THE STUDENT LIFE FRIDAY, SeptembeR 27, 2019 | CLAREMONT, CA | VOL. CXXX NO. 2
ASCMC eliminates ticket charges pAtRICK LIU In an effort to make Claremont McKenna College’s parties and events more accessible for students across all income levels, ASCMC is eliminating ticket charges for every school-wide event in the 2019-20 academic year, ASCMC President Dina Rosin CM ’20 announced last week. Historically, ASCMC has charged between $15 and $30 for tickets to popular CMC events like Monte Carlo and Wedding Party, Rosin said in a press release. “If we want the social scene at CMC to truly be inclusive, then a crucial step is to fully remove the financial barrier to entry,” Rosin said. ASCMC plans to offset ticket fees with a new budget enlarged by the recent increase in student fees from $122.50 to $142.50 per semester, an ASCMC endowment recently established by ASCMC chief financial officer Max Dawson CM ’21 and requests for financial contributions from other 5C student governments, among other channels, according to Rosin. Rosin said via email that funding requests are currently being made to the other student governments for Monte Carlo, but have not yet been answered. Pitzer Senate President Clint Isom PZ ’20, SAS President Niyati Narang SC ’20, ASHMC President Kyle Grace HM ’21 and ASPC Executive Vice President Payal Kachru PO ’21 all said they were aware of the initiative and of ASCMC’s intent to request funds. “I’m fully aware of the situation and I fully support ASCMC’s decision to get rid of party fees,” Isom said via message. The move is part of a broader initiative by ASCMC to advance
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BOILING OVER
Claremont joins global climate strike warning of environmental crisis KeAtON SCHILLeR “You’ll die of old age, we’ll die of climate change,” read one sign as Claremont residents and 5C students gathered at Claremont City Hall to bring attention to the
global climate crisis Sept. 20. About 100 protesters yelled various chants and a few gave speeches to voice their anxiety, concern and anger about climate change — just one manifestation of the pent-up frustration that led more than four
Oldenborg construction delayed to at least spring 2021 ALLISON FItZ The demolition and reconstruction of Pomona College’s Oldenborg Center will now begin no earlier than spring 2021 — a delay from the previous estimate of 2020 — according to Anne Dwyer, the building’s faculty director. The news is the latest development in an ongoing conversation about the future of the college’s language residence hall, which houses roughly 140 students, a dining hall and class space. In November 2018, Dwyer said the demolition could start as early as 2020.
COURTESY OF KRISTOPHER VARGAS
Pomona College’s new Benton Museum of Art is scheduled to open next fall following two years of construction.
Steve Comba, the interim director of Pomona College’s soon-tocome Benton Museum of Art, won’t miss the school’s current museum. “I’m going to be the one driving the bulldozer,” Comba joked, while giving a tour of the new structure to Pomona admissions and financial aid officers Tuesday. The current museum — which was completed in the 1950s, according to a Pomona press release — has long suffered from a lack of storage and gallery space, and has often been forced to hold presentations and performances by visiting artists and academics at
other locations on campus. After years of legal hurdles and construction, the Benton Museum, which is more than triple the size of Pomona’s current museum, is scheduled to open in fall 2020, according to Comba. Its first exhibit, displaying art by Alison Saar, will open Sept. 1, according to Pomona’s website. “Now, [the Benton] is the very central location of everything that will be happening,” curator of academic engagement Terri Geis said. “This allows us to generate more excitement within an event and allow people back into the galleries and more closely connect the events that we’re doing
million people worldwide to march and speak out last week. Claremont High School student Eila Planinc, who organized Claremont’s climate strike, was the first of several to speak at the protest. “We strike today, three days
before the 2019 [United Nations] climate summit to prove to lawmakers that we care about this issue, our future and the future of our planet,” Planinc said, earning cheers from
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Fantastic Ms. Foxes 5C women’s rugby flourishing
“I don’t think the project has been exactly ‘pushed back,’” Dwyer said. “But other things have asserted themselves and had more interest and more donors. … These projects do take a long time.” Originally, Oldenborg’s 2020 reconstruction was scheduled to accompany that of the Rains Center gym, which is set to be completed by 2021. That plan, however, is no longer feasible, and Oldenborg’s reconstruction will have to wait, Dwyer said. She said she couldn’t elaborate further. “I have been told that Old-
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MAX WEIRAUCH • THE STUDENT LIFE
The 5C women’s rugby team practices on Sept. 26.
After years of waiting, Pomona art museum to open in fall 2020
mARIA HeeteR
ALYSSA LEONG • THE STUDENT LIFE
back into the galleries.” The current museum will stay open for the 2019-20 academic year, displaying the exhibition “Euclidean Gris Gris” by artist in residence Todd Gray. The Benton, located at the edge of Claremont Village, will house 33,331 square feet of gallery and storage space, compared to a combined 10,000 square feet currently available in the current museum and exhibition spaces in Bridges Auditorium, according to Comba. PCMA has a collection of approximately 15,000 art pieces, Comba said. With the Benton’s larger galleries and specialized storage space, Comba hopes to eventually grow the collection by 25 to 30 percent. In the last two weeks alone, the school added 1,000 photographs to the collection, he said. Janet Inskeep Benton PO ’79, a Pomona trustee and the building’s namesake, donated $15 million to the project in February 2019, according to Pomona’s website. Construction costs totaled $44 million, with the remainder coming primarily from Pomona alumni and through other private foundations and individuals, according to Pomona Regional Director for
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LIFE & STYLE
As tattoos increase in popularity nationwide, the trend is hitting the 5Cs in the form of stick and poke. Read more on page 6.
The student newspaper of the Claremont Colleges since 1889
HUGO WARD Three years ago, Amanda Martinez SC ’20 couldn’t even fill a full women’s rugby team. Now, she can barely squeeze the Claremont Foxes’ more than 30 members on the field for practice. “It’s a very physically demanding sport, but people all over the world have been quickly falling in love with it in the last few decades,” said Martinez, a team captain. That’s certainly the case in Claremont, where the Foxes, the 5C women’s rugby team, has grown rapidly in number over the last few years. “Just a few years ago, it would be hard to get 15 people to even show up to practice, and now we are expecting a solid 30-man squad for the year,” Martinez said. Rugby, a contact sport similar to football, can be played in a seven-a-side or 15-a-side format. The Foxes play both ways, “with the exact same ball, the exact same rules and for the exact amount of time” as men’s rugby, Martinez said. For the Foxes, increased numbers have coincided with greater success on the field; they moved up to Division II from Division III two years ago with their 15-a-side team, finishing as runners-up to Tulane in their first-ever USA Rugby Division II Spring College Championship final. This past spring, the 7-a-side championships saw Claremont beat out San Jose State University to finish third in the nation — but the Foxes want more.
OPINIONS
Martinez is optimistic about a national title. “Hopefully, third time’s a charm,” she said. The Foxes were founded in 1995, and for the first few years, struggled to attract women to what has traditionally been a male-dominated sport. But increasingly, women are becoming more involved — to the occasional surprise of onlookers. Martinez recalled that when the team travels for games, people in their hotels have been confused by women playing rugby, and at times ask if it’s a non-contact sport. It’s not. “We play full-contact, 80 minutes, same rules, just like the men,” she said. “Our game is just as tough as theirs, and I doubt any rugby fan would disagree.” The sport is increasing in popularity, both at the high school and college level because it provides
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MAX WEIRAUCH • THE STUDENT LIFE
The 5C women’s rugby team practices on Sept. 26.
SPORTS
“Need-aware admission policies give the privileged another unfair advantage in gaining access to higher education.” — Anais Rivero PZ ’22. Read more on page 10.
Season preview: P-P women’s soccer climbs to No. 9 in the nation for Division III, their highest ranking in program history. Read more on page 11
INDEX: News 1 | Life & Style 5 | Opinions 8 | Sports 11
News
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CLIMATE: Sunrise Movement active on campus Continued from page 1 the crowd. Planinc laid out a list of reforms that the protesters hoped for, including a halt to fossil fuel extraction, increased use of renewable energy sources and enactment of the Green New Deal — a slate of proposed climate change legislation. Pomona College politics professor Heather Williams spoke about what she said was a climate change myth: the idea that climate change does not merit significant concern or attention. “Right now we’re at a moment where you are essentially the people who have to deprogram the lie,” Williams told the protesters. “You have to punch through it and say … ‘This is not a lie, this is not bad science, this is actually overwhelming evidence that our environment is changing.’” Claremont resident Kitty Robinson criticized people who do not support climate change activism. “They say this should be about facts, not emotion,” Robinson said. “But why am I emotional? It’s not because I’m illogical, it’s because I know the facts and that’s what they lead you to feel.” Later in the day, Claremont residents and 5C students gathered on the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Indian Hill Boulevard for a second protest hosted by Uncommon Good, a local nonprofit. The protesters
waved signs and chanted as cars passed by, often honking in response. The same day, other students headed into Los Angeles to bring awareness to the climate crisis. The Claremont chapter of the Sunrise Movement, a national youth-driven group that works to combat climate change, helped organize the excursion. Eric Warmoth CM ’22, the leader of Sunrise’s local chapter, said the protest helped get young people involved in climate activism. “It’s not about saying, ‘Listen up President Trump, you better change your policy because we have environmental activists in the streets,’” he said. “It’s about giving people an opportunity to get involved really easily.” Warmoth said he believes strikes offer people the opportunity to learn about how to fight for environmental justice. Emily Kuhn PZ ’22, a spokesperson for 5C members of the Sunrise Movement, agreed. “It’s about the connections ... people meeting each other, collaborating on projects and growing them behind the scenes,” Kuhn said. “It might not shift policies immediately, but it will shift individuals, and those individuals will have a trickle-down effect onto society as a whole.”
SEPTEMBER 27, 2019
Pitzer Board of Trustees member accused of profiting from ‘concentration camps’
TALIA BERNSTEIN • THE STUDENT LIFE
A new message on Pitzer College’s “free wall” accuses trustee Robert Fairbairn of profiting off of the private prison industry.
JAImIe DING
ALYSSA LEONG • THE STUDENT LIFE
5C students joined in on the climate change protests in Claremont and the Greater Los Angeles area Sept. 20.
ART: Museum built to gold standard of sustainability
TALIA BERNSTEIN • THE STUDENT LIFE
The new museum, deisgned by Machado Silvetti Associates and Gensler, is a modern structure with floor-to-ceiling windows and opens onto a small courtyard.
Continued from page 1 Advancement Robin Flynn. The names of the other donors have not yet been made public. When visiting Benton, attendees step into a large open lobby, complete with a glowing light fixture that scales the entire ceiling. They can check their bags in wooden drawers that slide out of the wall, then continue into the museum, passing floor-to-ceiling windows that open onto North College Avenue. Visitors can enter into one of the two galleries complete with 15-foot high walls painted with white paint specially designed to leave no smudges or lines. Each room has ceilings lined with iPad-controlled colored lights, as well as individual temperature control panels. Guests from art classes will be able to examine artwork in one of two classrooms the school is calling “portals,” which are connected to storage vaults. One vault stores works on paper, photography, painting and sculpture, according to Geis. In its connected classroom, students can examine pieces with a ceiling-installed document camera. The second vault will house the current museum’s extensive Native American study collection, Geis said. The collection includes approximately 6,000 pieces, ac-
cording to Pomona’s website. The new building, which has been under construction since May 2017, was designed by Machado Silvetti Associates and Gensler, two architecture companies. The building meets LEED gold standards of sustainability, according to a press release, which is the second-highest green building certification rating. The museum comprises three levels and forms a U-shape surrounding the Lobe Family Art Pavilion, an open space equipped for concerts and other performances, according to a press release. The pavillion is also equipped with a large screen and a projector. “There’s these spaces which currently don’t exist in the old facility which allow for even more flexible collaboration,” Geis said, praising the new museum’s features. Pomona assistant dean of admissions Tom Campbell, who attended a tour of the building Tuesday, told TSL that the Benton will be an effective way to talk to prospective families and students about Pomona. “[The Benton] is a really great symbol for Pomona’s commitment to a broad range of disciplines and areas,” Campbell said.
Pitzer College’s “free wall” was painted over the weekend of Sept. 21 with a message accusing Pitzer trustee Robert Fairbairn of profiting from “concentration camps,” sparking a conversation among students about whether Pitzer’s financing adheres to its core values. The painting on the wall, located on the side of Mead Hall, read “Pitzer Board of Trustees Robert Fairbairn profiting [sic] from concentration camps.” The message included arrows connecting Fairbairn’s name to BlackRock, an asset management firm, and BlackRock to GEO Group, the largest operator of private prisons in the U.S. An arrow connected GEO Group to the words “concentration camps.” It’s been painted over several times since Monday and no longer mentioned Fairbairn’s name as of Wednesday. Fairbairn is the vice chairman and interim head of human resources at BlackRock Fund Advisors, the second largest stockholder in GEO Group, Inc. BlackRock owns 11.05 percent of GEO Group’s stocks, according to CNN, which amounts to more than $200 million in shares. GEO Group owns a U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement processing center in Adelanto, California, that was awarded a ninemonth contract with ICE in June to detain up to 1,940 people at the facility, the Victorville Daily Press reported. Pablo Paez, a spokesperson for GEO Group, defended the company in a statement emailed to TSL. “These divestment efforts are based on a false narrative and deliberate lies about our company,” Paez said. “We do not manage any shelters or facilities housing unaccompanied minors nor do we manage any border patrol holding facilities. The processing centers we manage on behalf of ICE are highly rated by third-party accreditation entities and provide humane residential care including 24/7 medical services, modern recreational amenities and access to legal counsel.” The student who painted the wall, who asked to remain anonymous due to fear of backlash from Pitzer administration and Fairbairn, said they painted it because “as it currently stands, Pitzer isn’t really upholding their core values by having this man on the Board of Trustees.” The student said they want-
ed to call attention to the issue because of Fairbairn’s elevated role in the company. They believe Fairbairn’s position gives him a responsibility to make sure the company isn’t supporting “unethical corporations.” But BlackRock’s investment in GEO Group is more complicated than the wall’s message implies, according to BlackRock spokesperson Ed Sweeney. “BlackRock is a diversified asset manager that invests in tens of thousands of companies for many different types of clients,” Sweeney said via email. When asked if Fairbairn would comment on the situation directly, Sweeney declined to comment on his behalf. Nearly all BlackRock’s equity investments, including those in GEO Group, are through passive index mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, meaning that BlackRock invests in a large basket of companies selected by other people, according to Sweeney and CNN. It does not directly or individually select to invest in GEO Group or other companies. Despite BlackRock’s diversified investments, the student that painted the wall still emphasized the connection — however small — between GEO Group and Fairbairn, saying the money Fairbairn makes is still “drawn off of how profitable GEO Group is.” GEO Group’s net income was $41.9 million in the second quarter of 2019, according to a press release. Asset management companies generally earn a profit by charging clients fees in the form of a flat service fee or a percentage of the client’s assets, according to Investopedia. Fairbairn and his position in BlackRock have been a topic of fervent discussion among Pitzer first-years since the wall was painted, according to Ngaya Swai PZ ’23. “The thing that made everybody at Pitzer and people in the [class of 2023 group chat] ... very uncomfortable and very disgusted basically is no matter how you say it, they’re making profit from the detainment [and] mistreatment of people of color, and that’s what was wrong,” Swai said. Pitzer’s first-year class president Michelle Muturi PZ ’23 hosted an open forum Thursday night to discuss the free wall. More than 60 students attended, though there was no consensus on how to address the issue. “I would love for this dialogue to continue,” Pitzer Dean of Students Sandra Vasquez said at the forum. “I challenge you to continue to do your research, get the facts, don’t
make assumptions. … To make accusations against people can be very damaging and very tarnishing not only for those people but also for communities.” Separate from the forum, Avalon Edwards PZ ’20, a member of 5C Prison Abolition, told TSL there needs to be a conversation at Pitzer about how the community is involved in private detention. “That’s kind of how the prison-industrial complex works, is that it tangles up all of these stakeholders into it,” Edwards said. “So there are people who are literally constructing prisons and detention centers and those people are actively profiting from that. ... But then there are people who are more tangentially involved and that includes stuff like investing that can seem very passive or can be portrayed as really passive but isn’t.” Pitzer Board of Trustees chair Harold Brown defended Fairbairn in a statement to TSL. “As trustees, we cherish Pitzer College’s commitment to free speech and social justice. Robert Fairbairn has been an active member of our community for the last seven years and in that time I have come to know and respect him,” he said. “His service as a trusted colleague on the Board of Trustees has repeatedly demonstrated his integrity, loyalty and generosity. He is the embodiment of Pitzer core values and love for and dedication to the college, which is why I am so proud to serve alongside him.” In addition to Fairbairn’s involvement, Pitzer invested nearly a third of its then-$135 million endowment with BlackRock in 2017. The school partnered with the asset management group to launch an environmental, social and corporate governance-focused global equity index fund (ESG) that’s completely divested from fossil fuels, TSL previously reported. Pitzer announced at the time that it would invest $58 million of its endowment into the ESG — the entirety of the public equity portion of the school’s endowment, or money that’s invested in public markets. Funds like the ESG provide people and organizations that invest in them the option of investing sustainably and in line with their values, according to BlackRock’s website. Despite this, some students still disapprove of Pitzer’s partnership with BlackRock. “Right now, we know we don’t want to be associated with BlackRock as a company,” Swai said. He said he and other students are researching Fairbairn and BlackRock and are planning to attend the Pitzer Board of Trustees meeting Oct. 12.
Ask tSL Have a burning question about the Claremont Colleges you want answered? Got something you want us to investigate? Help us help you better understand the 5Cs and send us any and all queries at editor@tsl.news.
News
SEPTEMBER 27, 2019
BORG: Building is ‘at the end of its useful lifespan’
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Claremont Graduate University withdraws from International Place JULIA FRANKeL
CHRIS NARDI • THE STUDENT LIFE
Renovations to Oldenborg, Pomona College’s Center for Modern Languages and residence hall, will only be occurring after spring 2021.
Continued from page 1 enborg, as it stands ... will still be absolutely functional next academic year,” she said. Dwyer cited Oldenborg’s aging infrastructure and outdated layout as reasons for the project. She said that while the concept of an immersive living and learning language environment is “cutting edge, the building no longer reflects that.” A Pomona strategic planning report in 2015 recommended the project, stating that Oldenborg will be “renovated and reconstructed” to accommodate an expanded international center, a new plaza and gardens and upgraded student residences. The idea of a new Oldenborg, however, has been in the works since Pomona created an Oldenborg Task Force in 2003, according to Dwyer. The early stages of Oldenborg’s reconstruction project are already underway, and the college seems to have a plan to move toward construction. Over the summer, faculty discussed designs and layout, according to Dwyer. In September, the college began a bidding process with architects, some of whom have already toured the current building. By late October, administrators will review final proposals from architects, which include sketches, layouts and a rough cost estimate. There is already movement within the college to recruit donors for the
project, Dwyer said. Built in 1966, Oldenborg has had issues with maintenance and accessibility. Last fall, for instance, Oldenborg’s plumbing issues “resulted in clogged pipes and several fallen-in ceiling tiles,” TSL reported. Pomona’s assistant vice president of facilities Bob Robinson said Oldenborg requires more maintenance than other buildings on campus, and maintenance can be more difficult. “It’s incredibly old and at the end of its useful lifespan,” he said. Plumbing and toilet issues have become persistent problems due to backups within the pipes, which are embedded in the concrete and difficult to access, according to Robinson. Oldenborg is also not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as most student rooms are only accessible by staircase, Dwyer said. The current proposal for the new building includes a residence hall, office and programming space and a dining hall. While there had been some discussion among faculty and other stakeholders about merging Frank and Oldenborg dining halls into one, that plan “was considered too exorbitant at the moment,” according to Dwyer, but she said she couldn’t provide a cost estimate. The new Oldenborg will be
“improved, but not drastically larger,” she said. When asked, Dwyer did not clarify who the other stakeholders were. One of the biggest concerns from students about the project is its impact on housing. Oldenborg houses 140 residents in mostly singles and large four-person suites and runs a completely separate room draw process from the other Pomona residence halls. “It seems like it would be kind of a hassle to tear it down because … a lot of people live here,” Oldenborg resident Naomi Tilles PO ’22 said. “If they couldn’t completely replace it over the summer, it might cause more issues.” Pomona’s Housing and Residence Life administration is still figuring out where to house the 140 students who would normally live there, according to Dwyer. Oldenborg also offers daily foreign language dining and programming. Once construction begins, Dwyer said that programming will likely relocate to Walker Hall. Regardless of location, the language dining will continue “in some way or another,” Dwyer said via email. “There would be a few awkward years of transition that should end in a much better home for Oldenborg programming,” she said.
Claremont Graduate University withdrew from the International Place of the Claremont Colleges — a once7C resource center for international students — over the summer, officials said. The decision came after a CGU evaluation of student engagement with I-Place which “determined that critical services for international students are best suited to be fully housed within CGU’s Student Life, Diversity & Leadership Office (SLDL),” according to an email the CGU Dean of Students office sent to CGU students in July. Beginning spring 2020, SLDL will expand to include “enhanced services that focuses on providing targeted programming that best serves our students’ needs and interests,” the email said.
Ariel Carpenter, CGU director of Student Life & International Services, did not immediately respond to a request for additional information about the school’s withdrawal from I-Place. I-Place Interim Director Chrystal Orozco declined to comment. It’s unclear if I-Place programming — such as its New International Student and Scholar Orientation (NISSO) and the Community Friends of International Students (CFIS) grant program — will remain available to CGU students. It’s also unknown how much CGU previously contributed to I-Place, or if any of these contributions will continue. The change is a further blow to I-Place after Harvey Mudd College pulled out of the center in December 2018, taking with it its $40,000 contribution. HMC now runs its own international student orientation and handles paperwork for its international students.
KYLE GRACE • THE STUDENT LIFE
Claremont Graduate University withdrew from International Place over the summer, a further blow to I-Place after Harvey Mudd College left late last year.
What’s new at the 5C dining halls Dining halls roll out big changes for new school year CHLOe mANDeL
TSL FILE PHOTO
TALIA BERNSTEIN • THE STUDENT LIFE
CHRIS NARDI • THE STUDENT LIFE
The 5C dining halls are offering trendy foods this academic year.
Dole whip worshippers and cold brew fanatics, rejoice! Since the start of the 2019-2020 school year, student favorites have filtered into campus dining halls, delighting returners across the 5Cs. From veggie-forward options to frozen favorites, dining hall staff have stepped up their game since last semester. Changes include allergy-friendly updates to Frank Dining Hall and Frary Dining Hall; a smoothie bar, kombucha, cold brew and a new vegan station at Malott Dining Commons; a spice bar and expanded salad bar at Hoch-Shanahan Dining Commons; a herbivore station at McConnell Dining Hall and a new soft serve machine at Collins Dining Hall. Frank and Frary Pomona College dining is making changes to better accommodate students with allergies. Frank will soon become the first peanut- and tree nut-free 5C dining hall, according to general manager Jose Martinez. The dining hall will complete its four-week cycle menu next week, then replace peanut butter and other items with alternatives such as sun butter, a sunflower seed-based option, Martinez said. Martinez believes this will address continued student requests to provide more allergy-free options and minimize the risk of contamination. Martinez added that Pomona updated the menu pages on its website to make it easier for students to find detailed information about each meal’s menu, including ingredients, calories
and allergens. Pomona also tweaked its menu to add more vegan and vegetarian items, and dining hall staff are considering implementing Meatless Mondays at both dining halls in the spring, Martinez said. Malott Malott’s smoothie bar is back and will be available at breakfast Monday through Friday, according to dining manager Garrick Hisamoto. Hisamoto also implemented a “total refresh” of Malott’s “Simple Servings” station, which provides healthy and local allergen-free options. “The school recognized the importance and popularity of the station last year and decided to just really go all in and make it a great station that really can showcase what Scripps is about,” he said. A new “Power Bowl” option — another response to student feedback — serves a similar purpose but with vegan options, Hisamoto said. Dining hall staff are still tweaking this station based on student feedback and will make it more interactive. Hoch-Shanahan At Harvey Mudd College, students can now flavor their meals with restaurant-worthy seasonings including several varieties of salt — saffron and truffle, to name a few. “In the spirit of innovation, and to implement suggestions from students, we thought it would be fun to add some spice [literally] to our menu,” general manager Miguel Ruvalcaba said in an email. Hoch-Shanahan also expand-
ed its salad bar. “We wanted to alleviate our food lines and add the possibility of new stations to feature hot and cold items,” Ruvalcaba said. “We also wanted to offer a staple menu that would always feature some key menu items to provide a source of protein as well as comfort and reliability for our students.” McConnell At Pitzer College, dining staff have introduced a plant-based herbivore station on Mondays in response to student requests to “bring attention to more plant-forward eating,” manager Toni Morbitt said via email. Groups of Pitzer students have campaigned for “Green Mondays” or “Meatless Mondays” at the dining hall, and McConnell staff are “open to revisiting the conversation” about these separate campaigns, according to Morbitt. To reduce traffic in the dining halls, McConnell dining staff have also tried “moving queue lines to improve guest flow” by switching the location of food stations “so people at the salad bar can access the food easily,” Morbitt said. In an effort to provide more work-study jobs on campus, McConnell also hired one student worker, who will help serve lunch and dinner, but has not yet begun work, Morbitt said. Collins Officials at Claremont McKenna College could not be reached before press time, but the dining hall opened a new soft serve machine on Wednesday, debuting with pineapple Dole Whip nondairy soft serve, best known as a fan-favorite treat at Disney theme parks.
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SEPTEMBER 27, 2019
Students raise ethical concerns about Harvey Mudd career fair LIAm CHALK As private data influences elections, facial recognition tracks people and the military-industrial complex grows, students at Harvey Mudd College advocated for a discussion of ethical issues surrounding the technology industry in preparation for the school’s annual Software Engineering Job and Internship Fair on Sept. 11. Over 70 companies and organizations recruited at the fair, which is open to 5C students, including several companies under scrutiny for controversial practices, including Facebook, AeroVvironment and Palantir. Facebook was recently embroiled in the Cambridge Analytica scandal resulting in CEO Mark
Zuckerberg testifying before Congress and a $5 billion dollar fine from the Federal Trade Commission. AeroVvironment, a manufacturer of drones and tactical missile systems, provides the Pentagon with drones that have been responsible for surveillance and strikes in the Middle East, according to the Los Angeles Times and Wired. Palantir has a $49 million contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and “provides data-mining software to ICE that has’s been used to screen undocumented immigrants and plan workplace raids,” according to Business Insider. As a result, many students
h a ve p u s h e d f o r i n c r e a s e d awareness and consideration of the backgrounds of the companies present at HMC’s career events. And they aren’t the only ones. Palantir canceled an informational session at UC Berkeley on Tuesday after facing pressure from students over its ICE contract, including a petition to cancel the session that garnered 700 signatures, the Daily Cal reported. Yoni Maltsman HM ’22 said students are not being prepared for the ethical aspects of potential careers and hosted a meeting called Career Fair “‘Conscience”’ Preparation on Sept. 10 to discuss the ethical issues surrounding the technol-
ERINA IWASA • THE STUDENT LIFE
Cleo Forman PO ’20, Yoni Maltsman HM ’22, and Moe Sunami PO ’21 are members of 5C Tech for Good, an organization that strives to educate students about ethics when considering jobs and internships
PARTIES: ASCMC hopes other schools will help fund parties
ogy industry. About 10 people attended the event. “Prior to this year ’’s career fair, there have been plenty of opportunities to perfect resumes, cover letters and interview strategies,” he said in an email to HMC students. “While this is super important, it’’s also necessary to have a discussion on navigating the political, moral and deeply personal dimensions of considering whom to work for.” Nico Espinosa Dice HM ’22, who founded the Machine Learning Club with Max Holloway HM ’22 and helped run the Career Fair ““Conscience”” Preparation, said Harvey Mudd’s mission statement requires such discussions. The statement says HMC aims to educate students to have a “clear understanding of the impact of their work on society.” “It requires a dynamic and constantly evolving process,” Espinosa Dice said. “If there is ever a time when students or faculty forget to think about their impact on society or forget to consider ethics, that’’s a momentary lapse in fulfilling Mudd’s mission.” Cleo Forman PO ’20, a member of 5C Tech for Good, said computer scientists’ tendency to be career-focused makes it difficult to have discussions about the ethics of the tech industry. “In the CS [education] that I’’ve experienced, there’’s a lot of pressure to follow one path because that’’s what you see around you,” Forman said. Moe Sunami PO ’21 emphasized the personal impact that Palantir’s work has on members of the 5C community. “These are not just headline issues; these are issues that concern a lot of our lives, our classmates’ lives in very personal
ways,” she said. “And we carry the burden of the communities that we come to college with.” Sarah Park, HMC’s career services director, said in an email that she believes “it’s important for students to research companies and organizations they are considering working for so they can make sure that an organization’s values are aligned with their own.” Park said HMC aims to bring more diverse selections of employers to campus. “We do need to broaden the variety of organizations coming to campus, and this is something we are working hard to address,” Park said. “For this upcoming STEM fair, we did intentional outreach to diversify the industries and types of organizations that will be present.” Maltsman, Forman and Sunami all hope to see more information on graduate studies, working at NGOs and professional research at future career fairs. “Career Services listens to faculty and student recommendations and partners with student organizations to bring employers to campus that are of interest,” Park said. “We encourage all students to reach out to us to share their ideas and concerns so that we can more effectively help them explore their career planning needs.” HMC hosts career fairs three times a year. The General STEM Job & Internship Fair will be held on Oct. 10 and the Spring Job & Internship Fair on Jan. 31, according to HMC career services. The events will likely be accompanied by more discussion and introspection about the overlapping spheres of ethics and technology hosted by 5C Tech For Good, according to Maltsman.
Warren gains ground among 5C voters after third Democratic debate
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COURTESY OF GLEN MATHENY
Claremont McKenna College will no longer charge students to attend on-campus parties.
Continued from page 1 inclusivity in CMC’s community and promote social justice at the college, Rosin said. Students have frequently requested the ticket fees be eliminated, and many current members of ASCMC’s executive board campaigned on the idea. But ASCMC doesn’t have a large enough budget to fully fund all campus events, Rosin said.
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Paid ticketing will remain in some form for senior class events such as 200 Days, 100 Days and the Las Vegas class trip. ASCMC will heavily subsidize these events using class funds allocated within its budget, though. Rosin pledged to proactively inform students about alternative forms of payment. “It is the mission, and fun-
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damental purpose, of ASCMC to fight for student interests,” she said in the press release. “I hope students continue to feel empowered to bring ideas and concerns to members of ASCMC with the confidence that these concerns will be heard and addressed, as we want to continue fighting for a more inclusive CMC.”
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KELLEN BROWNING • THE STUDENT LIFE
5C students’ support for presidential candidates, before and after the third debate
KeLLeN bROWNING
Each week, TSL answers your questions about anything at the 5Cs. Ask us a question at editor@tsl.news with the subject line “Ask TSL.” Include your name, school and year if you want. Question: “Word on the street is that the sauces at Frary and Collins are getting watered down. Would like investigation ASAP!” The short answer, according to dining hall staff, is no — but it’s complicated. Spokespeople for both Frary and Collins Dining Halls said the dining halls are not watering down their sauces — specifically the Sriracha, about which rumors have been flying. Frary’s chef manager Amanda Castillo said doing so would risk introducing bacteria into the bottle. “We would not compromise the flavor our students know to expect,” Castillo added via email.
But Frary executive chef Travis Ellis mentioned that the Sriracha brand Frary uses, Huy Fong Foods, changed its recipe this past spring in response to a change in the chili peppers they use. In 2017, HF Foods’ sole supplier of chili peppers stopped growing peppers for HF, only to come out with their own Sriracha sauce the following year. A spicy situation ensued, and the two have since been embroiled in a two-way lawsuit. If any supertasters noted a change in flavor at 5C dining halls, this might be why. The Huy Fong Foods Sriracha bottle is known for its classic rooster logo and distinctive green cap and is used in dining halls across the 5Cs. “If at any time you come across a bottle that looks like it may have been compromised,
please let one of our team members know. We will replace it immediately,” Castillo said. Question: What was Pomona’s admissions rate for last year? Pomona College has repeatedly declined requests to release its admissions rate for last year, but should include the information when it releases Pomona’s 2019-20 Common Data Set, likely in spring 2020. “Our aim is to help move the admissions conversation toward finding the best fit and away from the focus on admission rates,” Adam Sapp, Pomona’s director of admissions, said in March. TSL will report the rate when it becomes available, as well as Claremont McKenna College’s acceptance rate, which the school did not release last semester.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren widened her significant lead in the 2020 presidential field among 5C students surveyed by TSL in its most recent presidential opinion poll. Nearly 57 percent of the 95 students polled through an emailed online form in mid-September said the Massachusetts lawmaker was their preferred choice for the Democratic nomination for president, up from 51 percent among that same group who responded to an earlier TSL poll conducted in late August and early September. Warren’s success at the 5Cs comes amid a surge in her national poll numbers. In a new Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday, Warren claimed first place in the Democratic field with 27 percent of respondents, beating out the usual frontrunner, former Vice President Joe Biden, who took 25 percent. In the most recent TSL poll, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., came in second place with 17 percent of the vote, up from 15 percent support among that same group in the earli-
er poll. Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, finished third with 11 percent, down from 13 percent in the earlier poll. Support for Biden, who’s currently leading the field in most national polls, took a dive among 5C students, from 4 percent to just 1 percent. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., also dropped, from 5 to 3 percent. Entrepreneur Andrew Yang remained steady at 5 percent in both polls. No other candidate averaged more than 2 percent support in either poll. No respondents selected the candidates with Claremont connections: Montana Gov. Steve Bullock CM ’88 or spiritual leader Marianne Williamson — who attended Pomona for two years. Each had the support of 1 percent of respondents in TSL’s previous poll. Neither met the Democratic National Committee’s qualifications for the third debate. TSL’s most recent poll was conducted after the third Democratic debate in Houston on Sept. 12. Sixty-three percent of respondents said they watched either all or part of that debate. Eightythree percent of respondents who changed their minds between the first and second poll said they watched the third debate.
Life & StyLe
September 27, 2019
pAGe 5
Motley Coffeehouse opens for the semester by celebrating 45th anniversary
ANNA HOrNe • tHe StUDeNt LIFe
managers work during opening night of the motley, taking orders as fast as they can.
SIMRAN SACHDEVA Students who rely on coffee to power through the day will be happy to see that The Motley Coffeehouse, housed at Scripps College, is now open for the semester. The Motley went all out for its first day, Sept. 20, displaying birthday-themed signs and streamers, and even bringing in a birthday cake with candles atop. The event, officially called “Happy Birthday, Motley!” was themed as a nod to the establishment’s 45th anniversary. The coffee shop used the opportunity to revisit its storied past and included temporary speciality drinks on the menu like “The Mot Underground” and “Money Laundering.” The latter bever-
age, a white chocolate matcha, is a reference to an event that occurred in the fall of 1987, according to The Motley’s website. A manager was found stealing money from the coffee shop “possibly by making deposits and changing the deposit slips to lower amounts, then keeping the difference,” the website says. The police then investigated the situation. It’s unclear how much money was stolen, but the website says it may have been thousands of dollars. The Motley and the school allegedly went after the culprit, who reportedly gave the money back to the coffee shop, according to the site. “That was something we’ve been very transparent about online, and wanted to have that
[transparency manifested] in the space so that people could read about it and know about it,” said Navi Shah SC ’20, The Motley’s community engagement manager. She noted that visitors’ curiosity about the new drinks could inspire them to dig even deeper into The Motley’s history. Signs posted along the westmost wall of the coffeehouse laid out a timeline of The Motley from its conception in 1974 to today. “The fact it originated and was [organized] by students is really significant,” Shah said. The Motley opened in Balch Hall in 1975 and moved to the basement of what’s now Scripps’ dining hall in 1991, according to the site. It moved once more to
Chef Carla Hall talks food activism and the culinary world at Scripps SOFIA SZYFER American chef Carla Hall is helping put soul food on the map and the soul back into food. Hall, former “Top Chef” contender and host of ABC’s cooking-themed talk show “The Chew,” visited Scripps College’s Garrison Theater on Sept. 24 to talk about her journey into food activism, cultural food appreciation and her place in the culinary world as a woman of color. “I realized [throughout my career] that I have a voice I can actually use … to be authentic,” Hall said at the event. “I think [my purpose] is to be my quirky, silly self … and show people that you don’t have to be a particular way [or] in a particular box to be on television and it speaks volumes to everybody. Her activism commonly assists in the fight for food subsidization and against food deserts through involvement in organizations such as World Central Kitchen, DC Central Kitchen and Feeding America, according to Delish, a food magazine. Hall explained at a student session prior to talk that she believes all Americans deserve accessible fresh produce and that too many communities, especially communities of color and low-income
communities, lack food diversity as a direct result of a lack of food accessibility. “The food that isn’t good for us is cheap and accessible, and the food that is good for us isn’t addressed or considered important,” she said. But, Hall doesn’t believe the system is broken. She still holds hope in the potential to improve food security and access and believes a way to go forward is by empowering people to cook for themselves. Citing the growth of cooking shows, “FoodTube” and cuisine influencers à la Claire Saffitz of Bon Appétit, Hall thinks the beautiful simplicity of food “gets lost in the sauce.” She said people don’t appreciate simple and well-made food. “People always forget that food is a culture carrier,” she said. “We [can get] so far into the luxury of food that we forget that food is sustenance.” Later in Garrison Theater, Hall detailed the beginning of her career and said she was determined not to fall into the trap of doing what people expected her to do with food. “I am Carla Hall, and I’m black, but I’m not ‘the black chef,’” Hall said. “People ex-
JUStIN SLeppY • tHe StUDeNt LIFe
Carla Hall, a former co-host of “the Chew” and a competitor on seasons 5 and 8 of top Chef, was joined by rachel Ng, a food editor for Westways, for a conversation at Garrison theater on Sep. 24.
pected me to do fried chicken, but I had paid all this money to learn these French techniques, and so I wanted to use them.” However, Hall’s time on “Top Chef” did teach her to embrace the beauty of soul food and advocate on its behalf. “I think Top Chef really helped me see the value of my [culture’s] food, and that I actually liked this [type of] food,” Hall said. “This food is a part of my culture.” With Hall’s latest cookbook, “Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration,” she said she wanted to break down the stereotypical idea of soul food as something to mock or minimize and instead legitimize it in the food world. “I wanted to show people soul food as being a part of [African American] heritage. This is the food that we should be proud of,” she said. “It’s a celebration as well as an everyday cuisine, and also an opportunity to learn more about [our] history [and its] significance in American culture.” Hall noted, though, that she wants culinary appreciation to extend out to all readers’ cultures. “I think more than anything, I hope that the book inspires people to look back in their [own] culture and … feel a sense of pride around their food.” Sasha Newton PO ’20 attended the event out of curiosity around Hall’s journey in the food culture sphere. “Hall really uses recipes from life that [converge] history and culture,” Newton said. “I’m always trying to look at the world from a cross-disciplinary perspective.” Alexi Butts SC ’20, who also attended the event, is president of the Scripps chapter of Food Recovery Network, a volunteer organization fighting food waste and food insecurity. She said she went in the interest of Hunger Awareness Month and that it further empowered her to strive for change around food disparity. “I think just seeing [Hall] in person and experiencing how lively and excited she is about the possibility for change is enough to excite you,” she said. Hall, in the meantime, will continue fighting for food equity and channeling cultural memory into her dishes. “Now, I’m looking forward to what I’ll do in my sixties,” she said.
its current location in Seal Court in 2000. Located in the heart of campus, it’s normally packed with students, the line to order extends out the door and music blares over the loudspeakers. It’s a place for friends to catch up or spend the afternoon doing homework together. “It seemed the community at Scripps is really based on the Motley,” said Sarah Weaver SC ’23, who went to The Motley on opening night. “Everyone was talking to each other and ordering drinks and a lot of people were saying hi to friends for the first time.” But, it’s not all about the past at Scripps’ beloved coffee shop. The Motley continues to work toward its mission of be-
ing a socially responsible business that engages feminist critiques, connects the Claremont Colleges with local and global communities through sustainability and fosters indepedent thinking and purposeful change, according to its site. “It’s a work in progress. And the fact that it commits to that and is willing to acknowledge that it’s not at any point in time stagnant. That’s something that I appreciate,” Shah said. “It gives us, workers, students, managers, an opportunity to make it better.” The Motley is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Rooftop Garden plants seeds of leadership in local youth
ALeeCIA SHArpe • tHe StUDeNt LIFe
Chloe Wanaselja pO ’21 and Amanda mutai pO ’21, co-coordinators for the rooftop Garden mentoring project, discuss the projects mission to new members.
KAT CASSELL Every other Thursday afternoon atop Pomona College’s Sontag Residence Hall, Claremont students gather with local middle and high school students to learn, eat, garden and foster community. Armed with home-grown veggies and a view of the mountains, they aim to conquer environmental justice issues and have fun while doing it. The Rooftop Garden Mentoring Project is a 5C program that teaches collaborative mentorship with a focus on environmental justice education and leadership. The program partners with the Draper Center for Community Partnerships and Teen Green, a youth-led environmental group facilitated through the nonprofit Uncommon Good. The participating students attend Los Angeles-area middle and high schools. The project was founded eight years ago, according to one of the coordinators Amanda Mutai PO ’21. It now has 15 members and 25 participating Teen Green students. For co-coordinators Mutai and Chloe Wanaselja PO ’21, collaboration is central to the program’s mission. “[We aim to foster] leadership around sustainability and environmental justice issues, among both the Teen Green and the 5C students,” Wanaselja said. “We want it to be a mutually beneficial relationship between both groups, where both are learning from the other.” In last Thursday’s meeting, 5C program mentors, known as “environmentors,” worked with Teen Green students to brainstorm what environmental justice, food justice and sustainability concerns they plan to explore this year. “They lead the entire session, which is really exciting to see,” Mutai said. “[Topics are] dependent on what they want to learn more about, and the issues that are affecting them.” The participating Teen Green
students will learn to lead through tackling environmental issues. For member Nicholas Nguyen PO ’23, climate change makes providing young people with these skills more important. “We’re almost at the point of no return in 2030,” Nguyen said. “It’s important that people just a couple years younger than us are wellequipped to deal with the [environmental] problems that we all will be sharing in about a decade or so.” This year, the program is looking to put environmental justice front and center. “We’re trying to be more explicit about addressing environmental justice this year,” Wanaselja said. “In the past few years it’s definitely been there but it’s been more implied instead of actively stated and talked about.” Wanaselja joined the Rooftop Garden project because she deeply cares about environmental issues and felt the program created tangible impact. “You can see the growth of students over the time that they’re involved in Rooftop, whether that be Teen Green students or the environmentors,” she said. Food is also a central component of the Rooftop Garden experience, and Mutai said they work to provide healthy and organic snacks. The group also grows vegetables on the rooftop garden, which Wanaselja said is important to the mentoring project and greater community. “I have been really fortunate to have access to healthy food, and it means a lot to me to be able to have that,” she said. “A lot of people don’t [have access to healthy food] and I’m excited about teaching more people about what that means and how they can take control of that themselves.” Additionally, the program’s gathering spot is central to what makes it so special, Wanaselja said. “I think being able to see the mountains is a really big part of it,” she said. “You’re definitely outside but you’re also above in a way that makes you able to see your surroundings in a special way. And it’s just really beautiful watching your food grow over the course of a semester or year.”
pAGe 6
Life & StyLe
September 27, 2019
Let’s have a tat: Stick and poke at the 5Cs KIRA MATTHEWS As tattoos become more popular across the country, students at the Claremont Colleges are following the trend in classic college style — affordably and in their dorm rooms. For stick and poke tattoos, which are frequently done here at the 5Cs, artists use a single needle to poke thousands of dots into skin to create a design. TSL spoke to two such artists, who asked to keep their full identities confidential due to concerns about legal liabilities. One is a female self-taught tattoo artist, who also works part-time at a tattoo studio in Los Angeles. The second is Max, who describes himself as an “aspiring tattoo artist” and does stick and poke tattoos as a hobby. The female tattoo artist said via message that she got into tattooing out of “curiosity and trust from friends.” Similarly, Max started tattooing after doing a stick and poke on himself when a friend had the necessary materials. “I have always considered myself an artist and plan on working in the arts for the rest of my life,” the female artist said. She also said the tattoos keep her grounded in her body, which “genetically doesn’t fit a norm.” She has a genetic disorder called Marfan syndrome, resulting in scarring from injuries, chronic pain and stretch marks. “My bone structure and connective tissue are all identified medically as ‘abnormal and mu-
tated,’ and that’s not something I can control … but I can at least make my body deviate from the norm in a way that is in my own consent and agency,” she said. One of the female artist’s clients is Isa Berardo PZ ’20, who has eight tattoos, including one stick and poke. Berardo expressed that stick and pokes are “just another me-
dium of the tattooing expression,” and described their experience getting a stick and poke tattoo as “intimate and lovely.” “I had the privilege of knowing the artist beforehand, so it’s more meaningful,” they said. Berardo also expressed joy about how their stick and poke turned out. “I absolutely love it. I love the
two Scripps College students show off their stick and poke tattoos.
tHe bASSLINe
Rewinding and remembering ‘Abbey Road’ 50 years later KYLA WALKER The open D string that begins “Abbey Road” by The Beatles resonates like the shot heard ‘round the world. The Beatles made music out of memories and composed a heartbreaking rhythm to the serendipities and infatuations of generations that have been reinvented each time that record spins, from the flower child to the vintage hipster to the old soul reminiscing youth. On Sept. 26, 1969, The Beatles released “Abbey Road,” the last album they recorded together. Fifty years later, it’s still beloved by many and worth a look back at each song, all of which are masterfully created. From the very first track, John Lennon harnesses a sensational power in his voice. He tells a story that you can’t quite grasp, but the freedom of “Come Together” is palpable. He sings, “I know you, you know me / One thing I can tell you is / You got to be free.” Lennon pulls your unconscious from its chains deep within to remind you where you belong. When “Something” drumrolls into that famous riff on electric guitar, George Harrison commands his classic love ballad. I’m reminded of a first slow dance, when you’re trying to find the right place to put your hands but can’t remember how characters in the movies did it. As Harrison’s solo arrives, the world fades away. Before he can even mumble that there’s just “something in the way she moves,” you’re already delicately dancing. “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” begins with a line that seems out of place: Paul McCartney sings, “Joan was quizzical, studied pataphysical / Science in the home.” McCartney’s voice enters the album on lead for the first time with a silly tale about a first date gone awry. But the little detail of “pataphysical” is not just a clever rhyme for “quizzical.” “Pataphysics” is defined as the science of
imaginary solutions and investigates the laws of exceptions in the non-traditional universe. Even though the term is only mentioned once in the album, the concept is seen throughout all 17 tracks, in between the heavy love ballads and laced into the nonsensical interludes. “Oh! Darling” is undoubtedly a rock ballad. McCartney’s raw, genuine voice cascades into a passionate holler, desperately begging his lover to see the depth of his emotion. You can hear his broken heart, its fragile glass cracking in synchrony with his raspy voice. The visceral feeling grabs you and won’t let go until he’s said what can only be sung. “Octopus’s Garden” is another fun, quirky fantasy track, this time sung by Ringo Starr. It contains the surreal elements of a dream, a wish to float under the sea. In the background, one of the band members is heard blowing bubbles into a glass of milk with a straw like a little kid. Starr sings to us at the end of the second verse, “We would sing and dance around / Because we know we can’t be found.” Deadlines, resumes and interviews will have yet to exist when you get lost in this lighthearted track — two minutes and 51 seconds of innocent bliss. The lengthy epic “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” begins with Lennon’s voice syncing with the electric on lead. This track is not one that plays in the background of a party, where people acknowledge it by simple foot-tapping and head-nodding. No, this seven minute and 47 second piece grasps at the collective consciousness of the human experience with its cycles of repetition and simplicity. The song plays like a flickering street lamp on Abbey Road after midnight. “Here Comes the Sun” takes me back. I hope every child gets to hear this song so that years later when it comes on the radio, they reminisce with the lucidity of a summer’s day. I hope it rewinds the records back to a
time when we couldn’t decide whether it was Tuesday or Sunday, if we were four years old or five. Eight short songs comprise a medley formed on the B-side of the vinyl, in between “Because” and “Her Majesty.” The outros fade into the intros of the subsequent track and could have been recorded in one take as a full song. The back-side of the record brings to life characters from a story only understood in chronological order. Today’s shuffle feature on digital streaming would ruin the effect of the album and misplace its memories. The pataphysical element of the album is blatant in the B-side, as the four artists collaborate to conceive quirky, odd personalities and tales that come together in a beautiful mosaic. We are left waking from a dream that we can’t quite capture in entirety the next morning but still feel the poignance of. As McCartney sings to all the lonely people, “And in the end / The love you take / Is equal to the love you make.” In “The End,” the listener can feel the groove in the melodies of the 1970s slowly creeping into each chord. The ending medley honors the spirits of the people they’ve touched — each full of surreal surprises, childhood nurseries and languid lullabies — to conclude a revolution and an era. So as the 50-year mark of “Abbey Road” rolls around, we look back on that year of magical, hair-rising, rip-roaring memories full of characters from a mid-day medley and a radio rendezvous. And while listening to The Beatles sing about their era, we can almost imagine that we were there, too. Kyla Walker PO ’22 is TSL’s music columnist. She loves playing guitar, reading any and all fiction and probably belongs in the 1960s.
ANNIe WU • tHe StUDeNt LIFe
artist, and I wanted to support her art,” they said. Isabel Navarrete PZ ’22 has seven tattoos, five of which are stick and pokes. She said via message to TSL that stick and pokes can be “so beautiful … if you’re working with someone who knows what they’re doing and has experience. The shading you get with a single needle is so
tALIA berNSteIN • tHe StUDeNt LIFe
unique.” Navarrete also described her experience with stick and pokes as “lovely.” “I actually prefer the feeling of a single needle to a tattoo gun,” she said. “It’s a slower process but less uncomfortable.” Yet many artists and tattooed people alike expressed concern about the safety of stick and pokes. Berardo said in terms of safety, “it was very professionally done … she had all of the things that you would expect going to a tattoo shop … It’s just a different medium of tattooing, but it was completely professional.” Navarrete wrote that she’s been “stressed about [tattoos] getting infected, turning out poorly [or] not healing right” but has never experienced any of these issues. Max similarly said he’s never had any of his tattoo recipients get infected. He said he uses specific, sterilized tattoo needles and isopropyl alcohol to sterilize the skin, which he said was “kind of controversial … in the tattoo world,” as some believe alcohol dries out the skin. Concerning the stigma of tattoos, Navarrete expressed that ultimately, it’s her body and that she “want[s] to decorate it with beautiful art,” despite acknowledging the stigma from older generations. Berardo said the only stigma they notice is from older generations, but added, “It’s my body, and tattooing it helps reclaim the agency and power that I feel in my own skin.”
On the record: KSPC’s 50th semi-annual CD & Record expo CORINNE BOBB-SEMPLE Tracks that ranged from Hardrive’s iconic “Deep Inside” house beat to the Supremes’ saccharine “Baby Love” filled Edmunds Ballroom Sept. 22 as attendees thumbed through bins of records and CDs and perused music memorabilia. The event was KSPC’s 50th semi-annual CD & Record Expo. KSPC 88.7 FM, the 5Cs’ student-run radio station, aims to provide not just Claremont, but Los Angeles with the tones of underrepresented voices, according to their volunteer application. A collaborative project that first began in the 1950s, the station is devoted to creating community around music. Olivia McGrath SC ’22, a DJ and music director for the station, described KSPC as “a group of passionate, unique people — both students and adults … who share a love for music and enjoy sharing that with others.” And share a love of music they did. In addition to being a fundraiser, the CD & Record Expo was also an opportunity for supporters of the Claremont Colleges’ radio station to celebrate. Attendees ran the gamut from 5C students and adult members of the KSPC community to families looking for a way to beat the late summer heat. Admission was free for Claremont students and $2 for the general public. McGrath remarked that the Expo was an opportunity for her to come into contact with KSPC’s history. “I especially love how widespread and long-lasting KSPC’s impact has been on the community, with some DJs having been at the station for over 30 years,” she said. “Having these community members introduce themselves to me and tell me stories [connects] me to people I would never meet otherwise.” Vendors Rob Freeman and Tory Freeman PO ’82 raved about good business. “We’ve had a lot of activity since we started, even before the doors opened at 10 a.m., and we had some dealer-to-dealer business going on so it’s been good,” Tory Freeman said. Rob Freeman said selling records was a large part of his college experience. “I even used it to pay for a portion of my tuition in the ’80s,” he said. When asked what drives record culture’s popularity, he attributed it to childhood memory. “There are a lot of people, young people, who remember their parents having records, and they were sort of curious objects back then,” he said. “Now, there’s sort of a youth
tALIA berNSteIN • tHe StUDeNt LIFe
the 5Cs’ radio station, KSpC 88.7 Fm, hosted its 50th semi-annual CD & record expo on Sept. 22.
movement in the purchasing of records whereas in the past it was a thing middle-aged guys did.” Charles Becker PO ’23 and Sade Corpuz PO ’23, both casual record buyers, also cited nostalgia as the driving force for record collecting’s increasing popularity in a music culture dominated by streaming services. “Since we’re in the technological age, people are going back to these older ways of listening to music,” Becker said. “It’s the same thing with film photography which [has also been] having a resurgence.” Corpuz pointed to social media as a way in which vinyl culture has been popularized and also said people want to market the “old soul” archetype. Alan Ke PO ’22, a KSPC DJ and music director, said the CD & Record Expo is a good place to get bang for your buck. “The best part of the expo is with all the vendors that come, you can often find lots of rare stuff for discounted prices if you’re committed to the hunt …” Ke said. “You’ll find a lot of artists like Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin in the bins they’ve got for sale, often for reasonable prices, too. Vinyl has been getting a resurgence lately, and while it can get expensive, it doesn’t always have to be if you spend your money wisely.” John Stout, the brain behind KSPC’s first Record Expo organized in 1995, took notice of the ebb and flow in vinyl sales. “[Records have] made a nice comeback; we’re finding it’s a growing business again,” he said. “Young people find vinyl a tactile thing; they find novelty in putting a needle in the groove. They’ve really revived the market.” Speculation about the market for records aside, the Expo exemplified the joy KSPC fosters. “The community is great,” Ke said. “I came to college knowing that I wanted to be involved with music somehow, and honestly the radio is one of the best ways to do it because you get to meet people with all different kinds of tastes.” As students and their Claremont neighbors left Edmunds Ballroom with their newly acquired vinyl records in hand, it was clear KSPC’s community had brought together a devoted society of music lovers.
Life & StyLe
September 27, 2019
reGULArLY SCHeDULeD prOGrAmmING
WUSS pOppIN’
The crying-laughing emoji’s digital, emotional versatility NADYA SIRINGO RINGO This summer, I went through a small, short crisis. It was a tumultuous week where I struggled with everything you could think of on a rising junior’s plate — my internship, my encroaching postgrad career and personal issues simmering on the back burner. Worrying about these problems swirled a jungle juice of uncomfortable emotions together, threatening to gush over the surface. How could I express all the helplessness, desperation and hollow laughter without exercising too much effort? It was so simple, yet enlightening. The crying-laughing emoji was my answer. An incredibly flexible tool, the crying-laughing emoji can channel both ends of the happy-sad spectrum. The emoji you attach to your friend’s name when you tag them in a funny meme on Facebook? Your reaction to your laptop crashing right before you can submit that assignment due in one minute? The millennial generation expressing the increasing likeliness of World War III and the destruction of the Earth? The emoji’s fluidity makes its official name, “Face with Tears of Joy,” feel much too constrained. Whether those tears derive from joy or humiliation, or if that openmouthed smile is genuine at all, is up to the user and receiver. But perhaps one simple emoji isn’t enough to bear all the burdens of a complicated soul — not even when they appear in a chain of three or form the entirety of a paragraph. To compensate, its offshoots, often poorly edited renditions of the original emoji, aim to maximize the emoji’s versatile potential. For example, one notorious edit crops the eyes of the flushed face emoji and pastes them over the original crying-laughing emoji, creating a disfigured laughing face with teardrops that nonsensically fly across. Its lifeless eyes, knit eyebrows and preserved laugh make for a concerning, if not unnerving combination. It no longer represents joy or irony, but rather something deeper. Something more primal. Sometimes the emoji itself isn’t deliberately edited. A popular version of the crying-laughing emoji is a simple, low-quality photo of a deflated crying-laughing emoji pillow. It’s just as soulless as the edit above, but you get the impression that whoever uses or circulates this photo has genuinely given up, stripped of the energy to even rage. It’s almost poetic — you get
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ANNIe WU • tHe StUDeNt LIFe
all of this meaning from a naturally occurring pillow aimed at kids and/or middle-aged moms. Based on its memetic capacity, it seems clear that the “Face with Tears of Joy” might better serve as, say, the “Face with Tears of Exasperation and Hopelessness.” Why? The answer is simple: Young, internet-savvy people are exasperated and hopeless. The internet blesses us with the ability to spread apathetic humor and express emotions without being judged. This kind of humor gives us clout. But the crying-laughing emoji and its subtext also curse us. Nowadays, technology can make it so much easier for us to worry, which in turn makes us feel exasperated and hopeless. We follow people who we can’t help but compare ourselves to. We hear about events, culture and policies that personally affect us. But we’re also so wide-reaching that we cannot individually solve them. The platform of media comes with a cost of being surrounded by so many other people with their own vulnerabilities, along with the possibility of seeing things that hit too close to home. We empathize, truly, but many times we can’t do
anything. So we cry-laugh at things that simultaneously intrigue and paralyze us as we scroll down our feeds. And with the convenience of the keyboard, we can cry-laugh at the click of a button. The crying-laughing emoji doesn’t encompass everything that’s bad in digital media, of course, but it plays a part in exacerbating despair. For what it’s worth, the emoji does inspire genuine laughter, and despite its memes, it can still be used without all the layers of irony. With its emotional accessibility, it’s no surprise that the crying-laughing emoji has a history of influence — it was declared the Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year in 2015. And as the most-used emoji on iOS and Twitter as of 2019, it has cemented itself as the double-edged sword of the digital age, and I don’t think its mark on pop culture will end anytime soon.
How streaming platforms are changing the TV landscape CLAIRE DUMONT Every year, on a designated day in September, TV lovers (including myself) get to park themselves on the couch for three-plus hours and watch the biggest night of winners, snubs and stars: the Primetime Emmy Awards. The 71st Emmy Awards were on Sept. 22 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The two biggest awards of the night, Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Drama Series, were given to “Fleabag” and “Game of Thrones,” respectively. The Emmys are always a night of celebration, and for some, disappointment, but it begs for discourse on how watching TV has dramatically developed and changed the fairness of award shows. After all, of the more than 100 awards given out during the Creative Arts Emmy Awards and the Primetime Emmy Awards, 46 went to shows from Netflix, Amazon or Hulu. The first Netflix original series “House of Cards” premiered in 2013. Since then, Netflix has released more than 200 original shows. Other platforms such as Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and HBO have come out with their own unique content as well. Streaming shows clearly have more freedom when creating their content, allowing them to be more experimental and provocative. Network sitcoms (like “The Good Place” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”) usually fall between 20 and 25 minutes, with the exception of special season premieres or finales, and have restrictions on obscenity and profanity. Streaming comedies, however, (like Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) have the ability to average around 45 minutes and can include more cursing and nudity. This greatly changes the way shows are made and can lead to them being judged on an uneven playing field.
Streaming companies’ ability to reinvent TV production makes them interesting — viewers and judges are much more likely to tune into something that’s never been done before. The increase of streaming platforms has also changed the popularity of network shows. It’s not uncommon for me to extensively recommend a show to a friend and have them check out when I say it’s on “real” TV. Some viewers are less patient and dread having to wait a week to find out what happens next. Despite it not being long since watching TV weekly was the only option, binge-watching is now an integral part of TV culture, and watching every episode of a season in one night is common practice. When I watch award shows, I often haven’t heard about many of the shows nominated, which can be alarming for such a big TV fan. I feel better when I remember that it’s mainly because streaming platforms make so much original content that it’s hard to keep up, let alone recognize every single show. Therefore, it’s necessary for the Emmy Awards to change with the times and the development of TV, and I think this year’s ceremony is a step in the right direction. The definition of a winnable show has changed, and shows like “Modern Family” can no longer conquer the award show stage with one-liners and dad jokes. The Emmys needs to give all kinds of shows a chance to win. The good thing is that the increase in awards for British TV, shows created by and about women and original streaming content proves that there’s not much to worry about in the future of TV. And the increase in streaming services isn’t a bad thing. It’ll take some getting used to. But in the words of Bryan Cranston at this year’s Emmys, “television has never mattered more and television has never been this damn good.” Claire DuMont SC ’23 is TSL’s TV columnist. She’s an intended American Studies major from Manhattan Beach, California. She loves her dogs and cats, Kristen Bell, Reese Witherspoon and talking about TV (obviously).
Nadya Siringo Ringo SC ’21 is a dual cognitive science and media studies major from Jakarta, Indonesia. She’s very passionate about pop music, video games and the Enneagram.
eLAINe YANG • tHe StUDeNt LIFe
reeL tALK
Four movie and snack pairings to satisfy your cinematic and culinary cravings RACHAEL DIAMOND This article contains mild spoilers. It’s hard to beat the simple bliss of watching a great movie while eating a great snack. Together, the two provide a satisfying, mouth-watering and tear-jerking experience in which all the senses are stimulated. Indeed, movies and snacking are the perfect pair. But why should we be so narrow-minded as to limit ourselves to standard movie fare like popcorn and soda? With movies that have themes or important scenes centered around food, the viewing experience can certainly be elevated with culinary pairings. Here are four films that are each fantastic in their own right, but even better when viewed with tailored snack suggestions.
1
“Call Me By Your Name”
The inspiration for this list came to me the last time I rewatched this film. Set in the summer of 1983 in northern Italy, the film is drenched in sunlight filtered through overhanging greenery, including the peach trees in Elio’s (Timothée Chalamet) mother’s orchard. My sister and I thought it would be festive to watch Armie Hammer as the infallibly charming Oliver down glass after glass of apricot juice while having our own juice to sip on. After all, characters all drink from a seemingly endless supply of fresh apricot juice and pick fresh peaches to snack on (except for
Elio, who does a little more than just snacking). So what better way to help transport yourself to the Italian countryside than by snacking on peach pie or cobbler, apricot juice and stone fruit jams made with nectarines, peaches and apricots? By the time the credits roll and you’re sobbing to Sufjan Stevens alongside Elio, you’ll at least have some fruity treats to comfort you.
2
“Phantom Thread”
Set in 1950s London, “Phantom Thread” is the visually breathtaking and deliciously slow-burning story of the relationship between neurotic, controlling dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his muse Alma (Vicky Krieps).
Watching the power dynamic between the two, which often unfolds over scenes centered around food, is intoxicating. Despite being a drama, there are moments in the film that are laugh-out-loud funny, including a confrontation over dinner between the two sparked by Alma’s preparation of the asparagus. While asparagus (prepared with butter, not oil and salt!) is a decent snack pairing for the film, one would be foolish not to also include a mushroom omelette, cooked in ample amounts of sizzling butter. When the climactic omelette-eating scene rolls around, take a bite of your omelette while Daniel Day-Lewis takes a bite of his — just be sure the mushrooms in yours aren’t quite as poisonous.
NAtALIe bAUer • tHe StUDeNt LIFe
3
“Paddington 2”
It’s difficult to get through two hours of watching the most lovable bear (or Hugh Grant in the best role of his career) on the big screen without at least cracking a smile. But it would definitely be impossible if you were simultaneously snacking on a marmalade sandwich. In “Paddington 2,” Paddington Bear is happily settled with the Brown family and adjusting to life in London, until he’s framed for a crime and ends up in prison. Paddington quickly makes friends, however, by teaching the chef how to make his signature marmalade sandwiches. Oranges, a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of cinnamon and sugar are all you need to make Paddington’s orange marma-
NAtALIe bAUer • tHe StUDeNt LIFe
lade. But if you feel like getting creative, jam sandwiches of any flavor would pair perfectly with this sweet film.
4
“Ratatouille”
Perhaps one of the most iconic food-themed films ever, “Ratatouille” follows Remy, a rat with a highly developed sense of smell and a taste for gourmet cuisine. After being separated from his family, he stumbles upon the famous Paris eatery Gusteau’s and, through an unlikely partnership with the restaurant’s garbage boy Linguini, gets to live his dream of being a chef. While ratatouille might be the obvious snacking choice (and, speaking from experience, certainly not a bad one), a scene in which Remy experiences new flavors by eating cheese and strawberries together inspires another snack pairing — a charcuterie board. The film brilliantly conveys the different flavors and their combinations through bursts of sound, colors and shapes when Remy closes his eyes to focus solely on taste. In the spirit of trying new flavors, fill your board with a variety of meats, cheeses, fruits, nuts, jams, crackers and breads and try as many different flavor pairings as possible. Remy and Chef Gusteau would be proud! Rachael Diamond SC ’21 is TSL’s film columnist. She’s a philosophy major who enjoys ranting about movies to anyone who will listen.
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You need to take a road trip with your dad
SEPtEmbEr 27, 2019
Wanted: printing access at Harvey Mudd College MICHELLE LUM
GrEtA LONG • tHE StUDENt LIFE
JULIAN JENAL Houston, we have no problems. That’s what I captioned the photo I took of my dad at a massive meteorite crater, a detour during our cross-country road trip. While the statement was never really true — I’ve had and will always have problems — the sentiment seemed fitting at the time. This was just before my devastating, lonely second year of college, and naturally my relationship with my parents had changed. There was distance — some 2,660 miles, three time zones, different lives. That distance was sometimes difficult to bear; I changed and grew apart from my parents. So when my dad suggested we drive across the country, coast to coast, as a weeklong bonding experience, I said yes. The week had some definite highs, such as seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time and eating roasted brussels sprouts in Memphis, but also some definite lows, such as driving through a storm so bad we couldn’t see the road coming into Albuquerque. We posted pictures of us in various locations: in several hole-inthe-wall restaurants, a road that led nowhere, an Airbnb with a slanted floor and a Gay Street in Tennessee. And through it all, we grew a lot closer again. It was a good experience to have and be able to remember, because college was isolating in
a profound way for me. Despite the close proximity to others, I was frequently lonely. It’s the work of hours in the library or in your dorm room that can pull you away from others and make you lose track of people you care about. Family members, friends from high school, the acquaintance-friends from the first week of college … those relationships begin to fade away. At such a time, it’s important to evaluate your relationships and maintain those that made you happy. This maintenance does not have to take the somewhat drastic form of a week-long cross-country road trip. But it’s important to remember that hard work in the short term can be rewarding in the long run. An important caveat: if a person is abusive or a relationship is toxic, by all means let that relationship fall by the wayside! The relationships I’m discussing are healthy and positive in nature, if perhaps a little dusty from being left alone a little too long. The point is to improve your mental health, not to damage it chasing after something or someone better left alone. And in the case of positive relationships, putting in the hard work can really be worth doing. Humans are social creatures, and the relationships we have with loved ones are a fundamental as-
pect of our mental health. The car trip is really a metaphor of sorts, indicating the level of commitment needed for the process. The solution to fixing fading relationships is not always going to be sitting in a confined space for several days; rather, it’s to put in quality time and effort. This can be as simple as a long phone call or getting coffee. It can take the form of engaging in an activity together that you both enjoy, such as hiking or critiquing bad movies. The point is to foster connection. You’ll find that many people are willing to reconnect with you if you reach out to them. Perhaps the reasons they haven’t reached out to you are the same reasons you have not reached out to them: busy schedules, social anxiety and physical distance. Take this article as an opportunity to reach out to someone you care about that you might not have talked with much recently. And maybe the next time you need to get somewhere, take the scenic route. Julian Jenal CG ’20 is from Pasadena, California. They have two extremely cute pets and a lot of thoughts about international relations, gender, certain television shows and so on.
Jasper’s Crossword: Seeing both sides
JASPEr DAVIDOFF • tHE StUDENt LIFE
ACROSS 1. Muscles above abs 5. All used up 10. Thick noodle in a Japanese soup 14. Name that sounds like its first two letters 15. The IRS, for example 16. Labor Day event, often 17. With 19-across, politely, what body parts Lizzo suggests people walk out the door if he don’t love them anymore 18. William Tell or Salome 19. See 17-across 20. Ted Nugent, in his NRA capacity? * 22. Las Vegas tech conf. 23. Japan or Vietnam suffix 24. Location 27. Like a highway traffic marker 30. Strips for the stage? * 35. Regret 36. ______-Roman 38. Forearm bone 39. Stick ____ the man 41. New line key 42. Push pin
43. Patched with a needle 44. Illegally stream 46. Take to court 47. School dance investigation? * 49. Stunned, forcefully 51. Second try 52. Scientologist Cruise 53. Query 55. Atomic supply and demand? * 62. Reptile’s eye, often 64. Fatty compound 65. Not cool 66. P-P teams, familiarly 67. Supreme Court justice Kagan 68. “____ fool!” 69. Rim 70. Distraction 71. C ____ Charlie DOWN 1. Cop’s target, in crime show lingo 2. Until now 3. “See ya, Sicily!” 4. Composer Rachmaninoff 5. Wedding ring center 6. “Big ____” David Ortiz
7. CEO or CFO 8. Roman emperor who came under fire 9. Move by rail, perhaps 10. Application (for) 11. Ballroom or Bachata at Rains or Roberts 12. Word on a shoppe sign 13. Loch ____ monster 21. S.O.S. responders 25. Advanced H.S. “diploma” 26. Stretched to the max 27. Fresh, as an apple 28. External 29. LinkedIn function 30. Agitation! (at the nightclub?) 31. A throwback kind of style 32. It’s rising quickly, scientists warn 33. At a signal 34. Undisguised, as ambition 37. Made an empty place full again 40. “I’m buying” 45. UK school, or backwards, what a student there might spend 48. Abbey __ (abbr.) 50. Pilot Earhart 52. Friday, September 27 53. US Open’s Arthur ____ Stadium 54. Iditarod vehicle 56. Irk 57. Org. with a say on oil prices 58. Artist Sehgal 59. They take pics 60. Potent prefix 61. “OPEN” wording medium, often 63. Mao ___-Tsung
LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS
It’s late at night, but there are no printers in the dorms. One printer in the building closest to your dorm is inaccessible when the building is closed, and the other printer in that building is out of order. So, you walk across half the campus to complete the print job. You send your prints to the queue, and just when you think that your work is done, nothing comes out of the printer. A minute passes. Then five. Then 10. So, you leave for a while, telling yourself you’ll stay in the area and come back for your prints in a little bit. But two hours pass, and only then do you realize that your documents might have actually printed. And again, you have to walk all the way back to the printer to check on your prints. That’s happened to me here at Harvey Mudd College. And it’s unacceptable. In the past few weeks that I’ve been on campus, I’ve noticed many issues with the accessibility and reliability of printers at Mudd. The school is organized like an elongated rectangle with a group of five outer dorms on the side of campus that’s furthest from the classrooms and a group of four inner dorms adjacent to those outer dorms. There are only five student printers, none of which are located in student dorm buildings. Two of the five printers are located in the Linde Activities Center (LAC), which is between the inner and outer dorms. However, one LAC printer is only accessible when the LAC is open, and the other printer has recently been out of order. This means students often have to walk quite far from their dorms to print papers at the Platt Campus Center, which is relatively close to the inner dorms but a sizable distance from the outer dorms. The two other printing options are located near the classrooms, which are far across
campus from the dorms. At least one outer dorm and one inner dorm should be provided with a printer from the school so printing is more accessible to students working in their dorms. With the nearly $80,000 tuition students are paying to attend Mudd, I’m sure the college can afford to purchase a few printers to make our lives easier. Similarly, when printers are out of order, students might walk a lengthy distance from their dorms, only to find out the printer they walked to cannot even print what they needed. A simple solution would be for the college to provide notifications about printers being out of order through the students-l mailing list or the Mudd mobile application. Another problem is that connecting to printers is a pain. Printing directly to print.hmc. edu from a laptop is extremely unreliable, as a document sent to print.hmc.edu sometimes does not show up in the actual printer’s queue. Most of the time, this problem is resolved with web printing, but sometimes, even when a print job is sent to the queue on a specific printer, it can take more than 10 minutes to print. This is a huge problem for students who are printing time-sensitive materials. Additionally, web printing only allows for one-sided printing, which wastes paper. Since the printers can take such a long time to print out documents, and students may try to print the same document multiple times when printing is not working, there’s often lots of unwanted paper that’s already been printed upon and cannot be reused. Mudd calls itself “one of the premier engineering, science and mathematics colleges in the United States.” It’s ironic, then, that printing can be so frustrating at HMC. The college must improve its current student printing system to make printing more accessible and reliable across campus. Michelle Lum HM ’23 is from San Jose, California. In her short time on Harvey Mudd College’s campus, she’s had some memorable printing adventures.
THE STUDENT LIFE Editorial Board MEGHAN BOBROWSKY, Editor-in-Chief MABEL LUI, Managing Editor MARC ROD, Managing Editor
Senior Staff JAMES KARSTEN, Production Editor HELENA ONG, Senior Design Editor SAM BOVARD, News Designer GRACE SAUERS, Life & Style Designer MARGOT MAFRA SPENCER, Sports Designer TALIA BERNSTEIN, Photo Editor ALYSSA LEONG Photo Editor ANAGA SRINIVAS, Graphics Editor KELLEN BROWNING, Editor-at-Large
JAIMIE DING, News Editor JULIA FRANKEL, News Editor PATRICK LIU, News Associate AMBER CHONG, Life & Style Editor YASMIN ELQUTAMI, Life & Style Editor MOLLY WU, Life & Style Associate DONNIE DENOME, Opinions Editor EAMON MORRIS, Opinions Editor ERIKA SCHWERDFEGER, Sports Editor MADY COLANTES, Copy Chief
TSL’s Editorial Board consists of the editor-in-chief and two managing editors. Aside from the editorial, the views expressed in the opinions section do not necessarily reflect the views of The Student Life. Singles copies of TSL are free and may be obtained at news stands around campus. Multiple copies may be purchased for $0.47 per copy with prior approval by contacting editor@tsl.news. Newspaper theft is a crime; perpetrators may be subject to disciplinary action as well as civil and/ or criminal prosecution.
OFF THE RECORD Tekashi 6ix9ine going to jail Justice served
Tekashi 6ix9ine ratted me out Along with everyone else
Juul CEO steps down Juul going up in smoke?
... replaced by a tobacco exec Still terrible for your lungs.
National Hug a Vegetarian Day It’s today!
National Corned Beef Hash Day It’s also today.
TSL got snail mail From the DOJ!
FOIA-led they denied our request for information
OpiniOns
SEPtEmbEr 27, 2019
PAGE 9
We’re having the wrong conversation on mass incarceration SARTHAK SHARMA The U.S. locks up more people per capita than any other country in the world, according to an online prison database, with particularly devastating consequences for poor people, people of color and the families and communities of those incarcerated. Yet even with much of the media and political attention focused on the enormity of mass incarceration, we are nowhere close to truly taking on the problem. True, we are having a conversation, but it’s the wrong one. When discussing the causes of mass incarceration, politicians are keen to talk about the low-hanging fruit (most popularly non-violent drug offenses and private prisons) but don’t seem interested in thinking about the bigger, more challenging drivers of mass incarceration. As a result, their solutions barely address the problem. The one fact that no Democratic presidential candidate will broach is that the majority of our prison population is actually made up of people serving time for violent offenses. Over half the people serving time in state prisons are convicted of violent offenses, which include murder, assault, robbery, rape and sexual assault, according to Fordham Univer-
sity law professor John Pfaff. Even if more than half the people in prison was released, the U.S. would still have an incarceration rate higher than that of nearly every country in Europe, Pfaff said. Yet presidential contenders completely avoid talking about violent offenses. Consider what they have proposed. One oft-discussed action with unanimous support is to start treating drug crimes less harshly, especially those that are marijuana-related, Pfaff noted. Based on how much politicians talk about the war on drugs and drug crimes, it would seem that nonviolent drug offenders make up a sizable chunk of our incarcerated population. And Americans believe exactly that. A majority of them incorrectly think that half of all U.S. prisoners are incarcerated for drug offenses, according to a Morning Consult and Vox poll. In reality, statistics from a study by Prison Policy Initiative show that drug offenses make up only 15 percent of the people serving time in state prisons. Another popular solution is to shut down private prisons. Sen. Cory Booker, D-Nj., has called them “repugnant,” Sen. Bernie
Sanders, D-Vt., has called them racist and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Ca., has even said phasing out private prisons would be among her first acts as president, according to The Marshall Project. That’s all well and good, and shutting down private prisons is a positive step toward decarceration. But the reality is that they account for less than 8 percent of prisoners in the U.S., based on figures from PPI. It’s understandable why politicians don’t want to talk about releasing violent offenders. Showing more clemency to non-violent drug offenders has broad appeal among Americans; treating violent offenders less harshly does not, according to the Vox poll. But if politicians are not willing to push the boundaries of public opinion, we will never get to addressing mass incarceration. The common perception is that people in prison for violent crimes are too dangerous to be released. But people convicted of sexual assault and homicide are among the violent offenders least likely to commit another crime in the five years after being released, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Justice. Yet it’s they who are usually
subjected to unduly harsh, decades-long sentences. State and local prosecutors have the power to change that by shortening the length of sentences and reducing the number of life sentences handed out. Yet prosecutors currently have vast and unchecked authority over convictions and even enjoy absolute immunity under the law, according to The New York Times magazine reporter Emily Bazelon. She noted that more than 95 percent of criminal convictions are resolved through a plea agreement, suggesting that we must focus on the role of prosecutors in any discussion on mass incarceration. The last few years have seen some positive changes on prosecution, with the rise of progressive prosecutors across the U.S. In 2019, Wesley Bell, a criminal justice professor who demonstrated against the killing of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, became a prosecuting attorney for St. Louis county. Within 100 days, his office had reduced the county jail’s population by 12 percent, its lowest level since 2002, according to a report by The Guardian. Progressive prosecutors like Bell and the high-profile Philadelphia District Attorney
Larry Krasner, among others, have enacted important reforms on the path toward decarceration. But it’s not enough. Lawmakers must introduce legislation to hold prosecutors more accountable. That should include ending absolute immunity for prosecutors and requiring more transparency in their decision-making process, among other things. Meanwhile, public attitudes, which are often responsible for prosecutors’ running and winning on “tough-on-crime” platforms, must shift in favor of restorative and community justice programs. It’s easy to talk about the “low-hanging fruit” of non-violent crimes. But addressing criminal justice reform requires us to fundamentally change the way we think about and treat violent offenses in our society. If our presidential candidates don’t tackle this inconvenient truth in the upcoming debates, it will mean, unfortunately, that they’re not really interested in ending the horror show of U.S. mass incarceration. Sarthak Sharma PO ’20 is from Kathmandu, Nepal. He’s a double major in politics and economics, and he misses being an active contributor to Claremont Crushes.
NATALIE BAUER • THE STUDENT LIFE
no, smoking weed isn’t a personality trait CAMERON TIPTON Hear ye, hear ye, higher-thanthou stoners of the Claremont Colleges. Smoking weed is not a personality trait. There, I said it. Before I am met with too much stoner backlash (bakelash?), allow me to qualify my claim. No, I don’t think there’s anything particularly wrong with smoking weed. Yes, many of my friends do it, and no, it doesn’t make me think any less of them. But there’s a specific subtype of stoner, one we’ll call the “Enlightened Enabler,” who centers cannabis consumption as their main personality trait. Maybe nobody immediately comes to mind, but I assure you all know one. The Enlightened Enabler loves weed. Like, a lot. So much, in fact, that they can’t go more than five minutes without alluding to the fact that they either plan on smoking weed, have recently smoked weed or, assuming they do not mention it, are currently so baked they cannot produce speech. Rest assured, in 30 minutes, you’ll hear all about their experience. You may be thinking to yourself, “That’s all well and fine, so long as they don’t push it on others.” But, see, the thing is, they do push it on others. I’m certainly a proponent of exploration and figuring out what works with you, but no means no, and the same rules of consent that apply to sexual encounters also apply to drug-related encounters. I have experienced this mostly with people who have sampled marijuana but ultimately concluded it wasn’t for them. It’s not uncommon to hear the Enlightened Enabler say something along the lines of, “Oh, you just smoked too much, you should try again,” or, “You felt anxious? That was probably just a sativa, here, lemme give you a super mellow indica.” The problem isn’t the sativa; it’s you, Jerry. One of the more heartbreaking byproducts of the existence of such
specimens is the social ramifications of leaving such a friend group. (If you are one such specimen, you probably had to reread that last sentence a few times; I assure you that was intentional.) Like Ugg boots, kombucha, women’s rights and the many other things people embrace when they’re in style, drug habits are often subject to change. If you belong to a friend group with Enlightened Enablers and ultimately decide you want to stop smoking weed, a severe strain (haha get it) can be put on the friendship, whether that might entail constant subjection to peer pressure, active exclusion from social activities or (in more extreme cases, though not altogether uncommon) a termination of those friendships. I have known many Enlightened Enablers who spoke ill of “friends” of theirs that didn’t smoke, claiming they had “nothing in common.” If someone not smoking means you have nothing in common, you’re more or less implying that smoking is all you are. If you took the time to read this article (especially if you’re an Enlightened Enabler and only read this because you saw “weed” in the title, since I know time for you is like … crazy, man), I want to present some general takeaways. STONERS: BEGIN READING HERE Smoking weed is not inherently bad. Abusing your power as somebody’s friend and pressuring them into consuming weed is bad. Making a drug the majority of your personality is bad. Excluding people from your friend group because they don’t smoke weed is bad. Enlightened Enablers: Take the high road, even when there isn’t a blunt in sight. Cameron Tipton PO ’20 is a goddamn manchild. They love Lana Del Rey just a little too much.
We could all use a bit of flight shame ELLIE WOODWARD-WEBSTER After spending two weeks crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a sailboat, Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg arrived in New York on Aug. 28 to attend the U.N. zero emissions summit, news reports said. I, too, came from overseas that week — flying from London to the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in just over 11 hours to start my year as an exchange student. My decision to fly rather than sail released 1.4 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, according to the myclimate emissions calculator. That’s more carbon dioxide than the average person in Guatemala emits in a year, according to the World Bank. When most of us make decisions about flying, we think about two things: time and cost. But there’s another type of cost that we don’t usually take into account — the cost to the environment. Flying accounts for somewhere between 2 and 3 percent of global annual greenhouse gas emissions, according to Business Insider. With the climate in crisis, we can’t afford to ignore this impact. Unlike Greta Thunberg, most of us don’t have access to a zero-emissions yacht, but Thunberg’s flight-free journeys have raised awareness of the harmful reality of flying. So much so that there’s a new word gaining traction in Sweden — “flygskam” — literally meaning “flight shame,” according to Germany’s international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle. Flygskam is the shame that comes with the knowledge of how bad flying really is for the climate, and then doing it anyway. So far this year, with two foreign holidays and a year abroad
under my belt, I personally have been responsible for emitting 5.6 tons of carbon dioxide. It’s hard not to feel ashamed of that. Yet flying opens up the world — it’s allowed me to visit places I could never hope to otherwise. It’s allowed me to be here, at Pitzer College, more than 5,000 miles away from home. Travel takes us outside of our regional or national bubbles. It gives us perspectives and exposes us to experiences other than our own. I truly believe travel makes the world a better place, one that’s more interconnected, understanding and tolerant. Pitzer agrees: One of its “core values,” according to its website, is “intercultural understanding.” Three bullet points down, however, is another goal: “environmental sustainability.” It’s difficult to reconcile these two aims. On the one hand, the climate crisis is an international problem that needs an international solution — flying facilitates a global and intercultural perspective. On the other hand, flying is a significant cause of the climate crisis. Even the idea of flying to broaden the mind is a privileged position to take. But, my flights don’t just impact me; they impact every person in the world, and everyone in the world, no matter how small their carbon footprint, who will have to live with the consequences. If we hope to slow down climate change, we have to cut down on flying. For many journeys, there are no viable alternatives to flying. A transatlantic crossing via yacht is not practical. For shorter distances, however, we can make a conscious effort to take trains and buses instead of planes. And flight shame can be a useful tool to achieve this. From January to April 2019, passenger numbers in Sweden dropped by 8 percent on domestic flights and 4 percent on international ones, according to DW.
The anti-flying campaign Flight Free USA, which emerged out of a Swedish grassroots organization founded last year, asks people to pledge not to fly for a full year as part of their Flight Free 2020 campaign. The grassroots actions of individuals, however, may not be enough to slow the growth of the airline industry, which, according to the International Air Transport Association, is expected to carry more than 8.2 billion passengers a year by 2037. It’s fair to say that I’m experiencing flygskam, but in all honesty, I’m not about to stop flying altogether. The low prices, the promise of fantastic destinations and the convenience and the time saved is just too tempting. What’s needed to tackle this problem is a structural change. The Chicago Convention, an agreement among 54 nations that permits international travel by plane, prevents jet fuel from being taxed on international flights. However, doing so would raise the cost of a ticket and bring it closer to reflecting the true cost of air travel — a cost for the planet as well as the passenger. To reduce the number of flights domestically, there needs to be a real, viable alternative, both in practicality and cost. Swedes are able to fly less in part because traveling around Europe by train is easy (at least in comparison to the U.S. public transport system). Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has made reducing air travel a goal of her proposed Green New Deal. The idea is to invest in high-speed rail networks across the U.S. until domestic air travel becomes unnecessary. Even with grassroots pressure, there’s a long way to go before flying domestically becomes obsolete. In the meantime, a bit of flygskam could do us all good. Ellie Woodward-Webster PZ ’21 is from Bedfordshire, England. Her interests include travel, dancing and chocolate buttons.
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Sustainability shouldn’t create a class divide
rYA JEtHA • tHE StUDENt LIFE
OTTILIA NUMMELIN The words “environmental” and “crisis” are on everyone’s lips, Fridays are reserved for climate strikes and you can’t find a plastic straw within a one-mile radius. This is all for good reason — we don’t want to die in our mid-40s because we, more so than older generations, didn’t take care of the planet. There’s no simple answer to the question of how to save the planet. After all, many people already recycle, eat less meat and travel less. Yet there’s one way of making an impact on the world that isn’t often discussed: Pass on those sweet deals at H&M and Zara. The fashion industry is responsible for 10 percent of global carbon emissions, according to Forbes. The amount of waste produced by the industry is a devastatingly large number, according to the BBC. But, stepping away from the depths of cheap, low-quality clothing still isn’t a mainstream practice. I’m guilty of going for the cheaper and more convenient option when I could’ve stopped and spared a thought for the planet. But I know I can do better — by buying secondhand and investing in more durable pieces that I know will last for more than one season. Unfortunately, it isn’t that simple. It’s common knowledge that buying secondhand is environmentally friendly and cheap. There’s no new textile waste created, and no new chemicals or dyes that could harm the environment. The deals are pretty sweet, too. You can get an old big T-shirt, almost like your non-existent significant other’s, for $2 and a pair of adorable vintage heels for $5. Yet recently there’s been some debate online as to whether those who can afford to buy new should go for the secondhand option or leave the pre-owned and loved clothing for those who actually depend on places like Goodwill and The Salvation Army. There’s definitely validity to this debate. As the upper middle class goes for the cheap thrift finds, demand increases and prices rise — meaning that those who previously relied on the low prices can’t afford them anymore. Buying secondhand shouldn’t
only be about the unique vintage finds for relatively low prices. For some people, it’s what they need to do to survive. At the same time though, I don’t think the middle class should be banned from shopping at thrift stores. We don’t need more textiles to end up in landfills. But there are other options. Over the past decade or so the fashion industry has seen the rise of sustainable brands — from the H&M Conscious collection (they use obnoxious “greenwashed” marketing to promote their products, but the campaign is still a step in a better direction) to actual sustainable brands like Everlane, Veja and cult favorite Reformation. These companies strive to be transparent about their practices, where the products are produced, who produced them and how big the environmental impact of their products is. But sustainability comes with a price — an expensive one. Often, you can’t find a simple T-shirt for less than $50, and dresses can be up to $300. Personally, I’m a big fan of Reformation — if you ever spot me anywhere, I’m most likely wearing my cream-colored polka-dotted mini dress from the brand. Yet, every time I wear the dress, I can’t get the price tag out of my mind: $250. I’m not here to brag about it. It was an investment I had been thinking about for months, and last April, I decided to make the big purchase. The dress is good quality, the fabric is soft and wearing the dress makes me feel confident. But I do wonder if it’s really worth $250. Sustainability shouldn’t create a class divide; we should be seeking ways to save the planet together. We don’t have much time to change our ways, so I encourage everyone to shop in a more mindful way, whether it be secondhand or new.
SEPtEmbEr 27, 2019
Need-aware keeps out low-income and students of color ANAIS RIVERO A small group of admissions officers sit around a table, deciding the future of hundreds of hopeful young students. You would assume the admissions officers talk about the usual: your community service hours, GPA, leadership positions and maybe your dreaded SAT/ACT scores. But what you might not know is that many colleges will consider your socioeconomic status when deciding whether you deserve a place at their institutions, including Pitzer College and Scripps College. Both institutions practice what is known as a need-aware admissions policy. Under this policy, your ability to pay tuition and how much financial aid you will require is a factor in whether you’ll be admitted. Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College and Pomona College have varying need-blind policies, where one’s financial need is not a factor in the admissions process. For CMC and Mudd, the policy only applies to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. For Pomona, applicants who are U.S. citizens and/or have graduated from a U.S. high school, regardless of nationality, are eligible for need-blind admissions. Need-aware admission policies give the privileged another unfair advantage in gaining access to higher education and scare away first-generation and/ or low-income students who are already unsure about their chances of admission. It’s also a form of financial discrimination, making it even more difficult for already-disadvantaged individuals to gain a place at prestigious universities. “We do accept some students on the edge of admissibility because they can contribute to the costs of an Oberlin education. On the other hand, we invariably find ourselves waitlisting or denying some students each year who are otherwise well-qualified and appealing, due to a high level of financial need,” an Oberlin College admissions counselor wrote in a blog post about the reality of need-aware admissions. The current argument for need-aware admissions policies
is that institutions must know how much money to allocate for financial aid to ensure there’s enough funds in the annual budget to meet the need of their admitted students. This entire situation is nothing short of ironic. You can receive financial help if you are admitted, yet if you need financial help, you might not be admitted to begin with. To make matters worse, in reality, not all colleges that are needaware will even meet your full demonstrated need. Some may make you take out student loans, potentially leaving you with a staggering amount of student debt when you graduate, according to The New York Times. Due to the disproportionate amount of black and Hispanic students who are low-income, according to State of Working America, need-aware keeps higher education white by creating more barriers between people of color and prestigious universities. Here at the Claremont Colleges, we can see the effects of need-blind policies versus needaware policies. Pitzer has a needaware admissions system; it’s also one of the least diverse of the 5Cs in terms of racial and ethnic diversity (behind Scripps, another need-aware college), according to the U.S. Department of Education.
We cannot only commit to diversity when it is convenient. Anais Rivero
Pitzer is also the least economically diverse school at the 5Cs, with the median Pitzer student’s family income being a whopping $216,000, according to The New York Times. On the other hand, Mudd has a need-blind admissions system and is the most diverse institution of the 5Cs, with nearly 70 percent of its student population identifying as non-white and the lowest median family income ($145,400), according to HMC’s own statistics and reporting by The New York Times. Additionally, Pomona and CMC are both more racially and
Ottilia Nummelin PZ ’20 is a Finn from Luxembourg and will probably not stay in one place for too long. She has a place in her heart for fashion and writing bad poetry at 3 a.m.
ethnically diverse than Scripps and Pitzer, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education. As a student who attends an institution that claims to value intercultural understanding and social responsibility, I would expect Pitzer to try to make it as easy as possible for disadvantaged groups to gain access to education. That’s unfortunately not the case. I’m not in a position to speak about the financial situation of Pitzer. But if difficult decisions should be made, they shouldn’t be at the expense of one of our core values. Diversity contributes to the unique community at Pitzer, and it should be a primary goal when the administration considers how to appropriate our budget. It’s unconscionable for us to espouse a commitment to diversity when we’re willing to pass on overqualified candidates from disadvantaged groups because they have a lower socioeconomic background. We cannot only commit to diversity when it is convenient. Switching to a need-blind admissions system is what Pitzer, Scripps and every other college needs to do. Considering financial need in students’ applications only worsens the structural inequalities that minorities and low-income people already face both in gaining admission and when they attend the institution. Predominantly white institutions make minorities feel isolated and tokenized, neither of which will help them feel comfortable. As a person of color, I’m aware that higher education wasn’t made for people like me. Need-aware admissions only perpetuates this idea. If institutions of higher education are truly committed to making college more accessible, they should have needblind admissions and not consider financial need as a factor in admission decisions. In the spirit of meritocracy, we should all have as much of an equal opportunity as possible, and needaware policies will not allow us to do that. Anais Rivero PZ ’22 is from Miami, Florida. She’s interested in politics and Latin American studies. She tells everyone who will listen about being Cuban and drinks three cups of coffee a day on average.
rYA JEtHA • tHE StUDENt LIFE
Political correctness is not a threat to free speech JOHN GIBSON There’s a worrying link between diversity and free speech suppression, according to right-wing media outlets like Fox News and The College Fix. Of course, the media doesn’t word it like that. Most news outlets don’t explicitly link the presence of people of color and other marginalized groups on campus to the repression of freedom. Rather, stories about “political correctness” and nebulous “politically correct culture” squelching free-spirited debate on college campuses are publicized. I suppose the term “political correctness” is just another euphemism. However, complaints on politically correct culture are really just complaints against diversity. Take, just as an example, the 2018 Gallup survey of Pomona College students and faculty concerning perceptions of free speech on campus, where 88 percent of students claimed the campus climate “prevents students/faculty from saying things they believe because others might find them offensive.” At first glance, it appears there’s something deeply wrong with Pomona. If the vast majority of students are being pressured to curtail their voices, then certain viewpoints are silenced, the scope of acceptable discourse is narrowed and the quality of intellectual discourse on campus is lowered. This conclusion, however, is misleading. What is really happen-
ing is that students are socially compelled to speak in a way that includes marginalized groups (because of the 5Cs’ emphasis on diversity), and some people (especially conservatives) feel that this restricts campus dialogue and prevents students from “telling it like it is,” as some politicians famously put it (for example, President Donald Trump and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie). This is evidenced by the fact that students of color were far more likely to support institutional restrictions on certain speech than white students according to this survey.
When people complain that their speech is being restricted, far too often they’re actually complaining about not being able to say things that marginalize others, whether it be intentional or not. John Gibson
Sixty-three percent of black students, 59 percent of Asian students and 55 percent of Hispanic students believe it’s “more important for colleges to prohibit certain speech” compared to just 36 percent of white students.
The fact that many students consider such considerations to be restrictive is a problem. We should view basic human courtesy (speech that validates the lives and experiences of people) as a cherished value at the 5Cs, not as punitive rules that constrain one’s intellectual growth. Just as the freedom to life is much more valuable than the freedom to drive as fast as one wants (which is why we have road safety laws), the acceptance of students of all backgrounds is far more important than the “right” to carelessly or even maliciously target the lives and experiences of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. And yet right-wing and centrist media commentators still castigate PC culture for “silencing” dialogue. This is because political correctness and PC culture restrict dialogue that attacks the identities and experiences of marginalized students when, in the minds of right-wing commentators, no speech — no matter how inflammatory — should be curtailed. Thus, when one looks at news articles about campus free speech — particularly from right-wing sources — PC culture and the “snowflakes” that rigidly enforce it are blamed for incurring a “crisis” in free speech. It’s because students are “offended” that campus speakers are disinvited, that academic staff are fired over politically incorrect comments, that college campus-
es have become little more than leftist boot camps — according to right-wing media. Based on this context, it can be inferred that the debate over “restrictions on certain speech” that Pomona students were debating is actually a debate over political correctness. In other words, students of color value political correctness more highly than white students; a fact that’s not surprising given that the purpose of political correctness is to ensure that human courtesy is extended to everyone, not just dominant, privileged groups. I’m not impressed by the argument that free speech is somehow under attack on colleges like the 5Cs, at least by liberals. When people complain that their speech is being restricted, far too often they’re actually complaining about not being able to say things that marginalize others, whether it be intentional or not. Excluding others is not freedom. It’s oppression. To drive my point home, take a look at what political incorrectness looks like. Trump’s been hailed by his supporters for being “politically incorrect,” for “telling it like it is,” without any regard to the sensitivities of what he refers to as the “establishment.” Based on his inflammatory comments on Mexican immigrants, muslims and other marginalized groups, this is an accurate description of his rhetoric. And the result of “telling it
like it is,” of freeing oneself from the restrictive decorum of political correctness? The right of racial and ethnic minorities to exist in this country continues to be vigorously challenged. People from many predominantly Muslim countries are still being barred from entering the country, and hate crimes have continued to rise. Clearly, political incorrectness has a terrible track record. I prefer the alternative — validating the experiences of all people. And I don’t just prefer it, I need it. For the sake of my friends and classmates who are students of color. Yes, I know that including others means watching what I say and what I write, but choosing one’s words carefully is an invaluable skill in the real world. Being continually cognizant of inequities and oppression can seem tiring to white men like myself — especially since individually, one cannot do much to completely upend said inequalities. But it’s necessary for justice. We should all want to make our classmates feel welcomed and not excluded. Just by watching one’s words and being empathetic, people can collectively go a long way towards making the world a better place. John Gibson PO ’22 is from Kayenta, Arizona. For the past month, he’s been obsessed with the TV show “Gravity Falls,” and he also loves the ice cream flavor cookies and cream.
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September 27, 2019 tA’S tImeOUt
U.S. women’s soccer takes World Cup title twice in a row, but there’s a bigger fight ahead
COUrteSY OF JAmIe SmeD
megan rapinoe, co-captain of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team, led her team to victory during the World Cup and continues to fight for equal pay.
DANNY TA This past summer, the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team successfully defended its World Cup title in record-breaking fashion. But besides their opponents on the pitch, they also had to face some disgruntled critics: one particular president and their own soccer federation. It started with their first match, a date with the lowest-ranked nation in the tournament, Thailand. To say that the U.S. dominated the game would be an understatement. The Americans defeated Thailand 13 goals to none, setting the record for most goals scored in a single Women’s World Cup match. But despite its strong first showing, the team’s impressive start was met with widespread criticism on social media. Former Canadian national team players expressed disapproval of the Americans’ celebrations for later goals in the game. Some fans and TV analysts also called the team “classless” for continuing to attack even when they were well ahead, according to NBC Sports. Although the strategy was
roundly criticized as disrespectful, the Americans’ reasoning for continuing to take shots on goal is not incomprehensible. In the group stages of a tournament, a point system is used, where teams earn three points for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss. In special cases where teams are tied on points, goal difference — calculated by subtracting the total number of goals scored on a team from the total number of goals it scored — is used as a tiebreaker. Many teams in the past have missed out on qualification to the knockout stages because they had a lower goal difference than another team. Later, in an interview with soccer magazine “Eight by Eight,” U.S. co-captain Megan Rapinoe said she was “not going to the fucking White House.” if the Americans won it all. President Donald Trump responded to Rapinoe on Twitter, telling her to win first before talking and that she should never disrespect the country, the White House or the U.S. flag. In the past, Rapinoe has been vocal about her disapproval of the
current administration. She was the first female athlete to follow ex-NFL player Colin Kaepernick’s lead in taking a knee during the national anthem, according to NBC Sports. Unfazed by Trump’s comments, Rapinoe led the U.S. to a tight 2-1 victory over France, the tournament host, in the quarterfinals. The U.S.’ semi-finals opponents were the English, who had only conceded one goal in the entire tournament. Forward Alex Morgan scored the winning goal and put on an impromptu celebratory performance where she pretended to sip a cup of tea. Many fans loved the bold celebration, while others, including former English soccer stars, called it distasteful, according to beIN Sports. Although the team’s eventual World Cup win over the Netherlands was a proud accomplishment for the Americans, it wasn’t their only ambition as athletes. In March, the team launched a fight for equal pay. They sued the U.S. Soccer Federation, accusing the organization of paying the women’s team less than the men’s team, even though the women have been vastly more successful, according to ESPN. U.S. Soccer said it couldn’t comment on pending litigation. Although USWNT and U.S. Soccer were in mediation for some time, talks have since broken down and the suit will go to trial in May, according to ESPN. Growth in other areas will be important as well. Support for women’s soccer outside of events like the World Cup and the Olympics is an equally important objective, according to NPR. The team is making progress in this area. Following the World Cup, the National Women’s Soccer League has been shattering viewership and attendance records, according to USA Today. Whether this success is sustainable comes down to increased awareness, media coverage and fan support. As a fan, supporting a team, following the league or catching a game or two is a great way to support the development of women’s soccer. Danny Ta PO ’22 is a math major from Ontario, California. In his free time, he enjoys being frustrated by the inconsistency of his favorite soccer team, Manchester United.
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RUGBY: Foxes encourage newcomers to try sport Continued from page 1 an option for “tough people who are looking to start up a sport,” Martinez said. Rugby’s popularity is also growing around the world, especially after being added to the Olympics in 2016. But the sport’s newfound appeal has been especially noticeable among women in the 5C community. “I’ve heard that our team [has] a … healthier, happier environment and community than other [sports] teams on campus,” Martinez said of the Foxes. Like many of her teammates, Martinez’s first sport was rugby. She started playing in high school, but was initially apprehensive to the idea. After trying it, though, “I knew it was something I was missing ... in my life,” Martinez said.
The team’s rugby director Evan Wollen echoed Martinez’s sentiments. “It’s just an awesome sport. Fun to play and exciting to watch,” he said. “It is also an inclusive game with every body shape, size and physical ability having a position distinctly suited for it. … There is a sense of [camaraderie] you just can’t find anywhere else.” Both Wollen and Martinez encouraged other women to give rugby a try, especially if they’re someone looking for a good workout, to have fun or to join a team of strong women. “Women should try rugby if they want to get rid of any stresses they might have in their lives. They should try rugby if they want to see their bodies achieve great things,” Martinez said. “I’ve tackled girls twice my size, and that alone has boosted my confidence and my perception of what I am capable of doing.”
mAX WeIrAUCH • tHe StUDeNt LIFe
players from the Claremont Foxes Women’s rugby Club practice Sept. 26.
p-p women’s soccer aims for improved postseason, Stags pursue SCIAC title MATTHEW KIM P-P women hope to overcome history of playoff woes Though they’re a regular season juggernaut, postseason luck has been nothing short of nightmarish for the Sagehen women’s soccer team (7-0-1, 3-0 SCIAC) in recent years. The team last won the conference championship in 2015. In the years since, they’ve been bounced from the playoffs twice in penalty kicks, and also fallen 1-0 in the SCIAC final. But head coach Jen Scanlon thinks this year’s squad has “more talent than we’ve ever seen in the program.” “We’re recruiting players and athletes that fit our style so they can come in and be successful and continue to develop that highly tactical, technical and athletic style of soccer we play,” she said. Currently ranked No. 9 in the nation for Division III — the highest billing in program history, according to the P-P athletic department — the team is poised to claim another SCIAC title and, if luck goes their way this time, return to the NCAA tournament. The Sagehens made it to the Elite Eight in 2016 before losing 7-6 in penalty kicks to the University of Chicago. P-P has been dominant thus far, scoring 23 goals to only one conceded, which came in a 7-1 bulldozing of La Sierra. The results are a testament to the Hens’ strong team defense, which is “one of the reasons [they] have the ball so much,” Scanlon said. More stellar performances from goalkeeper Isa Berardo PO ’20 and midfielder Bria VarnBuhler PO ’20, both of whom have already earned SCIAC Women’s Soccer Athlete of the Week honors, will be essential if the Sagehens want to continue this level of play through the playoffs. “At the end of the day, being ranked doesn’t guarantee you anything,” Scanlon said. “It’s more of a motivator for us to continue playing our top notch-soccer.” The Sagehens will next take on Redlands at 11 a.m. at home Saturday.
Veteran Stag squad hopes focus on ‘little things’ will propel them to repeat SCIAC title Sitting at the top of the SCIAC standings, members of the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men’s soccer team (6-2, 3-0 SCIAC) believe they have what it takes to stay in that position and become repeat conference champions. The squad graduated just two seniors last year, so their experience and consistency could give them an edge against younger teams. But the Stags are also looking to their first-year players to step up and fill key roles throughout the season. “Our first-year class is uber-talented,” Adam Singer CM ’20 said. “If we want to be a national championship-caliber team, our first-years are going to need to play like sophomores, juniors and seniors.” Forward William Barton CM ’22 has been a key contributor to the Stags’ attack, netting in three goals and assisting on one. On top of anchoring the defense, Singer has also found the back of the net twice. Given the Stags’ level of talent and experience, Singer said focusing on the “little things” will keep them grounded throughout the season. “Soccer aside, one of the things we do is we take care of our field every day,” he said. “After practice, we sand and seed the field. It creates a culture of accountability.” After rolling Cal Lutheran and Occidental to open the conference slate of games, the Stags took down Whittier 1-0 on Wednesday in their home opener. CMS will next play at Caltech at 11 a.m. Saturday. Athenas make strides to get back on track after 2018’s fifth-place SCIAC finish Fresh off a 2018 campaign that saw the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women’s soccer team come up just short of a SCIAC tournament berth, the Athenas (5-1-1, 1-1 SCIAC) are looking for redemption. CMS has started out hot, winning five of its first six games and
outscoring opponents 12 goals to none in victories. Their only goal conceded in those games came in a draw (1-1) against UC Santa Cruz on Sept. 8. Part of the Athenas’ early success can be attributed to the way they approach games. During the first 10 minutes, the team aims to not allow any shots on goal on the defensive end and to get at least three shots on goal on the offensive end. “We want to be able to come out very strong when we first start so that we don’t keep a slow pace,” defender Samantha Ree CM ’22 said, adding that the team has already met its first goal for the season, going undefeated in preseason. As conference play gets into full swing, the Athenas will look to midfielders Rhiann Holman CM ’20 and Lauryn Jeans CM ’22
to be their primary playmakers. The duo has scored or assisted on nine of the Athenas’ goals this season. The Athenas, who last won a SCIAC title in 2016, play their next conference game at Cal Lutheran at 7 p.m. Saturday, following a 2-1 loss against Occidental on Wednesday. Youth movement well underway for Sagehen men The Pomona-Pitzer men’s soccer team hasn’t won a SCIAC title since 2014, and failed to even make the postseason tournament last year. The struggling squad (2-5-1, 1-2 SCIAC) is off to another slow start this season, but its roster is stocked with young players. With 12 first-years and seven sophomores on the team, the Sagehens said they aren’t worried
about their lack of experience. “Because we have a new and young team, we really get to shape what our younger players’ understanding of college soccer is, and that’s really exciting,” Peter Heckendorn PO ’21 said. “By modeling the right ways to approach practice, and especially the right ways to approach games, it seems like we can create the team we want to have.” Though the team has a losing record, a recent 3-0 drubbing of Chapman — aided by a goal apiece from youngsters Graeme Logan PZ ’23 and Jorge Guillen-Lopez PO ’23 — and a strong performance in a 1-0 nail-biting loss against La Verne have given the team hope for the rest of the season. Coming off of a 1-0 loss to Cal Lutheran Wednesday, P-P will next face off against Redlands at 7 p.m. Saturday.
mAX WeIrAUCH • tHe StUDeNt LIFe
Dylan mcCuskey pO ‘23 kicks a ball past a Chapman player, while Cole martin pO ‘23 and Sora Sato pZ ‘23 look on. p-p ended up winning the game 3-0.
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September 27, 2019
WEEKLY ROUNDUP
Pomona - Pitzer Sagehen football fumbles in non-conference game against George Fox An ill-fated Sept. 21 game saw the P-P men’s football team (2-1, 0-0 SCIAC) fall 26-15 to George Fox for its first loss of the season. The Sagehens still had several strong performances in the Saturday loss; quarterback Karter Odermann PO ’20 threw for 337 yards and two touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, linebacker Jack Storrs PO ’19 made his mark with 10 tackles.
the final goal of the game and Dylan McCuskey PO ’23 assisting on a shot by Daniel Tamkin PO ’21. On Wednesday, the Sagehens suffered a 1-0 loss at Cal Lu. P-P women’s soccer continues to roll through SCIAC foes The Sagehens’ women’s soccer team’s (7-0-1, 3-0 SCIAC) performance in their two games this week left opponents reeling, as they shut out Chapman at home 1-0 on Saturday and did the same to Whittier 3-0 on Wednesday. Saturday’s goal was scored by Anna Ponzio PZ ’22, and Wednesday featured a goal each from Bria VarnBuhler PO ’20, Lily Gane PZ ’20 and Hannah Mandell PO ’23.
Though still inconsistent, P-P men’s soccer notches first SCIAC win It was a slow start to Saturday’s game against Chapman, but after a post-foul free kick by Graeme Logan PZ ’23 found the back of the net in minute 22, the Sagehens men’s soccer team (2-5-1, 1-2 SCIAC) found its footing and came out on top 3-0. Other first-years had impressive showings as well, with Jorge Guillen-Lopez PO ’23 netting
Sagehen volleyball stuck in a rut, drops three straight games It’s been an inauspicious start to conference play for the Sagehen women’s volleyball team, (6-7, 0-3 SCIAC) whose string of losses this week has them still
searching for their first SCIAC win. Both Friday’s match against Cal Lu and Saturday’s at Whittier ended in hard-fought 3-2 defeats. Tuesday’s round against Chapman was no more favorable, ending 3-1 after a difficult first set. Isabel Kelly PO ’20 and Vicky-Marie Addo-Ashong PO ’20 led the Sagehens Tuesday with 14 kills each.
Athlete of the Week Vicky-Marie Addo-Ashong po ’20 Women’s Volleyball Falls Church, VA Despite the trio of losses sustained by the Sagehens this week, Addo-Ashong remained undeterred by the tough competition. In both last Friday’s match against Cal Lutheran and Tuesday’s faceoff with Chapman, Addo-Ashong contributed 14 kills, also leading the team defensively against Chapman with three block assists and one solo block. Saturday’s game against Whittier also saw Addo-Ashong leading the Sagehens’ defense, with six assisted blocks on top of eight kills. She’ll look to get the Hens back on track in upcoming games against Caltech and Occidental.
29-game SCIAC win streak for P-P men’s water polo finally snapped The Sagehen men’s water polo team (5-2, 2-1 SCIAC) had a strong showing Saturday, leaving Cal Lu with a 9-6 victory. They were led by Tony Murphy PO ’20, who contributed two goals to the win. Wednesday’s game against Whittier proved less fortunate, ending P-P’s astounding 29-game SCIAC win streak with a 9-3 loss. Samuel Sasaki PO ’22 scored two goals and Adam Gross PZ ’21 netted the other.
Weekly Calendar Saturday, Sept. 28
Tuesday, Oct. 1
men’s Cross-Country Capital Cross Challenge @ Sacramento, CA
Volleyball Occidental
Women’s CrossCountry the master’s meet @ Santa Clarita, CA men’s Soccer @ redlands Women’s Soccer redlands men’s Water polo mpSF Invitational @ UCLA
Wednesday, Oct. 2 men’s Soccer Occidental Women’s Soccer @ Occidental Friday, Oct. 4 men’s Water polo Air Force Volleyball @ redlands
Sunday, Sept. 29 men’s Water polo mpSF Invitational @ UCLA CHrIS NArDI • tHe StUDeNt LIFe
Naomi Chen-Mallouk PO ‘23 sets a ball over the net to Cal Lutheran. P-P ended up losing the game with a final score of 3-2. on April 6.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athlete of the Week Will Clark CM ’22 Men’s Water Polo Orinda, CA Clark helped lead the Stags to victory in each of their two conference games this week, contributing to blowouts by CMS in both cases. Their 17-2 win over Caltech on Saturday featured three goals and three assists from Clark, who also opened the scoring in the first half. Later, the Stags’ Wednesday face-off against La Verne ended 15-4 in favor of CMS, with Clark contributing a hat trick and one assist to bring the Stags to a 2-0 conference record. CMS now has a week off before playing Whittier and then hosting the Gary Troyer Tournament.
CMS football concludes non-conference play with win over Pacific Lutheran CMS football (2-1, 0-0 SCIAC) started and ended strong Saturday with a 24-17 triumph over non-conference opponent Pacific Lutheran. The Stags’ 17-0 lead in the second quarter ended suddenly with two touchdowns from the Lutes, making it 17-14 at the beginning of the second half. CMS came together to pull ahead for a solid final lead. Running back Garrett Cheadle HM ’20 rushed for 148 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown early in the fourth quarter. CMS men’s soccer defends turf in SCIAC home opener The Stags’ soccer squad (62, 3-0 SCIAC) went up against Occidental on Saturday in what appeared would end as a 1-1 tie. But late goals by Adam Singer
CM ’20 and Jake Allmon CM ’23 in the second half sealed the game for the team and brought them to a 3-1 win. On Wednesday, Ethan Tyng CM ’22 netted the sole goal against Whittier in the team’s first conference game at home. Athena soccer goes 1-1 to open SCIAC play CMS’ women’s soccer team (51-1, 1-1 SCIAC) opened SCIAC play Saturday with a 2-0 win over La Verne, in which Lauryn Jeans CM ’22 and Taylor Arakaki SC ’23 netted goals. Wednesday brought the Athenas their first loss of conference play, with Occidental coming from behind to score two goals less than a minute apart, making for a 2-1 loss. CMS women’s volleyball off to hot start in conference play The Athenas’ volleyball team
(11-2, 2-0 SCIAC) left Redlands on Friday with a 3-0 win and an encouraging start to conference play. The team was led offensively by right side hitter Amanda Walker SC ’20, who had 14 kills. Their Tuesday match against La Verne went to four sets, but the Athenas came out on top 3-1. Stag water polo dominates first week of SCIAC games CMS’ (5-5, 2-0 SCIAC) conference opener Saturday turned into a 17-2 rout of Caltech and featured standout performances from several younger players on the Stags’ water polo team. Will Clark CM ’22 and Kyle Ballack CM ’23 each had three goals in a game that featured 10 different scorers. Wednesday’s performance was similarly impressive, with the Stags beating La Verne 15-4, including three goals apiece from Clark and Ethan Lewis CM ’20.
Weekly Calendar Saturday, Sept. 28
Wednesday, Oct. 2
men’s Cross-Country the master’s Invitational @ thousand Oaks, CA
men’s Soccer redlands
Women’s CrossCountry the master’s Invitational @ thousand Oaks, CA men’s Soccer @ Caltech Women’s Soccer @ Cal Lutheran Volleyball Whittier
Women’s Soccer @ redlands men’s Water polo @ Whittier Friday, Oct. 4 men’s Water polo Johns Hopkins; Connecticut College Volleyball Caltech
Tuesday, Oct. 1 Volleyball @ Chapman
LILLY HAAVe • tHe StUDeNt LIFe
Amanda Walker SC ‘20 of CMS leaps mid-air to spike a ball to La Verne. CMS went on to win the game with a final score of 3-1.