrote in an email to TSL. Hammado did not respond to repeated requests from TSL for further comment on the issue. The allegation that Senate funds were sometimes used for non-Senate activities is not unique to the confer-

See SENATE page 2

Ofo Bike Share Program Extends Free Trial Erin Slichter Bike share company ofo has extended its free pilot program following what it says has been a successful start at the 5Cs, exceeding expectations. “It took off,” said Austin Marshburn, ofo’s head of universities. “Really bigger than I thought it might have been. It’s not something I was expecting with just ... a hundred-ish bikes on campus.” Between its launch Feb. 21 and March 16, ofo’s 843 5C users went on 12,000 rides totaling more than 2,000 miles, according to Pomona College assistant director of sustainability Alexis Reyes. Marshburn attributed the pilot’s success to the nature of a college campus. “One of the main things about college is that biking is an accepted mode of transportation for almost everybody,” he said. “It’s more accepted in all cases than, for whatever reason, it is outside of the campus experience.” Marshburn said ofo currently has 120 bikes at the 5Cs, and decided to extend the free pilot to continue to collect data. Ultimately, he estimates the company will deploy a maximum of 300 bikes at the 5Cs. Ofo will send an email and survey users before it ends the pilot and starts charging for rides later this semester, Marshburn said. Despite ofo’s enthusiasm, the program has encountered some issues, including improperly parked bikes. Pomona Associate Dean Chris-

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Photo courtesy of ofo

Students have been making heavy use of ofo bikes during the free pilot program.

topher Waugh sent an email March 3 reminding students of proper bike storage practices. “Ofo is working on programming ‘preferred parking locations,’ which will send a reminder to users who do park in an inappropriate location,” he added. “These users can also be penalized from accessing ofo for a certain time period if they have multiple parking violations.”

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Reyes said the colleges will work to mitigate any bike rack shortages that ofo causes. “We have enough bike racks for 1,617 bikes on campus,” she wrote in an email to TSL. “After Facilities removes abandoned bikes during the summer (~100 bikes) … then the Sustainability Office will re-evaluate the number of bike racks on campus and make a recommendation to

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Facilities.” Students have mostly reacted positively to ofo. Thomas Dickstein PO ’20 said he has used the program almost every day and is considering buying a plan when they become available. “Before ofo, it would take me minimum 10 minutes to get [to

See OFO page 3 NEWS................................1 LIFE & STYLE.....................4 OPINIONS.........................7 SPORTS.............................9

NEWS PAGE 2

5Cs Take Measures To Ensure Student Safety In Case Of Gun Violence Jaimie Ding The recent school shootings in Parkland, Florida, and elsewhere throughout the nation have once again thrust gun violence on school campuses into the public spotlight, leading students around the nation to question protections on their own campus. Students and staff at the 5Cs are prohibited from bringing any firearms on campus or within 1,000 feet of campus, according to the California 1995 Gun Free School Zone Act. This is also included in the student and staff handbooks of each of the 5Cs. “In general, there are no significant differences, but each of the 7C policies can be found on the individual college websites,” Director of Campus Safety Stan Skipworth wrote in an email to TSL. Other prohibited weapons are also listed in the colleges’ respective policies. Those prohibitions also apply to items stored in private cars or storage containers located on college property. Although there have not been any recent gun-related incidents at the 5Cs, “we make it a high priority to be prepared for such an event,” Skipworth wrote. “Our officers at Campus Safety receive regular training in this area [and] we regularly meet to assess and review how other agencies deal with such events.” When Campus Safety receives a report about anyone who may be in possession of a firearm or weapon of any type, it immediately notifies the Claremont Police Department, Skipworth wrote. Although the CPD takes the lead in locating the suspect, Campus Safety assists its investigation through monitoring security

cameras and sending notifications to the campus community. “If a member of the campus community sees what they believe is a gun, call Campus Safety or the Claremont Police Department immediately, using 9-1-1,” Skipworth wrote. “If someone witnesses an actual attack involving a firearm, get to a safe location and call 9-1-1 immediately.” Pomona College, Scripps College, Claremont McKenna College, and Pitzer College have taken additional measures to ensure student safety. Harvey Mudd College did not provide details about its programs before press time. At Pomona, Robert Robinson, assistant vice president of facilities and campus services, led a campus-wide active assailant training in February. Students were told when to run, hide, or fight in various situations and participated in role-playing exercises. Such trainings are held on a routine basis, according to associate dean Christopher Waugh. Residence Life works with the Facilities and Campus Services team to run emergency drills every year, and Residence Hall Staff training also involves dealing with active assailants. Waugh also advised students to download the LiveSafe app, a “key layer of safety support for all emergencies, including gun violence,” he wrote. Meanwhile, Scripps has “conducted a physical security inspection of all residence halls and rooms, revised our Active Assailant immediate-action protocols, and have identified a number of other continuing actions, such as increasing physical security measures for all classrooms,” emergency prepared-

ness and safety manager Charles Chase wrote in a statement to TSL. Scripps is also designating a number of “safe rooms” to be equipped for longer lockdowns lasting several hours supporting 20 to 25 people. CMC has a system to remotely lock down interior building doors to classrooms, offices, and student rooms as well as security cameras throughout campus. “During winter break, we tested the lock down system with a mockreal time drill for effectiveness with facilities staff,” spokesperson Joann Young wrote in an email to TSL. This system is tested regularly and facilities staff tests doors daily. CMC is planning a “campuswide sheltering exercise” and is training key personnel from administration and staff in accordance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Incident Management System, Young said. Over spring break, Pitzer conducted testing and troubleshooting of new electronic locks recently installed on classroom doors. Pitzer Vice President of Student Affairs Jim Marchant wrote in an email to TSL that he is working with the Emergency Management Committee to plan a lockdown drill for later in the semester involving students, faculty, and staff. Although gun violence is a real concern, “it is much more likely that Pitzer and other schools in our region will need to respond to fires or earthquakes,” Marchant wrote. “In general, our focus on emergency planning … is to prepare, mitigate, respond, and recover from the effects of man-made or natural emergencies and disasters.”

PITZER: Senate Spent Blindly On Clubs, Opening Door To Abuse Continued from Page 1 ence. Last year, it was rumored that two or three members of the executive board would frequently go to Starbucks with the Senate credit card and call it a meeting, McManus said. “I frankly think it’s completely ridiculous that just one person, whoever’s holding the credit card, can make the expense in the name of the executive board,” Mashian said. Additionally, confusion over spending procedures and different accounts led Hammado to spend nearly $2,000 of this year’s operating budget purchasing Pitzerbranded office supplies like stress balls and mason jars. Hammado believed she was spending the leftover funds from the previous year’s operating budget, but because the fiscal year had ended, the purchases were pulled from the executive board’s $5,000 budget for this academic year, depleting a large portion of it before the year even began, Mashian said. The privileges of the Pitzer Senate executive board are not limited to credit card purchases. In a Snapchat video obtained by TSL, members of the executive board are shown serving alcohol in the Pitzer Senate office, using Senate glasses. In another video, Pantoja accesses the Shakedown Cafe with the master key after hours as part of what he calls a “power trip.” Pantoja declined to comment on the incident. Although these incidences did not

Infection, Inadequate Care Plague Local Hospital Lauren Ison When students at The Claremont Colleges require hospital attention, they often visit Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, one of the closest hospitals to campus. However, according to reports from hospital workers and 5C students, the facility suffers from high rates of infection, understaffing, and inadequate care. I n D e c e m b e r, w o r k e r s a t PVHMC raised concerns about high rates of infection at the hospital. In a March 5 letter to Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval and Pomona city councilmembers, Dave Regan, president of SEIU-UHW, a union that supports the workers, wrote that the number of “Pomona Valley Hospital patients acquiring C.diff., an infection which causes severe diarrhea and fever and nausea, has increased three years in a row — from 82 cases in 2014 to 122 cases in 2016.” PVHMC’s C.diff. rate was worse than the national baseline in 2016, according to a report from the California Department of Public Health. “C. diff infection can spread from person-to person on contaminated equipment and on the hands of doctors, nurses, other health care providers and visitors,” to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. PVHMC workers proposed a ballot initiative mandating that if PVHMC does not reduce its rates of C.diff. infections to meet national benchmarks, they must increase housekeeping staff by 20 percent until they have kept infection rates down for three consecutive years. The proposed initiative would also raise minimum wage to $18 for all hospital workers in Pomona. The Pomona City Council discussed a proposed city ordinance Monday that would place the same requirements on hospitals as the initiative and voted 7-0 to delay further action until the initiative qualifies for the ballot. Signatures for the initiative are due April 30. PVHMC and another hospital in Pomona, Casa Colina, have publicly opposed the proposed ordinance and initiative. In a March 5 letter to the city council, Richard Yochum, president and CEO of PVHMC, and Felice Loverso, president and CEO of Casa Colina, wrote that community opposition to the proposed ordinance is “overwhelming.” They added that “the legal flaws within the initiative and ordinance” would enable the hospitals to sue the city if the initiative or ordinance is passed. In statements, the hospital has also affirmed its commitment to reducing cases of C.diff and maintaining high health standards. According to a March 16 article in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Yochum said that no credible evidence exists of a correlation between reduced infection rates,

MARCH 23, 2018

THE STUDENT LIFE

staffing levels and wage rates for housekeeping staff. However, several students who spoke to TSL about their experiences as patients at PVHMC reported that they had experienced additional issues, including long wait times in the emergency room and unsatisfactory care. One 5C student, who requested anonymity to protect the privacy of his medical history, said he experienced wait times of three to four hours on two separate trips to the emergency room last year, despite arriving in an ambulance on his first visit. The hospital staff also failed to inform him about the potential side effects of a medication administered to him during his second visit, the student said. In addition, he said some of his medical tests were held up around 3 a.m. because there were no emergency room doctors available to perform the test. Around 4 a.m. or 5 a.m., an anesthesiologist came to the emergency room from another section of the hospital to execute the test, he said. Another student, Laura Gonzalez Merino PO ’18, experienced similar problems at the PVHMC emergency room. “The night I went to the emergency room they were definitely short on staff,” she wrote in a message to TSL “There was only one person checking people in, and one doctor ‘pre-examining’ people in a small office by the waiting room.” “I found that quite strange because having been to the emergency room 10-plus times within the past three years, I have never been ‘pre-examined.’ It seemed

that they were trying to treat people outside of the actual rooms to combat the long waiting line or to prioritize admissions into the rooms because of a large number of people,” Gonzalez Merino wrote. Gonzalez Merino said the waiting time was “by far the most memorable part” of her experience at the emergency room. “I arrived at the hospital at around 11:30 p.m. to midnight, and I wasn’t attended [to] until around 4 a.m. to 5 a.m.,” she wrote. “There were a lot of people in the waiting room and they seemed to be only admitting a couple of patients per hour. I ended up leaving at 7 a.m., with the actual treatment taking only 30 to 45 minutes, while my time waiting, whether to be seen or to be released, was around seven to eight hours.” Similarly, Nina Mueller PO ’19 said that while her visit to the emergency room took a comparatively short total of two to three hours, the emergency room was “very crowded” and wait times were long. “I felt that I had very little privacy while I was there,” Mueller said. “For example, in the room where I was speaking to a doctor, there were other nurses and doctors walking through the room. It wasn’t its own private room; it had a hallway that connected it to other rooms, I assume, so I felt like I had little privacy when being seen.” Frank Garcia, a representative for Pomona Valley Hospital, wrote in an email to TSL that while the hospital “cannot comment on general patient statements, we do

want people to be assured that our physicians and associates are committed to ensuring that every patient experience results in a positive outcome.” “Nobody is ever turned away, and the physicians and associates that staff the department work diligently to care for every person,” he added. “Because of this, we can experience situations where people have to wait longer than we’d like. In those instances, our associates work to communicate so that people are informed.” Not all students have had negative experiences at the hospital, however. German Rojas PO ’18 said he received quick, efficient treatment during his two trips to the emergency room. Once, when Rojas received treatment after fainting, he said they “conducted a bunch of tests. I think they did bloodwork and a CT scan. ... I was a bit out of it, but everything again seemed pretty routine. It was pretty quick, I was in and out pretty fast.” Gonzalez Merino added that when she visited PVHMC for a routine procedure in another section of the hospital, she had a much more positive experience than in the emergency room. “[That] time they were very considerate about the pain I was in, and considerate of my time. It was like visiting a different hospital,” Gonzalez Merino wrote. “The experience was normal, low wait time and good service, which I guess means amazing these days, given that the standard is so low.”

Photo courtesy of Frank Jr. via Wiki Commons

Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, frequently visited by students of the Claremont Colleges, has come under fire for an above average rate of infections and long wait times.

break any rules, they displayed a “disrespect of space ... when we are entrusted with so much money and so much power,” McManus said. Hammado said “allegations of alcohol use in the Senate office were made and the matter was handled by the appropriate college administrators in accordance [with] all relevant college policies and procedures.”

Even if the disappearance of the $40,000 was likely not due to misuse or theft, it does demonstrate the dire need for accounting reform in the Senate, Mashian said. “There’s a lot of risks involved with the way we’ve been keeping records in terms of money being misused,” Mashian said. Liam Brooks and Marc Rod contributed to reporting.

Dominic Frempong • The Student Life

HMC Students Boost Hose Company Revenue By $3 Million Laney Pope A group of Harvey Mudd College students developed manufacturing innovations that helped raise $3 million of additional annual revenue for the hose company Purosil LLC during a summer 2017 fellowship. The HMC team, made up of Ankoor Apte HM ’19, Bohan Gao HM ’19, Giulia Castleberg HM ’19, Rachel Perley HM ’19, and professor Kash Gokli, assembled as part of the Riggs Fellowship Program, which facilitates consulting projects with local manufactures. The Riggs Fellowship helps small companies become competitive on the global scale. “We wanted to make [Purosil] world class manufacturing,” Gokli said. Purosil LLC, based in Corona, California, produces hoses for a wide range of customers, including individuals, car companies, and the military, Apte said. Before the students arrived, the company was two months behind on orders and was considering “moving [their operations] to Mexico, India, or China because their United States counterparts are less competitive in terms of pricing and efficiency,” Gao said. Due to the customization needed for each customer, it was difficult for Purosil to make the manufacturing process fast because every product was very different, Apte said. In order to increase Purosil’s efficiency, the Mudd team used a modern production technique called lean manufacturing, which focused on reducing waste and optimizing output, Apte said. In addition to changing Pursoil’s production style, the students updated Purosil’s technology and implemented simple work station improvements, Gokli said. The students conducted a number of subprojects that ultimately increased Purosil’s output. “We did everything that saved time ... it was a lot of common sense stuff,” Apte said. One of these projects improved information flow in the factory. The students implemented a program to track the parts of the hose as they traveled through the factory by giving every piece an ID number, Apte said. Another problem for Purosil was its layout. “There was not a very well-defined flow, so [the workers] walked more than they needed to,” which wasted time and caused inventory buildup, Gao said. To fix this, the students mapped the floor and changed the inefficient layout to a ‘U-shaped’ production line. They also measured the time required for every small task, which was like “the heartbeat of the factory,” Gao explained. Every step of production had to be completed at this pace; if a section was falling behind, the team brainstormed ways to make

the station more efficient, and if a section was fast, they allocated it additional tasks to maximize efficiency, Gao said. Some of these operators who were allocated more tasks were unhappy with the added workload, Gao said. “[Others] were very skeptical, because they had been at the company for 20 years and now there were a bunch of students coming to the factory and telling them what to do and what to change,” Gao said. Another operator said the changes the students made “were not what he wanted, and so he didn’t do his job for awhile,” Apte said. Some operators feared that the improved efficiency might might lead to layoffs. There was an “interesting conflict of interest, because optimizing the process from the company’s perspective means optimizing labor costs,” which could potentially lead to firing workers, Apte said. However, when a company becomes more competitive, it sells more and is able to hire more operators to meet the new demand, according to Gokli. Even if one section of production becomes automated, operators can move to other cells within the company, Gao added. The increase in revenue has also

“

[Workers] were very skeptical, because they had been at the company for 20 years and now there were a bunch of students coming to the factory and telling them what to do and what to change. - Bohan Gao HM ’19

”

led to a lower turnover rate, Gokli said. “We are seeing that it is making the company more stable, and made the workers happier,” he said. Despite the initial pushback, the operators “were all kind of fascinated by the group of twenty-year-olds wandering around the factory,” Apte said. When the workers saw the results of the innovations, “they became very helpful,” Gao said. By the end, the operators were even sharing ideas with the students and really believed in the new system, according to Gokli. Gokli was very impressed with the students’ persistence and ability to execute their tasks. By the end of the project, the students “got to know a lot of people [at Purosil], and won them over with their work,” he said.

NEWS MARCH 23, 2018

THE STUDENT LIFE

HMC Scores Highly On Notoriously Hard Math Test Sophia Sun

Harvey Mudd College kept its record this year as the top-scoring undergraduate institution in the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, a prestigious and notoriously difficult university-level math test. Last December, 25 HMC students participated in the competition’s six-hour exam. The students earned a median score of 25, as compared to the overall median score of only 1 out of 120 for all 4,638 participants, according to a press release on HMC’s website. Only 20 percent of participants scored above 13. Each school can nominate a team of three students, whose combined rankings determine the placement of the school. In the team competition, veteran Putnam competitors Adam Busis HM ’19, Jordan Haack HM ’19, and Shyan Akmal HM ’19 placed ninth out of 575 schools. HMC has participated in the competition since 1961. “The six hour-long test goes by quite quickly,” Haack said. “And usually I feel like I could have done more given more time.” Mengyi Shan HM ’21, who ranked 93.5th out of all participants and received an honorable mention, said the length of the exam — which runs for two threehour blocks — did not bother her. “When one is really immersed in the math problems, it’s hard to feel the time’s flow,” she said. Shan said the competition was not especially difficult overall. “Nearly half of the questions are not hard to approach, especially for people with previous experience, but the top 20 percent is extremely hard,” she said. The competition “relied more on experience and accumulated ability rather than practice.” Evan Liang HM ’20, who placed 39th and received an honorable mention, expressed similar feelings.

“The six hours went by fast for me,” Liang said. “I was pretty much focused and zoned in throughout, and before you know it, you would wish you had more time to polish your answers.” All three students mentioned the importance of their high school math competition experience. Liang said he had “a moderate amount of problem solving experience from high school” and stressed that in order to do well in math competitions “experience and practice are key.” Haack said he practiced frequently for math competitions in high school and thinks that practice “translates well to Putnam.” He doesn’t practice much in college. Liang said the academic atmosphere at HMC “definitely pushed me to improve my problem solving skills.” Mudd offers a class specifically for students who want to compete in the competition. “To prepare for the competition, I enrolled in the class Putnam Seminar and we met every week to present solutions to problems we solved,” Liang said. “I learned a lot through other students’ solutions.” M a t h e m a t i c s p P ro f e s s o r Nicholas Pippenger attributed students’ success more to their abilities than to HMC’s education. “I think the main factor in HMC students doing well is that many students who are very interested in math come to HMC,” Pippinger said. “Of course we give them the best math education we can, but it’s not particularly aimed at preparing them to do well in competitions. Even in the Putnam Seminar, the emphasis is on having fun solving problems — you don’t even have to actually take the exam to get credit in the course.”

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OFO: Pitzer Considering Forming Partnership Continued from Page 1

classes on other campuses] on foot, but now it’s super quick and has totally changed how I schedule my life,” he said. But Elise Kuechle PO ’21 said she once had to move a bike from in front of a door to get into a building. “I don’t like that people leave them wherever and are kind of disrespectful with it,” she said. Because ofo is only officially partnered with Pomona, only Pomona will receive 10 percent of the revenue generated from the program once ofo starts charging for bike use, which will be used to develop bike infrastructure. This may soon change, however. Pitzer is also considering pursuing a partnership with ofo, according to Pitzer College sustainability manager Warren Biggins. “If we really want people to utilize this, and if we want to have Pitzer students be able to access bikes regularly … I think it would make sense for us to partner with ofo,” he said. Pitzer’s Sustainability Committee discussed the potential of an ofo partnership at a meeting

Thursday. It decided to continue considering the partnership, and will now propose the idea to multiple government bodies on campus. Biggins said Pitzer’s final decision will depend heavily on community input. He also expressed concern over bike storage, and said Pitzer might consider designating certain ofo-specific bike racks if problems arise. Representatives of Harvey Mudd College, Claremont McKenna College, and Scripps College told TSL that they are not currently considering partnerships with ofo. Before its launch, student employees from Pomona Green Bikes expressed concerns that ofo would conflict with rather than supplement the college’s existing bike infrastructure, but they have recently shown more support. “We’re all for bike sharing, insofar as it gets more people on bikes and is actually a sustainable alternative to driving,” said Noah Levine PO ’18, a Pomona Green Bikes mechanic. “I’ve been really happy … [to see] more kids on bikes, people that maybe didn’t bike before, or didn’t have access to a bike, or didn’t think they had access to a bike. Seeing them

around on ofo bikes has been, for me, sort of an inspiring thing.” Pitzer’s Green Bikes Program co-head Griffin Cloud Levine PZ ’19 said he recognized Pomona Green Bikes’ initial concerns, but thinks they emerged because of ofo’s fast, unanticipated arrival on campus. “Because there was this rushed integration, [some issues] didn’t really get solved, and it’s created this kind of tension,” he said. “But I think these are all problems that can

be solved.” He believes Green Bikes and ofo can cooperate, rather than acting as competitors. “I don’t think it has to be this kind of tension-based relationship where one’s threatening the other, and there’s all these fears … of this commercialized product taking over the 5Cs,” he said. “We’re looking at it as a way of breaking barriers and allowing it as a way for students to have an easier access to bikes.”

Erin Slichter • The Student Life

Biking share company ofo recently extended its free pilot program following a successful start at the 5Cs, yet some problems, including improperly parked bikes, remain.

Petition Urges CMC Admissions To Ignore Punishments For Gun Control Protesters Samuel Breslow

A Claremont McKenna College student is urging CMC to join the other 5Cs by promising that disciplinary action taken against high schoolers for participating in gun control walkouts will not affect their admissions chances. Johann Lim CM ’18 has gathered more than 100 signatures on a petition, but says he has not yet received a response from the administration. “Supporting the high school student protesters is really the bare [minimum] that CMC can and

should do,” he wrote in a message to TSL. “CMC must support freedom of speech even when those who control the school may not necessarily agree with the message.” Students in Claremont and around the country walked out of class March 14 to protest legislative inaction following the latest mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Some walkouts were in defiance of school administrators who threatened disciplinary consequences. Four of the 5Cs have pledged on their admissions websites not to let any punishments impact applicants’

chances of admission. However, CMC has not announced a policy on its site. Instead, the school “would consider any such matter individually,” spokesperson Peter Hong wrote in an email to TSL. “We’re not exactly sure what [Hong’s statement] amounts to in practical terms but we do know this is not enough,” the petition reads. Lim said Hong has emailed him twice about his petition, referring him to Amherst College, Princeton University, and the University of Florida as examples of other schools that “have said they will review cases

individually.” However, Princeton’s statement pledged “full consideration in our admissions process” to “students who act on their conscience in peaceful, principled protest.” Amherst noted that “peaceful protest has never been reason for a student to be denied admission” in its statement, and a University of Florida spokesperson told Time Magazine that the school “would not consider participating in such a protest a negative in our admission process.” Hong told TSL he has no “comment on emails or statements by other colleges.”

Mudd Powers Up During PowerDown Lauren Koenig

Frary Provides Free Meals To Students On Financial Aid During Spring Break

Pomona College kept Frary Dining Hall open for the first time over spring break to provide an on-campus dining option for students remaining on campus. Pomona students on financial aid were provided a subsidized two-swipe-per-day plan that allowed them to access Frary. In total, Pomona students swiped into Frary 2,659 times, according to Associate Dean Frank Bedoya. The program was launched in response to past requests from students on financial aid “that there be some provision for meals over spring break for those students who stay on campus,” according to an email from the financial aid office to students on financial aid. Harvey Mudd College also provided meal swipes for Frary to some of its students, who swiped in 587 times, Bedoya added. Students not on financial aid were also able to access Frary using flex, Claremont Cash, or cash. These students are not included in the statistics provided by Bedoya.

Myrlie Evers-Williams PO ’68 To Retire

Civil rights advocate Myrlie Evers-Williams PO ’68 announced Tuesday that she will be retiring. Her participation in the Payton Lectureship at Pomona College March 2 — where she spoke alongside fellow civil rights leader Rev. James M. Lawson — marked the last public speaking event of her career. “As emotional as I was about my decision, I knew this is it. I’m not doing any more. It was just a wonderful, uplifting way to end a career in social justice,” Evers-Williams told the Clarion Ledger of her speech at Pomona. She now plans to catalogue the “numerous documents, recordings, and artifacts” she has collected to preserve them for future generations, according to the Clarion Ledger.

New ASCMC Executive Board Takes Office

ASCMC swore in a group of senators for a new term, including a new executive board, at a March 19 meeting. The new board is made up of Executive Vice President Maya Love CM ’20, Chief Operating Officer Caitlyn Louzado CM ’21, Diversity and Inclusion Chair Salomé Lefort CM ’21, and Vice President of Student Affairs Grace Wang CM ’21. During the same meeting, Andrew Friedlander CM ’21 was elected to the ASCMC elections committee.

—Compiled by Marc Rod

Harvey Mudd College placed last in this year’s annual PowerDown electricity reduction competition, not only failing to reduce its consumption, but actually increasing it by 15.7 percent. The competition ran from Feb. 13 to Feb. 27. Pitzer College won for the second year in a row with a 10.2 percent reduction in electricity usage, Scripps College placed second with a 9.7 percent reduction, Pomona College third with a 6 percent reduction, and Claremont McKenna College fourth with a 5.1 percent reduction. All but one Mudd residence hall had an increase in usage, led by Atwood Hall, which had an 65.7 percent increase. Louis Spanias, the acting director for HMC’s Hixon Center for Sustainable Environmental Design, said the primary reason for the electricity increase was likely the cold weather during the twoweek period. He wrote in an email to TSL that electricity consumption was higher during the evening and early morning hours, when the heating systems would have been running. “Many Mudd dorms, including Atwood, have individual AC/ heating units for each dorm room and suite lounge,” added Kayla Yamada HM ’19, co-president of Engineers for a Sustainable World and Mudders Organizing for Sustainability Solutions. Individual units use more energy

than regulated central heating for whole buildings, as the other four colleges use. Spanias said insulation at HMC may have also have been poorer than at the other schools, but that increases “were common across the board.” To determine energy reductions for PowerDown, each college takes baseline measurements of energy consumption in the two weeks leading up to the competition to calculate the electricity used. Yamada noted that the competition fails to reward students who are energyconscious throughout the year. Despite Mudd’s poor showing, Spanias believes PowerDown “has a noticeable and positive effect. … If you’re talking about behavior, I think people do pay attention to the competition and participate — and I think people do take those lessons with them.” For the competition organizers, that means highlighting ways to save electricity besides unplugging chargers and turning off lights, such as “putting away our computers and our phones and engaging in social activities outside, like through programs that students put on throughout the competition,” Spanias said. Each college took turns hosting events to promote electricity reduction. Scripps, for example, hosted a potluck and kombucha brewing event in the student garden in partnership with the HMC Kombucha Club and the Pomona College Organic Farm, while EcoCenter mem-

bers Sam Sjoberg PZ ’20 and Emily Tabb PZ ’19 hosted a PowerDown Sounds concert at the Shakedown. Pitzer will receive $500 for winning this year’s competition. EcoCenter representative An Sasaki PZ ’18 said the group will look into funding travel to environmental conferences, getting a solar-powered outdoor speaker, or purchasing DivaCups for Pitzer students. “We are excited to be able to have the money to implement these initiatives,” Sasaki wrote in an email to TSL. “We will hopefully see some of these come to fruition before the end of the semester.” This year’s reductions set new records for the 5Cs. Pomona EcoRep Ellie Harris PO ’18 said Pomona saw the highest percentage reduction in the college’s history since the competition began. For Pitzer, this year also showed “the highest reductions any school has achieved in my four PowerDown competitions,” Biggins said. Alexis Reyes of Pomona’s Sustainability Office says that in total, the competition saved 18,834 kilowatt-hours, equivalent to about 1.6 times the energy used annually by the average U.S. household. They say last year’s competition, which ran a week longer, saved about 33,000 kilowatt-hours. “[The results] give us a lot to think about as organizers, as we want to host an impactful and fun competition — one that students can get excited about, but at the same time, fosters positive habits around energy consumption,” Spanias said.

Students Demonstrate Against Demonstration Policies Glen Williams To test the limits of 5C demonstration policies and advocate for changes, a group of about 15 students held a protest March 8 in front of the Revelle House, home of Scripps College President Lara Tiedens. The protest was inspired by punishments Claremont McKenna College issued to its students who blockaded an April 2017 talk by conservative pundit Heather Mac Donald. Seven CMC students who were determined to have violated 7C demonstration policies received punishments ranging from conduct probation to yearlong suspensions. The Scripps protesters were specifically concerned by the section of the demonstration policy that states that “a demonstration may not prevent, foreclose, or interfere with teaching, research,

administration, or other authorized activities on campus. For instance, no one may block the flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic on the campus or access into or out of campus buildings or parking lots.” This inspired them to protest by blocking off a road, drawing with chalk, and destroying flowers — actions that violated the prohibitions against blocking the flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic on campus on Amherst Avenue, as well as damaging the college’s property. “We’re hoping that by going about it [in] a cute and feminine and artsy way, that we can point out the hypocrisy within the policy,” said Sophie Peters SC ’20, who helped organize the protest. Added organizer Elizabeth Murphy SC ’19: “It’s a small action to test the demonstration policy. There’s a reason we’re here. We

want to test what conditions provoke a response.” Many disliked the policy’s wording. “Right now, what the policy hinges on is the word ‘disruptive,’ which is so vague,” Arianna Chan PO ’21 said. “Really, any protest is disruptive. By nature, protests are inherently disruptive. We can be punished for drawing with chalk.” Many protesters argued that potential punishments for violating the policy, which include revocation of financial aid, were much more detrimental to low-income students, creating a class bias. This discouraged some people from participating in the March 8 protest. “I don’t want to take the risk when I don’t know what the administration’s response will be,” Niyati Narang SC ’20 said. Most of those present were part of the Race in American

Politics class at Scripps. Although it wasn’t a class assignment, students were inspired by in-class discussions. According to Peters, the March 8 crowd was small because the organizers are still working on mobilizing the student body. However, the organizers said they plan to continue protesting. Peters also cast doubt on Scripps’ institutional moves to address the issue. “Although the creation of committees on diversity and inclusion is a nice display of good intention, we want to see true action in these committees and the incorporation of student voices,” Peters said. Scripps spokesperson Karen Bergh did not respond to TSL’s request for comment on the protest. In response to an inquiry about the protest, CMC spokesperson Joann Young referred TSL to the college’s website on freedom of expression.

Chloe Ortiz • The Student Life

A group of students held a protest in front of the Revelle House, home of Scripps College’s president March 8th over unfair demonstration policies across the 7Cs.

LIFE & STYLE PAGE 4

MARCH 23, 2018

THE STUDENT LIFE

Inspiring Change Through Words: Sarah Kay And Phil Kaye To Visit The 5Cs Karen Song World-renowned spoken word poets Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye have influenced millions with their performances and have continued to share their stories through one-on-one workshops with writers. This Sunday, a creative writing group called the 5C Wordsmiths will host the two artists in a workshop and performance. The two poets have been celebrated and adored for their art for years, especially after Sarah Kay’s moving performance of “If I should have a daughter” at a TED talk and Phil Kaye’s award-winning poem at the National College Slam Competition. Their work has inspired students and adults alike. Kay and Kaye have used their growth in popularity as momentum to propel Project Voice, a program that uses spoken word poetry to entertain, educate, and inspire people around the world — especially students. “Personally, I think their work speaks to students, and people our age, because they choose topics that are almost universally, emotionally experienced by our generation: love, friendship, being hurt, going through life,” said Alessandra Yu PO ’19, copresident of 5C Wordsmiths. Through Project Voice, Kay and Kaye have toured the country to demonstrate the power of spoken word. They hope to translate the message of vulnerability and strength to students at the 5Cs and encourage more

writers to keep pushing their art forward. “Sarah and Phil address issues of trauma and growing pains, but they come at it through a perspective of wonder, a perspective of ‘how can I figure this out?’” said Samantha Borje PO ’19, a member of 5C Wordsmiths. “And that’s a really refreshing and healing approach to an art form that is and has — even with good reason — been pretty angsty and angry.” The workshop portion of

their visit will take place at 1:15 p.m. at The Hive of The Claremont Colleges, and 25 students will have the chance to work on their own writing with Kay and Kaye. The event will be structured like a crash course on how to write and perform spoken word most effectively. The later portion of the night will feature a performance by the two poets at Pomona College’s Little Bridges and will be open to the public. Their performance will be preceded by student writers showcasing their own poetry.

Photo courtesy of Steve Jürvetson via Wiki Commons

From Lemon Meringue To French Mocha: A Slice Of Claremont’s Pie Festival Mabel Lui More than a dozen pies filled the tables at Claremont’s annual Pie Festival March 17. Pie options ranged from lemon meringue to French mocha and from classic apple to MiddleEastern knafeh. Glistening with shiny fruit filling and bursting with creamy custard, the pies were both aesthetically pleasing and appetizing. The event, which took place over Pi Day weekend, was cosponsored by the Claremont Village Marketing Group, I Like Pie Bake Shop, and The Back Abbey. It featured contests, games, and baking demonstrations. For just $3, I was able to sample three pies from I Like Pie. The coconut cream pie ran out before I got there, so I tried the berry pie instead. It had a flaky crust and tart filling. I also tried the chocolate chip custard pie, which had a silky texture and wasn’t overly sweet. Pies and baking were definitely at the forefront of the demos held throughout the day, but the event itself was akin to a fair. Claremont’s 2nd Street was packed with booths that featured vendors like Borusky Woodworks, The Plate Ladies, and Soy Candles. Local families came out for food, shopping, and games. There were also several booths catered toward children, while vendors offered face painting and fake tattoos. One booth even hosted a bean bag toss game. On Harvard Avenue, a vintage car festival hosted in conjunction with the Pie Festival was on display. While I couldn’t tell you the models or years the cars were from (unfortunately, I’m not a car aficionado), I was mesmerized by their range of colors. One was a bright royal blue, another a tin metal grey,

HOLLYWOOD COLUMN

Notable Films That The Oscars Forgot

Mabel Lui • The Student Life

Scents of pies filled the air in Claremont March 17 during its annual Pie Festival.

and yet another a pastel lime green. Christine Moore, cookbook author and founder of Pasadena’s Little Flower Cafe, was also in town for a book signing to promote her new book, “Little Flower Baking.” The day concluded with free pie tasting, made possible by the pie contest held earlier in the day. Abby Lewis PO ’19 went to the festival specifically for the pie tasting. “[I] only came for the pie tasting last year, and it was wonder-

Play ‘Marisol’ Reflects More Extreme Version Of Reality Alexandra Branscom

Photo courtesy of “A Ghost Story”

Following the Oscars earlier this month, discussion has begun about films left out by nominations, including “A Ghost Story” (2017), a film detailing the life of a man who tragically passed away, only to view the world as a silent ghost.

Ben Havetz A few weeks ago, the 90th Academy Awards aired on ABC. The awards opened up discussion about what movies make the cut for nominations. Did the fish sex movie really win Best Picture? Yes, and they did not just have sex. They made love. How did “Lady Bird” not win anything? The Oscars still love old men. (Shout out to the god Laurie Metcalf.) Has anyone under the age of 70 actually seen “Darkest Hour”? Absolutely not. There were many great films from 2017 that did not receive any nominations, and they still deserve an audience. This list is about films that did not receive any nominations from the Academy — while “The Florida Project” and “Blade Runner: 2049” are two films that were robbed of Best Picture nominations, their other nominations disqualify them. 1. “Good Time”: I want to shoot this film into my veins. “Good Time” follows a small time criminal (Robert Pattinson) over 24 hours as he tries various schemes to post bail for his mentally handicapped brother. Pattinson is a revelation, going from starring in “Twilight” to having a performance worthy of a Best Actor Oscar (much more worthy than Gary Oldman in a Nutty Professor-esque fat suit). His performance is the heart of the film, but the cinematography is what makes it a future cult classic. The

camera effortlessly whips around New York, following Pattinson in his seemingly endless odyssey. The film is not just a “Good Time.” It is one of the best thrillers in recent memory. 2. “A Ghost Story”: The polar opposite of “Good Time,” “A Ghost Story” is a slow and methodical look at grief and time. The film follows a man (Casey Affleck) who tragically passed away, only to view the world as a silent ghost. This spectre takes the form of Affleck in a white sheet with eye holes. This simplicity allows the film to present the grief of a man watching his wife mourn for him without fetishizing the loss. The film is not for everyone — it is deliberately slow and offers almost no dialogue or resolution. However, these choices are what provoke the questions of loss and mortality that make the film so special. 3. “Brawl In Cell Block 99”: On the surface, “Brawl In Cell Block 99” seems like a simply well put together action film. But, there is more lying behind the surface of the expertly shot violence. The film follows boxer-turned-drug runner Bradley Thomas (Vince Vaughn) on his rampage through prison to ensure a life for his wife and unborn child. This blood-soaked action is a slow burn that eventually explodes into delightful gore and revenge. The savagery of the action performs best as a metaphor for the plights of the working man in American capitalism. The film’s barbarity and pathos would not work without Vaughn’s perfor-

mance. Vaughn’s imposing stature allows the audience to believe he could be capable of such brutality, and his charisma allows the audience to identify with his struggle to provide for his family. “Brawl In Cell Block 99” is a film that questions the private prison system, and simultaneously, where Vaughn tears a man’s face off. In short, the film is bloody fun and deeply thought-provoking: the best of both worlds. 4. “Raw”: I’ll be honest: I have lied about seeing more French films than I actually have. Normally, great French cinema is profound, yet boring. However, “Raw” is anything but boring. The film follows Justine (Garance Marillier) on her first year in veterinary school, where she begins to discover that she is a cannibal. This premise seems laughable at first, but director Julia Ducournau’s decision to take this bizarre storyline in its entire seriousness makes the film utterly captivating. This solemn approach to absurdity is evident in every aspect of the film’s world and characters. “Raw” is a film that makes cannibalism into a relatable story about discovering yourself and sexuality. 5. “The Meyerowitz Stories”: I never expected to like “The Meyerowitz Stories,” given that I have pretty much hated everything Baumbach had done previously. Yet, in “The Meyerowitz Stories,” Baumbach has finally stopped writing self-flattering stories about 20-year-old women who want to sleep with schlubby 40-year-old men. Instead, the film

follows a dysfunctional family of New York intellectuals, made up of Danny (Adam Sandler), Harold (Dustin Hoffman), Jean (Elizabeth Marvel), and Matthew (Ben Stiller), attempting to reconnect. Baumbach’s mumblecore dialogue works perfectly coming from the mouths of dysfunctional older men and women. The film feels like an intensely personal look at the troubles of creating art and maintaining a family life, and the result is the greatest film that Baumbach has ever made. This list is not to invalidate the films the Oscars did recognize. I believe the that two films nominated for various awards — “The Phantom Thread” and “The Florida Project” — are landmarks of the film industry and will be remembered as such. While this list highlights five films that deserve to be recognized at the Academy Awards, this is also not to say it is completely exhaustive. Movies including “The Killing of a Sacred Deer,” “Okjia,” “It Comes at Night,” “Columbus,” and “Mother!” are all worth watching, but didn’t make the cut for films that were snubbed the most. In a perfect world, the Oscars would acknowledge all these films, but I would recommend that people do their duty as movie fanatics and at least try to watch these five underappreciated masterpieces — especially “Good Time.”

ful,” Lewis said. “And I knew I had to come back. [I’ve] been talking about it for months.” Her favorite of the ones she sampled was the mango pie. Wentao Guo PO ’19, who also attended the event, agreed with Lewis. “I can confirm that [the mango pie] is fantastic. It tastes a little bit like solidified mango lassi,” Guo said. If only for the free pie, the Claremont Pie Festival is certainly worth checking out in the years to come.

5C students performed Jose Rivera’s play “Marisol” at Pomona College’s Seaver Theatre on March 1-4, garnering positive reviews from audience members. The main character, Marisol, played by Anais Gonzalez Nyberg PO ’20, is a Puerto Rican woman living in New York during the 1990s. Magical realism — an artistic genre that portrays a realistic story but incorporates surrealism — is an important element of this play. In the play, Marisol dreams that a guardian angel, played by Aliyah Muhammad PO ’19, visits to tell her that the angels are going to war with a senile “God” because the world is dying. Marisol does not want the angel to leave her side and has to come to terms with the troublesome reality of the world around her. Gonzalez Nyberg reflected on the duality between the realistic and imaginative elements of the play. While at times the story seemed fantastic, she said it portrayed a more extreme version of our current society. “I think it’s relatable in that, right now, so many things are going on politically and environmentally, which makes it feel like the world is falling apart,” Gonzalez Nyberg said. “I think that’s what’s happening in the play because it’s just Jose Rivera bringing in all these different things like how credit unions were ruining people’s lives at the time, these issues about women never feeling safe, and faith in the sense of what are people putting their faith into. Is it actually God or institutions or

money?” Audience member Alexa Sanchez SC ’21 agreed on this point. “It was a really good show,” Sanchez said. “I thought it was complex in a good way and an interesting visual experience. There were a lot of newspapers that were really interesting. There was an advertisement on the wall that changed throughout the show, which was cool.” Gonzalez Nyberg added that even if the play conveyed a magical mood to the audience, the events that occured still felt real to the characters. “It is also knowing that our characters exist in a world where they believe everything that’s going on around them, like Marisol, [who] believes everything that’s happening to her,” Gonzalez Nyberg said. “It is the worst day of her life, and that is very true for her.” Annarose Hunt SC ’21, who played a homeless person in “Marisol,” spoke highly of Gonzalez Nyberg and Muhammad as both actresses and cast-members. “My favorite part of the show was the angel scene because Aliyah and Anais are so good, and everything they do I want them to do more of it. They’re both so talented,” Hunt said. “Getting to know people and having this be my debut in Pomona theater was really great.” Muhammad agreed this role was a particularly impactful one to perform. “To be able to play a strong, protective, yet vulnerable woman was challenging and thrilling,” Muhammad said. “I loved being able to create that maternal connection with the character Marisol within seconds of the Angel stepping foot on solid ground.”

Alec Lei • The Student Life

Anais Gonzalez Nyberg PO ’20 recently performed in “Marisol” as the character of the same name at Pomona College’s Seaver Theatre March 1-4.

LIFE & STYLE MARCH 23, 2018

PAGE 5

THE STUDENT LIFE

Sounds Right To Me: An Analysis Of ‘Overheards’ At The 5Cs Liam Brooks Salmon shorts. Intersectional feminism. Particle physics. Birkenstocks. Pretentiousness. “Squaremont” is a tiny place, and anything that can help divvy up the grounds can make one’s home campus feel more defined. Stereotypes are an efficient way of doing that, and one of the fastest ways to make a stereotype itself is by making a noun an adjective (at the risk of sounding a bit doge) — “so CMC,” or “very Pitzer.” These campus-tagged stereotypes can be, first of all, wrong. Claremont McKenna College, home to the white guy par excellence, has fewer of them per capita than Harvey Mudd College, according to public enrollment statistics. Furthermore, these stereotypes are hard to measure beyond anecdotal evidence. Who or what is the exact average “Scrippsie?” Is there a Pitzer student out there who fills their stereotyped shoes perfectly — without socks? What do Mudders even look like when they’re not in dark basements, lit only by the warm glow of nuclear fuel rods? We can start to approach an answer by turning to the Facebook group (yes, loyal reader) “Meme Queens of the 5cs.” One of the most popular recurring posts in Meme Queens is the “overheard”: funny, ridiculous, or interesting quotes tagged with their locations. “OH @ CMC: ‘Embezzling never killed anyone!’” to quote one from last October, or “Overheard @ PZ: ‘let’s get lit tonight and pretend like we’re middle class,’” from November. Overheard and “eavesdropping”

columns have been around for quite some time across a range of newspapers, all with a common purpose: to show the humanity of a city or campus to its own residents. In short, to bring people together. The New York Times has included submissions to its Metropolitan Diary since 1976, when it first invited readers to submit “odd fleeting moments at Bloomingdale’s, at the deli around the corner, in the elevator or at the movies” that would paint a portrait of the city at its most human. Half a century later, New York University’s “Overheard at NYU” Facebook page was created for “every member from NYU’s community to connect,” its creator told NYU News. Post by post, quote by quote, Claremont looks to be doing the same thing — until you zoom out. By reviewing and coding the 164 overheards posted to Meme Queens from the page’s creation until Feb. 27, 2018, patterns emerge that match 5C stereotypes at their most basic and meanest — those that aren’t joked as readily among classmates or nearstrangers, but still live in our heads. For example, one in five quotes from Scripps College are about sex. Not only is this rate higher than any other 5C, but also the quotes are skewed toward explicit discussions, especially when it involves a man and/or a penis. Why is it so notable that students at a women’s college would discuss sex or men, compared to any other 5C? Additionally, relative to the total amount of overheards, Scripps and HMC are overrepresented relative to their student body sizes. Why? Scripps and HMC students may very well just say more notable

Chinasa Okolo PO ’18 Pursues Computer Vision As #NewFaceofTech Winner Ariel So “Majoring in computer science — a space usually reserved for white and Asian males — as a black woman gave me insight to the problems that minority students face,” wrote Chinasa Okolo PO ’18, a first-generation college student and computer science major. Okolo explained that women are underrepresented in STEM fields. However, this obstacle has not stopped Okolo from chasing after her dreams, such as getting into top Ph.D. programs, including Princeton University and Cornell University, to conduct algorithm research in biology, medicine, and computer science. “My plan is to do research in ‘computer vision,’” Okolo said. “Computer vision is this new way of teaching a computer or machine to analyze images.” Okolo is particularly interested in discovering how computer vision might aid doctors to better process and understand digital images, such as MRIs, X-rays, and other scans, to improve their accuracy in diagnosis. Last year, Okolo was able to secure a scholarship through 1,000 Dreams Fund — a national organization dedicated to supporting high-potential young women. As one of two winners for the organization’s 2017 New Face of Tech Challenge, Okolo received a $3,000 grant. Okolo has taken advantage of her funding to visit graduate schools, learn more about degree programs, and pay for application and exam fees. The scholarship has also allowed Okolo to travel around the United States, England, and Canada to attend field-related workshops and conferences, and further dive into her desired topics of artificial intelligence, programming languages,

“

She’s helping [to] move the ball forward for these young women, like [herself], that have a clear vision of where they want to go…

“

Christie Garton

Founder of 1,000 Dreams Fund

and computing machineries. The founder of 1,000 Dreams Fund, Christie Garton, praised Okolo for being “well on her way in this arena” as well as for striving toward her academic and career dreams. “The way [Okolo’s] been able to use the funding from us is really inspiring to me,” Garton said. “[The scholarship’s] pushed her to pursue her Ph.D. … She’s helping [to] move the ball forward for these young

women, like [herself], that have a clear vision of where they want to go but just need these extra perks to make some important things happen along the way.” Garton said starting 1,000 Dreams Fund “really grew out of her own experiences” as a college student back in the early 2000s. Growing up in Kansas, Garton dreamed of becoming a public service lawyer, but there was no one in her family whom she said could “guide” her on that path. “A lot of students I know don’t necessarily have the funds to fund a full study abroad experience,” Garton said. “… I had to go out there and secure scholarships, and in some cases, I wasn’t successful, and in other cases, I was.” It was only from her own study abroad and internship experiences that Garton was able to gain more opportunities and eventually graduate with a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. “It’s really my own experiences that has made me realize how important this is,” Garton said. Garton added that students most in need, those from low- to middle-income families, are “already circling so many challenges,” so her organization focuses on telling the stories of these young women. Okolo has been glad to share her own experiences with others, especially speaking at a 1,000 Dreams Fund panel in New York on International Women’s Day, March 8. “I would say speaking on the panel was the highlight for me,” Okolo said. “… Improving my public speaking skills and getting to share with other women in tech was very helpful.” The organization announced they will be partnering with Samsung-owned HARMAN, a leading technology company, for their second-annual 2018 New Face of Tech Challenge. This year, 1,000 Dreams Fund will be welcoming young women in S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) to enter for the chance to win one of five $2,000 grants, which will include an additional executive coaching session with a HARMAN executive. Their application deadline is April 5. According to Garton, HARMON is one of those organizations that have “a commitment to supporting the advancement of women within their own workplace” and “having a diverse workforce.” Okolo said she would “definitely” recommend 1,000 Dreams Fund’s scholarship program. When asked if she had any advice for this year’s applicants, Okolo encouraged students to effectively convey why they wish to become a #NewFaceofTech recipient, including future plans they might have “to help [themselves] and help others” to achieve their career goals. “Make sure you’re passionate for S.T.E.A.M. and [that] your specific skills show in your application,” Okolo said. “Being able to demonstrate my passion, I felt, was one of the main things that helped me.”

things. They may talk more overall. Or they’re listened to differently. Overall, overheards appear worthy of posting for one of two reasons: either they fit all too neatly into recognized stereotypes, or they’re notable exceptions. For the former, it’s posts like “OH @ CMC: Getting pocket squares revolutionized my life.” And Pitzer takes the cake for quotes about social constructs. For the latter, especially for overheards at Scripps, the exceptions not only prove the rule, but become the rule. Indeed, for a truly popular overheard — in terms of Facebook reactions — what is stereotypical and what is notable are flipped. The stereotypical overheard is one that is not stereotypical at all. And maybe that’s not a bad thing. Of the ten most popular overheards, ranging from 431 reactions to 240, only one relies on a common stereotype — Pitzer and succulents. “OH @PZ: i can’t stop adopting succulents. i bought a stroller for them. i’m taking them on a play date tomorrow with the big succulents at pitzer.” The other nine are either stereotypes of 5C life writ large — “Should I just take the L and watch vine compilations?” — or flip the stereotypes — a HMC student admits they’re not really into STEM anymore. That 1/10 number is an important metric because it’s not at all similar to how stereotypes are represented in other genres of Meme Queens posts. Map memes, for example, can’t function without stereotypes. In these posts, the official 5C map is overlaid with characters from TV shows or other franchises who are perceived to represent the respec-

tive college. If there’s a character that wears a suit, they’re normally matched to Pomona or CMC. Mad scientists and nerds are HMC. Hippies and younger siblings are Pitzer. And the token female character, regardless of much other characteristic, is Scripps. To use a more recent example, the post “5Cs as Vines,” which garnered over 1,000 reactions, matched the six-second videos to each of the 5Cs (plus Keck and CGU). To name but a few: CMC got a cringey party and homophobia; Pitzer got weed and a (meta) memeing child; HMC got a (legendary) spelling bee contestant and a math joke; Scripps got an eccentric girl and a kid with a faux-stuffed chest lip-syncing to Real Housewives; Pomona got a self-entitled kid insulting a cashier and Bo Burnham jamming to the wisdom that “a really good book” is better than sex. Without stereotypes, the Vine post wouldn’t have been as popular as it was, and the entire genre of the map meme wouldn’t have existed. There wouldn’t be anything to “get” — no way to glow in the recognition of a socially recognized stereotype, whether it’s good or bad. To put it differently, let’s back up a bit. The term “stereotype” doesn’t come from home or car audio stereos, but rather the literal stereotype, an early printing press plate technology used to reproduce images en masse. (According to the Oxford Dictionary blog, “cliché” comes from a similar place — an onomatopoeia of molten metal contacting a mould.) Etymologically, then, a stereotype is not a categorization (or miscategorization) of people or objects. It’s a production of them. Feminist theorist Judith Butler

Elodie Arbogast • The Student Life

and plenty of others have a lot to say on the matter of this sort of productive representation, like the way in which gender is performative and must be actively done rather than passively inhabited. The same applies, in broad strokes, to the performance and production of the stereotyped 5Cer — something that must be repeated, by the person filling it and the one measuring them, in order to exist at all. Map memes and other genres — including the “5Cs as…” school substitution memes, which nearly ripped the memetic fabric of Claremont net culture, among other factors — produce the same stereotypes

that they rely on to exist at all. Overheards, meanwhile, are a chance to push back. Rather than reaching out to other parts of popular culture to match them to parts of Claremont, overheards match Claremont to itself. The inside of the Claremont bubble is mirrored, and it distorts. But sometimes that’s what we need. As I was researching and writing this piece, one quote overheard at the Motley kept popping back out to me from my spreadsheet: “‘Do you go to Scripps?’ ‘No I go to Mudd.’ ‘Oh, you look pretty normal for going to Mudd.’” Two hundred and sixty-six reacts.

BOOK COLUMN

Minato’s Novel ‘Confessions’ Explores Motherhood And Revenge

Tarini Sipahimalani Beach balls soaring above hay-yellow sand, on which crowds of restless teenagers mingle under the strobe lights of the drunken sun isn’t the typical spring break montage for all. For some, the week-long break entails awkward family reunions, when elated mothers parade their college-proficient kid — now well-versed in the theories of Hobbes and Locke — to distant relatives. However, few family tensions are worse than the familial dynamic in Kanae Minato’s novel “Confessions,” which tells the story of mother and teacher Yuko Moriguchi, who finds her four-year-old daughter, Manami, floating dead in the middle school’s swimming pool at the hands of two of her students. The book opens with Moriguchi starkly delivering her final lecture to her classroom before her resignation. This captures the sociopathic aura of maniacal revenge that consumes Moriguchi as she confronts her pupils, Shuya Watanabe and Naoki Shitamura, directly and later inconspicuously throughout the text. Minato presents a bleak scene populated with frozen students silently listening to their beloved teacher ’s eerily wounded speech, captivating readers by what is discerned to be unstable psychotic human beings in their utmost purity. But, after being lured further into the novel, one finds a human soul in each character previously deemed as a sociopath. By recounting each characters’ personal tale in their own words, the author laces our minds with the characters’ emotional grief, despair, and dejection. As readers, we are forced to remember their humanity and understand the reasons for their clawing away through an unstable path rooted in psychological and physical destruction — toward both themselves and others. Though we don’t condone the monstrosities of the characters’ pernicious natures, Minato offers us an olive branch to reconcile with the characters as she conveys them empathetically. Perhaps what dilutes the horrifying disproportionate actions among Moriguchi, Shuya, and Naoki, is the mother motif that is threaded throughout the book, sweetening the taste buds of our consciousness. The motif evidently embodies Moriguchi’s role as a mother fighting for the justice of her abused daughter, and is also present in the backstories of the Shuya and Naoki’s intentions leading up to the murder of Manami. Moriguchi’s first act of revenge is poisoning Shuya and Naoki’s milk cartons — which are part of the class-wide milk experimentation issued by the government — with HIV-infect-

Elodie Arbogast • The Student Life

ed blood. Milk, a source of nourishment that is created in the mother and fed to infants, symbolizes the mother’s role in a child’s formation. It is as if a fragment of the mother literally courses through the child. However, the presence of milk also rebukes the association of a nurturing mother by it being infected — a HIV-blood-infested carton that corrupts and mocks the structural benefits of pure milk. This demonstrates an extreme duality in motherhood: the nurturing and the neglecting, both of which each are apparent in the boys’ mothers. Shuya grows up with a genius mother, who adores her son but also abuses him during her periodical revelations of the life of research she had given up for their family. Eventually, Shuya’s mother neglects and abandons him to continue her dream, leaving Shuya broken, bitter, and hungry to invent a master gadget with the ability to kill. He concocts a plan to kill Manami with his contraption in order to break headlines and attract his mother’s attention. Naoki’s mother contrastingly

embodies the excessively loving mother who spoils him, feigns praise, and stands as a barrier between the child and his life’s obstacles. Naoki’s sheltering from his own mediocrity is only heightened by the suppressed festering of his insecurities. Naoki is exposed to nonentity through cram school (specialized schools outside of regular schooling to train and help students reach particular academic goals), malicious bullying, and unrequited dependence on his teachers. His ensuing thirst for public accomplishment was fulfilled in Shuya’s plan to attack their teacher Moriguchi, whom the boys felt didn’t pay them enough special attention, by hurting her daughter. Moriguchi herself can be seen as a devoted mother driven to a place of maniacal passion after her loved one is violently ripped away from her, leaving her no choice but to taint the milk she has no use for. While Minato’s “Confessions” relates a story of murder, a grip-

ping conflict is always appealing to curious minds, the way in which this murder mystery is unraveled makes a commentary on parenting and societal pressures. Through the gaps of violence and enigma, Minato magnifies the role of nurturing and upbringing that is bundled in culture, and in this case, through a collectivist Japanese society. References to cram school, class-wide milk experimentation, societal shunning of single mothers, communal facet that resides in the teacher-student bond, and pressure to succeed all play a part in the formation of these characters and pressures that lead to Manami’s tragic death. Magnifying dark confessions lurking under family tensions, Minato’s “Confessions” is sure to settle personal family strains, making one’s worst nightmare of sifting through bare-bottom days a fleeting dream, and providing an eerie space for one to bury one’s hatchets, albeit hopefully not through murder.

LIFE & STYLE PAGE 6 SEX COLUMN

Five Things I Learned About Life After Rape Maya Zhou

CW: Discussions of rape, sexual assault, and self-harm I have been raped twice: once when I had just graduated high school, and again in my first semester of college. Many people assume that someone who has survived sexual violence is too damaged or broken to ever want or have sex again, but I can attest to the fact that this is false. It’s true that my past traumas have made sex extremely challenging for me. It’s been three years, and there are still days where the thought of engaging in any sexual activity makes my body tense and my heart hurt. While there’s no denying the power that trauma holds over us survivors, we are still people. We’ve had lives both before and after it happened, and we deserve to have wonderful life-affirming sex. Like many others, I am still in the midst of learning how to be okay even existing in a body that has been raped. It’s an extremely difficult journey, but frequent introspection, patience, and traumabased therapy have helped me immensely. Here are five things I have learned so far about living life (and having sex) after assault: 1. Although the effects of assault can be devastating, it’s also not abnormal to continue your life as if nothing has happened. After I was raped in my first semester of college, I spent almost a year afterward continuing to have casual sex like I did before the incident occurred. I didn’t fear sex. Instead, I actively allowed myself into toxic situations where men could use my body however they wanted to. I didn’t feel pleasure — in fact, I didn’t feel anything. On the outside, it seemed I was living like I usually would; in reality, I had detached from my own body and was now trading it for guys’ company, so I wouldn’t have to spend a drunk night alone confronting what had happened to me. I no longer had compassion

MARCH 23, 2018

THE STUDENT LIFE

and love for myself and my body. It is completely normal to feel this kind of numbness. This doesn’t mean that your assault didn’t happen or is somehow less legitimate. Sometimes, disassociation is the only coping mechanism we have. 2. It’s not a bad idea to talk about it. Rape is such a stigmatized topic that it can feel wrong to discuss it with your partner, especially if it’s someone you just met and are about to have sex with for the first time. You might worry that your “emotional baggage” will turn them off or have them running for the hills. However, these conversations are important to have for fulfilling and safe experiences. I’ve found that quite a few people are open to talking about trauma and how to avoid certain triggers during sex. Of course, I’ve also met people who didn’t take my PTSD seriously or who didn’t believe my experiences, but I’ve learned that these people aren’t worth your time or energy anyway. 3. Your sexual preferences, kinks, and fetishes may change — and that’s okay. While not many of us want our trauma to define who we are, it’s also important to acknowledge that we may simply not be the same people after we’ve been assaulted. However, sex can be just as exciting and fulfilling even when you’re “keeping it safe.” Women especially are prescribed restricting scripts on how to behave during sex, so the pressure to act a certain way can be overwhelming. It helps to remember that being your authentic self is a way for you to reconnect with your body, especially if you’ve experienced dissociation due to trauma. Never feel like you have to sacrifice your sense of safety and security to satisfy societal expectations of what sex should look like. 4. On that note, it’s extremely helpful to identify your triggers and figure out a personalized plan for when they strike. This is something that my therapist and

I have been working on, and it has made a huge difference in how I cope with my trauma. Know what your triggers are, whether it’s spotting your rapist on campus, reading a book that contains sexual violence, or being in a submissive position that makes you feel unsafe Once you’ve figured out what triggers you, come up with strategies to prevent them from happening and to calm yourself down when or if they do occur. Everyone has different methods of coping, but feeling prepared can generally alleviate a lot of the stress and fear that come from not knowing what to expect. 5. Don’t ever forget that you deserve goodness, and to be touched and loved on your own terms and at your own pace. After being raped, I felt like I had to punish myself for having “allowed” it to happen and for not having fought harder. I resorted to self-harm and destructive behaviors like letting guys take advantage of me and kick me out of their rooms in the morning without so much as a “see you later.” I stopped saying “no” because the word had lost its power for me. Now that I’m with a partner who loves me deeply, I am reminded that I deserve so much more than pale imitations of intimacy. I also realize now that I don’t owe anyone sex, and neither do you. Be gentle and patient with yourself, and realize that you declare the terms under which you engage in any sexual activity. Most importantly, I’ve learned that trauma is not linear. There are good days, and there are days that leave me sobbing so hard it feels like my chest is going to crack open. Triggers feel severe at some moments, and manageable in others. It’s okay — this is completely normal. There is no set way to recover from trauma, but I hope this article is healing for other survivors. I know it has been for me.

TV COLUMN

The New ‘Queer Eye’: A Fight For Acceptance, Rather Than Tolerance

Photo courtesy of Netflix

“Queer Eye,” a new Netflix original show, is making waves among audiences, earning a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Karen Song In February, Netflix premiered the new “Queer Eye,” a revival of the original American reality television series “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” which aired 2003-2007 on cable network Bravo. By March, the show had garnered the attention of the masses, earning a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and receiving high acclaim from critics. It’s not hard to see why. The show features five fashionable, hilarious, and caring gay men known as The Fab Five who work tirelessly throughout each episode to transform their subject for the week in almost every way — from fashion, grooming, and interior design, to food and culture. On the surface level, it’s an enjoyable makeover show that can make you fall out of your chair laughing and crying uncontrollably at the same time. A closer examination of the show reveals a much greater message that resonates with Americans and breaks barriers that many reality shows have been unable to do in the past. In one of the most talked-about episodes of the season, “Dega Don’t,” we are introduced to Corey, a white police officer with a love for the stock-car racing company NASCAR, a bland sense of style, and most importantly, a garage full

What Is #Adulting, And How Does One Do It? Maya Zhou Here’s a thought experiment: If a millennial successfully schedules a doctor appointment on their own but doesn’t tweet about it with the hashtag “#adulting,” then are they really an adult? The short answer: Yes. But before I unpack that, here’s a little context of what “adulting” means in its current usage. According to an article by Time Magazine, the linguistics journal American Speech has defined the verb “adult” in two ways: “to behave in an adult manner; engage in activities associated with adulthood,” or “to make someone behave like an adult; turn someone into an adult.” Using the word “adult” as a verb is an online epidemic that has swept the nation and every social media platform out there. On Buzzfeed alone, there are over 30 articles dedicated to the subject, with titles ranging from “5 Life Hacks You Need to Know If You’re Trying to ‘Adult’” to “8 Steps of Adulting As Told By Amy Schumer”, with a cover photo of the actress sprawled awkwardly on the red carpet (#relatable). There is even an Adulting School in Portland, Maine, which holds live pop-up events teaching people the skills they need to feel like a grown-up, be it sheet-fitting or changing one’s car tires. While the phrase “adulting” is often used in a self-referentially ironic way, it portrays millennials as people who crave recognition for doing tasks as basic as laundry, restocking their fridge, or putting on clean socks instead of just wearing the dirty ones inside-out. It also implies that becoming an adult is not a necessary part of growing up but rather a hobby that one can reluctantly buy into and then showcase on social media. In reality, many adults, such as students at The Claremont Colleges, have been faced with these tasks since they were teens. Whether it was because of a large household or parents who work two jobs, they’ve had to handle their own finances, cook for themselves, and clean the house without the need for self-promotion. For them, “adulting” is not an option or a quirky phrase to just throw around — it’s a necessity. Of course, it’s not hard to understand why (some of) our generation has this attitude towards adulthood. A May 2016 survey by the Pew Research Center found that in 2014, for the first time in more than 130 years, “adult ages 18 to 34 were slightly more likely to be living in their parents’ home than they were to be living with a spouse or partner in their own

of Trump campaign merchandise. Karamo Brown, a black man and the culture expert of the Fab Five, shares a heartfelt moment with Corey on a long drive, during which they discuss the pervasive tension between black people and white cops. The conversation evolves into a larger discussion of the Black Lives Matter versus Blue Lives Matter movement and concludes on the note that the first step toward improving American society is to have discussions. “If we could sit down and have a conversation like you and I just did, things would be a lot better, you know, in society,” Corey said in the third episode of the new show. “Everybody wants to talk, but nobody wants to listen.” The two acknowledged each other’s stories and voiced their opinions candidly, bridging two opposite sides of the political spectrum and resulting in an unlikely friendship that continues today. The new hosts not only excel in their knowledge of their respective areas, but find a way to reach out to their subjects in a vulnerable and understanding manner. Even the toughest men break down in tears by the end of the week. As a result, the show makes a greater social commentary on the toxic masculinity that still shapes much of our culture, especially in a conservative state such as Georgia where the show

FILM COLUMN

We Should All ‘Love, Simon,’ The ‘First-Ever’ Rom-Com With Gay Protagonists Victoria Anders

Sean Ogami • The Student Life

household.” In other words, some of us don’t need to worry about restocking the fridge or paying the electricity bill because our parents do it for us. The popular usage of “adulting” can also, in particular, infantilize women In a Washington Post article, the writer Jessica Grose wrote: “Young women are afraid to be public about their actual achievements because if their public persona is self-assured, they are also perceived to be less likeable. Portraying themselves as less competent in their online personas is a hedge against the societal ethos that regularly denigrates mature women and devalues their

knowledge.” While adulting may seem like a harmless buzzword, it’s more than just a casual mention of our quotidian lives. On that note, growing up doesn’t have to only entail what we see as menial tasks. While doing one’s taxes can bring about a sense of accomplishment, the experience of adulthood is much richer and more complex than we present it to be. Adulthood is also about gaining a sense of belonging, finding your community, and carving out a little piece of the world for yourself. It’s an ongoing struggle to find a career you are truly passionate about, balance your passions with finances, and navigate

the increasingly confusing terrain of casual sex and romance. We all have the potential to do great things in our subsequent years, things that go beyond taking a multivitamin and Instagramming it with the caption, “My body is a temple, #adulting,” complete with a green apple emoji. While caring for one’s health is important, it’s not the only way to be both a responsible and smart adult. This is why an ongoing series for The Student Life called “Adulting” will be covering an extensive range of topics. Just as there is no one way to “adult,” there is no limit to what adulthood means for every individual.

takes place. In almost every episode, the hosts underscore the message that taking care of yourself and wanting to look good or feel confident does not make you any less masculine. This is most evidently highlighted in the episode “To Gay or Not Too Gay,” featuring a closeted gay man, AJ, who aims to come out to his stepmother by the end of the episode. Though AJ approaches the week with caution, stating time and time again that he is afraid to step out of his comfort zone with fashion or grooming because society will box him into the category of an effeminate gay man, he concludes his week with The Fab Five with a renewed sense of confidence — and a fresh look. “I’m hoping that you’ll spend a lot more time with us this week and really get used to the fact that you being your true self isn’t going to offend anybody,” Tan France, the fashion expert of The Fab Five, said in the episode four of the revival. “It’s very unlikely people are going to cause you an issue just because you’re being yourself. And if they’re concerned, that’s on them. You’re happy.” The new “Queer Eye” is not only a perfect show for our cultural moment, but also a heartwarming and entertaining reality show for all genders, ages, sexualities, ethnicities, and sociocultural backgrounds.

“Love, Simon” opens, as many others, with a “typical teenager” going through high school. “I have a totally, perfectly normal life,” Simon, the protagonist, says. “Except I have one huge-ass secret.” Simon Spier (Nick Robinson) loves his family and their Netflix nights, has supportive (stereotypically suburbanite millennial) friends, and goes to a school with a welcoming, try-too-hard vice principal (certainly not everyone’s experience), but not without homophobic bullies and a small student population that’s anything other than straight and cis. Of course, the one thing that makes him different from ‘the norm’ is that he is gay. And so, his coming out story begins. “Love, Simon” is a rewrite of the classic, overused romantic comedy framework. Person A likes person B. Person B doesn’t know. Person A wins over person B. Except here, person A and B are the same gender. And don’t know each other’s identity. The big news at the beginning of Simon’s senior year is an anonymous letter published by a student known only as “Blue” on the school gossip blog, revealing that he is gay but doesn’t know how, or if, he can come out. “A lot of my life is great, except nobody knows I’m gay,” Blue says. Hit with the realization that someone else feels the same as he does, Simon immediately emails Blue with his revelation, calling himself “Jacques” (“Jacques à dit” is the French version of ‘Simon says’). The Gmail pen-pals quickly become much more than that, but their identities remain unknown until the end of the film, not without a couple cases of mistaken identity in Simon’s quest to find Blue. The internet becomes each emailer’s “safe place,” but Simon seeks much more trust and openness than Blue is willing to return. The family dynamics surrounding Simon echo those portrayed in “Call Me By Your Name” — incredibly supportive parents (Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel), openly talking about masturbation while naively (and heteronormatively) assuming that Simon is imagining his girlfriend Gigi Hadid. All of the film’s characters play up the stereotype of their role a little too much. The drama teacher

is a bit too dramatic (and ultimately channels this into publicly humiliating the aforementioned bullies), the school nerd remains too laughable and outrageous, the class couple kisses a bit too often and strongly, and Simon is too terrible at hiding his lack of desire for girls. Most of all, there are too many instances of people saying the wrong thing to Simon as he comes out. The classic tropes become intriguingly complex as Simon is forced to hide his identity for fear of it being revealed on someone else’s terms, a battle he ultimately loses, and during which, he hurts most of his friends. His parents also require some time to figure out the right thing to say once Simon reveals his secret. “I am still the same Simon,” he tells them, without actually believing it himself yet. His dad holds regret for not realizing this fact about his son, while his mom regrets not asking him about it. It takes a lot of reflection, pain, and courage (with much of the support system he begins with lost) for Simon to finally come out for himself, in his own words. Though this portion of his journey is the shortest and least fleshed out in the film, Robinson strongly portrays the “ferris wheel” of emotions involved. In some ways, the movie shows that the struggle of coming out exists among people in all social situations and climates. Having a relatively diverse group of friends and a supportive family and school environment will not guarantee a smooth coming out process. It delves into the world of coming out, particularly in high school when the last thing anyone wants is to be marked as ‘different,’ in the age of constant gossip and information spread throughout school, reaching even your siblings and teachers. But it also undermines the experiences of those who don’t have many of those privileges as they come to terms with their sexuality. It’s certainly not the first film with gay protagonists, not even the first released this year. But, it may just be the first film taking on the moneymaking, low-risk, mainstream romcom genre with a same-sex romance. Perhaps, “Love, Simon” will bring the trials and strength in coming to terms with and revealing your sexuality, or any other aspect of your identity, at your own pace and in your own manner, to a younger audience that hasn’t experienced these on-screen through its otherwise arthouse predecessors.

OPINIONS MARCH 23, 2018

THE STUDENT LIFE MEGHAN JOYCE Editor-in-Chief KELLEN BROWNING Managing Editor ARIEL SO Managing Editor

SAMUEL BRESLOW, News Editor MARC ROD, News Editor LANEY POPE, News Associate MEGHAN BOBROWSKY, Life & Style Editor SAMANTHA RESNICK, Life & Style Editor WHITNEY WACHTEL, Life & Style Associate DONNIE DENOME, Opinions Editor ANIKKA VILLEGAS, Opinions Editor HANK SNOWDON, Sports Editor DAPHNE YANG, Senior Design Editor CASSIE WANG, Senior Design Editor MIN HYUNG LEE, News Designer KELLY HO, Life & Style Designer CHRISTINE LIN, Opinions Designer JILLIAN BATIUK, Sports Designer

The Student Life, the oldest college newspaper in Southern California, is produced and managed by students of the Claremont Colleges and published weekly. The 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. E-mail letters, questions and concerns to editor@tsl.pomona. edu. email tips to liaison@tsl.pomona.edu; email advertising inquiries to ads@tsl.pomona.edu.

OLIVIA TRUESDALE, Copy Chief AKSHAYA AMARNATH, Copy Editor EMILY JIANG, Copy Editor LORELEI BIVINS, Copy Editor JAMIE REID, Copy Editor SARAH WONG, Graphics Editor LUKE MEARES, Photo Manager LAURYN CRAVENS, Photo Editor CHRISTOPHER HU, Distribution Manager PETER YAN, Business Manager FAITH MCDERMOTT, Social Media Manager

TSL welcomes letters to the editor, which can be submitted by mail, by email, or in person at the Fishbowl in Walker Hall. Letters must be under 400 words (although when an issue is particularly salient, we reserve the right to allow letters to run at a longer length) and submitted by 4 p.m. Wednesday of the week of publication. We reserve the right to decline publication of submitted letters and will not accept anonymous letters, letters containing profanity, factually inaccurate letters or letters making personal attacks. TSL also reserves the right to edit for spelling, punctuation and grammar. Letters may be signed by a maximum of three persons. All letters become the property of TSL and may not be reprinted without prior permission from the editorial board.

Rain Finally keeping these young, pesky whippersnappin’ longboarders off the roads

TSL SAYS

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Drought Really tired of hearing, “This is the final year,” every year

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Rex Tillerson/ H.R. McMaster Sux 2 succ - Putin

Scripps Must Overhaul Study Abroad Preparation Policy Amanda Larson Columnist In preparation for study abroad, Scripps College’s Study Abroad and Global Education (SAGE) office requires that each student complete an orientation program in which they have to outline how they anticipate dealing with “culture shock.” When I was completing this process last spring, I didn’t exactly know what to write. There were few distinct cultural differences between the United States and Scotland that I could easily identify or thought would be able to “shock” me. I remember suggesting that the drinking culture in Scotland was much more significant than it was in the United States, and that I could see myself having difficulty understanding the Scottish accent. Besides a large number of general primers shown to SAGE participants in a PowerPoint presentation detailing how to budget and obtain a cell phone, this was the only orientation made available to Scripps students. When I left for Scotland, I had no notion of the problems I would face or how helpless I would end up feeling. In preparing students for study abroad, SAGE needs to shift the emphasis in their orientation from “culture shock” to demonstrating how study abroad holds the potential to be a radical departure from anything that students have ever experienced before in a multitude of senses. The difficulties I faced while abroad were not due to the ways in which I found Scottish culture to be different from the US; rather, they stemmed from being in a program at a large university that I was unhappy with, having never lived in a city before, or with people I disliked being with, and the unexpected homesickness I experienced for my friends and family in the United States. All of this was compounded by the fact that I experienced a traumatic event when I was abroad, and I had few friends to help me cope with that event. There were fourteen people in my program, and because it began earlier than the general program at the University of

Edinburgh, I was limited in my ability to make friends outside the program. I did not know how to leave the program or how to obtain academic accommodations within the university. In understanding that study abroad consists of a student being transported to not only another country but also another institution with radically different modes of operation, Scripps must do more to prepare students for experiences that are not necessarily unique to the culture of their host country. One of the issues I faced while abroad, and one that I had never dealt with at Scripps, was an arrogant, intimidating professor that was the head of my study abroad program. I was in a Parliamentary Internship program, and at one point, he threatened to remove one of my friends from her placement with the justification that she was “not taking the program seriously enough,” despite the fact that she had completed all assignments on time and routinely participated in class. He was extremely unclear about the project guidelines on which the entirety of the course grade rested, and told different students different guidelines. Other students on the program were unphased by the professor, having dealt with similar situations at their home institutions. However, I had no idea how to approach him, or make a complaint to the institution, although another student eventually did. When I seeked help for my mental health with IFSA-Butler, the company through which I was studying abroad and provided me with an even more extensive orientation. I was insistent about the fact that they did not contact the head of my program in fear that it would negatively impact my grade and his perception of me. Nearly all my friends that studied abroad stated that they dealt with a profound sense of loneliness during their experience. For me, this was most apparent in the differing attitudes towards academia that individuals on my program maintained, and in the manner in which the stress culture that permeated their home institutions in the United States was easily transported to Europe. A fellow intern on my program said to me, “I don’t understand

why they make a big deal of the suicide problem at [University of Pennsylvania]. It’s UPenn, you know what you’re getting into.” Naturally, when I began dealing with mental health issues of my own in the wake of a traumatic experience, I was reluctant to reach out and get help in a way that I had never been at Scripps. IFSA-Butler eventually placed me in therapy, and I spoke with them extensively about whether or not I would be able to leave my program early, completing my schoolwork but missing a few weeks of “contact time” at my internship in Parliament. They stated that I would be able to, citing “trauma” as an event, but whether or not I would be awarded credit for the internship would be dependent on a review board that would judge my case months after the program completed. Not wanting to put my parents or myself through the stress of determining whether or not my internship would count for credit, I decided to stick it out. I lost ten pounds over the course of the semester, due to anxiety and stress. Scripps cannot expect every SAGE participant to maintain the same values as Scripps does, and consequently cannot expect that those institutions provide the same services in relation to those values. For example, though Scripps provides a gym membership because it values the mental and physical health of its students, I had to pay to go the gym abroad. Nevertheless, Scripps can be mindful of the ways in which the visiting institution may actively hinder students from having access to the services that they have come to expect at Scripps. This is especially important with regards to mental health care. I do not know what I would have done had I been attending the University of Edinburgh without IFSA-Butler to assist me there. As IFSA-Butler was under the jurisdiction of the Edinburgh, I would have liked to have known how to navigate a larger institution, and how to better deal with a stress culture that I had not seen the likes of at Scripps. Amanda Larson SC ‘19 is an English major with a Politics minor hailing from New Jersey. She loves dark chocolate, the west coast, and love poems by Frank O’Hara.

Solve This aMAZEing Puzzle

Anam Mehta • The Student Life

Nina Potischman • The Student Life

OPINIONS PAGE 8

MARCH 23, 2018

THE STUDENT LIFE

Though Popular, ‘The Bachelor’ Remains Problematic Jo Nordhoff-Beard Columnist I started watching “The Bachelor” during my senior year of high school so I could converse with the middle aged, single women with whom I interacted at the foster kids organization where I volunteered every Tuesday. The day after the show aired and in the middle of January, I began to hear about then-bachelor Chris Soules, group dates, rose ceremonies, and other foreign concepts that were part of the unexplored. At first, I watched the show ironically, but soon became inexorably hooked on “The Bachelor” and all of its spinoffs. This past season made me reconsider my opinions on the franchise because the show made more openly problematic choices than it had in the past. Although I still watched obsessively regardless, it gave me a feeling similar to one which comes from obsessing over President Donald Trump and his dysfunctional White House. I am a fat, bisexual, outspoken feminist who identifies as a liberal and an ally, which makes watching “The Bachelor” all the more troubling because it is antithetical to basically everything I believe. It is problematic on many fronts. The show espouses antiquated, heteronormative gender roles (and makes jokes about any type of non-heterosexual love). It casts an admitted white supremacist on the first black season of “The Bachelorette.” In fact, the show has only had one person of color in a lead role throughout its 16year, 35-season history. “The Bachelor” has made no discernable effort to update itself as the world and online climate have shifted in a relatively more progressive and feminist direction. The 22nd season of “The Bachelorette” arrived in the midst of the #MeToo movement, making its presence every Monday this spring difficult to watch. Prominent Bachelor fans and former contestants have come out both against and in support of the show, but this season’s strict adherence to its outdated notions of love and marriage seems out of touch with the political climate. This season’s Bachelor, a washed up race car driver and part-time real estate agent, Arie Luyendyk Jr., was the runner-up on single mom Emily Maynard’s

season in 2012. Luyendyk Jr. was on the show before a contestant’s primary purpose became selling hair growth gummy supplements and designer sunglasses on Instagram. He lives in Scottsdale, Arizona — outside of the Los Angeles media onslaught — and was only picked as the Bachelor two weeks before filming began in a last-minute switch up from the runner-up Peter Kraus on Rachel Lindsay’s previous season. As the season progressed, I liked Luyendyk Jr. increasingly less. Because he had not been on camera for over five years, he was incredibly awkward at expressing genuine interest in the women with him. One of my favorite Bachelor recapping podcasts described him as “sentient white bread,” as he did not look engaged at all when the women vying for his affection talked to him, and Ali Barthwell, the genius TV recapper at Vulture, described him as a “beige pashmina come to life.” Luyendyk Jr. reached the end of the season and ended up with Lauren Burnham and Becca Kufrin, two women who were polar opposites. Yet, he said he loved both women equally and could not choose between them. Burnham looked like a Fox News anchor and barely spoke throughout the season, while Kufrin had been ridden with her abusive exboyfriend who showed up at the end of the show to get her back. Up until the moment of the proposal, Luyendyk Jr. said he felt conflicted, yet proposed to Kufrin anyway, as he felt pressured to deliver the fairytale story viewers expected. Usually, the season ends with a proposal, but two weeks ago, Bachelor viewers were treated to one hour of unedited footage of Luyendyk Jr. and Kufrin’s engagement breakup. Throughout this breakup, which completely blindsided Kufrin, Luyendyk Jr. was callous and apathetic to Kufrin’s angry reactions, referred to their engagement as “hanging out,” and did not even say he was sorry until 49 minutes into the breakup. The camera showed a split screen of Kufrin’s crumbling façade of strength as Luyendyk Jr. broke up with her, an unprecedented action in the show’s history. Luyendyk Jr. had continued to talk to Burnham since the show started to air in January. While he told Kufrin that it was for closure, it was actually to ensure that Burnham would take him

back once he broke up with Kufrin. Five days later, Luyendyk Jr. went to Virginia where Burnham lives, got back together with her, and became engaged shortly after. I would have respected Luyendyk Jr. more had he broken up with Kufrin, then talked to Burnham about getting back together à la Jason Mesnick, a former Bachelor who nine years ago broke up with the “winner,” Melissa Rycroft, and is now happily married to his runner up, Molly Malaney. Jason treated Melissa with more respect than Luyendyk Jr. had treated Kufrin: their breakup

I recently flipped through a Refinery29 Snapchat story that listed about ten different hair removal techniques, each one tested and reviewed by a woman on staff. At the saga’s end, a quirky graphic reminded readers that the decision to remove body hair is completely up to the individual and not something for which the publication was trying to advocate. To me, the juxtaposition of ‘here’s several ways to remove your hair’ with ‘but remember, you don’t HAVE to remove your hair’ was reflective of how I’ve felt lately about the way our society often interacts with modern feminism. While modern feminism emphasizes that women should have the right to make their own decisions about appearance, it can be easy to forget women haven’t quite achieved this yet. Even in the most liberal, progressive parts of America, many women’s choices exist within a misogynistic framework that rewards people’s compliance with its status quo. The continued policing of women’s appearances is perhaps most evident in the workplace, where economic ramifications of women’s choices can be measured in dollars. A variety of studies have shown that women who wear makeup are not only viewed as more competent, but also get paid 20-30 percent more than those who choose to go bare-faced. Women of color face additional pressure to change the way they look in professional settings. Research by the Perception Institute have indicated that black women are nearly twice as likely as white women to feel pressured to straighten their hair for work. However, even outside of work, women who perform femininity through looks are at an advantage. Social capital and self-worth are often dependent on conventional standards of attractiveness and “femininity,” although this is also often the case for men. Unfortunately, the beauty industry now seeks to normalize these standards by branding itself as ‘feminist.’ As more women grow uncomfortable with the idea they should strive for society’s acceptance, companies that profit from women’s inse-

curities have shifted their marketing strategies. Rather than suggesting that women should buy certain products to gain others’ approval, companies are now designing ad campaigns that promise others that it’s for ‘yourself.’ For instance, The European Wax Center’s Strut 356 collections tell you to “get brows that speak as boldly as you do,” “keep your skin smoother than your ex ever was,” and “give yourself the pampering you deserve” — aligning themselves with the modern feminist’s essential toolkit of confidence, independence, and self-care. Women aren’t oblivious to the subliminal messaging. Still, those who choose not to conform to beauty standards are often seen as “edgy” or “making a statement,” framing one choice as the default and the other as an atypical alternative. Women that call out these choices often make the mistake of generalizing others’ experiences. In a recent New York Times op-ed titled “Why Yoga Pants Are Bad For Women,” writer Honor Jones criticized what she believed to be the sexualization of athletic clothing. “We aren’t wearing these workout clothes because they’re cooler or more comfortable,” Jones wrote. “ ... We’re wearing them because they’re sexy.” Her article garnered a lot of backlash from women who didn’t appreciate this reductive explanation of their choices. Jennifer Lawrence was also offended by Twitter suggestions that claimed her decision to wear a gown in cold weather while doing press for the film “Red Sparrow” came from internalized misogyny. “Overreacting about everything someone says or does, creating controversy over silly innocuous things such as what I choose to wear or not wear, is not moving us forward,” Lawrence responded. Just as it may be unproductive and unfair to make assumptions about why women make certain decisions, it’s also important to reflect on our own choices and the problematic factors that can influence them. When I walked out of European Wax Center for the first time, I didn’t feel empowered. I felt a little hoodwinked. This personal realization about my own actions has helped me

followed Kufrin as she tried to find some time alone to cry and process how she had been lied to since their beginning engagement, which I found was incredibly invasive, exploitative, and disrespectful. On the other hand, this show often glosses over real issues and emotions by masking them with editing, clearly not showing the viewer when something more serious is going on. Thus, this was refreshing because it did not treat Luyendyk Jr.’s actions and gross mishandling of the situation as an afterthought. Kufrin’s new season of “The

Bachelorette” premieres May 28. This show is one of my favorite, yet least favorite shows. As of now, my rational intuition not to engage in the Bachelor franchise’s universe has not won over my heart, which wants to see how Kufrin reclaims her own narrative. However, at the beginning of this year, I stopped eating meat, and I do not miss it that much. Maybe I can do the same with the Bachelor franchise. Jo Nordhoff-Beard SC ’19 is an English major from Seattle. She enjoys Sam Hunt, flavored seltzer water, and reading memoirs written by women.

Molly Antell • The Student Life

‘Choices’ Force Women To Conform Aalia Thomas Columnist

was off camera, and Jason dated Molly for nine months before proposing. Luyendyk Jr.’s decision to rush into marriage when he could not decide between Burnham and Kufrin showed his immaturity and complete lack of concern for Kufrin’s feelings, which only made his persona throughout the whole season of seem fake, awkward, and distant. Simultaneously, as I watched, I became enthralled by the raw and unedited emotion, disgusted by the producers of this show for choosing to film this breakup, and irritated at myself for not wanting to look away. The cameras

feel more comfortable with myself. That’s not to say that the end goal is necessarily disavowing any practices that stem from traditional beauty standards, nor is there any issue with making a conscious decision to dress to impress. I don’t see myself being able to reject hair removal anytime in the near future, no matter how logical I am about its arbitrariness; at this point, it’s too tied into my perception of myself for me to be comfortable quitting. My sister, however, who’s only six years younger than me, is already growing up in a generation that has access to more body-positive platforms than I ever did at her age, and she doesn’t see anything wrong with her leg hair. In her mind, there’s less of a default option. We have the power to resist ingrained ideas of beauty and femininity. We can start by encouraging each other — and younger generations — to be skeptical of widely accepted social standards. This won’t happen unless we ensure that body positivity extends to all bodies. Campaigns like “Aerie Real” boast models who deviate from Victoria’s Secret standards and images that aren’t retouched. Despite this, most (if not all) Aerie models are still part of a fairly homogeneous group with barely any representation of plus-size bodies. We cannot accept this narrow definition of body positivity. It’s also key that we don’t define self-love as love for our outward appearances. Although the way we look plays an inevitable role in the way we see ourselves, selflove should stem from an inward appreciation of ourselves, which adapts as our own bodies change. It’s not wrong to find empowerment in outward beauty, but I believe it’s wrong to suggest that outward beauty is essential to empowerment, especially when that beauty is often defined narrowly by society. As we continue to navigate the influences and implications of our choices, it’s vital that we push toward a future in which our choices are completely free. Aalia Thomas PO ’21 is an L.A. local originally from New Delhi. She loves dog-spotting, “Work” by Rihanna, and the swinging benches between Lyon and Mudd.

Laura Moser — A Chance The Democratic Party Is Missing Jo Nordhoff-Beard Columnist Texas, a state a little bit bigger than France, contains the polar opposites of America amidst its vast size. Houston, the third largest city in America, is a stark contrast to endless stretches of interstate freeways dotted with towns that have populations lower than 30 people and mid-size towns where people’s principle livelihood is local high school football. Texas is stereotyped as overwhelmingly conservative, but is one of the states that approves of President Donald Trump the least, and there are a few Congressional districts that are a key part of Democrats’ quest to flip the House of Representatives in the upcoming midterm elections. National figures in politics like the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have gotten involved in uncharacteristic ways by endorsing more centrist candidates in packed Democratic primary fields, which proves counterproductive and reflects badly on national Democratic political leadership, not a position in which they would like to be when preparing for the most important midterm election of the decade, or perhaps of all history. Texas’ 7th Congressional district encompasses a portion of western suburbs of H o u s t o n a n d h a ve p a c k e d fields of Democrats vying to face incumbent Republicans or maintain Democratic control in a key district. The 7th District candidates include a cancer researcher, lawyer and health care advocate, and a financial consultant, to name a few of the seven Democrats vying

to unseat long-term incumbent Congressman John Culberson. None of the candidates mentioned above bore the brunt of a brutal opposition research memo released by the DCCC to discredit her with very little plausible justification on their end. Laura Moser, a journalist and founder of the Trump resistance tool Daily Action, is one of the more progressive candidates running in this race. Moser grew up in Houston, moved to Washington D.C. to work for Slate as their education columnist, founded Daily Action — a text messaging service which sends daily text messages of tangible actions to resist the Trump administration — after Trump was elected, and finally moved back to the district to run for Congress. Even though Moser has not raised as much money as other candidates in the race have, she has more national notoriety than her fellow candidates because of her outspoken stances on social issues, which was why she was targeted by the DCCC. Feb. 22, the DCCC posted a memo attacking Moser which described her as “a Washington insider, who begrudgingly moved to Houston to run for Congress.” In a statement to The Texas Tribune, DCCC spokesperson Meredith Kelly said that Moser’s “disgust for life in Texas disqualifies her as a general election candidate, and would rob voters of their opportunity to flip Texas’ 7th in November.” This memo is akin to opposition research, which the DCCC would gather on Republican candidates, not members of their own party, and is a curious move considering that more progressive candidates have filed to run for election this year than ever before. Similarly, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer endorsed health care executive Tahir Javed

over State Senator Sylvia Garcia in the Democratic primary for Texas’ 29th Congressional District, saying: “His record as a job creator, healthcare executive and teacher give him the perfect mix of skills and experience to serve the district and Texas.” This move was puzzling because Garcia had received all the support from local Democratic party officials, as well as national organizations like EMILY’s List, whereas Javed is a Democratic Party fundraiser who was able to raise as much money as he did because he was wealthy to begin with. The DCCC is afraid of Moser because she represents the more vocal and progressive wing of the Democratic Party who have surged in popularity since Bernie Sanders’ run for presidency in 2016. Due to her national notoriety and how she speaks with a lot of conviction about her policies, she could make it to the runoff election if no other candidate gets over 50% of the vote outright, but may not stand a chance against Culberson, a Republican who cosponsored legislation that furthered the Obama birther conspiracy. While the DCCC may see their decision to characterize Moser as a carpetbagger as pragmatic because the more moderate candidates in the race would have a better chance of winning against Culberson, in doing so, they undermine a candidate’s ability to effect change and reach constituencies that may have felt invisible in the pre Trump era. The Democratic Party is also a party that purportedly values issues of gender equity, which is incongruous with this incident and other incidents that have occurred in Texas’s congressional primaries. Jo Nordhoff-Beard SC ’19 is an English major from Seattle. She enjoys Sam Hunt, flavored seltzer water, and reading memoirs written by women.

SPORTS MARCH 23, 2018

PAGE 9

THE STUDENT LIFE

P-P MEN’S TENNIS

Sagehen Men’s Tennis Bounces Back To Defeat Case Western, Trinity Noah Shapiro

The Pomona-Pitzer men’s tennis team (9-4) went 2-1 at the Stag-Hen Invitational March 12 and 13 in Claremont, overcoming a tough loss to a skilled Washington University in St. Louis (6-5) team to bounce back and defeat Case Western Reserve (7-7) and Trinity University (5-10). WashU entered the match ranked seventh in the nation, and proved to be a tough opponent for the Sagehens, beating them 6-3. WashU took all three doubles matches as well as three of the singles matches. For the Sagehens, Jed Kronenberg PO ’21 got the win at No. 1, while Avery Bicks PO ’20 and Sam Malech PZ ’18 earned victories at No. 3 and No. 5, respectively. Later in the day in their matchup against Case Western, who entered the match ranked 25th in the country, P-P fared much better, winning 6-3. The Sagehens won two of the doubles matches, including first doubles, where Bicks and Octave Bellet PZ ’20 picked up their first victory of the year in the top spot with an 8-2 win. “It was an awesome feeling to get the win at one doubles,” Bicks

said. “I looked up a lot to the guys who played one last year, so I’m trying my best to continue where they left off. Hopefully we can use this momentum to win some of the tough matches coming up.” In singles, Kronenberg picked up his second victory at No. 1, while Malech got his second win of the day, this time at No. 5. The Sagehens also gained wins at No. 3 and No. 6, thanks to Bellet and Jacob Schoenherr PZ ’19. The Sagehens didn’t slow down on day two, taking care of business against Trinity with a dominant 8-1 victory. After picking up doubles wins at second and third, the Sagehens didn’t drop a single set on their way to sweeping through the singles matches. “It’s definitely a lot easier to go out there and compete when your teammates are finding so much success,” Bicks said. “This definitely pushes me to keep improving and try and emulate my teammates’ performances.” The Sagehens remain at No. 12 in the nation after the weekend, and got a taste of some top-level competition. WashU was the highest ranked team they had faced

COMMENTARY

Is The ‘Madness’ Of March As Great As It Seems?

Photo courtesy of Jared C. Tilton via Getty Images

K.J. Maura (11) and Jourdan Grant of the UMBC Retrievers celebrate after their 74-54 upset victory over the Virginia Cavaliers during the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament March 16.

Danny Klain Madness and March, you’ve heard it all before. Any cliché to describe the atmosphere of the NCAA tournament annually, and this year specifically, would just feel tired at this point. Sorry to be the downer. Let me backpedal for a second. Last week was insanity. What we saw across the men’s NCAA Tournament was absolutely wild. As usual, there were buzzer beaters, coaches with absurd comments, and close-ups of crying fans. However, the weekend took a turn for the absolute absurd with a few developments. Of course the University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s upset over Virginia was historic, and not just because they were the first No. 16 seed to ever beat a No. 1 seed. Say what you will about Virginia’s playing style — call it boring or simple — but the Cavaliers were dominant this season. Virginia finished the regular season with only two losses, winning the regular season of the most talented conference in the NCAA, while sporting arguably one of the best defenses of the decade, maybe even ever. While UVA was on their way to the No. 1 overall seed, the Retrievers lost to lowly Stony Brook but a month ago. By draining three-pointers like Stephen Curry did in his days at Davidson, UMBC was able to draw UVA’s pack-line defense out to the three-point line. That was when overnight superstar Jairus Lyles was able to penetrate off the dribble and finish difficult shots at the rim over and over again. UMBC did not get lucky — they absolutely dismantled the No. 1 team in the country. Beyond that, Nevada and Loyola Chicago’s comebacks and buzzer beaters were insane and

historic in their own rights. We even saw Eric Musselman cursing on live TV. And national sensation Sister Jean. Awesome, right? However, even as I try to rally behind a lot of these Cinderella stories, I find myself disinterested. Let’s be honest: A lot of the first- and second-round games were pretty bad. For as many close games we got to watch, there were plenty of blowouts. Seeing West Virginia press Marshall to death got boring quickly, and let’s not pretend that watching Syracuse make only one three while beating Michigan State was a thrill ride either. Ultimately, he first weekend of March brought us atypical levels of madness, but there was a lot of “meh” too. The first weekend is supposed to give us upsets, and the second weekend is supposed to bring us the best against the best. This year, though, I don’t know if that’s the case. Looking at some of the matchups, especially in the decimated South Region, there are few games I see on the schedule that make me say, “oh, I’ve got to watch this for that matchup, to see those players go up head-tohead, or that underdog take on that top seed.” I know this might not be the most fun stance to take, but now that we’re in the later rounds I want to feel like I’m watching the best teams in the country competing. However, with all of the upsets that happened, watching Kansas State versus Kentucky doesn’t make me want to turn on my television. Wait, wait, wait. Timeout. I just finished watching Nevada against Loyola-Chicago. I’m back on the madness train. I hope it’s March forever. Team Sister Jean for life.

all season, and although they lost, getting three points on the board was a good sign. “It’s really fun playing top competition whenever, but especially this year we’ve had really competitive matches against top teams and it’s been amazing to see us do so well,” Kronenberg said. “Hopefully we can beat a top-10 team in the next few weeks to qualify for the NCAA tournament.” The weekend marked the season’s halfway point, and the Sagehens now enter a tough stretch in which five of their next eight opponents are currently ranked nationally. While they are looking forward to those matches, they are being careful to not discount any opponents. “I think we’ve been approaching every match the same, no matter what we have to be our best and compete our hardest,” Kronenberg said. “Even if we play teams ranked below us we have to show up and bring our best.” The Sagehens will next take the court March 24 against California Lutheran University (2-8) and the University of California, Santa Cruz (2-4).

Photo courtesy of P-P Athletics

Marko Mandic PO ‘18 and Josh Gearou PO ‘19 prepare for a doubles match against Cypress College Feb. 10. The Sagehens recently defeated Case Western and Trinity.

COMMENTARY

In Their Own Words: Athletes Use Twitter To Control Media Narrative Torrey Hart

There is certainly no shortage of places for the sports fan to turn for quality coverage. You may have jumped on The Athletic train, casually scrolled through the all-encompassing Bleacher Report app, or stayed loyal to the original, ESPN. Regardless of where you get your information, you can bet the writers there rely heavily on “sources” or “insiders.” As any low-level rumor might have spread like wildfire through your high school hallway, the same goes for professional sports when it comes to trades, politics, and player opinions. Who are these elusive insiders, and why do we trust them with our beloved teams? Well, it seems players are wondering the same thing. Across the Big Three (baseball, basketball, and football), tensions between players, owners, and governing bodies have never been higher. In the MLB, storms surround the juiced ball theory, revenue-sharing, and free agency, while the NBA features questionable refereeing and superteams, amongst other concerns. The issues in the NFL run deep; one barely has to scratch the surface of fandom to hit race relations and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

As of late, professional athletes are side-stepping insiders altogether and taking to Twitter to address these issues head-on. The change mirrors an overall power shift in sports, as athletes are vying for control of their own narratives through free agency and related practices. Last week, for example, Houston Astros’ ace Justin Verlander took to Twitter to voice his belief that the ball is juiced, and that he doesn’t care — he just doesn’t want to be lied to. He tweeted a series of graphs that showed an increase in the likelihood of batted balls becoming homeruns over the past three seasons. Verlander then added: “All I’m saying is I don’t care if balls are juiced (seriously). We’re all using the same ball so it’s a fair field. My issue is I don’t like being lied to. I knew something was different. Century old records are being broken and numbers are skewed.” By side-stepping the middleman, Verlander avoids any risk of misinterpretation, and in doing so, told a better story than a professional writer could. It’s a win-win situation for him and his fans. During an era in which the MLB is being accused of withholding revenue and colluding to save money, Verlander uses Twitter to assert what power he can, and does so at-will. Players do not have

deadlines, editors, or ulterior motives — just information. The Ringer ’s Ben Lindbergh summed up this phenomena in his half-joking response to Verlander: that Lindbergh worked on his own juiced ball story for months, and Verlander “just tweeted it out.” Another big story of the MLB offseason was pitcher Yu Darvish’s free agency. So-called “sources” for weeks gave their insider opinions on which teams were in the running to land the righty, and for what amount of money. Finally, Darvish hopped online to point out the lunacy of the situation. Darvish responded to a tweet by Max Wildstein that said: “Yu Darvish has reportedly narrowed down his potential landing sports to #Rangers, #Yankees, #Cubs, #Astros and #Twins, per @JeffWilson_FWST.” The star pitcher quoted the tweet and comically retorted, “I know one more team is in.” Darvish simultaneously undermined the authority of the press and disrupted the rumor mill, controlling his own narrative, source-free. The Golden State Warriors’ Andre Iguodala took the same approach last offseason, mocking the whole system by reporting on himself the way a journalist would. He broke the news of his own contract signing, tweeting: “Sources close to Andre Iguodala report-

ing agreed to terms to return to the bay....” When Donald Trump took to Twitter to “disinvite” the Golden State Warriors from their NBA championship celebration in Washington, D.C., LeBron James fired back what would become the No. 7 most retweeted tweet of 2017: “U bum @StephenCurry30 already said he ain’t going! So therefore ain’t no invite. Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!” Would James ever have been so candid with the press? Not likely. Twitter allows for unadulterated communication between players and fans, which of course brings added responsibility for James, who is now liable to answer more thorny political questions sent his way. Instances like these abound in the current Twitterverse, but that doesn’t mean Twitter will lead to the death of sports media. It simply necessitates a shift in reporting from informational to explanatory. In a world where players, rather than press, are empowered to break the next big story, consider the bar for good sports journalism raised. If Marshall McLuhan is in fact correct in his infamous proclamation that “the medium is the message,” Twitter is speaking loud and clear.

Photo courtesy of Wiki Commons

Pro athletes, like the Golden State Warriors’ Andre Iguodala, have recently started sidestepping insiders altogether and taking to Twitter to address issues head-on.

SPORTS PAGE 10 CMS MEN’S BASKETBALL

RECORD: Five Talented Seniors Oversaw Years Of Success, Will Be Missed By Coach And Teammates Continued from Page 1 against [Whitman] and I felt like we had and even stronger team this year,” he said. “It’s tough to be just another shot, rebound, or stop away from making history as a team and advancing to the Sweet Sixteen.” Head coach Ken Scalmanini also liked his unranked team’s chances of toppling the country’s top two Division III teams. “We’ve experienced [this]. We’ve done this before. We should be prepared,“ Scalamini thought. “We felt like we had a good chance going up there and winning both games, to be honest.” It was not to be. But the legacy left by seniors Scarlett, Lynds, Kendrick Morris CM ’18, Jack Ely CM ’18, and Andrew Maddock CM ’18 left will not soon be forgotten. The squad won three SCIAC tournaments, three NCAA Tournament games, and produced some of the most successful teams in program history. Lynds’ ability to generate offense in the biggest of moments made the difference in many contests. After missing his entire junior season and half of his redshirt junior year with a broken hand, he roared back this year, averaging 16.3 points per game and shooting 39.3 percent from three-point range. He dropped a career-high 29 points in the Stags’ SCIAC championship game victory over PomonaPitzer Feb. 24, and scored 28 and 26 against Whitworth and Whitman, respectively. Morris will be remembered for his constant post presence; he anchored the Stags defensively, consistently challenged opponents at the rim, and was smoother than butter under the basket, averaging nearly 13 points and eight rebounds a game. Ely was the x-factor: a gritty defender and rebounder who lit a fire under the squad while agitating opponents. Maddock, limited by injury, didn’t make as much of an oncourt impact, but provided steady leadership from the bench. But no one had a bigger impact than Scarlett, who averaged double-digit points from his sophomore year on and quickly became one of the most prolific scorers in CMS history. After putting up 17.5 points per game and shooting a miraculous 46.1 percent from behind the arc in the 2016-17 campaign, Scarlett was named SCIAC Player of the Year, and garnered first-team AllDistrict and honorable mention All-American honors. That was a difficult season to top, but he did — Scarlett’s senior year was his true masterpiece. The guard led his team with 19.7 points per game, scorched his Sagehen rivals with a season-high 32-point outing in February, and the Stags went 19-3 in games he played. Scarlett was once again named SCIAC Player of the Year, took home first-team All-District honors, and this time was a firstteam All-American. His ability to hit shots from anywhere on the court made Scarlett the focal point of every team’s defensive effort against the Stags, yet he somehow always found a way to give opponents fits. His sharpshooting, combined with his

MARCH 23, 2018

THE STUDENT LIFE

beard and calm swagger, lit up the CMS crowd. Though his career was full of accolades, Scarlett said none was more important than the memories and friendships he made. “The accomplishment I am most proud of is making friends that will last me the rest of my life,” Scarlett said. “We pushed each other to become better on and off the court every day.” “WHAT’S WRONG WITH THEM?” Despite its superb finish, the 2017-2018 season was a bit of a roller coaster. It started off on a low note, as Scarlett missed the first four games with a n i n j u r y. The team dropped all four contests without him and the Stags,

ranked in the top 25 nationally to start the season, quickly dropped out of the polls. “ We d i d n ’t do very good at the beginning,” Scalmanini said. “We lost the first four, we were like 2 and 6, [and] everyone said, ‘What’s wrong with them?’” CMS found its way as the calendar flipped to 2018. Beginning with a win Jan. 3 against the University of La Verne, the Stags rattled off 14 straight regular-season victories to turn the season around and secure the No. 1 seed heading into the SCIAC tournament. “[That is] hard to do, when you’re not doing real well, and then turn it around,” Scalmanini said. “Some teams give up a lot, so I’m proud of their resiliency.” Scarlett attributed the turnaround to the experienced veterans guiding the Stags. “Having five senior leaders on the team really helped to bring experience to the squad,” he said. “When we had some early season adversity with injuries and a string of losses, there was still a feeling of togetherness and camaraderie in the locker room.” As the postseason began, they

just kept winning. A convincing 83-72 win over Chapman in the SCIAC semi-finals was followed by one of their best victories of the year: a 86-62 thumping of P-P to win the SCIAC title. The next day, the Stags received the news that their tournament draw was identical to the year before — they’d be heading back to Walla Walla with a chance for redemption. “There’s two ways to look at it, I guess,” Scalmanini said. “One is, we’re familiar with the place. … The other is, ‘Man, we have to do the same exact thing again. It’s supposed to be really special for us.’” Unlike in the NCAA Division I March Madness Tournament, where teams are seeded based on record and success throughout the season, the D-III tournament pits squads against each other based on location, so the Stags’ relative proximity to Washington worked against them. The game against No. 2 Whitworth was a back-and-forth affair; CMS battled through 16 lead changes, trading blows with the Pirates until the final whistle, and eventually won by one point in what Scalmanini called “our best win of the year.” Lynds and Scarlett combined for 59 of the Stags’ 83 points, and both hit free throws in the final minute to ice the game. That all led to the rematch against

Whitman. Though the Stags had now won 17 straight, they just couldn’t get past the No. 1 ranked team in the country. “Looking back now, we have to be proud of our effort and resilience over the course of the season,” Scarlett said. “We battled back from a 3-7 start and a couple early season injuries to go on a 17-game win streak. We beat the No. 2 ranked team in the nation and took the No. 1 team to overtime.” SCALMANINI’S SYSTEM Scalmanini has now racked up an unprecedented 10 SCIAC regular season titles, including seven in the last 10 years, and six SCIAC tournament titles. Throughout his 20-year tenure, Scalmanini says he’s been known for physical, defensive teams, and runs a motion offense taught by late CMS coach David Wells. But the real difference for Scalmanini — who surpassed the legendary coach’s total career wins last season

— came when he decided to play to his team’s strength. “We got way better when I recognized, ‘I should let the seniors lead this more, and me shut up,’” he said. “The last four minutes [of a game] … it [isn’t] coach Scalmanini doing it out there, it’s them doing it. Utilizing their discipline and their leadership was a real [change for] me, in a good way.” Now, Scalmanini’s teams don’t run plays — they employ a “freelance” offense that allows players to make their own decisions, even in the spur of the moment. “Sometimes, I don’t know what they’re running,” he admitted. Scalmanini’s system works because of the intelligent, basketball-knowledgeable players he’s able to recruit. “I’d like to say we utilize the smarts of the Claremont guys,” he said. “We use their minds to not give up easy baskets and to work together to create great shots.” While Scalmanini is quick to deflect praise onto his players, Scarlett gave him more credit. “[Scalmanini has] built something truly special with the Stags basketball program — a program that is committed to the success of the team and not just the individual,” Scarlett said. “Even on my visit as a high schooler I saw how the program was distinguished from other programs in the way the guys looked out for each other and were committed to the success of the group.” WHO’S GOT NEXT? With the five seniors — including four starters playing at least 30 minutes a game — set to graduate, some might think the Stags’ era of success is over. Scalmanini would beg to differ. “Three years ago, you would have said the same thing to me. And that team won twice in a row,” he said. “I think people are going to be surprised [by] the guys that I didn’t play this year that then get to play next year.” After all, he reminds potential conference challengers, two of the most dominant players in the conference, Lynds and Scarlett, didn’t play much their first years. “We have a lot of younger guys ready to fill in and step up for next year, and I’m looking forward to it,” President said. President, the only non-senior starter, averaged nine points per game this year, and is a formidable threat with great length. He is the likely heir-apparent to Scarlett’s place at the top of the offensive stat sheet. He will be tasked with taking over the team, and will likely be joined by forwards Patrick Myers CM ’19 and Nicholas Segura CM ’19, as well as guard Mitchell Kirsch CM ’21, the most consistent bench threats for the Stags this season. That’s not to say the five seniors won’t be missed. “Most people would think that I love graduation, but it’s kind of a sad day for me,” Scalmanini said. “I was sad in the meeting today, talking to the seniors. … I love ‘em.” Photo: Michael Scarlett CM ‘18. Courtesy of CMS Athletics.

P-P Athlete of the Week Softball Izzy Deatherage PO ‘20 Alameda, California

Over the P-P softball team’s spring break trip to Florida, the Sagehens captured four wins in six games. No player performed better than Izzy Detherage PO ’20, who hit a stunning .571 with nine doubles and 11 RBIs, while slugging 1.143 to lead the Sagehens to wins over Suffolk, Hope International, Mass.-Dartmouth, and Oberlin. The strong week increased Detherage’s season batting average to .441, good enough for second on the team.

CMS Athlete of the Week Women’s Lacrosse Sally Abel

CM ‘21 Piedmont, California While the CMS women’s lacrosse team is very similar to the team that went 10-0 in the SCIAC last season, they’ve gained one key addition this year: Sally Abel CM ’21. The first-year has been an offensive spark plug for the Athenas as they’ve made their way to a 9-1 start, scoring 29 goals in 10 games. Abel kept on her scoring tear this past week, scoring three goals in a key win over rival Colorado College March 18, and adding six more in a lopsided win over Chapman March 21.

CMS BASEBALL

Stag Baseball Goes 3-1 Over Weekend With Wins Over Ursinus, Dickinson

Jojo Sanders • The Student Life

Justin Hull CM ‘20 pitches in a game against the University of La Verne earlier this month. Hull took the loss in the Stags’ matchup against Ithaca March 12.

Hank Snowdon

Hank Snowdon • The Student Life

The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps baseball team (13-8, 4-2 SCIAC) was busy over spring break, winning three of four games in the past week. The Stags were coming off a tough series loss to the University of La Verne the week before, but were able to turn things March 9, when they faced Ursinus College (2-7) in a doubleheader at home. CMS took the first game 13-7, as the offense exploded to lead the team to victory. Chase Eller CM ’19 brought the power for the Stags, hitting two home runs and adding an RBI double in three at bats, driving in six. Cameron Cash CM ’20 continued his strong campaign on the mound, pitching six innings to secure the win. The second game of the twin bill was no different than the first, as the Stags continued their offensive barrage, this time winning 24-12. Eller remained on fire, going 3-4 with another home run and six RBIs. Brandon Mitchell CM ’21 added two home runs of his own, and CJ Novogradac CM ’19 tacked on another moonshot.

Pitching was a team effort for CMS, with six different Stags taking the mound in the victory. Konnor Kwok CM ’20 started on the mound and pitched three innings, and Brandon Louie CM ’20 picked up the win in relief. The Stags kept rolling March 12, taking home a 9-7 victory against Dickinson College (3-11). The offense erupted for eight runs in the first three innings, and the Red Devils couldn’t climb out of the early hole to overtake CMS. However, the afternoon ended on a sour note, as CMS couldn’t complete the week undefeated, falling 4-2 later in the day to Ithaca College (7-5). For as much offensive firepower as the Stags had shown, the bats fell quiet in the matchup with the Bombers, and they failed to rally in the late innings to get the victory. Justin Hull CM ’20 took the hard-luck loss, pitching six innings of four-run ball, but couldn’t get the run support he needed from his teammates. The Stags will be back in action March 23 as they open a weekend SCIAC series against Occidental College (12-8, 6-3 SCIAC).