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Page 10
THE
STUDENT
LIFE
The Student Newspaper of the Claremont Colleges Since 1889
CLAREMONT, CA
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2017
VOL. CXXIX NO. 2
Pitzer Hosts Claremont Mayor in Ceremony to Affirm Diversity Natalie McDonald
Courtesy of Liam Brooks / Pitzer College
Claremont Mayor Samuel Pedroza signs a resolution affirming the city’s commitment to diversity at Pitzer College’s Benson Auditorium on Friday, Feb. 3.
Students Scrutinize HMC Program’s Defense Industry Partnerships Alex Kleinman In the basement of the Parsons Engineering Building, glass conference rooms line the hall, their walls covered in mathematical formulas and scientific scrawl. Inside these rooms, clusters of Harvey Mudd College students tinker with 3D printers and tool kits. Welcome to Harvey Mudd Clinic, a program in which small teams of student engineers, scientists, and mathematicians work with corporate, national laboratory, and non-profit sponsors to develop solutions to real-world problems. The first of its kind, the Clinic program has enabled students for more than 50 years to make breakthroughs in biotechnology, energy, computer science, aerospace, and defense. In recent years, the Clinic program’s relationship with the defense industry has been a contested issue on HMC’s campus. Defense contractors Northrop Grumman, which manufactures U.S. military drones and missiles, and Raytheon, the world’s largest producer of guided missiles, are regular participants in the Clinic Program. Connor Stashko HM ’17, whose Clinic project works with the cancer center City of Hope on cancer research, believes that the Clinic Program’s cooperation with the defense industry conflicts with HMC’s mission. “I think it’s a betrayal of the mission statement [because] the mission statement [seeks] to produce engineers who are cognizant of the societal impact of their work. Meanwhile they’re recruiting students to defense contractors,” Stashko said. Professor Kash Gokli, director of the engineering Clinic, disagrees. The mission statement
“doesn’t say you shouldn’t do that work, it’s just that you better understand it before you do it,” Gokli said. Coco Coyle HM ’17, an engineering major working on a biomedical Clinic project, feels that Gokli’s interpretation of the mission statement is problematic. “They expect us to consider the impact of our work on society but also do nothing about it,” Coyle said. “So in the midyear report that you write at the end of the fall semester, there’s a section where you’re supposed to talk about the impact of this project on society, but it kind of feels like lip service, like ‘we know this is in our mission statement so we want you to think about it but then never return to it again and don’t do anything about it.’” None of the Clinic projects are termed classified, meaning that they do not involve extreme weapons. According to Barry Olsan, director of corporate relations and Clinic coordinator, most Clinic projects are benign. “Someone could say, ‘boy, the national laboratories, they make nuclear weapons,’” Olsan said. “Well, for eight years we’ve worked on projects in nonproliferation; tons of students wanted to be on those … nothing to do with weaponmaking but to do with weapon protection so we’re more secure.” A c c o rd ing to Coyle, the Clinic Program charges industry sponsors approximately $50,000 to participate. Coyle thinks that accepting money from Northrup Grumman and Raytheon does not represent the values of Harvey Mudd or that
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A mural stands on the western wall of Pitzer College’s Stein Atrium, located in Benson Auditorium. Painted by Los Angeles artist Paul Botello in 1996, it depicts Pitzer students, faculty and staff protesting California Proposition 187, which disqualified undocumented immigrants from receiving public benefits, including public healthcare and public education. A figure at the center of the image holds a sign that reads, “Unity. Tolerance. Love.” Last Friday, Feb. 3, members of the Pitzer community gathered beside Botello’s mural to witness Claremont Mayor Samuel Pedroza sign a resolution affirming the city’s “long-standing commitment to diversity and safeguarding the civil rights, safety and dignity of all people.” The Claremont City Council passed the resolution on Jan. 24 in a 3-1 vote with one abstention. “Without student activism, we wouldn’t be here,” Pitzer Student Senate President Josue Pasillas PZ ’17 said at the beginning of the event, “and that is why this week we celebrate the student voice at Pitzer College. Here, the student voice is a catalyst for change.” The resolution was initially proposed on Dec. 4 by Pitzer Sen-
ate Secretary Shivani Kavuluru PZ ’19, after Pitzer College declared itself a sanctuary college on Nov. 30. “I thought we needed to write a resolution supporting undocumented students as well as the undocumented community in Claremont,” Kavuluru said in an interview with TSL. “It’s necessary for student organizations to let the community to know that we are here for them.” While the original resolution calls for Claremont to be declared a sanctuary city, the resolution signed on Friday does not. “We have a very active public,” Pedroza said. “We knew there would be some pushback, so we worked with staff and students to come up with language that was absolutely 100 percent defendable.” Furthermore, according to Anne Turner, director of human services in Claremont, the legal definition of “sanctuary city” remains unclear. Turner worked with the city attorney to draft the resolution. “Why would you ever commit, as a government institution, to a policy that has no definition?” Turner said. “By labeling yourself a sanctuary
See MAYOR page 2
Despite Top Ranking, PO Financial Aid Draws Criticism Marc Rod Pomona College was ranked first for “Best Financial Aid” by the Princeton Review in its book Colleges that Pay You Back: 2017 Edition. The Princeton Review ranking “confirms Pomona College’s strong commitment to making a college education accessible and affordable,” wrote Pomona Vice President and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Seth Allen in an email to TSL. Fifty-seven percent of Pomona students receive financial aid. The average financial aid award is currently $48,034, according to the 2016-2017 Common Data Set posted on Pomona’s website. Pomona practices need-blind admissions for domestic students and provides need-based financial aid in the form of grants, scholarships, and work stipends. International student admissions are need-aware.
“A financial aid program that meets 100 percent of the demonstrated need of our students is the single most important financial priority for Pomona College,” Allen wrote. According to its website, the Princeton Review ranks colleges based on 80-question surveys of about 375 students from each of the 381 schools ranked. Despite this ranking, some Pomona students are dissatisfied and frustrated with their experiences with the Office of Financial Aid (OFA). Some students feel that the office could give larger financial aid awards, particularly to students whose families have annual incomes of $20,000 or less. “I have had Quest students tell me that, compared to other colleges of similar caliber, Pomona doesn’t do the best for its lowest income students. It might do well overall, but … for its lowest income students, it doesn’t do that well overall,” said Teofanny Saragi
In Memoriam: Willie Zuniga HM ’17 Elinor Aspegren Willie Zuniga HM ‘17, a mathematical physics major with a concentration in philosophy, is remembered by friends and faculty as kind, friendly, and supportive. Zuniga died Thursday, Feb. 2 in his suite at HMC; his cause of death is unknown. “Willie was the kind of guy that made it clear that he wanted to interact with you and that he wanted you in his universe,” Sam Martin HM ’17, one of Zuniga’s close friends, said. “He always had a big old smile on his face. Whenever he’d see you, he’d just give you this big old greeting. Even a short just ‘yo, what’s up’ interaction was enough to make your whole day better.” Zuniga was known to both friends and the community as
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either “Willie the Wiler” or “Prof. Willie” because of his ability to make friends and his readiness to help anyone on campus. “He was this guy who … loved what he was studying all the time, even when it was hard for him, but also a good friend who you really wanted to hang around forever,” said HMC physics professor Greg Lyzenga, who taught Zuniga in several classes. Zuniga was an active member of Chicano Latino Student Affairs (CLSA) and the HMC Society of Professional Latinxs in STEM. Viviana Bermudez HM ’18 first got to know him as a CLSA mentor. “I remember how he always expressed his willingness to help with any and every situation,”
See IN MEMORIAM page 3
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PO ‘18, co-president of Quest, a mentorship and support program for low-income students. According to Saragi, students struggle to find jobs to meet workstudy requirements and must work two or even three jobs, some off-campus. “We are full-time students, so it’s hard to worry about meeting our full work allotment,” Saragi said. Other students, like Laura Gonzales PO ‘19, find OFA to be difficult to work with and not accommodating. “There’s kind of a ‘we don’t care’ vibe” in the office, Gonzales said. Gonzales also often finds excess charges, sometimes up to $500, on her bills and struggles to have them removed. “When I went to talk to them, they didn’t know what the [$500 charge] was from and said, ‘just pay it,’” Gonzales said. “If I hadn’t pushed for it and been really ag-
gressive, I would have been stuck with the bill ... It’s always just such an annoyance to deal with that office.” Saragi echoed Gonzales’ frustrations. Like Gonzales, she and other Quest members often find it difficult to connect with financial aid officers able to answer specific questions about their financial aid packages. OFA needs to be “more attuned to the needs of the students, especially those who have difficulty reaching out on their own, since this is such a difficult process,” said Saragi. Bethel Geletu PO ‘17, one of two student representatives to the Admissions and Financial Aid Committee, said she frequently hears that students have issues with communicating with OFA. “There’s a lot of problems with lack of communication or being responsive or being accessible to
See FINANCIAL AID page 2
Waves of Phishing Emails Target Claremont Colleges Julie Tran An unusually large number of phishing emails have been targeting 5C addresses, according to an email sent by Claremont McKenna College Assistant Director of Information Services Bruce Frost to students, faculty, and staff on the morning of Jan. 23. According to Frost, phishing emails within the 5Cs have targeted the email accounts of staff, faculty, and students since the beginning of January. According to Resident Technology Assistant Christian Rafla CM ’18, “A phishing email is
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basically any email that may look harmless, but in reality, asks you to enter your credentials—eBay, Paypal, Student Accounts, etc— onto their fake website, which then submits your personal information to their servers.” “Hackers send out phishing emails because they assume most people don’t know how to differentiate between fake and real emails,” Hafla said. The recent uptick has raised concerns among the 5C community about the consortium’s cybersecurity and its ability to collectively protect the private
See PHISHING page 3
NEWS................................1 LIFE & STYLE.....................4 OPINIONS........................7 SPORTS.............................9
NEWS PAGE 2
FEBRUARY 10, 2017
THE STUDENT LIFE
CLINIC: Concerns Surface Over Alleged Conflicts With Personal, Institutional Values of its student body. “While we’re not designing a super destructive missile, the project is still supporting those activities. How can you accept money from these people?” Coyle said. “To me, it just feels like the
money is way higher than social impact right now. That really upsets me. It feels really contrary to Mudd’s values.” For students and faculty alike, the question extends to whether it is the role of the administration to ban these companies from campus. According to Gokli and
Olsan, there are many students who are interested in working for the defense industry, and Clinic should not prevent those students from doing so. Only three of the 26 engineering Clinic projects this year are defense or aerospace related. “What we believe in are choic-
es for our students,” Gokli said. “So if there are other students who don’t want to work there, they don’t have to. And there are very few of those projects anyway.” But according to Stashko, the larger issue is that “there’s not much of a conversation on cam-
Kyla Smith • The Student Life
Senate Briefs Associated Students of Claremont McKenna College The Associated Students of Claremont McKenna Senate conducted their third meeting of the semester on Monday, Feb. 6. The session began with a customary approval of the prior week’s minutes and committee updates. The first substantive item was an address given by guest speaker Michelle Chamberlain, the dean for student opportunities. Another guest speaker, Dean Kevin Arnold, the executive director of scholars communities, was also invited to Senate to speak. Both speakers engaged with senators and were able to provide information that has either been confusing or overlooked. Next was a discussion of school policies about giving gifts to building attendants and members of the Claremont McKenna (building/ grounds) staff. Many students had raised concerns in the past about not being able to give gifts of cash to their dorm attendant during the holiday season. These concerns were echoed at Senate and many pushed for a resolution that pushes the administration to revise the policy. After discussion among senators, three reforms were proposed. None of them allowed students to give direct payments to dorm attendants but they did allow them to give some sort of gift or service back. The last and most noteworthy item was a formal vote on changes to the ASCMC Constitution. The proposed changes to the constituent, crafted mainly by ASCMC President Nicky Blumm ’17 and President Pro-Tempore Thomas Schalke ’18, have dominated attention during all of this semester’s senate meetings. The
culminating vote favored the changes. These changes will, among other things, reorganize the ASCMC bureaucracy and remove the voting privileges of multiple members of the ASCMC exec board. After much work, the exec board and senate were pleased to accomplish the changes they wanted to the constitution. Scripps Associated Students The Scripps Associated Students Senate met on Sunday, Feb. 5, for the third time this semester. The meeting started with a number of updates from members. The Sustainability Chair reported that the Claremont Colleges Power Down challenge was beginning Feb. 13, and that the school should be installing lids on recycling bins soon. The senior class representatives said that they are continuing to hold meetings in regard to commencement and the Student Activities Chair said work was progressing with hosting Spring Fling. Other updates included spring elections information, mental wellness and title IX programming, and planning an event for solidarity with religious minority groups. The Senate then moved on to approving proposals and budget requests. A vending machine to be placed in the Student Union was approved, as was funding for the Kohoutek Music and Arts Festival at Pitzer. Towards the end of meeting, the Senate also laid out the schedule for SAS restructuring that will take place this spring. -Jack Carroll CM’18
Sudoku
By Elizabeth Leader SC ’19
pus about doing work for defense companies.” This semester, HMC students attempted to form a task force that would have a say in which companies come to career fairs. Stashko would like to see a similar reform in the Clinic program. “I think right now there’s not really any transparency at all,” he said. “With Clinic, it’s just the administration that decides who’s coming to campus and you can’t really have any say in it at all.” Gokli and Olsan said they had never considered the possibility of having a student task force involved in selecting industry partners. “Let me put it this way,” Olsan said. “We have to approach 1000 companies to get 50 good projects every year. It’s not easy--takes a lot of time for a bunch of dedicated people here.” Gokli and Olsan repeatedly emphasized that no student is forced to work on a particular Clinic project. “This has been going on for decades; there’s always been kids that don’t want to work on a certain type of industry. They don’t have to,” Olsan said. Coyle disagrees. “If I were placed on one of those projects, I’d have to complete the project to graduate and would have no choice in the mat-
ter, even though I’d find the idea highly offensive,” said Coyle, who is interested in environmental engineering but said she was not placed on either of the two environmental projects this year.
“
While we’re not designing a super destructive missile, the project is still supporting those activities. How can you accept money from these people? [...] It feels really contrary to Mudd’s values. Coco Coyle HM ‘17
“
Continued from Page 1
“I was placed on a project that is far out of my skill set and out of my interests, which I have to work on for an entire year. It was really difficult to feel that not only does the school not value me, they don’t value environmental justice,” Coyle said. This is a developing story.
FINANCIAL AID: Pomona Pledges Increased Transparency, Clearer Communication Continued from Page 1 a lot of students,” Geletu said. “Even though the financial aid office itself may be quite good” in terms of the size of financial aid packages, “it may not please all students.” Student comments to TSL about OFA were consistent with the results of a 2015 survey by Jun Park PO ‘16, as well as a survey by Muhammad Jalal PO ‘16 and Fiker Bekele PO ‘16, the 2015-2016 student representatives for the Admissions and Financial Aid Committee. The surveys found that OFA was not very accessible to students and their families, according to an Oct. 2, 2015 article in TSL. According to Allen, OFA is working to improve its responsiveness to student and family requests by adding an additional financial aid counselor and meeting with students. “My expectation of the financial aid office is that they are responsive to student and family requests. An important aspect of their job is to provide counsel to current and prospective students, as well as their families,” Allen wrote. Incoming Director of Financial Aid Robin Thompson, who is currently Pitzer College’s Director of Financial Aid, also aims to improve communication between OFA and students through additional training for
financial aid staff and student events and activities. “I will work with staff to evaluate the counseling structure of the office, and assess staff needs for cross training so that all staff are familiar with the different functions of the office to help counsel and resolve student and parent questions and concerns when
they arise,” Thompson wrote in an email to TSL. Associated Students of Pomona College (ASPC) is working to launch an anonymous online forum for students to share and compare their experiences to help navigate issues with OFA, according to ASPC Vice President for Finance Olivia Dure PO ‘17. Dure
expects to launch the forum later this semester. Geletu and Alejandra Chávez PO ‘19, the other student representative to the Admissions and Financial Aid Committee, will also organize a forum on Mar. 4 for Pomona students to share their thoughts and concerns about financial aid.
Dominic Frempong • The Student Life
MAYOR: Heartened by Diversity Resolution, Students Continue Call for Sanctuary Status Continued from Page 1 city, you’ve now put yourself in a box that you may not want to be in, especially when that becomes a defined term. “By affirming values,” Turner continued, “you speak to the core of creating a safe place. You speak to the core of creating equality and inter-group harmony … And that is so much bigger.” Pasillas agrees. “The language in the resolution affirms the city’s commitment to diversity,” he said. “We shouldn’t focus on [the absence of] one word.” Councilmember Opanyi Nasiali, who has lived in Claremont for 30 years, voted no on the resolution because he thinks immigration policy is the responsibility of the federal government. “Our effort should be to petition the federal government,” Nasiali said. “The federal government should have a comprehensive immigration law and policy ... We can’t solve it here at our level.” Nasiali would like the Claremont City Council to follow the
lead of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and petition the federal government to support the BRIDGE Act, which seeks to preserve the DACA program. Nasiali made a motion to draft such a petition at the City Council meeting on Jan. 24, but it was defeated in favor of the resolution passed later that night. “I support the DACA program 100 percent,” said Nasiali, who came to the United States on a student visa from Kenya in 1970. “Those people did not break immigration law.” Meanwhile, Kavuluru continues to push for a sanctuary city. She is a member of Damage Control Action Network (DCAN), a 5C organization that is urging the City Council to pass an ordinance declaring Claremont a sanctuary city. “Hopefully we will be able to persuade the City Council members that they are not going to be alone if they declare Claremont a sanctuary city,” Kavuluru said. “There are other cities doing this. Our little city of Claremont should be taking this stance with pride.” But Kavuluru recognizes that declaring Claremont a sanctuary city could have negative conse-
quences. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 25 that withholds federal funding from sanctuary cities. Claremont received about $491,000 in federal funds throughout 2015-16. Although the resolution signed on Friday does not declare Claremont a sanctuary city, it affirms that “it is the past and current practice for the Claremont Police Department not to conduct immigration enforcement raids, and not question, detain, or arrest individuals solely on the basis of their being in the country illegally.” The Claremont Committee on Human Relations, originally formed in 1996, reconvened following the 2016 presidential election. Modeled on the County of Los Angeles Commission on Human Relations, its purpose, as summarized by Turner, is to “create positive and peaceful intergroup relations.” Turner cited increased tensions in the community following the election, including a hate letter sent to a Pomona city mosque, as the impetus for reconvening the committee, which has played a less significant role in the city since 2009. Other speakers at the signing
included Nigel Boyle, Pitzer interim dean of faculty and vice president for academic affairs; Norma Martinez, representative for Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis; Enrique Robles, caseworker manager and field representative; Congresswoman Judy Chu; Larry Schroeder, mayor pro tem; and Councilmember Joe Lyons. Pitzer senior class president Chance Kawar PZ ‘17 announced that the senior class gift will contribute to the Arnaldo Rodriguez Scholarship Fund, which provides financial aid for undocumented and DACAmented Pitzer students. Jose Calderon, Pitzer professor emeritus of sociology and Chicano/a-Latino/a Studies, also delivered remarks. “The faces on this mural represent our targeted communities today,” he said. “The vote by the Claremont City Council was a big victory for our targeted communities and adds to the large number of cities, colleges, schools, churches, unions, and neighborhoods that are responding to a heightened tension and climate of fear created by policies emerging on a federal level.”
NEWS FEBRUARY 10, 2017
THE STUDENT LIFE
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Prior to Ninth Circuit Court Ruling, 5C Groups Decry Immigration Ban Amanda Larson In response to the widelyprotested immigration ban implemented by President Donald Trump’s White House, students of the Claremont Colleges mobilized in demonstrations supporting affected Middle Eastern and Muslim folks. Enacted on Jan. 27, the executive order blocked citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days. Since then, the Ninth Circuit Federal Appeals Court has overturned the implementation of the ban. The administrations of the Claremont Colleges offered their support to students in letters sent out to the community, condemning the unconstitutional nature of the order and providing available resources for impacted students. Though there are no international students from the affected countries currently at the 5Cs, several students have family and friends living in the affected countries. Muslim Student Association President Rohma Amir SC ’18 described how, immediately following the executive order, she reached out to the college deans for institutional support. “[MSA] had a big dinner on Tuesday,” said Amir. “We sent out an invite to all the Deans, and all the faculty that had expressed allyship, and some student leaders as well. We had this really big dinner, and we told them that we have some events in the works, and we’re trying to delegate these faculty members to specific committees.” When asked about the institutional support she is receiving, Amir said, “Right now, our main focus is supporting international students that may feel worried.” “We’re trying to reach out to the Deans and have a dialogue with them about how they can bet-
ter support us,” Amir continued. “Students–not just at the 5Cs but at college campuses in general–are worried about going home for the summer. So we’re trying to see if people can have housing for the summer, specifically if they’re from affected countries or Muslim majority countries.” Amir is also working to organize a “Know Your Rights” workshop for Muslim students, collaborating with the Damage Control Action Network (DCAN), one of the organizations working to politically mobilize students against Trump’s agenda on the local level. DCAN founder Shayok Chakraborty PO ’19 commented on the difficulty of combating the federal ban. “We are partnering with the Muslim Students Association for a Know Your Rights workshop here, and we are going to reach out to the mosque and the Islamic Center of Claremont and CAIR – the Council of American Islamic Relations – to do that,” Chakraborty said. “But in the sense of local governmental action, there’s very little we can do.” In the days immediately following the executive order, numerous Claremont students traveled to Los Angeles International Airport and Ontario International Airport to protest on behalf of those affected by the ban. Middle Eastern Student Association (MESA) Co-President Chance Kawar PZ ’17 wrote in an email to TSL, “I think there is some optimism in the fact that there are so many people in the community reaching out to us, [Middle Eastern students], to offer support and take a public stance against what is happening.” MESA is one of many organizations on campus looking to support affected students during this time. “We helped to push for the designation of Pitzer College as a sanctuary college and were also vocal
Donovan New • The Student Life
Hajar Hammado PZ ‘18 shares her life story during a Middle Eastern Student Association meeting in Skandera Hall at Pitzer College on Feb. 8.
in the discussions regarding the recent resolution adopted by the Claremont City Council,” Kawar wrote. “Many of us still have family living in the Middle East and are worried about the long term implications of this ban.” The purpose of MESA is not to politically organize but to provide a space on campus for Middle Eastern students to share their experiences and stories with one another. Its continued sup-
port of those affected by Trump’s executive orders has been echoed by other organizations on campus. In another show of support, Claremont McKenna College student organization ¡Mi Gente! partnered with CMC Amnesty International and Young Progressives Demanding Action: Claremont to host an event where students could call and write their senators in opposition to the executive order.
IN MEMORIAM: Peers and Faculty Remember Zuniga for Warmth and Compassion Continued from Page 1 she wrote in a blog post on Feb. 5. “I knew I could count on him for anything.” Zuniga was the first person in his family to attend college, and Lyzenga remembered that “he had a tremendous cheering section.” He was also an inaugural member of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) Program, an initiative that aims to increase faculty diversity at the 5Cs by supporting underrepresented students as they pursue careers as professors. Zuniga hoped to pursue a doctorate in physics and become a professor “who could have a meaningful impact on students lives,” according to HMC’s website. “I must be aware of the issues that hinder underrepresented groups to success and combat those issues on campus when I see them come up,” Zuniga wrote about the fellowship in an article published on the HMC website in June 2015. “It really helps motivate someone when they have a person in their life who went through what they’re going through, and who can be there for them as a mentor and a friend.” Zuniga was named a proctor for Atwood Residence Hall at the beginning of his senior year, but Anissa Deo HM ’17 said people had considered him a de facto proctor for some time. “He would take care of others, and just make sure that they were okay,” Deo said. Matthew Calligaro HM ‘20 agreed. “He was one of the most approachable proctors. He made us feel more comfortable adjusting into Mudd,” Calligaro said. Friends and faculty hope to learn from Zuniga’s positive outlook on life. “Just about anybody can learn from him how to stay positive and how to be a person whom people will look forward to seeing,” Martin said. “He was a fun and exciting guy to be around.” Zuniga is survived by his mother, father, and two younger brothers. His parents have set up a Gofundme page to fund Zuniga’s funeral and burial plot. As of Thursday, Feb. 9, it had twice exceeded its $10,000 goal. Those wishing to contribute can do so here: https://www.gofundme. com/willie-zunigas-memorialfunding.
“I think that it is important to use our voices to support members of the Muslim community at this crucial time,” ¡Mi Gente! member Jeremy Anderson CM ’19 said. “Not only are some members of the Latinx community Muslim, but also, we are all struggling for fairness, respect, and equal protection under the law.” Larissa Peltola CM ’18, co-president of CMC’s Amnesty International chapter, said of the event,
“We wanted to oppose Trump’s Muslim ban, which is unconstitutional, unjust, and frankly goes against everything we stand for as the three organizations.” “It goes against everything Americans and human beings should stand for,” she continued. “We’re calling our senators, calling our representatives, and demanding that they take action on behalf of human rights and human dignity across the world.”
PHISHING: Colleges Emphasize Caution, Review Cybersecurity Continued from Page 1 information of staff, faculty, and students on campus. “There is a comprehensive effort underway to look at information technology security across The Claremont Colleges to determine what we can do collectively to improve IT security for each of us,” Chief Information Officer of the Claremont University Consortium Chuck Thompson wrote in an email to TSL. “This effort just kicked off in late December and will be an ongoing activity of The Claremont Colleges,” he added. Frost further explained this effort in an email to TSL. “This is an ongoing process which involves research, education of the community, review of our computing assets, performing detection and analysis of cyber threats, as well as increasing security through reviewing and updating policies,” he wrote. The 5Cs received many warnings regarding phishing emails under the fraudulent domain “claremontcolleges.edu,” which is meant to compromise the credentials of college professors, staff, and students in order to gain sellable information. These emails are typically sent from someone the recipient knows who has had their account hacked. The email will then provide the recipient with
an external link which prompts the recipient to sign into their respective accounts. Once the recipient logs in, their credentials are stolen by the fraudulent entry field. In order to protect against phishing, the 5Cs have contracted with Cisco’s anti-spam/anti-virus service. “Of the 356,000 messages CMC has received in just the past 24 hours, [Cisco] blocked 95 percent of that as spam or problematic email,” wrote Frost. “We also have internal rules we have created which block even more targeted phishing e-mail. As previously mentioned, we also work to provide educational information to the community so they are more aware of attacks and phishing ploys that are being used.” Firewalls are in place with the main purpose of filtering out spam emails and those from unverified servers. However, there are still emails able to get by these two filtration systems. “It is always important, whenever you are entering in sensitive information on ANY website, to look for a green lock symbol and the word “Secure” in the address bar that verifies your information is being entered on a safe website,” wrote Rafla. “As new measures become available to combat phishing, we will evaluate them,” Thompson wrote.
Correction Opinions columnist Jesse Lieberfeld PO ‘17’s name was misspelled in the Feb. 3 issue of TSL.
TSL regrets this error. Courtesy of Harvey Mudd College
Willie Zuniga HM ‘17 passed away on Feb. 2.
LIFE & STYLE PAGE 4
THE STUDENT LIFE
Classroom Participation Across Cultures Tarini Sipahimalani If you take a look at the grading breakdown on one of your class syllabi, chances are there will be a section labelled “participation.” Maybe fifteen percent, or sometimes thirty—the ability to engage in verbal discussion is highly valued at the Claremont Colleges. And it should be. It not only allows students to express their thoughts, creating opportunities to further expand and develop their arguments, but also exposes other students to alternative perspectives on which to ruminate. However, the alternative shouldn’t be belittled. While U.S. culture seems to encourage direct communication and active participation, these qualities aren’t valued in the same way worldwide. Akari Ishida PO ’20, an international student from Japan, said classes back home were usually structured in a way that didn’t necessarily require students to verbally participate. “It was more about absorbing the information rather than critically thinking about the question and us giving our individual opinions,” she said. If one were to speak up in class in Japan, Ishida said, they were expected to provide a concise, correct answer rather than discuss the various possibilities or going over the process of thinking behind it. “I felt like there was no room for error. It was pretty rare for people to ask questions,” Ishida said. “In Japan, we consider what is best for the community [rather than oneself], so I guess it was considered selfish to ask an individual question” as it had the potential to disrupt others’ learning. Akira Nagao PO ’19, who grew up in Santa Monica, California, also found his classroom manner to be linked to his earlier educational experiences. At Santa Monica High School, he was exposed to active participation between teachers and students. But he also attended the Nishiyamato Academy, a school from a larger program in Japan, every Saturday until he reached his junior year of high school. There, active student
FEBRUARY 10, 2017
The Innocence Project: Barry Scheck Explains Fight for Justice
Lia Francis-Bongue• The Student Life
Barry Scheck addresses the audience in the Shanahan Center at Harvey Mudd College during his lecture “The Innocence Project: DNA and the Wrongly Convicted” on Thursday, Feb. 9.
Shringi Diva Vikram Sophie Reingold • The Student Life
discussions weren’t the norm and classes tended to be lecture-based. “Because the atmosphere in Santa Monica High was very lax, I was able to speak my mind freely,” Nagao said, explaining how his high school environment and background made it easy for him to get involved in class discussions at the 5Cs. Referring to personality type, he said his extraversion doesn’t hinder him from class involvement. “In general, I tend to engage in conversation if I believe ideas or opinions that I agree with are not getting voiced.” Simon Heinberg PO ’20, who attended school in New York prior to coming to the 5Cs, offered a similar perspective. “In my school, everyone was expected to participate. Most of the classes were discussion based,” he said. His experience with class participation and the casual, opiniondriven environment he grew up with made it easier to do the same here. “At my school it was perfectly fine if you participated and the
answer you gave was incorrect or people disagreed,” he said. Yet there are invariably discussions that can lead to vicious arguments among students, eventually resulting in personal attacks on each other’s views. “With any discussion, being open minded and not being quick to attack someone’s argument would make it easier for everyone to participate,” Heinberg said. “Although for the classes I’ve been in I haven’t seen any issues so far.” Nagao agrees that there can be a lack of accommodation for people of various cultural backgrounds. “I have met professors and students who are very open and receptive to people’s backgrounds but I have also met a few professors who are more concrete with their structures and styles. It’s a case-by-case situation, but I believe the 5Cs can strive to have every class accessible by people of all backgrounds,” he said.
Attorney, DNA expert, and cofounder of the Innocence Project Barry Scheck spoke on Feb. 9 about the justice system’s affinity for wrongly convicting people, his work exonerating the innocent, and reforming the system through the increased use of DNA testing and scientific evidence at Harvey Mudd College’s Shanahan Center for Teaching and Learning. Scheck earned his B.A at Yale University and his J.D. at UC Berkley. A former law attorney in New York City, Scheck is now on the faculty of the Benjamin N. Cardazo School of Law. There, he and Peter Neufeld cofounded the Innocence Project, which conducts DNA tests, in 1992. Prior to the project, no U.S. state allowed post-conviction DNA testing, but the organization has since freed 347 wrongly convicted people, including 20 people on death row. Scheck’s talk is the finale of HMC’s 2016 Nelson Series, which, according to the Nelson Series’ official website, follows from the idea that “Those with an interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics may-and must--incorporate social justice work in both the daily practice and their long-term goals.” The series expands on the work of the 2013-14 series, which focused
Performance Artist Anna Deavere Smith Channels Stories of Mass Incarceration
on race and gender discrimination in STEM subjects. Scheck was therefore chosen for the series because the Innocence Project “blends cuttingedge science with the real-world interplay of race, class, and power in the courtroom and beyond,” wrote Suman Pandakar, associate dean for institutional diversity at HMC, in an email to TSL. Scheck suggested that the successful exonerations provided insights into a criminal justice system that relied on eye-witness accounts, alibis, and matching stories between defenders and persecutors. “It’s shocking that people didn’t realize how much error there was in the system,” he said. “The wrong person convicted, believe me--it can happen to anybody.” According to Scheck, the wrongly convicted are disproportionately members of marginalized racial groups. Scheck added that the resonance of the narrative of the wrongly convicted is profound, and people have to be extraordinary to survive the experience of spending decades in prison for a crime that they didn’t commit. “It was really great that he talked about empathy,” Paloma Palmer CM’ 19 said. Scheck believes that the reason the Innocence Project has been so
MUSIC COLUMN
The xx Deliver Mixed Bag on Third Album, ‘I See You’ Skye Mitchell
Courtesy of Scripps College
Anna Deavere Smith speaks at a Scripps Presents event at Scripps College’s Garrison Theater on Feb. 6.
Ariel So Anna Deavere Smith, an American actress, playwright, and educator, delivered a guest talk denouncing the U.S. criminal justice system at Scripps College’s Garrison Theatre on Thursday, Feb. 2. During her talk, Smith personalized the school-to-prison pipeline issue by impersonating people she encountered while conducting over 250 interviews across the nation. According to Smith, many teenagers end up in prison as a result of zero tolerance policies in overly harsh educational institutions. In fact, Smith said that the justice system incarcerates people based on their third-grade reading scores. She noted that there is a pattern of kids from low-income families being targeted as ‘criminals.’ “[I]t was such a powerful idea to me that [the wrongdoings of] rich kids [get labeled as] ‘mischief,’
and poor kids get pathologized and incarcerated,” Smith said. “I think it’s fair to call this problem a school-to-prison pipeline. I think it’s about poverty.” The prevalence of guns, drugs, and suicides in disadvantaged communities make it incredibly “hard for a poor kid to make it through,” she said, saying that many social and biological scientists claim that poor social conditions come from “structural racism,” “trauma,” and “toxic stress” that “begin in the womb.” “it is impossible to talk about ... mass incarceration without talking about education,” Smith said. She argued that more funding should be invested in education and mental health services, rather than the cost-ineffective prison system. Through a series of monologues, Smith shared real stories of people who were unnecessarily punished—from those detained for cursing in class when defending
another classmate, to those beaten in police custody for giving someone the ‘wrong look.’ “Just a glance,” she said while impersonating an interviewee. “That’s all it takes to look suspicious.” When one audience member during the Q&A asked Smith what surprised her the most in her research, Smith responded: “how quickly [imprisoned people] lose their own humanity.” She noted that many victims become hardened by experience. After the talk, many students praised Smith’s performance and her overarching message. “I really liked her emphasis on education,” Kristen Takebayashi SC ‘20 said. “The things she chose to present were varied enough to give a different picture, and [the interviewees] were all from more or less different places of America, but they also had that similar theme of … [racial] profiling and injustice,”
she said. “She very much moves us, the audience, from being spectators to being in the moment,” Takebayashi said. “She saw these people expressing themselves, and I think she in one aspect is trying to replicate them, but she also shows us what she wants us to see.” Elise Van Scoy SC ‘20 also commented on how “well-practiced” Smith was in “her craft.” She admired that Smith herself acknowledged that “what she does will never compare” to what people do in the real world, but that art can act as something to bring people together and address an important issue. “One of my favorite lines was when she was acting as the 18-year-old...and [was saying], ‘How can you mind your own business? [Injustice is] something you have to make your own business,’” Scoy said.
successful is because all their work relies heavily on evidence-based science, which cannot be contested. He said that they were lucky to be there when DNA work gained seriousness and to be able to use it to make the justice system more objective. “Personally I’m a big supporter of science,” Jenny Lee HM’ 19 said. “There needs to be a bridge that connects the scientist who actually says numbers versus someone who’s making biased claims, to the population to tell them what’s really true,” According to Scheck, reforming the consciousness of people who work in law and justice is important for the continuation of his work. His movement was put together by young people, especially young lawyers. Jenny Lee HM ‘19 said that Scheck’s talk made her want to learn what ordinary people can do to help the wrongly convicted. “Instead of just going out and demonstrating and protesting, because there’s only so much that can do, it really makes me want to go out there,” Lee said. Scheck, in fact, suggested that ordinary people can be involved in participatory defense movements or organized platforms on which people advocate for the rights of the innocent.
One of my favorite memories is the time I sang happy birthday with a crowd of strangers to Oliver Sim, lead male vocalist of The xx, as the clock struck midnight in the middle of their concert. I was as close as possible to the stage without being in the VIP pit, and my 14-year-old self could hardly contain her excitement at seeing her favorite band live. The vocals of Romy Madley Croft, The xx’s female lead, sounded infinitely better in person than they’d sounded on my headphones. Beams of blue light spread out over the crowd, illuminating the fog swirling in the air. The fact that Oliver turned 23 in the middle of the set was just the icing on the cake. For much of 8th through 10th grade, The xx held the top spot on my list of favorite bands. I remember listening to their self-titled debut album obsessively, and I have vivid memories of the band’s songs as my mental soundtrack to different life events. Though the general critic consensus on Coexist, their sophomore album, was that it was lackluster, my devotion to the group continued nonetheless. Though my tastes have broadened and diversified since I was 14, The xx will always hold a place in my heart. So, naturally, when their third album, I See You, was released on Jan. 13, I couldn’t wait to give it a listen. Before the album dropped, the track “On Hold” was released as a single in November 2016. This song set a high bar for the forthcoming album. It perfectly features an edited track sample from “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” by Hall and Oates, a personal favorite of mine. Though “On Hold” remains true to The xx’s moody electronic roots, it is much less minimalist and much more funky. The song is upbeat and bold, yet the lyrics remain bittersweet. The song could perhaps be classified as one third R&B, one third pop, and one third electronic, with all these moving parts synthesizing into one cohesive, groovy track. I listened to it on repeat when it came out. Nevertheless, I See You failed to meet my expectations. Don’t get
me wrong, it’s a solid record, and even made it to the Best New Music section of Pitchfork. Perhaps I liked “On Hold” too much for the rest of the album to have a fair chance. Perhaps I’ve just simply outgrown my taste for The xx. I’m not sure. The record has strong production. Jamie xx is truly a great producer, and the nuances of his production are lost if you don’t listen to the album with headphones. The first time I listened I was driving in my car, and it was a very different experience from when I put my headphones on. As a result, the album really sounds like Jamie xx’s solo LP, In Colour. I absolutely loved In Colour, but Jamie’s production doesn’t seem to mesh with Romy and Oliver’s breathy, uninspiring vocals. I’d be curious to see what I See You sounds like as an instrumental album. Despite my criticism, I do enjoy a handful of tracks on I See You. The album’s opener, “Dangerous,” which was also released as a single before the rest of the album, kicks off the record with blaring horns and a sturdy bassline. The song’s only drawback is its stereotypical lyrics, such as, “They say you are dangerous, but I don’t care/I’m going to pretend that I’m not scared.” How many more times are we going to have to hear songs centered around romanticized toxic relationships? “Lips” is also an album highlight. It starts off with echoing isolated vocals by Trio Mediaeval before kicking into a grooving beat. “Replica” is another favorite of mine, feeling thoroughly like The xx’s old material–minimal, moody, sensual–yet incorporating just enough changes in style to make the song fresh. “Say Something Loving” is, in my opinion, the worst song on I See You, with an annoying chorus desperately pleading the listener to “say something loving” over and over again in a grating tonality. Sorry, Romy, it’s not happening. Every time I’ve listened to I See You I’ve discovered something new, so not all hope is lost. Perhaps after a few more listens it will become my favorite album of 2017. In the meantime, however, I’m hoping that Jamie xx will branch off from his bandmates and release another solo album. The conventions of The xx seem to be holding him back.
LIFE & STYLE FEBRUARY 10, 2017
Q&A: Ray Kurzweil, Inventor and Futurist Samuel Breslow Renowned inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil is one of the world’s leading experts on technological progress. He is a recipient of the National Medal of Technology, holds 21 honorary doctorates, and has authored five national bestsellers. He visited Pomona College on Feb. 7 and spoke with TSL about his optimistic vision for humanity. TSL: You talk about an “exponential increase in technological capabilities” due to what you call the Law of Accelerating Returns. Broadly speaking, what do you mean by this and where do you see humanity going? RK: Specifically, what the Law of Accelerating Returns says is that the price performance and capacity, not of every technology, but of information technology, progresses exponentially, doubling every period of time (which is typically on the order of a year). So, for example, you can get the same amount of computation that you could get a year ago for half the price today, which means it falls by a factor of a thousand in a decade. People have been referring to that as Moore’s Law, but it started decades before Moore was even born. And it applies not just to computation, but to any information technology. TSL: You talk about ‘the singularity.’ What do you mean by that, and when do you think it’s going to happen? RK: There is one milestone after another that is falling to computer intelligence. Chess in 1987, Go in this past year, and many others. I’ve been consistent in saying that by about 2029, computer intelligence will match human intelligence in the ways in which humans are now superior, particularly in the art of understanding language. We will literally merge with artificial intelligence. I’d say we already are well on our way to doing that. We all carry it on our belts. We communicate with intelligent resources in the cloud on an hourly basis. It’s not yet connected into our brains. It may as well be as. It will be, I think, by the 2030s. Just as your phone communicates with the cloud and multiplies its capabilities a millionfold by accessing vast resources in the cloud, we’ll do that directly from our brains, and actually extend the scope and scale of our neocortex. If you follow out the math of the Law of Accelerating Returns, by 2045, we’ll multiply our intelligence a billionfold. That’s the singularity. TSL: On a purely intuitive level, many of your predictions seem wildly optimistic, and indeed you have a number of critics who dismiss them as such. Why do you think it’s so difficult for us to envision the future you predict, and what can we do to reconcile your ideas with our intuitions? RK: The power and capacity of information technology grows in an exponential manner. But people don’t think exponentially. Their intuition is linear, not exponential. You take 30 steps linearly, and that gets you to 30. You take 30 steps exponentially, and that gets you to a billion. And that’s what we’ve been seeing. The key difference between myself and my critics is that they’re looking at the same world
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THE STUDENT LIFE
I’m looking at and making a linear prediction about where we will be. So, for example, halfway through the genome project, one percent of the human genome had been gathered after seven years. So mainstream critics said “okay, one percent after seven years. It’s going to take 700 years, just like we said.” That was linear thinking. My reaction at the time was “oh, we finished one percent, so we’re almost done.” Because one percent is only seven doublings from 100 percent, and it had been doubling every year. That was going to continue. And indeed, that is what happened, and it did finish seven years later. TSL: What are your own intuitions like? Do you have to do this reconciling yourself? RK: I also have a linear intuition, so I find my own predictions remarkable, but I didn’t start last week. I’ve been doing this since the early 1980s and I have a track record now of several decades making these predictions. TSL: Many students here care deeply about social justice. What steps can we take to help ensure that the technological advances you predict will be distributed equitably and will help reduce rather than exacerbate inequality? RK: I think the technology itself is moving in the right direction. You had to be wealthy to access something like a computer decades ago, and they didn’t work very well. Today, a kid in Africa with their $50 smartphone can access the cloud and has access to more intelligently organized information than the president of the United States did twenty years ago. So there is an inherent democratization in the access to these information services. Of course, that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be active in making sure it is distributed equitably. TSL: As a broadly influential figure, many people may be interested in your thoughts on the current political moment in the U.S. Are you concerned about the prospects of a Trump presidency, or about current trends within social justice culture, or both? RK: I am concerned with appeals to intolerance and I’m very supportive of immigration. My parents were fortunate enough to escape Hitler and come to the United States. I think that in the current political environment, there’s concerns of Mexico and China taking our jobs. That’s actually not where the economic insecurity comes from. I think it comes more from automation. The reality is actually that automation is creating more jobs than it’s been destroying. That’s been true for the 200 years we’ve had since the beginning of the industrial revolution. But that’s not the perception. That said, the need to feel economically secure is very important to people, and I think it’s important that we find ways to give them that. Proposals such as universal guaranteed income could allow people to feel some measure of economic security in light of this very rapid change. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. An expanded version and full audio recording is available online.
Thinking Through the Cloud: Ray Kurzweil Discusses Future Connection Between Humans and Technology Sadie Fisher Inventor, author, and futurist Ray Kurzweil spoke at Pomona College’s Bridges Auditorium on Tuesday, Feb. 7. His speech focused on predictions for the technology and society of the notso-distant future. Central to all of his points was the reality behind exponential progressions. Kurzweil explained that while we perceive the world linearly, progress, especially within the technological fields of miniaturization and computation, increases at an exponential rate. The theory that technology is becoming increasingly smaller and more efficient manifests itself in major areas including employment, biotechnology, renewable energy, 3D printing, and augmented reality, all discussed in Kurzweil’s hour-long talk. He backed all of his still-controversial claims with years of data and evidence of trends. 3D printing, specifically, inspired a closer look from Kurzweil. Food, fashion, housing, organs—Kurzweil said that all of these industries, and more, will be affected by the rise of such printing. He said that we should expect 3D printed clothing to be standard by 2020 and organs printed with your own DNA to be common within ten years. “Individualized organs are coming to a human near you soon,” said Kurzweil. Kurzweil claimed that the neocortex, where creativity is housed in the human brain, will become integrated with the cloud. “Thinking will be a combination of biological thinking through
traditional means and non-biological thinking through the cloud,” said Kurzweil. Although these drastic visions of the future can be overwhelming to contront, hope for the future should not be lost. Kurzweil said that we are simply “reinventing the nature of work.” This will lead to more specialized, and therefore interesting, careers at the top of the social ladder. Additionally, he believes our personal information to be more secure than the media likes to make us think. The event’s attendees reacted mostly positively to Kurzweil’s drastic predictions. Ziv Epstein PO ‘17 was impressed by the talk’s content. “He’s a very interesting character because he makes all these radical claims about the future, but he actually has the technical knowledge of an inventor to corroborate all of them,” Epstein said. “This highlighted for me the need to make democratized technology that everyone can use. It was a really impactful, informative experience that we get at the 5Cs.” Vivaswat Jha HM ‘19 expressed confidence in Kurzweil’s scientific achievements. “I am a little skeptical of his predictions for how human civilization will work. But as for his actual achievements and discoveries, he’s in a league of his own,” Jha said. Jordan Abrahams HM ‘17 also commented what he felt were the biggest takeaways from Kurzweil’s onslaught of predictions. “Honestly, there was a lot of optimism. The exponential growth of technology and information ... will lead to an intriguing future,” Abrahams said.
Michelle Chan • The Student Life
Ray Kurzweil discusses the trajectory of technology and humanity at Pomona College’s Bridges Auditorium on Feb. 7, 2017.
Gregory Sholette Connects Art to Activism in Pepper Lecture Andrea Hernandez The Benson Auditorium at Pitzer College hosted its annual Murray Pepper and Vicki Reynolds Pepper Distinguished Visiting Artists and Scholars Lecture on Wednesday, Feb. 8. This year, the auditorium welcomed artist, writer, and activist Gregory Sholette, who discussed the importance of art in the contemporary world, focusing on the subjects of his previous and upcoming books, Dark Matter: Art and Politics in an Age of Enterprise Culture (2011) and Delirium and Resistance: Activist Art and the Crisis of Capitalism (May 2017). Professor of Art History Bill Anthes invited Sholette so students could see how art and artists interact with the surrounding world. “I want my students to learn what art might contribute to our contemporary world and what they might do as artists, scholars and citizens. Greg’s book is a model for art and the artist today in these wonderful, challenging and upsetting times,” he said. The event, which was organized by the Pitzer Art Galleries, focused on the role that art has played over the past few years, especially how it has been affected by recent political and economical events. Sholette explained how lately, art has stopped being a form of enrichment for the wider community and has instead become a form of investment. After the stock market crash of 2008, “suddenly, investing in art seemed to be a better
Jivika Rajani• The Student Life
Artist, writer, and activist Gregory Sholette delivers a lecture on how the creativity of amateur artists and countercultures often feeds into and informs the mainstream contemporary art field in Benson Auditorium on Feb. 8.
investment than the stock exchange … when all the other markets were failing, the art market took a little dive and then bounced back up,” Sholette said. This, he said, is different from the 1987 stock market crash, when artists’ careers vanished. Instead, in 2008 the the art market spiked and it continues to do so even today. He explained that the reason behind this is the need for affluent people to park their money somewhere. This quickly led to an increase in the number of artists and ultimately to an oversupply of art. Soon, “people started talking about the art world as something that should be dealt with as a supply chain,” Sholette said. This meant a reduc-
tion of arts funding, or access to art education. People are no longer interested in the aesthetics of art, but in parking money and expanding it, according to Sholette. “Art was supposed to be separate from the capitalist economy, but now it has become a part of the supply chain,” he said. Christina Marshall SC ’20 said that she found the lecture very interesting despite not knowing much about art. “Ultimately everything is intertwined; art and the environment around us cannot be separated,” Marshall said. The lecture ended with Sholette commenting on the effect this has had on artists, new and established,
and the importance of activism in a field that is rapidly becoming monetized. “It is important we find spaces to fight back”, he said. Haley Burger, PZ ’20 found it extremely interesting to learn “how you can use art to make demonstrations, and how activism does work”. Sholette, when asked what he hoped students would take away from the lecture, said, “I hope they come away with a sense of excitement and wonder about the possibilities that art has, that it can do things and give license to disobey, especially in times like these, and that they shouldn’t be shy about doing those sorts of things.”
TV COLUMN
‘Sherlock’ Season Four Speaks to Old Fans, Despite the Confusion Lauren Churchwell
Alexa Strabuk • The Student Life
After the third season finale of Sherlock, fans were unsure how to feel about the dynamic duo at its center. With the hero now a murderer and his sidekick now married, the dynamics had shifted. The character of Sherlock had made leaps and bounds in his emotional growth, but the show’s sense of adventure was starting to get lost. I was certainly not at all a fan of season three’s ending. While I have been with the show since the very beginning and was once excited and ready to jump back into whatever twist the show offered, I was now beginning to feel the toll of the collective five years that I had waited for the seasons of this show. I found myself weary when I cracked into the first episode of the fourth season. My feeling was wrong, or at least mostly unfounded, as the first episode pushed away any weariness almost immediately and I got that same old feeling of mystery and excitement. Sherlock is back but now with a new focus; while the other three seasons often focused on how alien our main character is, season four tries to bring out the humanity of Sherlock and those around him. While the show has
added more of the typical sitcom story points (the first episode featuring the birth and life of the new little Watson) the mini-mysteries in the episode as well as the overarching plot are still cohesive and fun to watch. By the end of the first episode, however, my reactions were mixed. The show does a good job at kicking everything back off and brought in some really powerful and interesting character development, but the end of the episode signaled that the overarching plot of this series was going to be rough. The experience of this season’s plot is much like reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child; while it’s very easy to get swept up and think to yourself “Hey, this isn’t so bad,” by the end of the show you will wake up, look around, and wonder what the hell just happened. While the new plot thread does introduce interesting new characters and strains our beloved characters to their emotional limit, it also falls into the same weary beats that the show has taken us through for years and falls through gaping plot holes, which are difficult not to stop and think about. However, it is not all bad. The second episode, “The Lying Detective,” is probably one of the best episodes of Sherlock so far, with
an interesting mystery and a great villain played by Toby Jones (you probably know him as Dr. Zola from the Captain America movies). While the show-runners Stephan Moffat and Mark Gatiss have danced around the idea of tearing our dynamic duo apart, it’s in this episode that they finally bite the bullet and make the audience feel like the pairing (no pun intended) of Sherlock and John may finally be no more. Should you watch this season? If you’re a fan of Sherlock and you’ve been with it since the beginning, I would say go watch it. Yes, it is not as satisfying as the first two seasons but I think it’s a huge improvement from season three, even if the last episode feels more like a video game rather than a TV drama and the conclusion will probably leave you incredibly confused. The series does end on a safe note, though; we get a nice monologue about the restoration of the norm. Personally, I would rather Sherlock end on a bang than a whimper, though. It’s a good thing that I think the show will continue until either Benedict Cumberbatch or Martin Freeman die or until 2050 when their android versions give out. However, if you haven’t seen the show before, go watch season one!
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FEBRUARY 10, 2017
THE STUDENT LIFE
FOOD COLUMN
Ruminations on Veganism Jason Kim I pause as I try to remember where the dining hall is. As a new transfer to Pitzer College, you could say that my lackluster sense of direction is the least of the craziness of adjusting to a new school. One new experience I’m adjusting to is the refreshing level of awareness about social justice at the 5Cs, particularly in the areas of food and environmental justice. If you ask a random person what they believe to be the number one source of pollution, they might respond with “cars” or “factories.” From my experiences, it’s rare to have someone respond with “the agriculture and food industry.” As members of society, the vast majority of us have become disconnected from the impact we have on animals and the environment. In addition, most would dismiss the notion that we are also perpetuating a continuous cycle of disrespect to both animals and other human beings. This is most evident during grocery shopping. When the average person looks at a package of chicken breast or a steak, they don’t visualize animals being slaughtered in large numbers, or the exploitation of other people; they see the beginnings of dinner for that night. Take Brazil, for example, in which 5.6 million acres are used to grow feed (mostly soybeans) that is transported to livestock in Europe. Not only does agriculture lead to deforestation and immense pollution, but the land used for growing animal feed such as soybeans is land not being used to grow crops for the Brazilian people, thus contributing to poverty. A similar situation occurs in the United States, where a large amount of land is used for the mass production of corn and livestock. This both forces farmers to become part of the system to remain profitable and also produces an industry that sees humans, most notably undocumented immigrants, as expendable resources. However, there are a few people
who do take an active stance in opposing this cruelty and lack of respect toward animals, people, and our world. Still, society, for the most part, has rather unappetizing assumptions about vegans. Some criticize them for doing it for attention or for being hipsters. Others deride vegan food because it doesn’t appeal to their own palettes; one of my less conscientious friends used to joke about how vegans were human rabbits. Not to mention that the food industry lacks accessible options for vegans as compared to omnivores or even vegetarians. Yet what are the actual reasons behind a lifestyle of impressive willpower and dedication to both animal rights and environmental respect? Before I came to the 5Cs, I hadn’t spent much thought or effort questioning the industry that allows me to so easily make my favorite baked pork or spaghetti sauce. In the past month, however, I’ve not only engaged in this conversation, I’ve also learned the more practical side of it through vegan-friendly recipes. Admittedly, cooking vegan food is more difficult than I initially expected, but I’ve found the experience rewarding. I’m developing the ability to prepare full meals that are still delicious and balanced, and are nothing like stereotypical vegan meals of nothing but greens. Granted, my first attempt at vegan cookies was the equivalent of a thermonuclear fallout in the kitchen, but that’s beside the point. Coming from a background where both meat and vegetables are celebrated, my experiences with this dialogue about food and environmental sustainability has been not just one of morality and stewardship, but also a sort of internal ethnic dialogue. Growing up in a Korean family and living in South Korea, Japan, and Singapore, I experienced cultures and countries that had many types of non-meat dishes, but also celebrated meat in a way that the United States does not. In South Korea, for example, meat was at one point a food reserved for royalty and the nobility. In Ja-
pan, sushi and the consumption of fish is an inseparable part of the country’s history and culture. Singapore is a country with a cornucopia of peoples and cultures who have contributed to a unique culinary culture with a variety of seafood and meat dishes that are inexorably linked to the identity of this island city-state. In addition to engaging others, it’s been an interesting period of introspection as I try to mull over the impact of the meat industries in my many homes and determine whether or not there is too much disrespect present to contribute to them. To round things up, I offer you readers one of my favorite vegan recipes: lemon artichoke pesto. It’s a very tangy and tasty alternative to not only herb-based pestos, but sauces in general. It goes well with not only pasta, but salads, wraps, the whole shabang. It’s also simple, cheap, and produces enough for a few meals. So without further ado: Ingredients: 1 can quartered artichoke hearts 1/2 cup olive oil 6 cloves garlic, peeled 1/4 cup fresh flat leaf Italian parsley, chopped 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon rind Salt and pepper to taste Directions: Put all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Store in an airtight container in a refrigerator. Serving suggestions: This sauce goes excellently with pasta noodles, wraps, and sandwiches, and is a great alternative for horseradish-based sauces.
Ye Olde Student Life Eminent futurist Ray Kurzweil predicted massive technological advances in the coming decades during his talk at Pomona College’s Bridges Auditorium on Feb. 7. Looking at how far we’ve come since we reported on one of our early computers in this front-page article from our Sept. 30, 1965 issue, it’s easy to see why Kurzweil is so optimistic about the future. Pomona purchased its first computer—a Bendix G-15—when the original Millikan Laboratory was opened in 1958. Pomona In Computer Age With Newest IBM Monster By Hank Becker Early this month Pomona College became one of the nation’s first recipients of a “third generation” computer, the IBM System/360 Model 40. The computer, whose purchase for $250,000 was made possible through the generosity of the late Frank R. Seaver ‘05, is housed in a glass-cased room in second floor Milliken [sic]. Its operation will be under the direction of Miss Joan Bardez, ‘63. Because of the newness of the Model 40, the Pomona computer is still in a mechanical “debugging” stage, and IBM technicians can still be seen surveying and manipulating the machine’s micro-miniature components. However, the machine is already being used by students and by Donald McIntyre, professor of geology. McIntyre is chairman of the interdepartmental Computer Committee which has administrative responsibility for the operation of the Computer Center. Jim Butler, junior physics major, is currently at work developing a translator which produces machine instructions for the 360 Computer from programs written for the old Bendix G-15 computer owned by the physics department. McIntyre is helping Honnold library automate its book purchase and inventory control procedures. By the end of the year it is expected that nearly all mechanical problems will have been solved and that the computer will be fully operable in all of its functions. Most of the computer time will be split between aiding in student and faculty research in the sciences and general education in computer fundamentals and programming for interested students. Major use of the computer next spring will be made by the numerical analysis class. Faculty and students of the physics, math, geology, psychology, economics, and chemistry departments are also planning to make use of the machine’s ability to perform statistical and numerical calculations at lightning speeds. Hans Palmer, assistant professor of economics, for example, is counting on the 360 to aid him in analyzing data on the economic and demographic aspects of Italian emigration to the U.S. In addition, research under Miss Bardez, Computer Center Director, will be directed at learning the capabilities of the machine and attempting to get the most out of its presence. This might include developing special programs which would act as controls on the flow of machine operations and provide for error-correction aids to the programmer to help him spot his error. (The machine rarely errs.) Other possible applications for the more distant future include providing extensive data processing services to college administrators, programming for outside private contractors, and such research studies as comparative linguistic analysis and textual analysis of writers’ styles and use of words. The System/360 is in the forefront of the computer world today. It will replace, or at least outdate, most of the IBM computers presently in use. Compared to the “second generation” computers first marketed seven years ago, the System/360 out ranks all in speed, compactness and flexibility. The speed at which Pomona’s new computer can process data is, according to McIntyre, striking. By far the greatest amount of processing time is spent in reading IBM cards into the computer and in printing the output on the printer. Card reading takes place at speeds up to 400 cards per minute, and printing is done at the rate of 240 lines (not words) per minute. The actual processing time is infinitesimal. For example, to compute the trigonometric sine of an angle to 7 decimal places by an algebraic expansion, the Model 40 in Millikan requires but 1/500th of a second. In terms of size, the entire memory of 131,072 “bits” is contained within the volume of a good-sized cigar box. Eight of these bits, or one “byte” can contain one alphabetic character or two decimal digits. Two bytes can contain a number as large as 65,535. With the installation next month of a large capacity (14.2 million decimal digit) “disk” storage unit, Pomona’s basic installation will be complete. The disk will provide semi-permanent magnetic storage of all forms of data, from statistics of Italian emigration (for Palmer) to an inventory of Honnold Library’s outstanding book orders. Future additions to the Computer Center may include doubling the amount of internal memory, adding magnetic tape storage capabilities, and the installation of an automatic graph potter. The Pomona College Development Office is currently looking for donors to make such additions possible. At the moment, programming for the System/360 computer is done with the Assembler language, a basic translation of actual machine-language instructions. However, by January it is expected that a great majority of the programming will be done in FORTRAN, a widely popularized computer language and one relatively easy to learn. Instructional manuals on FORTRAN will soon be available on campus. Classes in FORTRAN programming may be given this winter. For those students interested in learning Assembler language, Miss Bardez has prepared a booklet of demonstration programs. Also, limited copies of the Assembler manual put out by IBM are available in Miss Bardez’ office in Millikan 211. All potential System/360 programmers are welcome any time, according to Miss Bardez. A computer club has recently been formed for The Claremont Colleges mainly through the efforts of some Harvey Mudd College students. Pomona students are invited to contact John Halperin, HMC, at 2080, for details about this year’s activities. Compiled by Samuel Breslow PO ‘18
Sophie Reingold • The Student Life
FASHION COLUMN
Talking Fashion and Identity with Designer Ellington Bramwell PO ‘19 Charlie Kolbrener
Meghan Joyce • The Student Life
Ellington Bramwell PO ‘19 models his own designs.
Who wouldn’t conflate Charlie Brown with his iconic yellow zigzag shirt? For some, fashion is a rather passive presentation of their uniform. However, many view fashion and their clothing choices as a form of artistic expression. It is not just garb to shield one from the elements; rather, fashion has become an intimate form of art produced upon the canvas of the body. Every person’s approach to clothing is different, and I find these distinctions fascinating. Personally, I first became interested in fashion based on a desire to look better, which was preceded by low self-confidence in my appearance. Wearing sweaters layered on top of button down shirts in a reiteration of JFK’s northeastern masculinity was the first step in my quest to find personal style. Five years later, I don’t really find myself trying to recreate other styles; I attempt to create my own style every day. However, I feel it is important to reiterate this point: I am not condemning or commending any approach to fashion. It is the very distinction between differing approaches that intrigues me. Thus, this column will attempt to unearth the different methods of engaging with clothing by interviewing
people who subscribe to many different styles. I think that most people who have seen Ellington Bramwell PO ‘19 around campus would recognize his trademark vibrantly painted Vans or overalls. The founder of SUBTL clothing line, Bramwell is a bit of a fashion icon of the 5Cs. I interviewed him about his personal style, his design process, and his up and coming brand. TSL: How did you become interested in fashion? Ellington Bramwell: So it was very similar to music where I got a lot of interest from my older brother. He put me on to just a lot of things that I like. Things like musically: Kanye, Kid Cudi. And then for fashion it’s just a vibe of “do what you wanna do” kinda thing, and not really worry about others. In high school I actually began taking more production courses. There I actually had an opportunity to have my creative persona flourish. Within my past internship this summer, that’s where I actually founded SUBTL clothing line. I have a vision and I need to carry out that vision on my own. That’s so far been my timeline. TSL: Can you talk more about your internship? EB: I was a social media intern at CBS consumer products. All my duties were concerning managing
the social media platforms for the Star Trek franchise and other CBS properties. I realized I had the interest within marketing; however, I also realized it was not my ideal line of work. It actually kickstarted my drive to pursue my own vision of starting my clothing line. TSL: What brands/people inspire you? EB: So these are old brands. Shoutout to Kanye’s Pastelle. And also shout out to Pharrell’s Billionaire Boys Club. And also Ice Cream. If we’re talking about today’s youth and everything, I have to draw on my best friends here. Shoutout to Rae’quan Nelson, shoutout to Senque Littlepool. To be honest just like anyone on their grind is an inspiration because they just have their own vision and encourage you to follow yours to the fullest. TSL: What is your creative process like for designing? EB: So a lot of things I do are very intuitive. And then within intuitiveness there is also great deliberation because at the end of the day it is a vision that I want to see carried through. With any other vision it is kinda like your baby. You want to make sure everything is right, every line is precise, every color is perfect. You want the reality to match your imagination. So my creative process is very tedious.
But at the end of the day it’s all about the final product. TSL: How would you describe your personal style? EB: Several people have asked me this. And I lowkey have the same answer. I do what I want. It’s kinda like I do what I want, I like what I like, and I create what I see. The whole idea is a lot of the stuff that are my favorites are self-created. And then one idea is like a lot of things that we consider normal, I want to give a new personality. Give a new identity to. Such as painting on clothing, painting on shoes and everything, patches, kind of just like rendering everything that’s been given to your own style. TSL: What are your favorite pieces? EB: My favorite pieces are … well, I distress slacks. My distressed dress pants, my painted overalls, various tee shirts, my boots that I paint on. I have painted vans; striped long sleeves are my favorite. Hoodies, hats, and like bright shoes… and also colorful socks. TSL: Do you have anything else you want to say? EB: Yeah, my final points would be: be on the lookout for SUBTL clothing. Instagram is @be_subtl. Website is on its way. World domination is coming soon.
OPINIONS FEBRUARY 10, 2017
THE STUDENT LIFE
Not All Outrage is Created Equal
THE STUDENT LIFE SEAN OGAMI, News Editor KELLEN BROWNING, News Assignment Editor ELINOR ASPEGREN, News Associate LIAM BROOKS SAFA ARSHADULLAH, Life & Style Editor Production Editor SOPHIE PETERS, Life & Style Editor ANIKKA VILLEGAS, Life & Style Associate CHRISTOPHER ESKILSON KATE DOLGENOS, Opinions Editor Content Editor JO NORDHOFF-BEARD, Sports Editor LAUREN ISON Editor-in-Chief
GRACE OZONOFF-RICHEY, Senior Design Editor ELIZABETH LEADER, Senior Design Editor DAPHNE YANG, News Designer MEGAN ROBALEWSKI, Life & Style Designer NOOR DHINGRA, Opinions Designer CHRISTINA BECK, Sports Designer
MATTHEW LEE, Senior Copy Editor DONNIE DENOME, Copy Editor ANDREW MEDINA, Copy Editor DOMINIC FREMPONG, Graphics Editor ALYSSA ALFONSO, Photo Editor MEGHAN JOYCE, Photo Manager DONOVAN NEW, Video Director MONICA ACOSTA, Distribution Manager WESLEY LIANG, Business Manager ALEXA STRABUK, Senior Advisor
The Student Life, the oldest college newspaper in Southern California, is produced and managed by students of the Claremont Colleges and published weekly.
TSL welcomes Letters to the Editor, which can be submitted by mail, by email, or in person at the Fishbowl in Walker Hall. Letters must be under 400 words (although when an issue is particularly salient, we reserve the right to allow letters to run at a longer length) and submitted by 4 p.m. Wednesday of the The Editorial Board consists of the Editor-in-Chief and two week of publication. We reserve the right to decline publication Managing Editors. Aside from the editorial, the views exof submitted letters and will not accept anonymous letters, letpressed in the opinions section do not necessarily reflect the views of The Student Life. ters containing profanity, factually inaccurate letters or letters making personal attacks. TSL also reserves the right to edit for E-mail Letters, Questions and Concerns to editor@tsl.pomona. spelling, punctuation and grammar. Letters may be signed by edu. email tips to news@tsl.pomona.edu; email advertising a maximum of three persons. All letters become the property of inquiries to business@tsl.pomona.edu. TSL and may not be reprinted without prior permission from the Editorial Board.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Keeping Up With the Trumps In 1929, Frigyes Karinthy, a Hungarian author, included a concept in a short story called Chains that would inhere in pop sociology until today. Each person in the world, he claimed, is connected to any other person by no more than six social connections: six degrees of separation. Kevin Bacon is the master of this connectivity. If there’s a rule out there that Donald Trump follows, perhaps this is the one, because his name— and the actions, controversies, politics, and alternative facts that stick to it like glue—never seems far from any conversation. From discussing the Super Bowl to brainstorming ideas for this very article, the actions of the administration in Washington have pervaded so many of our conversations in the last three weeks. It’s never unproductive or mis-
guided to discuss national politics. The executive orders coming out of the White House immediately affect people across the country, and it’s dangerous to dismiss them when they manifest themselves in the forced separation of families and the profiling of millions of people. But, as with anything, moderation is key. And it’s getting all too easy to overdose on hourly updates on national politics. We see this here at TSL every week, when we notice how many of our own columnists and reporters point toward larger issues in their articles. We’ve seen an outpouring of community organizers fight to enact change on a national level with the limited energy of small, local groups. Live streams of Senate proceedings can sometimes feel like watching reality television staged on another planet. Trump
TSL SAYS
Daphne The News Editors Daph-need your help!
Noor In my OPINION, you’re the best!
PAGE 7
has become a daily experience for Americans—if not all citizens of the world. As impossible as it may seem, national events cannot occupy every moment of our waking lives. It’s not sustainable, no matter your political persuasion, to go through your day constantly refreshing your news site of choice. This is where local action may have a role-as an outlet toward which we can direct our energy and focus. Within the nebulous space of overarching policy, we can find grounding by working on a local level. There’s still plenty to be done within the range of your Tinder. Worker’s rights and sanctuary cities. Holding administrators to their word when they call for a more inclusive campus. Asking, demanding, and educating, all with national politics in mind.
James McIntyre Guest Columnist On Oct. 28, 2016, this newspaper’s editorial board printed a reminder to the community that cultural appropriation is unacceptable and marginalizing. The editorial board invoked last year’s protests against Claremont McKenna College Dean of Students Mary Spellman and the resignation of CMC’s junior class president as examples of what can happen when we fail to be adequately sensitive. This incident exemplifies how campus outrage can elevate micro-aggressions to levels of outrage that would be better directed at issues like healthcare access, educational inequity, and countless other societal problems we face. To tackle these issues, Claremont graduates will need to compromise with people who wholeheartedly disagree with them, not just squabble with people they largely agree with already. But compromise becomes impossible when the workforce is populated by people who don’t want to engage. Claremont students, who are mostly privileged (Pomona hovers around 20% domestic, underrepresented minority enrollment, for example), nowadays expect extreme levels of protection from insensitivity and offensiveness. The same people who posted on Facebook in solidarity with Yale students who felt wronged by an email that questioned institutional control over student Halloween costumes will someday be in the workplace, possibly being forced to handle other difficult situations such as the grammatically correct spelling of the word “woman,” inauthentic bibimbap, and the existence of gendered bathrooms. For all the talk that surrounds these sorts of topics, their importance pales in comparison to the issues we will soon face under this administration. A s c o l l e g e s t u d e n t s , we spend so much time worrying about micro-aggressions that we don’t spend enough time tackling the macro-aggressions that are staring us in the face. Donald Trump is the president now, and his team has cited
Japanese internment as precedent for a future Muslim registry. But people on this campus haven’t discussed this invocation of such a dark period in American history very much—outside of a couple politics classes—because they spend more time focusing on perceived offenses directed at mostly privileged college students than they do pondering ways to actually help those who will face real oppression. And even when they do talk about it, the outrage is confined to social media and ineffective campus protests. We need people gearing up for the front lines in D.C., not hiding behind likes on facebook. Our campus culture of constant outrage tends to falsely equate micro-aggressions (I, James McIntyre, will give $100 to whomever can provide me with a coherent and precise definition of this word) with overt racism. By this, I do not mean to insinuate that questioning where an AsianAmerican is ‘from’ is acceptable. But raising such relatively minor concerns to the level of outrage normally reserved for genocide, war crimes, or Clinton supporters is entirely unhelpful if our goal is to create a more harmonious and inclusive culture. All it does is convince the right wing that any complaint about inclusion is just another part of the liberal outrage machine. And, frankly, that assessment is becoming truer as time passes. For every legitimate complaint about a subtly racist comment, there seems to be a Pomona student advising against taking a CMC class because the professor is ‘conservative.’ If we condemn CMC professors the same way we do racism, how are those who haven’t already drunk the Claremont Kool-Aid supposed to distinguish between legitimate calls for inclusion and the Claremont orthodoxy? Overly zealous social justice warriors shouldn’t preclude everyone else from addressing legitimately problematic issues. But the marketplace of ideas is not functioning properly. Thoughtful and well-defended ideas are not coming out on top. Strident, loud, and overinflated complaints coming largely from white people are. Thus, those who wish to address legitimate issues are not able to participate
in campus discourse. The Claremont orthodoxy has become the litmus test for being heard. If a male who is known for being ‘woke’ asks for advice on checking his privilege, he is lauded for his humility. But a male less well accepted for being ‘woke’ who inquires similarly is berated for asking women to solve all of his problems (I’ve seen this happen). The quality of the ideas does not matter anymore. What matters is how those who hear the ideas feel about the people producing them. When we give in to intolerance of even hearing something that offends us, we risk becoming habituated to the Claremont bubble. An attorney who visited Claremont as part of Sophomore Reorientation told her audience that she decided to become a lawyer rather than work in policy because it allowed her to avoid compromising. She openly admitted to desiring the ability to be strident — she used the word “strident” herself. While I’m not going to comment on the merits of choosing law over policy as a career, it does seem problematic that this Pomona alum, who attended when the institution was less liberal, preferred to avoid compromise that might help society. If you haven’t seen this for yourself, ask a Bernie-or-buster to explain to you why compromising on health insurance policy with Republicans is a bad idea. While promoting an inclusive campus environment is a worthy cause, it should not be pursued at the expense of generally free campus discourse. And free discourse requires that we err on the side of caution in restricting potentially offensive expression. Those who think we should have a careful discussion about what kinds of Halloween costumes are acceptable shouldn’t be shunned for daring to contradict the Claremont orthodoxy. We need to foster the kind of environment that prepares us to argue with people who truly disagree with us, lest we become intellectually lazy and dismiss legitimate, but possibly upsetting arguments. If we are confident in our ideas, let them win on the battlefield. James McIntyre PO ‘19 is a philosophy major. He likes to write and play with his two German shepherds.
Megan You’re my LIFE and you have STYLE!
Christina You’re a slam dunk designer!
Reading letters Sessions still got confirmed but it was cool
Frederick Douglass He’s on the up-and-up
Arbitrary rule enforcement More transparent and fragile than a window
Not Knowing Who Frederick Douglass Is Chances are he’s alive
Noor Dhingra • The Student Life
Prioritizing On-Campus Mental Health in Trump’s America Tiara Sharma Columnist These days, simply following the news is a mentally draining activity. Not only is the sitting president tarnishing relations with various nations, surrounding himself with an utterly unqualified cabinet, and Twitter ranting on a daily basis, he is actively setting this country up for its quickly approaching demise. In only his first week as president, Donald Trump has issued a ban against immigrants traveling into the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries. He has also passed executive orders to advance the construction of both the Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines. His Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor, Steve Bannon, is former Executive Chair of alt-right, ethnonationalist Breitbart News, and his new Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, has recently advocated for guns in schools to protect students from “potential grizzlies.” Needless to say, the country is
facing a tremendous downward spiral. As we continue to watch the administration’s next moves, some 7C students are far more affected by policies than others. Sahana Mehta SC ’20 said, “Post inauguration, there was definitely a deep sadness that overcame me for a while because of my immigrant story and the fact that various diasporas have seen the United States as the be-all, end-all of life, privilege, success, and the American Dream.” As is apparent, Trump’s xenophobic, sexist, anti-Muslim, ableist, and racist sentiments directly endanger members of the 7C community, and it remains the college administrations’ responsibility to care for these affected groups. After the Muslim ban, the Counseling Center issued an email to all 7C students reminding them of the various resources available to them. In a time when many students are in fear and uncertainty of their safety, Monsour should continue to be a strong presence on the campuses. After the election and inauguration, many identity-
based clubs across the colleges offered spaces for healing and support; however, the efficacy of these spaces could have been enhanced if Monsour could have lent its services to ensure that students were coping in a healthy way. Indeed, certain affinity meetings, such as those run by the Muslim Students Association, EKTA (the South Asian affinity group), and the Office of Black Student Affairs, should occasionally enlist the help of a Monsour staff member in order to ensure that students are engaging with the space productively. The presence of Monsour staff may also help to destigmatize mental health support in many communities of color on campus. Colleges generally tend to be hotbeds of stress and anxiety for many students. In a 2015 TSL survey, 74.9 percent of students said that “their academic workloads had negatively impacted their mental health this semester,” while 68.3 percent said “social stresses” had also harmed their mental health. Furthermore, 64.6 percent of
respondents said “feelings of isolation or loneliness had impacted them” emotionally, mentally, and physically. A study conducted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness reports that “64 percent of young adults who are no longer in college are not attending college because of a mental health related reason, primarily “depression, bipolar disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder.” (http://www.csc. edu/bit/resources/statistics/) These troubling statistics are proof that Monsour should continue to be a strong resource for students with mental illness, as well as those affected by Trump’s America. However, the Counseling Center cannot do this if the 7Cs do not support it in equitable ways. In the fall of 2015, Monsour Counseling Center informed its students that there was a five-week waiting period to get an appointment, and Pomona College provided funding for its students to “help students identify and receive counseling with local therapists.” However, the other six colleges and
institutions in the consortium did not, and perhaps were not able to, contribute to such efforts. The 5,000 other students in the consortium did not have this access. Those who were not Pomona students and who were in need of mental health support were forced to wait for an unreasonable number of weeks to acquire it. The 7Cs should provide equal financial support to Monsour, especially when it comes to students’ mental health. Monsour offers students eight to ten sessions a year, after which the Center refers students to offcampus therapists who can continue seeing the students. This poses a concern for students whose insurance does not fully cover mental health support. Instead of outsourcing students after a set amount of sessions, Monsour should hire more professionals and recruit specialists in certain cases in order to be better equipped for long-term care of students. The colleges could support this initiative by equally pooling their respective resources and expanding Mon-
sour’s capabilities. The need for the Counseling Center’s services is undoubtedly going to increase during the course of this presidency and with the building stresses that all students have to face in college. Priya Prabhakar SC ’20 said, “It’s very hard to see the pain around me, especially the ways his policies have materialized in the lives of my friends and family and innocent people. But at the same time I’m very energized to resist.” With an administration that turns a blind eye to empiricism and, bluntly put, credible politics of any kind, it is integral that we who are and will be most affected by these policies take measures to protect ourselves mentally and emotionally. Unfortunately, to a large extent, our colleges cannot avert the pain and fear that is bound to come. However, what they can do is prepare us with the mental health resources we need to face the uncertainty head on. Tiara Sharma SC ‘20 is from Boston, MA. She plans on majoring in English and maybe Philosophy.
OPINIONS PAGE 8
FEBRUARY 10, 2017
THE STUDENT LIFE
Republicans and the Supreme Court: Sometimes, the Bad Guys Win Zachary Freiman Guest Columnist This past week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)— straight-faced and surrounded by his craven colleagues—spat to a gaggle of reporters that it would be simply unthinkable for a party to blockade a nominee to the Supreme Court for political reasons. How dare the Democrats threaten to filibuster the open seat on the Supreme Court hostage, his message implied. The irony in his statement was palpable and detestable, for it was under his leadership that the Republican-majority Senate waged war against their constitutional duty to consider the president’s nominee to a vacancy on the Supreme Court. In March 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court after weeks of careful deliberation. Obama, often logical and methodical to a fault, chose the dull and conventional Garland, even though many leftists, likely including members of the Clinton campaign, were pushing for an exciting, fresh-faced nominee, such as Judge Sri Srinivasan, who would have been the first Indian American to sit on the Court. Senate Republicans, led by the fanatical McConnell, preemptively snapped President Obama’s olive branch of a moderate consensus candidate in two. Even before Justice Scalia’s body had been lowered into the ground, Senate Republicans were trampling on the strict constitutionalist’s warm body, refusing to even consider—or meet with—any nominee Obama put forth. On this dispute, the Constitution is clear: the Senate shall provide “advice and consent” for the president’s nominee(s) to the Supreme Court. The Constitution leaves no room for ambiguity and no asterisked notation for McConnell to use as justification for his unconstitutional power-grab. McConnell’s justification, that the American people should have input as to who sits on the court next, was always an absurd and plainly manipulative excuse.
The 2016 presidential election proved that three million more Americans wanted a Democrat to nominate Scalia’s replacement, anyway. Additionally, Americans elected Obama to make these very decisions in the first place. The shoddy rationalization behind Republicans’ unprecedented obstruction left them flip-flopping back and forth, flailing for an appropriate explanation. Could they not allow a vote on Garland because it was an election year? Or was it that the President had already nominated the maximum number of Supreme Court justice appointees Republicans would allow? Moreover, in addition to Senate Republicans’ illicit maneuver, they were readying another reprehensible campaign to block any and all nominees to the vacant seat on the Supreme Court made by not just the 44th president, but by the 45th as well. Republicans flooded talk shows to rile up their base and gave impassioned presentations on the Senate floor reaffirming their intent to disregard this rudimentary constitutional obligation. Moderate-leaning Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) remarked: “I am going to do everything I can do to make sure four years from now, we still got an opening on the Supreme Court.” Rabid ideologue (and supposed constitutionalist) Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) left the possibility open as well: “There is certainly long historical precedent for a Supreme Court with fewer justices […] That’s a debate that we are going to have.” And, of course, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) infamously pronounced, “I promise you that [Republicans] will be united against any Supreme Court nominee that [the president] would put up.” It is clear that Republicans did not oppose these hypothetical nominees because they subscribed to differing judicial philosophies, demonstrated unwelcome liberal biases, or had other offensive attributes, such as nefarious pasts. Rather, these nominees shared something more contemptible in common: being nominated by a Democrat—specifically, Hillary Clinton. Republicans were so especially
Courtesy of the office of Senator Claire McCaskill Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch meets with Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO).
averse to a Clinton nominee that they expressed a willingness to forfeit their morality—or, really, discard the remains of a thinly veiled ruse to cover the explicit partisan exercise—and confirm Garland during Obama’s lame duck period. This would have undeniably contradicted the entirety of the argument Republicans had fabricated as to why they could not bring a vote on Garland to the Floor. The truth is, Republicans could not stomach the thought of another Democratic appointee to the court; not even Garland, a consensus, moderate, and mainstream candidate, passed their unattainable test. For all Republicans cared, the Constitution and norms of our republic could combust as long as no Democrat was permitted to appoint another justice to the Court. Nevertheless, F.B.I. Director
James Comey, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and a minority of the American public freed conservatives of having to choose between a Clinton nominee and revealing, once again, that their argument of “letting the people choose” had no moral backing whatsoever. The yearlong process of delegitimizing, polarizing, and undermining the bipartisan nature of “advice and consent” paid off for Republican obstructionists. (Is the word “obstructionist” needed? Surely, by now, it is implied.) Thus, a directed, pointed attempt to ignore their constitutional duty in favor of blatant partisanship succeeded for Senate Republicans, as spineless, unethical, and unprincipled as their strategy was. Despite this, Democrats will kick and scream and jump up and
down, futile as it may be, for the ultra-conservative Judge Neil Gorsuch will be Justice Antonin Scalia’s replacement to the Supreme Court. Sometimes, the bad guys just win. Yes, a conservative Court will come after your rights: your right to make decisions about your body; your right to marry whomever you love; your right to health care. And that is the reason why it is important that Claremont students participate in our political system. Senate elections are decided by thousands of votes. The ten people that show up in each district can, and do, make a difference in the outcome. Furthermore, only two Senate seats need to be flipped in 2018 for the Senate to swing blue. We must be committed to seeing that through. The next time a president has the opportunity to
appoint a Supreme Court Justice, it must be ensured that the Democrats are in charge and it will be our turn to approve or reject his or her confirmation. So, when next year’s election rolls around, drive to Nevada or Arizona—where two Republican senators will be up for re-election— and canvass, make phone calls to support Democratic candidates nationwide, and continue to speak up with friends, family, and online to show that we care deeply about our nation and that we are watching our representatives with unforgiving memories. Zachary Freiman PO ’20 is a prospective Music and Public Policy Analysis double major from Sleepy Hollow, NY. He dreams of one day meeting Oprah Winfrey.
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Across Interntional Across 1. Cunning 58.wax Anime or Comicon 4. Lick an envelope or stamp with 59. Dark soda 1. Cunning 8. In addition to 60. Living or bear’s 4. Lick an12. envelope or What someone good with wires majorsroom in, abbr. hibernation spot stamp with wax 13. Trim 61. Sparkling wine 8. In addition to Rip or shred 62. Did laps in the pool 12. What 14. someone good 15. Lady 63. UN ___ include with wires majors in, abbr. eradicating poverty and 13. Trim 16. Curved segments 14. Rip or17. shred Popular Cal Poly SLO major hunger, abbr. Audrey Jiang • The Student Life
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15. Lady 16. Curved segments 17. Popular Cal Poly SLO major 18. Insurance company that quacks 20. Greek version of Asher in the Bible 22. Harry, Former Nevada Senator 24. Hat part that shields from sun 28. Square footage 31. Spodermen or Pepe 33. Org. psych majors may join one day 34. Falling shapes and dis appearing lines 36. “wakka wakka wakka wakka” 38. “Cheerleader” singer 39. Minimalist electronic table tennis 41. The yellow insides of an egg 42. Chocolate and coffee concoction 44. Largest continent 46. Envelope info. 48. Snoop 52. Game turned Disney movie 55. Related to the mouth 57. Doctors without Borders or Heifer
27.Tier or position 28. Smallest unit of matter 29. Drum manufacturer 30. Synth- or path- ending 32. Measurements of fuelusage 35. Apple tablet 37. Green-blue hybrid 40. Thin, as in a long passage 43. Vietnamese capital 45. Religion targeted by Trump’s recent Executive Orders 47. People who work in a hospital 49. Sometimes they’re bitter sweet, other times they’re split 50. Like cheese or wine 51. Donkey ___, animated Harambe 52. Hot beverage alternative 53. What 47-Down prescribe 54. Choose 56. ___ mode, how I like my pie
Down 1. Japanese game producer responsible for Sonic 2. Tree covering 3. Scream 4. ____ Invaders, the original point and shoot 5. Hearing device given at birth 6. Room full of games including 34, 36, 39, 52-Across and 4 and 51-Down 7. Not more and not the same 8. Producer responsible for Asteroids and Centipede 9. Many people have two, attached to your hips and feet 10. FAFSA summary 11. Spanish gold 19. 2006 Canadian torture victim, Maher 21. Tennessee law barring DACA or undocumented students from going to state schools 23. “___ __ Tired” 1968 Beatles hit 25. Nickname for coastal city near LA 26. October birthstone
Answers to Previous Puzzle S E G A
L E A F
A T O M
R E M O
T R E X A S
Y E L L A R E A T R I C H A O N P O T I
S P A C E
E A L A R E R C S A S I D M E M I S P P O N G A A S D D R O R A C O L S W A
tron arcade atari pong sega SPACE INVADERS tetris pacman DONKEY KONG
A T A E R V I E A C Y I A S N L A M
L S O E A R G R O S A M O
O P A L
R A N K
E N D S
A G E D
K O N G
SPORTS FEBRUARY 10, 2017
PAGE 9
THE STUDENT LIFE
CMS MEN’S BASKETBALL
Fairytale Ending for Stags in Comeback Victory
Natalie Lillie Like any fairytale, the situation at first sight was grim: University of Redlands’ first-year guard Joey Sponheim and two of his teammates came in to put the Bulldogs’ men’s basketball team up by 10 points in the first three minutes. If this was any indication of the game to come, it was going to be a long one for the ClaremontMudd-Scripps Stags. Fortunately, the CMS squad was calm, cool, and collected in maintaining their composure and staying grounded in their game. “Starting slow has been a theme for us unfortunately,” guard Miles President HM ‘20 said. “We’ve been in that position a lot, so we knew what we had to do to come back.” The Stags fought with a vengeance to work their way back into the game and close the gap. With President and guard Michael Scarlett CM ’18 nailing some clutch three-pointers and forward Riley Hall CM ’17 working the inside paint, the Stags never gave up on the end goal and brought it back within three, 33-29 to the Bulldogs, at half time. Halftime was a pivotal point in the fairytale—when CMS chose to stick to the game plan and bring their fiery energy into the second half. “We had to get out on them a little more, keep moving the ball around, and trust the offense,” says President of their strategy. A few characters in this story deserving of honorable mention
were President, Scarlett, Jack Ely CM ‘18 and Kendrick Morris CM ‘18. Scarlett came out on fire in the second half, draining buckets left and right. Ely was a sparkplug and an asset to the team all over the floor, creating plays offensively and rebounding some crucial shots defensively. Morris pulled out a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, showing up offensively in the second half. President himself had eight key points for the Stags. “The little things that don’t show up in the stat book are so instrumental to our team,” President said, “the guys on the bench especially, yelling out shot clock and keeping us energized. Everyone has a role on the team that they’re fulfilling really well right now.” With unyielding drive and strong team chemistry, the CMS team was unstoppable. With 14 minutes left in the game, the Stags finally took the lead and never looked back. In sync with each other and with victory on their minds, the Stags were up by three with a minute left on the clock. Out of nowhere off an assist from his teammate, Scarlett swished a jumper and hit two follow-up free throws to make it happy ever after for the Stags. The Stags’ next game was against the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens, where they split the Sixth Street Rivalry and lost 80-61. They then played the Whittier College Poets and won 87-67. Their next game is against University of La Verne on Saturday, Feb. 11.
Alexander Landau • The Student Life
Michael Scarlett CM’18 pushes past a Bulldog and scores for the Stags at the CMS vs. Redlands men’s basketball game on Feb. 4.
CMS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Senior Athenas Lead Team to Victory by 13 Over Poets
CMS AND P-P SWIM & DIVE
CMS Smashes P-P, Sets Sights on SCIACs
Austin Huang • The Student Life
Elizabeth Carrade CM ‘18 leads the charge in the 500-yard freestyle against Pomona-Pitzer at Axelrood Pool on Feb. 4.
Katie Baughman
Clockwise from top: Kris Brackmann CM ‘17 shoots a three against Whittier on Feb. 8, where she scored 17 points in the Athena’s win; Claire Donnelly CM ‘17 makes a shot inside the paint in the Athenas’ game against Whittier on Wed. Feb 8; Kris Brackmann CM ‘17 lets a shot fly against Whittier on Feb. 8; Quinn Glosniak CM ‘17 scores while being fouled and completes her plus one.
Tim Hernandez • The Student Life
The Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens made the uphill trek across Sixth Street to take on their arch-rivals the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags and Athenas at Axelrood Pool on on Saturday, Feb. 4. Despite P-P’s exhilarating performances in the 200-meter freestyle and medley relays, the Stags and Athenas came out on top. Both CMS men’s and women’s teams triumphed over P-P, 167-129 and 182-117, respectively. As the sun ducked in and out behind the clouds, both teams arrived ready to compete. The morning got off to a lively start, as P-P’s women’s team gained crucial momentum with back-toback wins in the women’s and men’s 200-yard medley relays. But CMS kept its cool, with record-breaking races from Elizabeth Carrade CM ’18 and Ben Culberson CM ’20 in the in the 1000-yard freestyle (10:41.40 and 9:45.96, respectively). CMS followed with four consecutive wins over the Sagehens. Jocelyn Crawford CM ’20 also broke her own pool record in the 100-yard backstroke. Jackson Crewe HM ’19 had a spectacular performance in the 200-yard freestyle, and Matthew Williams CM ’17 set a pool record in the 200yard backstroke (1:50.57) and won the 100-yard backstroke, hoping to defend his national championship in the 100-yard backstroke at last year’s NCAA Championships. Tyler Welty CM ’19 then won the 100-yard breaststroke. Ivy Chen HM ’20 took first in both the 200-yard backstroke and individual medley (2:07.16 and 2:11.08, respectively), and Stephanie Doi CM ’17 finished first in the 100-yard butterfly. Wil-
liams, Dave Makhervaks HM ’20, Crewe, and Graham Spurzem CM ’17 triumphed over the Sagehens in the meet’s last event, the men’s 400-yard freestyle relay (3:07.59). CMS diving also had a strong outing. Kendall Hollimon CM ’20’s score of 372.85 on the three-meter board and 313.85 on the one-meter springboard set a new pool record. Maia Presti SC ’17 also finished first in the one-meter springboard. Later in the afternoon, Carli Lessard HM ’17 added points for CMS with a win in the three-meter. Ten new pool records were set at the meet, eight of which came from CMS’ side of the pool. “There was a lot of adrenaline at the meet,” said Claire BaconBrenes SC ’20, who set a pool record in the 100-yard breaststroke and moved up to fifth in the CMS Top 10 standings. CMS’s victory over P-P is the perfect way to close the regular season. The Stags and Athenas can use this boost in momentum to prepare for their next challenge: the SCIAC Championships on Feb. 15-18. The team is looking forward to another exciting SCIAC showing, and is on the hunt for a championship. In preparation for SCIACs, Bacon-Brenes said, “the training is a little bit less. I’m hoping to feel more well-rested. For me, what I’ve been working on this year has been visualization. There’s been a lot of studies on how visualization can improve your performance.” “Every year, our coach has a different motto,” Bacon-Brenes said. “This year, our motto is: it matters ... everything you do leading up to SCIACs matters.” There is no doubt that going forward, CMS will continue to follow this motto, work hard, and stay disciplined in their quest to win the conference championships.
SPORTS PAGE 10
FEBRUARY 10, 2017
THE STUDENT LIFE
Sports Calendar
February 10 - February 16
Pomona-Pitzer Friday, February 10th Softball V. UPS 10:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m. Saturday, February 11th Women’s Golf Maurice Walker Championship 12:00 p.m.
Women’s Basketball V. Whittier 5:00 p.m. Men’s Basketball V. Whittier 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 15th Swim & Dive SCIAC Championship At Commerce 9:00 a.m., 5:00 p.m.
Track & Field At Occidental 12:00 p.m.
Women’s Basketball At Occidental 7:00 p.m.
Men’s Tennis At Cal Lutheran 10:00 a.m. Baseball V. PLU 11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m. Women’s Tennis PICK V. Chapman 2:00 p.m. EDIT OR’S
Thursday, February 16th Swim & Dive SCIAC Championship At Commerce 9:00 a.m., 5:00 p.m. Men’s Basketball At Occidental 7:00 p.m.
Men’s Tennis V. Occidental 3:30 p.m.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Saturday, February 11th Women’s Golf Walker Cup 12:00 p.m. Women’s Water Polo V. St. Francis 10:00 a.m. V. Princeton 3:00 p.m. EDIT
PICOKR’S
Baseball V. Whitman 11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m. Women’s Tennis V. UC San Diego 12:00 p.m. Softball At Redlands 12:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m. Women’s Basketball At La Verne 2:00 p.m. Men’s Basketball At La Verne 4:00 p.m.
Women’s Water Polo V. Mercyhurst 8:00 a.m. V. Wagner 10:30 a.m. Baseball V. Whitman 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, February 15th Swim & Dive SCIAC Championship At Commerce 9:00 a.m., 5:00 p.m. Women’s Basketball V. Cal Lutheran 7:00 p.m. Thursday, February 16th Swim & Dive SCIAC Championship At Commerce 9:00 a.m., 5:00 p.m. Women’s Basketball V. Cal Lutheran 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 12th Women’s Golf Walker Cup 12:00 p.m.
Scores Pomona-Pitzer
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Softball PLU 9 P-P 0 P-P 5 PLU 4
Swim & Dive Men: CMS 167 P-P 129 Women: CMS 182 P-P 117
Baseball P-P 6 UPS 0
Softball CMS 2 Vanguard 1 Vanguard 6 CMS 1
Swim & Dive Men: CMS 167 P-P 129 Women: CMS 182 P-P 117 Men’s Tennis P-P 7 GAU 2 Whitman 6 P-P 3 P-P 7 Pacific U 2 Women’s Tennis P-P 9 Occidental 0 CSULA 5 P-P 4 Women’s Basketball CLU 74 P-P 51 Chapman 80 P-P 56 Men’s Basketball P-P 80 CMS 61 P-P 62 Chapman 49 CLU 59 P-P 57 Women’s Water Polo USC 25 P-P 2 CBU 11 P-P 6 Baseball P-P 17 Willamette 0 P-P 11 PLU 10
P-P SOFTBALL
Walk Off Home Run Secures Sagehens a Split in Series With PLU Lutes Kellen Browning
Just an hour after a 9-0 trampling at the hands of Pacific Lutheran University in the first game of their season-opening double-header, the PomonaPitzer Sagehens softball team was down 4-2 at the bottom of the seventh inning, and the situation looked as bleak as the pouring gray sky last Friday, Feb. 3. But when Liz Rodarte PZ ’19—last year’s SCIAC Co-Rookie of the Year and First-Team All-SCIAC pitcher—approached the plate, head coach JoAnne Ferguson had faith. “[Rodarte is] one of those athletes that you know when she steps up, something special’s going to happen,” Ferguson said. She did not disappoint. Rodarte smashed the ball over the fence behind center field, sending herself, Kendal Kipper PO ’20, and Sofia Baig PO ’17 home to give P-P a 5-4 win over the Lutes. “You can’t always bank on walk-off home runs, but it’s great … to get us some good offensive momentum heading into this weekend,” Ferguson said. The veteran coach, who has only seen two teams make the postseason SCIAC tournament in her 11 years, hopes that this year’s squad will be the third. Last year, the Sagehens fell just short. “It literally came down to the last double-header of the season,” Ferguson said. “We had to win both games at Whittier [College]. We won the first game and we lost the second. So we were right there.” Coming so close to the playoffs was tough, but Ferguson is focused on the future—which is young. P-P has added seven promising new faces, and Ferguson is excited for the exuberance they will bring. “Freshmen usually come in with a ton of energy and usually in pretty good shape and uninjured, hopefully, so that helps with just getting some new life and some new energy,” she said. “They don’t know the
Meghan Joyce • The Student Life
Pomona-Pitzer center/infielder Sam Carlson PO ‘18 prepares to catch a ball from a Pacific Lutheran University opponent in the season opener game on Feb. 3. The Sagehens lost to the Lutes 9-0 in the morning game, but won in the afternoon 5-4.
conference, so they don’t have perspective, and they can kind of just go in playing without any thought or worry. You just play the game like you always have.” Aside from three returning sophomores and six juniors, Ferguson is counting on experienced seniors Baig and Bianca Cockrell PO ’17 to lead the way. “I’m excited about how [the seniors] lead by example every day, and then also just their strong vocal [and] organizational leadership,” Ferguson said. In the outfield, Ferguson will rely on the experience of Baig and the speed of Missy Pekarek PZ ‘18, who Ferguson said will be called upon to “catch any ball hit in the area of Claremont.”
has “a lot of pop with her bat,” while third basewoman Sam Carlson PO ‘18 has “that home-run hitting bat [and] can come in and change the game with one swing.” With such versatility available to her, Ferguson is confident about the upcoming season. “We have multiple people who can do multiple things, so there’s a lot of great options for me as the head coach in terms of lineups … adding some fluidity to the game,” she said. The Sagehens next play the University of Puget Sound in a double-header Friday, Feb. 10 before opening conference play against Chapman University at home on Saturday, Feb. 18.
P-P WOMEN’S TENNIS
Sagehens Outstrip Tigers, Maintain Dominance Melissa Petito The Pomona-Pitzer women’s tennis team went up against the Occidental College Tigers on Saturday, Feb. 4, in their season opening meet. From the very first point, the Sagehens came out strong, delivering an impressive performance and dominating the Tigers in every aspect of the game. The raucous cheers of a tightly knit team encouraged each player to leave their heart out on the court, as the Sagehens swept the Tigers 9-0 at the Pauley Tennis Complex in Claremont, California. The Sagehens are currently ranked No. 6 in Division III and have a long-standing tradition of excellence. This season will be no different, as the precision athletes of the P-P women’s ten-
nis team fine-tune their skills and fight to the top. The Sagehens have been putting in long hours of practice on the court in preparation for the season. Arianna Chen PO ’19 recounts how her team has been preparing for the long season ahead of them. Chen said her team “fought hard until the end and [is] really proud of [the] girls.” She said that “in future meets, [we] would like to increase the intensity on and off court.” The Sagehens have been polishing every aspect of their gameplay. Their effort shows in their large margin of victory, and a run for the national championships is not out of the question. Chen and her teammates showed such drive throughout the doubles matches, as Chen
and partner Caroline Casper PO ’19 won their match 8-0 in doubles play. In the fall season, Casper had a fourth place finish in the ITA Oracle Cup singles championship. Victories were also earned by partners Yurie Heard PO ’20 and Mae Coyiuto PO ’17 with a score of 8-1, and partners Maddie Gordon PO ’17 and Lucy Jiang PO ’19 with a score of 8-1. Singles victories for the day included Chen, Jiang, Shivani Doraiswami PO ’18, Emily Chen PO ’19, Yurie Heard PO ’20, and Maddie Gordon PO ’19. Casper said that after the matches, her team is “excited to compete against some of the best teams in the country, especially at ITA national indoors tournament and the NCAA tournament” at the end of the season. Casper believes they are a team “with the potential to win multiple national champi-
onships” by winning one match at a time. Such a goal is easily within their reach as the team overflows with talent, including Casper, one of five athletes on the team who was a 2016 NCAA All-American. The Sagehens brought an unbridled intensity to the courts. Mallory Roth PZ ’17 describes how “the energy that everyone brought both on and off the court definitely helped the team focus throughout the match,” contributing to an overall impressive win. The Sagehens also dropped a close match to the Division II No. 24 California State University, Los Angeles Eagles. While the Sagehens fought long and hard, they came up just short with a score of 5-4. The Sagehens will next host the Chapman University Panthers on Saturday, Feb. 11, at the Pauley Tennis Courts.
P-P Athlete of the Week CMS Athlete of the Week
Women’s Water Polo CMS 12 Chapman 9 CMS 10 Occidental 2
Men’s Baseball
Women’s Basketball Redlands 64 CMS 63 CMS 61 Whittier 48
Tanner Nishioka
Men’s Basketball P-P 80 CMS 61 CMS 69 Redlands 64 CMS 87 Whittier 67
Kristen Hong PZ ‘19 has “already shown great leadership at second base,” while Isabella Deatherage PO ‘20 will start at shortstop; Ferguson says the team needs her to “play like a senior at that position.” On the mound, Cockrell—last year’s offensive player of the year—and Rodarte—who will “be in the lineup at all times”—are expected to lead the Sagehens. Ferguson is particularly excited about new left-handed pitcher Alondra Reynoso PZ ‘20, who helped P-P win the second game Saturday and has “already shown just some great experience on the mound.” On offense, Kelsey Buchanan PO ‘18 is a designated hitter and
Women’s Swim & Dive Claire Bacon-Brenes
PO ’17 Honolulu, Hawaii
SC ’20 Portland, Oregon
In Feb. 9’s game against the Pacific Lutheran University Lutes, Tanner Nishioka PO ‘17 hit two home runs in an 11-10 comeback victory for the Sagehens baseball team. Nishioka also hit a home run against Willamette University in the Sagehens’ 17-0 win. In his first season in 2014, Nishioka was selected as SCIAC Newcomer of the Year and since then has been First Team All-SCIAC and Second and then First Team AllWest-Region for three consecutive seasons. The utility player will look to lead the Sagehens to more victories this year.
Claire Bacon-Brenes SC ‘20 reigned supreme in the CMS-P-P swim meet this weekend. Her 100yard breaststroke time of 1:05.21 broke a seven-year-old pool record and was also a personal best, moving her into #8 on the CMS Top 10 fastest times list. She also won the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:23.16 and is now fifth-ranked all time in that event as well. Her times have already qualified her to NCAA National Championships. Only a first-year, Bacon-Brenes will only move up in the rankings for the Athenas in the next three years.