Life & Style
Sports
This year’s Gaypril was marked by a Lavender Graduation, Gaymer Night, and fashion show. Check out TSL’s center spread.
CMS track star Tyra Abraham, once an unheralded walk-on, is aiming for her second NCAA title this spring.
Page 6-7
Page 9
THE STUDENT
LIFE
The Student Newspaper of the Claremont Colleges Since 1889
CLAREMONT, CA
FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2018
VOL. CXXX NO. 11
Pomona #MeToo Debate Featuring Roxane Gay Rife With Tension Olivia Truesdale
Renowned feminist scholar Roxane Gay spoke alongside two others to an overflowing crowd of nearly 300 students at Rose Hills Theater Tuesday, and engaged in a contentious debate about the #MeToo movement. During and after the event, Gay and many audience members expressed frustration that one of the speakers, Northwestern University media studies professor Laura Kipnis, questioned the idea that survivors should automatically be believed, which they saw as a fundamental truth. The debate, hosted by the Pomona Student Union, featured Gay, a well-known writer and sexual assault awareness advocate; Brett Sokolow, an attorney who helps colleges reform their sexual assault policies; and Kipnis, who argues that believing people who report sexual assaults by default denies due process to those accused. It was moderated by Pomona College philosophy department chair Julie Tannenbaum. During the tense and heated debate, each panelist responded to questions about topics such as the #MeToo movement, media coverage of sexual violence, Title IX processes, and Time’s Up, a sexual harassment awareness movement founded by Hollywood celebrities. Gay appeared visibly uncomfortable and frustrated at various points during the discussion, and repeatedly sighed and rolled her eyes while the other panelists spoke. “This event was a mess,” she told TSL following the debate. Gay and many audience members expressed particular frustration and indignation with Kipnis’
Luke Meares • The Student Life
The Pomona Student Union held its annual “Great Debate” Tuesday, featuring (from left to right) famous feminist scholar Roxane Gay, moderator and Pomona College philosophy professor Julie Tannenbaum, Northwestern University professor Laura Kipnis, and Executive Director of the Association of Title IX Administrators Brett Sokolow. Nearly 300 students packed Pomona College’s Rose Hills Theater for the tense discussion.
views. Kipnis argued that Title IX processes on college campuses “resembled [witch hunts].” “‘Believe the survivors’ is something I believe the [supposed] victims [of the witches] would have said at witch trials,” she told TSL. Kipnis also expressed doubt that all Title IX complaints involve non-consensual activity. “People who are oftentimes in consensual situations [are] later
going to a Title IX officer and asking that person to adjudicate what happened between two people during a sexual encounter,” she said. Statements like these earned Kipnis scorn from the audience. “People would laugh when [Kipnis] started speaking,” Elle Biesemeyer SC ’21 said. “[She] was saying all of this awful stuff about how she didn’t believe women.” Kipnis said she presented “contradictory evidence” based on research and personal experience
Pomona May Be Ordered To Pay Legal Fees For Title IX Respondent Laney Pope
Pomona College has been accused of mishandling a sexual misconduct case and may be asked to pay at least $255,672.50 in attorneys fees for a petitioner who sued the school because he believes he wasn’t given a fair hearing. The charges stem from a Title IX case that began in 2015, in which the respondent — who is referred to as petitioner John Doe in court documents — was accused of sexual misconduct. Pomona initially found Doe responsible for sexual misconduct, but Los Angeles Judge Mary Strobel ordered Pomona to set aside their
findings because of alleged mistakes in the hearing process, which prevented Pomona from enforcing the intended punishment of suspension. Pomona did not require the complainant — referred to as Jane Roe in court documents — to attend the disciplinary hearing. Because Roe did not attend, Doe’s defense argued that key testimony was not heard, which could have demonstrated that Doe may not have known the act was non-consensual. In July 2016, Doe petitioned the court “for writ of administrative mandate,” because Doe argued that this procedural oversight could have swayed the verdict of the trial, the court document read.
The court granted this motion, and therefore Doe’s suspension was lifted and no penalties were imposed. Pomona College, Pomona’s Title IX office, Pomona’s external investigators, Pomona’s lawyers, and Doe’s lawyer all declined to comment on the record. Now, Pomona Strobel has issued a tentative decision asking Pomona to cover Doe’s legal fees because Doe’s victory was deemed “an important right affecting the public interest,” the court documents read. Strobel has also asked Doe to provide additional evidence to support the amount he requested in legal fees.
Sagehen Women’s Water Polo Secures Undefeated SCIAC Regular Season Noah Shapiro
The Pomona-Pitzer women’s water polo team (20-10, 14-0 SCIAC) celebrated senior day in a big way April 20 at Haldeman Pool, demolishing Chapman University (10-17, 6-8 SCIAC) 16-2 to cap off an undefeated season against SCIAC opponents. Before the game started, the Sagehens honored the two seniors on the team, Morgan McCracken PO ’18 and Jocelyn Castro PZ ’18. The duo has overseen an extremely successful four-year period for P-P, and delivered the Sagehens’ first SCIAC championship in four years last season. “The keys to our team’s suc-
cess have been, and always will be, teamwork and selflessness, McCracken said. “Playing for something greater than yourself motivates you to work even harder for your teammate next to you.” Sagehens head coach Alexander Rodriguez had high praise for the pair. “Jocelyn and Morgan are the leaders of the team,” Rodriguez said. “Jocelyn is the top center in conference and Morgan is one of the top shooters and assist players.” Entering the day, the Panthers still had an outside shot at making the SCIAC tournament, but needed a win as well as losses elsewhere around the conference
Follow TSL on the web.
to keep their season alive. The Sagehens wasted no time in crushing their postseason dreams. The festivities seemed to energize the seniors early on, as Castro scored 24 seconds into the game and McCracken added a goal of her own just four minutes later to give the Sagehens an early 2-0 lead. P-P refused to step off the gas, putting up another two goals before the end of the first. Castro opened up the second quarter as she had the first, this time needing only 18 seconds to sneak her second score of the day past the Panthers’ goalie.
See UNDEFEATED page 8
http://tsl.news
against the “believe survivors” mantra. “What’s now seen as conservative is to think about due process,” she said during the event. Biesemeyer, however, said Kipnis relied too heavily on anecdotal accounts to establish broader trends of false reporting. Some of Sokolow’s statements also proved somewhat contentious. “I wonder how we safeguard [#MeToo’s] progress against probably what is a fairly small number
of people who would weaponize it,” Sokolow said to the audience. “How do we make sure that people are less able to weaponize complaints? How do we make it a reality that the taint of allegation is not the same thing as the finding of violation?” Rose Gelfand SC ’21 said that Sokolow was “taking up a lot of space for the only man on the panel” and that he was “unnecessarily graphic” in his description of the Aziz Ansari story during
the #MeToo section of the conversation. Kipnis said she felt opposition during the event, but is familiar with tough audiences. “I think that it’s difficult to convey the complexity of the situation … particularly where it seems like there’s a narrative that is already in place,” she told TSL. “One of the frustrations is, you’re talking to a roomful of people who are certain they know the entirety of the situation and actually know a small part of the situation.” Kipnis said her opinions on sexual politics have developed over the course of decades of research. “I’m trying to slow down the momentum and I’m asking us to think harder about how we’re forming evidence … that you guys might not be aware of,” she said. “For me to bring up the other side doesn’t mean I’m not concerned about sexual justice.” Despite the tense atmosphere, Sokolow said he felt the panel was well-rounded. “The cross-section of the opinions on stage gave the audience a nice 360-degree view of the issue,” he said. He said audiences should be “slightly more charitable” to guests that come to campus, even if their opinions are controversial or if the conversation surrounds a contentious issue. But Gay said the panel would have benefited from an additional speaker whose point of view was closer to hers. She said Sokolow’s legal perspective was valuable, but was frustrated with Kipnis’ comments. “I disagree so passionately with Kipnis’ overall stance,” she
See DEBATE page 2
CMS Track Team Athletes Caught Destroying TSL Newspapers Laney Pope TSL has obtained multiple videos of members of the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps track and field team stealing, destroying, and throwing out copies of TSL on multiple occasions from the Collins and Malott Dining Halls. “Newspaper theft is a crime and a blunt attempt of censorship,” according to the Student Press Law Center, a legal advocacy organization supporting student journalists and newspapers. “Even in the internet/ digital age, newspaper theft presents a serious threat to the viability of the student press community.” Campus Safety considers the incident theft and a violation of California Penal Code section 490.7, and has “documented the incident in our Clery daily logs,” Director of Campus Safety Stan Skipworth said. Head CMS track coach Glenn Stewart, distance coach John Goldhammer, and athletic director Terrance Tumey all declined to comment on the matter. None of the athletes captured in the video and identified by TSL responded to repeated requests for comment. The thefts are also in violation of TSL policy that single copies are free, while additional copies cost 47 cents. This policy is printed in the newspaper and is also on TSL’s website. The policy was implemented in April, after TSL learned of the thefts, according to TSL Editorin-Chief Meghan Joyce SC ’20. The tumultuous relationship between the CMS track team
Like us on facebook: facebook.com/thestudentlife
Samuel Breslow • The Student Life
Several ripped up copies of TSL sit in the recyling bin outside Collins Dining Hall. Members of the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps track team have been caught stealing, destroying, and throwing out copies of TSL on multiple occasions.
and TSL seems to stem from TSL’s coverage of the team’s suspension for an alleged naked assault in February 2018, Joyce said. “The fact is that we report the truth, and the truth isn’t always flattering,” she said. TSL has been in contact with Campus Safety and administrators at Claremont McKenna College, where the majority of the thefts occurred, Joyce said. “Claremont McKenna Col-
@TSLnews
PLEASE RECYCLE THIS PAPER.
@TSLnews
lege takes all reports of potential misconduct seriously. We are in the process of reviewing these reports, and we are committed to taking appropriate action based on our findings,” CMC spokesperson Peter Hong wrote in an email to TSL. “As an organization, we were very disappointed to see the students that we are trying to serve with our journalism censoring us,” Joyce said. NEWS................................1 OPINIONS........................3 LIFE & STYLE......................5 SPORTS.............................8