Vol. CXXX, No. 5

THE STUDENT LIFE FRIDAY, OctObeR 18, 2019 | CLAREMONT, CA | VOL. CXXX NO. 5

Marianne Williamson to visit Pomona MARc ROD

TALIA BERNSTEIN • THE STUDENT LIFE

The Sagehen cross-country teams hosted the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational on Oct. 12, their first of three home races this fall in the Wash, Pomona College’s expanse of dirt trails and athletic fields. The early-morning affair saw both squads snag second-place finishes behind Cal Poly Pomona.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER: HENS HOST INVITE

Presidential candidate and former Pomona College student Marianne Williamson will visit Pomona College on Nov. 6 for an event hosted by TSL. Williamson will appear at the Rose Hills Theater from 7 to 8:30 p.m. for a 30-minute speech followed by an hour-long moderated question and answer session with a TSL reporter and others, who have yet to be announced. Williamson was a Pomona student from 1970 to 1972. She left thinking she would return to campus after a semester or two, but ultimately “life just sort of took [me] elsewhere,” Williamson told TSL in February. After she left Pomona, she ended up in New Mexico, where she grew vegetables and lived in a geodesic dome. She’s now a successful author and spiritual leader, and announced her presidential bid

See PRIMARY on page 2

What the honk? Proposed Victoria’s Secret, Taylor Swift and ‘quiet zone’ could give students the revival of Harvey Mudd pranks reprieve from Metrolink horns LAUReN WeSt

JASPeR DAVIDOFF Every August, Pomona College first-years settling into their residence halls on Bonita Avenue are given an unexpected welcome from the railroad tracks three blocks away: a nearly 100-decibel honk from the Metrolink commuter train on its way through Claremont Station. Then another one. And then another one. But that could change in the future. The city of Claremont could soon be eligible for a “quiet zone” from the California Public Utilities Commission so that trains would no longer be required to sound their horns in Claremont, assistant city manager Chris Paulson told TSL. With dozens of Metrolink and cargo trains passing through the city each week, train horns have become a familiar element of South Campus life, from early morning to late at night and every time in between. “[It’s] very far away but it’s still so loud,” Matti Horne PO ’22 said. “I don’t quite understand why it has to be so many times in a row. … You think that it’s over but then it starts again.” Horns are so frequent in Claremont because federal law mandates that train engineers sound their horns at least 15 seconds before meeting a street-level railroad crossing, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. There are two such crossings

[It’s] very far away but it’s still so loud. ... You think that it’s over but then it starts again. Matti Horne

within a few blocks of campus: on College Avenue, south of the Pomona dorms, and another on the other side of the Village on Indian Hill Boulevard. Federal law dictates a minimum horn volume of 96 decibels — the same volume as a boom box or ATV, according to the University of Michigan — and a maximum of 110 decibels, equivalent to a chainsaw or snowmobile. Sounds above 85 decibels may be harmful depending on duration and proximity. A 2002 FRA report found that

transportation noise could have adverse effects on hearing, sleep, cardiovascular health and mental health. Claremont has been seeking a quiet zone for at least four years, city documents show. A 2017 report estimated the cost of the necessary safety improvements at $6.8 million. Instead of making those improvements upfront, staff recommended the city simply wait for the planned extension of the Los Angeles Metro’s Gold Line, which they thought would begin in early 2019, to obtain safety upgrades along with other construction. The extension means that the Metrolink’s tracks would be relocated to move the station east of College Avenue, Paulson said. The construction would already include the installation of safety equipment that the FRA requires to apply for a quiet zone, such as flashing lights and gates, changes to traffic patterns or medians preventing motorists from driving around gates. But the Gold Line is no longer guaranteed to come to Claremont at all, pending a $450 million funding shortfall, TSL previously reported. Even if the project does go forward, construction would not likely start in Claremont until the line reaches Pomona in 2025. Paulson said the city is not making alternative plans for securing a quiet zone in the event the Gold Line extension fails. “We’re not going to spin our wheels over the next year and a half on something that we may not ever be able to do, or something that we may be able to do but it just will take a little bit longer,” he said. Two cities in Los Angeles County — Pomona and Glendale — have successfully established quiet zones, according to Metrolink’s website. Baldwin Park, a city of about 75,000 west of Claremont, is actively working to obtain one, city chief executive officer Shannon Yauchzee told TSL. Metrolink is helping Baldwin Park design new railroad crossings to meet quiet zone requirements, Yauchzee said, and after the designs are completed

See ZONe on page 2

In September 1957, two weeks into the fall semester, the very first Harvey Mudd College graduating class erected a wall, sans mortar, across both lanes of 12th Street with leftover building blocks. However, trouble fell upon the pranksters when “a young man from a sister college, speeding back in his open sports car” found himself being chased by police, according to a book that detailed the event. The student raced onto Mills Avenue and onto 12th Street, where, unable to change course, he found out about the prank wall — the hard way. The student walked away from the collision unharmed, and the cost of car repairs were divided among the pranksters. This inaugural prank was chronicled in HMC founding president Joseph B. Platt’s book “Harvey Mudd College: The First Twenty Years,” and created a lasting standard of pranking at the school. “This learning experience (for all of us) began another tradition: Pranks are tolerated, but no one should be hurt, and it should be possible for the perpetrator(s) to restore the status quo ante,” Platt wrote. Mudd’s pranking from then on — notable schemes include soap impressions of campus keys, removing toilets and the famed cannon heist of ’86 — has played an integral role in campus culture and history.

COURTESY OF FRANK MICELOTTA FOR VH1 STORYTELLERS

HMC students didn’t hack the contest that brought Taylor Swift to campus — like they did with the Victoria’s Secret contest — but they found a loophole.

In more recent years, Mudd appeared at the top of the leaderboard for the Victoria’s Secret 2009 “Pink Collegiate Collection” contest, aiming to have Mudd’s name on Victoria’s Secret brand underwear and outfits, according to emails sent to HMC students at the time. The winner of the contest was based on which school earned the most votes over a set period of time. Individuals were allowed to vote once per day, according to The College Hill Independent, a student newspaper for Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design. The voting site was described as containing a simple cookie and a CAPTCHA, a security measure

COURTESY OF FRANK MICELOTTA FOR VH1 STORYTELLERS

Taylor Swift performed at Bridges Auditorium in October 2012. The concert was won by Harvey Mudd students through a contest.

LIFE & STYLE

In honor of National Coming Out Day, the Queer Resource Center hosted an open mic night at the Motley Coffeehouse Oct. 12. Read more on page 4.

The student newspaper of the Claremont Colleges since 1889

OPINIONS

ensuring that users are human and not a machine, The College Hill Independent reported. Recognizing the weak security of the site, Mudders effectively circumvented the one vote per user per day policy of the contest by creating a program that bypassed the CAPTCHAs and sent in votes automatically, according to The College Hill Independent. Students solicited students of Sontag dorm to vote at a speed of 1,400 votes per minute, as verified in a 2009 email that was forwarded to TSL. However, it wasn’t enough for the instigators of the prank to just put Mudd at the top of the leaderboard — they also used the same vote-hacking algorithm to rearrange the order of the colleges below them so that the first letter of each school spelled out an acronym of their choice. Christopher Sundberg, Mudd’s associate dean of campus life, recalled students’ exuberance when they realized they could take the prank one step further. “I remember talking to students [involved in the prank and them saying], ‘This would be easy to manipulate … We could totally have this spell something out.’” Mudders eventually settled on “WIBSTR,” recognized by any culturally literate Mudder as “West is Best, Screw the Rest,” the cultish cry of Harvey Mudd’s West dorm. To evade detection of vote tampering, Mudders were meticulous in their voting behavior,

See PRANK on page 5 SPORTS

Though PG&E claims its power shut-off prevented these incidents from causing potential wildfires, it’s important to remember that many wildfires are not caused by utility equipment failure in the first place. Read more on page 8.

Helen Guo PO ‘20 led the Pomona-Pitzer women’s cross-country team to a second-place finish at P-P’s home invitational Oct. 12. Read more on page 9.

INDEX: News 1 | Life & Style 4 | Opinions 7 | Sports 9

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CMC Advocates guaranteed annual funding for professional training

TALIA BERNSTEIN • THE STUDENT LIFE

ASCMC voted to fund annual training for the CMC Advocates.

JASPeR DAVIDOFF ASCMC agreed Sunday to guarantee annual funding for CMC Advocates for Survivors of Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence’s professional training at the start of each academic year. The ASCMC executive board voted unanimously to provide the Advocates with $5,000 each year, which Advocates leadership told ASCMC at its Sunday executive board meeting was the cost of their professional training. “Whether it be through the emergency hotline and confidential resource, patrolling events or through proactive, sex-positive education, the work that Advocates does is so incredibly important,” ASCMC president Dina Rosin CM ’20 said via email. “I am proud that ASCMC is working with Advocates to best support them and make our CMC community safer.” Leadership for CMC Advocates, which launched in 2014, declined to comment. The memorandum stipulated closer collaboration between ASCMC and Advocates, including providing sober Advocates and ASCMC members as monitor staff

for major ASCMC parties and events. ASCMC committed to informing the Advocates about the dates and plans for such functions. The Advocates support Claremont McKenna College students by “acting as confidants who are non-mandatory reporters, assisting in the navigation of Title IX cases or legal documentation should a survivor wish to report, and serving to help survivors in the process,” according to their page on the ASCMC website. The CMC Advocates operate a 24/7 hotline to provide these supports. Pomona College’s Campus Advocates also run a hotline and similarly receive in-depth professional training, which helps prepare Advocates to respond to student calls, according to Pomona advocate Sophie Bax PO ’20. “We do a bunch of scenarios, lots of practice for how to handle different situations on the hotline, how to talk someone down from crisis,” Bax said. About a third of the Pomona Advocates’ 40-hour training, which was facilitated for the

first time this year by family services organization Project Sister, covered hotline responses, they said. T h e P i t z e r C o l l e g e A dvocates and Harvey Mudd College Advocates are funded by the Pitzer Student Senate and ASHMC respectively, according to members of those groups. T h e Po m o n a A d vo c a t e s are funded by the Dean of Students Office, Bax said. A spokesperson for Scripps College Advocates did not provide a comment by press time. The Scripps Advocates operate a “warm line” from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., according to the EmPOWER Center. The Harvey Mudd Advocates don’t run a hotline, according to head advocate Cassie Rossi HM ’20. No hotline for the Pitzer advocates is listed on the EmPOWER Center site. Although the ASCMC agreement locks in funding, the ASCMC executive board and CMC Advocates must reaffirm the agreement each year. Bax emphasized that student advocate groups play an important role in supporting survivors of sexual violence. “Not every survivor needs the same thing at the same time, not every survivor is going to want to talk to a therapist, not every survivor is going to want to report. And it’s just really important to have a wide variety of resources for survivors,” Bax said. “Peer-topeer support is a really unique thing.” Students can reach the CMC Advocates’ 24/7 hotline at 909377-2400; the Pomona Advocates’ 24/7 hotline through Project Sister at 909-626-4357 and the Scripps Advocates’ “warm line” from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. at 909-214-2138. The EmPOWER Center provides resources for survivors of sexual assault at 7csupportandprevention.com.

PRIMARY: Williamson will remain in race Continued from page 1 in January. “Running for president comes from something deeper than a normal decision-making process,” she told TSL. “At a time like this … this feels to me like the best way I can serve.” Williamson’s campaign has focused not just on policy, but also on healing spiritual and political divides in the U.S. “My campaign for the presidency is dedicated to this search for higher wisdom,” Williamson’s campaign website says. “Its purpose is to create a new political possibility in America — where citizens awaken, our hearts and minds are uplifted and our de-

mocracy once more becomes a thing about which we can all feel proud.” Williamson had eye-catching performances at the first two Democratic debates, which propelled her to the top of the Google search rankings after the July debate, according to USA Today. Williamson enthralled viewers with a promise to “harness love for political purposes” and a pledge that her first call as president would be to the New Zealand prime minister to say “girlfriend, you are so on.” But she didn’t qualify for any primary debate after the first two, and has never topped one percent in Morning Consult polls. And her fundraising — $3 million in

the third quarter of 2019 — puts her well behind many of her competitors, according to FiveThirtyEight. Wi l l i a m s o n a l s o h a s n ’t picked up much support in Claremont. She claimed support from just one percent of respondents in a TSL poll of 5C students in September. But in a Washington Post opinion piece Wednesday, in which she sharply criticized the Democratic National Committee and the 12 candidates on stage at Tuesday’s debate, Williamson said she has no plans to drop out of the race. “After that debate Tuesday night, are you kidding?” she said.

OCTOBer 18, 2019

ZONE: Delay possible due to Metro uncertainty Continued from page 1 in fall 2020, construction may be complete by May 2021. But the city isn’t sure how long the final step — obtaining approval from the utilities commission — will take. “I’ve heard six to eight months to apply for the quiet zone, but I’ve also heard it could stretch out to over a year,” Yauchzee said. “Our best case goal [is to] have this in place in

2021 or shortly thereafter.” With construction delayed and an application process of uncertain duration, it’s possible Claremont residents and students will still have to bear the sounds of railroad screams for a decade to come. Even so, not all South Campus residents are holding out for an end to the ruckus. “Honestly, the clock tower probably bothers me more,” Izzy Davis PO ’22 said. “Hot take.”

ZOe COWAN • THe STUDeNT LIFe

The city of Claremont is seeking approval for a “quiet zone” from the California Public Utilities Commission.

CMS swim behavior ‘justified’ educational programming KeLLeN bROWNING T h e C l a r e mont-Mudd-Scripps athletic department and its associated schools concluded that behavior by members of the CMS swim and dive team justified “mandatory educational programming,” Claremont McKenna College told TSL on Thursday, concluding an investigation into reported actions that may have violated athletic department values. “It was determined members of the men’s and women’s teams engaged in behavior ” that justified the mandatory programming, CMC spokesperson Peter Hong said in a statement. “In addition, some members of the men’s team have been given additional educational requirements.” The investigation began nearly a month ago, TSL previously reported, when head swim coach Charlie Griffiths summoned his team to an early-morning meeting at Roberts Pavilion in mid-September to lecture them about team standards and announce that some of the male swim-

mers were being temporarily suspended from practice, according to three sources familiar with the meeting. The day before, several senior women quit the team, citing a team culture they characterized as “pervaded by toxic masculinity,” according to a source familiar at the team. Men on the team had reportedly circulated a yearly document called the “Stag Survival Guide” — used to “introduce new freshmen to the team and crack jokes at existing members” — and some of the women who saw the alleged document thought it went too far this year with inappropriate and offensive comments about other team members, two sources said. The men who were suspended were allowed to resume practice a week later, Griffiths said, and CMC’s statement gave no indication of additional suspensions or sanctions. The CMS investigation was led by Nyree Gray, CMC’s assistant vice president for diversity and chief civil rights officer, according to CMC spokesperson Gilien Silsby. CMS opens its season at UC San Diego on Oct. 26.

5C student groups gear up for 2020 Democratic primary ALLISON FItZ As the 2020 presidential campaign intensifies, 5C students are doing their part to make a difference. Passionate student activists from three political organizations across the five colleges — Claremont for Elizabeth Warren, Claremont for Bernie Sanders and Democrats of the Claremont Colleges — are working hard to marshall student support as the 2020 primary heats up. The Claremont Colleges Republicans did not respond to a request for comment. Claremont for Elizabeth Warren Anna Liss-Roy SC ’20, founder of Claremont for Elizabeth Warren, said the 2016 election spurred her to action. “I’m embarrassed to say I was shocked that an overtly racist and predatory candidate could win, but it was that transition from anger to action that motivated me to declare a politics major, to educate myself on political issues and, ultimately, to create Claremont for Warren,” she said. Liss-Roy and Talha Jilani PZ ’20 are co-presidents of the group, which they established this September to support the Massachusetts senator’s presidential run. It gained 60 members in the first two weeks, according to Liss-Roy, and its Facebook page had 99 likes as of Thursday. Liss-Roy said the rapid support for Claremont for Warren “has been incredibly encouraging but ultimately unsurprising, knowing how closely Warren’s policy goals align with the values of many students here.” Warren is the most popular candidate among 5C students by a wide margin, according to a TSL poll of

170 students in late August and early September. She earned 43 percent of the vote, compared to second-place Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 15 percent. Claremont for Elizabeth Warren aims to cultivate a space for dialogue about a possible Warren presidency, organizes community events — such as canvassing, phone banks, fundraising, tabling and voter registration — and works to educate and engage the Claremont community in political dialogue. “As a former teacher, Warren represents a return to policy and rhetoric grounded in facts and research,” Liss-Roy said. “In this era of charismatic appeal, Warren is a double-edged sword: She has energy and charisma capable of inspiring millions with substantive policies to back up her bold vision. Most importantly, she is the best candidate in the race, a fact that is reflected by her front-runner status in national polls.” Liss-Roy’s political experience expands far beyond the Claremont Colleges. She worked for Warren’s Senate re-election campaign in summer 2018, interned with the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts and canvassed for local candidates in the San Bernardino area. Despite her experiences, she’s faced logistical challenges like figuring out a leadership structure that works for all five colleges and going through five different processes to reserve tables for events. To be more inclusive of other identities and perspectives, the group has chosen “policy specialists” to represent and educate on specific Warren policies, Liss-Roy said. Liss-Roy believes this organiza-

tional structure will “celebrate the diverse reasons people have for supporting Warren,” “encourage bringing our specific passions, experiences and identities into the campaign” and urge “honest, inclusive and compassionate political dialogue.” Claremont Colleges for Bernie Sanders Danny Hernandez PO ’22 had his “political awakening” at a 2016 Sanders rally. Now, he feels a personal responsibility to help Sanders win the 2020 election, which “could potentially determine the fate of our planet,” he said. Claremont Colleges for Bernie Sanders, a local chapter of the national College Students for Bernie organization, works to advance Sanders’ candidacy and register and motivate students to vote, according to Hernandez, who is one of the group’s leaders. The group mostly spends its time recruiting members, phone banking, organizing voter registration drives, hosting debate watch parties and canvassing in Claremont, he said. “When he gets elected, hopefully, I can definitely see us taking more of an organizer role,” Hernandez said, including lobbying local representatives and senators to support Sanders’ policies, holding sit-ins or writing letters to Congress. The group has 145 members on its mailing list, Hernandez said, and its Facebook group had 61 members as of Thursday. Hernandez especially likes Sanders’ policies like the Green New Deal, Medicare for All and canceling student debt. Hernandez also sees Sanders as the strongest Democratic chal-

DOMENICO OTTOLIA • THE STUDENT LIFE

Katie Niver SC ‘22, Ale Butcher SC ‘22, Sarah Nunez SC ‘22 and Julia Brock SC ‘22 watch the Democratic National Debate at The Motley Coffeehouse on Oct. 15.

lenger to President Donald Trump because Sanders has two campaign cycles of exposure and a large donor base of more than one million people — the first candidate to hit that milestone, according to Politico — among other factors. Democrats of the Claremont Colleges With a broader focus, Democrats of the Claremont Colleges is working to further the 2020 campaigns of Democratic presidential and congressional candidates across the country, as well as promote political engagement among students at the 5Cs. “My vision for the organization is being a one-stop shop for everything liberal on campus,” President Nevada Lee SC ’22 said. DOCC, which has about 325 students on its mailing list, according to Lee, sends weekly newsletters about political organizations and events on campus. For the 2019-20 academic year, the group’s main focus will be phone banking for Democratic races in swing

states and offering educational workshops on political issues and policies. “We don’t want to push people away because they might be more to the left or more moderate,” Lee said. “By being available for candidate groups to advocate for their candidate and by opening up our organization to help students make that informed decision, we are better serving our purpose.” That said, the group might endorse a candidate in the future. “I know that the [Democratic] party itself is a big-tent party, so we’re just trying to be aware that there are a plethora of views within the Democrats,” she said. Lee, who is studying politics and whose mother serves as a member of the House of Representatives for Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District, said the main challenge of leading a political group at the Claremont Colleges is mobilizing students to act. “People are normally very excited about issues, but to move that excitement into action is normally very difficult,” she said.

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OCTOBer 18, 2019

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LAX to end curbside pick-ups for Uber, Lyft and taxis SteFFI LARSON

TALIA BERNSTEIN • THE STUDENT LIFE

LAX is ending curbside pickups for Uber, Lyft and taxis starting Oct. 29.

Students coming back to Claremont via Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) after Thanksgiving break will have to jump through additional hoops before they can get on the road back to campus. In an effort to mitigate increased traffic due to various projects, LAX is ending curbside pick-ups for Ubers, Lyfts and taxis Oct. 29, according to a news release from LAX and the Los Angeles Times. LAX-it, the airport’s new program, will redirect people being picked up by Lyft, Uber or a taxi to an area “adjacent to Terminal 1,” according to the Oct. 4 news release. Travelers using rideshare apps or a taxi at LAX can either walk three to eight minutes away from their terminal to a pick-up location or take a 15-minute shuttle to a pick-up location, according to the release, and the shuttles will run every three to five minutes during busy hours. This change does not apply to drop-offs. Rideshare and taxi drivers will continue to drop off passengers at the departure location, the news release said. LAX officials declined to comment on the change beyond the information on the website. The LAX-it program isn’t permanent, though; it’s a stand-in until the airport’s electric train system connecting LAX terminals to

stops around the city is completed in 2023, according to the release. Called the Automated People Mover, the project broke ground in March 2019, and construction on the elevated track is set to begin this fall, according to the APM page of the LAX website. APM construction, combined with terminal redevelopment projects, is expected to reduce inner-lane curb space by 30 percent, according to the LAX-it press release. The airport believes that moving rideshare app and taxi pick-ups to a different location will reduce congestion in the central terminal by 15 percent. Some students, including Belle Buroker PZ ’21, who’s from Rhode Island, were shocked when they heard about the change. Buroker, who frequently flies in and out of LAX, said the program would be “inconvenient” for her travel plans. “It already takes a long time to get back, even in an Uber,” she said. Buroker and Eleanor Mackey PO ’22 have both experienced traffic leaving LAX. However, Mackey does not believe LAX-it to be the appropriate response. “The whole point of taxis, Uber and Lyft is to make it easy to get to and from the airport, but if they’re adding an extra step where you have to take a shuttle, it leaves more room for things to go wrong with travel,” she said. Uber raised additional concerns about the trial program in

a letter to the authority that runs LAX, according to a copy of the letter posted by the LA Times. The rideshare company is concerned that LAX isn’t running a trial of the LAX-it program before it’s enacted. According to the LA Times, the San Francisco International Airport enacted a similar policy this summer, kicking off “weeks of chaos.” Uber also said the LAX-it lot might not be big enough for the high demand it will face. “Without a significant expansion of the lot, we expect the level of service to be poor,” the letter said. The company also anticipated traffic at the two-lane LAX-it lot exit, which it said could cause “a bottleneck, risking gridlock during peak periods.” Buroker, who often uses Uber to get back to campus from LAX, said she might start using public transportation, like the FlyAway bus to LA’s Union Station Metrolink stop instead. Mackey’s biggest concern is that LAX-it will make traveling to LA “more stressful and less enjoyable” for parents visiting Claremont, she said. The announcement of LAX-it comes on the heels of Uber’s decision to stop servicing Ontario International Airport on Sept. 13. However, this decision was prompted by the airport increasing fares for ride-hailing companies, not concerns about traffic, and Lyft and taxis can still do curbside pick-ups and drop-offs.

Pomona may accelerate plans to add more lighting to south Campus cHLOe MANDeL People often refer to Claremont as the “city of trees and PhDs,” but for the many Pomona College students whose laptops, cell phones and other devices have been stolen this semester, the title “city of thefts and burglaries” might be more appropriate. Since Aug. 18, Campus Safety’s federally mandated daily crime logs have shown 15 reported thefts on Pomona’s campus, including a mugging in front of the Oldenborg Center in September. Many occured in first-year dorms on South Campus, especially Gibson Hall and Mudd-Blaisdell Hall. In response to these recent thefts, Pomona may accelerate its plans to add more lighting to its South Campus. Contractors were already at work on an existing plan to install more North Campus lighting prior to the thefts, according to Robert Robinson, Pomona’s assistant vice president of facilities. But now South Campus — especially the areas around Oldenborg and Mudd-Blaisdell — will take priority. “Will we change a location to do it faster based on the thefts? Yeah, we probably will do that,” he said. “We will bump that up sooner.” Robinson did not respond to a follow-up question about when the

lighting would be added. Robinson said that he and his coworkers “do systematic walkthroughs of the campus each month at night and individually record where lights are out and where lights need to be placed.” Currently, they’re installing wall-mounted light fixtures around the Clark I, Clark IV and Walker residence halls on North Campus. Robinson also emphasized that the school has other safety measures in place, highlighting the LiveSafe app, which allows students to have Campus Safety track their path from one campus location to another and make sure they reach their destination safely. Angelikah Chun PO ’21, the student whose phone was snatched from her hands in front of Oldenborg last month on her way back from theater rehearsal, said the incident made her wary of walking back to her dorm alone. “Now it’s kind of passed and I’ve kind of moved on, but for a while, walking back from theater was a very scary experience,” she said. Chun said she thought adding more lighting on South Campus would be helpful for preventing similar crimes. “Some parts of campus are definitely a little bit darker,” she

Correction In an article about Student Health Services in Issue 4, it was incorrectly stated that students were not made aware of SHS’ shift to solely an urgent care facility by their respective colleges for two weeks. All schools except Pomona College were made aware by their deans about one week after the decision. TSL regrets this error.

Pomona hires new treasurer from Barnard College Pomona College is hiring Robert Goldberg, chief operating officer of Barnard College, to become vice president, chief operating officer and treasurer starting Jan. 1, according to a news release. Goldberg will replace Karen Sisson PO ’79, who served in the position for 11 years and retired at the end of 2019, TSL previously reported. At Barnard, a women’s college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City, Goldberg oversaw the design and construction of a $150 million library and academic building, the news release said. He also served as interim president of the college in 2017. “Rob deeply understands the human needs and possibilities behind budget numbers and financial choices,” Pomona President G. Gabrielle Starr said in the news release. Goldberg facilitated Columbia University’s switch from dining service provider Aramark to Chartwells after students protested Aramark’s connection to private prisons and allegations of misconduct, the Columbia Spectator reported. Pomona Dean of Students Avis Hinkson was also hired from Barnard last May, TSL previously reported. Hinkson served as Barnard’s dean of the college and started at Pomona on Aug. 1, 2018. Before starting at Barnard in 2014, Goldberg served as a senior budget official for the U.S. State Department, managing the United States’ $52 billion international affairs budget, according to the news release. He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in international affairs from The George Washington University. — Jaimie Ding

said. “Even when I was describing the people who took my phone to Campus [Safety], I couldn’t really see what they looked like because it was too dark.” Celia Parry’s PO ’23 said her Beats headphones and her roommate’s laptop were stolen from their room in Gibson Hall during the first few days of school. “I definitely didn’t really expect anything like it to happen,” she said. Parry said she thought additional lighting would help address crime on campus. “I know sometimes when I stay at the library kind of late and I walk back, it’s pretty dark,” she said. Hannah Mandell PO ’23, Parry’s roommate, echoed her sentiments, saying that hearing about the Oldenborg mugging after having her laptop stolen “kind of terrified” her and thinks “more lighting would definitely help mitigate some of that anxiety of being out late at night.” In compliance with state requirements, 40 percent of the lights on Pomona’s campus have motion sensors and only light up fully when people approach, Robinson said. This can give the impression that parts of campus are darker than they should be. Campus Safety director Stan

Skipworth said via email that Campus Safety “continues to use a variety of programming to mitigate the opportunity for crime to occur on the campuses” such as security cameras, body cameras, GPS devices for tracking criminals and an expanded training program for officers. Pomona is no stranger to thefts, particularly within residence halls. It experienced waves of thefts in April 2018 and again in April 2019. The average number of crimes

per week have stayed relatively the same this academic year and the last, according to data provided by Skipworth. “The one area overall that we saw an increase in for the first time in more than five years was in bicycle thefts,” he said. “And even though calls for service continue to increase, our dispatchers and officers are doing very good work to mitigate the opportunity for crime, and responding to reported crime and often apprehending those responsible.”

TALIA BERNSTEIN • THE STUDENT LIFE

In response to recent thefts, Pomona College plans to add more lighting to South Campus.

Life & StyLe

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OctObEr 18, 2019

My mother and then me: sexual assault across generations EMILY PUGH Guest Writer CW: sexual assault Neither one of us knew what to expect out of this trip. When my mother was 17, she was raped by her boyfriend in California, just outside of Sacramento. This summer, we went back to where it happened. Why bring up the memories from that night in his mother’s bedroom, where my mom’s autonomy was disregarded along with her dignity? The same thing almost happened to me on the other side of the country 30 years later. My mother telling me what happened to her when she was my age was part of the reason I didn’t experience the same helplessness and shame. So, I asked my mom to take a break from Georgia and go to Sacramento with me so I could hear her life story — the good, the bad and the unfathomable — and so that I would understand how the trauma from that night has manifested over time. After some hesitation, she decided to go, and right after we landed in late July, I asked her how she felt about the whole project. Understandably, she was anxious. “I really didn’t know what to expect,” she admitted during our drive to the hotel. “Us coming out here, going to the house where it happened … I just hope that other women like me don’t carry this shame.” Our trip started with a few harmless stops to show me her upbringing. On Monday of our weeklong stay, we went to her old high school and saw the stadium where she danced for drill team. Then we drove over to the duplex where she spent most of her teenage years, and on Tuesday morning, we visited Apple Hill Farm, where her parents were regular craftsmen in addition to their day jobs. By Tuesday afternoon, she was ready to see his house. They were both camp counselors the summer they first met. He was your average football linebacker — tall, dark-haired and broad-shouldered — and asked my mother out before they both returned to San Juan High School for her junior and his senior year. Like many high school relationships, it started off innocently enough. They went to the movies, ate out a few times and generally just spent time together. For months, they were both happy and got progressively closer. After revisiting the better parts of her childhood, my mom was ready to go back to where it happened. We were just coming off a sugar high from the caramel apple we split at lunch and were cracking each other up as we always did. If you’d seen us, you wouldn’t have thought we were about to do something so serious, and it wasn’t until we were at his house that things felt more real. We pulled up to the curb and parked next to his mailbox. My

ANAGA SrINIVAS • tHE StUDENt LIFE

mom was still mentally somewhere else, only now instead of laughing, she was going on about how people might think we look suspicious, whether she could park there on the street and whether we should even be outside of whoever’s house this is now at all. Finally, she acknowledged where we were. “I feel like I’m in touch with that little girl right now, and she just wants to go home,” she said impatiently. “I just want to get home. I don’t want to be here. I want to go home.” She threw the car in gear and took off without turning on the GPS, finding her way toward the old duplex as she had so many times when they were dating.

If you’d seen us, you wouldn’t have thought we were about to do something so serious, and it wasn’t until we were at his house that things felt more real. Emily Pugh

“I’m feeling panicky; I’m feeling anxious,” she explained as she drove. “I feel sick to my stomach right now, like I’m going to throw up. How dare he take that away from me? What am I going to do? Am I going to keep bleeding?” She began describing how it happened. His family was gone for the weekend, and the two of them were in the hot tub before moving to his mother’s bedroom. Then she explained how quickly it happened, the sounds she heard, the pain.

“I pushed and kicked him off me. A panic washed over me: ‘What have you done? What the hell did you do?’” She started speaking faster. “I feel angry; I feel anger. I feel like that little girl, just angry. Now what am I supposed to do?” Because she had lived miles away from his house and was far too embarrassed to call her family, she worked up the courage to demand a ride home. I asked her, “Did either of you acknowledge what happened?” “No,” she replied. “I sat in the car; neither one of us said a word. Just sat there. I was feeling a hundred million emotions at one time. I felt numb.” Her voice broke. “She — I — didn’t deserve that. It feels more comfortable to say ‘she’ and ‘her.’ I just want to go home,” she said, referring to Georgia. “I just want to crawl under my covers.” Then she broke down crying. “I feel broken. I was a broken piece of crap in that moment,” she said between sobs. “I was used. I didn’t feel like a person. I felt like an object.” Her body was shaking as she gripped the wheel tighter. “It wasn’t a choice. That’s what you do to animals; you don’t give them a choice — you just do.” It was hard seeing my mother like this. We passed her old house and found a place to park outside some nearby apartments, where she felt more comfortable to express what was going through her head. “It’s a very stuck feeling. When you’re only supposed to have sex with the person you’re going to marry, the person that takes it from you, you feel like you’re stuck with them for the rest of your life. You feel the shame of ‘What if somebody finds out this happened, and you’re not married?’” She then explained the different pressures she felt to stay celibate, from her Christian upbringing to the social stigmas of

the time. “Back then, it was so important to me. So, it just made me feel I was not important. And it’s probably what I’ve carried forever and a day. Like my decisions don’t matter, actually. Because they’ve been taken from me anyway.” She finally paused, then took a deep breath. “I didn’t have to let him go that far. I could’ve gotten out of that room; I could’ve run home,” she said. “I feel almost like I blame myself for it happening. Why didn’t I stop it if it was so important to me? Girls have a choice. You don’t have to go that far.” Then she explained that it felt like her 17-year-old self was still trapped inside her and that she wished she hadn’t felt so alone after it happened. “I had nobody, I had nobody I could talk to … That’s probably one of the worst feelings to feel, is you have nobody to turn to. The only person I could talk to was the stupid guy who did it. That loneliness is just terrible.” “That must be an awful feeling,” I said while rubbing her arm, trying to comfort her in some way. “I mean you can say I made a choice not to tell anyone,” she said. “Or, you know, I’m sure I could’ve talked to somebody. I’m sure I could have. But I didn’t. I didn’t! Because it wasn’t supposed to happen. Period. It wasn’t supposed to happen. PERIOD.” Her voice rose once more. “It just wasn’t supposed to happen.” Looking back on that day a few weeks later, I still can’t believe how open my mother was with me about being raped. When I was in high school, she told me a little about her first boyfriend and how she didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late, but I never realized just how deeply impacted she was by it. Back then, she said she didn’t want me to end up in the same situation, so for a long time, I was careful.

bIttEr bUSINESS bUrEAU

An open letter to the boy who ghosted me CAMERON TIPTON

Let’s start from the very beginning. Genetics, sophomore year. I thought you were so cute but was too afraid to do anything about it. For unrelated reasons, I ended up dropping the class and, with it, any hope of ever expressing my feelings. Flash forward to junior year. With a friend’s encouragement (and some heavy-handed wine service on her part), I decided to shoot my shot. Better late than never, I reasoned. We made plans to grab lunch, nothing serious. The chat was nice (albeit a little vapid), but I didn’t get the chance to communicate my intentions. I messaged you after to tell you I was interested, at which point you told me you were seeing someone and wanted to keep things platonic. I respected that and of course did not press any further. A month passed. My friend, the aforementioned enabler, ends up matching with you on Tinder. I inferred that y o u probably weren’t seeing someone at this point, though at the very least, I wanted to be friends since you seemed interesting enough. I invited you to hang out, but you deferred to the near-future, citing a pile of papers you have to grade as an excuse. Again, no problem. Maybe a week later, I invited you to hang out again, under the impression that the papers were

graded and the weekend would offer a much-needed respite from the stresses of the academic workweek. You never opened the message. I didn’t realize until I started writing this letter that I sent that message exactly one year ago. A fucking year ago. Maybe this wouldn’t have hurt me i f

just making excuses to avoid hurting my feelings. But ignoring someone’s existence is fifty shades of messed up. Deep down, I can’t help but hope you understand that. I can acknowledge that I was very into you, sure, but I’m only human. I can only reasonably respond to what you give me. If somebody goes to a hospital

NAtALIE bAUEr • tHE StUDENt LIFE

we didn’t live in the same area, go to the same dining halls and attend the same social functions. I saw you everywhere, sometimes multiple times a day. A few weeks ago, you skateboarded past me. It was just the two of us, and I swear if your reaction was any indication, I wouldn’t have known I existed. The thing is, I get where you’re coming from. Maybe you were closeted. Maybe you didn’t like me. Maybe you were

drenched in fake blood, why should the doctors suspect that the patient is not truly wounded? In the same vein, if you say you cannot be more than platonic because you’re in a relationship, who am I to leap to the conclusion that you couldn’t be interested in me? If at any point I made you uncomfortable, I’m sorry. I am awkward as hell and will admit I lack subtlety at times. But that does not give you license to dis-

card me when it’s convenient, especially when we go to a school with 1,600 students. I contemplated reaching out to you directly but ultimately decided against it. Why give you another chance to ignore me? When I’ve got a platform, it’s irresponsible not to take full advantage of it. Hell, I know this won’t change anything. You probably won’t even read this. But I’d be remiss not to address it, especially when ghosting is such a prevalent problem, at the 5Cs and beyond. Ghosting doesn’t have to mean two parties were intimate. It means one party decided the other party wasn’t worth their time without having the basic human decency to let the other party know without cutting them off entirely. The ghoster gets off with absolute impunity — it’s something people accept as a given. The ghosted is left with only their feelings, insecurities, perceived inadequacy and undesirability. For all who have been ghosted: I see you. You are valid and deserve courtesy just as much as anyone else. And for the boy who ghosted me: Do better. Cameron Tipton PO ’20 is a human with a lot of feelings. They have been listening to a lot of Baby Rose lately.

But then a few years later, I was there, too. My boyfriend at the time and I had been dating for a few months. Since it was hard to see each other during the school year, we decided to get together for a week during the summer. Already the question of sex had come up a few times, but I still wasn’t ready. For a while, he respected my decision without question, but as the trip got closer, I felt the need to reconsider; I was caught between what all our friends were doing, and what I, for some reason I couldn’t explain, just didn’t feel mature enough to do. The day before my departure, I decided I still wasn’t ready and told him the first day we were together. He was visibly disappointed but said he understood. I felt relieved, and things seemed normal again. My boyfriend wasn’t a bad person. He was respectable, adored by everyone he met and had a demeanor that screamed incapable of hurting a fly. That’s why I was in for such a shock on that third day. We were both quiet. I remember feeling confused, then going completely still. I wasn’t sure what he was doing, but it didn’t feel right. Then I knew. Anger surged through my entire body as I pushed him off, running to the bathroom just as my mother had three decades before. This time, however, the boyfriend hadn’t got that far. Thirty minutes later, I went back to our shared bed but pushed myself as far from him as I could, infuriated but trying to get some sleep. In the morning we packed our things without a word, and it wasn’t until two hours into our preplanned hike that we spoke. “How could you?” I asked him furiously. “I thought I could trust you. Were you really so stupid and inconsiderate that you would try without talking to me? Without asking if I was okay with it?” He didn’t plead with me. He didn’t exactly apologize either. He too was angry, and sort of acknowledged his mistake while explaining that he felt unwanted. The general expectation at that point in our relationship, according to what his friends had told him, was sex. He expressed his hurt pride while I explained my violated trust. Once we both cooled off a few hours later, he genuinely expressed how sorry he was. I never felt scared or worried that he would physically hurt me or try again. We both knew it was a dumb mistake coupled with poor communication that could have gone farther, but didn’t. I have my mom’s openness and honesty with me all those years ago to thank for that. If you are having any reactions to what you have read here or are experiencing any form of domestic or sexual violence, please reach out to an organization such as RAINN or The Hotline. You are not alone. Emily Pugh CM ’21 is an International Relations and Spanish major, and currently studying abroad in Cuzco, Peru.

Coming Out Day celebrated at Motley SIMRAN SACHDEVA In honor of National Coming Out Day, the Queer Resource Center hosted an open mic night at the Motley Coffeehouse on Oct. 12. The turnout was heartwarming — the Motley was flooded with chatter and people cheering, snapping and shouting encouragement at performers throughout the night. The open mic featured a wide array of performances, from an acoustic duet cover of “Corduroy Dreams,” originally by Rex Orange County, to inspiring poems about body image and the LGBTQIA+ experience to stand-up comedy. Abby McCarthy PZ ’21 and Elyse Endlich PZ ’22, both event organizers and emcees for the night, caused uproars of laughter in between acts, especially when they half-jokingly announced the event intermission to be a time for the audience to flirt with one another. This is not the first open mic night for McCarthy, a student associate at the Queer Resource Center. Friday’s event builds off a previous successful open mic that McCarthy wanted to see replicated. “I hosted an LGBT mic night last semester that was really successful,” she said. “People were able to bring really good poetry and music [to the event], and I wanted to keep that going.” Endlich said open mics are a unique forum, giving students true freedom to express themselves without stringent guidelines. “I really love hosting open mics,” she said. “I love giving people the space to share anything they want with the community.”

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OctObEr 18, 2019

ScENE ONE, HOt tAKE ONE

POPPED UP

Reddit might be what you’re looking for in times of procrastination HANNAH AVALOS With plenty of uninterrupted hours ahead of me, I’m in the perfect condition to begin chipping away at the growing list of tasks I have to do. Then suddenly, my phone’s screen illuminates with a text message. After quickly responding, I nudge the “home” button, minimizing the message page, revealing my home screen. There are so many avenues of blissful procrastination to take. I open Reddit — a deliberate choice. Though I used to be purely an Instagram procrastinator, I’ve noticed a great difference in the way I feel after spending time on Reddit instead. Many of us spend time on social media platforms like Instagram, a place where we’re expected to stay connected to our favorite celebrities, artists, friends, family and even influencers, many of whom are people we don’t know why we’re following in the first place but cannot imagine our feeds without. As I scroll, I come across images of the aforementioned people adventuring, accomplishing goals or just looking amazing. Rather than experiencing a sense of connection with the people whose posts populate my feed, though, I can’t help but feel like a mere observer in their lives. But the owners of these pages are not culpable for this disconnect — Instagram’s infrastructure is essentially tailored for it. Who wouldn’t want to be perceived as “living their best life?” Indeed, the “selfie era” gives people the capacity to directly control how they’re perceived, a power not yet experienced by any prior generation. The problem with spaces like Instagram is that they aren’t “social” media in the truest sense of the term. In some respects, yes, people are up-to-date on the highlight reel of the lives of the people they f0llow. But in these

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online places, we often miss out on the joys of empathetically connecting with others. On the opposite side of the social media coin, then, is Reddit. Unlike Instagram, it’s probably the app’s anonymity that’s responsible for fostering connectedness. Users operate under aliases and don’t typically give out personal information. Though complete anonymity is not the best in all cases, users participate without the pressure of presenting a mediated, improved image and are instead able to gather around points of commonality, shared interests and shared experiences. Whether that be a love of

With the ever-present pressures to perform well in our daily lives, why spend the few free moments we have distantly witnessing others “appear” well? Hannah Avalos

cute animal videos, an obsession with a true-crime comedy podcast or a desire to gaze upon photos that look like they were plucked straight from a Wes Anderson film, Reddit is home to communities — subreddits — where people engage with one another about things that make them similar, rather than push out content meant to distinguish their online personas. There are subreddit communities out there like r/explainlikeimfive, where genuinely curious people are open about what they don’t know and receive easily digestible answers to questions, no matter how complicated the subject matter.

I have encountered a wide array of concepts on this subreddit, from the biological underpinnings of how and why Toxic Shock Syndrome occurs so quickly to how exactly fiber optic internet works. The feeling of, “Yeah, how does that thing actually work?” that washes over me as I read the title of a post is both validating and exciting. Another subreddit is r/ AmItheAsshole, which circulates posts where authors seek guidance on how to feel after an unsettling interaction (many users describe their experiences in great detail). While reading the stories, sometimes one can’t help but empathize with the speaker, feel their sense of mildly guilty uncertainty and find a sense of validation from realizing that others are also imperfect. There’s also a subreddit called r/unpopularopinions, where people share opinions they themselves hold or find interesting (but may not be widely shared), and other users engage in dialogue about that belief in the comments. This conversation is often much more thought-provoking and entertaining than some of the typical dialogue seen under Instagram posts. With the ever-present pressures to perform well in our daily lives, why spend the few free moments we have distantly witnessing others “appear” well? Maybe the next time you’re confronted with an opportunity to procrastinate, give Reddit a try. Hannah Avalos PO ’21 is one of TSL’s pop culture columnists. She’s an English major and recent transfer student who loves creative writing, picking out which earrings to wear and finishing the books she starts reading.

NAtALIE bAUEr • tHE StUDENt LIFE

The importance of ‘controversial art’ and a case for ‘Joker’ BEN HAFETZ “Joker,” directed by Todd Phillips (yes, the creator of all three “Hangover” films), opened last week to massive success at the box office. A character study disguised as a comic book movie, the film has dominated current film “discourse.” Its nonstop coverage makes it seem as if the film has been out for months. Ever since “Joker” won the prestigious Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in September, there have been countless takes on the film and massive controversy on its “dangerous ideology.” From warnings of incel violence to the stationing of undercover cops in screenings to a national guard warning about potential violence during screenings, “Joker” has been fraught with accusations of stoking violence in young alienated white men. However, the issue with the mass hysteria surrounding the film’s danger is that it somehow misses the point of the film itself. “Joker” follows Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a 30-something aspiring standup comedian who struggles with the abuse he suffered as a child and deterioration of his mental health. As the city of Gotham disregards the working class, Fleck becomes increasingly disturbed, leading to his inception as the “Joker.” After the murder of three Wall Street frat-bros on the subway, the Joker cements himself as a figure of class struggle, and Fleck begins to feel like a person for the first time in his life. When Fleck eventually dawns his Joker costume and erupts into violence, it’s not some sort of glorification of mass violence committed by white men — it’s instead the tragic punchline of the film. The only way Fleck can find personal purpose is by abandoning any form of ideology and becoming a force of pure nihilism. In other words, “What do you get when you mix a mentally unwell man with a complete lack of social welfare and class consciousness?” Nihilistic tragedy. The audience isn’t supposed to read his violent outburst as a moment of heroic triumph. The Joker may be the protagonist of the film, but he isn’t the hero. What makes this fundamental misunderstanding so appalling is that the film completely beats viewers over the head with the explicit class warfare themes of the movie. There’s literally a moment in the film where Joker does

ELAINE YANG • tHE StUDENt LIFE

the “we live in a society” meme to the point where it becomes so obvious that it detracts from the film itself. As a film, “Joker” is a bit of a mixed bag. Phoenix’s performance is truly phenomenal — just another example why he is the greatest working actor. The film is actually really funny at moments. All its jokes land, especially a darkly comic example of a sight gag involving a little person. Visually, Phillips’ camera is surprisingly artful in its capturing of Fleck’s breaking psyche. However, the film wears its influences (“Taxi Driver” and “The King of Comedy”) a little too close to its sleeve, features some corny dialogue and has a few jarring comic book moments that take you out of the character study and remind you that you’re watching a movie in the DC film universe. Despite the film’s lack of subtlety, its message is still one that speaks to our current moment. In an age where the American working class has continued to be increasingly disillusioned by a country that — as said in the film — “does not give a shit about people like them,” a film entirely about the dangers of leaving economic inequality and mental health reform unaddressed is crucial for our moment. “Joker”’s flaws hold it back from being a great film. However, it is a memorable film, and its ideology has thrust it into a national spotlight and cemented it as the center of film discourse for the moment. In a year where forgettable films such as “Avengers: Endgame” and “The Lion King” have dominated the public consciousness, memorable is enough to make “Joker” worth your time. “Joker” 4/5 Stars Ben Hafetz PZ ’20 is one of TSL’s film columnists. He’s a media studies and politics double major who likes to not only see movies, but also tell his friends why they should or should not like certain ones.

PRANK: The past, present and future of the Mudd tradition continued from page 1 manipulating other schools’ votes to match their own faux vote acceleration, according to the CMC Forum. When the trick was discovered, HMC was disqualified from the competition, The College Hill Independent also reported. Still, Mudders had cemented their status as bonafide pranksters. In 2010, the Society of Women Engineers at Mudd printed and sold their own pairs of Victoria’s Secret underwear to pay homage to the iconic scheme, according to an email from Mudd’s Students-L email list. The pranks continued in August 2012, when Mudd students entered the college into an online voting competition promising to bring a Taylor Swift concert and a $10,000 music program grant to the winning school, TSL previously reported. The votes were measured in proportion to the size of participating schools’ student bodies, so Mudders made use of their small population and enlisted the larger 5C community via a Facebook event post to help garner a disproportionately high number of votes and take advantage of the contest’s scoring techniques. According to the CMC Forum, former ASHMC president Josiah Gaskin HM ’13 said there was “no illegitimate activity (such as using computer bots to vote) was used in this contest by Mudd.” After effectively exploiting the contest’s system while following the guidelines, Swift came to

JAIMIE DING • tHE StUDENt LIFE

Harvey Mudd College students examine the finished concrete structure without the plaque attached.

Claremont in October 2012 and performed in Pomona College’s Big Bridges Auditorium. First-years at Mudd have the ability to opt in or out of pranks, through the wellknown “no-prank list.” Students must check the status of their peers on the list prior to pranking them. In the spirit of Platt, the policy that all pranks are reversible within 24 hours and that students should leave their names and phone numbers at the site of the prank still stands, according to Mudd’s site.

Despite Mudd policies remaining the same, prank culture has “decreased,” according to Sundberg. He attributed the decline to a “change in society” and security. “A scheme akin to the 2009 Victoria Secret prank would be difficult to pull off now,” Prank Club co-president Howard Deshong HM ’21 said. “Companies that run that sort of thing are much more aware [of potential tampering].” Prank Club was established in the spring of 2019 to overcome newfound barriers and

revive the dying prank culture. “There’s definitely been a decline in actual activity [since the 80s] ... but we think that we’re going to be able to bring back [student enthusiasm],” Prank Club co-president Aely Aronoff HM ’21 said. “People are more interested now.” Aronoff also said that organizing pranksters into an official club will give future pranks the resources to get off the ground. “Having the umbrella of a club is useful⁠,” he said. “We have ASHMC funding and ac-

cess to student emails to raise involvement for the club.” Prank Club kickstarted their antics by toying with signs at Pomona College in March 2019. “A bunch of [members] went to Pomona in the middle of the night and replaced all the signs that said Pomona with signs saying things like Panera College and Potato College,” Deshong said. Then in April, the Prank Club paid homage to the infamous 1986 theft of Caltech’s Fleming Cannon by building a concrete monument with a plaque that read: “Fleming Cannon, On Extended Loan From Harvey Mudd College, Dedicated in Honor of the 11 Mudders Who Bravely Relocated this Cannon in 1986.” Under the cover of darkness and fueled by the adrenaline of being awake at 3 a.m., the Mudders encountered obstacles like Caltech Security and various Caltech students, who later expressed their enthusiasm at the revival of pranking culture. And the future looks promising for the young and eager club as it starts planning to up the ante this academic year. “It’s all about big pranks,” Aronoff said. “Big pranks are things that require a lot of people, and usually a good deal of financial investment.” Prank Club member Alina Saratova HM ’23 recently joined the group and is ready to be part of the new generation of historic Harvey Mudd pranking. “It’s our turn to do something big,” she said.

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OctObEr 18, 2019

cOUcH POtAtO

How Netflix’s algorithm affects what you watch — or doesn’t GABRIELLA DEL GRECO Kids these days have it easy. I remember when the only non-word of mouth way to discover a new TV show that fit your interests was a website. You typed in whatever TV show you had just finished, like “Lost” or “Pretty Little Liars,” and then the algorithm would feed you a list of similar-ish shows. Watch “The Vampire Diaries! Or Fringe!” it would say. Now, streaming services like Netflix do that work, so you don’t have to leave your tab to get TV show recommendations customized to your unique watching history. As someone who really liked “Lost” in middle school, I would’ve been recommended “Black Mirror,” because data shows that people who like one of those shows tend to like the other. Netflix’s algorithm subliminally shapes how we watch TV shows through the content it suggests, from the length of the shows, to how award-winning they are, to the actors that are featured. Pundits enjoy criticizing people for living in bubbles, in which the content they consume and opinions they have are recycled in a narrow feedback loop. But nowhere is the banal presence of bubbles more apparent than in Netflix’s user interface.

Netflix’s algorithm essentially holds a monopoly on the main page. Gabriella Del Greco

If shows are only recommended on the basis that they’re tangential to previously watched shows, opportunities to branch out and explore different genres are limited. Netflix’s algorithm essentially holds a monopoly on the main page. For example, those little headlines, like “trending now,” imply neutrality, but the TV shows that appear on “trending now” are completely different for each user — the rec-

ommendations are based on your watching history. All this is to say, I’m skeptical of Netflix. To suss out the extent of the algorithm’s influence, I did a deep dive on my own Netflix account compared to the account of my perfect opposite: a middle-aged man. (This other Netflix account may or may not be a family member’s, so it’s ethically sourced, don’t worry.) Let’s start with my watching history. The comedies I’ve watched on Netflix include “Arrested Development,” “Parks and Recreation,” “New Girl,” “Crashing,” “Glee,” “Derry Girls” and “Easy.” For dramas, I have “Unbelievable,” “The Politician,” “You” and “Bodyguard.” My recommended categories are, in order: Award-Winning British TV Dramas, Emotional TV Dramas, Award-Winning Binge Worthy Crime Drama, Award Winning TV shows, three more categories with a synonym for Award-Winning, and Watch in One Weekend. The giant advertisement at the top of my main page is for “Schitt’s Creek,” a show I don’t love (it was a bit too cheesy for me) but many of my friends do. Conclusion: Netflix thinks I’m a cultured woman, one with no weekend plans. I don’t love the recommendations, but I won’t condemn Netflix for suggesting them. Now for the middle-aged man. The first thing I notice about this account is that it’s darker. All of the TV show widgets (those slides that play a preview if you hover your mouse over them) are in black, perhaps with a splash of dark blue or red. The advertisement at the top is for “Peaky Blinders,” a show that — from what I can surmise from the pop-up — is about an angsty man living in 1920s industrial London who loves fedoras. The list of Netflix Originals recommended is also different than mine. While my top recommendations were for fun shows about murder such as “The Politician” and “You,” this Netflix account was recommended bleak shows about murder such as “Mindhunt-

Queer Chicana poet Cherríe Moraga visits Scripps to discuss new book SOFIA SFYZER In an effort to change stereotyped narratives of Mexican Americans, Cherríe Moraga, iconic queer Chicana poet, playwright and activist, visited Scripps College Oct. 10 to discuss her new book “Native Country of the Heart.” The memoir, 10 years in the making, deals with Moraga’s upbringing and her mother’s own coming-of-age story. Moraga, though, refused to define her book as a standard biography, instead focusing attention to interpersonal themes of the book. “[The book] is two bookend experiences,” she told the Balch Auditorium audience. “It is neither an autobiography nor a biography. It’s not my autobiography. This is not my mother’s biography. It is a portrait of a relationship.” “Native Country of the Heart” is indeed a mother-daughter story. The book charts Moraga’s own coming-of-age in parallel to her mother’s upbringing and eventual decline to Alzheimer’s. It invokes century-old family histories alongside Moraga’s contemporary memoir — her adoption of activism, her queer revelations. “The book is about my relationship with my mother and [understanding of her] until I left home,” she said. “The key moments of [my time with her], as well as a major thread of that, which is all my steps of coming to consciousness with being a woman, a queer person, who specifically is a butch lesbian, but also my relationship to my mexicanismo.” Her mother’s experience with Alzheimer’s, Moraga recounted, recontextualized her urgency to dig into personal, potentially erased history. “This was the book I had to finish,” she said. “Looking at my mother’s Alzheimer’s was a very private loss of management for both me and her. [Her amnesia] became em-

blematic to me of a larger sense of amnesia: cultural amnesia and this country’s forces that help us forget our origins — our Chicana origins, our indigenous origins.” Moraga explained that her book, with its multifaceted representations of Mexican Americans, negates stereotypes that have marginalized Mexican American communities in the United States. “In the U.S., [Mexican Americans] are still so invisible, and we haven’t gotten to tap into our own stories,” Moraga said. “We’re allowed three stories: the immigrant experience, the gang experience and the sitcom version of familia. Real representation is always powerful and always needed,” Moraga said. The event was well-attended by members of both the Claremont and 5C communities. Many students attended the event having already become familiar with Moraga’s previous works. Noah Liedtke PO ’23 resonated with Moraga’s complex and honest portrayal of multi-ethnic households. “I relate to Moraga’s [experience being bi-ethnic], which is nice,” Liedtke said. “I don’t think people are speaking and writing very often on the subject, so it is nice to be able to see an author who has the same relation to their ethnicities.” Moraga’s story has inspired Claremont students to get in touch with their own family histories. “I really liked the way in which [Moraga] was connected with her mother, and how she shared all memories [through archival information] like family photos throughout the event,” Liedtke said. “I feel like being proud of our own personal families and just carrying that pride and history with you. I really like that.”

tALIA bErNStEIN• tHE StUDENt LIFE

Chicana writer, poet and feminist activist Cherríe Moraga visited Scripps College Oct. 10 to discuss her new book ‘Native Country of the Heart.’

ANNIE WU • tHE StUDENt LIFE

er,” “Ozark” and “The Spy.” At first, the different widget pictures seemed arbitrary, based on color more than anything else. For example, when I was recommended “Dexter,” it pictured Michael C. Hall, who plays the titular character, leaning on a couch. On this Netflix account, it’s a closeup of Michael C. Hall shadowed in blue and magenta light. My widget for “Bodyguard” was an angsty looking Richard Madden, and this account’s “Bodyguard” is an angsty looking Richard Madden in black and white. It’s interesting that the content of the photos are virtually the same but that the color schemes are not — perhaps even the lighting and dark contrast in photos is a purposeful appeal to masculinity. Then I see the widget for “Glow.” When I was recommended the show, it pictured two wom-

en: Alison Brie and Betty Gilpin in 1980s workout garb and neon lighting. On this man’s account, it’s two men (Marc Maron and someone I don’t recognize) looking annoyed on a tennis court. Men, I think. Of course, they’d only care about male characters. But just as I’m about to celebrate my feminist superiority, I notice that the man’s widget for “How to Get Away with Murder” has a blonde woman, while mine had a bearded man. If I were to ascribe a purpose to this difference, I would say that Netflix is trying to draw in the average heterosexual male with an attractive woman ... but it’s hard to tell. Conclusion: There are a lot of TV shows about angsty white men with questionable morals. Besides that, the recommendations on the middle-aged man’s account were pretty legit, although the algo-

rithm for which picture is displayed on the widgets still eludes me. While I began this expedition with the intention of showing how Netflix keeps people in bubbles, I no longer entirely believe this is true. A lot of my TV show recommendations are the same as this man. Perhaps the biggest difference between our Netflix accounts is how they advertise TV shows. If anything, given that customized advertising can draw a more diverse array of viewers to the same show, this is an argument against bubbles. Either that, or I’m more similar to a middle-aged white man than I thought. Gabriella Del Greco SC ’21 is one of TSL’s TV columnists. She majors in Economics, and in her free time, can be found doing homework at the Motley and probably watching more television than is medically recommended.

OpiniOns

OctOber 18, 2019

When it comes to climate change, let’s be more like Ireland GEORGIA SCOTT

OFF THE RECORD

I’ll be the first to admit that the Irish government is far from perfect. Void from separation of church and state until just a few years before the country legalized abortion in 2018, and unable to create a government wholly independent of Great Britain, Ireland has never been a role model to other countries. Until now. While many may frown and shudder when thinking about Ireland’s government as more progressive and effective than ours (due to its history of church involvement), let’s look at the facts before we accept such harsh reactions. Although Ireland has been independent since 1937, for generations the country has been under the indirect control of the U.K. But with the Brexit transition in full swing, Ireland’s government has taken full, independent control in a way previously unseen. In direct opposition, the U.S., a country that prides itself on total dominance and independence of government appears to be edging closer and closer to being a subsection of the Russian government every day. As the E.U. continues to set rigid directives in regards to waste, according to The Irish Times, Ireland has taken it upon themselves to be leaders in executing legislation to meet those directives. Ireland is one of the first countries seriously considering the role of food waste in the climate disaster. The country plans to “reduce food waste by 50 percent” in the next few years, according to The Irish Times. The Minister for Climate Action and Environment, Richard Bruton, believes at least “70 percent of food waste is avoidable.” In addition, the country aims to cut landfill disposal by 60 percent. Plastics with no alternative available are to be reduced by at least 25 percent by 2025, according to the European Parliament. All single-use cutlery, cotton buds, straws and stirrers will be banned come 2021. Beyond Ireland’s impressive performance in complying with the European Union’s newly strict mandates, in May the Irish government put together a 146-page-long Climate Action Plan to prepare for, and counteract, the grim future looming ahead. The Plan begins by stating: “This is a strong foundation on which to build a Climate Action Plan committed to achieving a net zero carbon energy systems objective for Irish society and in the process, create a resilient, vibrant and sustainable country. The Government will take the lead on this agenda through this Plan in defining a roadmap to this goal and initiating a coherent set of policy actions to get us there.” That’s certainly more than the United States government has vowed to do. The plan divides climate action into 16 avenues of reform. Each section has a detailed explanation of past and proposed policy, as well as recommended civic engagement. The thing I find most compelling about Ireland’s Climate Action Plan is its honesty. While Trump continues to deny global warming, effectively thwarting any legislation proposed to help the climate, it’s impressive and inspiring to see other countries admit their shortcomings and prepare to make amends. Section two of the Irish Cli-

eLAINe YANG • tHe StUDeNt LIFe

mate Action Plan is dedicated to explaining where Ireland stands now in regards to climate change, including the politics that have prevented the country from taking action in the past. The report says: “Irish policy began to address reductions in national greenhouse gas emissions … The rate of emissions reduction was modest up to 2008, with efforts to decarbonise hampered by strong economic activity.” The report admits Ireland’s failures, noting that the country has “failed to break the link between emissions and growing prosperity.” This willingness to admit how far the country still has to go seems monumentally impressive, but maybe it’s standard and the U.S. just does a horrible job of being honest and apologetic. What’s even more remarkable than Ireland’s ability to note its failures is the country’s willingness to make up for it. The Climate Action Plan excoriates the government, saying that although many of the resources needed to solve the climate crisis were previously devoted to fixing economic crises within the country, it is now “time to take the definitive action needed.” I’ve just thrown a lot at you. There’s a lot to be happy about here, especially if you’re an Irish citizen. But as always, reality has to hit. Ireland has a population of 4,921,500, according to data compiled by the Central Statistics Office. As of 2018, more than 78 percent of the population is Irish Roman Catholic, and only a measly 1.4 percent is black, according to Ireland’s 2018 demographics profile. Because of Ireland’s lack of diversity and small population, I can’t ask that we copy their model exactly. It would be impossible for a country the size of America, with the world’s largest immigrant population, to implement Ireland’s policies. What I can suggest, however, is that we at least try to follow their example. Right now, I see no effort from our government, and it’s pathetic. Clearly, our current administration doesn’t have the capacity to accept the increasing climate disaster and create legislation to help prevent further damage. But we could at least start the conversation. We could at least begin to acknowledge our role in the death of earth. Ireland’s doing it. Why can’t we?

Church with my parents...

Happy Alaska Day Alaska exists!

OH NO Sarah Palin also exists

Happy birthday, James!

Eamon fixed table No more wobble wobble

As student journalists, we’re here to serve the 7Cs and inform students of what’s happening on our campuses. We love reporting the news and making the newspaper every week. But lately, we’ve been having trouble doing our job. The schools have varying media inquiry policies — most lack a formal one and don’t explicitly say we can’t contact staff or administrators directly. But in nearly every case, the sources we reach out to individually at Claremont McKenna College, Scripps College or The Claremont Colleges Services don’t answer our questions and instead redirect us to their communications departments. TCCS is the only entity that officially denies in-person interviews, but both CMC and Scripps also typically deny our requests. It’s worth noting that CMC is responsive, yet they still don’t usually let us talk to administrators directly or in-person. Pomona College, Harvey Mudd College and Pitzer College tend to be more open with letting us directly contact any of the aforementioned individuals in any way we’d like. Because of these restrictions, our reporters often aren’t able to get in-person interviews with the people who have the information we need, or sometimes, any answers to our questions at all. Instead, we get bland statements, filtered through communications officers rather than frank, honest answers. We understand there are instances where the information we want might not be available due to laws, privacy concerns or other reasons. But when students are being directly affected by the decisions being made, they deserve to know what’s going on. Specifically, a few weeks ago, when we found out Student Health Services started operating solely as an urgent care facility, we needed to talk to officials who made the decision to understand what was going on and why. This story was especially important since it affected nearly everyone on campus and occurred just as flu season began. We were fortunately able to get an in-person interview with one administrator, Janet Smith Dickerson, vice president for student affairs for The Claremont Colleges Services, by walking into her office after sending an email. She gave us a clearer picture of what happened, confirmed facts and answered our follow-up

question, but only because our reporter took the initiative to go to her office since she didn’t trust that the statement Dickerson would later send would answer her questions. Deans from Scripps, Pomona and Pitzer also responded to our inquiries, but avoided answering our questions and instead gave us unhelpful blanket statements or referred to the statement TCCS put out. We didn’t receive any response from HMC and were in contact with CMC, but never received an official statement from them. The following week, we wrote a follow-up story and reached out to all the deans again. We didn’t hear anything from any of them until nearly a week later. Just hours before we started producing our print paper for the week, TCCS sent our reporter an email statement. They contradicted their statement from the previous week to say SHS had decided to stop scheduling routine appointments alone, instead of in consultation with any of the deans, as they had previously indicated. Mudd, Scripps and CMC never gave us on-the-record statements. Pitzer directed us to the TCCS statement, and Pomona answered one question via email. As reporters, our job is to find the truth and report it. This goes beyond merely printing statements released by administrators or student groups — it means being persistent and fighting for the answers students deserve. So when we receive two statements from the same source which directly contradict each other, our job demands we investigate to find out which statement is actually true. But after sending TCCS a follow-up email to clarify, we didn’t receive a response. Two TSL reporters spent all afternoon visiting different offices and trying to clear up the discrepancies between the statements. At TCCS’ office on First Street, they found the spokesperson, only for him to tell them they had to send all inquiries through email, a request with which they had already complied, to no avail. They were finally standing face-to-face with the person who could answer their questions, and he refused. He deferred to the statement he had already sent them, which didn’t answer the questions asked. He also said if they asked the same questions again, they would get the same

answers — even though they didn’t actually answer our questions. The reporters later sent him another follow-up email, and he didn’t respond until the following day, and then only told them TCCS had nothing more to say. They should’ve been able to meet with someone in-person, or at the very least, talk over the phone to clear up the confusion and ask more questions. But they weren’t, and as a result, we’re still unclear on who decided to stop scheduling appointments at SHS and other important information. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened, and it likely won’t be the last. To put things in perspective, we work 30-plus hours a week to put out a newspaper and also go to school full-time. We frequently skip class or turn in assignments late to try to track down sources or do interviews, because we always want to get it right. That’s why it’s so frustrating when administrators aren’t willing to cooperate with us. We don’t enjoy having to print corrections, and the best way to ensure we’re getting the correct information is to let us talk to the people who know what’s going on. We also strive to follow the same ethical standards professional journalists follow. On that note, if we’ve reported something factually incorrect, show us proof and we’ll be happy to fix it. When subjects are sensitive or controversial, in-person interviews are especially critical because the stakes are higher. Being able to talk to people in person, ask follow-up questions and clarify uncertainties helps us ensure we’re getting the story right. Additionally, allowing us to directly reach out to administrators or staff members and conduct interviews, whether over the phone or in-person, can alleviate stress or work of the colleges’ spokespeople who can spend hours chasing down the right people, coordinating schedules and getting answers. Then, they have to do it all over again if we have follow-up questions. So, let us do it instead. It’ll make all of our lives easier. We want to have good relationships with these administrators and be able to work together. But we can’t do that if they aren’t even willing to talk to us, respond to our queries or meet us halfway. We just want to do our jobs. Please let us.

Send help

Jasper’s Crossword: Civil liberties

JASPer DAVIDOFF • tHe StUDeNt LIFe

ACROSS 1. Best Picture winner set in 1970s Iran 5. Bill * 9. Seeya! 14. Display a rear-view? * 15. Claude McKay’s “____ Must Die” 16. Rock and roll influencer Chuck * 17. Hughes: “____ sing America.”

EDiTORiAL BOARD: We just want to do our jobs. please let us

Georgia Scott PZ ’23 is from Marin County, California. She’s an Irish citizen and plays for the Irish Women’s National Lacrosse team. She’d like to thank her half-sister Rylie Neeley for inspiring her to write this article.

It’s fall break I get to see my dogs

*cha cha cha*

PAGe 7

18. Know-it-alls 20. NCIS, separated from the sea? 21. Was benched 22. A year’s supply from this brand would contain 365 vitamins 25. Play again, as a record 30. It’s often cut with ceremonial scissors * 31. Weight-height ratio (abbr.) 33. Fitzgerald who sang with

Ellington 34. Yet (Sp.) 35. Hefty pastry 37. What Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, and West Virginia divided, idiomatically — or, in this puzzle, what this clue divides 39. “Thomas the Tank Engine” content 41. A flag on a warship, briefly 42. Heavy dueling sword 43. Many grad. reqs 44. Be of importance * 47. Color like lavender or baby blue 49. Facebook designation after a disaster 50. School assignment 53. Venue for bath salts 54. Like the Concorde 58. To whom the Huguenots prayed 59. What Spiderman might do to a skyscraper * 60. Tie securely 61. Devour (with down) * 62. As a grievance, publicized 63. Workplace rights agcy. 64. A Google query that brings up the Golden Gate Bridge might read “Attractions ____”

DOWN 1. Key of Gershwin’s “Summertime” 2. Pasta that looks a bit like DNA 3. Goslings, essentially 4. Yoko who sang with Lennon 5. Automaker of the Altima and Leaf 6. “The Merry Month _____” 7. Bloody idiot 8. Architect Saarinen 9. Diminish 10. Lana ___ Rey 11. Outrage 12. Tolkien monster 13. ___-admin 19. Computing pioneer Alan 23. _______ for the General (1967 film) 24. A sufganiyot or Boston Kreme 26. Lines which intersect a curve at least twice 27. Sony entertainment console 28. Sort 29. Word you’ll hear twice after “watch me whip, watch me” 31. Dog treats 32. Some face mask materials 35. Not that bright, say 36. MLK had a famous one 38. Giant rivals? 39. It preceded Beto O’Rourke

40. Org. which no longer condones conversion therapy 44. The feature ingredient of a green tea latte 45. Synthetic gas sources 46. Turn down 48. Messed up 49. Like Liam Neeson 51. Response to “Marco!” 52. ____-needed basis (employed when necessary) 54. You pay in so it can pay out (abbr.) 55. O.C. anteater campus 56. One under is a birdie 57. It’s between ca and eme, en espanol 58. Ripped ticket? LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS

OpiniOns

PAGe 8

The term ‘people of color’ contributes to solidarity, but also to erasure

OctOber 18, 2019

Jewish values make me critical of the Trump-israeli coalition GEORGIA TUCKERMAN

ANAGA SrINIVAS • tHe StUDeNt LIFe

BROOKE SPARKS I don’t think I’ve ever been referred to as a “woman of color” until I started college. It’s not like I never looked in a mirror or anything. I knew I was black, and so my racial identity was centered around just that — not around being non-white. While I recognized the commonalities I had with other non-white people around me, I didn’t try to base my racial identity around common experiences we shared. I based it off of what I alone experienced. So when I first arrived at Pomona College, I didn’t see myself solely as a “woman of color” — that was too imprecise, too vague, too widely encompassing of experiences I might’ve never even had. I still don’t. A lot of the time, people tend to use the term “people of color” to lump all racial minorities together. I think we can all agree there’s a problematic aspect to this line of thinking, seeing as each racial group is subjected to different methods and intensities of oppression under white supremacy. While there are similarities between the methods of oppression each group faces, the history and nature of their respective struggles are still inherently different. What most people tend to look over, though, is the fact that some people of color attempt to co-opt other racial groups’ suffering or liken themselves to be “the same” under this gigantic umbrella term. I remember having a very heated debate with another student of color at my high school concerning his attempts to co-opt the fear and sense of hopelessness that comes with being at high risk for police brutality. He was of Asian descent. He kept trying to give me (bad) advice on “how to not get put in those situations,” because despite never personally having any bad experiences with police, and despite Asian Americans being the racial group least likely to be killed by police in the United States according to CityLab, he still considered his

opinion to be “valid” because he was a person of color. I don’t think I need to explain why he was full of shit. The point stands, though: Both Asian Americans and black Americans are “people of color,” yet coming into contact with police for the same crime (or no crime at all) can result in wildly different outcomes. If you lump all these different groups into the same category and assume they go through the exact same things by virtue of being non-white, it can imbue people with the confidence to speak on things they have no personal experience with.

Solidarity only proves beneficial when the unity it’s predicated on acknowledges difference. Brooke Sparks

This is not to say that Asian Americans are “less” oppressed than black Americans, because Oppression Olympics is a stupid game we’re all tired of playing. It’s just that the methods of oppression that Asian Americans and black Americans face are inherently different from one another. Lumping all racial groups together isn’t just ignorant — it can be legitimately harmful. Assuming that all “people of color” have the same experiences can contribute to the erasure of hardship that might only apply to one specific group. People can start to assume that because one non-white group doesn’t experience a certain hurdle or isn’t subject to a certain method of oppression, it can’t be a “race thing.” It also contributes to our current “age of colorblindness” — the idea that racial inequality is

a thing of the past and that you shouldn’t “see” color. This is often a tool used to ignore or erase racism when it happens in the present. By likening all minorities to be essentially the same, it becomes easier to make this distinction. You can’t see individual “colors” because you mixed all the non-white ones together, so it becomes harder to contextualize systemic violence that happens to one “color” when you only see it as a component of a different one. If you’re “blue” and you only see yourself antithetically positioned to “orange” people, you’re not going to understand individual “red” and “yellow” struggles. But there are some contexts in which using the term “people of color” is completely appropriate. There are clearly issues that all people of color experience, like the wage gap. Clearly, the term has gained traction because it can serve to unite groups in spite of their different histories, struggles and experiences. I’m not saying to never use the term again, because this kind of solidarity can be helpful in establishing what problems affect certain groups. However, solidarity only proves beneficial when the unity it’s predicated on acknowledges difference. Just like how we realize that we have different experiences than those of white people, we should also take the time to realize that we have different experiences than each other. We need to be more discerning in our usage of “people of color.” While contextualizing a problem that one group can face, people need to consider whether racial groups different from their own are subject to that issue with equal intensity. Brooke Sparks PO ’22 is from Las Vegas, Nevada. When she’s not complaining about racism in an article, she’s complaining about video games on Twitter.

I was born and raised Jewish. While I am Reform, meaning less strictly adherent to traditional Jewish law, I attended Jewish preschool and Hebrew school. Through Jewish education, I was taught a set of ethics that could be embraced secularly and universally. I learned the importance of giving back through Tzedakah and weekly volunteer projects at Sunday School. I learned to give thanks for food, shelter and peace through Shabbat prayers and the celebration of holidays like Sukkot. Through Torah readings, I learned lessons of kindness, empathy and forgiveness. President Donald Trump claimed earlier this year that Jews are disloyal if they support Democrats. Many do adamantly support Trump, under the pretense that he is a loyal backer of Israel, but the moral values instilled in me through religion run contrary to this line of thought. Guided by my Jewish values, I felt sick to my stomach when Trump declared “blame on both sides” in the aftermath of the Unite the Right Charlottesville rally-gone-wrong in 2017. One counterprotester died after being hit by a car, and several others were injured. On one side, you have white nationalists and Klansmen, the group of people who threaten my Jewish community center at home regularly, where my family and I went to preschool and continue to exercise, swim and play basketball. On this side is the group of people that idolizes Hitler and the Nazis, the ones who are responsible for the death of six million Jews through killing squads, death marches and gas chambers. On this side is the group of people that has attacked minority groups with senseless violence and punitive, repressive laws throughout history. And on the other side in Charlottesville, there were people standing up against them. Guided by my Jewish values, I was fuming when Trump declared his relationship with Kim Jong-un as “a great friendship,” as reported by The Guardian. Meanwhile, the North Korean regime’s inhumanity encompasses persecution of political prisoners, wide use of prison camps, the complete restriction of free speech, press and media and gender-based discrimination, according to Human Rights Watch Asia. Guided by my Jewish values, I am in disbelief at the inhumane conditions at ICE detention facilities, coupled with the separation of families. It’s not only heartbreaking in and of itself — it also elicits eerie similarities to Nazism. And guided by my Jewish values, I am also critical of the unwavering coalition between

the United States and Israel, regularly demonstrated by Trump. Israel is the only majority Jewish state in the world, and it’s surrounded by its most vehement and threatening enemies. Given that Israel is the homeland for the Jewish people, an attack on Israel can be reasonably thought of as an antisemitic attack on the Jewish population and its ideals. It’s why Jews around the world, especially in the United States, are so loyal and defensive of the Israeli government with little to no limitations.

I love and appreciate the close knit bond I feel with other Jews and the important ethics system the religion brings to my life. Georgia Tuckerman

The history of persecution against the Jewish people is understandably disturbing and frightening to all Jews. The new wave of antisemitism includes Pittsburgh’s synagogue shooting, considered “the deadliest attack on Jews on American soil,” according to The Atlantic, and the attack on a German synagogue this Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year. All of these only amplify fears, anxieties and defensiveness of Judaism and its values. I support the Jewish community and people with all my heart. I am proud of my heritage and protective of my family and worldwide community that has faced extreme oppression throughout history. I love and appreciate the close knit bond I feel with other Jews and the important ethics system the religion brings to my life. But guided by my Jewish values, I am also critical of the mechanical support of the Israeli government. If there will ever be any peace between Palestinians and Israelis, let alone peace in areas of conflict and oppression across the world, we must hold all governments accountable for the injustice they commit. This means calling out Palestinian authorities and Hamas in Gaza when they commit acts of terror and unnecessary violence. And it also means calling out human rights violations in Israel, such as the restriction of free movement, systemic discrimination and excessive use of force. When we condemn acts of unkindness and hatred and support marginalized and oppressed groups, regardless of where they come from, we uphold a universal ethicality. This is the universal set of ethics that I was taught through Judaism. Georgia Tuckerman CM ’22 is from Columbus, Ohio. She’s passionate about government and foreign affairs and enjoys playing tennis and drinking La Croix.

PG&E power shut-offs aren’t a solution to California fires MICHELLE LUM On Oct. 9, the lights went out for more than two million people in 800,000 households across 34 California counties, according to the Los Angeles Times. Traffic came to a stop. Gas stations ran out of fuel. Medical equipment stopped working. This wasn’t a scene from some alternate post-apocalyptic world. Instead, it was a stark reality for many Pacific Gas & Electric customers across the state. Due to dry and windy weather that led the Storm Prediction Center to declare portions of California as “critical” and “extreme” in fire weather outlook, PG&E decided to cut power for customers in parts of Northern California, including the Bay Area, as well as coastal and central California, according to The Washington Post. With many parts of California becoming high-risk spots for wildfires in the past few years, utility companies have been taking on a more cautious stance, since they are liable for wildfire damage caused by their equipment, according to The Wall Street Journal. Power shut-offs are definitely a technique for managing wildfire risk, since power lines and other electrical equipment can be hazardous in the event of a fire. However, this doesn’t mean that cutting the power is a perfect solution to California’s wildfire problem. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Power outages bring a whole new set of problems to the table. For instance, people with disabilities or medical conditions who rely on electricity for their equipment may be placed in potentially life-threatening situations if they do not have access to power. The San Francisco Chronicle also reported traffic and car accidents

ANAGA SrINIVAS • tHe StUDeNt LIFe

in Northern California due to non-functioning traffic lights. UC Berkeley and other schools in the area canceled classes. Important research and projects being conducted by UC Berkeley researchers, as well as for NASA, were threatened by the power outages. The lack of power also relegated many businesses to being temporarily cash-only, as credit card systems failed to work. It’s estimated that the power outage had an economic impact of $65 million to $2.5 billion. Such inconveniences were only exacerbated by poor communication from PG&E. Customers say they received very little advance notice about the power shut-offs, according to The Washington Post. It didn’t help that PG&E’s website

could not handle the amount of traffic it was receiving in light of its announcement about the power outages; for a while, customers were unable to access the site to gain needed information. And even after the risk of fire goes down, it still takes a few days for PG&E to check the power grid and ensure that everything is working smoothly before customers can have access to power again. This time, PG&E finished restoring power to 99 percent of customers by 9:02 p.m on Oct. 11. After this week’s power shutoff, PG&E reported 50 confirmed cases of damaged equipment and 100 more cases involving possible wind-related damage, according to The Sacramento Bee. Though the company claims its power

shut-off prevented these incidents from causing potential wildfires, it’s important to remember that many wildfires are not caused by utility equipment failure in the first place. For instance, on Oct. 10, the Sandalwood Fire began in Southern California when a truck driver dumped some burning garbage on the side of the road, spreading flames to grass nearby, the Los Angeles Times reported. A power shut-off couldn’t have prevented such a fire. Additionally, in the case of an actual fire, a power outage could significantly hinder the transfer of information about safety warnings or evacuations, as well as communication with friends and family, since customers aren’t able

to charge their phones or receive cellular service. In any case, utility companies can do better. There should be no need for companies like PG&E to turn off the power every time there’s an increased risk of fire. As of Sept. 21, PG&E had only finished 31 percent of the tree-trimming it had planned for the year, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Utility companies must put more effort into the maintenance of power lines by making sure to replace aged lines that should no longer be used, as well as ensuring that vegetation, which can catch on fire, does not grow around power lines. PG&E claimed on its website that it was carrying out these power shut-offs in the interest of its customers and their safety. But PG&E was also found liable for the Camp Fire in Paradise last year, as reported by The New York Times, which led to the company losing twothirds of its market value between mid-October 2018 and January 2019. Though power shut-offs can certainly help to prevent the spread of wildfires, the company’s main motivation to have the power outages was clearly to cover itself in the case of another wildfire. Power outages are not necessarily less harmful than wildfires. Utility companies like PG&E must reconsider their values and work on developing concrete solutions that get to the root of California’s wildfire problem without the negative consequences that come with power outages. Michelle Lum HM ’23 is from San Jose, California, where parts of the area were affected by the Pacific Gas & Electric power shut-offs. She feels strongly about the wildfires that have been devastating her state, and hopes that they will begin to occur less frequently.

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OctOber 18, 2019

PAGe 9

WEEKLY ROUNDUP

Pomona - Pitzer Sagehen men’s cross-country finishes second at home invitational The Pomona-Pitzer Invitational on Oct. 12 saw several strong individual performances from the NCAA Division III No. 9 Sagehen men’s squad, which held out a handful of top runners and took second overall to Cal Poly Pomona, 35-50. P-P had three runners come away with top-10 finishes: Ethan Ashby PO ’21 led the team in the 8,000-meter race, finishing fifth in 25:29.9, while Owen Woo PZ ’21 came in sixth with an identical time. Joe Hesse-Withbroe PO ’22 took eighth with a time of 25:30.7. Guo wins Pomona-Pitzer Invite, leads Sagehen women to second The NCAA Division III No. 9 female Sagehen harriers impressed on their home course Oct. 12, taking second place overall to Cal Poly Pomona, 34-62. Helen Guo PO ’20 won the meet, out-sprinting Luz Garcia of Cal Poly for a time of 22:09.8 in the 6,000-meter race. Abigail Loiselle PO ’23 finished eighth with a time of 22:58.9. Odermann tallies six touchdowns in football’s win over La Verne The Sagehen football team (3-2, 1-1 SCIAC) had a standout showing at home over La Verne on Oct. 12,

with quarterback Karter Odermann PO ’20 contributing to an astonishing six total touchdowns for a 49-14 win over the team’s SCIAC opponent. Odermann threw for 190 yards and two touchdowns, and recorded 115 yards and four more scores on the ground. Nathan Miles PO ’22 led the receivers with 62 yards. Sagehen women’s soccer follows shutout victory with first loss of the season The P-P women’s soccer squad (11-1-1, 7-1 SCIAC) dominated its Oct. 12 game against Caltech, coming away with a 7-0 shutout victory led by Bria VarnBuhler PO ’20, who had two goals in the win. On Wednesday, the Hens suffered their first loss of the season at Cal Lutheran, 3-1. VarnBuhler scored the Sagehen’s only goal. Struggling P-P men’s soccer shut out of scoring, drops pair of games Following a 2-0 loss to Sixth Street rival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Oct. 12, the Sagehen men’s soccer squad (3-8-2, 2-5-1 SCIAC) fell 2-0 to conference opponent Caltech on Wednesday. Although P-P had some good chances at the goal in the first half, after Caltech’s first goal in the 41st minute, the Beavers’

defense ramped up and was able to shut out the Sagehens the rest of the game. P-P volleyball continues disappointing season with pair of SCIAC losses Th Sagehen volleyball team (9-10, 3-6 SCIAC) is struggling to find its footing after losses to conference opponents Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Oct. 11 and Caltech on Tuesday. The home match against Caltech was a close one, but the Hens ended up falling 3-2 in five eventful sets. Isabel Kelly PO ’20 led the offense with 18 kills on top of two solo blocks and two block assists. Sagehen men’s water polo back to winning ways, downs 3 conference foes Oct. 12 saw two triumphant road wins for the Sagehens (127, 5-2 SCIAC), who went 19-16 against La Verne and 13-9 against Redlands. In both games, the Hens were led by Joseph Schafer PO ’20, who notched four goals at La Verne and a hat trick against Redlands. On Wednesday, the Sagehens faced off against Chapman and came away with a 15-9 victory at home, in which Tony Murphy PO ’20 contributed a hat trick.

Athlete of the Week Karter odermann po ’20 Football Lenexa, KS The Sagehen football team notched a triumphant 49-14 victory over La Verne on Oct. 12 with the help of an impressive six touchdowns by Odermann. As the game leader for both passing and rushing, Odermann threw for 190 yards and contributed 115 yards on the ground on 13 carries. He also had a hand in the Sagehens’ first touchdown of the game, making a 14-yard pass to Will Radice PO ’22 for the 7-0 lead, after which three rushing touchdowns by Odermann had the Hens up 28-0 in the first half.

Calendar Oct. 19 Men’s cross country Uc riverside Highlander Meet Men’s cross country Wisconsin-Oshkosh Kollege town Sports Invitational Women’s cross country Santa clara bronco Invite Men’s & Women’s Golf Confluence Classic Men’s Water Polo @ brown Women’s Soccer vs. cMS Men’s Water Polo @ Harvard

Football vs. cal Lutheran Oct. 20 Men’s & Women’s Golf Confluence Classic Men’s Water Polo vs. LaSalle @ cambridge, MA Men’s Water Polo @ MIt Oct. 22 Women’s Soccer vs. chapman Men’s Soccer @ Occidental Men’s Water Polo @ Occidental

Men’s Soccer vs. Uc Santa cruz Volleyball @ Occidental JUStIN SLePPY • tHe StUDeNt LIFe

Jorge Guillen-Lopez PO ‘23 chases after the ball in the P-P vs. caltech game Oct. 16. P-P lost 2-0.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athlete of the Week riley Harmon SC ’22 Women’s Cross-Country Albany, CA The Athenas cruised to a second-place finish at UC San Diego’s Triton Invitational on Oct. 12, with Harmon leading the Athenas to second place overall in the 6,000-meter race. Harmon’s time was 22:35.8. At Sept. 28’s Master’s Invitational, Harmon was the top CMS finisher as well, coming away with seventh place and a time of 18:06.4. She’ll look to lead the Athenas to its 10th SCIAC championship after a few weeks off of racing.

Weekly Calendar Oct. 19 Men’s tennis ItA cup @ rome, GA

Oct. 20 Women’s tennis ItA cup @ rome, GA

Women’s tennis ItA cup @ rome, GA

Oct. 22 Volleyball @ caltech

Women’s Soccer @ Pomona-Pitzer

Oct. 23 Men’s Water Polo vs. cal Lutheran

Men’s Water Polo @ chapman Football vs. redlands

D’Anieri leads CMS male harriers to second place at San Diego meet Thomas D’Anieri CM ’20 won his first race of the season at the Triton Invitational in San Diego on Oct. 12, helping the NCAA Division III No. 6 Stags to a runner-up finish behind host UC San Diego, 27-34. D’Anieri ran the 8,000-meter race in 25:38, while teammates Stevie Steinberg HM ’21 (third) and Kyril Van Schendel CM ’22 (fifth) ran 25:59 and 26:07, respectively. Athena cross-country finishes second at Triton Invitational A pair of sophomores led the NCAA Division III No. 13 CMS women’s cross-country team to a second-place finish against UC San Diego at the Triton Invitational on Oct. 12, 30-39. Riley Harmon SC ’22 and Sophie Gitlin CM ’22 finished second and third for the Athenas, clocking in at 22:35 and 22:42 for 6,000 meters, respectively. Shorthanded CMS football clobbered by Cal Lu An injury-ridden Stag football team (2-3, 0-2 SCIAC) missing its top three running backs was decimated by Cal Lutheran on Oct. 12, falling 37-7 to the Kingsmen. CMS

struggled on both sides of the ball, with quarterback Zach Fogel CM ’22 throwing for 124 yards and two interceptions and the defense giving up nearly 500 yards of total offense. Wide receiver Brian Loudermilk Jr. CM ’22 switched to running back and racked up a ridiculously efficient 103 yards on just 10 carries. CMS men’s soccer wins Sixth Street game, falls to Chapman in OT The Stags (9-3-1, 6-1-1 SCIAC) got the win in this year’s Sixth Street rivalry matchup, topping Pomona-Pitzer 2-0 at home Oct. 12 thanks to a swarming defense and goals from Cole Smith CM ’20 and Jake Allmon CM ’23. CMS followed up with its first conference loss of the season, losing 1-0 to Chapman in an overtime home game Wednesday. Stag water polo picks up another win in light week of play Coming off a busy week of tournament play and a Sixth Street rivalry victory, the CMS men’s water polo team (9-8, 4-1 SCIAC) played just one game this week, beating Occidental 15-7 Wednesday. Nick Britt CM ’21 and Ethan

Lewis CM ’20 each had hat tricks in the win. Pair of SCIAC wins boosts Athena soccer’s postseason hopes After narrowly missing the playoffs last year, the CMS women’s soccer team (8-2-3, 4-2-2 SCIAC) is on the bubble again this season, boosted by a pair of conference wins this past week. The Athenas beat Chapman 2-1 at home Oct. 12, then downed Caltech 5-0 in Pasadena on Wednesday to move into a tie for third in the SCIAC. Gabby Clouse CM ’20 and Kira Favakeh HM ’20 each scored against Chapman, while Rhiann Holman CM ’20 led CMS with two goals at Caltech. CMS volleyball picks up 2 big conference wins The NCAA Division III No. 5 Athena volleyball team outdueled Sixth Street rival Pomona-Pitzer in three competitive sets Oct. 11, then pulled out a win in a back-and-forth game against Cal Lutheran at home Tuesday. CMS won the first two sets (25-22, 25-15) before the Regals rallied to claim the next two (25-18, 2826). Two veterans’ clutch play sealed the win for the Athenas, as Amanda Walker SC ’20 tied her career-high with 23 kills and Phoebe Madsen CM ’20 came up big in the final set.

Women’s Soccer vs. cal Lutheran

Volleyball vs. chapman Men’s Soccer vs. La Verne

HUXLeYANN HUeFNer • tHe StUDeNt LIFe

Samay rahim cM ’22 jumps for a header in the cMS vs. chapman men’s soccer game Oct. 16. cMS lost to chapman 1-0.

SportS

PAGe 10

OctOber 18, 2019

CMS men’s soccer shuts out Sagehens in sole Sixth Street face-off of the regular season

MeGHAN JOYce • tHe StUDeNt LIFe

troy Lehenbauer cM ‘23 and cole Martin PO ‘23 battle for the ball during the Oct. 12 rivalry game between the Stags and Sagehens. cMS won 2-0.

ERIKA SCHWERDFEGER Based on the score at halftime Saturday, you wouldn’t have known the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (9-31, 6-1-1 SCIAC) and Pomona-Pitzer (3-8-2, 2-5-1 SCIAC) men’s soccer teams had been duking it out for 45 minutes. The score was still 0-0. But in the second half, the Stags made a breakaway, netting two goals and bringing the end tally to 2-0 over the Sagehens. “[Pomona-Pitzer] did have some good chances in the first half,” midfielder and forward Cole Smith CM ’20 said. “But we knew that we had so much more to give and to show, and I feel like it just took that 15 minutes at halftime for all of us to get our heads on straight and figure out what we needed to do, and I feel like we executed our game plan a lot better in the second half.” P-P came away from the first half with a 4-2 edge in shots, including one 15 minutes in by Jorge Guillen-Lopez PO ’23, saved by the

Stags’ Eduardo DeAnda HM ’22 in goal, as well as one in the final minute by Graeme Logan PZ ’23 that ended up wide of the right goalpost. With the pressure that P-P had been applying on offense, it seemed that the Hens were poised to unlock CMS’ defense any minute and drive it home in the second half. But the Stags didn’t let that happen. “In the second half, one of the adjustments we made was to come out with a lot of fire and intensity and really press high up the field to try and force turnovers from them,” center forward Will Barton CM ’22 said. “The energy we brought kind of led to those goals for us.” Smith scored the Stag’s first goal eight minutes into the second half, controlling the ball to the right of the field under one-on-one pressure from a defender and moving it to the center, keeping it low and

CMS volleyball beats P-P in three close sets

ANNA HOrNe • tHe StUDeNt LIFe

Adrienne tong PO ‘22 sets the ball for brooke carlson PO ‘20 in an Oct. 11 game against cMS. the Sagehens fell to the Athenas in three sets.

ADITYA BHALLA After battling through three neck-and-neck sets Oct. 11, the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps volleyball team (17-3, 8-1 SCIAC) won a decisive 3-0 victory over the Sagehens (9-10, 3-6 SCIAC) in the first Sixth Street Rivalry of the season. The Athenas came out swinging and quickly scored four points. Then the Sagehens surged back to tie the score 10-10. The two sides remained close for the remainder of the set, bringing the score up to 2019, before the Athenas went on another 4-0 run to win the set. The second set was more contested, as the Sagehens earned a 13-12 lead. The Sagehens managed to pull ahead to a three-point lead six times throughout the set, at one point leading the Athenas 18-15. After that, however, CMS surged ahead with five straight points, grabbing the lead. The teams continued to battle it out, with CMS leading the Sagehens 24-23 until Melanie Moore CM ’21 finished the set with a kill. In the third set, the Sagehens fought hard but went down 24-17, leaving the Athenas to finish the match with a resounding victory of three sets to none. Amanda Walker SC ’20 led the Athenas offensively with 11 kills, while Sarah Tritschler CM ’20 contributed 17 digs and Phoebe Madsen CM ’20 had nine kills. Madsen received the SCIAC Player of the Week Award for her performance. For the Sagehens, Naomi Chen-Mallouk PO ’23 led the team with 14 kills, while Isabel Kelly PO ’20 contributed 13. Chen-Mallouk said the team was especially focused going into the

game against the Athenas. “I think for a lot of the girls there was a lot of hype around their being our rivals,” she said. “And there was a lot of energy because they are our rivals.” Despite their loss to the Athenas on their home turf, the Sagehens are optimistic about what they can accomplish moving forward. “We’ve gotten a lot better at competing, and I think that happened this weekend with CMS,” Chen-Mallouk said. “We’re a really close team and we’re very supportive of each other. As a team, we just want to be more consistent and not drop those little points here and there.” Pomona-Pitzer is now looking to rebound after three consecutive losses. La Verne defeated them 3-0 on Oct. 8 and Caltech beat them 3-2 Tuesday. The Athenas, on the other hand, are now coming off four straight victories and looking to continue their strong record of performance in the SCIAC. CMS is continuing to adjust and grow as they begin rematches against SCIAC teams. “Each team does something different against us and we have to adjust our strategy and adjust the things we do, so to be able to do that more seamlessly in the second round is always something we try to look for,” Madsen said. The Athenas will next face off against Whittier on Friday. The Sagehens will face Occidental Saturday. The Sagehens will head across the street to Roberts Pavilion on Oct. 25.

preventing a save by P-P goalkeeper Jonathan Rushton PO ’22. After the initial point, the Stags were able to maintain momentum and fired off shots consistently, leading the Sagehens 15-2 in shots and 5-0 in corner kicks during the second half. Smith commended his team’s ability to recover from a slow start and continue to improve throughout game play. “That’s an important thing going for us because we have hopes of playing in the NCAA tournament, and we’re not going to get out to the best start every game,” Smith said. “So just proving to ourselves that we can make changes on the fly and adapt to what’s going on is really important.” Five minutes after Smith’s goal, Barton came close to securing an insurance point for the Stags, but his shot hit off the crossbar. Later, a free kick by midfielder Henry Kraham CM ’21 deflected off the right goalpost, keeping the score at 1-0.

It wasn’t until the 74th minute that Jake Allmon CM ’23 netted the goal that would decide the end total, getting his shot in from the edge of the six-yard box off a rebound initially saved by Rushton. Overall, Rushton had two saves for the Sagehens compared to DeAnda’s one for CMS. “I think the first goal may have sucked a bit of our energy away,” Eamon Stein PO ’21 said, of their opponent’s initial goal. “And we learned that in those moments, we should come out with even more energy … to try and get that goal back so we’re back on level playing terms.” Despite the disappointing end result, the Sagehens expressed pride in their performance at the outset. “What I’m proud of is how we fought and battled in the first half,” Jack Arnold PO ’21 said. “We really gained momentum, and that’s exactly what you want to do.” The loss comes amid a slew of

injuries for P-P that has only compounded the team’s challenges. “This year more than other years, we’ve had injury issues kind of giving us an inconsistent starting lineup, which is always a little hard when your lineup is changing from game to game,” Stein said. CMS has been experiencing similar issues. “Some of the biggest challenges we’ve faced so far are obviously some injuries to some key players,” Adam Singer CM ’20 said. “We’ve had to have guys who maybe weren’t in the … starting team who’ve had to step up in big moments.” And the team is well aware of the remaining obstacles to overcome, regardless of their winning record. CMS won the SCIAC regular season last year, so the pressure to perform is high, midfielder Nate Huntington CM ’21 said. The stakes are high for the Hens as well, who have a youthful team in addition to the abundant injuries. But the team has risen to the occasion, Stein said. “I think something different about this year that we should be proud of is the fact that there’s so much leadership coming from everywhere in the team, because we only have one senior on the team right now,” he said. “So, people from [every class] have to step up and be leaders this year.” Arnold added that the team’s close bond has helped with this challenge. With Saturday’s win, CMS continued an eight-game undefeated streak and has jumped a whopping 14 spots to No. 8 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Division III poll, matching its highest ranking of the 2019 season. “It’s super cool to get that recognition, I think we deserve it, but with that said we still have a lot of games left before the NCAA tournament and a lot of things to prove,” Smith said. His teammates share this ambition. “We’re not settling for No. 8,” Singer said. “We still have more to prove … and we’re coming to show the rest of the country that we’ve got more in us.” The Stags will appear in action again Saturday against La Verne. The Sagehens will face off against non-conference opponent UC Santa Cruz the same day.