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The student newspaper of the Claremont Colleges since 1889
CLAREMONT, CA
Denver House buzz: Experts weigh in
FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2019
VOL. CXXI NO. 21
Kohoutek Catastrophe
CMS tabs collegiate tennis executive as first female AD
SIENA SWIFT The 5Cs were abuzz with speculation and discussion this week about the spiritual group living at the Denver House, following TSL’s recent article in which residents of the house discussed their beliefs and lifestyle. With rumors continuing to fly and some students speculating that the Denver House is a cult, TSL consulted two experts, who gave differing opinions on the topic. Rick Alan Ross is a cult specialist and founder of the nonprofit Cult Education Institute, which keeps records of cults, as well as controversial groups and movements. Ross said he considers the Denver House to be a “personality cult” — a group of people who admire or devote themselves to one leader — with the group’s spiritual teacher, Satguruyogiprabhu Jnandamokshabrahmananda, who goes by Jnanda, as the cult leader. However, he said he needs more information from former followers to fully analyze the risks or dangers of the group. Ross is a well-known cult expert, but has faced criticism for his methods of reversing cult indoctrination, including an accusation of kidnapping. The incident led to his arrest for unlawful imprisonment in 1995, according to The Seattle Times. Ross was ac-
See DENVER on Page 2
TORREY HART
MEGHAN JOYCE • THE STUDENT LIFE
After Kohoutek was forced inside by a noise complaint, a small crowd gathered at the Gold Student Center at Pitzer College April 20.
Lively music festival stifled by noise complaint EMILY KUHN Kohoutek, Pitzer College’s annual music festival, was nearly shut down this past Saturday by Claremont Police Department officers, who arrived in response to a noise complaint. The festival, which frequently attracts more than 1,000 attendees, including students, parents and big-name artists, was forced to move indoors to the Gold Student Center, which limited attendees to 200 and put a damper on proceedings. By 10 p.m., far fewer than 200 festival go-
ers remained. The two-day festival began smoothly April 19, but issues began the next day around 3 p.m. when Campus Safety officers alerted the organizers to a noise complaint. The organizers responded by reducing the volume. Shortly after the complaint, CPD arrived and spoke with EB Kolbrener PZ ’21 and Julia Fradkin PZ ’21, two of the festival organizers. The students said the officers were apologetic and tried to help mediate the situation between the organizers and the disgruntled “community mem-
ber” who issued the complaint. “The police informed the caller that the sound had been turned [down] by 50 percent and if they called again, the leaders of the festival would be arrested,” Kolbrener said. “It sounds like whoever was on the other end said ‘go through with that, you have to shut off the event completely.’” Much to the dismay and frustration of everyone involved, when another call came, the organizers had to shut down the music or be arrested. The organizers said the officers told them that due to Cal-
ifornia state law, anyone who repeatedly calls to report a disturbance of the peace twice or more in 24 hours essentially has full control over the situation. CPD would not provide a detailed account of the incident. Moderate noise is allowed in Claremont between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., according to a city code summary, but the city “has established strict standards to control excessive and annoying noise.” The city code makes exceptions to noise policies for
See KOHOUTEK on Page 3
Mudd to revise Core Math curriculum
Two years after campus protests, first major change emerges from review designed to decrease workload JAIMIE DING Two years after protests over high stress and excessive workloads rocked the Harvey Mudd College campus — resulting in two days of canceled classes and promises to modify the school’s Core curriculum — changes are beginning to emerge from the curriculum review process.
The incoming class of 2023 will be the first to experience the new pilot Core Math curriculum, according to the February update on the Core review process. Mudd’s campus broke out in protests in March 2017 after TSL published a leaked report that included anonymous quotes from students and faculty criticizing the school’s cur-
riculum, which was described so overwhelming that students didn’t have time to eat, shower or sleep. Over the following weeks, Mudd students voiced their concerns to administrators in walkouts, rallies, sit-ins, town halls and meetings, and the school went into “crisis mode,” HMC President Maria Klawe told NPR.
LIAM BROOKS • THE STUDENT LIFE
A demonstration led by Black Lives and Allies at Mudd took place outside the Shanahan Center in March 2017 in the wake of the publication of the Wabash Report.
LIFE AND STYLE
Administrators and the board of trustees ultimately promised to add funding and resources for on-campus mental health and mentorship programs and planned a review of the Core curriculum. Months after the tumult of the spring 2017 semester, Patrick Little, an engineering professor and chair of the faculty, told TSL that he expected the curriculum review would aim to make Mudd’s workload more manageable. “Our intent is to … preserve those parts of the Core that the community believes are most important while at the same time addressing some serious shortcomings and defects that have already been identified,” Little said at the time. In the ensuing period, the college has used grant money to contribute to diversity efforts and the core review, and hired more support staff in the student affairs office. Mudd also conducted internal and external reports on the Core curriculum. An internal report published in November 2017 concurred with the original leaked report, and said that the curriculum was excessively stressful and more strenuous than that
of peer institutions. An external report on the Core Curriculum commissioned by the college, published in December 2017, recommended restructuring Core “from the ground up” to effect persistent change. The campus climate has cooled off significantly since the protests, Harry Fetsch HM ’20 said via message. “I think it’s become more subdued, especially compared to spring 2017. Of course, students still care, but it feels like as a community we’re less close to a complete breakdown,” he said. “I don’t know if concerns have really been addressed or if they’re just less visible, but I certainly think the consensus has shifted away from the complaints about overwhelming workload that we heard two years ago.” Since the upheaval, Mudd’s development of a new pilot math program is the first major change to the curriculum. The current Core Math consists of six half-semester courses: “Calculus,” “Probability and Statistics,” “Intro-
See MUDD on Page 3
LIFE AND STYLE
The Shark Tank-inspired Sage Tank will take place May 3. TSL gets the inside scoop on the startups that students will be pitching at the event.
An executive at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association will soon become Claremont-Mudd-Scripps’ first female athletic director, Claremont McKenna College announced last week. The CMS athletic department named Erica Perkins Jasper, who has served as the ITA’s chief operating officer since 2015, to the position. She has also coached tennis at a number of colleges and worked for the U.S. Tennis Association as the senior manager of junior and collegiate competition. “Erica brings both exemplary experience and the strongest commitments to high academic achievement, athletic competition, superior coaching and leadership development,” CMC President Hiram Chodosh said. Perkins Jasper will move to Claremont with her husband and two sons and begin work on June 1, the announcement said. “CMS student-athletes represent everything right about college athletics,” Perkins Jasper said in the announcement. “They are high-achieving in the classroom and competitive on their respective fields of play. They have strong relationships with their peers and faculty, they are leaders in campus organizations, and they are passionate about making an impact.” The hire concludes a 10-month search that began when former AD Terry Tumey departed Claremont for Fresno State University last June. Tumey held his position for two years. In the interim, Mike Sutton CM ’76 — who was CMS’ AD for 16 years prior to Tumey’s arrival — has headed the department. Last fall, CMS hired Odgers Berndtson, a consulting group specializing in sports leadership in higher education, to lead the search. Berndtson held three open meetings on campus in October to communicate with students and build See JASPER on Page 3
COURTESY: CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE
Erica Perkins Jasper will be the first female AD in CMS history.
OPINIONS
Several female student DJs are shaping the 5C party experience.
Students in the spiritual group living in the Denver House share their beliefs
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SIXTH STREET
RIVALRY
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NEWS THE STUDENT LIFE
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APRIL 26, 2019
DENVER: One expert says group seems ‘harmless at this stage’ Continued from Page 1 quitted of those charges. “My opinion of Jnanda is that he fits the classic profile of a cult leader,” Ross said. “It appears based on the money that they have given him that he is basically living off of them.” Jnanda couldn’t be reached for comment, but previously denied claims that the Denver House is a cult. “If you look up the word ‘cult,’ there’s many definitions and it’s been morphed over the years because of misqualified cults,” Jnanda said. “Cults take on a bad name.” Ross said Jnanda appears to be the defining element and driving force who shapes the group based on the beliefs he’s assembled from various religions. He said the groups’ isolation and Jnanda’s lack of accountability concerned him as well. “It’s all about what he’s picked, what he’s chosen to include and what he teaches and his supposed spiritual wisdom and power and presence,” he said. Ross said “excessive” meditation is common in neo-Eastern groups — such as the Denver House — which induces a trance state, making people more susceptible to suggestion. Nori Muster, a researcher, author and former member of the Hare Krishna sect, which has been frequently labeled a cult, disagreed and said she doesn’t believe the Denver House is a cult, but saw several warning signs. “My take on [the Denver House] was that it’s probably pretty harmless at this stage,” she said. “It just seems like a little commune … [Jnanda] looks friendly enough, but you can’t tell by just looking at someone what’s going on inside.”
Muster said William Latta PO ’19’s statement to TSL that he would rather be shot than stop practicing his spiritual beliefs is “cultish” and “a really troubling thing.” “I admit that the statement was reactionary and understand the concern,” Latta wrote in response. “The essence of it is a relationship at my core with the Divine that transcends any group that I am with. I invite anyone to reach out for clarification.” Muster also said cult leaders convince their followers they can read minds and therefore can tell if they’re thinking about leaving the group. “[Jnanda] leads the people to believe that he has supernatural powers that other people don’t have and that he has some kind of special connection with God,” Muster said. “It’s a way to control people; that’s a red flag.” Muster said a primary characteristics of cults is isolating members through new words, languages, outfits and living situations. “[Cults] have their own language, they often have their own costumes,” she said. “There’s a lingo that you learn when you move in with them.” Phil Zuckerman, a professor of sociology and secular studies at Pitzer College, brought his “Sociology of Religion” class to the Denver House after spring break. Every week, the class visits a different religious group in the area, from Scientologists to Quakers. Isabel Kelly PO ’20, who now goes by Sundara Shakta Vinyasa Ananda, is in the class and a member of the Denver House. She suggested the visit to the house, according to Zuckerman. Zuckerman, an atheist, said he was excited to visit
the house to examine it from a sociological perspective. “To me, there’s no difference [from other religions],” he said. “[The members of the Denver House] think [Jnanda’s] divine, well, people think the Pope is divine. Every religion is based, to me, on unsupported claims, unsupported assertions.” Zuckerman recalled sitting in the backyard with his class while the Denver House’s teacher, Jnanda, sat cross-legged, dressed in a robe, with jewelry adorning his body. Having observed the group, Zuckerman said he doesn’t think it’s a cult. “These are adults who have chosen to follow this guy. To me, if you think people are being brainwashed, I would say the kid that’s being taken to Sunday school at four or five years old, that’s brainwashing, they truly don’t have a choice,” he said. “If 19- or 20- or
21-year-olds choose to follow this bald dude, why do we care? If it makes them feel enlightened, why do we care?” Zuckerman said his students’ two main concerns were Jnanda’s anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric and alleged cultural appropriation. “[My students] illuminated [the cultural appropriation] a bit for me,” he said. “They really helped me see that it’s not an equal exchange. There is a history of oppression, colonialism [and] imperialism.” Jnanda told TSL last week that he sees it as “silly” to say that his teachings and students are culturally appropriative. “So people who think [our spirituality] is cultural appropriation, I forgive their ignorance because they just don’t understand what’s going on,” he said. Zuckerman said stu-
dents questioned why Kelly didn’t change her name to the English meaning of her Sanskrit name and criticized how she can choose to switch between names. “She can always just flip back to Isabel Kelly when she needs to,” he said. “A person from India doesn’t have that option; they can’t just switch.” Kelly addressed Zuckerman’s students’ comments about her privilege. “With full transparency, I admit that transitioning to publicly going by my spiritual name has been a very sensitive process for many reasons. The relationship I have with this name is profoundly personal one, and I do not consider it to be a mere ‘decoration’ or shallow aspect of my being,” Kelly said via message. “At this point, I respect the need to be culturally aware of how my use of this name might be offensive to some peo-
ple, but I prefer to keep my relationship with my name personal.” While the board of the The Claremont Colleges Hindu Society told TSL some Hindu students might not view the group as culturally appropriative, others expressed frustration with their use of Hindu practices. Shayok Chakraborty PO ’19, who is Hindu, criticized the Denver House residents’ use of Hindu and other South Asian iconography. “It’s just bizarre to see these same gods and goddesses plastered up around these people’s rooms like these novelty decorations when they mean so much more to me and so many others,” Chakraborty said via message. “I don’t think these are bad people and it’s great that they found spiritualism in their lives but why does it always have to mean wearing South Asia like a costume?”
TALIA BERNSTEIN • THE STUDENT LIFE
Pomona College and Pitzer College students living in the Denver House following the teachings of Jnanda, their spiritual guru.
Keckxit: CMC faculty backs decision, Pitzer receives $3 million donation ELINOR ASPEGREN Claremont McKenna College’s faculty overwhelmingly voted to pursue the college’s plan to withdraw from the Keck Science Department last week. The faculty voted 68-11 to leave the department, which is shared between CMC, Scripps College and Pitzer College, according to Keck biology professor Sarah Budischak, who wrote the numbers down at the faculty meeting. The vote was made after a careful and deliberative process that fleshed out a vision for CMC’s new independent science department, according to Keck chemistry professor Nancy Williams, who was at the meeting. CMC’s announcement in October that it was leaving Keck shocked students and faculty, but many have since come on board because of the faculty-centered process of separation. Williams said via email that the majority of Keck professors will remain in the current department, rather than joining CMC’s
new one. The faculty vote Friday “was not really a vote for CMC to leave Keck” but rather a faculty endorsement of the vision for CMC’s science department and an opportunity to address the concerns of faculty who weighed in on the process, Williams said. Following CMC’s announcement, Pitzer and Scripps have continued their commitment to expanding the physical Keck building, which will cost $65 million. Scripps and Pitzer will pay roughly equal amounts, Pitzer dean of faculty Nigel Boyle told TSL in February. To help with the costs, Pitzer recently received a $3 million donation from the Pitzer Family Foundation — a philanthropic organization created by a relative of Pitzer founder Russell Pitzer — that has been earmarked for the project. “The Pitzer family is proud to endorse the expansion of science education at Pitzer College,” the foundation wrote in a statement. “We believe the new science building is integral to the vision of Pitzer College set forth by President [Mel-
vin] Oliver, and we look forward to the project’s successful completion.” PFF previously donated $1 million to Keck in April 2017. The Keck expansion will include a new building and the hiring of more tenure-track faculty to decrease the department’s reliance on visiting professors, Boyle said via email. Boyle said the PFF donation will help the colleges kickstart the expansion. “It’s a big capital project for Pitzer, but the PFF donation gets us off to a flying start, and the pipeline for Keck gifts is looking good,” he said. Williams said the initial Keckxit announcement was painful and “not handled as well as it should have been” but thinks the separation will be beneficial for both programs in the long run. “I think both science programs are going to be stronger than the old one was, because the two groups of faculty and staff are going to be able to do so much more for the student scientists of Pitzer, Scripps and [CMC] than we have been able to before now,” she said.
CORRECTIONS The April 12 issue of TSL misspelled Niyati Narang SC ’20’s name in an article about incoming 5C presidents. The April 19 issue of TSL incorrectly stated in the Denver House article that Ale de Rada PZ ’21 is from Peru. She is actually from Bolivia.
TSL regrets these errors.
NEWS THE STUDENT LIFE
APRIL 26, 2019
Pomona updates work study, finance policies MARC ROD In the wake of a nearly four hour sit-in at Pomona College’s Alexander Hall last week, the school has announced changes to its work study program and financial policies. Many of the changes seem to be a direct response to some of the demands issued by the protesters at the sit in. All 58 students on Pomona’s work study program who received an email in March telling them to stop working because they had exceeded their work study stipends “remain eligible to work” and “none have been terminated from their employment,” according to an email to students co-signed by Pomona President G. Gabrielle Starr, Dean of Students Avis Hinkson, treasurer Karen Sisson and financial aid director Robin Thompson. Pomona is working with students’ supervisors to increase their work allotments. The college is also decreasing the use of registration holds for balances on students’ accounts. Previously, students with outstanding charges on their accounts were restricted from registering for classes during the pre-registration period. Now, only students with more than $500 in outstanding charges will be prevented from registering. The students had demanded that the registration limitation policy be scrapped entirely. Pomona is also eliminating late payment fees for students with less than $500 outstanding on their account and fees to set up payment plans. “Our aim is to provide more pathways for students and families to avoid charges, address challenges early and prevent situations that increase their costs,” the administrators said. Pomona is holding a student employment workshop at noon May 6, which the protesters also demanded. The email also stated that Pomona’s financial aid continues to covers physical education courses, and that Pomona will add language referencing student accomodations to a semesterly email about this policy. The protesters had demanded that Pomona fund off-campus physical education courses for students with certain disabilities. These changes address some of the demands submitted by student protesters during the sit-in. However, there are several demands the email didn’t touch on, such as the Student Health Insurance Program, fellowship compensation, job opportunities for undocumented students and staff confidentiality. Alezandro Ruvalcaba PO ’21, one of the students involved with the sit-in who provided contact information to TSL, did not respond to requests for comment.
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MUDD: Students applaud math changes Continued from Page 1 duction to Linear Algebra,” “Introduction to Differential Equations,” “Multivariable Calculus” and “Differential Equations and Linear Algebra II.” The new Core Math removes “Probability and Statistics” and combines the remaining five half-semesters into three full-semester courses: “Calculus,” “Linear Algebra” and “Differential Equations.” The new curriculum will be tested for a year and reviewed by faculty. “Having three courses instead of six half-courses will … allow professors to tell a more cohesive and exciting story in each class,” said Francis Su, a math professor and member of the Core Review Committee. “We hope these changes will reduce compression in each course and allow more time for certain topics and show the joy and beauty of math.” Su also said via email that the math department expects to develop the “Probability and Statistics” course into a full-course elective which will “also allow time to explore the ideas in depth.” “Overall I’m happy with the core review process. The faculty have more experience than students possibly could, and the core review process ultimately belongs to them,” Fetsch said. “I think they’ve been doing a good job though of reaching out to students and hearing a wide variety of opinions.” Emma Cuddy HM ’21 believes these changes are for the better. “[‘Probability and Statistics’] tried to do too much at once, and I don’t think it was very effective. It seems like by making [Core Math] three full semesters, they’ll actually teach all the material at once,” Cuddy said, comparing it to the current Core Math program. “The new method seems more cohesive and a little less bouncing around, which I think will help.” Matthew LeMay HM ’21 agreed. “Especially for people coming from high schools where they might not have
NINA POTISCHMAN • THE STUDENT LIFE
learned as much math, this is going to help Core Math seem more digestible and less like getting shot with a machine gun,” he said via message. Ishaan Gandhi HM ’21 said via message that the “Probabilities and Statistics” class that was removed was “almost universally regarded as terrible.” However, he acknowledged the usefulness of statistics and hopes it is incorporated into other requirements. The changes will also benefit professors, according to Core Review Committee member Ben Wiedermann, director of the Core Curriculum and a computer science professor at HMC. “It offers the opportunities for professors to focus on not just what we’re teaching, but how we teach it and think about pedagogical innovations,” Wiedermann said. At the end of last academic year, the CRC solicited propos-
als for the Core curriculum, he said. The committee laid out specific areas of focus for the proposals: student experience, in terms of workload, electives and curriculum flexibility; addressing “the impact of our work on society”; faculty experience teaching Core; and individual departments’ ability to “showcase their discipline” and provide a “technical toolkit” for students. Over the summer, faculty developed some initial proposals, and the rest of the faculty submitted feedback in the fall. “So these [were] rough ideas ... they’re not complete, so we wanted to refine those ideas a bit more,” Wiedermann said. This refinement stage of the Core review process began at the end of fall 2018 and the beginning of spring 2019. “We’re also conscious that there are some ideas that we might think are wonderful, but
we may not be able to do them yet because of say, the resources to do so, things like teaching staff, lab space,” Wiedermann said. “So there was the process of understanding what the implications would be on resources, what would be viable now [and] what may be viable in the future.” Wiedermann also said that, in changing the Core Curriculum, the CRC had to take into consideration how these changes would impact HMC as a whole. It’s important to recognize that Core is “not just a list of classes in sequence, but also everything else that goes along with it,” he said. Mudd’s Academic Excellence program, Peer Academic Liaisons and the faculty overseeing Core are all also impacted. The Core review process is currently in its feedback stage. The CRC has been holding twice-weekly informal sessions
since fall 2018. “We’ve gotten some feedback on specific topics from students, like communication and [electives],” Wiedermann said. “Still to come is feedback on the holistic student experience, and we’re excited to do that.” In addition to math program changes, HMC has also added more administrative positions in student support in the past year. Amy Bibbens was hired as the associate dean of academic resources and student success, and Elizabeth Connolly, a visiting physics professor, was chosen as assistant dean for academic affairs. According to the online update, the CRC will release additional updates “after the faculty holds significant votes on the core and a summary update at the end of the spring 2019 semester.”
KOHOUTEK: Festival cost more than $20,000 Continued from Page 1 events “conducted pursuant to a permit or license issued by the city.” The Kohoutek organizers did not have a permit for the event, but said police told them it wouldn’t have made a difference in this instance. Kolbrener and Fradkin reluctantly asked Gravy, the band on stage, to stop playing. In the meantime, UTI, an improv group, went on stage while the organizers set out to find other arrangements. Fradkin said the organizers shut down the event for about an hour and a half after UTI’s performance while scrambling to find a new space where they could better monitor the volume. Because of the move, several acts had to be canceled, including Donna, Pangea, Moms After Dark and Groove Nation. “We’re really torn up about
it, but there was nothing we could do,” Fradkin said. Kohoutek staff supervisor and assistant dean of student affairs Alayna Sessions-Goins worked with the organizers to find a new venue. She called deans across the campuses to find a new space, but it seemed most practical to set up inside the GSC. Though the GSC’s limited space decreased the number of people who could attend, Sessions-Goins said it was the quickest and cheapest option. The Pitzer community immediately responded by offering to help organizers move to the new space and later cleaning it up. “Something I’ve been thinking about is the juxtaposition of the one really entitled, selfish, privileged person versus the entire Pitzer community that came together and helped us move it and make things work,” Fradkin said. “Honestly
it’s just made me really love this community of Pitzer students.” Kohoutek has been running for more than 40 years at Pitzer, and involves significant work and planning by the organizers throughout the year, Kolbrener said. Sessions-Goins said this is the earliest in the day the festival has received a noise complaint in at least 14 years. She said organizers have had to shut down the festival before, but usually not until the late night or early morning. At the beginning of the school year, Kolbrener, Fradkin and Anna Horton PZ ’19 began planning with the Kohoutek committee. The group devoted significant time at weekly or twice-weekly meetings to coordinating 5C-wide fundraising, artist outreach and promotional work, among many other tasks. Sessions-Goins lamented that much of the organizers’ hard work — and a portion of
MEGHAN JOYCE • THE STUDENT LIFE
Junglepussy performs in the Multipurpose Room at Pitzer College’s Gold Student Center after Kohoutek was moved inside April 20.
the nearly $22,000 budget — went to waste. “They fundraised across the 5Cs, they were funded by all the colleges, they worked with vendors, they worked to bring free
food to the event, they booked amazing artists, and then on top of that, there were families that drove out for the event, and almost none of our student bands got to perform,” she said.
JASPER: Students did ‘poor job’ of being involved in AD process Continued from Page 1 a candidate profile for the position. Students had at least two opportunities to meet each of the three finalists, according to Maxwell Kirsch CM ’20. “I thought from a standpoint of making it open, where the students’ voices could be heard, it was a very transparent process where students had a lot of opportunities,” said Kirsch, a member of the CMS Student Athletic Advisory Committee. “And on the flip side of that, I think students did a very poor job of
taking advantage of those opportunities,” he added, noting that only five SAAC members showed up to the committee-exclusive meet-and-greets. “It’s hard to say: if people end up being happy with the new AD, then great, it’s not going to matter. But if they end up being really upset with the selection, then I think the onus is a little bit on them for not necessarily getting involved in the process.” CMC announced in February that it had narrowed the applicant field down to three finalists: Perkins Jasper, Shana Levine, the current AD at Lewis & Clark, and Dan
Faulstick, the current AD at Amherst College. Perkins Jasper was the only finalist without AD experience — but what she lacked in collegiate experience on paper, she quickly made up for in-person, Kirsch said. “It probably was the biggest talking point, at least negative point. … But after you meet her — I was absolutely blown away,” Kirsch said. “Just personal interaction-wise, she seems extremely bright, very competent. Her job now currently, in terms of what an AD has to do from an organization standpoint — running an organization
— she knows how to run an organization. She just hasn’t done it in college.” One of SAAC President Ellery Koelker-Wolfe’s suggestion to the consulting group was to look into hiring a female candidate. “I wanted CMS to hire the right person for the job, regardless of gender,” she said via email. “Our women’s teams have been enormously successful on the national level, and one-third of our threeschool department is an all women’s college — so it’s both exciting and fitting that the Stags and Athenas will be led by a woman.” Sharon Basso, CMC’s
vice president of student affairs and chair of the search committee, also reached out to students at CMC, Harvey Mudd College and Scripps College, and encouraged them to share input with the firm through an email survey. Berndtson took the information gathered from students and staff during the fall meetings to create an extensive position brief explaining the AD position, CMS values and the application process. “We were looking for a leader who understands and resonates with the CMS mission, has a superior managerial skill-set for intercollegiate athlet-
ics and is committed to superior coaching and the development of outstanding scholar-leader-athletes,” Basso said in statement to TSL. “Erica brings it all.” With the CMS position now filled, Sixth Street rival Pomona-Pitzer is on deck to fill its own soonto-be-vacant AD position. P-P announced early in the spring semester that AD Lesley Irvine would be leaving for Colorado College, and has since named head women’s soccer coach Jennifer Scanlon interim AD as the colleges search for a permanent candidate.
OPINIONS THE STUDENT LIFE
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APRIL 26, 2019
We don’t hate Billie Eilish. We’re just jealous of her
THE STUDENT LIFE Editorial Board KELLEN BROWNING, Editor-in-Chief MEGHAN BOBROWSKY, Managing Editor HANK SNOWDON, Managing Editor
Senior Staff CASSIE WANG, Production Editor JAMES KARSTEN, Senior Design Editor ANNE JANG, News Designer HELENA ONG, Life & Style Designer DAPHNE YANG, Opinions Designer JILLIAN BATIUK, Sports Designer OLIVIA TRUESDALE, Copy Chief NINA POTISCHMAN, Graphics Editor TALIA BERNSTEIN, Photo Editor AMY BEST, Photo Editor
MARC ROD, News Editor LANEY POPE, News Editor JULIA FRANKEL, News Associate NATALIE GOULD, Life & Style Editor MABEL LUI, Life & Style Editor SCHUYLER MITCHELL, Life & Style Associate DONNIE DENOME, Opinions Editor ANIKKA VILLEGAS, Opinions Editor TORREY HART, Sports Editor NOAH SHAPIRO, Sports Editor DELANEY HARTMANN, Sports Associate
TSL’s Editorial Board consists of the editor-in-chief and two managing editors. Aside from the editorial, the views expressed in the opinions section do not necessarily reflect the views of The Student Life. Singles copies of TSL are free and may be obtained at news stands around campus. Multiple copies may be purchased for $0.47 per copy with prior approval by contacting editor@tsl.news. Newspaper theft is a crime; perpetrators may be subject to disciplinary action as well as civil and/or criminal prosecution.
EDITORIAL BOARD
#SaveStudentNewsrooms: Fund your community newspaper Yesterday, college newsrooms nationwide participated in the #SaveStudentNewsrooms campaign, which raises awareness about the importance of student newspapers on college campuses and the struggles they face. Student news organizations exist to give a voice to students and act as a check on school administrations that make decisions that affect those students. We send reporters to faculty and student government meetings. We investigate people and institutions when students have complaints. And we always include student quotes. In short, we’re here to serve you. However, several obstacles inhibit us from doing our job — especially a lack of funding. We receive a small labor budget from Pomona College, and the bulk of our printing budget is left up to the discretion of the student governments, which we cover impartially, regardless of their allocations to TSL. Because these funds aren’t sufficient to keep our newspaper running, we also solicit ads and sell subscriptions. The money we make from these sources allow us to barely scrape by, though.
We’re unable to pay our hardworking writers and other staff members. Despite these drawbacks, they continue to churn out high-quality, impactful content each week. Here are some examples. In October, we broke the news of Claremont McKenna College’s decision to withdraw from the Keck Science Department, providing an objective perspective with quotes from shocked faculty members who weren’t involved in the decision-making process. The schools announced the news to the community over 24 hours later, promising to gather faculty input going forward. In December, we looked into student complaints regarding Pomona’s Dean of Wellness Jan Collins-Eaglin. Whether by coincidence or not, the day after our TSL reporter interviewed Collins-Eaglin about the allegations, the school announced she was entering a phased-out retirement. But we don’t just cover news. A few weeks ago, we sent a reporter to Pasadena with Harvey Mudd College students who were playing a prank on Caltech. She witnessed their efforts firsthand, and as a result, was able to tell a fun, lively story with plenty of detail.
KenKen In a 4x4 KenKen, the numbers 1-4 will appear in each row and column exactly once. To solve, fill in according to the operation in the upper left-hand corner of each bolded area. For example, the bolded area with 5+ will include two numbers that add to 5.
THEA BAROVICK • THE STUDENT LIFE
LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS
3 4 1 2
1 3 2 4
4 2 3 1
2 1 4 3
We’re always trying to write stories that matter to students. That’s why we spent several weeks examining a spiritual group that lives in an off-campus house and was rumored to be a cult. No other publication — not the Claremont Courier, not the Los Angeles Times — would have been able to cover the story like we did. They don’t have the same access to students or an audience that would necessarily care about the group. We sent reporters to the house to interview students and talked on the phone with their spiritual leader. We published a 2,500-word story, clearing up many of the rumors floating around campus. The article garnered over 7,000 views online, and many students could be heard across the campuses the following week discussing the group. One student commented on our Facebook post: “This is the campus news I wanted to see.” We’re happy to hear students reading the story and responding to it. After all, we’re your newspaper, and we’re here to give you a voice. In return, we simply ask that you adequately fund us — whether it’s through buying a subscription or taking out an ad.
JENNY PARK • THE STUDENT LIFE
EAMON MORRIS She’s a 17-year-old music prodigy who’s currently the sixth most popular artist on Spotify. She’s the first artist born in the 2000s to top the musical charts. Her music is dark, grungy, whimsical and, honestly, pretty damn weird. She’s Billie Eilish, and most people older than her hate her (or at least claim to). The “hatred” presents itself through proclamations on social media (particularly Reddit) that she has no talent, that she has no style, or that she’s insincere, or arrogant, or unreasonably angry. And sure, maybe that’s true. Maybe Eilish really is an untalented snob. But that perception of her is unsubstantiated, and it isn’t the real reason people hate Eilish. Eilish is hated because she is everything that everyone wants to be. This hatred is synonymous with a hatred of her music. Yet despite all of the abrasive rhetoric that her “haters” use, they certainly pay attention to her an awful lot. In short, people (including myself) don’t hate her — they’re jealous of her. In the absence of notable scandals and controversies
surrounding Eilish’s career (the most political she’s been was in an ad with the mayor of Los Angeles encouraging people to vote), hatred of Eilish stems from the perception of her. The Eilish that we see seems like she had a perfect adolescence. She’s famous, lucky enough to miss out high school trauma, surrounded by a loving entourage of family and friends, adored by the media and enigmatic in a way that would give John Green’s creative abilities a run for his money. Even Eilish’s mistakes make her more relatable. She was 30 minutes late to her set at Coachella this year, but no really cared once she started to sing. She forgot the words to one of her songs at that same performance and almost instantly became a relatable meme. Most teenagers don’t have the kind of privilege that comes with her wealth and power. Mistakes cost them their reputation, their grades and, at times, their future. All of this privilege and clout distort the perception of Eilish’s humanity. She appears invulnerable. Nevertheless, at the risk of wearing out a popular cliche — celebrities are just like us. Eilish might appear invul-
nerable, but she isn’t. It might seem like every mistake she makes is forgiven, but they probably aren’t. She’s 17 years old. Regardless of how she’s viewed, like all teenagers, she has her own problems. To hold her to the high standard of invulnerability projected by far more seasoned pop stars twists the societal perception of how maturity works. There’s a greater point to all of this that needs to be realized. It’s the cold, hard truth that, unfortunately, almost none of us are special. It’s likely that no one reading this article would be the protagonist of a lengthy novel about this century. We’re jealous of Eilish because at least she has a shot at being a character in this story. At least she has the chance to exist in perpetuity on Spotify long after she’s gone. The sooner we realize that most of us are destined to be forgotten, and the sooner we realize that our lives don’t have to be extraordinary to be important, the sooner we can move on with our lives and start enjoying them. Eamon Morris PZ ’22 is from Orange, California. He wants everyone to know that he liked Billie Eilish before she was cool.
Stop focusing on the Notre Dame: Black churches matter, too BROOKE SPARKS Everyone has, no doubt, heard of the fire that broke out in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris earlier this month. The cathedral represented French culture, architectural achievement and religion, and, as such, the event was considered to be a worldwide tragedy. U.S. media outlets have followed the event in its entirety, from speculating as to how the fire started to interviewing those with feelings of loss. Notre Dame wasn’t the only church that was destroyed recently, though. Three historically black churches in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana — St. Mary Baptist Church, Greater Union Baptist Church and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church — were razed to the ground in an act of racist hate. The first act of arson occurred March 26, with later church burnings occurring shortly after in the city of Opelousas, finally ending April 4. Like the Notre Dame Cathedral, there were no major casualties that resulted from their destruction. This attack against black churches, in itself, isn’t particularly surprising; after all, it’s not the first time something like this has happened. But at the moment, it feels like U.S. citizens care more about the incidental destruction of the Notre Dame than a purposeful, arsonous hate crime in their own country. Most consider the Notre Dame to symbolize French culture and Catholicism, which are not inherently undiverse. However, it should at the same time be recognized as a symbol of white culture and white institutions.
I’m not saying that Catholicism, in its entirety, is a white institution. Plenty of people of color are Catholic, and I’m sure these same people also felt the religious loss that came with the destruction of the Notre Dame. But allow me to distinguish between cultural loss and religious loss. Many of those denouncing the tragedy of the Notre Dame fire did so on religious grounds. Despite that, those same people make no mention of the intentional burning of the three historically black churches in the U.S. With regards to cultural loss, it is important, too, to consider the extent to which the response is informed by white-centric historical narratives. The history we are taught is predicated on white achievement and conquest. So it’s worth asking ourselves whether the same attention would be given to a non-white landmark, like the Al-Haram Mosque in Saudi Arabia or the Borobudur Buddhist Temple in Indonesia. (It goes without saying that President Donald Trump would likely never promise to provide financial aid to the former, as he did with Notre Dame.) While some of the Notre Dame’s relevance stems from its architectural value, there is no denying that we’re conditioned to think of European feats as more significant than those of other cultures. As a black person, I can’t even really say I’m angry about this development. I’m too used to people treating black culture and lives like they don’t matter. What does make me angry is the fact that only now, after the destruction of the Notre Dame, are people donating to these churches. Until the Notre Dame fire had stopped April 16, these church-
es had received a little under $100,000. After the destruction of the Notre Dame, the Louisiana churches experienced a massive rise in donations. It took them a little over a week, but as of last Friday, the Louisiana churches had raised $1.9 million total. Meanwhile, it only took the Notre Dame two days to raise $1 billion, according to People. It was only after the destruction of a symbol of white culture that citizens were able to sympathize with a similar loss within their own country. Some might argue that media attention played a role, but the same argument holds. Why should the Notre Dame’s burning be the sole reason for increased media attention for the Louisiana churches? What’s more, people are actually citing what happened to the Notre Dame as an inspiration to fuel their donations.
Yeah. Their main motivation for donating isn’t the fact that hate crimes have been continuing in this country for as long as we can remember; it’s that a historically white church recently burned down. These oh-so-benevolent donors didn’t see black loss as a cause worth donating to unless they could equate it with white loss. If the Notre Dame hadn’t been set ablaze, these Louisiana churches would not have received those donations with that speed, let alone that amount. Maybe if people in France stopped having drinkable water, we could get enough donations to help the situation in Flint, Michigan, too. Brooke Sparks PO ’22 is TSL’s TV columnist. She’d usually be writing about some show she hated on Netflix. But she hates racism even more, so she wrote this.
UGEN YONTEN • THE STUDENT LIFE
OPINIONS APRIL 26, 2019
THE STUDENT LIFE
PAGE 5
VOICES FROM THE DENVER HOUSE SAMUEL SJOBERG Guest Columnist I am working with a Satguru Yogi. He has trained intentionally for the past 30 years to become a master and teacher of the four main yogas of life; this I know. I have chosen to adopt the name given to me of Sama Atmashakti Ananda because of my dedication to the Divine and to being of service. It means Serenity Strengthfrom-within Bliss. When I say it, I am better able to embody those characteristics and truly know who I am. The name was given to me by my Satguru, who is a spiritual master, because he knows me to be ready to take on this responsibility as a student and devotee to the divine. It aids me in living my goal and my mission on this planet. Satgurus from India have been coming to this country for decades to teach spiritual growth through Hinduism and it is my great fortune to be working with a Satguru of this country to learn how to truly be of service. I am learning how to incorporate useful practices of Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity to further my growth as a being of love, just as emigrated Satgurus have taught for years in the United States. The practices that I utilize integrates aspects of many religions, including Hinduism because
there is truth in all of these pantheons. I ask Ganesh for guidance and through his teachings in wisdom and discernment I better understand the divine. It makes no sense to me why I cannot praise Ganesh and pray to him for leadership simply because I did not grow up in a culturally Hindu household. Is he not here to provide guidance to anyone open to receive? I love many embodiments of the divine including Buddha, Christ and various Hindu gods because of the work and service they have provided for this world. It is due to my great respect and love for these beings that I worship them just as people of all religions praise various expressions of the divine for the same reasons. I feel saddened by this judgment and lack of understanding from the Claremont community. It is important that we hold each other to a higher standard of respect and consideration that does not include sensationalizing and the perpetuation of rumors. I wa n t t h e r e t o b e n o doubt that I stand with the LGBTQIA+ community, and all marginalized communities, with strength against oppression and support in healing from discrimination. I hope for this community to see the dedication and in-
tention behind the work and practices that I am doing. I am truly doing my best to live in love and base all of my actions, words, and thoughts around this goal. All of the practices that I do have the purpose of and are guiding me towards a path of love and all of its many facets in every aspect of my life. I am love. In servitude, Sama Atmashakti Ananda (Samuel Sjoberg) Samuel Sjoberg PZ ’20, whose spiritual name is Sama Atmashakti Ananda, lives in the Denver House. He’s an environmental analysis major and sociology minor, from Spokane, Washington, with a passion for environmental justice. He was the runner-up in his high school’s pageant and loves his mom.
ISABEL KELLY Guest Columnist Individuals are no longer confined to practice the spiritual and religious pantheons in which they were born and raised. Being raised in an atheistic family, I was literally given no tools growing up to understand and investigate the true nature of my Soul and Spirit. I was six years old when I first experienced a profound feeling of spiritual longing, and it wasn’t until the summer after my first year at Pomona College that I actually began finding solace from this feeling through my own spiritual investigations and explorations. I do not believe that Spirit’s longing to know itself is a product of having a spiritual or religious upbringing. For even those who are raised in religious households oftentimes develop
TALIA BERNSTEIN • THE STUDENT LIFE
Let’s give post offices another job CHRISTOPHER MURDY For much of the 20th century, the United States Postal Service had a role that would surprise many Americans today: financial services. The USPS offered savings accounts between 1911 and 1967, until low enrollment forced them to shutter that service. Adapting that service to fit today’s needs, the USPS could help millions of “unbanked” and “underbanked” American households access banking services. As of 2017, approximately 6.5% of households in the U.S., totaling more than eight million, don’t have an account open at an insured bank, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. An additional 24.2 million households utilize non-traditional financial services that often make them vulnerable to usurious lending rates. Without the loans and services afforded by traditional banking, these Americans are forced into using alternative financial services that expose them to predatory loans and aggressive fees. One of the most common of these services, payday loans, offer people short-term loans on the promise that they will be repaid after receiving a paycheck. These loans come with an average annual percentage interest rate of almost 400%. That, rate, though, can reach as high as 700% in states with fewer
regulations. When people are forced to delay the repayment of these loans, the amount they owe quickly adds up. Many then take out new loans to repay the original one, forcing them into a never-ending cycle of debt. As a $30 billion industry, payday loan companies wield great influence on Capitol Hill, and while the Trump administration has gutted the protections in place for borrowers, this influence extends to Democrats, as well. After receiving more than $68,000 in contributions from the payday loan industry, Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, D-Fla., the former Democratic National Committee chairwoman, sought to delay the implementation of Obama-era rules designed to protect lenders. These rules centered on forcing payday loan companies to ensure that borrowers had the means to repay loans upon receiving their paychecks. Their implementation would have shuttered many payday loan centers and struck a blow at the industry. The real challenge today, though, is coming from President Donald Trump. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was established to do as its name suggests — protect consumers in the finance industry. But the bureau has been all but gutted
under the Trump administration. Its former director Mick Mulvaney went as far as to request a zero-dollar-budget for the bureau last year, and pursued an exhaustive legal effort to scrap the implementation of the Obama-era rules. An alternative to extensive regulation of the payday loan industry is offering consumers another way of receiving necessary cash advances without falling into a cycle of debt. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., a 2020 presidential candidate, unveiled a plan last summer that would allow post offices to take the place of payday loan centers in addition to offering checking and savings accounts. The USPS has 59% of its locations in zip codes that have one or fewer banks, according to a 2011 government report. This could help people to overcome a geographic boundary. More important, though, is the financial barrier to securing traditional banking services. Traditional bank accounts are often out of reach for many low-income Americans due to the fees that banks impose on low-balance accounts or accounts without direct deposits from employers. When these underbanked Americans are forced to pay bills, they often have to use money orders or online services that also charge fees. Americans utilizing alter-
native forms of credit spend nearly 10% of their salaries on fees alone. For a family making the average salary of $25,500 in 2012, those fees average out to $2,412. Gillibrand’s proposal would give Americans access to lowcost accounts through the USPS that would allow them to build savings. Additionally, these Americans would have access to small, short-term loans in the case of emergencies. The money saved from fees would be spent elsewhere in the local economy. This plan also allows the USPS to gain revenue in the face of rapidly declining use of its postal services. In countries that implemented it, postal banking became their second-strongest form of revenue behind mail delivery. In the U.S., its implementation could bring in an additional $8.9 billion each year for the USPS, according to the Office of the Inspector General. Large banks don’t reach out to low-income Americans because they aren’t seen as valuable customers. Post banking could offer us a way of protecting vulnerable unbanked Americans while also revitalizing the USPS. Christopher Murdy PO ’22 is an intended international relations major from Lido Beach, New York. Agree? Disagree? Email him at christopher.murdy@pomona.edu.
Love is an opinion, and it’s usually wrong CAMERON TIPTON It’s 2:33 p.m. You’re just getting out of your class in Lincoln Hall at Pomona College. You’ve got a 2:45 p.m. class at Pitzer College, and that La Croix you were sipping in class has you scouting out the nearest bathroom. You risk running late to satisfy your bodily needs. And then you see him. Everything stops. The way his stained Pomona sweater clings to his lanky physique, the way he smells tolerable because he isn’t the kind of boy that goes more than two days without showering, the way his hair flows — more like limps — over his generic Fuckboy Blue™ eyes, the way … You snap back into reality in time to realize he’s gone. The time is 2:56 p.m., and you are definitely Pass/No Credit-ing that Pitzer class. If you’re wondering what it means to be a college student in love, here it is. To be in love is to be oppressed. Oppressed by impossible expectations, by debilitating
infatuation, by incessant fantasies about that house you’ll buy together in Switzerland when you’re 40. In short, love sucks. But, of course, we never shut our friends down for experiencing it. In a way, we even glamorize it. How could we not, what with endless portrayals in the media and the general perception that love is some fortuitous godsend that’s oftentimes out of one’s own control. I’m here to reject that hypothesis. What do we regard most things we feel as? Facts? Fate? Or mere opinions? Political ideologies, for example, can be clearly identified as opinion-based. While the distinction becomes far more nebulous as we get into issues of love and affection, I will argue that they’re no less based on opinion and personal environmental context than one’s political views. Growing up with daddy issues and relapsing on Lana Del Rey’s music every other week like a nasty cocaine habit throughout middle and high
school says more about your contentious fling with that 43-year-old named Larry you met at a biker bar on April 20 than any sort of “divine intervention.” And so, how can we dignify anything so evidently opinion-based as this with such notions of importance and sacredness? We cannot and should not. I wouldn’t say anything if I didn’t consider this a damaging epidemic. But I do, and so I am. There’s a reason deans of students doesn’t give accommodations for ruminating on the magical rendezvous you had with a “not like the others” Claremont McKenna College philosophy major last weekend. It’s because it’s not that deep. Please don’t treat it like it is. He’s probably going to ghost you, and your feelings for him are probably wrong in the first place. Did I just say wrong? Yes, I did. Dead wrong. We overly glorify individuals who are the objects of our affection, to the point where we cannot acknowledge that they, too, are flawed human beings.
Dimples don’t negate emotional incompetence, Rebecca. So stop acting like they do. Know your worth, and the next time you find yourself catching feelings, consider where it’s targeted. Ask yourself: do they have commitment issues? Basic hygiene? Something beyond slightly-above-baseline conventionally attractive attributes? Emotional intelligence? A sense of humor? Come on. It’s way too late in life to be making such basic emotional blunders in the name of attraction. Don’t stop loving. Just remember that love is an opinion, and it’s usually wrong. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. Now please, stop thinking about that guy in your calculus class and do your damn problem set. Cameron Tipton PO ’20 is an embittered Scorpio who has fallen in love a few too many times. They are looking for someone to play piano for their unreleased EP. (DM them through Messenger!)
an aversion to their parents’ beliefs and practices due to the ways they are forced upon them. Rather, Spirit’s longing to know itself is something that happens seemingly without cause or reason, and as my six-year-old self can attest to, it can be painfully arduous to try to interrogate it when such a longing presents itself in one’s consciousness without any way of understanding its true nature. I believe we are all called upon to create a relationship with Spirit, but many factors of the modern world make it such that it’s increasingly difficult to hear this call, or increasingly difficult to listen to what this call is asking of us. The beliefs, pantheons and spiritual disciplines I choose to incorporate into my sadhana (spiritual practice) have come from paradigms and pantheons that have provided me with the deepest solace of my Soul’s longings. Again, we no longer live in a world where individuals’ religious and spiritual beliefs need to be isolated to one paradigm. I choose to practice what I practice and believe what I believe because of the inner solace they have provided to my Soul. I do not wear Hindu deities or crosses or sacred symbolisms for their mere aesthetic value, but rather because they constantly remind me of the latent potential I have to love myself, to love others and to serve the Divine as I understand it. I have deeply personal relationships and understandings
of the symbolisms and teachings that I incorporate into my sadhana. Explaining to someone why they resonate with me so deeply would be like trying to explain to someone why I eat the foods that I eat. I could provide some handsome detailed explanation in hopes of properly describing the reasons, but just as I cannot accurately capture a flavor on my tongue through words, I cannot properly explain to anyone the shifts in consciousness and inner transformations that have been products of my spiritual cultivation. Everyday I am deeply grateful to be on the path I am on, to have been revealed to such profound spiritual wisdom and to have met the brothers and sisters who walk with me. I apologize to anyone who has been hurt or disturbed by any of the recent articles published. I hope you can see that behind all that has been written are real individuals who are striving to live a path of Love, service and constant improvement. I have nothing to hide about my beliefs, practices, my home or myself, and am open to communicating with anyone who is genuinely eager to further understand anything that has been raised in the aforementioned publications. Isabel Kelly PO ’20, whose spiritual name is Sundara Shakta Vinyasa Ananda and is a resident of the Denver House, is majoring in religious studies with a focus in mysticism.
Jasper’s Crossword: Hitsville, USA
JASPER DAVIDOFF & LIANNE STURGEON • THE STUDENT LIFE
ACROSS 1. Swedish automobile 5. Music with conga drums 10. Lease 14. Rick Perry’s dept. 15. “_____ gonna call?” 16. “Young Frankenstein” assistant 17. “Worth ____” (Give it a shot!) 18. _____ decent living 19. Scripps 3-part GE 20. “Hello! Is it me you’re looking for?” * 23. Amber brew 24. Lacking, as a product 28. Sch. in Amherst 32. Spiders and DJs do this 35. Hosp. wing 36. “I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day!” * 39. Baldy, for one (abbr.) 40. “____ Ma Mere” by Louise Bourgeois 41. Smooths, as a woodworker 42. Soy or pinto 43. ATM security factor 44. “When I had you to myself, I didn’t want you around.” * 46. 2019 years ago, biblically 47. Lyft and Pinterest announcements, recently 48. Painter’s support 49. Photographer Adams or performer Elgort 51. Hoover’s one on the Colorado 53. “When you believe in the things you don’t understand, then you suffer.” * 61. Talc’s one on it 64. Helping theorem, in math 65. Currency in Cyprus 66. Milk & Honey offering 67. Underage 68. ____ out (just managed) 69. Pirate’s call 70. Down _____ knee 71. Dis and dis DOWN 1. Close up 2. #1 2016 Rihanna album 3. Prefix for -nautic 4. ____Mawr College 5. Hunky-dorey 6. “_____ Grows in Manhattan” (Bugs Bunny cartoon) 7. ___ Singer (Footloose actress) 8. Match up, in music
9. Sound of getting in a hot bath 10. Sch. in Houston 11. Self 12. Neither partner 13. Three, in Sicily 21. Harvey Mudd dorm south of North 22. Charged atoms 25. “______ money!” (Be prompt!) 26. Eight-step interval 27. Channel to one point 28. Dream world 29. Mean alternative 30. Changes, as the Constitution 31. Hot towel supplier 32. Doesn’t float 33. Tide ____ 34. ____ many words 37. “Pronto!” 38. Tuesday menu item, alliteratively 42. Degree from NYU’s Tisch School 44. Abandon at the altar 45. Captain in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 50. Optional SAT component 51. Tormentor from below 52. Knowledgeable 54. “Tickle Me” toy 55. Path to the heart 56. “____ scientist…” (GOP platitude) 57. Require 58. School in Durham 59. You are, in Bogota 60. Was a passenger on 61. Wharton diploma 62. Awed reaction 63. Game of Thrones network
LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS
SPORTS
PAGE 6
APRIL 26, 2019
THE STUDENT LIFE
BASEBALL
Despite season’s struggles, Sagehen baseball sinks Stags HARPER RUBIN It’s been a tale of two very different seasons for the Pomona-Pitzer and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps baseball teams this year. Entering the Sixth Street rivalry baseball series last weekend, the teams were heading in opposite directions. The Stags (15-12-1, 8-10 SCIAC) are on the verge of finishing the season with a winning record, and, heading into the weekend, were only two games out from fourth place in the SCIAC. If CMS can finish in the top four, the team will qualify for its first SCIAC tournament appearance since 2011, overcoming a one-week suspension for hazing activity. The Sagehens (17-15, 7-14 SCIAC), on the other hand, had struggled, winning only five of the 18 conference games they had played entering the weekend. But despite the difference in the standings, all bets were off for the rivalry series.
“It’s a loud chant … as we walk through CMC. The goal is to annoy as many people as possible, I believe.” - Ryan Long PO ’21
P-P walked away with the 2-1 series win after sweeping the final two games over the Stags — CMS held on for a close 2-1 win in the first game Friday, but fell 5-3 and 13-5 in the next two games. Ryan Long PO ’21, a pitcher for the Sagehens, hesitated
when asked if a win over CMS was more meaningful than defeating another team. But he eventually said there was certainly a bonus, if only a small one. “It has a little bit of something added because you’re on campus with these guys and you can hold it that you took the season series,” he said. He was also quick to remember the recent history of the Sixth Street rivalry. “We actually haven’t lost a season series against CMS since 2006, so we’ve won the weekend for 13 straight years,” Long said. “So that’s definitely a reason for us to keep winning [the series].” Shortstop Zach Clarke CM ’20 agreed that victories against P-P are worth more than regular SCIAC games, and appreciated that the Stags picked up one win over the Sagehens last weekend. “This year, they aren’t the most competitive team, so a win over Chapman or a win over Occidental means maybe a little bit more in terms of who we are as a team and kind of assessing our own ability,” Clarke said. “But my first two years here we got swept by [P-P] twice, and it was super frustrating, and to be able to take a game from them and just kind of hold that with you is kind of exciting.” Clarke’s feelings about playing P-P hint at ones many athletes at the 5Cs share: Sixth Street matchups mean a lot. The rivalries in each sport contain their own histories and traditions, and baseball is no different. On the walk up to CMS’ Arce Field from the P-P locker room, the Sagehens shout a verse from the Old Testament in unison. A designated reader on the team yells out passages, which the rest of the players chant loudly back at him. “It was started by a reli-
gious studies major in 2006 and it’s a loud chant … as we walk through CMC,” Long said. “The goal is to annoy as many people as possible, I believe.” He also said there’s an element of gamesmanship not uncommon to Sixth Street matchups. “It works best at 7:30 in the morning when we walk up there on Saturdays and we can wake half the campus up,” Long said. These traditions are a part of why the rivalries are so fun. But there is also an added pressure in the matchups, which the players say is palpable on the field. Over the weekend, for example, Clarke said there was more controversy over questionable umpiring calls than usual. “Our coach [Bill Walkenb a c h ] , w h o ’s g e n e r a l l y a mild-mannered guy who won’t really get in the faces of a lot of umpires, was really on it this weekend in terms of when there were big plays,” Clarke said. “He was the first one to be really fired up about that.” Clarke said he personally doesn’t approach the games any differently, despite their importance. “It’s just kind of like another game for me; I mean you still [have to] go out there and compete and play as hard as you can,” he said. Still, he understands that crossing Sixth Street adds an extra element of intensity. “For some guys, I guess it’s a little bit of an adjustment ‘cause of the added pressure of playing a team that really, really wants to beat you,” Clarke said. “Regardless of what the score is, there’s constant pressure and no one really loses energy in those games, so adjusting to that might be something that’s uncommon for some people.”
USC-UCLA may take up most of Southern California’s NCAA rivalry headlines, but Claremont is home to the closest clash in the nation. Once a combined Pomona-Claremont team, the two programs split up in 1956. Now, the Sixth Street rivalry represents a battle between the SCIAC’s perennial leaders.
AMY BEST • THE STUDENT LIFE
Sean Emery CM ‘21 strikes out in the Stags’ 5-3 loss to Pomona-Pitzer April 20.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
Athenas roll over Sagehens on Hack’s milestone day UMA NAGARAJANSWENSON The locker room had been decorated by eager underclassmen, while parents and fans lined Zinda Field. Ahead of the women’s lacrosse Sixth Street rivalry matchup between Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (14-2, 10-0 SCIAC) and Pomona-Pitzer (11-5, 6-3 SCIAC), the game would go one of two ways — either CMS would extend its SCIAC win streak to 34, or P-P would pull off the ultimate upset on CMS’ Senior Day. Yet by halftime April 20, the outcome was clear. CMS led 10-1, well on its way to a second straight undefeated conference
regular season. The final score was 15-4, a resounding beatdown. Athena captains Corie Hack CM ’19 and Nicole Greenberg SC ’19 both said the victory started with the team’s defensive effort. “I think our defensive unit really worked hard and did well. We played to our strengths,” Greenberg said. This was especially important against P-P, a historically strong offense, Hack added. But it was the Athena offense that dominated Saturday. CMS scored on nearly 50% of its shots, which helped lead to the 11-goal victory. Hack scored six goals for CMS, which helped her reach a
milestone: 200 career goals. The senior is one of only three CMS players to ever accomplish that feat. The achievement was even more special given the setting, she said. “I think what made it really special for me was it was my Senior Day, my parents were here, my friends from home were here,” Hack said. “So to hit that really big milestone and hear them all cheer was really special.” Greenberg agreed. “Just getting to hug her and celebrate her after that … this was an amazing game for that milestone,” she said. Despite their dominance of the SCIAC for the past three
years, the Athenas said they do not take victories for granted. “I think finding the importance in every single game and understanding that we can learn and grow from each game has been really important to our success,” Greenberg said. “We play so many games that being excited for each one and having a goal is always there pushing us to work harder.” The Sagehens, who fell to CMS in the SCIAC championship game last year, finished second in the SCIAC, securing home field advantage in the first round of the SCIAC tournament. “We are disappointed to lose to CMS, because I don’t think the game was a complete represen-
tation of what we can do,” Sarah Woo PZ ’21 said. “We are really fired up to play them again so we can put together more of a complete game. I do give credit to CMS though, they played really well.” Hack attributed much of the Athenas’ success to the leadership of head coach Lauren Uhr, who has been with the team for the past five years. “I think it’s a testament to how well she knows the team,” Hack said. “She knows what our weaknesses are, what our strengths are and how to work on those.” Greenberg also said the team’s welcoming environment plays a role. “We all treat each other like
family,” Greenberg said. “I genuinely feel supported and loved by everyone and I think everyone feels the same.” The SCIAC tournament, which begins May 1 at CMS, will include both CMS, playing Chapman, and P-P, playing Occidental. The Athenas are trying to clinch another tournament win and advance to the NCAA tournament for the third straight year. “We want to come out and really have some dominant postseason games, so that when we go into the NCAA tournament … we want to be able to hit those games having come off two really good, successful wins,” Hack said.
AMY BEST • THE STUDENT LIFE
Above: Eryn Rogers CM ‘19 and Eleanor Mackey PO ‘22 fight for a ground ball. Left: Corie Hack CM ‘19 scored six goals for the Athenas in their 15-4 win over Pomona-Pitzer April 20.
SPORTS
APRIL 26, 2019
THE STUDENT LIFE
PAGE 7
WOMEN’S WATER POLO
Business as usual: P-P women’s water polo beats CMS for 13th-straight time NOAH SHAPIRO
AMY BEST • THE STUDENT LIFE
Above: Jessica Salaz SC ‘22 watches the final goal sail past her. Below: Aracelia Aldrete CM ‘20 scored two goals in the 8-5 loss.
After slipping past the Athena defense, Anna Yu PO ’19 caught a high-arcing pass and rocketed the ball into the bottom left corner of the net with under two minutes left, ending Claremont-Mudd-Scripps’ chances at not only a comeback, but a trip to the SCIAC tournament. With an 8-5 win in the Sixth Street Rivalry game Saturday, the Pomona-Pitzer women’s water polo team (19-12, 14-0 SCIAC) sealed its second straight undefeated regular season in conference play, and the top seed in the upcoming tournament, where it will face La Verne (11-13, 9-5 SCIAC) in the semifinals Friday. P-P has dominated the Sixth Street Rivalry as of late. No player on the current roster has ever lost to CMS, as the Sagehens have won 13 straight against the Athenas, dating back to 2011. For Sagehens coach Alex Rodriguez, this has taken some of the steam out of the rivalry. “I don’t think we have that school-on-school rivalry like a lot of other teams have on campus,” Rodriguez said. “The girls take it a little more serious I think, because it is CMS, but I think Whittier has really been our rival the last four or five years. The physical play picks up a lot more with them.” For the Athenas (9-15, 7-7 SCIAC), however, the rivalry — coupled with the pressure to punch a ticket to the SCIAC tournament — provided extra motivation to win the game. “We definitely have different game-day rituals for the P-P game,” Alex Szymczak SC ’22 said. “We do more film, and we do more warm-ups and preparation and more team bonding stuff because we always play them at the end of the season, and it’s usually the dealbreaker if we will make it into SCIACs or not.” CMS got off to a good start, only trailing 3-2 at halftime. However, a tight game was just what the slow-moving Sagehens needed to wake up — they outscored the Athenas 3-0 in the
third. “It was pretty close in the first half, which I think was even more motivating for us to pull ahead in the second half. ... It continues to show us that we have to continue to work hard for every win that we pull out,” Lucie Abele PO ’22 said. P-P has been pulling out a lot of wins lately — the team has won the past two SCIAC tournament titles, and is currently riding a 35-game win streak against the rest of the conference. A win in the conference tournament this weekend will give the Sagehens a three-peat. “It definitely feels really gratifying to be able to go the whole season undefeated because we train really hard, we practice a lot, we put in a lot of hours, a lot of effort, and so to see all of our practice and all of our training pay off with an undefeated season feels really great,” Abele said. Much of the team’s success is credited to the leadership of its senior core. “They all have so much experience and so much dedication, and I think that it shows us younger players that the hard work that they’ve put in in the past has led them to be as successful as they are,” Abele said. “It shows us that if we work hard in these years we can reach that point also.” Over their four years, the senior class has posted a 42-2 record against SCIAC competition and hopes to win three straight championships to close out their careers. “It’ll mean a lot to me [to win the SCIAC tournament],” Kahea Kahaulelio PZ ’19 said. “That’s the game everyone watches because of the competitiveness, the fight and passion between the two teams.” Rodriguez also had high praise for the seniors. “They’ve gone through a lot with their first year being my sabbatical and not making the finals, and then the last three years have been a nice ride for them,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t think we have one super dominant senior;
AMY BEST • THE STUDENT LIFE
Haley Crabtree PZ ‘21 makes a save at goalie against the Athenas April 20.
I think all eight contribute and at their own time could be the best player in the pool.” Although the seniors are the core contributors, they know they can’t do it alone. “My seniors and I lead by example,” Kahaulelio said. “Leadership is all about having confidence in your teammates and preparing the newcomers for the intensity of this game.” Although the rivalry has been one-sided recently, the tables may turn in the coming years as the Sagehens lose key players to graduation and the young Athenas continue to progress. “Because we have such a large team and next year we’ll only have two seniors, we’re so young that I think in the coming years it’ll definitely change the outcome of the game,” Szymczak said. While the seniors will certainly be missed, Rodriguez is looking forward to the transition.
“It’s happened before,” Rodriguez said of the impending mass departure. “I’m very excited for the freshmen and the returners we have. It’ll be way different, but I think part of me and part of the staff are excited for that new challenge.” But while big changes are on the horizon for the Sagehens, right now the team is focused on La Verne and the SCIAC tournament. Despite the consequences of last Saturday’s loss and the historic rivalry, the Sagehens will still have some members of the CMS team in their corner as they close out the season. “Part of me is still a little bit butthurt and sour about the loss obviously, but I think I definitely will be rooting for them out of all the teams, because I have classes with some of the girls and they’re our friends and we’ve played with them before,” Szymczak said.
TENNIS
CMS tennis all aces on rivalry match day
AMY BEST • THE STUDENT LIFE
CAMILA MEJIA • THE STUDENT LIFE
Above left: The No. 1 doubles teams shake hands after the match, a win for the Athenas that helped the team cap off its perfect SCIAC regular season. Above left: Jed Kronenberg PO ‘21 prepares to return a shot. Bottom right: Catherine Allen SC ‘20 won in No 1. doubles against the Sagehens but lost her singles match for the only time this season.
DELANEY HARTMANN Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer annually boast some of the strongest teams in men’s and women’s tennis, and this year is no different. Heading into the Sixth Street rivalry Wednesday, all four teams were ranked in the top 15 in the country, with CMS’ men and women No. 1 and No. 2 in the NCAA, respectively. As only one of the rivals typically qualifies for the NCAA Tournament each year, the stakes were as high as ever for Wednesday’s matches — and the Stags and Athenas executed dominant wins, with the men defeating P-P 8-1 and the women 7-2. While it appeared as if the defending national champion Athenas (21-1, 7-0 SCIAC) would face a challenge from No. 4 P-P (14-4, 6-1 SCIAC), CMS coolly handled the Sagehens. The Athenas said they are confident in their abilities, but careful not to underestimate their opponents.
“We aren’t entitled to the title or anything without the work we put in,” 2018 doubles national champion Catherine Allen SC ’20 said. “Last year, we were the underdog, and this year after winning the championship, we have to remember that being humble is super important. Complacency is the biggest enemy.” Even though the CMS and P-P women are both ranked in the top five nationally, it’s certainly possible only one will advance to the NCAA Tournament. A select number of at-large bids are available for the tournament, and the only way to guarantee a bid is to win the regional tournament in May. “It’s great having CMS in our conference because we get to play great matches, but it also kind of sucks because they might affect if we advance to the [national] tournament if we can’t win our conference, even though we are ranked fourth in the country right now,” Maria Lyven PO ’22 said.
While advancing to the national tournament might be difficult for the Sagehens, Lyven said having CMS close by makes the team more motivated to succeed. “We know that if we advance it will be because we really earned it,” Lyven said. “We never stop fighting. We are not trying to die on the court, but we try to win in every possible circumstance.” The No. 1 Stags (27-1, 7-0 SCIAC) have enjoyed a dominant season, and it was no different Wednesday in the win over P-P (10-13, 5-2 SCIAC). They swept the doubles matches, and only dropped one singles contest. CMS was happy to extend its 14-game winning streak and nearly-undefeated season. But the Stags said they feel targets on their backs. “We hold ourselves to high standards and every time we come out to play, we expect the other team to be at their best since they have nothing to lose, especially this year with us being the No. 1 team in the nation,”
Nikolai Parodi CM ’20 said. Playing well under pressure is nothing new for the Stags, however, as they have had a dominant tennis program for decades. Unbelievably, CMS hasn’t lost a SCIAC contest in 14 years, going 130-0 in that span. Parodi said the match day pressure the Stags experience is not only something they have become accustomed to, but something they enjoy. “The entire team loves to take on the pressure that comes with being the top team, which is why we are able to handle pressure situations really well,” Parodi said. Parodi said much of the team’s success comes from coaching; head coach Paul Settles puts the Stags through intense training programs to prepare them for any match situation. “Our coach is constantly putting us through adversity training by killing our legs with extra track workouts or pool workouts, and then has us prac-
tice on-court right after,” Parodi said. “I think that being able to handle adversity is one of the biggest factors to our success this year, as well as the fact that everyone on our team is always holding each other accountable, which allows for really intense practices.” While the Stags have seemed to thrive in tense situations, the Sagehens have struggled under pressure to convert close matches into wins. “So far this year, [the Stags] have just been able to pull off wins in close matches better than we have,” Jed Kronenberg PO ’21 said. “I think it’s important for us to stay aggressive and have a plan in high- pressure situations with big points and I hope we can turn it around.” Despite CMS’ extended dominance, the Sagehens still think they have a shot to win if they face off in the SCIAC tournament or later in the postseason. “They aren’t unbeatable, and we still have a chance at pulling off an upset,” Kronenberg said.
AMY BEST • THE STUDENT LIFE
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SPORTS THE STUDENT LIFE
APRIL 26, 2019
WEEKLY ROUNDUP
Pomona - Pitzer Sagehen men’s golf finishes season 7th in the SCIAC The Pomona-Pitzer men’s golf team finished in seventh place at the SCIAC Championships last weekend, shooting a 935 over the three-day tournament. Owen Rosebeck PO ’20 led the Sagehens, finishing in a tie for 12th overall with a score of 225, while Jack Carrigan PZ ’20 shot a 231, good for 27th. P-P women’s golf earns 3rd place at SCIAC Championships The Sagehen women’s golf team finished third at the SCIAC Championships last weekend. The team’s score of 946 was just 12 strokes behind second place Redlands. P-P’s top performers had very similar weekends, as Sophia Hui PO ’19, Stephanie Yu PO ’22 and Priscilla Ki PO ’21 finished 11th, 12th and 13th, with scores of 236, 237 and 238, respectively. Sagehen baseball wins 2 of 3 against rival CMS After losing 2-1 at CMS (15-12-1, 8-10 SCIAC) Friday, the P-P baseball team (17-15, 7-14 SCIAC) won both ends of a home doubleheader in the Sixth Street rivalry Saturday. After winning the first game 5-3, the Sagehens blew out the Stags 13-5 in the second. In their first win, the Sagehens pulled ahead 4-0 in the bottom of the third, as Hunter Hennigh PZ ’21 and Jeremy Jess PZ ’20 both bashed tworun homers in the inning. Ryan Long PO ’21 got the start on the mound for P-P, and didn’t allow a run in six innings. The final game of the series was tied at two midway through the fifth inning, until P-P came alive and scored nine runs in the frame to blow the game open. P-P softball, winners of 11 of
Athlete of the Week
last 12, sweep doubleheader at Chapman The P-P softball team (278-1, 18-5 SCIAC) kept up its recent surge and picked up two big road wins against Chapman (16-20,15-9) Saturday. The Panthers currently sit at third in the SCIAC, while the Sagehens are second. P-P won the games 10-9 and 15-6. In the first game, P-P trailed 9-7 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. With runners on second and third, Megan Otsuka PZ ‘22, Liz Rodarte PZ ’19 and Izzy Deatherage PO ’20 hit three consecutive RBI singles to pull ahead in the final inning. P - P w o m e n ’ s water polo clinches 2nd-straight undefeated SCIAC season with win at CMS Saturday sealed perfection for the P-P women’s water polo team (19-12, 14-0 SCIAC), as an 8-5 win over CMS (9-15, 7-7 SCIAC) earned the Sagehens their second-straight undefeated season in the SCIAC. After taking a 3-2 lead in the first period, both teams were held scoreless in the second. P-P then won the third 3-0 to take a commanding 6-2 lead. After the Athenas pulled back within two, 7-5, Anna Yu PO ’19 scored with 1:47 left to seal the game. P-P women’s lacrosse team is blown out by CMS, beats Chapman with late scoring spree The P-P lacrosse team (125, 7-3 SCIAC) split a pair of games last week, falling 15-4 at rival CMS (14-2, 10-0 SCIAC) Saturday, before downing Chapman (7-8, 4-6 SCIAC) 20-11 at home Wednesday in its final game of the regular season. P-P was completely overwhelmed early on against the Athenas, falling behind 10-1 at halftime, before CMS stepped off the gas in the sec-
Men’s Track and Field Danny Rosen P0 ‘20 Chicago, Illinois Rosen placed sixth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase among Division I and professional athletes at the Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific University. His time of 8:58.29 is currently the second-fastest time in the nation in DIII this year and the second-fastest time in Pomona-Pitzer history. Rosen’s time is also the second-fastest in SCIAC conference history. He will next compete at the SCIAC Championships April 27, aiming to defend his 2018 title in the stee-
AMY BEST • THE STUDENT LIFE
Janelle Lewis PO ‘19 shoots over the head of a defender in the Sagehens’ 17-1 win over Caltech April 13.
ond half. The game against the Panthers was close much of the way, as the Sagehens led 6-4 at halftime, and 9-8 with under 19 minutes remaining. P-P then closed out the game on an 11-3 run to blow out the visitors. Sagehen men’s tennis falls 8-1 in consecutive matches against UC Riverside, CMS It was a tough week for the No. 18 Sagehen men’s tennis team (10-13, 5-2 SCIAC), as P-P faced Division I UC Riverside (20-15) Saturday and No. 1 CMS (27-1, 7-0 SCIAC) Wednesday. The Sagehens lost both matches 8-1. Avery Bicks PO ’20 and Charlie Stark PZ ’22 earned P-P’s only point against Riverside, winning 8-7 at No. 2 doubles. Against the Stags, Jacob Schoenherr PZ ’19 won an intense match at No. 5 sin-
gles, 3-6, 6-4, 12-10. P-P women’s tennis beats UCSD in close match, falls to CMS The No. 5 P-P women’s tennis team (14-4, 6-1 SCIAC) went 1-1 last week, beating UC San Diego (12-7) 5-4 Saturday before losing to No. 2 CMS (21-1, 7-0 SCIAC) 7-2 Wednesday. Against the Tritons, the Sagehens got out to a 2-1 lead in doubles competition. P-P then split the six singles matches with UCSD, holding on for a one-point win. Rebecca Salaway PO ’20 came back at No. 6 singles, after losing the first set 4-6, to win the next two 6-1. Against the Athenas, Caroline Casper PO ’19 picked up a big win at No. 1 singles against Catherine Allen SC ’20 in a matchup of two nationally-ranked players, prevailing 7-6 (4), 6-4.
Weekly Calendar Friday, April 26 Men’s Tennis at Ojai Invitational
Baseball at Chapman Softball at La Verne
Softball Cal Lutheran
Sunday, April 28
Baseball Chapman
Track and Field SCIAC Championships
Women’s Water Polo SCIAC Tournament La Verne
Men’s Tennis at Ojai Invitational
Saturday, April 27 Track and Field SCIAC Championships Men’s Tennis at Ojai Invitational
Women’s Water Polo SCIAC Championship TBA Wednesday, May 1 Women’s Lacrosse SCIAC Tournament Occidental
Claremont - Mudd - Scripps Athlete of the Week Women’s Lacrosse Corie Hack CM ‘19 Manorville, New York Hack was honored as SCIAC Athlete of the Week last week after reaching 200 career goals as an Athena. She scored 12 goals in total last week and is now one of three players in CMS history to reach the 200-goal milestone. During her time at CMS, Hack has scored 240 total points with 203 goals and 37 assists.
Athena lacrosse seals 3rdstraight undefeated SCIAC regular season Corrie Hack CM ’19 became the third player in program history to score 200 goals as CMS women’s lacrosse (14-2, 10-0 SCIAC) defeated P-P (12-5, 7-3 SCIAC) 5-4 to clinch its thirdstraight perfect SCIAC regular season. Hack led the team with six goals in total and Sammie Co-
Weekly Calendar Friday, April 26
Sunday, April 28
Baseball at Caltech
Track and Field SCIAC Championships
Saturday, April 27
Men’s Tennis at Ojai Invitational
Men’s Tennis at Ojai Invitational Baseball Caltech
hen CM ’22 added a hat trick. Goalie Nicole Greenberg SC ’19 notched 10 saves on 12 shots. Athena water polo ends season with loss to Pomona-Pitzer The Athena water polo team (19-5, 7-7 SCIAC) lost its final game of the season 8-5 to P-P (19-12, 14-0 SCIAC), and will not compete in the SCIAC tournament. CMS attempted to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter, pulling within two goals with just over two minutes left, but the Sagehens held on. Celia Aldrete CM ’20 and Alex Szymczak SC ’22 led CMS scorers with two goals apiece. Mason Chiu wins solo title as Stag golf finishes 2nd at SCIACs Mason Chiu CM ’21 captured the individual SCIAC title by seven strokes as the CMS men’s golf team finished second in the team competition last weekend.
The second-place finish ends the team’s streak of SCIAC titles at three. While the team winner La Verne will receive the SCIAC’s automatic bid to the Division III NCAA championships, the Stags may still get a shot to improve upon 2018 ninth-place finish. CMS women’s golf earns thirdstraight SCIAC title Amy Xue CM ’22 won the SCIAC individual title by one stroke as the Athenas earned the team championship for the third-straight year. The team was 12 shots down after the first round, but came back to win by 19. The Athenas will receive the SCIAC’s automatic bid to the DIII NCAA championships to try to defend their 2018 title. CMS men’s tennis seals SCIAC top seed, perfect season CMS men’s tennis (27-1, 7-0
Softball at Whittier
Men’s Tennis at Ojai Invitational
Track and Field SCIAC Championships
CMS baseball loses 2 of 3 to Pomona-Pitzer Justin Hull CM ’20 threw his second-straight complete game in the Stags’ sole win against Pomona-Pitzer (17-15, 7-14 SCIAC) last weekend. Hull gave up one run while striking out seven and allowing just one walk. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (15-12-1, 8-10 SCIAC) dropped the final two of three games 5-3 and 13-5; Patrick Gavin CM ’21 went three-for-five with three RBIs in the last game.
Wednesday, May 1 Women’s Lacrosse SCIAC Tournament Chapman
COURTESY OF CMS ATHLETICS
TSL welcomes nominations for Athlete of the Week at sportseditor@tsl.news
Carolyn Weisman CM ‘21 had a triple-jump of 36-feet-9-inches at the Beach Invitational April 20.
SCIAC) defeated Division I UC Riverside (20-15) 4-3 as part of its three-win weekend, also blanking Caltech (13-6, 4-3 SCIAC) and Cal Lutheran (13-7, 3-4 SCIAC) last Saturday. The Stags then took down Pomona-Pitzer (10-13, 5-2 SCIAC) 8-1 Wednesday evening, Jack Katzman CM ’21 went 8-0 over the four matchups as CMS extended its season win streak to 14, and SCIAC win streak to 130. The Stags also secured the top seed in the upcoming SCIAC tournament. CMS women’s tennis extends win streak to 14, locks up top SCIAC spot CMS women’s tennis (21-1, 7-7 SCIAC) defeated Cal Lutheran (14-6, 3-4 SCIAC) 9-0 last Saturday and Pomona-Pitzer (14-4, 6-1 SCIAC) 7-2 Wednesday, sealing a perfect SCIAC regular season and the top seed in the SCIAC tournament. Catherine Allen CM ’20 dropped her first dual match of the season at No. 1 singles, falling to P-P’s Caroline Casper PO ’19 7-6, 6-4. CMS softball takes 2nd SCIAC loss of season but clinches regular season title The Athena softball team (307, 24-2 SCIAC) dropped its first game against Redlands (16-22, 10-16 SCIAC) before going on to win its next three games last weekend. The loss was only CMS’ second SCIAC loss of the season, with both coming within a week. Megan Perron CM ’21 went 3-4 in both games of Saturday’s doubleheader sweep against Occidental (4-31, 3-21 SCIAC), driving in three runs in game one and all of CMS’ four runs in game two, including a three-run home run and a walk-off double.
LIFE & STYLE PAGE 9
THE STUDENT LIFE FOOD FOR THOUGHT
PREVIEW
Sage Tank 2019 to showcase entrepreneurs on campus RIYA MANDALAPU It’s not often that students have the time to create an idea for a startup — let alone pitch those ideas to see if they could happen. But that’s exactly what Sage Tank is all about. The event, which will be hosted by Pomona Ventures, a 5C club focused on promoting student entrepreneurship, will gives student groups the chance to pitch their startup ideas to Pomona College alumni. The Shark Tank-inspired event will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. May 3 at Rose Hills Theatre. Before the event there will be an opportunity for students to network and meet alumni. After an introduction from the emcee, Erica Barry PO ’19, each of the four teams will have seven minutes to present their startups to a panel of judges. The judges will then have five minutes to ask questions and make comments. In between groups, Mimi Thompson CM ’21, president of Pomona Ventures, plans to have entertainment acts such as a business-themed sketch from Without a Box, a 5C improv group. Jean Selasi Adedze HM ’19 is pitching a startup named BuzzTop. In a message to TSL, Adedze said his “team is focused on innovating solutions that make Africans less indebted to chance when it comes to commuting. Unlike in western countries where commute involves checking fixed bus schedules and plan-
ning accordingly, in Ghana, my home country and many other African countries, this is not the case.” Adedze said there are no schedules to follow and getting to an unfamiliar destination is difficult without having someone who knows the area. “My team is trying to build mobile solutions that take away this huge level of uncertainty when commuting,” he said. “Work on my Sage Tank presentation has mostly been weekly/biweekly meetings with the Pomona Ventures team and they’ve been of great help in refining the problem statement, solution and the content of my pitch deck.” Text Me Tampons is another startup company that will be pitching at Sage Tank. Created by Sabrina Chung SC ’20 and Ali Parker SC ’20, Thompson described the pitch as an on-demand tampon service. “Text Me Tampons ... is an app that delivers period products in a time-sensitive manner directly to you,” Chung said. “[The app] allows you to order from your phone to receive a tampon, pad, ibuprofen, chocolate or entire box of tampons wherever you are across the 5Cs.” Rent the GoPro will also be featured at Sage Tank. Pitched by Diego Vergara PO ’20, the company provides a rental service for GoPros, since many people buy them and leave them around without using them on a regular basis. Akshay Trikha HM ’21 and Matthew Krager HM ’21 created a startup named Cash Post,
APRIL 26, 2019
an app service utilized by local businesses, specifically restaurants, to use social media and word of mouth to generate money. Trikha explained the idea behind their venture. “After talking to some restaurants in the Village, we realized that [the] people [who] follow them on social media are returning customers, not new ones,” he said. “However, when returning customers post about a business on their profiles, businesses get access to a customer’s friends, who may potentially be new customers. CashPost is a platform that allows businesses to incentivize their customers to share their experience with them on social media, the digital word of mouth.” Discussing the pitching process, Krager said that articulating one’s ideas is not as easy as it seems. “Something that sounds useful in your head often sounds barely coherent when you first try and explain it to other people,” he said. “For me, Sage Tank has been an opportunity to refine and perfect our idea.” The Sage Tank winning group will win $1,000, the second team will win $500 and the audience vote will determine the experiential prizes teams can win — such as a one-on-one meeting with a major company. There will also be a raffle that anyone can enter for prizes such as gift cards for places in the Claremont Village.
TALIA BERNSTEIN • THE STUDENT LIFE
Gabriel Piscitello PO ‘20 (right) offers advice to Diego Vergara PO ‘20 on his start-up pitch in preparation for Sage Tank.
The Super Bowl: How do four Claremont acai bowls stack up? STEPHANIE DU
Confession: When the popularity of acai bowls rose in the U.S., I spent hours on Instagram looking at aesthetically pleasing images of the now infamous dish. Although I pronounced it “ah-kai” for two whole months, the alluring purple smoothie base and beautifully arranged fruit called out to me. Acai bowls are at the top of the list for health food trends. They are traditionally comprised of a thick, blended smoothie of acai berries and topped with bananas and granola. The acai berry, originally from Brazil, is a superfood loaded with antioxidants. It can also improve cholesterol levels and brain function. Claremont has several places that serve acai bowls, including Pepo Melo, Podge’s Claremont Juice Co., The Spot Cafe and an on-campus option — Scripps College. I decided to review all of them to see which one was the tastiest. Pepo Melo This hot new spot is wellloved by many students at the 5Cs — for good reason. Pepo bowls come in different bases, including charcoal, matcha and acai. There are a variety of toppings to choose from, many of them superfoods. Pepo Melo also offers uncommon toppings; for example, I got kiwi berries on my acai bowl. They are basically mini kiwis but taste sweeter. The acai base was refreshing and had the distinct sweetness of acai berries. Although traditional acai bowls only include bananas and granola, I liked the option of having other fresh fruit and toppings to choose from. The freshness of Pepo Melo’s smoothie bases also added to the quality of their bowls. At around $10, Pepo bowls might be viewed as expensive by some. But I consider them to be worth it, simply because each bowl is so filling. Plus, you can get unlimited toppings that are both fresh and high-quality. 4.75/5 Podge’s Claremont Juice Co. Located on Yale Avenue, Podge’s Claremont Juice Co. serves a more traditional acai bowl. They make your acai bowl right in front of you by blending acai puree into a thick purple smoothie. It is then topped with sliced banana, crunchy granola and honey. The acai puree was a little tart, but the honey balanced it out with a perfect amount of sweetness. The granola had
STEPHANIE DU • THE STUDENT LIFE
Pepo Melo offers unlimited, healthy toppings, including kiwi berries, granola and hemp seeds.
notes of pineapple in it, which mingled well with the acai berry. The portion size was large, a whopping 16 ounces — it was certainly very filling. Because of the limited number of toppings and the sheer size, however, I must admit that I grew a little tired of eating it. The bowl was also $10, but this struck me as on the pricey end because of the lack of toppings. 3.5/5 The Spot Cafe This cafe is next to Trader Joe’s on Foothill Boulevard, just a short walk from campus. The Spot Cafe has the most diverse range of acai bowls. They serve the traditional acai bowl, which is just acai puree topped with fruit and granola. There are also flavored options like the “Amazing Green Kale” and “Espresso Yourself” bowls. These bowls still contain acai, but other ingredients such as kale, alternative kinds of milk, berries and espresso beans are added. Pricewise, The Spot’s acai bowls range from $7 to $8. I tried the “Soy What Strawberry” bowl, which contained acai, banana, strawberries and soy milk. The soy milk added creaminess to the acai blend, but as a result of the milk, the base was less refreshing than the other acai bowls I tried. As a lover of strawberries, I definitely appreciated the addition of the
fruit. For those who don’t like the taste of acai, The Spot Cafe also makes the same bowls with pitaya (dragon fruit). 4.5/5 Malott Dining Hall On most weekends, Scripps’ dining hall serves acai bowls. Students can pick up a bowl or take-away cup of acai puree and top it with a selection of frozen fruits, nuts, goji berries, coconut, chocolate chips, granola and more. I personally like adding in a spoon of nutella for some extra richness. Malott’s acai bowls are flavorful, especially with the toppings. However, the acai puree is slightly watery and little flavor comes from the frozen fruits. Even so, it is free for those on the dining hall meal plan, and I always get it when it’s available. 3.75/5 The acai bases at all four places all tasted similar, although The Spot Cafe’s was the creamiest and Malott’s was a little too watery. In the end, it came down to the toppings. Due to their unlimited fresh offerings, Pepo Melo is my choice as the winner of the Super Bowl. Stephanie Du SC ’21 is TSL’s food columnist. She is a biology major whose hobbies include cooking, baking, traveling and eating all kinds of foods.
One-woman show ‘Rag Head’ spotlights Sikh struggle YASMIN ELQUTAMI In 2017, Punjabi Sikh writer, actress, director and activist Sundeep Morrison was struggling to find Sikh actors for her developing play “Rag Head.” When a friend told Morrison to just play every character, she replied, “Well, that sounds narcissistic.” Since its 2018 debut, however, the one-woman show has been received as anything but. “Rag Head” was shown to a full theater and an excited crowd at Pomona College April 19, and featured an opening poetry performance by student poet Zayn Singh SC ’20, as well as a post-play Q&A with Morrison. The event was hosted by Cal Poly Pomona and Claremont’s Sikh Student Associations. Based on the 2012 gurdwara (Sikh temple) shooting in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, “Rag Head” tackles Sikh identity and trauma in relation to broader themes of hate, hope and American identity. Sikhism originated in the Punjab region, which includes areas of modern-day India and Pakistan, and is a religion distinct from Hinduism or Islam. Morrison played a community of characters, including four members of a Sikh family, a Muslim lawyer and two additional characters, Gwen and Dale. These two characters represented the duality between white allyship and white bigotry, respectively: Gwen
advocated for the promotion of Dev, the Sikh family son, while Dale spouted slurs when he was angered by his daughter’s Sikh boyfriend. The play was comprised of several vignettes, each with a singular character played by Morrison. The scenes were preceded by audio clips of news segments about the Sikh community, preparing the audience for upcoming topics. With no music and minimal stage design, each scene had an emotional impact and clear intent. They reflected Morrison’s feelings regarding being Sikh in majority-white spaces, whether in the workplace, in airport security or even just in one’s hometown. A native of Calgary, a city in the Canadian province of Alberta, Morrison said she remembers a lack of representation and tolerance, as well as a dissonance created between her love of her family’s identity and people’s prejudices. “My school … was a very white space,” Morrison said. “My brother was the only student that had a joora, a turban, and the first time I heard the pejorative ‘rag head’ was when my father was driving me to school. I knew what a rag was. I knew what a head was. But what my dad wore every morning was a crown of cloth.” Morrison brought awareness to the term “anticipatory stress” — stress concerning the future.
She said she hoped “Rag Head” could create spaces to alleviate that stress in Sikh communities. “As a person of color, especially as a visible minority wearing an article of faith, anticipatory stress levels in our current socio-political climate are very high,” Morrison explained. “But to see all these beautiful brown faces — this is where it starts. You create a safe space and you advocate for each other and you become allies in your own community.” Hershey Suri PO ’21, an organizer for the event and member of the Claremont SSA, said she valued the show as a means of representation. “This show holds my life,” Suri said. “Seeing a performance done by someone who relates to me so much meant the world to me.” The show also resonated with non-Sikh students. “I identify as South Asian and Muslim and … I feel as if the Muslim and Sikh post-9/11 experiences share many similarities,” Sofia Ahmed SC ’21 said. “The feelings [the] play portrayed of being fearful to express your religious identity because of [public perception] is something I continue to struggle with.” Though attendee Selena Lopez PO ’22 said she does not identify with Morrison as a member of the Latinx community, she said she related to the bigoted language parroted by
a character named Dale in the production. “I definitely felt like I was hearing words I would hear back home,” Lopez said. “Being from the South, I am quite used to having to put up with racist comments and having to be stronger than them [and] having to be brave in front of them.” Several students were cognizant of the large percentage of attendees who were people of color and hoped to attract a wider audience. “As I looked around the show, I realized that the audience comprised mainly of people of color,” Ahmed said. “Although it was so cathartic [to be represented], I wish white students were able to hear this story … as I think white students would especially benefit from
hearing stories that center on racial and religious minorities.” Lopez agreed with the sentiment. “I really wish more people had attended, specifically people from other backgrounds,” she said. “To be able to learn about people’s experiences [of discrimination] is important, even more so in a place of privilege.” Morrison addressed the issue, saying her aim is to “take the show into white-saturated spaces where brown faces aren’t a norm, let alone a majority. “I’m beyond grateful that you all [Sikh students] are here, but you know the struggle,” she said. Morrison closed the Q&A by asking white audience members for active allyship and gave tips
on how to be a better ally to minority communities. “I would like to implore our white audience members — especially in L.A., we have a huge culture of activism and we use the word ‘ally’ and ‘activist’ — I would implore you to shift the words ‘activist’ and ‘ally’ from nouns to verbs, because we need your help,” Morrison said. “I can arrive to the occasion and explain and be open, but it’s exhausting; I think [minorities] are all exhausted. Not to say we won’t … spread our advocacy, but we need our white allies.” “So when you’re with your friends and someone makes an off-color joke, against any community, speak up. You may totally ‘kill the vibe,’ but that’s real advocacy — when it causes you discomfort.”
COURTESY: SHUBMAN SIDHU
Sundeep Morrison performs in her one-woman show “Rag Head” at the Rose Hills Theatre April 19.
LIFE & STYLE PAGE 10
THE STUDENT LIFE
APRIL 26, 2019
BEYOND MUSIC
Faces behind the beats: Female DJs at the 5Cs SCHUYLER MITCHELL There’s something special about the moment a 5C party ends. The music stops, the lights go up, Campus Safety ushers everyone out at 1 a.m. sharp. In these moments, when events come to their sudden, sweat-drenched conclusions, the power of the DJ is overwhelmingly clear. For the past few hours, without even realizing it, your night belonged to the person behind the mixing board; your body moved to the beat of whatever songs they were playing. With a click of a button or an adjustment of tempo, the DJ can send the crowd into frenzied chaos or subdued swaying. Meet Vani Dewan SC ’21 (DJ Vani), Rose Soiffer-Kosins PZ ’19 (DJ Rose) and Flora Gallina-Jones HM ’19 (franc galina), some of the female student DJs shaping the 5C party experience. Dewan, Soiffer-Kosins and Gallina-Jones all credit KSPC, the 5C radio station, for sparking their interest in DJing. “I learned how much I loved exploring music and searching for ‘the song’ out of many that really fits a mood, so I started to DJ live events,” Gallina-Jones said. Dewan and Soiffer-Kosins were both trained on the mixing board by Table Manners organizer Nick Imparato PO ’20. Table Manners, a student-run DJ collective, hosts parties in Dom’s Lounge every Tuesday night and includes time for “open decks” when new DJs can learn the basics. Gallina-Jones has DJ’d some of the most popular parties at Harvey Mudd College, including Casemas, Slippery When Wet and Paint Party. “A lot of what I learned was [and still is] just by experimenting on my own and listening to other DJs’ sets,” she said. When asked how she chose her DJ name, Gallina-Jones said, “These days, I go by franc galina, which is a phonetic spell-
ing of my great-grandfather’s name. I chose to use it in part to honor him and that part of my heritage, in part because I like it, aesthetically, and in part because it makes my gender ambiguous [whereas my given name is very feminine]. “Though I do identify as a woman, I’m all about experimenting with my gender presentation, and when I’m DJing I feel most comfortable presenting androgynously,” she added. All three DJs bring varying styles and music tastes to the mixing board. Soiffer-Kosins has performed at bars around Claremont and Seattle in addition to Table Manners. “I love mixing crazy, unheard-of songs that I find deep in the internet with songs that a lot of people might recognize,” she said. “Plus oldies from the ’50s, like Dusty Springfield.” Dewan’s favorite genres include Bollywood, South Asian pop, hip-hop and reggaeton, while Gallina-Jones said she has lately been mostly playing house and techno. “The tracks I’m most drawn to have compelling [and] creative samples and a funky bassline,” Gallina-Jones said. “Something that will stick in people’s minds and get them moving.” When it comes to electronic dance music, the industry is dominated by white male DJs. “Being a female DJ in a male-dominated field,” Dewan said, “requires me to assert myself and be confident and advocate for myself and why I deserve to DJ, or why I deserve to charge a certain amount for my sets. It’s always been really important to me to be prepared, and to practice a lot to master my craft.” Gallina-Jones noted that “there’s really no shortage of incredibly talented [role model DJs who are women] in just about every subgenre.” Nevertheless, she’s faced sexism throughout her DJing
I’ve been a fan of Donald Glover for a long time. Growing up, I found a sense of comfort in his creativity. Like many, I discovered him through his debut album “Camp,” not even realizing I was laughing at his jokes in “30 Rock.” The sophomore album of the artist creatively known as Childish Gambino, titled, “Because the Internet,” became one of the most influential albums of my life. For me, BTI, released during the winter of my freshman year of high school, redefined what rap was and what it could be. Since its release, I’ve seen Glover continue to disrupt as an entertainer, while creating projects that highlight the vast range of his creativity. Glover has always impressed and inspired me through his work. He has been an important figure to my adolescence and that of many others — when he makes a move, we watch in awe, wonder and appreciation.
The release of his most recent project, “Guava Island,” led me to question if the artist made a misstep, or if he accomplished a massive achievement in the realm of streaming content. Ultimately, the musical film is a flex of the fluidity that Glover is allowed to have as an artist in the 21st century that, while unusual and possibly unprecedented, should be celebrated by all audiences. “Guava Island” was first exhibited during the first weekend of Coachella two weeks ago, and was released on Amazon Prime Video following his set at the festival. At 56 minutes, it is technically considered a film. The plot follows a musician named Deni (Glover), who uses music to combat the business tycoon, Red Cargo (Nonso Anozie), who essentially employs everyone on the film’s eponymous island. Rihanna also plays Deni’s love interest, Kofi. The film features the three songs released by Glover in 2018 (“This is America,”
COURTESY: AMAZON STUDIOS VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
“Guava Island” stars Donald Glover and Rihanna. It debuted during the first weekend of Coachella and was later released on Amazon Prime Video.
The relationship between marketing and artistry ELLA BOYD
TIMOTHY LIU • THE STUDENT LIFE
Vani Dewan SC ‘21 DJs at Dom’s Lounge March 26.
career. “Sometimes, when I tell men that I’m a DJ, they try to mansplain a particular electronic music genre, piece of equipment or subculture to me. Or quiz me about the genres that I express interest in,” she said. Soiffer-Kosins shared similar experiences. “When I play at bars I get bothered by so many men. I played a set at The Press in Claremont, and mid-set, probably five or six men asked for my number to ‘play at their party,’” she said. “It gets so frustrating when I am just trying to enjoy
myself. ” In spite of these setbacks and the gender inequality in the industry, Dewan, Soiffer-Kosins and Gallina-Jones all want to keep DJing after college, at least as a hobby. “I love making people dance,” Dewan said. “Going to an event with good, high energy, interesting music and dancing your heart out can be so cathartic and really makes a night out worth it. That’s what I want to provide.” To read the full article, go to tsl.news.
With ‘Guava Island,’ Donald Glover shows independence and free spirit CHRIS AGARD
THE DOWNBEAT
“Feels Like Summer ” and “Summertime Magic”), as well as some unreleased songs in different musical numbers. Rihanna does not sing. Prior to the film’s release, there was a great deal of speculation amongst Gambino fans as to what “Guava Island” would be. Many thought it would be some sort of visual album, while others were hoping the singer/rapper/actor/ writer would just release a full collection of new music. Instead, we were given a strange hybrid of a creative project. My initial thoughts after having watched the film were dominated by ideas of what a “film” should be. Labeling “Guava Island” as a film limits how we interpret the project, when it should be regarded simply as a work of art. The plot in it of itself is quite straightforward and fast-moving. However, Glover finds other ways to make the project meaningful and still worth watching. What the film lacks in plot is made up for by other forms of artistry. One notable aspect of the film is its set’s beautiful location — Cuba. The fictional Guava Island remains breezy despite the oppressive force of Red Cargo. Supported by Cuba’s unique architecture and landscapes, viewers get an authentic image, rather than a studio-fabricated island. It is also worth recognizing that every person in the film is black, from main characters to extras. We, the audience, see an island that is a community bound by the people, language and culture that it consists of. The film begins with a brief history of Guava Island, narrated by Kofi. Other than that, we are immediately placed in
this world that simply exists. In this way, the island becomes a character whose culture and people are integrated into the project so well that nothing is explained; everything is taken as fact. When I first watched “Guava Island,” I was disappointed; there was no full-length feature film, no new album and no vocals from Rihanna, who has not released much music since her 2016 album “Anti.” I did not understand why the internet had given Glover so much hype for a project that did not even last an hour. I questioned why we consider him an artistic genius, when within the same week Beyoncé released a two-hour documentary film and live album. However, it was not until later that I recognized Glover’s versatility and willingness to take risks with his art at the expense of merging different mediums. Nothing Glover does with “Guava Island” is necessarily revolutionary; some have even called it his “Purple Rain.” Instead, he continues to dip his toes in the various forms of art, doing whatever he wants. “Guava Island” is reflective of the freedom that talented individuals such as Glover have in the work they create, further pushing boundaries and inspiring the young audiences that have gravitated toward him. Chris Agard CM ’21 is a guest L&S writer and TSL opinions writer. He is a philosophy, politics and economics major from Atlanta who does not believe in putting pineapple on pizza.
Rapper YBN Cordae just announced the name of his first full-length album, “The Lost Boy,” as well as his first solo tour. For his single “Have Mercy,” Cordae also dropped two contrasting visuals showing a track A and a track B, creating a kind of a choose-your-ownadventure style video series. The two releases prompt the audience to wonder: Are the two videos an artistic choice used to best represent Cordae’s vision for his autobiographical song? Or are the visuals purely for marketing, used to promote sales for his new album and tour? Music and visuals have a long, intertwined history. Even back in the days of turntables, artists considered the art that would be displayed on the sleeve of their records. With digital media, however, there seems to be an increase in visuals used to brand and sell music. Music itself may not be as important to listeners as how the music looks, according to one study conducted by Harvard University. The study found that “visual trumps the audio, even in a setting where audio information should matter much more.” If an artist’s aim is to sell music and make money, this trend naturally shifts their focus from the music to the visual quality of their art. If consumers like the artist’s visuals, theoretically, consumers will spend money on the music. Videos are especially effective at attracting consumers because they combine sound and movement. Video content also has the highest retention rate of any form of digital media. Forbes published an article that said viewers retain 95% of a message when t h e y wa t c h i t o n v i d e o , compared to 10% when reading pure text. With 65% of people being visual learners, according to the Social Science Research Network, it makes sense that YouTube receives more
than one billion unique visitors a month, while videos are shared 1,200% more than links and texts combined. While video marketing is known to be effective, Cordae’s dueling videos are still unique in comparison to existing content. Path B of Cordae’s visuals is especially interesting. Scenes of burning palm trees and dimly lit hotel corridors mix with Cordae’s line “baby Jesus, please save us” to create the sense that Cordae is crying out for help. The visuals do not feel inauthentic, nor do they feel like an advertisement. Cordae does not appear to be glamorizing his life, especially with the Path B video. I don’t believe Cordae released two videos with the idea that more is more; I believe Cordae released two videos because he wanted to. Part of Cordae’s appeal as an artist is his ability to bridge generational gaps in hip hop. Cordae himself said in an interview with Open Space that “I’m not a rapper. I’m an artist,” when discussing his mass appeal. Cordae speaks to marketing in the interview as well, saying, “The numbers are going crazy cause it’s on fucking World Star. People are talking about it, they’re sharing it.” Cordae wants to be successful, and being successful requires more than just marketing. Success requires concern for artistry. But unlike Cordae’s video release, where the viewer chooses one path or the other, attention to marketing and concern for artistry can occur simultaneously. Cordae proves that the presence of one does not mean the absence of the other. By using modern marketing, Cordae shows that old-school tactics are still relevant, especially when they have a modern twist. Visuals have always been part of music, and in this era, videos can propel music to reach wider audiences than ever before. Ella Boyd SC ’22 is TSL’s music columnist. Besides writing, she enjoys listening to music, discussing pop culture and making art.
CHLOE FRELINGHUYSEN • THE STUDENT LIFE
