Vol. CXXX No. 12

FRIDAY, FebRuARY 14, 2020 | CLAREMONT, CA | VOL. CXXX NO. 12

Rains remodel to start in May Sagehens prepare for years of displacement as gym is renovated ALLISON FITZ Construction for the expansion and remodeling of Pomona College’s Rains Center for Sport and Recreation is slated to begin this May and is expected to be complet-

ed before the start of the spring 2022 semester.

The college is working on plans for the construction period, according to Bob Robinson, the college’s assistant vice president of facilities, who told TSL about the construction schedule.

Pomona announced the $55 million construction project in a Dec. 2018 press release. The new building’s footprint is smaller, but will add 15,000 square feet of space, totaling to 94,000 square feet, the release said.

During construction, the entire

current building will be out of commission, prompting the athletic department to make plans to mitigate the situation.

Pomona and Pitzer College students, faculty and staff will be able to use Claremont McKenna College’s Roberts Pavilion 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. and from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.

— outside of the facility’s “primetime” hours — for individual fitness and recreation according to Pomona-Pitzer Interim Athletic Director Jen Scanlon.

Pomona and Pitzer students’ reactions to this news are mixed.

“I think Rains needs an update and in the end we’ll all be happy that they did it, but ... it’s very annoying that I’m going to have to go all the way to CMC to go to the gym,” said Ella Hort PO ’23, who said she works out roughly five times per week.

The P-P volleyball and basketball teams will practice and play at Roberts and Harvey Mudd College’s Linde Activities Center, according to Scanlon.

But the specifics are not yet finalized and are subject to change.

“It would be safest to say that

we are still in discussion with CMC and HMC,” she said via email. “I do not anticipate that any of the teams will have season-long dedicated locker rooms at [Mudd], perhaps on game days. But there are just too many things still up in the air.”

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athletic Director Erica Jasper welcomed the arrangement.

“We will be working to support Pomona-Pitzer students, faculty and staff at Roberts Pavilion during our non-peak hours and will keep

See RAINS on page 2

Pomona to cut some OA trips eRIKA SCHWeRDFeGeR & NATALIe CHARTOVe Pomona College will keep next fall’s Orientation Adventure destinations within four hours’ driving distance from campus, according to the college’s Director of Outdoor Education Martin Crawford and two student OA leaders informed about the situation, forcing the college to cut the Yosemite National Park trip, and possibly others.

Incoming students embark on OA trips as part of their orientation program, during which they spend four days in groups with fellow new students doing outdoor activities, according to offerings listed on Pomona’s website.

OA trips in the past have taken students to spots like Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, the Channel Islands and downtown Los Angeles.

With the new rule, destinations such as Yosemite will no longer be offered, and “most likely not Channel Islands National Park,” Crawford said via email.

“There are a few locations that are just on the cusp of the new four-hour window that we will need to look closely at including Morro Bay State Park and Sequoia National Park.”

The Channel Islands trip did not take place in the fall of 2019, according to outdoor education coordinator Chris Weyant. Crawford previously told TSL this was

See TRIPS on page 3

SINK OR SWIM CRUNCH TIME FOR SIXTH STREET RIVALS SEE PAGE 10 ANNA HORNe • THe STuDeNT LIFe

Science dept. plans Bigger and boulder inching forward Pitzer senior reaching new heights Construction of new Scripps Pitzer building pushed back, CMC withdrawal stalled SIeNA SWIFT, DYLAN MCCuSKY & AARON GONZALeS

COURTESY: OUTDOOR EDUCATION CENTER

Emily Williams PO ‘21, Arianna Maxwell PO ‘21, Camilla Guo PO ‘22 and Lauryn Cravens PO ‘21 went on the Yosemite Orientation Adventure in 2017.

Construction of the new 70,000-square foot Scripps Pitzer Science Center building, which is expected to be completed by spring 2023, is set to begin later this spring, according to Pitzer College spokesperson Anna Chang.

Meanwhile, Claremont McKenna College’s efforts to found its own science department continue as the school searches for a department chair.

Initial Scripps Pitzer Science Center construction was slated to begin in January, according to a construction schedule emailed to Scripps College students in December 2019 from the Scripps Facilities Department.

However, the colleges have yet to break ground. Chang told TSL via email Feb. 13 that “pre-construction work is underway,” and that Pitzer and Scripps now expect the “official groundbreaking to be late spring.”

The new building will be located at the current site of the

Revelle parking lot at Scripps.

Scripps facilities urged students in their email to prepare for “the noise and inconvenience associated with heavy construction operations when the spring 2020 semester begins,” and told students that the college is “doing everything possible to minimize the effects of this disruption.”

Across the street, nearly a year and a half after it was announced, CMC’s future science department remains in the planning stages as the college gathers funds and searches for the department’s first chair, according to Dean of Faculty Peter Uvin, who presented an update on the science center at a discussion Feb. 5.

Last April, the school’s trustees decided to hold off on officially leaving the joint department until CMC met an undisclosed fundraising threshold, leaving the timeline for CMC’s departure hazy.

Uvin said the next step in the planning stage is to find the first chair of the new department, which he said is critical. CMC plans to select the first chair by April, to begin work July 1.

“If we don’t find [them], well, then we’ll continue the search until we find the right person,” Uvin said. “This is a very important decision because this person is going to be at the heart of so many decisions

See SCIeNCe on page 2

LIFE & STYLE Meet Masala, the TSL pet of the week: a miniature Australian shepherd who loves to chew shoes for sport and play fetch next to the Sallie Tiernan Field House! Read more on page 5.

The student newspaper of the Claremont Colleges since 1889

with national climbing team

COURTESY: LOGAN MELTON

Laurel Melton PZ ‘20 founded the Claremont Climbing Team in 2018, and wants to pursue a career in the climbing industry.

ADITYA bHALLA Laurel Melton PZ ’20 has never been afraid of heights.

As a competitive rock climber who’s represented the U.S. Climbing national team worldwide, it’s a good thing she isn’t.

Melton, the founder of the Claremont Climbing Team and coach of a youth team in Santa Ana, began climbing in fifth grade after a short stint in gymnastics, which ended due to injuries and expenses. She qualified for her first national climbing competition in seventh grade and never looked back.

OPINIONS

Now, she will soon graduate from Pitzer College as an accomplished rock climber at both the national and international levels.

“Almost all of the travel I do is for climbing. It’s really cool, the opportunities [climbing] has provided for me,” said Melton, who has competed in Ecuador, Slovakia and Switzerland. “The best part about it is traveling with the U.S. team. … The community at competitions is really supportive and really great.”

In 2018, Melton placed 16th in speed climbing at the International Federation of Sport Climbing

See CLIMb on page 9 SPORTS

In order to create true equality, it’s necessary to deconstruct existing stereotypes of gender and sexuality expression, argues Eamon Morris PZ ’22. Read more on page 6.

The Stags soccer team is sad to see prior head coach Matt Edwards go after five seasons and back-toback SCIAC titles. Read more on page 9.

INDEX: News 1 | Life & Style 4 | Opinions 6 | Sports 8

NewS

PAGE 2

RAINS: P-P to have limited Roberts access during construction Continued from page 1 a close eye on overall usage during this time,” she said via email. “We are viewing this as a positive — a chance to help our neighboring students, faculty, and staff all in the name of fitness and recreation.”

When CMC’s Roberts Pavilion was under construction from 20142016, Rains and the LAC helped house Claremont-Mudd-Scripps athletics, according to past TSL coverage. Temporary locker rooms, as well as a weight room and training room, were installed at the site of CMS’s old tennis courts (just north of Axelrood Pool), while fitness equipment was moved to the Emett Student Center, the current location of CMC’s Soll Center for Student Opportunity.

During the Rains construction, the coaches’ offices, the athletic training room and laundry service will be temporarily relocated to the Montgomery Art Center, Pomona’s soon-to-be former museum of art, according to Scanlon. Montgomery may also serve as a changing area.

“The goal is that [the teams] would not have to leave the consortium. … They are going to have to be flexible with practice times, but hopefully they can at least geographically stay local,” Scanlon said. Using existing spaces will also reduce the project’s costs.

Pomona has also begun building a temporary space by the Strehle Track to house more fitness and weightlifting equipment. It currently holds some equipment and storage space, but it will be expanded to hold “as much as we can fit,” Scanlon said. It will be open most hours of the day.

To some P-P athletes, the plan seems inconvenient.

“If it’s Harvey Mudd and our locker rooms are all the way on

South Campus, that is a 30 minute walk,” said Lauren Asato PO ’23, a starter for the Pomona-Pitzer volleyball team. “The fact that they didn’t necessarily have a plan for us is kind of junk. … I don’t know what the set plans are.”

Asato also said she’s concerned the team may not finish practice in time to make it back to Frary Dining Hall before it closes at 8 p.m.

Head volleyball coach Valerie Townsend acknowledged that the transition presents challenges.

“The biggest downfall is, obviously, being displaced for a couple years. Hopefully sooner rather than later we will get back in … but that’s just something that is part of it. You learn to adjust,” she said.

As part of the plan, the volleyball team will be playing more away games when possible, Townsend added, which may place additional strain on the team.

Those living near Rains will likely also be affected by the construction. To lessen the impact of noise on those students, the college will install double-paned glass in Clark 5 “to reduce noise,” and supply students with headphones and earplugs, according to Dean of Campus Life Josh Eisenberg, who spoke at an ASPC meeting Thursday.

Coaches, athletes and non-athletes alike, however, eagerly await the expansion.

“They definitely need to re-do Rains because it’s getting old and our locker rooms are so small,” Asato said. “We have a really big team, and it’s hard to even fit everyone in there comfortably.”

Alaina Woo PO ’17, interim head coach of P-P women’s basketball and a former P-P guard, also thinks the project is necessary.

“The new Rains Center proj-

ect is exciting for our athletics programs but also for student wellness at Pomona more generally. Though it may affect team logistics next year, the project will be beneficial long term,” she said via email.

Pomona also offers over 50 physical education courses with roughly 1,400 registration spots.

During construction, some of these will be held at Pitzer and Scripps College, in Pomona’s Pendleton Dance Center or outside, with a “minimal impact” on students and enrollment numbers, Scanlon said.

“We are still going to have a very extensive set of classes,” Scanlon said. “There may be more travel … but they will still have the option to choose from a lot of different great things.”

Under the construction plans, Rains’ Voelkel Gym, the main competition space, will be the only area that will remain intact, according to Scanlon.

Memorial Gym, the recreational gym, will be moved to the second story, along with office spaces, a classroom and a studio with some fitness equipment.

Locker rooms, an athletic training room and the fitness center, will remain downstairs.

The new gym will also include an additional studio space, classroom and a new strength and conditioning center for more technical weightlifting, Scanlon said. Varsity teams will be able to reserve the strength and conditioning center, unlike the current fitness center.

Scanlon hopes the new building, which will offer a variety of seating and work areas, as well as TV screens, will also act as a social hub where students will study and hang out.

HUXLEYANN HUEFNER • THE STUDENT LIFE

During construction of the new $55 million Rains Center, which is slated to begin this May, the entire current building will be out of commission and Pomona-Pitzer students will use spaces on other campuses.

Corrections An article about coronavirus and study abroad programs in issue 11 incorrectly stated that the situation Jaimie Ding SC ’21 described in Seoul was in China. In addition, it stated that no Scripps students planned to study abroad this semester — however, the Scripps program partners had suspended their programs in mainland China before the semester began.

TSL regrets these errors

Harvey Mudd eliminates SAT subject test requirement Beginning in next year’s admissions cycle for the class of 2025, Harvey Mudd College will no longer require students to submit SAT subject tests, the school announced Feb. 6. The school previously required two subject tests, according to HMC’s website.

“We are excited to make this policy change and hope that it will remove a barrier to applying to the College for many students,” Thyra Briggs, vice president for admission and financial aid, said in a press release. “Our alumni have been transformative leaders since our founding. In order to continue this tradition, it is essential that we make a Harvey Mudd education as accessible as possible.”

Mudd appears to have been the only 5C that required subject tests for all students, according to the schools’ admissions sites.

Pomona College considers them “optional,” Scripps College does not list any requirement and Claremont McKenna College only requires them for homeschooled students. Pitzer College is entirely test-optional and will not consider subject tests.

— Marc Rod Harvey Mudd Van damaged in gas-siphoning incident Kip Macsai-Goren HM ’22 and five other students were set to hike Mount Baldy Feb. 8, but their trip got off to a rocky start.

When the students stopped to get gas for the college-owned van they were using for the trip before heading up Baldy, gas “sprayed out of the bottom” of the vehicle, Macsai-Goren said.

An HMC facilities and maintenance worker found that the gas tube was punctured with large holes, according to MacsaiGoren.

The worker told the students that the gas was most likely siphoned, and that the culprit ruptured the tube with an unknown object while siphoning gas, according to MacsaiGoren.

HMC spokesperson Judy Augsburger confirmed that “the gas line was tampered with.”

The incident was reported to the Claremont Police Department, The Claremont Colleges Services spokesperson Laura Muna-Landa said via email.

“We have increased patrols of the area where this occurred, and will continue to work with HMC to identify other options to mitigate the opportunity for theft,” Muna-Landa said.

The culprit remains unclear.

— Liam Chalk and Maria Heeter

FEbRUARY 14, 2020

PO won’t ask about criminal history on Common App Decision stems from research showing question has ‘chilling effect’ on minority applications CHLOe MANDeL For this year’s admissions cycle, Pomona College removed an application question asking prospective students if they have criminal histories, according to Adam Sapp, Pomona’s assistant vice president and director of admissions.

However, the school will still require admitted students to answer whether they have been convicted of a crime before accepting an offer of enrollment, according to Pomona’s website.

Students who answer yes must send “context and background information” for committee review, the website said.

A review committee made up of Pomona “admissions officers, staff and faculty” will then meet to determine whether an applicant’s criminal history justifies rescinding admission, according to the site.

The committee will notify candidates of its decision before they may finish enrolling, according to the website.

Sapp said the change stems from “significant national conversation about the use of criminal history questions in applications” in the last few years.

A committee that included administrators and faculty gathered to rework Pomona’s criminal history policy, and received approval from the Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid, which is comprised of students, admissions staff and faculty, Sapp said via email to TSL. Sapp said the committees agreed that including the criminal history question at that point in Pomona’s application process was unnecessary, but “still felt it was important to know more about the criminal history of students admitted to the College who were seeking to enroll.”

The change was “informed by a body of research that suggests that asking a criminal history question on an application has a chilling effect on applicants from marginalized backgrounds even applying, and disproportionately im-

pacts communities of color,” Sapp said.

It’s also in line with decisions by major players in higher education.

In 2018, the nonprofit organization behind the Common Application removed the criminal history question from the section shared among colleges.

While universities can choose to include the question in their own specific portion of the Common App, Pomona will leave it out.

The University of California system has never required information on applicants’ criminal histories, according to Stephen Handel, UC’s associate vice president of undergraduate admissions.

Rather, specific campuses can request this information on student housing forms once they’ve sent out offers of admission, according to Handel.

Pomona’s decision also mirrors new statewide law regarding hiring.

California passed the Fair Chance Act in Jan. 2018, legally prohibiting employers from asking about criminal history prior to making job offers “in most situations,” according to Sapp.

After making a conditional employment offer, employers may ask job candidates if they have a history of convictions and conduct a background check, but are required to make an individualized assessment about the “nature and gravity” of the conviction and “cannot simply say that they won’t hire anyone convicted of a certain crime,” according to the LA County website.

Pomona is currently the only Claremont College to have removed the criminal history question from its application; the other four colleges still include it among their college-specific questions on the Common App, their respective applications showed.

ASCMC is currently discussing a proposal to remove the criminal history question from Claremont McKenna College’s application, and Pitzer College is also considering removing it, Pitzer spokesperson Anna Chang said via email. It’s unknown if there is discussion of removing the question at Harvey Mudd or Scripps.

SCIENCE: CMC searches for ‘the right person’ to head program Continued from page 1 afterwards.”

Uvin did not name any candidates, but said the college has begun to select individuals from its initial candidate pool for another stage of interviews, with the intention of bringing the finalists to campus to meet students and faculty this semester.

Last February, Scripps and Pitzer announced a fundraising goal of $65 million for the new building. Chang said via email that the colleges’ plan for reaching this mark “is a combination of donor gifts, cash savings and debt,” and that they “continue to seek donor contributions to relieve the need to take debt.”

Pitzer received a $3 million donation from the Pitzer Family Foundation in April 2019.

When asked more specifically about fundraising progress, Chang said via email that Pitzer and Scripps are “collaborating

on proposals to charitable foundations in support of the project.”

In addition to the new building, Pitzer and Scripps science students may benefit from CMC’s so-called Keckxit.

Former Pitzer Dean of Faculty Nigel Boyle told TSL in September that CMC’s withdrawal should reduce average class sizes from 28 to 19, which would allow students to better connect with professors inside and outside of the classroom.

Students have had mixed reactions to Keckxit. Some have worried about CMC leaving while others have been excited by the opportunities a smaller department and new building provide.

“Since CMC will do its own thing with this withdrawal, I feel like it will separate the two, the CMC students and the Scripps and Pitzer students, which will allow more opportunities for Pitzer and Scripps students,” said Sora Sato PZ ’23, a prospec-

tive neuroscience major at Keck.

“It will allow better connections with the professors, with the outside world and with internships.”

CMC students have different perspectives on Keckxit.

Jeremy Lahr CM ’22, a mathematics major on the pre-dental track, said he supports it.

“I know that it’s been a problem at Keck in the past, with professors having to teach things that they don’t or that they wouldn’t normally teach,” Lahr said. “So I hope that that is no longer a problem at the new CMC science department.”

“But besides that, I just hope that it has all of the same classes that were offered at Keck and that we can do well,” Lahr added.

Others say they’re still unclear on what the college’s plans are.

“I don’t know any specific details [because] a lot of the information is contradictory and I don’t know what’s reliable so I just don’t remember anything,” Nayeli Gutierrez CM ’22 said.

ANNA HORNE • THE STUDENT LIFE

The new Scripps-Pitzer Science Center should begin construction later this semester. It’s estimated to cost $65 million.

NewS

FEbRUARY 14, 2020

TRIPS: OA leaders remain optimistic Continued from page 1 due to separate changes to the orientation schedule.

OA leaders learned of the change in the fall, during two open forums with Dean of Campus Life Josh Eisenberg, according to OA leader Nolan Clark PO ’22. OEC staff was informed last week, student employee Samantha Meyer PO ’22 said.

The move is the latest in a series of changes to orientation programs. Pomona has been working in the past two academic years to shorten orientation in response to student feedback, administrators said.

In fall 2018, Pomona moved OA to students’ second year, prompting backlash from the student body. The school ultimately reversed the decision and shaved a day off fall 2019 orientation without taking time from OA. Clark led the Yosemite trip this fall. He said Yosemite has been a special experience for some students, but he thinks the OA program overall will be mostly unaffected.

“I think there’s something very notable about Yosemite. I mean, it’s an incredibly popular national park,” he said. “But I do think that that natural experience is something that can come wherever you are. … I think OA is going to be fine, genuinely.”

Meyer, who also led a fall Yosemite trip, echoed Clark’s sentiment.

“Going to Yosemite this past

year as a leader was a really good experience for me because I had never been to a national park before, so even as a leader it was a really rewarding experience,” Meyer said. “If they need to make changes, I’m fine with them making changes, as long as it still remains a positive experience for first-years.”

Clark praised administrators for being receptive to student feedback on OA. “I think there’s been a good effort on the side of the dean’s office to ensure that us OA leaders and the student body are being heard,” he said.

Sara Anderson PO ’23, who went to Morro Bay for her OA trip, mirrored the other two students’ statements.

“I feel like if [future firstyears] aren’t aware of the previous possibility to go to Yosemite, then they probably won’t care, but if they knew that that was an option and it was no longer … I would be disappointed,” Anderson said.

T h i s ch a n g e to OA trip offerings comes amid broader discussions among the Orientation Planning Committee and Pomona’s Executive Committee about further changes to the college’s orientation program, Eisenberg said via email. Potential changes are reportedly based on student, faculty and staff feedback and will be discussed in meetings later this month.

COURTESY: OUTDOOR EDUCATION CENTER

Pomona’s Orientation Adventure opted to cut destinations more than a four hour drive away, thus dropping popular trips like Yosemite National Park.

PAGE 3

Inside the bleak financial outlook of Oasis, KGI’s $53 million housing project

ZOE COWAN • THE STUDENT LIFE

The Oasis KGI Commons is an apartment community for students attending the Keck Graduate Institute and Claremont Graduate University. It’s currently drawing debt due to low occupancy.

ANuSHe eNGINeeR Last October, “under clear skies with the sun shining,” students and administrators from Keck Graduate Institute joined Claremont city officials to cut the ribbon on its brand new 419bed graduate housing complex, the Oasis KGI Commons, a KGI press release said.

“I like to think of the Oasis complex as a clear indication that we are leaving the start-up phase in the life of KGI,” the school’s board chair Jim Widergren said at the ceremony, according to the release.

But Oasis’s “start-up phase” has not been nearly as sunny as its cheerful opening ceremony implied, and its tenuous financial situation has slid further downhill in recent months.

Adding to delayed construction, low occupancy and revenue shortfalls, Oasis stumbled further in December when the bonds issued to fund the complex were downgraded to junk status.

The $53 million project is generating “insufficient revenue to cover budgeted operating expenses and debt service obligations,” according to a report

by Moody’s Investors Service, a credit risk management service that provides risk analysis.

The complex, developed in conjunction with The Claremont Colleges and Claremont Graduate University, was intended to house KGI and Claremont Graduate University students as well as 7C faculty and staff, according to KGI’s release.

It consists of two four-story buildings, containing housing and classroom facilities, located on Bucknell Avenue behind the Packing House in Claremont Village.

According to the risk management service, only 60 percent of the housing is occupied.

On Dec. 5, Moody’s reclassi-

fied the bonds issued for the project to “Caa2,” which it describes as “of poor standing and [subject] to very high credit risk.”

Eric Hughson, a professor of economics and finance at Claremont McKenna College, said this is a significant problem.

“The idea was that the rent was supposed to pay off the bond holders, and there isn’t enough rent with only 60 percent occupancy,” Hughson said.

The occupancy level also seems to have been a significant factor in the Moody’s downgrade.

“Once you get below the 80s, a project is already a little suspect,” Florence Zeman, a Moody’s associate managing director, said, according to an article in The Bond Buyer about the KGI complex.

KGI partnered with the National Campus and Community Development Corporation to construct Oasis, KGI spokesperson Ivan Alber said via email. NCCD is a nonprofit that specializes in developing and financing student housing projects throughout the country, according to its website.

KGI provided NCCD with a lease to develop and finance Oasis, Alber said, meaning NCCD is now on the hook for the debt.

Alber added that Oasis, which is KGI’s first-ever housing endeavor, remains a “top priority” for the school, and he remains optimistic.

“The occupancy rate has improved since fall 2019 and the property management firm is increasing their effort to improve the occupancy rate for fall 2020,” Alber said.

Oasis was originally scheduled to open in 2018, according to The Bond Buyer, but could not until July 2019.

The delay left some KGI students abruptly looking for alternative housing arrangements in fall 2018. A petition posted by students alleged that those who signed license agreements with Oasis were forced to choose between staying at hotels or al-

ternative accommodations half an hour away from campus, or — for a time — paying a penalty to break their leases.

“They ignored so many emails, neglected the students, and were unprofessional to the point that even our own school staff were left in the dark,” one signer, Malia Varron, wrote in response. “This entire ordeal is a complete mess.”

Alexis Ireland, Oasis’s director of housing operations, said via email that students received a month’s rent, alternative housing and transportation from their alternative living spaces.

“Once the delay extended beyond September 2018, we made the offer for any resident to terminate the lease without penalty,” she said.

A 2015 study found Oasis was necessary because of KGI’s “significant growth.”

The study forecasted a 300-student increase in enrollment over the next four years. KGI enrolled 617 students in fall 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Education, 336 more than in 2014.

But CGU’s enrollment has also fallen by 272 students in the same period, according to the study and the DoE. Eighty-eight percent of student renters that the study surveyed said the cost of rent and utilities would be a “top priority” when searching for housing.

But the study also showed that Oasis’ rents would be significantly steeper than those of CGU’s existing housing complex – 15 percent higher for a one bedroom apartment and 46 percent higher for a studio.

Moody’s said it expected NCCD to tap into a reserve fund in order to pay bondholders. A continuing reliance on that reserve to pay debts could “impair the project’s ability to weather financial distress and operating challenges,” it said.

KGI, CGU and The Claremont Colleges have not provided any assurances that they will avoid a default of the project’s bonds, according to the Moody’s report.

Claremont residents condemn police outsourcing proposal At council meeting, community throws cold water on potentially cost-saving plan eRIKA SCHWeRDFeGeR More than 100 Claremont residents showed up to Tuesday’s City Council meeting to express their opposition to a proposal to dissolve the city’s police department and contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department instead.

The suggestion to contract with LASD arose in response to Claremont’s increasingly pressing budget problem, which has the city facing a budget deficit set to grow to about $2.8 million by 2023-24. The city has also been attempting to raise funds to renovate or rebuild its aging police station, but a recent bond measure failed.

City manager Tara Schultz explained that the police department accounts for about 45 percent of the annual city budget — $12 million in all. Community members had suggested “over the last year or so” that contracting with the sheriff’s department would save the city money.

“This issue has come up with previous city council[s] and the conclusion has been to retain our own police department,” Mayor Larry Schroeder said. “A group of people in Claremont have been persistent and vocal about wanting Claremont to switch law enforcement services provided by the police department to contracting with the Los Angeles sheriff.”

Schultz told the assembled crowd that contracting with LASD could also be costly.

“If the council should decide to pursue this, and go through this process … there’s a lot of costs,

particularly legal costs, that we will have to incur to get through phase one by itself,” Schultz said.

“There’s expenses on our side. …

So I think that that is really important for everyone to consider.

Nothing’s absolutely free.”

Claremont Police Chief Shelly Vander Veen said at the meeting that CPD is very popular among citizens — it responds to an average of 26,000 calls for service a year, and averages 130 commendations with only two complaints about the department annually.

“I read every commendation that comes into the police department,” Vander Veen said. “The common theme is that people, our residents, are grateful for our staff’s high level of professionalism and their empathy. The bottom line is, when an officer responds to a crime, they treat that crime as if they were the victims themselves.”

At Tuesday’s meeting, Claremont business owners, residents, school children and even law enforcement from inside and outside the city voiced their disapproval of the plan.

“I’ve spent the last 13 years as a law enforcement officer myself in the greater city of LA,” said one speaker from the community whom TSL was unable to identify. “And what I can tell you is, how much are you willing or not willing to pay for your family and your community’s service and safety? Because [Claremont’s] officers do it better than most of the other departments, including my own, from what I’ve ever seen.”

Others brought up the potential pitfalls of a contract with LASD. The 42 cities which currently have contracts with the sheriff’s department sent a letter last year to Sheriff Alex Villanueva expressing concerns about the

department rehiring fired deputies, Claremont resident and Pitzer College alumna Marcella Zita pointed out.

“These were deputies who were terminated for extreme ethical breaches, and potentially illegal activity in the prisons,” Zita said.

Darlene Berg, a Claremont business owner, praised CPD. “They take time to have coffee with the community, answer our questions, remove unwanted loiterers, watch our businesses at night, greet us by name, … give us personalized attention that larger cities do not receive, [which] we might not get from the sheriff ’s department,” she said.

Even children voiced their support for CPD. “Claremont police officers care and strive to ensure and maintain Claremont’s sense of community,” 13-year-old Harper Tarros said. “I have had the privilege to get to know Chief Shelly Vander Veen … She serves as a strong female role model to me and undoubtedly countless others.”

“These officers make an effort to familiarize themselves with residents,” she continued. “My five-year-old little brother looks forward to seeing officers around town. In addition, I feel safe knowing Claremont PD is extremely proactive and dedicated to providing their people with a feeling of assurance and safety.”

Hundreds also submitted their thoughts via email. The council received 411 emails in support of maintaining CPD, two in favor of an LASD contract and three others, city clerk Shelley Desautels said.

Although the 5Cs have their own Campus Safety, CPD regularly assists Campus Safety officers. CPD responded at least 20 times to issues on campus in

the last 60 days, according to Campus Safety records.

In an email, TCCS spokesperson Laura Muna-Landa commended the consortium’s “excellent relationship” with CPD. While residents roundly praised CPD on Tuesday, the LASD has struggled with issues of corruption, including violent

“cliques” formed among deputies, ABC 7 reported in Sept. 2019.

In July, the Los Angeles County inspector general warned of a “bunker mentality” and “crisis” facing the department, according to the California News Wire Services. The FBI is investigating such issues, according to the Los Angeles Times.

ALYSSA LEONG • THE STUDENT LIFE

The City of Claremont held a council meeting Feb. 11 to discuss a proposal to dissolve the city’s own police department and contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department instead.

Life & StyLe

PAGE 4

FEbruAry 14, 2020

Fruit frenzy: Your juicy guide to Claremont’s edible fruits

HuXLEyANN HuEFNEr • THE STuDENT LIFE

Valencia orange trees line the walkway outside of Toll Hall at Scripps College.

RUBY WANG Walking around the 5Cs, you might have noticed the abundance of fruit trees, and might have even thought about picking a couple of fruits to take home. You might have wondered if the fruit was safe to eat, or where else on campus you could snag a freshly grown treat.

There’s no need to wonder anymore — here’s your juicy guide to the fruit of the 5Cs. Thanks to Claremont’s sunny southern California location, there are plenty of different kinds of fruits growing here yearround, from citrus and grapefruits to pomegranates and avocados.

“The level of heat and moisture here are just right [in winter],” said Ronald Nemo, Pomona College’s grounds and landscaping manager.

“We don’t get too cold. If it [was cold enough for snow], the orange would

freeze, as well as other fruits.”

Pomona College Organic Farm manager Kate Miller also said that Claremont is an ideal spot for growing a diverse fruit portfolio — with a bit of help, though.

“Because of the mild climate in Claremont, we are able to grow a variety of trees from around the world; however, it is pretty dry, so most trees, especially the tropical trees, need irrigation or extra water.”

The distribution of fruit trees is mostly concentrated at Pomona and Scripps College, according to Miller. As she mentioned, Scripps has made a map of edible plants on its campus, which lays out a clear distribution of fruits and their various ripe seasons.

Joya Salas, Scripps’ landscape operations manager, provided more information from an insider

perspective about specific citrus varieties and where to most easily find them. According to Salas, Scripps has about 30 varieties of edible plants on campus, 60 percent of which are citrus.

“Valencia oranges are all along the south part of Toll Hall,” Salas said, while grapefruit and orange trees can be found in the backyard of Revelle House.

“Another wonderful place full of kumquat trees is called ‘kumquat courtyard,’ which is outside the Dean of Students office,” she added. “The Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Rose Garden also has a lot of mature tangelos and lime trees.”

If you just want to grab some wonderful fruits in one place, without roaming around multiple campuses, the Pomona College Organic Farm can meet your needs.

PET OF THE WEEK

The Farm is located in the southeast corner of Pomona’s campus with a 1.2-acre working farm area. It is divided into two parts: West Farm and East Farm, and each has a number of lush fruit trees. According to Miller, the Farm has a variety of fruits, including mulberries, apples, peaches, pineapple guava, jujubes and loquats.

Similar to the operation pattern of the Farm, the Scripps Student Garden is another student-run organization cultivating tasty fruits.

Garden coordinators Emma Crownover SC ’22 and Sophie Perry SC ’22 emphasized that the group provides students with the space on campus to grow their own plants.

“Our goal is to provide growing opportunities for students to enjoy,” Crownover said. Right now, the group is planning to plant strawberries at the rose garden near Browning Hall during their weekly Friday meetings.

Dago Lopez, Pitzer College grounds and arboretum manager, said most fruit at the college isn’t normally picked by students, but instead heads to the college’s many eateries to be sold and used in recipes.

“Pitzer College only has a few fruit trees around the Grove House, but they try to go to our [various] cafés,” Lopez said.

Harvey Mudd College and Claremont McKenna College have the fewest fruit trees. CMC is mostly known for their vibrant strawberry tree fruit, which color the campus in the wintertime and are considered edible and non-toxic.

“CMC does have a ton of strawberry trees; [though] not the same as strawberries,” Miller said. “In November, it feels like most of the trees on campus are strawberry trees.”

Michael Barber, Harvey Mudd grounds services manager, said that Harvey Mudd has lemon, pomegranate and orange trees, with citrus being the most popu-

larly picked snack.

According to Nemo, oranges are already ripe now for this season, and Miller noted an abundance of spring citruses, mulberries and loquats ready to be eaten at the Farm.

With all the fruit falling at the 5Cs, some fruits are left untouched — despite the many student snackers they attract. These unpicked or unused fruits are supplied to the colleges’ cafes or dining halls, and some of the fallen or rotten fruits are treated as green waste and composted.

“We ask visitors [to the Organic Farm] only take a little from each tree because we also have harvest needs that we need to meet, including [a] weekly lunch special with the Sagehen Café and farm stand,” Miller said. “Volunteers are welcome to take more as they are giving love and care to [the] space.”

Salas also mentioned Scripps’ use of Revelle House persimmons at the school’s dining hall, which get made into persimmon bread for Scripps Tea. The Scripps Student Garden makes sure to not let any fruit go to waste.

“We [collaborate] with [The Motley Coffeehouse] and Malott Commons to make smoothies,” Crownover said. “We also usually eat [the fruit] ourselves. When pomegranates are blooming, we literally eat them during our meetings.”

For the rotten fruits, there are several environmentally friendly ways to deal with them.

“We have green-waste facilities and compost all the fruits which have fallen into the soil or rotted on the tree,” Nemo said.

“There are a lot of people who take advantage of fruits on campus,” Salas said. “We hope more students can know where to find those fruits on campus. Most of them are accessible to 5C students, and they are healthy, fresh and free,” Salas said.

Every student is welcome to become an explorer of the wonderful 5C fruit world. There are plenty of fruits waiting for you to discover — enjoy.

THE bASSLINE

Masala, a blanket-loving Billie Eilish represents miniature Australian shepherd the future of fiction LUCIA STEIN Annika Mammen SC ’20 got her dog Masala in early fall 2019, and with the help of Instagram, the pup quickly became a Scripps College celebrity, boasting almost 500 Instagram followers.

If Masala attended one of the Claremont Colleges, Mammen said she would definitely be a Scrippsie. According to Mammen, she breaks a lot of hearts at Claremont McKenna College.

“Her main target is all the econ frat bros,” Mammen said. “She’s broken numerous hearts over there, especially on North Quad.”

Mammen didn’t envision herself having an emotional support animal for the majority of her time at Scripps, always dissuaded by the considerable responsibilities they involve. It was in her senior year that she realized that having a dog would significantly improve her college experience.

Mammen has faced different issues during her time at Scripps that have affected her mental health, but “[Masala] has made me a new person,” she said. “Just seeing her face makes me so happy.”

Masala completely fulfills her obligations as an ESA for Mammen, despite occasionally causing trouble.

“I give her free rent and free food, and in return she pays me back in cuddles.”

Mammen said Masala is quite calm for her breed, and doesn’t bark or whine, even though Aussies are known to be hyperactive. She is also very in touch with the emotions of the people around her.

“If any of my suitemates feel sad or anything,” Mammen said, “she will actually go in and give them her toy … to make them feel better.”

Masala is also a quick learn-

STELLA FAVArO • THE STuDENT LIFE

Masala, a six-month old miniature Australian shepard, is a beloved celebrity at Scripps College.

Name: Masala Breed: Miniature Australian shepherd Age: Six months Likes: blankets Hates: People trying to actually win tug-of-war Favorite human food: Indian food Favorite not-a-toy: Mom’s shoes

er, mastering tricks with ease.

Mammen’s favorites are when she makes a finger gun and says “Bam!” and Masala plays dead, as well as the fist bump she gives with her nose.

Masala loves anything fuzzy, especially blankets.

She’s claimed five that belong to Mammen, and she goes after the blankets of Mammen’s suitemates and boyfriend when given the chance.

She also adores the dog park.

Masala is great at adapting her play style to that of other dogs.

She’ll let small puppies be the alphas, but when playing with bigger dogs, Mammen says she isn’t afraid to fight back.

“This one dog tried to hump her, and she stopped, turned and slapped the shit out of him.

He didn’t try after that,” Mammen laughed, remembering the incident. “That’s my Scripps girl!”

The pup’s favorite toys that aren’t actually toys are definitely Mammen’s shoes. Masala has chewed up an impressive five pairs at this point, including Mammen’s only pair of formal shoes. Once Masala has gotten her paws on a pair, they are unsalvageable.

Though Mammen does her best to keep her shoes away from Masala, she does give the puppy something else she loves — Indian food. True to her name, Masala is a huge fan.

Fortunately for Masala, the mom of one of Mammen’s suitemates actually makes special, dog-friendly Indian food, meaning Masala can happily eat her favorite treat.

Students can often find Masala in the main courtyard of Scripps’ Schow Hall, but she also spends time in front of Malott Commons during meals.

Otherwise, she can be found in the courtyard of Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Hall, also at Scripps, or playing fetch on the field next to the Sallie Tiernan Field House in the mornings.

If students come across her, though, she wants them to know that she gets very offended when people walk by and don’t pet or acknowledge her.

She’ll even stop and stare after them, deeply hurt.

“She’s very spoiled and pampered,” Mammen said.

“It’s her world and we all just live in it.”

Find Masala on Instagram at @masala_theaussie.

Lucia Stein SC ’23 is TSL’s pet columnist. When she’s not following pets around campus, she’s performing with Under the Lights, listening to NPR and making people laugh — usually intentionally.

MEGHAN JOyCE • THE STuDENT LIFE

KYLA WALKER Billie Eilish made history for women by sweeping all four of the biggest awards at the 62nd Grammy Awards Jan. 26. Since then, though, she has received intense backlash against a comment made in her first Vogue cover story.

The interview was released Feb. 3 and contains a controversial remark against rap artists who develop a persona in music, distinct from the real person behind the lyrics. In the profile, Eilish said, “There’s a difference between lying in a song and writing a story.

There are tons of songs where people are just lying. There’s a lot of that in rap right now, from people that I know who rap.”

Eilish also claimed that many musicians in hip-hop participate in “posturing,” a term that has been highly debated throughout musical history, meaning behaving or acting in a misleading manner for the purpose of impressing others.

She claims that distorting the truth has become a part of the culture in rap and has witnessed it firsthand, but according to the Vogue interview, her artistic process is different. Her brother and songwriter Finneas O’Connell works with Eilish to develop the stories and dark alter-egos portrayed in the grim, somber sounds and words of her art.

For example, in her song “Bellyache,” Eilish sings about the regret and guilt felt after an act of murder. She writes, “My V is for Vendetta / Thought that I’d feel better / But now I got a bellyache.”

And even though the song is not autobiographical, her fans are able to connect to that sinking feeling of recklessness, remorse and loneliness after a mistake made.

Above an acoustic guitar strumming, she sings about losing her mind. Are the emotions evoked from a fictional experience any less valuable than if they were from honest, vulnerable lyrics? Eilish claims she isn’t posturing here because her goal is not to mislead

fans, but to write a story that can still be appreciated, loved and relevant to the lives in the crowd.

The dark lullabies she sings, created in her childhood bedroom with O’Connell, are loved around the world. What is it about these sad songs that attracts her fans so intensely? Throughout history, melancholic melodies have been a significant part of our culture in times of despair or turmoil, such as Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell throughout the 60s.

Eilish and her music speaks to a generation that has grown up in chaos amidst 9/11, school shootings and imminent climate change. The anxiety in the air seeps into the sonic and lyrical aspects of “Ocean Eyes” — the single from 2016 that sparked her rise to fame — when she sings, “Burning cities / And napalm skies … I’ve been walking through / A world gone blind.”

Eilish draws on a mix of macabre and gothic images in both of her albums and her visual appearance on stage. Her jet-black hair is often dyed with colored streaks. She maintains a blank, bored gaze into the crowd, making it difficult to gauge her emotion at any moment, but still her tender yet passionate voice resonates deeply.

And beneath an oversized T-shirt, she often conceals the usual pop-princess costume and hourglass silhouette. The mysteriousness in her image and her songs keeps fans on the edge of their seats, but does it separate her authentic self from the stories she invents in her records? Or is she more genuine through the brutal honesty about the characters in her songs and the clear rejection to conform to the pop industry’s ideal?

Maybe it’s even more impressive to be able to inspire such strong emotion from a fabrication. Either way, Eilish is making strides and sparking fires in the music industry, and she will soon become, if she isn’t already, a revolution.

Kyla Walker PO ’22 is one of TSL’s music columnists. She loves playing guitar, reading any and all fiction and probably belongs in the 1960s.

LOVE & STYLE

February 14, 2020 Page 5

SWIPE rIGHT

OuTSIDE THE bOX OFFICE

The challenges of meeting guys at a women’s college

Reasons to watch ‘Marriage Story’

GrETA LONG • THE STuDENT LIFE

HANNAH AVALOS

MEGHAN CONDAS As a student at a historically women’s college, it should not come as a surprise that it has been hard to meet heterosexual men.

When I chose to attend Scripps College, friends and family pestered me with questions like “Won’t you miss having guys around?” or “How will you meet men?” constantly. My answers to the questions always included a dramatic eye-roll and a well-rehearsed explanation of the benefits of the 5Cs. I always assured them I would have plenty of male contact. After all, it wasn’t the 1940s; I was going to college to learn, not to settle down and find a husband who went to Pomona College.

As an English major who takes the majority of my classes at Scripps, there have been very few men in my classes. However, their limited presence has shaped my experience in those courses. It was like being back in high school — I suddenly became self-conscious of how I was acting. I was more aware of how I spoke, dressed and even how I sat in my chair.

Regardless if I was actually being watched or not by these male students, I felt less comfortable in class. I felt like I had to carry myself a certain way, and changing my behavior quickly became exhausting.

I felt less motivated to contribute to class discussions while the guys in my class felt compelled to

speak freely, often rambling about basically nothing for what seemed like hours.

A study by Columbia University found that cisgender men are more likely to “blurt out answers without raising their hands” and also “speak more frequently and longer in class discussions” than other groups. Unfortunately, my academic experience so far has definitely echoed the results of the study.

However, despite these few interactions with men in my classes, my experience at Scripps has been largely absent of men. While I’m grateful to be in classes with majority Scripps students, it does mean that my interactions with men are admittedly very limited.

I attribute this problem to being an English major, but this pattern seems to follow me in my extracurriculars. Somehow, I seem to participate in organizations and clubs that are dominated by Scripps students. While I’m not complaining, it is something that prevents me from meeting guys.

With my limited interaction with men in my classes and extracurriculars, I got what I asked for when enrolling in a historically women’s college. Yet despite these expectations, I often feel frustrated. It has been really hard to meet guys, even as friends, and the only place it seems that I have the opportunity to meet them is either at parties or at dining halls.

From seeing a cute guy across the chaos of Frary Dining Hall’s lunch rush or accidentally bump-

ing into someone hot while in line for tacos at Malott Dining Commons, dining halls seem to be an epicenter for attractive men. However, I would hardly call a dining hall as loud as Frary an ideal spot to meet someone.

As for parties, the type of interaction I’m seeking doesn’t occur at them. I’ve tried the casual hookup thing for a few months now and it’s quickly getting old. Am I asking too much in wishing for a friendship turned meaningful relationship?

This isn’t just a “me” problem. When I told my friends that I was writing this article, they admitted to facing similar challenges. The fact is that women outnumber men at the 5Cs, and this greatly affects our chances of finding meaningful relationships or friendships with guys.

Given this statistic, it makes sense why it has been challenging to meet guys, especially considering my choice of major and my extracurriculars. Maybe one day, I’ll strike up a conversation with a cute guy in line for McConnell Dining Hall’s poke, but for now, I’ll continue to enjoy my Scripps English classes — without the mansplaining.

While not the most typical Valentine’s Day romantic comedy, “Marriage Story” tackles many of the modern-day anxieties that surround committed relationships. However, it’s critical to highlight the fact that this film isn’t solely about a marriage, or not even necessarily the end of one.

Instead, “Marriage Story” is about the experience of life and the value of not just the highs and the successes, but the importance of hardship and the knowledge one gains from it.

The film is Noah Baumbach’s fourteenth directorial credit, backed by the starpower of Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver. Since its release, “Marriage Story” has experienced a great deal of recognition, from a Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Screenplay to an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Laura Dern, notwithstanding five other Academy Award nominations, including one for Best Picture.

Despite mixed criticism and memes, both Driver and Johansson delivered great performances in “Marriage Story.”

Specifically, Driver gave a very compelling and effective performance as a downtrodden father and an ambitious artist — this role truly demonstrates his versatility as an actor.

Meanwhile, Dern’s campy therapeutic lawyer performance was essential to the portrayal of divorce and separation law’s battle-like qualities.

Her character, Nora Fanshaw, very clearly, effectively and (at times) comically, defined the cutthroat game that has become divorce law and the way in which it can erode a post-marriage relationship.

I went in with the expectation that “Marriage Story” was going to emotionally jerk me around for two hours.

Meghan Condas SC ’22 is one of TSL’s relationship columnists.

She’s an English major who can be found making Spotify playlists, consulting Co-Star for dating advice and searching for the best vegan cookie in Claremont in her free time.

Given the hefty cultural weight of marriage and divorce, I was sure the film would lean on moments of high emotional intensity.

Despite one direct and intense argument between protagonists Nicole and Charlie, Baumbach left room for character development in subtle spaces, like in tender moments with their son Henry or private ponderings at their respective jobs. This subversive, quieter style was immediately established in the opening monologues delivered by both Charlie and Nicole, where the two are introduced by one another through lists of reasons behind why they love each other.

These tender moments showcase the film’s dogma that relationships build us up, and that severing ties have equal opportunities to take us apart.

“Marriage Story,” though, still leaves its audience with a sense of encouragement towards the beauty of sharing parts of yourself with someone else, even if there are moments of despair. This is most evident in Charlie’s cathartic performance of the yearning musical number “Being Alive” at a post-divorce cast party in a New York bar.

Visually speaking, “Marriage Story” features highly effective and compelling cinematography that really helps guide its audience along their journey with Nicole and Charlie. Through many key choices of composition, the audience is let in on how isolated from the world Nicole and Charlie felt, alone with their own thoughts.

At its core, “Marriage Story” is about the rewards one gets from taking chances and how important the experiences we have are to shaping us. The film is for everyone at any age, at any time.

Hannah Avalos PO ’21 is one of TSL’s film columnists. She loves writing, picking out which earrings to wear and finishing the books she starts reading.

WAVErLy WANG THE STuDENT LIFE

A match made with Datamatch could be your match made in heaven MABEL LUI Forget Tinder, Bumble, Grindr, Hinge or any other dating app.

Come February, it’s all about Datamatch.

Created by Harvard University students in 1994, Datamatch is a matchmaking service for college students powered by a “top secret Algorithm™” that hopes to help you find true love. According to Harvard senior Ryan Lee, a “Supreme Cupid” who helped lead this year’s matchmaking effort, the matchmaking survey was first circulated on paper among Harvard students. Fast forward to 2020: Datamatch is now digital and on over 25 college campuses this year, including the 5Cs. Following last year’s success, the Datamatch team at Harvard once again partnered with 5C comedy darlings The Golden Antlers to bring the return of the love-making algorithm to Claremont. During the week leading up to Valentine’s Day, 5C students signed up with their college email and filled out the survey that promised to “reveal things that you don’t even know about yourself.” For those not looking for romantic love, there was also a pla-

tonic option for people to find their star-crossed future friends.

From there, the Cupids worked their bows and arrows (aka the algorithm worked its magic) to create coveted matches, which were released Valentine’s Day morning.

The algorithm matches people with up to 15 matches, after which you have the option to indicate if you’re interested. If you and a match both indicate that you’re interested in each other, well, the Cupids have done their job and it’s up to you to shoot your shot.

According to Teddy Liu, a Harvard senior who is the other “Supreme Cupid,” Datamatch has

added a chat feature directly into the app itself this year. In past years, matches had to reach out through email in order to start talking or set up a date.

“So [this new chat feature] will reduce the amount of friction to kind of make that reach first,” he said.

More than 1800 Claremont students — almost 30 percent of all undergraduates — signed up for 2020 Datamatch by print time.

Among other campuses, the 5Cs boasted the sixth highest number of signups. Claremont students also beat last year’s signup total — about 1600 — according to Julia Foodman SC ’21, editor-in-chief of The Golden Antlers.

GA writer Rachel

Alaynick CM ’20 helped develop this year’s questions, and thinks that Datamatch’s success is due to the survey’s humor and inherent fun.

“I think people like it, not because they expect it to work, but because it’s fun to fill out,” she said.

“People take BuzzFeed quizzes all the time, but I don’t think it really matters what type of french fry you are.”

Indeed, it’s difficult to think that questions like “Which campus building best personifies your sex life?” are going to redefine your ideas of love and dating.

But Datamatch’s humor is distinctly campus-specific: “It’s very funny when we’re talking to [the Harvard team] on the phone,” Foodman said. “They would sit there and they would be like, ‘You know, we spent half an hour trying to figure out what Cube water means.’”

Need more compelling reasons to believe in the app? Here’s one: Lee and his girlfriend are together because of last year’s Datamatch.

“It’s October [2018].

I’m single and I think to myself, ‘You know what, I gotta find someone special

by Valentine’s Day,’” he said. “I’m gonna make a dinner reservation for two on Valentine’s Day with nobody in mind and find that person by then.”

yASMIN ELQuTAMI • THE STuDENT LIFE

After the Datamatch results launched and he was still loveless, Lee decided to personally match with his crush.

“We actually have a feature on Datamatch where you can search for somebody on the platform as long as you opt in,” he said. “So you can opt in and say, ‘Hey, I’d love for my profile to be searchable.’ You can search for your secret crush or something like that and hit ‘match.’”

If you’ve both opted to match with each other, it’s the same as if you clicked interested with your algorithm matches — you can connect. So on Valentine’s Day, Lee and his crush, now girlfriend, used that dinner reservation that he booked in October to go on their first date. As they say, the rest was history.

That’s a love lesson: Even if the algorithmic matches aren’t in your favor, you can also sneakily match with your crushes and see if they match with you, instead of waiting for them to pop up on Tinder.

While Datamatch is certainly based on humor, Foodman is also confident in the potential for the algorithm to blossom into long-standing romance.

“I would assume [the algorithm is] fundamentally based on your sense of humor, especially if you’re clicking that you’d like someone like you,” she said. “I think that’s one of the most important things that you can have in a relationship, is that you’re on that same level of understanding.”

Plus, if we’re looking at statistics, Alaynick is equally optimistic. “We have at least a comparable success rate to ‘The Bachelor,’” she said. “I feel like that’s pretty significant.”

Liu explained there is no point in trying to crack the code.

“There’s no gamifying the system, trying to write the same answers as your friend. We can assure you that that won’t work,” he said. “Answer as truthfully as possible and let the algorithm make the rest of the magic happen.”

OpiniOns

PAGE 6

FEbruAry 14, 2020

How pete Buttigieg betrays the LGBTQ+ community ANAIS RIVERO Pete Buttigieg has recently gained momentum and is one of the leading Democratic candidates in the 2020 presidential primary race. As the election’s poster child for progressive neoliberalism, the 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana has branded himself as a fresh, young millennial candidate.

Yet, Buttigieg seems to be more robot than human. His sparkling clean facade and exhaustive list of accomplishments hide the fact that his policies and ideologies do not reflect compassion and empathy for many of America’s most vulnerable populations. Buttigieg is an openly gay man, yet he fails to provide solutions or draw attention to the most pressing issues that the LGBTQ+ community is facing.

LGBTQ+ populations, especially queer and transgender people of color, are among the most vulnerable populations when it comes to accessing proper healthcare. We are more likely to suffer from mental health disorders, such as anxiety and depression, we are more likely to contract sexually transmitted infections and we are more likely to live in poverty.

All of these factors demonstrate a need for robust healthcare to meet all of our medical needs and facilitate access to healthcare.

Yet, Buttigieg refuses to create universal healthcare, distances himself from Medicare for All and ridicules more progressive candidates such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren for their healthcare plans. He fails to understand how universal healthcare would monumentally improve the lives of LGBTQ+ people, how it would

increase the accessibility for gender transition procedures and provide mental healthcare for millions who need it.

Healthcare is also vital for preventing and treating HIV and AIDS. Access to pre-exposure prophylaxis drugs is the best way to decrease the spread of HIV, yet there are barriers to accessibility — barriers which could be improved by universal healthcare.

Buttigieg is the embodiment of the limitations of representation and the dangers of queer assimilation. When queer people desperately try to conform to the heteronormative structures that have never welcomed us, we are not liberating ourselves, but rather making ourselves more palatable to cisgender straight people at the expense of our lives.

LGBTQ+ people deserve to belong. We deserve to be welcomed into the institutions that have rejected us for centuries. The problem is that Buttigieg is arguing that our rights should be derived from the very institutions we have only recently gained limited access to, such as marriage, religion and the job market.

Seeking liberation and inclusion in a system that is rooted in our (and everyone’s) institutional and economic exploitation is unacceptable. LGBTQ+ people, especially the most vulnerable among us, will never thrive in a country fueled by capitalism, mass incarceration, the military-industrial complex and imperialism.

Yet, as a veteran and former employee at consulting firm McKinsey, Buttigieg fails to see this and would rather we focus on superficial surface level forms of “liberation.” His concern and

Athletes like Kobe Bryant are the superheroes of our time

care for people within his own community is limited and those limitations can be devastating for many.

Did Buttigieg care about the queer bodies the U.S. military treated as less-than-human when he was deployed in Afghanistan?

Or was he simply focused on how liberating it is for LGBTQ+ people to be able to openly take part in a violent imperialist project that is the U.S. military?

Did he care about the queer bodies Immigration and Customs Enforcement violently detained, deported and starved when McKinsey helped the agency cut funds towards food for those in detention? I suppose, if those migrants had come to this country “legally,” they could look forward to marrying whoever they want, while being exploited for their labor and lacking access to healthcare.

As feminist queer scholar Barbara Smith wrote in The New York Times, “Gaining rights for some while ignoring the violation and suffering of others does not lead to justice. … Unless we eradicate the systemic oppressions that undermine the lives of the majority of [LGBTQ+] people, we will never achieve queer liberation.”

Voters are aware of the failures of Buttigieg’s progressive neoliberalism — it’s clear in the way Buttigieg is struggling to capture the African American/black vote.

With a strikingly low two percent of the black vote and five percent of the Latinx vote, minorities can clearly see how Buttigieg is recycling the same policies that have failed to help them.

None of this is to say it is not monumental that an openly gay

MUSA TAHIR On Jan. 26, I heard two harrowing words that I could never have quite imagined coupled together: “Kobe died.”

I didn’t — I couldn’t — believe my friend who informed me over the phone. But I also knew he wasn’t facetious enough to be joking.

Perturbed, I walked outside into a fog of acute bewilderment.

With his daughter Gianna and seven other individuals on board, Kobe Bryant had perished in a helicopter that crashed into a hillside near Calabasas, California. With almost three weeks now removed from this tragedy, investigators have concluded that intense fog played a major role.

From his three-peat with Shaq to his 81-point explosion to his wondrous 60-point final hurrah, Kobe never failed to amaze. He was an artist on the court, dazzling the masses with intricately ornate paintings that even opposing fans like me couldn’t help but admire.

Despite his otherworldly ability on the court, basketball had always been Kobe’s means to an end — not necessarily the end in and of itself.

Remarkably, Kobe’s greatest asset was his legendary mindset, known as “mamba mentality.” Mamba mentality doesn’t merely advocate for preparation. Rather, it breathes it to the point of expelling any conceivable alternative.

“Without studying, preparation and practice, you’re leaving the outcome to fate. I don’t do fate,” Kobe once said.

Mamba mentality is universal.

From athletes to business consultants to teachers to children shooting a paper ball into a trash can, the mantra resonated with a broad set of individuals worldwide.

Kobe’s mamba mentality didn’t terminate upon his final dribble on the basketball court. It continued to flourish post-retirement in what was in Barack Obama’s words “just as meaningful a second act.”

His 2018 Oscar for best animated short film best underscores his perpetual multidisciplinary focus.

Bryant was driven by an infatuation with not solely basketball, but also as the world had come to realize in his final chapter, storytelling. His life itself was a narrative in every sense of the word for self-evident reasons.

In the later stage of his career, Kobe was a particularly fierce champion of women’s sports. He used his extensive platform to mentor female college basketball players, coach

his daughter’s Amateur Athletic Union team and empower WNBA players among other trailblazing efforts. Kobe’s death could be a window, so to speak, to catalyze this movement.

Perhaps in the coming years, women’s sports will gain more funding and appreciation. Societal perception matters, and sometimes can be just as — if not more — powerful than the underlying truth in driving social change.

Even though women’s sports are entertaining in their own right, it takes key trailblazing figures like Kobe to turn the societal convention on its head. In this way, Kobe’s legacy will live on not just in the basketball realm, but in a very tangible social context.

In this age of mass media, legendary athletes fulfill a very unique social role that doesn’t necessarily apply to other kinds of celebrities in the entertainment industry. More than anyone, cultural icons like Kobe manifest society’s underlying yearning for real-life superheroes — the same yearning that incited myths about folkloric legends passed down since the inception of human civilization.

Superheroes are immortal and immaculate, many of whom embody pristine representations of human ideals. Like superheroes, society exalts legendary athletes to no end.

However, this hero-worship can lead to a standard that even legends fall short of fulfilling.

Behind a legend’s superimposed coat of media adoration lies a human being in its most elemental form: flawed and vulnerable.

Sports don’t merely operate in their own separate realm where someone just throws a ball and goes home. It would be insular to downplay the profound significance athletes have on our society; sports and culture are inextricably linked.

In Bryant’s Oscar speech, he alluded to Laura Ingraham’s myopic take on athletes discussing politics: “As basketball players, we’re really supposed to shut up and dribble, but I’m glad we did a little bit more than that.”

I am too.

Musa Tahir HM ’23 is from Portland, Oregon. An avid fan of the Portland Trailblazers, he enjoys watching basketball and has come to appreciate the cultural significance of sports.

Pete buttigieg discusses his presidential run in an interview with TSL before his talk at Scripps College Feb. 6, 2019.

man is gaining so much support in a primary presidential election. This would have been inconceivable even a decade ago.

The problem also does not have to do with Buttigieg being “gay enough” but rather his insistence that LGBTQ+ people are like “everyone else,” as if this is a necessary condition to be treated with dignity and respect.

We need a candidate that pursues a policy platform that acknowledges and seeks to change

the oppressive structures that have withstood years of neoliberal reform. Queer and trans people of color cannot afford to have a Buttigieg presidency (or anyone like him) out of blind loyalty to any queer person; our lives are at stake.

Anais Rivero PZ ’22 is a political studies major from Miami, Florida and part of the LGBTQ (Let’s Get Buttigieg To Quit) movement. She will be voting for Bernie Sanders in this primary election and suggests you do too.

If you wear cowboy hats, you’re gay EAMON MORRIS

WAVErLy WANG • THE STuDENT LIFE

ELINOr ASPEGrEN • THE STuDENT LIFE

There have always been rules.

A lot of them make sense: Don’t slam the cabinet door while your mom is on the phone, don’t push people, don’t laugh at funerals, etc. These rules are explicit, told and repeated.

And then there are other rules, rules that aren’t always spoken aloud but are nonetheless enforced and perpetuated: Don’t wear clothes like that, don’t talk like that, don’t do that for fun. It’s these rules that construct expectations for expression of gender and sexuality.

Like many college students in Claremont, I don’t really like these rules, but I still perpetuate them. It can be hard to dismantle rules, especially ones that aren’t spoken aloud, and it can be harder still to recognize them.

Enter the cowboy hat.

From Lil Nas X to Orville Peck, queers are claiming the cowboy hat. This movement isn’t sudden — it’s been building since the release of “Brokeback Mountain” in 2005 (which Presidential Medal of Freedom winner Rush Limbaugh notably called “Humpback Mountain”).

No, the movement is pretty old. But Lil Nas X and Orville Peck have something that Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal don’t — gayness.

Cowboy hats have long been associated with straightness and with a rigid blueprint of masculinity. Take the Marlboro Man, or John Wayne, to name a few. But gay country artists Lil Nas X and Orville Peck have claimed the cowboy persona for their own, and this is important for reasons beyond the

fact that they both look absolutely incredible.

This claiming of a dominant symbol of heterosexuality and masculinity espouses a deeper message — that there is no “queer look.” Yes, there are elements of fashion and culture that are exclusively queer (and should remain that way), but there are no elements of fashion and culture that are exclusively straight.

The headline of this article was clickbait. Cowboy hats do not connote queerness, but that’s my point: Nothing does. There is no box on a grid that anyone is required to check — there is only the space you take up, and that’s yours to do with as you please.

It’s necessary to become better at recognizing the role that college students play at perpetuating the existence of rules. Take “gaydar,” for example. Gaydar relies on the perpetuation of stereotypes and expectations for behavior and presentation.

Positionality matters, of course. Queer people are privy to certain cultural references that make identifying each other easier. I wouldn’t expect a straight person to know the differences between twinks and twunks, for example.

Sure, gaydar can be useful, particularly for the non-confrontational. But it’s also damaging in its perpetuation of a blueprint.

Obviously, there are times when this can be confusing, especially since us non-straights already struggle with initiating conversations with one another.

The deconstruction of gaydar and the erasure of stereotypes can make initial interactions more hesitant and confrontational.

But ultimately, gaydar is a myth. There needs to be a deconstruction of the stereotypes

of queer people. Queerness is not isolated to specific mannerisms, to specific styles and to specific objects. It travels with you, wherever you go, however you look or exist.

Unfortunately, not all cowboy hat wearers are not-straight. But that’s the main idea: To stop otherizing queerness, we have to deconstruct the blueprints we have in our mind. Yes, this can become confusing. But communication about sexuality and gender expression — these conversations are necessary for progress and equality.

A week ago, I asked a fellow non-straight person if they thought someone I knew was straight or not. They didn’t know the person at all, but they asked why I didn’t ask them myself. It felt uncomfortable for me to do that. I was hesitant and nervous to do so — it felt taboo.

We’re so used to recognizing queerness on sight and so conditioned to expect certain behaviors that the thought of asking people what their sexuality is has become frightening. Occasionally, this is with good reason. Not all of the straights are comfortable being asked their sexuality, unfortunately, and some people aren’t out.

But in places of privilege like Claremont where discussions of sexuality aren’t as taboo, conversations like this can and should be normalized.

There have always been rules.

Some of them are easier to break (like painting your nails or growing out your hair), but others (expectations of representation) are deep-seated and rarely discussed.

To break these rules and end otherization, it’s necessary to talk about them.

Eamon Morris PZ ’22 is from Orange, California. If you’d like to buy him a cowboy hat or a coffee, you can find him on Twitter @eamoncmorris.

CHLOE FrELINGHuySEN • THE STuDENT LIFE

OpiniOns

FEbruAry 14, 2020

Don’t judge based on ideological labels MARGOT ROSENBLATT “Oh, but you’re a conservative.”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that statement applied to me since coming to Claremont, even leveled by close friends. Although I know it’s not true, I can’t help but be hurt by it time and time again.

What gets me is not that I’m being written off, my opinion dismissed without any further thought. It’s that one word that I still, to this day, take as the ultimate insult: conservative.

I’m offended not because I assume I’m being labeled as someone who wants smaller government, free markets, a strong national defense and individual liberties.

When that word is applied to me in a largely-liberal setting such as Claremont, I perceive it to mean that I’m a bigot, a racist, a sexist homophobic capitalistic imperialistic pig. It’s an insult, plain and simple.

It’s not okay that we use ideological labels like “conservative” and “liberal” as insults.

Because when Claremont students see a “conservative” idea, they ignore it. The word is like an off-switch that when flipped, stops any engagement with the argument on a level where students would enter a state of mind that’s open to accepting new modes of thinking.

I don’t think this is intentional on the part of students — it’s just that because “conservative” is somewhat of a dirty word, this mentality slips into our subconscious. I know I’m more critical than accepting of ideas with a “conservative” label. I recognize my bias and I’m trying to stop.

What’s more, just as liberal students have no desire to learn conservative arguments, conservative students have no desire to learn liberal arguments.

And we lose a lot of potential friendships when we refuse to be friends with people on the other side of the aisle. There are a lot of reasons why people might believe what they believe, and it’s impossible to understand someone’s entire backstory. A person’s political beliefs are not the whole of who someone is.

Besides, there are a lot of subjects to discuss beyond politics.

It’s downright foolish to believe that anyone’s ideologies can be fully captured in a single word.

Though I am most definitely a liberal, I hold some traditionally conservative opinions.

Almost everyone’s opinions are a hodgepodge of viewpoints based on differing sets of values.

After all, these differences (and similarities) are what makes democracy work. The shades of gray are where most people

agree, no matter their ideological label, and because of this we should do all we can to preserve the gray on both sides.

In this political atmosphere, there’s pressure to break down beliefs into short, easy-to-digest labels. The words “liberal” and “conservative” add to this atmosphere of oversimplification, which is what gives way to negative stereotypes.

My firsthand experience with these labels stems from what happened the summer preceding my senior year of high school, when I stumbled upon and ended up attending a Republican youth convention.

Let me back up. After touring the Claremont Colleges, my mom and I went to Santa Barbara for her work. The hotel we stayed at was not far from Reagan Ranch, which made it an ideal location to host the teenagers attending the Young America’s Foundation conference hosted at the ranch.

YAF, for those unfamiliar, is a conservative youth organization associated with Ben Shapiro, a right wing commentator. I, being bored and missing the company of people my age, decided to infiltrate this conference, posing as a conservative.

As the leader of my school’s environmental organization and an overall extremely outspoken liberal activist, I was prepared to hear some stupid racist Republican rhetoric that I could then text to my friends, cementing my reputation as a comedic genius. That did not happen.

I started asking the very friendly, very fun conference-goers about their views. They, thinking that I was a fellow conservative, began to explain conservative arguments in a logical, pleasant and non-combative way.

This was a shock, considering that my only exposure to real conservative ideas prior to this

Margot Rosenblatt SC ’23 is from Manhattan, New York. She would like to thank her friend Connor of Russell Springs, Kentucky, for putting up with her non-stop questions about his political beliefs.

CASSIE WANG • THE STuDENT LIFE

THE STUDENT LIFE

Jasper’s crossword: Star-cross(word)ed

JASPEr DAVIDOFF • THE STuDENT LIFE

ACROSS 1. Surgery spots, for short 4. There are 29 in a Sickle 8. Parks and Rec ‘treat yo’self’ originator 13. Hot drink or hot goss 14. “Did you get the ____?”

15. Reasons for effects 16. Can 17. Result of some coronary blockages * 19. Macbeth has five 21. Couches 22. 1993 Eurodance hit by Haddaway * 26. “The Marvelous ___ Maisel” 29. Mesopotamian kingdom 30. Begin 33. Killer whale 35. Mary Poppins’ job 36. An academic department, or a description for parts of 17, 22, 52 and 58-across * 42. Photoshop company 43. Brainchild 44. State where Democratic contenders are heading next 46. Rundown 51. Mao ___-tung 52. Dining hall entrance device * 55. Parcel weight unit 57. Mountain lion 58. Fanta competitor * 64. Fall behind 65. Monopoly pieces 66. With haste 67. End of a boxing match, briefly 68. Like a toddler with pudding 69. Midday siestas 70. Klobuchar or Sanders, e.g. (abbr.)

10. Codebreaking org.

11. Japanese tech giant 12. Inquire 15. The Motley and The Shakedown 18. “Mazel ___!”

20. Dump 23. Pressed (for a date, maybe) 24. Earth photo project (abbr.)

25. Wedding dress material 26. ____ Lisa 27. Step up or down 28. Eye sore 31. 5C activity portal 32. T, in Greek 34. “The Greatest” boxer 36. Tirade 37. Some Valentine’s poetry 38. Transport 39. Legal org.

40. Reason for limited attention span (abbr.)

41. Close to 45. Teen skin ailments 47. ___ year (college entry delay) 48. Grown-ups 49. 2019’s Aladdin, e.g.

50. Game of Thrones creature 53. Finance skill taught at CMC (abbr.)

54. Aired repeatedly 55. Bad AP test scores 56. Hideous 58. Electrical unit 59. ___ v. Wade 60. @@@ 61. Country with the most medals at the 2016 Olympics 62. Drain, as energy 63. Some PCs

DOWN 1. Canada’s capital 2. Germany had three 3. December mall characters 4. European spd. limit units 5. By birth 6. Thurman of “Kill Bill” 7. Where the heart is 8. ____match (Valentine’s game) 9. Baseball count

Leaving sodexo — what about the workers?

AVIKA JINDEL

Editorial Board HANK SNOWDON, Editor-in-Chief MABEL LUI, Managing Editor MARC ROD, Managing Editor

Senior Staff JAMES KARSTEN, Production Editor HELENA ONG, Production Editor SAM BOVARD, News Designer ANNIKA RAGNARTZ, Life & Style Designer GRACE SAUERS, Opinions Designer MARCELLA CANNATTI, Sports Designer AMY BEST, Photo Editor HUXLEYANN HUEFNER, Photo Editor ANNIE WU, Graphics Editor KELLEN BROWNING, Editor-at-Large

experience involved me debating conservatives using my own facts and logic. Exasperated, they would say to me, “Ben Shapiro says it better, look him up.”

Needless to say, I never looked him up.

Hearing conservative arguments told to me like I was a friend made me open my mind to them, and to blend in, I couldn’t argue. I just gently asked questions to point out flaws in their arguments, in order to have the logical fallacies explained to me. And when I talked, I found that people are much more open to changing their minds if they think you’re on “their side,” myself included.

Finally, at the end of the conference, I revealed to everyone that I was, in fact, a liberal.

It did not go well.

Suddenly, I was the enemy, a juicy rabbit that a pack of wild dogs couldn’t wait to tear to pieces. Instead of careful explanations, all around me I heard hostile, accusatory arguments.

And I argued back. It was difficult to keep composure. Because I knew — I knew I could never admit that they were right about anything. If I did, I might as well tell them that all liberals are dumb and misinformed.

If we stop using loaded labels like “liberal” and “conservative” and start treating everyone like a friend who is inclined to agree, we can restart the idea flow from left to right.

We should also strive to be that friend — the friend who listens with the intention of agreeing, who is willing to discuss until you reach an understanding.

The endgame of a discussion shouldn’t be “winning” the argument, it should be coming to a consensus.

If we stop with the labels, we’ll also stop the idea that in a room full of conservatives, one liberal represents all liberal ideas and vice versa. We need to recognize that each person’s experiences, and by extension opinions, are radically different from one another.

In Claremont, conservatives have this problem every day. We can fix it if we stop using “conservative” and “liberal” as insults and start looking at people’s views more holistically, as a group of individual opinions.

PAGE 7

JASPER DAVIDOFF, News Editor MARIA HEETER, News Editor ERIKA SCHWERDFEGER, News Associate AMBER CHONG, Life & Style Editor YASMIN ELQUTAMI, Life & Style Editor DONNIE DENOME, Opinions Editor EAMON MORRIS, Opinions Editor MARISA MESTICHELLA, Sports Editor MATTHEW KIM, Sports Associate MADY COLANTES, Copy Chief

TSL’s Editorial Board consists of the editor-in-chief and two managing editors. Aside from the editorial, the views expressed in the opinions section do not necessarily reflect the views of The Student Life.

Singles copies of TSL are free and may be obtained at news stands around campus. Multiple copies may be purchased for $0.47 per copy with prior approval by contacting editor@tsl.news.

Newspaper theft is a crime; perpetrators may be subject to disciplinary action as well as civil and/ or criminal prosecution.

OFF THE RECORD Valentine’s Day is today!

Hail to the patron saint of beekeepers!

National Hippo Day is tomorrow.

I will NEVEr forget what they did to my family.

Parasite won Best Picture! bong Joon-ho is too pure for this world.

I submitted my student film and won nothing.

Nobody respects my genius.

It’s a beautiful sunny day in Antarctica!

All the penguins are getting tan.

It’s a beautiful sunny day in Antarctica!

The entire planet is boiling.

For the last few years, students have protested against Scripps College using Sodexo as the food provider for the Malott Dining Commons. However, these discussions have often excluded the consequences on the dining hall workers contracted with Scripps, and their potential rehabilitation.

When my friend asked, “Hey, want to go to protest Sodexo at the presentation after lunch?”

I said “Sure.” Another massive corporation that gives me fish tacos at the cost of human rights — let’s crush them. Before heading out, I did some quick research to brush up on my facts.

According to a Human Rights Watch report, Sodexo “committed serious violations of workers’ freedom of association at its commercial laundry facility in Phoenix, Arizona.” The same report highlights their acts against their workers unionizing, such as firing union supporters and practicing “threat-filled captive-audience meetings.”

AFSC Investigate states Sodexo operates private prisons in Australia and the U.K., where a number of significant problems were reported. For example, HMP Forest Bank has more drug and phone seizures than all other prisons in England.

Additionally, the Independent reports that a woman held at HMP Bronzefield was kept segregated from prisoners in an “unkempt and squalid” cell for more than five years. HMP Peterborough prison had humiliating strip searches done on menstruating and transgender prisoners, according to the BBC; the U.K. Ministry of Justice criticized Sodexo for the searches, according to AFSC. Many colleges have dropped Sodexo for these reasons. The very idea of making profit off of incarcerating humans in (at least) questionable conditions is morally dubious.

As I listened during the Sodexo presentation at Scripps, a firm look of defiance was pressed on my face. I looked around to see students wearing “Drop Sodexo” signs on their T-shirts with the exact same facial expression.

ANNIE Wu • THE STuDENT LIFE

Ah, unity, I thought. The fresh feeling of activism fueled our drive to do what was right. Our colleges teach us social responsibility and to stand up to injustices that we see.

But as I looked back at the stage, I felt uncomfortable. A nervous man was stumbling through his speech, our piercing glares and “Drop Sodexo” signs poking through any self-confidence he had.

He said, “I would like to send my kids to college too, if that’s what they would like.”

Another employee came up to the mic and said, “We’re trying our hardest to do stuff for the students.

I just hope they appreciate that because we’re really breaking our backs. We wake up at four in the morning sometimes and we don’t go home until late at night. …

We’re here most of the time, [more] than we are at home.”

If I was fighting against this evil corporation, why did my heart feel so heavy to see sadness on the friendly faces who handed me their (admittedly delicious) fish tacos? I realized that any discussion around dropping Sodexo needs to be focused around the rehabilitation of these workers.

I asked my friend, “So, what happens to the workers if this succeeds?”

She whispered back, “I am not sure, but our main goal is getting Sodexo out first. We can manage that later.”

As students active in this protest, we have to take care of the consequences of our actions. Most of our staff are in contract with Scripps, not Sodexo, according to previous reporting by TSL, so the majority would have job security during a transition.

However, any change in management brings new negotiations, stress and uncertainty for workers. While it is effective to fight these major corporations and show them that what their consumers demand are social responsibility, we must also fight for tangible realities. We must protect our community: the people who often stay until 1 a.m. and arrive at 4 a.m. to provide us with nutritious and delicious meals.

As admirable as it is to stand up to the bigger picture, if we do not take care of those around us, our social justice ambitions may be contradicted. The first priority in this critical decision is to see who will be harmed and how we can help.

Every employee is an individual before they are part of a corporation — working hard and providing their best efforts. To turn a blind eye to the possible implications of this decision is unnecessarily hurting the people who we set out to help. Our discussion needs to shift to center around the comfort of workers during a potential transition.

Avika Jindel PO ‘23 is from Singapore.

She likes to combat social justice issues, read Murakami and debate with her friends.

SportS

PAGE 8

FEbruAry 14, 2020

Stag golfers vying for SCIAC redemption as Athenas take aim at another NCAA title HARPER RUBIN The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men’s golf team is looking to improve on an impressive NCAA tournament run from last year, in which they placed eighth.

However, the first task for the Stags will be reclaiming the SCIAC title, after falling last year to Redlands. What is an ambitious goal for most SCIAC teams has practically become standard for the Stags — the team has only missed out on the honor twice since the 2013-14 season.

“Last season, we obviously dropped the ball a little bit toward the end,” Rishi Bhat CM ’22 said. “But we do believe we are the best team in the SCIAC.” Still, their ambitions are somewhat loftier than just topping the conference. The Stags won the Division III national championship in 2016 and will look to make a run at a national title again this year. They believe their increased depth will propel them beyond

their eighth-place finish from last year, as the team has six newcomers.

“Basically, we doubled in size,” Bhat said. “We won in 2016, and in my opinion, we have just a far greater team this year than we have [had] in the last couple years.”

The CMS men will open the spring season Feb. 16 at the Coyote Classic in Riverside.

The Athena golf squad, who won a national championship themselves in 2018, are similarly looking to make a run at a national title this year. After falling short last year with a fourth-place finish at NCAAs, they are fired up to fight for another.

“Being a senior, I feel like I’m a little ambitious,” said Emma Kang CM ’20, who has already been to three NCAA Championships with the Athenas.

Despite its winning tradition, the team has made a few changes to improve from last

year. It added four first-years to the team, as well as another assistant coach, and hopes these additions will give it an extra boost come tournament time.

The team will welcome the return of its First-Team All-American Mira Yoo CM ’21 as well. Yoo helped the team on its NCAA run last year with a personal 15th-place finish at the DIII Championships.

Even so, the team selection for matches remains competitive because not everyone gets to compete.

“We’re here to play well, so whoever is playing the best, so be it,” Kang said. “I’m excited for adding the new freshmen. We’ve definitely seen that they’re playing well, especially in pre-season, and I think that it’s going to be a good semester.”

The women opened their season on Feb. 7 with a 309-362 victory over Chapman, and will compete in the SCIAC #1 meet Feb. 22.

COURTESY: CMS ATHLETICS

Left: Zach Torrey CM ‘23 helped the Stags win the Embry-Riddle Co-Ed Invitational at Antelope Hills North Golf Course Oct. 7-8, 2019. Top right: Mira Yoo CM ‘21 was elected First-Team WGCA All-America Selection and First-Team All-SCIAC after the 2018-2019 season. Bottom right: Emily Attiyeh CM ‘21 helped the Athenas get second place at the Bulldog Invitational in Rancho Mirage Sept. 22, 2019.

P-P golfers hope new tech will boost performance HARPER RUBIN The Pomona-Pitzer men’s and women’s golf teams are hungry to improve on their respective third and seventh place SCIAC performances last year and will benefit from new alumni investment in the program.

Both teams will be using a pricey motion-tracking tool called a TrackMan during practices.

The company’s latest model, the TrackMan 4, starts at $18,995, according to its website.

“It tells you how far you’re hitting the ball, spin rate, club face angle. … It’s a tool that will help us get better,” Alan Tom PO ’21 said. “We’re really fortunate to have it.”

The men’s team has four returning seniors who will look to

end their collegiate careers with a bang, but the team has only added one first-year.

“Our one freshman fits in perfectly,” Tom said. “We’re super tight-knit, we do things on and off the golf course which I think is awesome.”

The team has struggled in recent years, though.

“We haven’t had the best few years as of late, so we’re definitely in a rebuilding stage, but I think the momentum is definitely in our favor,” Tom said.

“Ideally what we want to do is crack the top 50 in the rankings.

Last year, I think we finished at 107, and just after this fall season, we’re at I think 57, so we’re already making a pretty big jump.”

Despite the team’s poor fin-

ish in the SCIAC last year, the Sagehens are looking forward to a year with an experienced team and relatively new head coach in John Wurzer, who coaches both the men’s and women’s teams.

“I love our coach,” Tom said.

“He just inspires us all to be better.”

The men open conference play Feb. 29 in Tukwet Canyon.

The P-P women’s golf team will be in the hunt for the 2020 SCIAC title after their thirdplace finish last year. The program’s recent success is in large part thanks to the addition of Wurzer as head coach, team captain Andi Chaloult PO ’20 said via email.

“Making Nationals is a big goal, but we have the right pieces in place to make that happen

for our team,” Chaloult said.

“Our team confidence is growing, and we have stronger beliefs in ourselves to be the successful team that we are.”

The Sagehens lost a Second-Team All-SCIAC selection last year with the graduation of Sophia Hui PO ’19, but they have one returning in Annabelle Huether PO ’22. Huether capped off an impressive firstyear campaign with a personal finish of 18th overall in the SCIAC championship, and will look to improve upon that performance this season.

The team will enter the season with a relatively experienced team of four upperclassmen. They also have a small incoming class: Yena Jang PO ’23 and junior transfer from Car-

leton College Abby Euyang PO ’21.

“They’ve really livened up the team,” Chaloult said of the firstyears. “[They] contribute a lot to our team’s dedication to golf.

They motivate me to go to extra practices with them and work harder at my own game.”

Chaloult said the team is looking forward to the Jekyll Island Invitational over spring break in Georgia.

“I heard the course is beautiful, and we’ll be playing with some great teams in this event,” Chaloult said. “Six of the nationally ranked top 10 teams and 14 of the top 25 teams will be there this year.”

The P-P women open SCIAC play Feb. 22 at Via Verde Country Club.

COurTESy: PP ATHLETICS

Left: David Song PO ‘20 got his first ever collegiate win at the Tukwet Preview hosted by Chapman University Feb. 9. Right: The Sagehen women’s team won first place at the Whitman Confluence Classic in Walla Walla, WA Oct. 20, 2019.

SportS

FEbruAry 14, 2020

PAGE 9

New CMS AD: Job is ‘best of all worlds’ MATTHEW KIM Erica Perkins Jasper, the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps athletic director, is fueled by a passion for sports.

She took over the role last June, after a career in tennis, where she bounced between coaching and administrative roles.

In an interview with TSL, she described her ascent to becoming CMS’s athletic director as “not normal,” as she’s previously worked in a myriad of roles.

After playing Division I tennis at Washington State, Jasper served as the head coach of the women’s tennis team at Georgia Southern, where she also finished her master’s degree. From there, she became an assistant coach at William & Mary, which was a top program at the time, she said.

Following her stint at William & Mary, Jasper was offered the head coaching role at Michigan State, which was her “dream job.”

However, two years into her gig with the Spartans, she was recruited by the United States Tennis Association, the national governing body for tennis in the U.S. “I was basically at a point in my career where I knew I loved coaching, and I thought I was pretty good at it, but I also had a feeling that I wanted to get into administration,” Jasper said. “So I decided to take the gamble — I took a job at the

USTA.” Jasper served at the USTA for four years, where she was the senior manager of junior and collegiate competition.

However, after having her first son and “[wanting] to get back on a college campus,” she then took the head coaching position at the University of New Mexico.

“Part of the reason was we wanted to be back on a campus, but part of the reason is I was super fortunate in my career when I was coaching, but I never spent more than two years anywhere,” Jasper said. “I felt really like I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it, that I could really turn a program around.”

In her first year at New Mexico, the tennis team finished last in the conference. By her third year, the Lobos won their first-ever conference title, and qualified for the NCAA tournament.

Jasper’s transformation of the program and her expertise in tennis didn’t go unnoticed.

She soon got an offer to become the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s chief operating officer, which she said she accepted because “I was 100 percent confident at that point that I wanted to transition into administration.”

Her time at the ITA — where she oversaw DI, Division II, Division III, NAIA and junior college

tennis — helped her transition to where she is today.

“Frankly, I had been really [DI]-focused up to that point,” Jasper said. “My job at the ITA really spanned across all five divisions, and I became very enamored with [DIII]. So when this position opened, in a lot of ways, it was a dream-type position for me because our athletic programs are super competitive.”

Having enjoyed serving as both an administrator and a coach, Jasper believes her new job at CMS combines the two experiences nicely.

“I think I have the best of all worlds in that I still get to interact on a daily basis with our student-athletes,” she said. “I still get to have a team to support. The couple of times I had been in administration, I really missed supporting a team. But I get to work with coaches, I get to work with staff — I love that part of it. I think coming over from the ITA, where we were a coaches association, I got a lot of joy with helping coaches get better.”

Jasper also highlighted the strength of CMS athletics and noted that she believes much of her work will be made easier by the pre-existing structures of CMS. “When you come into an athletics program that’s already super successful, you can some-

Stag soccer coach leaves program players surprised by sudden departure, but will remember him fondly MARISA MESTICHELLA Any NCAA athlete can confirm that losing a coach feels a little like a break-up, especially when the coach is special to the team.

That’s why it was dismaying for Claremont-Mudd-Scripps soccer players when their head coach, Matt Edwards, suddenly stepped down from head coaching duties after the fall season to “pursue other opportunities,” according to a December press release.

The close-knit relationship between the Edwards and the players made it a hard moment for the group to endure, but they have nothing but positive words to say moving forward.

“Matt’s relationship with the team was such that we could not only consider him our coach, but a friend,” Adam Singer CM ’20 said via email. “He knew all of us very well, individually, and by having that rapport with us, was able to tailor his approach to all of us differently.”

After five seasons, back-to-back regular season conference titles and the 2019 SCIAC Tournament title, Edwards’ departure “was pretty unexpected,” Houston Engleman CM ’22 said.

“With that said, there’s no bad blood between the team and [Edwards] because the team understands why he needed to move on … he’s starting a family now,” Engleman added.

Singer added that Edwards may be moving to a different school.

“When you look at the successes we’ve had, it makes sense that [Edwards] is receiving interest from other programs,” he said. “While the team was shocked at first, I think they’ve come to realize that his decision to leave is what’s best for him and his family.”

CMS Athletic Director Erica Perkins Jasper did not confirm Edwards’ reasons for leaving the school, and TSL was unable to contact Edwards directly. Jasper said in the press release that the search for a new coach is underway.

“Matt did an unbelievable job, so he put our program in a great posi-

tion,” Jasper told TSL. “His impact with his players and the program is exceptionally positive.”

The Stags had a remarkable 2019 season under Edwards, winning the SCIAC tournament and making an appearance in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA championship for the first time since 1985.

They’ve compiled a combined record of 31-6-3 over the last two seasons.

Edwards worked to instill “perseverance, resilience, and success” in his players, according to Singer. “[He] took extra time to inspect the flaws in our team, [went] to great lengths to recruit players that would fit our program, and even did some introspection as to what he could do better himself,” Singer added.

If we continue our success, everyone on the team will know that it started with Matt ... that’s gonna be his legacy.

Houston Engleman CM ’22

Edwards’ success did not go unnoticed.

In 2018, he and his staff received the SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year honor, which was followed by the United Soccer Coaches West Region Division III Coaching Staff of the Year award in 2019.

He had an overall five-year record of 52-32-9 with CMS, and according to the CMS press release, bounced back “from an injury-plagued 4-11-1 season in 2017 to finish in first in the SCIAC standings two years in a row.”

Additionally, “the jump from four wins in 2017 to 15 wins in 2018 was the second-best improvement in the entire nation, behind only Wesley College (three wins to 16),” the release said.

Singer praised Edwards for the turnaround.

“He trusted his process,” Singer said. “[In 2018] we had an in-

LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT SPEAKER SERIES

credible season and clinched the regular season title and were named the best defense in the entire country.”

Edwards had an immense impact on the program and his players, and was very popular among the team, Singer and Engleman said.

“We would have loved to have him back next year as a coach and see that continue, but if he needed to move on for his personal career, that’s fine,” Engleman said. “Everyone I think understands that pretty well, and we’re just looking forward to next year.”

Engleman praised Edwards for his role in players’ lives.

“He was always involved on and off the field, making sure we were doing okay in school and classes and socially,” Engleman said. “I think he was a great coach, and we had a lot of good memories and a lot of success under him. I will miss Matt as a coach.”

Despite leaving the team slightly heartbroken, Edwards also leaves an impressive legacy.

“Matt came in [three] years before my class came in, and I know that when he came in, the team wasn’t in a really good spot in terms of team culture and overall attitude toward what we wanted to accomplish,” Engleman said.

“Matt and the senior classes above me did a really, really great job of establishing what it meant to be a part of a team,” he added.

“I think that if we continue our success, everyone on the team will know that it started with Matt coming in a couple years ago, and that’s gonna be his legacy.”

As the program searches for a new coach, Jasper is confident in the strength of the men’s team.

“It’s always sad when someone leaves,” she said. “But in good news for us, the program, the student-athletes are in such a good state that it’s been a very competitive job. We’ve had a very competitive pool of applicants.”

Singer ended his email to TSL by giving a message to Edwards: “Matt — we can’t thank you enough for all everything you did for us on and off the field!

We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors!”

The Annenberg Leadership and Management Speaker Series is an integral part of Harvey Mudd College’s commitment to encouraging students to lead with integrity. Funded by the Annenberg Program Endowment for Leadership, this series brings to campus accomplished individuals who are recognized, world-class leaders in their fields of endeavor.

Tuesday, Feb. 18 | Noon

Helen He Founding Partner, New Wheel Capital Green Room, Joseph B. Platt Campus Center 340 E. Foothill Blvd. | Claremont

“Three Things to Share” Helen He has 20 years of experience in technology startups, focusing on corporate strategy, business development, mergers and acquisitions, and general management. She will share practical tips that stem from her multi-faceted professional career and will help you consider how to achieve not only career success, but also a fulfilling, well-rounded life.

The event includes a complimentary lunch buffet. RSVP to bit.ly/RSVP4He. hmc.edu/annenberg | 909.607.1818 | stewardship@hmc.edu

times get ahead of yourself and start creating all kinds of goals and changes,” she said. “One of the things I did when I got here is I dove into becoming a part of our CMS athletics culture. So really, I think my job is to help keep us on the continued path of success.”

But she recognizes that CMS sports aren’t perfect. In recent years, there have been incidents of hazing and other misconduct on the CMS track and field, baseball and swim teams, resulting in probation, suspension and mandatory training for athletes.

Jasper said she plans to use an education-first approach to avoid instances like these in the future.

“Any time you have an incident come up and you can combat it with education first, it’s always a great thing, understanding that sometimes, at the end of the day, if someone does something significant enough that requires punishment, you obviously need to do that.”

She believes that such efforts begin at the institutional level and will require collaboration between Claremont McKenna College, Scripps College and Harvey Mudd College.

“I also think it’s exceptionally important, because we’re a consortium of three colleges, that we work in partnership with folks on all three campuses any time an

COURTESY: CMS ATHLETICS

First-year CMS Athletic Director Erica Jasper comes to Claremont after a long career in tennis coaching and administration.

incident comes up so one, we can hopefully get ahead of it all together but two, then create a unified plan for addressing it, whether it’s education, whether it’s punishment, or whatever it might be,” Jasper said.

Jasper also mentioned that she’s heavily focused on expanding fitness opportunities for all students at the three schools — noting that she hopes all students will continue to use Roberts Pavilion for recreational use.

“I would love to get every student in the doors of Roberts at least on a weekly basis, if not on a daily basis,” she said.

CLIMB: Melton started Claremont Climbing Team in ’18

COURTESY: LOGAN MELTON

Laurel Melton PZ ‘20 has represented the U.S. Climbing national team worldwide, from Ecuador to Switzerland.

Continued from page 1 Pan-American Championship in Ecuador and placed 34th at the 2017 IFSC Climbing World Cup in Switzerland.

Rock climbing meets typically showcase three types of climbing: lead, bouldering and speed.

Lead climbing is an endurance-based discipline in which climbers clip a rope onto a 50foot wall as they ascend. Bouldering involves more challenging individual moves, a shorter wall and no rope. Speed climbing also contains a 50-foot wall, but the route always remains the same. Melton described it as “a track, but [upwards].”

Melton started her climbing career with bouldering and generally prefers it over the other two forms. However, she excels in competitive speed climbing on the national team, and trains in all three disciplines to keep improving her overall abilities.

Melton also discussed how the mental aspect of climbing draws her to the sport.

“One of the reasons I really like climbing is that it’s really physically challenging but it’s also really mentally challenging,” Melton said. “A lot of the times that you can’t do a climb or you’re not doing well at [competitions], it has nothing to do with your actual ability to perform, and it’s completely mental.”

Melton started the climbing team at the 5Cs in 2018 to help introduce peers to the sport.

“I didn’t really see that many opportunities for new people to get into climbing, so I really wanted to start a team to open up a space for people who wanted to start climbing but didn’t feel like they knew how,” Melton said.

In the club’s first semester, the team only had nine consistent members, but they were highly successful — seven went to the regional meet, and three went on to the national collegiate meet.

By the next year, the club began holding practices three times a week with over 20 members attending each practice. Today, the team has grown so large Melton said she has had to limit the number of people who can attend each practice to 30 members. The club has a total of 52 climbers.

“Having a team to go to these [meets] with makes it much more of a fun community event,” Melton said.

Serena Faruqee PZ ’20, Melton’s teammate and co-captain, has known Melton since they both entered Pitzer as first-years. Faruqee spoke highly of Melton’s leadership on the team.

“There have been [competitions] where she’ll just put one attempt in on every climb and spend the rest of the three hours coaching,” Faruqee said. “The team is very important to her and being supportive of people is important to her, sometimes over her own climbing.”

Melton hopes the club will continue to prosper after she leaves.

She said she’s trying to cultivate the next generation of leaders by taking a step back and letting other team members take charge.

Melton graduates in the spring, but her climbing career won’t end there. She currently serves as an assistant coach for the Sender One Rock Climbing Center youth team, which she hopes to continue after graduation, and she hopes to remain in the sport.

“I want to pursue a career in the climbing industry. Ultimately I want to open my own gym,” Melton said. “Right now, my goals are starting to shift towards outdoor climbing. Honestly, I just want to climb as much as possible.”

While Melton continues climbing to new heights, she also wants others to know that it’s never too late to begin.

“A lot of really strong climbers got into it when they were 20,” said Melton. “Something that I hear a lot is, ‘Oh, I’ve always wanted to try [climbing], but I feel like it’s too late to get into it.’ It’s really not; you can start climbing late!”

SportS

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FEbruAry 14, 2020

‘Fight to the finish’: CMS, P-P swim & dive squads gear up for another SCIAC showdown

HUXLEYANN HUEFNER• THE STUDENT LIFE

MAX WEIRAUCH • THE STUDENT LIFE

Left: Nick Zhang CM ’23 performs the breakstroke at the CMS Invitational Feb. 8. Right: Eleanor Mackey PO ‘22 executes a dive at the CMS swim and dive invite Feb. 8.

ANDREW GAO With the SCIAC Championships fast approaching, the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer swim and dive teams are making their final preparations and tune-ups for the conference finals.

The swimming portion of the championship will be hosted in Commerce, California Feb. 20 to 23, while the diving will be at CMS’s Axelrood Pool Feb. 15 and 16.

The Stags and Athenas are both looking to avenge losses to P-P in the SCIAC finals each of the last two years — the P-P men won their first two SCIAC titles ever in 2018 and ’19, while the P-P women have won three of the last four championships.

Both P-P and CMS had the chance to scrimmage against each other at the CMS Invitational Feb. 8, where they compared their fitness levels and made final adjustments.

The CMS teams are both ranked No. 1 in the SCIAC; CMS’ squads are undefeated in SCIAC dual meet competition, while the P-P teams have only one loss each — to their foes from across the street.

Team culture is secret for success for P-P P-P took home the mixed gen-

der 200-yard medley relay title with a time of 1:38.65 Saturday.

The relay included Allison Liu PO ’21, Lukas Menkhoff PO ’21, Gregory Hayton PZ ’21 and Haley Kirtland PO ’23.

Sagehen swimmers said the mixed relay’s success epitomizes the close connection between the P-P men’s and women’s swim teams.

“Even though we compete in separate events, we all spend time together and we are one team,” said Katherine Lauerman PO ’20, who competes in the 200and 500-yard freestyle.

Will Abele PO ’20, a former All-American who competed in five events at the NCAA Championships last year, echoed this sentiment.

“The [swim and dive] team is one of the few teams on campus that is men and women combined,” Abele said. “We practice together, race together and I think that is a real advantage for PPSD. We both support each other really well, and that helps us both compete better.”

P-P’s upperclassmen performed well at the CMS Invite, with Andrew Garcia PZ ’21 capturing the men’s 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:12.67, Kate Denend PO ’21 winning the women’s 100-yard freestyle in 54.42, Denise Dao PZ ’21 placing first in the women’s 50-

yard freestyle in 24.91 and Liam O’Shea PO ’20 winning the men’s 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:55.86.

The first-years displayed equally impressive performances, with Abby Smith PO ’23 winning the women’s 400-yard IM with a time of 4.42, Ben Cote PO ’23 winning the men’s 100-yard butterfly with a time of 52.26 and Tag Curwen PO ’23 securing first place in the men’s 100-yard freestyle with a time of 47.23.

“It was great to watch all the first-years grow and come together as a class,” Lauerman said. “I think there’s so much potential and talent in every single one of them.”

In diving, the Sagehen women are led by Ruby Epstein PO ’22 and Emma van der Veen PO ’21, who each finished first in the one-meter and three-meter dives, respectively, at the CMS Invite.

Jem Stern PO ’22 leads the male divers — he finished second in both the one and three-meter dives at CMS.

CMS looks dominant before SCIACs, hoping to take title back The CMS men’s and women’s swim and dive teams have high hopes for the SCIAC Championships after posting successful regular seasons, with both teams

Athletes of the Week

placing first in their respective conferences.

“This is the strongest our team has been in my time here by far,” Daniel Hayon CM ’21 said. “We are in a good spot before the SCIACs.” Anne Jang CM ’21 spoke about the mentality necessary for performing at the conference meet.

“We need to maintain our focus,” Jang said. “We need to transfer our excitement for SCIACs into focus and intensity as our practices get shorter.”

The CMS Invite gave swimmers a chance to earn spots for scoring teams or to get better seeds at the conference meet.

At the meet, the Stags had strong showings in the freestyle events, with Ben Culberson CM ’20 winning the men’s 500-yard freestyle in 4:38.74, Hayon taking first in the men’s 50-yard freestyle in 21.62 and Thayer Breazeale CM ’23 placing first in the men’s 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:43.42.

The invitational proved “especially important for long distance swimmers, with Mia Syme CM ’21 and Gracey Hiebert HM ’23 both moving up some spots,” Jang said.

Hiebert won the women’s 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:09.22, slightly edging out Lauerman’s 5:09.34, and Syme won

the women’s 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 18:01.36.

In the mixed gender 200-yard freestyle, the joint men’s and women’s team took first place after initially losing the mixed gender 200yard medley relay.

The CMS team showed off many of its key swimmers, including Andreas Roeseler HM ’21, Marco Conati HM ’21, Ava Sealander SC ’22 and Natalia Orbach-Mandel HM ’21, defeating P-P with a time of 1:30.42.

On the boards, Kendall Holliman CM ’20, who finished third at NCAAs last season in the three-meter dive, will look to sweep the men’s diving events at SCIACS, as he did last year. For the Athenas, three first-years — Makenna Parkinson HM ’23, Kimiko Adler CM ’23 and Karena Klinkenberg SC ’23 — will have a chance to add to CMS’s team point total with strong diving performances.

Both the Stags and Athenas are the favorites to take home the SCIAC titles. But CMS is wary of the Sagehens — especially after falling to them the last two years — and the squads know the conference championships will be tight.

“It’s going to be a fight to the finish,” Hayon said. “We are very evenly matched at this point, and I think they have a really strong team this year. At the end of the day, it’s going to be who performs the best the day of the SCIACs.”

Weekly Calendar P-P

CMS

Madison Quan PZ ’22

Saturday, Feb. 15 Women’s & Men’s Swim & Dive SCIAC Championships

Saturday, Feb. 15 Women’s & Men’s Swim & Dive SCIAC Championships

Los Angeles, CA Women’s Basketball

Women’s & Men’s Track & Field Collegiate All Comers Meet

Women’s & Men’s Track & Field @ P-P

Women’s Water Polo @ Redlands

Women’s Tennis vs. Occidental and San Diego Christian

Women’s Lacrosse vs. Redlands

Men’s Tennis Concordia vs. San Diego Christian

Men’s Basketball vs. Cal Lutheran

Softball vs. Vanguard

Women’s Basketball vs. Cal Lutheran

Women’s Water Polo vs. UC San Diego @ Redlands

Sunday, Feb. 16 Women’s & Men’s Swim & Dive SCIAC Championships

Sunday, Feb. 16 Women’s & Men’s Swim & Dive SCIAC Championships

Wednesday, Feb. 19 Women’s Basketball vs. Whittier

Softball vs. Pacific Lutheran

Pomona-Pitzer

Bolstered by Quan’s offensive firepower, P-P has won six of its past seven games. The sophomore guard tallied 23 points against La Verne and 19 against CMS, leading the Hens past the Leopards 72-69 and acting as the catalyst in their second-half comeback effort against CMS, though they ultimately fell short 82-71. Quan also tied the program record with 38 points in a 72-65 win against Redlands, going 5-of-5 beyond the arc. On the year, she is averaging nearly 10 points per game and shooting at a strong 89.1 percent clip from the charity stripe. The Sagehens currently sit in fourth in the SCIAC, and hope to make a run in the SCIAC Tournament if they qualify.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Brandon rho CM ’22 Fullerton, CA Baseball In a big opening weekend for Stag baseball, CMC sophomore Brandon Rho had a memorable Saturday — Rho tallied four hits, drove in five and smacked his first career home run in a doubleheader against Lewis & Clark. Rho’s three RBI in the second game were crucial for CMS — his two-run home run gave the Stags the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning, and CMS held on to move to 3-0.

The Stags did fall to Puget Sound a day later, though, and finished the opening weekend 3-1. Rho and the squad will have a week off to prepare for the start of SCIAC play Feb. 21 against Cal Lutheran.

Men’s Basketball vs. Whittier

Monday, Feb. 17 Men’s Golf @ Riverside

Women’s Lacrosse @ Chapman

Tuesday, Feb. 18 Men’s Golf @ Riverside

Thursday, Feb. 20 Women’s & Men’s Swim & Dive SCIAC Championships

Wednesday, Feb. 19 Men’s Basketball vs. Redlands Women’s Basketball @ Redlands Thursday, Feb. 20 Women’s & Men’s Swim & Dive SCIAC Championships