Vol. CXXXV No. 15

Students march to City Council meeting; council votes to support neutrality resolution, bars vote on ceasefire

ANNABELLE INK

On Tuesday, Feb. 27, Claremont

Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) led a march from Honnold Mudd Library to the Claremont City Hall, where students attended a city council meeting regarding a vote on two resolutions: Attachment A, which called for neutrality on social and political issues not local to Claremont, and Attachment B, which called for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The meeting, which lasted nearly seven hours, concluded with a unanimous vote by council members to support the first resolution, effectively ruling out the possibility of their voting on the second.

According to Tuesday’s agenda packet, the idea of a ceasefire resolution was initially introduced by

several attendees at a Feb. 13 city council meeting. The resolution came in response to Israel’s ongoing attacks on Gaza, with the death toll passing 30,000 and “the loss of civil lives being the biggest in weeks.”

Between its introduction and Tuesday, staff members worked to draft both resolutions, obtaining feedback on Attachment B from various individuals and organizations in the process, including the Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys and the Islamic Center of Claremont.

Attachment B, which called for an “immediate peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis impacting Gaza and Israel,” sought to take

into consideration the insights of community members both in support of and in opposition to it.

“The obvious division among the community as it relates to this issue made drafting a resolution very challenging,” the agenda packet read. “While the proposed resolution attempts to be deferential to citizens on both sides of the issue, it is clear that it may not meet the expectations of either group.”

In the resolution, authors mourned the loss of Palestinian and Israeli lives and suggested that Claremont community members were being directly impacted.

“The ongoing conflict in the Middle East that escalated on

See COUNCIL on page 3

Over 120 Students rally for Harvey Mudd College to cut ties with Starbucks

NITYA GUPTA

On Thursday, Feb. 22, over 120 students gathered in front of the Café at Harvey Mudd College in support of a rally to end the college’s relationship with the Starbucks corporation. The rally was part of an ongoing campaign by the 5C Student & Worker Alliance (CSWA) to address Starbucks’ “complicity in the Israeli occupation and genocide.” and its treatment of unionized employees. This campaign follows similar campaigns at 25 universities

across the nation, including UCLA, Georgetown University and the University of Chicago, all of which are being called upon to cancel their contracts with Starbucks.

Similarly to these universities, Mudd is a member of the “We Proudly Serve Starbucks Coffee Program,” which allows the college to provide a range of Starbucks beverages to students at a subsidized cost. Currently, these beverages are being served at the Café and at Jay’s Place, two popular food spots for students on campus.

See STARBUCKS on page 2

On Feb. 22,

‘Black joy is not just a necessity, but it’s an act of resistance’: Pomona BSU’s second Black Youth Conference

YAHJAIRI CASTILLON

On Saturday, Feb. 24, local middle and high school students settled into the classrooms of Pomona College for a day of learning, empowerment and celebration. At Pomona’s Black Student Union’s (BSU) second Black Youth Conference, young participants and their parents found a space to connect with college students and celebrate Black culture.

The conference began at Pomona’s Edmunds Ballroom, where the students and their families gathered to hear from President Gabrielle Starr. This was followed by a panel discussion from members of the BSU about their college experiences.

During the discussion, Vaughn Brown PO ’25 spoke about her experience as a minority student at a predominantly white institution (PWI). Originally from Washington, a state with a majority white population of 66.5 percent, Brown explained that she experienced a similar racial dynamic during high school.

However, despite the statistical similarity, Brown described her experience at Pomona as being

substantially different from that at her high school, noting the community she has found with her peers. “Even though it’s still a PWI, Black people tend to gravitate more towards each other, espe-

cially being away from home,” Brown said. “It’s kind of like you build your own little family on campus. Whenever you see other Black people, you say hello.”

After the panel, the students and their parents split up to par-

ticipate in a series of educational and reflection-based workshops. The students moved to the second floor of Pomona’s Smith Campus Center (SCC) and rotated in groups of about 12, participating in student-led work-

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shops that included topics such as “What is Black Wealth?,” “Self Care Your Way” and “Good Days: Black Joy & Resistance.”

The workshop titled “What is Black Wealth?” empowered students to discuss and reflect on the definition of wealth. The students went around the room sharing their own definitions, prompted by facilitators to look beyond wealth’s literal meaning and to instead interact with it as something abstract and individually defined.

In the next room over, another group of students listened to a presentation curated by BSU members and worked together to discuss what self-care meant for them. They reflected on the times that they typically feel the most stressed and discussed possible root causes of that stress, imagining how they might apply their personal self-care techniques to those moments in the future.

For the volunteers leading these workshops, the conference signified a moment of giving back to the community. Yafae Cotton PO ’26 explained how rewarding he found interacting with the stu-

See CONFERENCE on page 3 SCAN

CMS Stags basketball trampled the Sagehens’ hope of

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SAGE hARPER • ThE STUDENT LIFE

ANNIKA WhITE • ThE STUDENT LIFE

over 120 students gathered at harvey Mudd college to condemn the college’s relationship with Starbucks.

TSL x KSPC Presents…

NAchTRIEB

LUcIA MARQUEZ-UPPMAN

• ThE STUDENT LIFE

On Tuesday, claremont Students for Justice in Palestine led a march to claremont city hall to attend a vote on a ceasefire resolution in Gaza.

On Saturday, Feb. 24, local middle and high school students gathered at Pomona college for the Black Student Union’s (BSU) second Black Youth conference.

Amazon Labor Union President Chris

Smalls, 5C union leaders speak on labor activism at ‘Americonned’ screening

CLAIRE WELCH & DYLAN ZULUETA

On Feb. 28, the documentary “Americonned” screened at Pomona College’s Rose Hills Theatre. Following the screening, a panel featuring Amazon Labor Union president and documentary subject Chris Smalls, director Sean Claffey and two local union organizers, Pomona dining hall worker Rolando Araiza and Pitzer College dining hall worker José Ochoa, discussed workers’ rights and labor activism.

Led by Pomona Visiting Assistant Professor of Media Studies Kouross Esmaeli, the event was co-sponsored by Pomona’s media studies, economics and linguistics and cognitive science departments and the Claremont Student & Worker Alliance (CSWA).

“Americonned” primarily investigates the death of the American middle class. Breaking through bipartisan lines, a host of narrators explain how our country has been bifurcated — split into the America of the rich and the America of the poor.

Claffey referenced labor movements in the 1900s, explaining how the gap between worker compensation and productivity has increased dramatically since 1975. Following the free market movement on Wall Street of the 1970s, politicians and businessmen alike have colluded to create a protection racket for the rich, blocking efforts at unionization in the process.

Although the documentary

includes interviews and contributions from a variety of scholars, organizers and working-class Americans, one figure emerges as the film’s central voice: Smalls.

Formerly an assistant manager at an Amazon factory, Smalls’ contract was terminated in March 2020 after he led a walk-out at his facility to protest inhumane working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When I was fired from Amazon, in the middle of the pandemic, I lost everything: my financial income, my stocks, my health, shorts, everything, my savings, all gone,” Smalls said. “And we’re quarantined, so I can’t get a job. So the only thing I had to do was organize. So that’s my advice to everybody. Don’t quit your job. Organize.”

Smalls and his co-workers built the Amazon Labor Union, a powerful grassroots organization that advocates for labor unions, a wealth tax and workers’ rights.

Will Warrick PZ ’24, a member of CSWA, was excited to hear from Smalls.

“[Smalls] is such a tremendous presence,” Warrick said. “It was awesome to hear him … [collaborate] with the awesome leaders we have on campus here, also.”

“Americonned” exists at two levels: It tells the stories of individuals who, like Smalls, are struggling with income inequality and simultaneously employs statistics to illustrate how these isolated stories are representative

of a broader issue across America.

The film resonated with Noon El Mosalami PO ’24, a member of CSWA who has been surrounded by the issues addressed in the film since growing up in New York.

“The same stories are always repeating and my family went through the same shit with eviction stuff,” El Mosalami said. “It’s good to contextualize individual experiences into the broader politicization and the broader global movement towards … total liberation.”

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is central to both Smalls’s ongoing fight and the film’s plot, as montages depict the domineering control Bezos’ company has over its workers.

A leaked memo of an Amazon meeting where Bezos was in attendance revealed that company executives planned to make Smalls “the face of the entire union/ organizing movement,” calling him “not smart or articulate.”

Towards the end of the documentary, Smalls waits anxiously outside the labor union headquarters in Staten Island to hear the results of a vote to create Amazon’s first workers’ union.

“We did it!” Chris yells, running out of the building with a white sheet of paper in his hand. He embraces his colleagues as swarms of reporters close in and the camera suddenly cuts to an aerial view, capturing thousands of people as they march down the streets of New York in protest.

Despite the $14.2 million Amazon spent in 2022 on union busting efforts and a public smear campaign, Smalls and fellow organizers succeeded in creating Amazon’s first union at a warehouse in Staten Island.

In the panel after the screening, Claffey emphasized the significance of the win.

“Chris and … six people really went up against the richest man in the world, who spent tens of millions of dollars to take him out,” Claffey said. “And he won.”

Ochoa and Araiza have similarly persevered in the face of callous pressure and intimidation.

The labor union UNITE HERE!

Local 11 has represented dining hall staff at Pomona since 2013 and dining and facilities staff at Pitzer since 2022. Ochoa is a cook at Pitzer’s McConnell dining hall and a shop steward — or union representative — for Pitzer’s worker union. Araiza is a cook at Pomona’s Frary dining hall and shop steward for Pomona’s worker union.

Ochoa alleged that a new HR team hired by Pitzer before the pandemic changed its policies to hire new workers for only 10 months, undermining job security.

“We were talking about how we could do this better and I had no idea about unionizing … until a group of students reached out to me,” Ochoa said. “I was scared at the beginning to be honest. But once I started reading books and educating myself about the union, I started telling my coworkers about it. And little by little, one by one we started campaigning.” Pitzer workers entered their first three-year union contract with the school in September 2023. “We just won our first contract and the change is amazing,” Ochoa said. “The wages are great. The treatment is different … you see the difference between having a contract and not having it.”

Araiza was inspired to organize after receiving his first paycheck at 19.

“Working at Pomona, I made more money than my mom ever did working at her job right down the street making parts for airplanes for over 11 years,” Araiza said. “[Her job] was a place where they take advantage of individuals. And when I had an opportunity here to change that, I jumped up … If we can do changes here in our workplace, there will be some trickle effect around us.”

Araiza claimed that when he and other Pomona workers were first organizing and planning to form a union, Pomona elected to perform a self-audit document check on its staff. Araiza said this resulted in the firing of all but two of the organizing committee members.

“They hate when I say this, but [Pomona is] a company just like Amazon,” Araiza said. “They

will hire the same union busters that they do, law firms, they’re the same guys. Ultimately, they just don’t want you to have that voice.”

Attendee Bela De Jesús PO ’26 was energized by the panel.

“All of the people up there [on the panel] had put up with a lot of crazy pressure from the companies that they worked for,” De Jesus PO ’26 said. “Firings and just general rhetoric that can be really scary, but their persistence — their bravery — is something that I definitely learned from.”

Smalls emphasized the power of community organizing.

“There’s going to be days they spend $10,000 on union busters, there’s going to be days where they fire your comrades,” Smalls said. “What this film shows you and what we’ve proven is that going up against a trillion dollar company like Amazon — no amount of money in the world can amount to the power of people together.”

During the Q&A, a Pitzer student raised the concern that the film would motivate 5C students to amass wealth to protect themselves, rather than inspire them to organize. Smalls responded that that kind of strategy won’t stand a chance against the violence that will ensue if income inequality worsens.

“It’s short-term greed that will destabilize and destroy this country,” Smalls said. “If people can’t buy houses and everyone is living in fucking tents, it’s gonna burn and they’re gonna go after them and eat them! For real. It’s an existential threat. It’s not like, ‘Well, I’m rich.’ Guess whose house is going to get looted first?”

Araiza emphasized how important it is for students at the Claremont Colleges to use their privilege to organize and advocate.

“We’re here talking about organizing to the future,” Araiza said. “This is why we come to these types of institutions. Because you guys are the future. You guys are going to go lead society. Hopefully, you can be in those chairs that change rules and laws, to make our jobs a little more easier to organize.”

El Mosalami appealed to students in the audience.

“We always say that we can never do enough or there’s no point in doing this,” El Mosalami said. “But if literally every person at this school dedicated one or two hours to either labor organizing … we would be in a much better place. You don’t need to know everything.”

Smalls offered up some final words of wisdom for the crowd, issuing a warning.

“I just started organizing four years ago,” Smalls said. “I say that because I think any one of y’all in the room right now, you can leave out of here and start a union wherever you work at, whatever movement, whatever industry you’re in. But let me tell you this: You [are] running out of time.”

STARBUCKS: Students demand end of Starbucks affiliation

continued from page 1

In a petition released by CSWA, the authors demanded that Mudd leave this program and sever its ties with Starbucks. They also expressed the importance of treating dining services employees fairly throughout this process.

“We call for [Mudd], as well as all relevant parties, to immediately terminate the contract with Starbucks Corporation and invite an alternative coffee provider to replace Starbucks in both the Café and Jay’s Place,” the petition said. “In this transition process, we demand that no changes occur in the payment, staffing, benefits, or number of hours for the dining services employees working at the above-mentioned establishments.”

According to the petition, this call to action results from two major grievances with the Starbucks corporation: its “violations of federal labor law” and its “complicity in the Israeli occupation and genocide.”

In saying this, the petition highlighted several criticisms of the company that have become increasingly prominent over the past several years. Since 2021, the National Labor Relations Board has brought over 100 cases against Starbucks for various illegal actions. Many of these actions have involved the treatment of unionized employees, something that CSWA highlighted in their petition.

“In response to the organizing work of its employees during this time, where Starbucks workers won over 340 union elections across 41 states, Starbucks has denied boosts in wages and benefits to unionized

workers, has threatened, surveilled, and fired its workers, and has closed union-affiliated stores,” the petition said.

The petition also called out Starbucks for its lawsuit against Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) last October after the group posted “Solidarity with Palestine!” on X, formerly known as Twitter. The authors explained that this lawsuit, which sued SBWU for trademark infringement, was conflating Palestinian solidarity with support of violence against Israel.

They criticized the lawsuit and suggested that Starbucks was using it as a tool to support the “Israeli occupation and genocide.”

“Through this attack on Starbucks unions, the company has also exposed its complicity in the Israeli occupation and genocide,” the petition said. “Starbucks’ acts of union-busting have now become a tool for their support of the Israeli occupation of Palestine and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.”

In the petition, CSWA used these criticisms to argue that Mudd’s relationship with Starbucks goes against the mission of the college, addressing Mudd President Harriet Nembhard directly.

“In the 100 Days of Community Connections report, you wrote that you wanted to build students’ citizenship and global awareness,” they wrote. “The implied goal is for students, and ultimately the college, to have a positive impact on our communities and society at large. In alignment with these values, we believe that continuing the relationship with Starbucks

goes against the mission of Harvey Mudd College.” According to Jordan James PO ’24, a coordinator of the campaign with CSWA, conversations about this campaign have been in progress since September 2023, but official execution only began in late January of this year. As a part of their campaign, CSWA held a teach-in on Feb. 11 and a rally on Feb. 22.

On the day of the rally, at 2:30 p.m., over 120 students gathered in front of the Café to listen to speeches in support of the campaign. Some students held signs reading “Drop Starbucks” while others chanted the message.

Protestors wore masks to protect their identities in accordance with the safety guidelines that were passed around during the rally. The guidelines also reminded students to avoid engaging with Campus Security and media and to protect brown, Black, Palestinian, SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa) and Muslim students from being photographed or identified.

A member of Pitzer College’s SWANA group then highlighted several examples of what they viewed as the repression of pro-Palestinian organizing on campus. They cited the recent policy changes at Scripps College’s Motley Coffeehouse and the Feb. 12 statement by Pitzer President Strom Thacker on the Haifa Senate Resolution as examples.

“But we refuse to be silenced,” the member said. “We refuse to allow these institutions to trample upon our right to protest our rights

or voice our dissent.”

Following this, a student from Mudd made a speech urging other students at the college to step up and get involved in activism.

“Harvey Mudd students have been notoriously known to not be [politically] present on our campuses, but it’s not too late,” the student said. “You wield the power as students of this institution. Embrace that power, recognize the privilege and rewards and wield it in the service of justice.”

Another organizer then made a speech sharing the results of the Associated Students of Pomona College (ASPC) referendum hosted in February. The referendum focused on whether Pomona should divest from companies supporting the “apartheid system within the state of Israel.” The results highly favored divestment from these companies and increased disclosure regarding investments overall.

Following this, a member of Nobody Fails at Mudd (NFAM), Mudd’s mutual aid organization, made a speech explaining the intersection of mutual aid and labor organizing against large corporations.

“As a [Mudd] organization, we cannot support [Mudd’s] relationship with Starbucks,” the member said. “When [Mudd] uses Starbucks as a supplier, [they are] materially and symbolically supporting a corporation that violates worker rights and NFAM demands that [Mudd] cut ties with Starbucks.”

After 20 minutes of listening

to the speeches, the group walked across from the Café to Kingston Hall to delegate their needs to Andrew Dorantes, the head of Business Affairs at Mudd, who also oversees the dining services. They then made a call to the Office of the Vice President to leave the same message.

Several days after the rally, CSWA was informed that both their actions on campus and the actions of others boycotting Starbucks worldwide had put significant pressure on the corporation.

On Tuesday, Feb. 27, Starbucks and SBWU announced that they would be negotiating with one another around issues surrounding unionization and litigation.

“[This campaign] is in retaliation to Starbucks’ labor malpractices,” James said. “They’re union busting and doing other grievances and this campaign forces them to come to the bargaining table with [SBWU] that they had refused to recognize.”

Although Starbucks has yet to make any further statement on its lawsuit against SBWU, James explained that CSWA — which is ultimately an organization centered around labor groups and union organizing — would no longer be participating in the campaign to end Mudd’s relationship with Starbucks.

“Starbucks couldn’t afford to union bust anymore, so they negotiated with the workers’ union,” James said. “Because of this campaign, in conjunction with other campaigns across the country, we no longer need to move forward with any steps to pressure Starbucks to come to the bargaining table or get them off campus.”

DYLAN ZULUETA • ThE STUDENT LIFE

“Americonned” screened at Rose hills Theater on Feb. 28, followed by a panel discussion.

CONF eR eNCe: BsU hosts second Black Youth Conference

continued from page 1 dents to be.

“Just seeing all the kids smiling, just people talking about why they’re passionate about what they’re doing and just people expressing the importance of Black joy,” he said, sharing his favorite part about the conference. “I’m just happy to be here and happy to be able to help.”

Werlie Cius PO ’26, a student organizer from the Draper Center, was similarly enthusiastic about the workshops.

“[Participants] really loved getting a perspective from college students and the workshops were very helpful and meaningful,” she said.“The hope is that, as things keep going, we can have [the conference] annually and just bring more and more generations of students to campus.”

As students and volunteers participated in these workshops, families sat in Rose Hills Theatre for a talk about students’ mental health by Dr. Adrienne Hilliard, a long-term advocate for diversity and inclusion and physiologist at Student Health Services.

Hilliard began her presentation by revealing common challenges surrounding mental health in the Black community, citing the negative perception of mental illness and the reluctance of some individuals to seek professional help. She then provided advice for how parents could best support their children through some of these challenges during their teenage years.

One parent, Pritina Irvin-Smartt, who is also Pomona’s assistant director of the Office of Alumni and Family Engagement, talked about the opportunity that this conference and its workshops provided for her and her family, noting its positive impact.

“This event is significant to our family because the school that our boys go to, they don’t have a lot of access to conversations about college, especially about college from other Black students or Black teachers,” she said.

Afterwards, participants at the conference moved to the SCC Courtyard, where various organizations had come to share their missions and resources. These organizations included Conceptual Art Therapy, Pomona African American Advisory Alliance, African American Museum of New Beginnings, National Council of Negro Women, Sigma Gamma

Rho Sorority, Inc. and the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation. Protagonist Black, a pop-up bookstore, was also present. The booth provided a variety of books to purchase during the event, ranging from adult nonfiction literature to children’s picture books. Aysia and Kevin Brown, the store’s founders, explained that the store aims to uplift Black authors and counter current failings in POC literary representation.

“There are so many stories about our culture and other BIPOC identities that don’t get the spotlight they deserve [and] don’t get the shelf space they deserve,” Aysia Brown said. “We want kids and youth and young adults and even grown-ups to have the opportunity to see themselves in the books that are here, in ways that we don’t always have an opportunity to.”

The day ended with a special performance by Earthtones, the 5Cs’ first all-Black a cappella group, followed by the keynote address by Ashley Land PO ’16. Land is an influencer, producer and activist, with a special interest in topics such as politics, pop culture, the economy and the fight for Black language, which she discusses on her YouTube and social media platforms.

In her address, Land reflected on the success of the conference.

“I love being able to go around and capture moments of pure joy, people eating some good food like we did earlier, dancing around, just being happy,” she said.

She also spoke about her aspirations and the foundation that she found in the Black community at home in Chicago as well as at Pomona. She emphasized the importance of leaning on this support system and encouraged youth at the conference to do the same.

“When times are tough, life is always going to bring challenges, disappointments, losses and unexpected difficulties,” she said. “Sitting in the hard times is not what helps us keep moving forward as individuals or as a piece of community; it’s when we come together that great things happen. Black joy is not just a necessity, but [also] an act of resistance.”

COUNCIL: City Council passes neutrality resolution

continued from page 1

October 7, 2023 has resulted in the tragic loss of many thousands of innocent civilian Israeli and Palestinian lives, and increasing reports of anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, anti-Jewish, and anti-Arab incidents,” the resolution read. “Our community members have suffered from an alarming rise in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.”

It then expressed support for Congressional Resolution H.R. 786, which was introduced to the House in October, and called for the immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Israel and occupied Palestine.

“The City Council hereby supports Congressional Resolution H.R. 786, and joins other cities in calling on Congress and the Biden administration to demand: an immediate ceasefire; an immediate release of all hostages; urgent safe passage and delivery of substantial and sufficient humanitarian aid to Gaza; and a lasting political resolution that protects the lives, health, and security of all innocent civilians,” stated the resolution.

Ultimately, Attachment B was not passed.

The other resolution, Attachment A, passed unanimously. This resolution was created in response to the aforementioned ceasefire resolution and sought to make official the city council’s “long-standing practice of not adopting resolutions or issuing proclamations that take an official city position on social or political issues that are not local to Claremont.”

Attachment A emphasized the city council’s prioritization of an atmosphere of acceptance and respect and argued that issuing resolutions on political or social issues not local to Claremont could be complicated and potentially harmful to the community.

“The City gets several requests for proclamations and/or resolutions each year, which could create inequities when deciding which requests would be considered by the City Council and which would not; and it can be divisive to adopt ‘official City positions’ on issues that community members do not wholly agree on,” the resolution read.

Both resolutions were set to

be voted on at Tuesday’s meeting, for which approximately 40 students from the Claremont Colleges attended. At around 6:20 p.m., students carrying hand-painted signs saying “ceasefire now,” “blood on your hands” and “free Palestine” met outside Honnold Mudd Library. Approximately ten minutes later, the group arrived at the Claremont City Hall, where they were joined by numerous other students and community members chanting, “What do we want? Ceasefire. When do we want it? Now.”

Inside, all 70 seats of the council chamber were filled. Other attendees crowded together in a separate viewing room upstairs, in the lobby and outside.

At 7 p.m., the meeting officially began. There were eight items on the agenda, with the first seven being unrelated to the ceasefire and neutrality resolutions. At 7:45 p.m., the discussion surrounding these resolutions, collectively referred to as Item 8, began. After each resolution was introduced, it was clarified that voting in support of Attachment A, the neutrality resolution, would prevent the council from voting on Attachment B, the ceasefire resolution. It was also stated that there were 397 public comments received by mail or email and distributed prior to the meeting. Following the introduction and announcements, comments were opened to the public. These comments continued until 12:29 a.m., with all interested attendees being given the opportunity to speak. After the last attendee spoke, the council members shared their thoughts and voted unanimously to support Attachment A and adopt a neutral position. This prevented them from voting on Attachment B, the ceasefire resolution. Several of the council members reasoned that a resolution made in Claremont would not positively impact the current crisis in Gaza, but would instead cause harm to the local community.

“Words on paper [are] not going to affect [Gaza],” Mayor Pro Tem Corey Calaycay said. “It’s going to take really serious discussions and negotiations to make a change. I don’t want to drag my community into these deep discussions if we don’t have an actual vote that’s

going to change things.”

Council member Jennifer Stark echoed a similar sentiment.

“We heard a lot of people say that, in the time that this meeting happened, more lives had been lost and so I ask you — why then, are you spending time on a symbolic ceasefire gesture instead of working directly where you can end it?” she said. “Not even the state has the authority to make these decisions. It is the federal government. And if seven cities haven’t made an end to this war, eight are not going to either. This is not going to be solved here in these chambers and what a ceasefire would do in our city is cause increased division.”

Mayor Sal Medina concluded the meeting by highlighting the complexity of the topic and suggesting that it was not something that should be addressed in Claremont.

“This topic, even in a six or seven hour meeting, is not enough to scratch the surface,” he said. “We do not have the expertise, nor the time, to really get anywhere close to where we need to be. I believe that local government is local. I believe that our work at City Council is to do the work for our community here in Claremont and for that reason, I would agree with my colleagues and stand behind option A.”

Claremont Community for Palestine, one of twenty organizations that signed onto a Feb. 23 letter calling for Claremont to sign a ceasefire resolution, condemned the city council’s decision in a statement sent to TSL on Feb. 28.

“Neutrality is a political stance,” the statement read. “By choosing non-action during Israel’s ongoing genocide and occupation of Palestine, Claremont City Council averts its gaze from murder. Council members insisted that resolutions on political issues would sow division, as if upholding oppression is not the root cause of division. Hiding behind empty condolences, Claremont chose the wrong side of history again.”

The statement then went on to express the group’s plans to continue organizing for Palestinian liberation.

“Claremont Community for Palestine and its community members are organized, disciplined, and ready to continue holding Claremont’s representatives accountable to Palestinian liberation,” it read. “Free Palestine.”

Sage Harper contributed reporting.

14th WiMSoCal symposium gives platform to women and gender nonconforming people in math

On Saturday, Feb. 24, the 14th Symposium for Women and Gender Minorities in Mathematics in Southern California (WiMSoCal) took place at Pomona College’s Estella Laboratory. The event was held in hopes of creating a supportive environment for women and gender nonconforming people to explore issues surrounding marginalized identities in mathematics.

Ami Radunskaya, Lingurn H. Burkhead Professor of Mathematics at Pomona and one of the founders of WiMSoCal, explained that the event’s purpose was to foster a supportive community and build relationships in the field for participants.

The annual symposium was started by Radunskaya and Cymra Haskell, a professor of mathematics at USC. The two have been working together for over a decade, with their first event occurring in 2009 at Loyola Marymount University, where they hosted a social gathering for like-minded women in mathematics. Since then, they have begun to run the WiMSoCal conference.

“It was very grassroots,” Radunskaya said. “We do our funding and we do everything ourselves. And it’s all local and it’s just for fun.”

The symposium featured many opportunities for mathematicians and people seeking a career in math to network among peers and faculty in a collaborative environment. Activities included a game where attendees were given cards with various shapes and colors and were tasked with finding the other attendees with matching cards, along with a breakout session where those who participated wrote haikus.

Ella Young SC ’24 highlighted the importance of events like this one in offering a space for less formal interactions within the field.

“You get to connect with other people socially,” Young said. “It makes the overall environment of math less of that … rigorous

competitive [type].”

The event kicked off with a welcome talk from the organizers in the John C. Argue Auditorium where organizers explained the event’s itinerary and emphasized its goal of providing a platform for women and gender nonconforming mathematicians to network.

This led into the first of two sessions of research talks, featuring 16 student presenters split into four parallel sessions. The talks ran concurrently, allowing attendees the option of attending one of four sessions depending on their interests.

Each presenter shared their respective research or project and was given an opportunity to receive feedback. Those giving these research talks had to register before the event and submit an abstract about what they wanted to present.

Tian Dong HM ’24 spoke about her thesis, which focuses on how opinions change over time depending on the polarization of one’s opinion and their interactions with others. Specifically, she is working on finding an opinion dynamics model — a model that represents how opinions spread and change within a group of individuals using differential equations — to represent the changes within the community of individuals.

“I had a couple of professors encourage me to [speak],” Dong said. “It just seemed like it would be fun and also cool to share and [I could] use other people to get feedback on my thesis.”

At the event there were many talks about various sectors of math, from opinion dynamics like Dong’s to pure mathematical research. Dong noticed that this was something that was special about the event, explaining the importance of an event like WiMSoCal in creating connections with other researchers in the community of women and gender nonconforming people.

“I think having a lot of people [from] very different back -

grounds and approaches to research is very helpful for seeing different perspectives,” Dong said. “It’s important to hear voices from this community.”

Radunskaya echoed Dong’s emphasis on the importance of an event such as WiMSoCal in creating community among minority groups in the field of math.

“The data shows that women are very much underrepresented in mathematics [on] the professional level and so we think it’s important to support each other,” Radunskaya said. “It’s important to have a friendly space where you can meet other people who are into math.”

Young noted that as a math major, most of her math classes consist of mostly men and noted the importance of events such as this one.

“It can be kind of isolating, especially since I have experienced misogyny in the math classroom,” Young said. “So I wanted to be able to kind of network with other mathematicians of, like, women or gender minorities.”

Young further emphasized the need for spaces in the math field for women and gender nonconforming people.

“It’s also emblematic of, why do we have to have this kind of event in the first place?” Young said. “Because if we didn’t specify [this space] for women and gender minorities, you could anticipate an extremely different imbalance to the opposite direction.”

Apart from identity, some found the symposium important in highlighting the field of math within STEM. Natalie Burton SC

’24 noted that in a STEM community, oftentimes math is left out of the conversation.

“I feel like a lot of science students and professors don’t like math … [a lot of the times] they’re not really promoting math,” Burton said. “So I really like being here [where] everyone’s super excited about math.”

Christina Edholm, assistant professor in mathematics at Scripps College and an organizer of the event, noted that the talk gave people an opportunity to spotlight their research to such a supportive community.

“I think the hope was … to kind of bring back this event that fosters community and openness and really supporting everybody and kind of having a celebration of both research and people,” Edholm said.

AMEYA TELI

JIAYING cAO • ThE STUDENT LIFE

On Feb. 24, Pomona college hosted the 14th Symposium for Women and Gender Minorities in Mathematics in Southern california (WiMSocal).

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9: An Ode to Joy by Pomona College Orchestra and Choir

ANANYA VINAY

Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, with its powerful expressivity and explosive finale, is regarded by many as the greatest symphony ever written.

On Feb. 23 and Feb. 25, the Pomona College Orchestra and Pomona College Choir performed their rendition of the celebrated choral symphony at the Bridges Hall of Music on the 200th anniversary of its premiere.

The choir, directed by Donna Di Grazia, was accompanied by guest vocal soloists Julie Adams, Kelly Guerra, Rodell Rosel and Nmon Ford. The performance was conducted by Eric Lindholm, the orchestra director and professor of music.

The concert sold out within 24 hours, with hopeful attendees waiting in line outside for the chance to fill the seats of any no-shows.

The piece, which runs 70 minutes in length, was Beethoven’s final symphony and conveys the journey of mining joy from life’s struggles. The fourth and final movement is widely recognized around the globe as “Ode to Joy.” Lindholm and Di Grazia reflected on the symphony’s immense scale as well as the intricate logistics of setting up the performance at the Bridges Hall of Music, colloquially known as Little Bridges.

“The symphony is the last grand public statement by a brilliant yet troubled composer who spent his life trying to communicate with people through music,” Lindholm and DiGrazia said via a joint email. “We [had] about 170 people on stage, and Little Bridges, as wonderful as it is, is not designed for that. We’ve extended the stage by 16 feet into the hall.”

Lindholm and Di Grazia attributed the high attendance to sustained promotion since November as well

as excitement from friends and family of the performers.

“The students in the ensembles recognize that this is a once-in-alifetime opportunity,” Lindholm and DiGrazia said in the email.

“Many of them have family and friends who are eager to be in ‘the room where it happens,’ to quote Hamilton.”

The orchestra began the first movement with a propulsive melody akin to a march. This was followed by alternating sections of fast, urgent melodies and ones that built up to a resounding crescendo. The second movement was a typical Beethoven-style scherzo, with a swift A-section interrupted by a graceful and tranquil trio section. The third movement was lyrical, magnificent and slow, with an initial theme that evolved into in-

creasingly elaborate variations leading into the final movement.

Lindholm and Di Grazia reflected on the final movement as a culmination of the emotions developed throughout the progression of the piece.

“The symphony has some very distinctive moments, like the first statement of the ‘Ode to Joy’ melody in the cellos and basses, or the solo baritone’s first entrance,” they said in the email. “But what makes those spots in the finale so effective is that they are encountered in the context of the piece’s full emotional journey, starting with the mystery and suspense of the very first measure.”

The final movement started by quoting the previous three movements.

After this section, there was a pause, followed by a theme, which was played initially by a monophonic line of cellos and basses and then by the rest of the

orchestra in layered variations. The choir joined several minutes later, belting the famous “Ode to Joy” melody with lyrics based on the poem “An die Freude” by Friedrich Schiller. The blend of the sung melody and the orchestra’s thematic variations was transcendent. Serena Li PO ’26, a violinist in the orchestra, enjoyed playing the symphony in its entirety.

“The fourth movement … you hear it all the time, but you never really hear it in its full glory,” Li said. “It’s really nice that in college, we still get to keep [music] as part of our lives because a lot of [the] time, we get too busy to pursue our hobbies.”

Many audible gasps emerged from the audience when the choir rose from their seats in unison and joined the orchestra. The power of

Love language(s)

TANIA AZHANG

There’s something inevitable about ruminating on language while abroad. Of course I’m writing about the troubles of mitigating it, about how the French’s unimpressed stare as you blubber out a question at the grocery store makes you want to dissolve into a puddle of mush, blah blah-blah blah-blah.

For many Americans, language barriers while studying abroad are only a temporary inconvenience.

“It’s so annoying that they don’t speak any English, but it’s fine,” an American will say. “I’ll be back in Huntington Beach by May.”

You should not be eager to return to Huntington Beach.

Sentiments about the futility of learning French, of immersing yourself fully into a different culture, feel disrespectful and trite.

The reason many Americans shirk off learning another language while studying abroad is because they have never been a foreigner; they are used to being the apex predators of the world.

For those of us who have had the unmooring experience of immigration or growing up outside of the United States, it’s nothing new. The challenges of speaking in a foreign language or of having trouble expressing yourself fully and understanding others are business as usual.

This is all to say that I’ve been struggling with language acquisition and barriers myself this semester. I thought that since I had once demonstrated a keen ability to pick up a language quickly (English) and assimilate into a different culture (America), France would be no different.

I’m starting to look more and more like a one-hit wonder.

I find myself staying in the United States when I enter my bedroom: only watching English-language movies and television, thinking in English, lurking on Twitter (I refuse to call it “X”) and laughing at clever new slang.

Meanwhile, I struggle to speak with my host family, often reverting to English when I begin choking in the middle of a sentence. How do I explain the concept of “granola” to middle-aged French people?

The resistance comes from a place of trauma from my past: If I’m going to speak a new language, I better be fluent or I’m not saying a word.

This is an entirely wrong approach.

I admire those around me who speak French with slurry American accents,

confusing their tenses and conjugating incorrectly. The only way to learn is to practice and make mistakes.

I’ve also been in situations with people who speak English as a second language. Sitting around a busy table surrounded by chatter amid opened bottles of wine, I was talking to a Swedish girl about capitalism and Marxism. Although there would be minor miscommunications along the way and I needed to slow my tempo, I found myself delighting in the shared effort we made to understand one another.

Speaking a different language requires camaraderie and effort from both parties. It also demonstrates the essence of human connection: attempting to externalize your innermost thoughts and feelings to relate to another person.

Celine Song’s film “Past Lives” keenly demonstrates the way language helps us further human connections. Centering Korean Canadian-American playwright Nora who married an American, the story explores the nuances of identity — how different facets of one’s identity can be masked by the language wall.

In a scene between Nora and her husband Arthur, Arthur explains why he tries so hard to learn Korean: “You talk in English, you only dream in Korean,” he says. “You dream in a language that I can’t understand. It’s like there’s this whole place inside of you where I can’t go.”

To me, this seems the ultimate expression of love — the effort to truly connect with a person through their native language, even if it means putting yourself in a vulnerable position.

If we really want to connect with those in a different culture, to truly understand how it is for those living outside of the American hegemony, our first step is to make an effort to learn their language.

Language is the way we make a solitary existence communal, finding ways to connect with those around us. Without it, there would be no way to bridge the vast ocean between our separate bodies.

After all, what’s more beautiful than sharing the intimate contents of your mind with another person?

Tania Azhang PZ ’25 is a study abroad columnist currently in France.

the music held their attention for over an hour, but this moment particularly shined. It created an outstanding, vivacious cry to the heavens that communicated unrestrained joy.

“It’s just powerful being able to do it with so many people together at once … It was fun to look at people’s reactions,” choir member Aaron Wu PO ’25 said.

Violinist Aria Wang PO ’27 was pleasantly surprised with the attendance turnout.

“Beethoven’s [Ninth] is incredibly difficult to get together,” Wang said. “I am very astonished by the rate at which we prepared it. This was the first full house I’ve seen for a concert and I never expected it to reach such attention.”

For Ella Tzeng PO ’27, a member of the choir, the familiarity of the fourth movement and the timelessness of the piece alleviated some initial trepidation.

“I just jumped in … It was a lot of fun; it was very worth it,” said Tzeng. “I was very stressed out because I was like, oh my god, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony … and then I started looking at it and said, wait this is just ‘Ode to Joy’ … It was simpler than I expected, which was very nice.”

Attendee Jay Cordes, a parent of a chorister, particularly enjoyed the acoustic experience of hearing the performance from the balcony.

“I had these amazing seats right above the orchestra and it was definitely a new experience to be able to hear the music around me,” Cordes said.

Audience members overwhelmingly found the final movement to be the most outstanding section.

“I was really surprised by the [baritone] solo … it was outstanding,”attendee Oscar Scholin PO ’24 said. “The final movement was just gold.”

Taking wine and dine to the next level at the Ath: Laura Catena on the wine industry

PARISHI KANUGA

On the evening of Feb. 19, the Claremont McKenna College (CMC) Athenaeum offered the usual: fine dining, great conversations and wine.

Instead of the Athenaeum’s (Ath) usual affordable wine selections, however, the menu featured a Malbec, Chardonnay and blend of Malbec and Cabernet from the renowned Bodega Catena Zapata.

In 2023, Bodega Catena Zapata was awarded the top spot on the list of finest vineyards by the World’s Best Vineyards. The Ath’s choices of uncharacteristically exquisite wines were inspired by featured speaker Dr. Laura Catena, a medical doctor and wine expert. Bodega Catena Zapata is Catena’s family winery in Argentina, so, naturally her family’s wines were served to the enthused attendees.

The talk coincided with the last day of CMC’s annual Family Weekend, resulting in a guest list that featured numerous parents of CMC students. Families mingled in the Ath’s Eggert Dining Room, giving students the chance to connect with their peers’ parents. Since the average age of Ath attendees surpassed 21, a higher-than-usual number of participants were able to enjoy the alcoholic perks of the event.

Catena’s path to the top of the wine industry wasn’t quite traditional.

Catena received her medical degree from Stanford University and subsequently worked as a pediatric physician. She never imagined that her career would lead her back into the family business.

“I thought that I’d spend my life drinking the family’s wines, but not making them,” Catena said.

It wasn’t until Catena’s father began asking her to curate selections of wines for family events that she started to develop a deeper knowledge and appreciation. Recognizing her father’s aspiration to elevate the visibility and accessibility of Argentine wines, Catena became determined to assist him. As the years passed, she became more and more immersed in the wine industry.

Catena continued to practice medicine before deciding to hone in on wine.

“I did wine and medicine for 25 years because I also love being a doctor,” Catena said. “But now I’m doing only wine. I’m still the doctor to all my friends and family.”

Catena’s medical background ended up proving especially valuable to her work at the Catena Institute of Wine, a research

cOUrTESY: LEPP0305

institute that she founded with the goal of elevating the quality of Argentine wine. The institute’s studies range from observing how high altitude conditions — a characteristic of Argentine wineries — affect grape quality to understanding why Phylloxera — a grape wine pest — has not yet wreaked havoc at the Catena family vineyards. But Catena discussed more than just taste profiles; she also broke down different facets of the wine industry, including its impact on climate change. High-altitude regions are more resistant to the planet’s warming, she explained, which is affecting grape quality around the world. Catena also delineated the correlation between worker well-being and economic success in her business model.

To Catena, the attitude of those who are working in the winery is of utmost importance. When workers are excited about the work that they’re doing, they tend to be more productive — which improves output.

Moreover, the creation of a winery can bring economic prosperity to a region through opening more jobs and boosting tourism.

A good friend of Catena and a government professor at CMC, Minxin Pei has been a fan of Catena Family wines for over two decades.

“I began to practically buy every wine they made,” Pei said. “[Dr. Catena is] so vivacious, so endearing, so knowledgeable, as we can see from tonight’s talk. She just has the room.”

Catena was not just here for the talk, however. A CMC parent herself, Catena was on campus to spend time with her son, Dante McDermott CM ’24. Earlier, the two had enjoyed brunch at Collins Dining Hall and went on a wine-tasting excursion.

McDermott was overjoyed to hear his mom speak at the Ath and introduce her to his friends on campus. “[I am] happy to hear my mom share her love for Argentina and wine and for healthy drinking habits with my classmates,” McDermott said.

McDermott was particularly excited to see the inclusion of Luca Beso de Dante, a wine blend featuring Malbec and Cabernet fruit, among the selections being served. Malbec is a grape “of highest renown in Medieval Europe” and a focal point of the Catena Institute’s research.

“It was awesome to see the Luca Beso de Dante being served because that wine is named after me and my older brother — which is a huge honor for both of us,” McDermott said.

Catena’s talk concluded with an emphasis on responsible drinking. She cautioned against dangerous behaviors such as drinking copious amounts of wine in a single sitting.

Catena emphasized the following advice which she received from her father.

“For every glass of wine, one glass of water,” Catena said.

Bodega Catena Zapata wines are available for purchase at Claremont’s local wine shop, Packing House Wines.

cELESTE GArTON

• ThE STUDENT LIFE

On Feb. 23 and Feb. 25, the Pomona college orchestra and choir sold out Bridges hall of Music in just 24 hours with

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.

AMErIcAN IN PArIS

Laura catena spoke at the Athenaeum during cMc’s annual Family Weekend.

Unpacking the Claremont Packing House

This week’s article takes us deeper into the Claremont Village by taking a stroll down First Street, where the road is lined with trees, bright neon signs and a host of businesses hoping to grab your attention.

Walk up the wooden steps of the unmissable two-story, block-long building and through the inviting entryway and you’ll soon find yourself surrounded by people chatting or studying and hear the distant whir of a coffee grinder.

Claremont Packing House is the largest historic building in Claremont Village, housing a medley of restaurants, cafes, boutiques and public events. There’s something for everyone: whether you’re looking to buy a gift for a friend (maybe an edible arrangement, or a candle that you can’t legally burn in your dorm), grab a smoothie or shop for vintage clothes, it’s an ideal place to wander around.

For history buffs or anyone like me who enjoys reading random plaques and exhibitions, there’s a display case tucked away in the corner of the building that showcases Claremont’s 19th century citrus industry.

The Claremont Packing House was one of the main locations of citrus labor after opening in 1909. The College Heights Orange and Lemon Association was one of Claremont’s biggest employers and economic forces until it closed in 1972; the Packing House was ultimately restored and reopened in 2007.

Just a century ago, most of the buildings around us looked entirely different. It’s easy to take Claremont’s reputation as a sleepy suburban community for retirees as

all it is and all it has been. However, it’s significant that so much has changed within such a short period. It’s worthwhile to learn a little about the town in which we live.

Although there are a bunch of different businesses in the Packing House that I’d recommend checking out, I’m specifically excited about one: the Claremont Forum Bookshop. The first time I visited the Packing House, I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon the entrance of the shop. One of my favorite activities with my friends back home was spending time in local bookstores and scanning the expansive shelves of our neighborhood Barnes & Noble, rarely buying anything but just enjoying the unattached feeling of browsing. The sticker shock of a $25 hardback was enough to distance us from ever actually purchasing something when we could borrow it from the library or rent it online instead.

However, the Forum Bookshop is special in its near-unbelievable affordability.

As you walk towards the store, you’re greeted by a shelf packed with books under a sign listing their two-for-$1 deal. As you move inside, natural light streaming in from the sloping windows above you, you’ll find shelves of literature and media sorted by subject and interest, from a collection of staff picks to vintage Disney comics. Many of the used books fall between $1 to $3.

Now, this is the most important tip of all: If you’re looking for a specific book for a class, this is the place to go. I visited the bookshop a few weeks ago with zero expec-

tations of finding the specific anthology I’d been wanting to purchase for my Spanish class but somehow walked out with the exact copy I’d been looking for — and having only paid $1. One of my friends was also able to find a Shakespeare book for her literature class.

Before you go to Amazon or the Honnold-Mudd Library’s Huntley Bookstore to purchase something for a class, especially if it’s for humanities or languages, stop by the Forum Bookshop to see what they have in stock.

The Forum Bookshop is also unique in that it’s nonprofit and runs exclusively on donated, used books. Proceeds from all the store’s sales go towards the Prison Library Project, a book-to-prisoners program and nonprofit organization that provides literary resources to incarcerated individuals.

If you’re interested in learning more, the Prison Library Project also has a booth at the Claremont Village Farmers Market, where they sell books and provide opportunities to get involved. You can also shop for new books online, if you’re looking for a fresh read and want to donate to the cause. Stroll on over to the Packing House! If you’re already on your way over because you’re looking for a good study spot, there’s a lot to explore. While you’re at it, come with a list of books you’ve been wanting to buy. You might just find what you’re looking for.

Michelle Zhang PO ’27 is from the Bay Area. She’s a proud lefty and considers people-watching a hobby.

The (cheesy) reason I love Dr. Grubbs

Throughout my time at Pomona College thus far, I’ve been fortunate to have many friends from home pay me a visit. Claremont is only about a 35-minute drive from where I grew up in Orange County and so, over the years, I’ve had a handful of friends meet me on my college stomping grounds for a quick campus tour and a meal in the Claremont Village. I’ve spent some time reflecting on these sweet visits with the people I love and I’ve realized that almost always, I take them to Dr. Grubbs.

I don’t exactly remember when I tried Dr. Grubbs for the first time — it may have been during the summer after my first year when, after a long day of tour-guiding in the relentless Claremont heat (I worked for Pomona’s admissions office that summer), I needed a hearty meal. It could have also been when I was strolling through the Village before the start of sophomore fall, or perhaps when my father helped me move in one semester — my memory of the exact date and time is fuzzy.

However, what I do remember about my first Dr. Grubbs experience is that I left absolutely enamored by their chicken and pasta.

I was utterly delighted at the sight of a hearty piece of chicken sitting atop a generous pile of golden penne with a small container of a vivid reddish-orange tomato pesto on the side. I remember taking the time to carefully place some noodles and chicken on my fork and dip them into the pesto (without dropping either piece) before plopping it into my mouth. It was the perfect cheesy, nutty, tomato-y bite and the chicken tasted remarkably fresh, too. Before I knew it, I had wiped my plate clean.

I realize that it is because of this exquisite flavor experience that I always bring my Claremont visitors to Dr. Grubbs. We sit across large plates of pesto penne and chicken and sometimes veggies and potatoes (as a creature of habit, I almost always get the pasta as the side, but the steamed broccoli crowns and herb-roasted

potatoes are delicious, too) and catch up on all the mundane and exciting happenings in our lives.

Sure enough, when my friend Amy visited me the other day, we came to Dr. Grubbs for lunch. As we were eating (as in, stuffing forkfuls of pasta in my mouth), we spoke about something deeper and more meaningful than the conversation matter at your average friend-meal.

Amy had just graduated from college in the fall and so, here we were talking about the frightening unknown of post-grad life, the frustrating but well-meaning career inquiries we get from the adults around us and our desire to get all of our friends together sometime soon to see what everyone has been up to.

Amy and I have been friends since elementary school — we experienced everything together from silly school plays to college applications, to even rooming together in Korea for three months (and getting cookies in the rain) — and now we were sitting at this little restaurant in my little college town, reminiscing on the moments that have marked our friendship and looking forward to our twenties and beyond.

I’m grateful for Dr. Grubbs — and especially for its tomato pesto penne topped with chicken — for holding space for sweet conversations with friends from old.

As a current third-year, I still have another full year left at Pomona. But that just means that I’ll have more opportunities to welcome visitors, take them to this restaurant, share how much I’ve grown since coming to college and celebrate their milestones, too.

After all, nothing quite accompanies cheesy reflections on growing up and growing old than some cheesy pasta.

Emily Kim PO ’25 is from Irvine, California. Her flex dollars are slowly dwindling because she is tempted to get a lavender latte every time she enters the library.

Deer, death, and the art of the children’s film

They don’t make children’s movies like “Bambi” anymore.

This isn’t an appeal to my own nostalgia. I don’t consider myself a big Disney Fan and I had no history with the film until about a week ago. It’s just an observation. They don’t make movies like “Bambi” anymore.

It’s traditionally animated of course — inked frames on painted backdrops have all but gone the way of the celluloid dinosaur — but there’s something else, some cervine je ne sais quoi that makes “Bambi” feel like the fossil relic of an extinct medium.

“Bambi” isn’t very complicated. That’s not to say that it isn’t deep or artful, but its story is certainly easy to follow. The narrative is light. The scenes are loose. The characters are simple. It is minimally invested in hardline adherence to plot and maximally invested in exploring its rich aesthetics, themes and emotions.

It’s a deceptively simple story about decidedly complex subject matter. It is, I think, a perfect encapsulation of the traits that make for a truly great children’s film.

It’s just really neat to look at, for one. The animation is lively. The painted backgrounds are lush. There’s a real sense of texture to it that’s absent in smoother, shinier cartoons. It’s pleasant on the eyes and technically impressive, of course, but it’s also a little rough and odd and interesting.

Artistry is not wasted on children. Their standards may not be especially high, but their capacity for appreciation is tremendous. I remember pausing my favorite VHS tapes to admire the backdrops. I remember religiously watching behind-the-scenes footage of animators inking frames and sculpting puppets. This stuff was fascinating to me. It made me want to draw pictures and write down stories. It was generative and engrossing. As small as I was, I knew it was important.

Children value good art. They are curious. They’re creative. Their appreciation for craftsmanship is forming in real-time and great children’s films, animated or otherwise,

foster that appreciation. In the case of “Bambi” these aesthetics lend themselves nicely to a narrative that is comfortable with being somewhat slow. I think that’s wonderful. There are, of course, requisite bursts of exciting, technicolored action, but the bulk of the film’s events are minor. They don’t propel anyone into the throes of conflict, nor are they overly stimulating. The film’s barely longer than an hour and the bulk of it is patient, thoughtful and experiential. It’s nice. It feels nourishing.

The simple plot does wonders here. It is not a bulleted list of tightly connected events that carries the narrative of “Bambi,” but something less concrete; in “Bambi,” that story weight is upheld by the thematic and the emotional.

This is a movie about relationships between the natural and the constructed. It’s a film about the inevitability of change and the unfairness of it. It’s a film about seeing the world for the first time. A child might not pick up on all these concepts — they might not pick up on any of them — but they are present. They’re within a child’s grasp, accessible enough to foster curiosity but complex enough to give them something to chew on as they grow and experience the world for themselves.

Just as children can appreciate deep themes, they can appreciate being made to feel things. “Bambi” meets children at this level. It deals in emotional vignettes that are rich, specific and constantly transforming. Each loose offshoot of the bare plot explores a young deer experiencing new feelings for the first time. Moments of whimsy blend into moments of awe, which melt into bashfulness, fear and amusement. It’s kind of magical.

And then there’s the scene.

The death of Bambi’s mother is wrenching. There is nothing just or graceful about it. An innocent animal is met with violence that comes out of nowhere and happens in an instant. It’s a tear-jerker (and arguably a manipulative one) but it’s seriously affecting.

What gets me the most is the silence. The confirmation of a

mother’s passing is not met with a grand emotional swell, but with chilling stillness. It’s almost unbearable. Upon the entrance of Bambi’s father, the Prince, the haunting score abruptly fades into a great, weighty span of noiselessness. This is an extended moment of mandatory reflection, and it is brutal. It made me tear up as an adult. It would have ruined me as a kid.

There’s something to be said about art for children that deals in measured devastation. The best children’s stories are, almost certainly, the mildly traumatic ones.

Being a child is an upsetting experience. We are small and our emotions are larger than we can understand and the world is rare-

ly sympathetic to that. But these emotions exist. They’re intense. They’re necessary. Learning to grieve cannot happen without grief. Fears cannot be overcome without fear.

Good children’s films play into empathy. They let us grapple with emotions that we are unprepared to grapple with and they allow us to do so mostly without consequence. That’s the beauty of them: they’re fiction. They aren’t real. It’s good for children to feel sadness sometimes. It’s good for them to be scared and excited and joyous too and isn’t it incredible that we can experience all these things through fictional deer? That’s remarkable. That shouldn’t be shied away from.

The sadness of “Bambi” does not last forever. After the bitterness of winter comes the new life of spring. Time passes. Fawns become stags. The loss never dissipates, but the wound grows less tender. The world is lush and warm and sometimes very cruel, but there is some solace to be found within it: For as long as there are friends to reconnect with and people to love and baby deer in the springtime, life does end when we grieve. Powerful stuff.

Gerrit Punt PO ’24 also grew up in the middle of the woods. In that regard, he has a lot in common with a baby deer. He is not a child psychologist, nor does he claim to be — another trait he shares with most baby deer.

GERRIT PUNT

VANESSA hO • ThE STUDENT LIFE

MICHELLE ZHANG

KAYA

FrAME rATING

Michelle Zhang PO ’27 takes a trip to the claremont Packing house to visit the Forum Bookshop.

Interfaith challah-making event braids together

Muslim and Jewish students

There are few feelings as universal as ripping into freshly baked bread, warm and fluffy right out of the oven.

On the evening of Feb. 23, the two dozen Muslim and Jewish students crowded into the kitchen of Scripps College’s Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Residence Hall savored that pleasure together at the interfaith challah-making event hosted by the 7C Muslim Student Association (MSA) and Nishmat, a student-run Jewish collective.

The organizations started their collaborations last year, including co-hosting an interfaith Iftar, the meal Muslims use to break their fast each evening of Ramadan. This time around, Nishmat invited MSA to join in baking challah, a traditional braided sweet bread typically eaten during Jewish holidays and used in the Shabbat prayers that usher in the weekly day of rest. Students from both MSA and Nishmat formed pre-made dough into small balls before rolling each one out into a stretchy rope on the dining table. The small kitchen filled with the smell of flour and the sound of laughter and conversation as attendees braided their strands to make mini loaves. Many attendees teamed up to attempt increasingly complex patterns, following YouTube tutorials for four, five and six-strand braids.

“I’ve seen a lot of challah-making videos on TikTok before and I was just interested in actually learning how to do it,” attendee and MSA board member Noelle Hassan SC ’27 said. “This is very relaxing, honestly, just getting together with people, making food. I think food is the way to everyone’s heart.”

It was hard to miss the symbolism

of the challah bread itself — the weaving together of individual strands to create something more beautiful than the sum of its parts.

“Many of our MSA members are of Middle Eastern descent and bread making is something very near and dear to us as well,” MSA’s co-President Kumail Afshar PO ’25 said. “The last time I kneaded dough was with my mom over winter break and it was such a familiar feeling. It really made me realize the deep cultural kinship I have with my Jewish brothers and sisters.”

Each bespoke loaf was brushed with an egg wash and optionally topped with chocolate chips, rainbow sprinkles, or everything-bagel seasoning before joining the others

in the oven. Students mingled in the courtyard to watch the sunset.

Once the first loaves emerged from the oven and the first few stars appeared in the sky, Nishmat’s Noa Polish SC ’26 led a short Shabbat service, blessing the wine and challah.

“There’s so much that we have in common,” Polish said when asked about her motivations for hosting the event. “Of course, we have our own traditions and our own lived experiences … But I think it’s really important for people to get to know other people who are different from them and to find commonalities.”

With Israel’s ongoing siege of Gaza now reaching a death toll of over 30,000 with no end in sight, MSA and Nishmat organizers feel a

responsibility to build an interfaith community.

“Jewish-Muslim solidarity is very key in these trying times, especially as there are many who seek to sow division between us, especially those in positions of power,” Afshar said. “The genocide in Gaza has led a lot of people to falsely believe this is a Jewish-Muslim conflict, while in reality some of the biggest advocates for Palestinians, on campus as well as nationally, have been Jews. Rather than divide us, this conflict has really strengthened the bond that peace-loving Jews and Muslims have on campus by standing up for the rights to life and liberty of the Palestinian people,” Afshar said. In addition to mixers and re-

ligious events, some of the organizations’ collaborations in the past several months have been more explicitly political.

Last December, Nishmat led a group of over 40 Jewish students in a Shabbat sit-in in solidarity with MSA calling for Pomona College President Gabrielle Starr to make a statement against Israel’s attacks on Gaza.

The students wore shirts and carried signs with the slogan “Not In Our Name,” pushing back against the conflation of opinions between Claremont’s Jewish students and the state of Israel.

“We did Shabbat in Alexander Hall in support of [the demands] the [MSA] made of Gabi Starr,” Polish said. “Now, there are new [demands] and we’re moving forward and always trying to listen. And we can do a better job, always.”

The organizers argued that an event as modest as making and breaking bread together can be an act that strengthens both political and interpersonal support. The key is opening a channel of communication and empathy.

“Right now, Jewish fear is being weaponized against our Arab peers,” Nishmat’s Zoë Jacobs SC ’26 said. “It’s really important to not take someone’s view as a monolithic statement and to listen to the needs of individuals.”

At the end of the evening, each attendee left with a few warm challah loaves and a few new friends.

“Checking in [on your Muslim friends] I think is important, especially right now,” Hassan said. “I know a lot of hijabis on campus who feel very targeted sometimes and it can be nice to just know that your friends are there for you.”

The tribe has spoken: ‘Survivor: Claremont’ season 3 is here I’m a gorpcore poser and I’m not ashamed

ADRIANA MACIEL

“Survivor” enthusiasts will rejoice to hear that The Claremont Challenge, a 5C student-led production inspired by the beloved reality TV series, is making its triumphant return.

The CBS show “Survivor” is a reality TV program where contestants are sent to a remote island to compete in challenges, form alliances and strategize to be the last one standing. The Claremont Challenge Club, which takes inspiration from the show, has created a 5C version known as “Survivor: Claremont” where student-producers cast peers as participants, draft challenges and film the program. Contestants are interviewed throughout the taping, adding humor and drama.

On Feb. 21, The club screened the first episode of their third season titled, “OMG.” The season was filmed last fall and will be released in full this semester.

The episode introduced the 18 contestants, who were divided into three tribes: Brains (green bandanas), Beauty (purple bandanas) and Brawn (orange bandanas).

In the first challenge each of the three tribes attempt to solve a puzzle by finding clues scattered around Scripps, Pitzer and Claremont McKenna Colleges. Ultimately, the Brains tribe won the challenge with Beauty taking second place.

The episode ended with a second challenge in which students are blindfolded and have to find clues on the Pitzer Clocktower to solve a crossword puzzle.

The Brains won again, with Beauty and Brawn close behind.

The Claremont Challenge was founded by Will Pakenas PZ ’23 out of his love for “Survivor”. While the first two seasons were not fully filmed, the club had gained enough support and momentum by the third season to begin filming the activities.

Executive producer George Zhang PZ ’25 explained his experience as both a cast member and a member of the crew.

“I [first got involved] when I was [cast as] a participant on season 2 of Survivor Claremont,” Zhang said. “I had a really fun time and decided to

get involved with the production side of things. Over the past few months, I’ve been editing this past season and I’ve also been making preparations for the new one which I am really excited for.”

Applications for “Survivor: Claremont” open every semester and typically receive 30-40 responses per cycle. After carefully reviewing each application, the crew does their best to ensure diversity and representation between the colleges in their casting.

“We try to make sure that all schools and a variety of grades are represented,” Zhang said. “We just want to make sure to cast people who we feel like would have a lot of fun.”

As for the creation of the challenges themselves, season 3 player Bayley Bauer PZ ’26 says each of the challenges entail mental, physical and endurance components.

“It’s just fun to have a nice little thing to compete against other people and I tend to be a competitive person, so it’s nice having this thing I do every week,” Bauer said.

The season 3 premiere amassed a large crowd at the viewing party, prompting the producers to announce that season 4 had started filming.

“We have an expanded group, which I am really excited for,” Zhang said of the upcoming season. “We have people from the previous season who’ve decided to come in and join and we’ve really created an environment where a lot more ideas are going into the creation of this season and that will hopefully lead to more exciting gameplay and challenges.”

New contestants were also in attendance at the screening.

“I know nothing about ‘Survivor,’ but I happen to live with some ‘Survivor’ superfans … so I have been coerced into joining,” Annie Voss PZ ’26 said. “I don’t get to be competitive very often, but I think that when I am competitive I have a lot of fun with it.”

Episodes are available on The Claremont Challenge YouTube channel, which is slated to drop all season 3 episodes soon.

LISA GORELIK

During the past couple of rainy days, with only the hood of my jacket to rescue me from the atmospheric river that has descended upon Claremont, I have been unable to ignore my classmates’ new stylistic additions: Arc’teryx rain jackets.

Not only has an overpowering and all-absorbing envy of these protective coats taken over me, but I’m also stunned at the sheer amount of these coats that I see in circulation around Claremont McKenna College (CMC).

The question I keep asking myself: “Why does everyone suddenly need an uber-expensive jacket, designed for extreme weather conditions, during the singular rainy week in Southern California?”

Now, of course, there is nothing wrong with being prepared and purchasing a rain-resistant piece of clothing (I sure wish I had).

My issue with this particular item is that the price for an Arc’teryx jacket is over $300. Is there really no good alternative that will protect you from getting drenched and not cost you an arm and a leg? Why is it this exact model of rain jacket that Claremont students decided was worth that kind of money?

These are questions that have been bugging me long before the winter storms and the Arc’teryx craze. If I could encapsulate the California fashion scene in one clothing brand, it would undoubtedly be Patagonia. From simple logo t-shirts to puffer jackets, vests, backpacks and fleece pullovers; wherever you go in California, you are guaranteed to spot one of these items, made easily identifiable by the inch-long “Patagonia” label on the left breast pocket area — especially in Silicon Valley, where our finest CMC econ bros are keeping the “Patagonia vest in the office” stereotype alive.

Again, these items are not cheap. Most of them set you back at least $100.

Why are these two high-end, luxury outdoor goods brands — Arc’teryx and Patagonia — such a hit with Claremont students, even when they are not being utilized for their intended purpose of outdoor activity?

This is where “Gorpcore” comes in. “Gorpcore” is used to describe the fashion trend of specialized outdoor clothing being worn as streetwear fashion. That is, in dayto-day life. “Gorpcore” was first coined by Jason Chen in his article for “The Cut” which predicted the rise of the trend’s popularity in 2017. However, the trend didn’t fully catch on with the public until two or three years ago, even though Patagonia and Arc’teryx had been around for decades at that time. Now, the popularization of wearing jackets intended for skiing and pants made for climbing to class is a new phenomenon.

To be clear, I have no issues with the brands themselves, their price points nor their mission. I am not writing this to justify or criticize why gorpcore fashion costs a fortune. This is just a fact of capitalism. And I have no questions for the outdoors community and their reasons for investing in this clothing, as I’m sure they have a perfectly valid explanation based on functionality.

But still — why is gorpcore a trend among college students of all demographics?

This was my mindset up until Thanksgiving break, after which my opinions took a turn in favor of gorpcore. What prompted this sudden change, you may ask?

Well, as much as it pains me to say this, a trip to Seattle was what sealed the deal. When I landed in Washington, I felt like I was in a Patagonia utopia. It was completely unavoidable. I made a couple of jokes about it to my friend who hosted me in Seattle before going into an Arc’teryx store downtown on the day of my departure. I thought: What is a better souvenir to commemorate this trip than the infamous Arc’teryx logo beanie?

And yes, I caved and bought it. First as an ironic memento, which upon my return to Claremont,

quickly became my ultimate accessory.

Even though the beanie was the perfect addition to my wardrobe, I felt like a fool and a traitor to my principles. To make matters worse, I am wearing my new favorite patterned Patagonia fleece as I write this very column.

But don’t be so quick to judge! Let me explain myself. No, I don’t ski. No, I don’t climb. No, I don’t hike. And when I camp, I sleep on an inflatable mattress in the trunk of my car. I cannot claim to need these pieces for functionality — I am a poser. And there is nothing wrong with that.

When I shop, I rely on three main criteria in my decision-making process: fit, design and price.

If the item that I am considering purchasing meets this criteria, then I go for it. And my beanie and fleece not only meet these standards, but excel in them. So why shouldn’t I rock them?

We are all vulnerable to the micro-trends that circulate on social media and in pop culture and even I, a style columnist who is supposed to have a well-defined, personal sense of style, am not immune to these fads.

I was coerced into buying Patagonia and Arc’teryx. And I do not regret it.

But let’s get one thing straight: The dollar amount that I paid for these items is nowhere near the price of an Arc’teryx rain jacket. You will not catch me in one of those, dead or alive. All of this is to ask you to embrace your gorpcore poser identity if you feel so inclined. You don’t have to be climbing Mount Everest to wear a hat with a cool design on it. And these items don’t have to break your bank — steer away from the outerwear and stick with accessories, or have a scavenge on resale websites like Depop or eBay.

But if you are spending hundreds of dollars on a jacket that you will probably wear a couple of times a year just because of the logo on your chest … maybe consider climbing an actual mountain to justify your purchase.

Elizaveta (Lisa) Gorelik CM ’25 is from Moscow, Russia. She is ecstatic to take out her Patagonia fleece to the Grand Canyon during spring break.

SANDEr PETErS • ThE STUDENT LIFE

NIKKI SMITH

ELIZA SMITh • ThE STUDENT LIFE

FAShION BIBLE

The claremont challenge club is back with the third season of their popular student-run production.

Nishmat and MSA organizers emphasized the importance of Jewish-Muslim solidarity amidst Israel’s ongoing siege of Gaza with an inter-faith baking event.

SHS has made great steps for HIV prevention, but the struggle to access HIV care isn’t over

ADAM AKINS

In recognition of World AIDS Day in 2018, Donnie Denon CG ’21 wrote an opinion for TSL calling attention to the need for immediate accessibility of HIV preventative measures at the 7Cs.

“For college students, HIV is often depicted as something ubiquitous, nefarious and yet not that much of a problem,” Denon wrote.

But that’s not necessarily the case anymore.

Five years later, Student Health Services (SHS) is offering a landmark treatment for student health at the 7Cs in the form of preventive medicine that can exponentially lower the chances of infection after exposure to HIV.

The newest additions to the arsenal in the fight against infection are Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and Post-Exposure Pro -

phylaxis (PEP). These are key in allowing queer communities, who were hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic, to have safe sexual experiences. Both PrEP and PEP have great clinical success in decreasing the chances of infections in scenarios such as needle sticks, sexual intercourse or failures of other preventative measures. This June marks 43 years since the start of the AIDS epidemic. Affecting an estimated 85.6 million people and resulting in the deaths of about 40.4 million, the epidemic has affected a population equal to 10 times the metro population of San Francisco. Advancements in medical science, however, have decreased infection rates and changed AIDS from the death sentence it once was to a manageable — even preventable — disease.

Despite this great step forward

M a XINE LE • T h E STUDENT LIFE

for the Claremont community and immense changes to the landscape of healthcare, legislature and preventative care, the greater California community still struggles to make these HIV preventative measures accessible.

When Denon wrote their opinion, Truvada — the primary formulation of PrEP medication held by Gilead Sciences — sat at a hefty $2000 for a month’s supply. This made the medication inaccessible for people without health insurance and put a strain on medical and medicare systems.

In 2020, Gilead’s existing patent (thankfully) expired, allowing generic alternatives to hit the market. This made treatment easier to obtain by reducing outof-pocket costs for students.

Still, despite this win for accessibility, Gilead extended their new patent —and continued to

make a profit. Patent extension methods like this are frequently employed in the pharmaceutical industry and, in this case, cause vital services that predominantly support queer and minority communities to be largely out of reach. California took massive steps of its own toward accessibility in 2019, introducing Senate Bill 159. The bill allowed pharmacists to furnish medication for both PrEP and PEP without a prescription or positive test for HIV after completion of a 90-minute online training, making California the first state to enact a law of this kind.

Senate Bill 159 removed a huge barrier to care— especially on college campuses.

Before this legislation, SHS didn’t prescribe or administer PrEP or PEP. Students were required to obtain a referral from SHS and a doctor’s appointment from an outside service before they could access medication covered by the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP).

Now, students can receive a prescription, access medication on campus and have guaranteed insurance coverage.

Despite the Center for Disease Control’s recommendations for anyone at high risk to get this medication (due to the minimal side effects) only 11 percent of pharmacists in California have furnished PrEP or PEP.

On a scale that measures the ratio of PrEP users in 2022 to the number of people diagnosed in 2021 in each state, California ranks in the middle. This stat — used as a benchmark to measure disparities between a community’s demonstrated need and need met by medical professionals — should be higher considering that California has undertaken more legislative change than almost any other state in the country.

Additionally, studies of graduating medical school classes in 2021 found that 20 percent of students were unaware of PrEP and 30 percent reported low confidence in counseling patients about PrEP. Given SHS’ limited availabil-

ity of resources, it’s likely that awareness rates on the Claremont campuses aren’t much different.

SHS doesn’t currently list PrEP as a service under the sexual health section of their website, even though they provide this service. In fact, PrEP and PEP are only displayed in two places on the website: Buried deep in the list of all services provided and under a listing for appointment types shown while attempting to schedule a sexual and reproductive health appointment.

PrEP and PEP’s lack of visibility on SHS’ website is another obstacle in education about HIV preventative measures.

The medical and 7C communities have both taken great steps forward since Doney wrote their opinion highlighting the need for PrEP accessibility — but more is

Both PrEP and PEP have great clinical success in decreasing the chances of infections in scenarios such as needle sticks, sexual intercourse or failures of other preventative measures.

required to make HIV infection a thing of the past. We live in a world where HIV can be confidently prevented as often as 99 percent of the time by a medicine that is covered by Medicare, accessible without prescription and has minimal side effects. And yet, due to a lack of knowledge, training and care for the queer and minority communities affected, infection persists.

Let’s not wait another five years to make PrEP accessible and take the necessary steps to decrease the spread of HIV.

Adam Akins PZ ’27 is a Sports Editor and photographer at TSL who was lucky to grow up with a mom who shared her passion for public health and HIV care with him.

Imagine this: You’re shopping at the Goodwill Bins when a group of shoppers decked out in Carhartt jackets, Stüssy fleeces, double-knee carpenter pants (extra points if they’re camo) and Birkenstock Bostons burst through the front door.

You guessed it. Say goodbye to your leisurely Sunday morning thrifting.

Their popular branded garments might be a clue, but these clothing resellers find many ways to make themselves known. The “Bins Demons” — as my brother and I have come to dub them — have a sixth sense for low-priced items with high demand and will stop at nothing to buy as many of them as possible.

Consequently, their practices are actively ruining thrifting as an experience and as a concept.

At places like the Goodwill Bins — where the method of shopping is to pick through various piles of clothing in plastic tubs at a low price per pound — there is an unspoken but established standard. Most shoppers will choose one bin to browse through at a time and those with good etiquette wait until another bin is left unattended before moving on.

Meanwhile, the Bins Demons like to divide and conquer. They rush through each pile as quickly as possible, throwing clothes around and placing whatever catches their eye into their carts so that no one else can snatch them up. If accompanied by fellow resellers, they tend to gather and

human need. They provide jobs and support for lower and middle-income households.

Thrifting is also meant for buyers searching to do their part in being environmentally conscious and counteracting the harmful fast fashion industry. With thrifting’s rise in popularity, people who can typically afford high-end clothing have started to turn their attention to second-hand clothing options — and resellers have taken it to another extreme.

These resellers are quite literally changing the environment of thrift stores. In recent years, my local Goodwill warehouse has attempted to minimize the rush and chaos created by these invasive resale shoppers through a raffle system

these spaces, as prices on Depop are typically higher than most retail stores. Proponents of reselling might claim that their methods are no different than regular thrifting because these garments are on their last stop before the landfill — but my reservations lie in the intent of the reseller.

Buying clothes second-hand still means you’re buying more clothes. Resellers go out of their way to buy as much as possible to make a profit, so really they’re just displacing the waste. It’s selfish and inconsiderate of others — especially those who rely on thrifts for affordable clothing. Resellers’ practices defeat the purpose of thrifting by purporting consumerist values. It’s always fun to find some -

thing unique that you wouldn’t be able to buy at a fast fashion store. Thrifting is a way to actively subvert trend cycles and encourage originality through expression. You’re allowed to enjoy second-hand shopping and finding pieces for yourself, but your intentions for shopping matter.

The next time you go thrifting, you might want to consider if you’re buying something because of its value, or because you like it and have plans to wear it often. Resellers have instilled a competitive aspect into the thrifting community, but we don’t have to follow the example they’ve set.

Grace Kim SC ’27 is from San Diego, California. She loves listening to movie soundtracks, eating sour candy and reading Letterboxd reviews.

GRACE

Don’t be scared, embrace the nuanced art of horror films

What could be better than watching iconic American horror films and analyzing them with scholarly theory? For me, at least, that sounds like a dream — and in my media studies class all about the genre of horror, I have the privilege of doing exactly this.

However, after six weeks in the class, I have picked up on a nagging discrepancy: Even though my classmates and I make up part of a loyal cult audience for horror films, horror is still generally regarded as low-class entertainment.

Hollywood studios and major award bodies have consistently underrated and undermined the horror genre. It is time for them to give horror movies the love they deserve. Through visceral and often explicit content, horror films provide profound social commentary and exploration of complex themes.

Confronting these elements can be uncomfortable and complicated, but through films such as Jordan Peele’s “Us” (2019), themes such as human repression can be magnificently demonstrated.

Peele’s ingenious portrayal of confronting repressed fears and desires in “Us” is commendable.

Through suspenseful jumpscares, he elicits both physical and figurative fear, highlighting the mishandling of internal emotions — something only the genre of horror could create.

For me, horror films are an art form that creates allegory and unique symbolism to reflect society’s current critical issues and I am not alone in this belief. However, this was not the case for many critics. “Us” infamously failed to receive due recognition for skillfully addressing sensitive societal issues through cinematic techniques.

Hollywood studios and award bodies are commonly perceived as highly credible sources for what should be deemed as good and bad

quality cinema, but their treatment of horror films calls this credibility into question. Narrow-minded perspectives on horror films have been perpetuated by a multitude of actions from Hollywood studios and award bodies.

Hollywood studios tend to release horror films in January and February, which are known as “dump months.” Domestic audiences are the smallest during these months, so studios strategically

rock wizard and small man wizard are best friends.

put out a slew of (in their eyes) films of low cinematic quality. The occurrence of horror genre releases during these dump months is no accident.

The dump strategy disadvantages horror films’ recognition by the Academy Awards. Movies that publicly debut after Jan. 1 are unable to qualify for Oscars until the subsequent year, meaning that they are prone to being overlooked by critics, viewers and award voters since they are old news by the time

the following award season wraps up. Notably, films of the Academy Awards’ favorite genres — drama, romance and war — are released in prime summer or holiday months. Clearly, Hollywood studios believe that many horror movies are below par for cinematic quality. But time and time again, they’re being proven wrong. Two of arguably the greatest horror movies of all time, “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991) and “Get Out” (2017), were released

in February and blew the studios’ expectations out of the water.

“The Silence of the Lambs” became the third film in Academy history to win the “Big Five” Academy Awards for screenwriting, acting, directing and producing. “Get Out” took home the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and was nominated for three other awards in directing and acting. These are two of the just six horror films that have been nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.

Horror movies are provocative art forms — Hollywood studios and major award bodies should recognize them as art even if they are difficult to view. Horror films provide a platform to confront physical gore and societal issues, allowing viewers to explore evil and face fears within the controlled movie screen.

Although watching gore can be unpleasant, these films spark dialogue, raise awareness and encourage critical engagement with difficult topics. This promotes healthy processing rather than suppression of societal problems.

Drama, war and romance films may be easier to swallow, but this does not constitute them as higher art forms in comparison to horror films.

I’m not saying that decorated films are overhyped. Great works of art have been carved from these familiar genres. But the darkness horror provides challenges us with something other genres do not: the unfamiliar.

Next time you are faced with a horror movie trailer or choose to watch a horror film, make the effort to look past its literal meaning. No genre compels us to confront our fears as profoundly as horror does. Studios and major award bodies are too scared to recognize their glory — but you shouldn’t be.

Tess McHugh PO ’25 is from Denver, Colorado. She loves the Kiawah Island beach, Aperol Spritzes and Peloton.

Big

Sagehens baseball give Whitman Blues the weepies in 2-1 series whopping

CHARLOTTE RENNER

Sagehens baseball faced the afternoon blues after dropping the last game of a three leg series to Whitman College, 9-3, at home on Saturday, Feb. 24 at Alumni Field. Pomona-Pitzer (P-P) still took the series 2-1, shutting out the Blues 6-0 on Friday and 7-0 on Saturday morning, but they fell short of a sweep with Saturday’s loss.

The Hens’ pitching staff shone in the first two games of the series, holding Whitman to eight hits and no runs over 18 combined innings.

Jake Hilton PO ’25 started Friday’s game for P-P and pitched six innings, allowing four hits and striking out five batters. Eric Prough PO ’24 and Jack Wiessinger PZ ’27 closed out the game, striking out three and allowing no hits.

Hannoh Seo PO ’26 started on

Saturday morning and pitched seven innings, allowing three hits and striking out four batters. Prough and Jake Albro PO ’24 each pitched one inning to finish the shutout and give Seo the win.

P-P also got their bats moving in the first two games of the series, helping them to a combined 13 runs. First baseman Cooper Berry PZ ’27 said that an effort from both sides of the ball helped the Hens to these two wins.

“Bats were hot,” Berry said. “This series overall we had two shutouts, so really proud of our [pitching] staff. I thought they did a great job this weekend.”

However, going into game three the bats cooled off. The Hens were not able to generate the same offensive and defensive power that they needed to secure the sweep. Berry attributed this to

the possibility that the team put too much pressure on themselves for perfection.

“Game threes are always tough after you win the first two,” Berry said. “Trying to sweep, I think we were trying to be too perfect.”

Game three was a rough outing for starter Harry Deliyannis PO ’24 with Whitman opening the game by putting two men on with a pair of singles. Whitman broke open the scoring with a double down the third base line and added a sacrifice fly to bring in the two runners. However, with two outs and one on, shortstop Greg Pierantoni PO ’27 stopped the bleeding, making a diving stop on a hard hit ball and throwing out the runner at first to end the inning. Right fielder Nate Jakobs PZ

’24 compared the game to their previous face off against Lewis and Clark College on Sunday, Feb. 18 when they lost 2-10. He said he was pleased with the team’s performance in the first two games of the series, but noticed the difference in effort in game three.

“I think we had a similar issue today that we had against Lewis and Clark in game four last weekend, in that we came out a little flat,” Jakobs said. “We came out in the first two games against two really good arms and we came out with really good focus and a really detailed plan and I don’t think that every at bat in game three was as detailed as it was in games one and two.”

The next Whitman score came on a three run homer in the top of the fourth, followed by a pitching

change that brought in William Wallace PO ’27 for his third appearance of the season. Wallace pitched two and a half scoreless innings before an RBI double in the seventh increased Whitman’s lead to 6-0. He was replaced by Weston Janavs PZ ’24 in the eighth.

It wasn’t until the bottom half of the inning that P-P responded with Isaac Kim PO ’24 smashing a three run homer to dead center. Jakobs commented on Kim’s performance, describing high expectations for his teammate.

“I think that’s the first of a lot this year,” Jakobs said. “I think we’re gonna see a lot of really hard hit balls from Isaac Kim.”

This hit was the last of the game for the Hens, though Whitman put three more runs on the board in the top of the ninth against Wiessinger and Stephen Kwak PO ’25, making the final score 9-3.

“I didn’t feel like we played our best baseball today,” head coach Frank Pericolosi said after the game. “We’ve just got to find ways to avoid let ups in competitiveness and come ready to play every single pitch.”

Despite the afternoon loss, the series displayed a deep bench full of senior leadership and young talent alike.

“We brought in a really talented class this year,” Jakobs said. “We’re seeing a lot of them get a lot of opportunities early on.”

With SCIAC play on the horizon, the Hens are hoping to build on this series and showcase this talent against their Sixth Street rivals, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, in their first conference game of the season. Having gone one and five against the Stags the last two years, P-P is expecting a better result when they meet in a week.

“That’ll be a fun series,” Berry said. “We’re home on Friday, so really excited for that. I think we got a great chance this year.”

After this series the Hens raised their record to 9-3 with a win over Pacific Lutheran on Sunday, Feb. 25. P-P now has their sights set on the Stags for their SCIAC opener on Friday, March 1.

Girls in Lifting and Fitness makes a safe space for women and gender nonconforming people out of the masculine wasteland of the gym

CHARLOTTE RENNER & OWEN KOBETT

In a landscape commonly filled with toe-curling grunts, an abundance of creatine and a cartoonish displays of masculinity, Girls in Lifting and Fitness (GILFs), a 5C fitness club for women and gender nonconforming students, aims to bring a new image to the gym.

Hoping to create a safe and positive space for its members, GILFs is entirely student-run. Sessions are run by coaches, students with more experience with lifting, who help to instruct members in their routines. The lifting sessions are held from 5-6 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps’ Roberts Pavilion and Saturdays and Sundays at Pomona-Pitzer’s Center for Athletics, Recreation and Wellness.

According to the club’s president, May Lin PO ’24, around 15 people consistently attend each meeting, though over 300 students expressed interest for the club at the beginning of the fall semester during the annual club fair. Lin founded GILFs in 2023 after years of playing sports and being involved in fitness. She said she created it because she wanted more people to experience the positive effects of routine exercise.

“I think going to the gym isn’t just going for 40 minutes and you’re done,” Lin said. “I think it teaches people a lot about consistency and seeing results but also loving yourself. I love seeing people being able to do certain types of workouts they never thought they could do, or seeing muscle growth, or improvement. It’s such a good confidence booster.”

The club uses their Instagram to spread awareness about their message, which largely focuses on mental health, sharing success stories and tips to their hundreds of followers.

“It’s not just about form, it’s not just about technique, but also asking how that feels for you in your body,” Lil Runyan PZ ’27 said. “I think trying to break some of the stigmas around lifting and fitness and what that means [is important]. Really thinking of health in a holistic way [is essential], especially for college students.”

Sam Machin PO ’24, who co-founded the club with Lin, said her goal with GILFs is to create a welcoming space for those who have felt intimidated or out of place

in the gym due to their gender.

“Our main focus is kind of demystifying the gym as this space for men and masculine figures,” Machin said. “And so we really just want to work on making the gym less intimidating, having more information about what each machine does, proper form and what that looks like and how to work as a group.”

According to Machin, the different groups and coaches have their own traditions and practices, but every session features a set plan. The leaders shift the routine each day to focus on a different

part of the body and will typically demonstrate the exercises for the group, helping throughout the session with form and answering questions.

In addition to providing planned workouts and lifting help, the leaders create a supportive environment that fosters teamwork and community.

“I wanted it to be a space where you just come in and you know you’re right, you have your people and you don’t have to worry about anything else,” Machin said. “I really appreciate all the people I’ve met, I love

them. We have people who keep going to every session and it’s just so nice to catch up with each others’ weeks and stuff.”

Runyan echoed Machin, noting that as a member, the club has provided her with a supportive community both in and outside of the gym.

“On Fridays after our 5-6 p.m. lifting session we’ll do dinners all together,” Runyan said. “[In the club there’s a culture of] both training together and making that a welcoming space but also mirroring that with this level of connection and comfortability.”

With both founders graduating this spring, Lin is hopeful that some members of the club will rise to leadership positions. She said she hopes they will continue the club’s success into the future and expand both its membership and what types of activities it offers.

“Hopefully we can reach all of the five campuses, because membership mostly comes from Scripps, Pomona and Pitzer [Colleges],” Lin said. “[We want to start] teaching different things like yoga, cycling, running, beyond just lifting.”

aDaM aKINS • ThE STUDENT LIFE

Nate Jakobs PZ ’24 grabs a fly ball in left field during the Sagehens’ series win against Whitman College on Saturday, Feb. 24.

OWEN KOBETT

yond the arc, cutting CMS’ lead to one at 26-27.

(P-P) Sagehens or the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) Stags would get to represent the Claremont Colleges at the SCIAC Finals.

The Stags managed to come out on top in a nail biting, one shot game, winning 74-71 on their home turf at Roberts Pavilion. Students from across the 5Cs showed up for this special Sixth Street matchup, packing the stands in their team’s colors and keeping energy high with constant chants and cheers.

Heading into the game, the two teams were pretty evenly matched.

CMS held a 12-3 record in SCIAC play and a 18-6 record overall, while P-P stood at a 12-4 record in the SCIAC and 19-6 overall, earning them the second and third seeds, respectively. The teams faced off twice this season and traded games, each team earning close wins at their home court.

Tensions were high going into the Sixth Street showdown, with the winner of the SCIAC championship getting an automatic bid into the NCAA DIII men’s basketball tournament, a coveted prize both team’s fell short of last season.

The intensity of the game matched the stakes, with the ball going back and forth until the Stags eventually began to control the game and took the lead with a three from Caelan Jones CG ’25, which put them up 14-12. They then went on a 10-5 run until Charlie Treene PO ’26 made a three pointer to cut CMS’ lead to 20-24.

With 8:15 left in the first half, P-P got a defensive rebound while down 23-27, which Jasper Hedin PO ’27 carried down the court and delivered with accuracy from be-

Athletes of the Week

After that, Joe Cookson PO ’25 put the Sagehens up 31-29 with a three pointer with 5:43 left in the half. The score teetered back and forth for the next few minutes, until Ty Bergman PO ’25 had an offensive rebound into a layup which put P-P head 35-33. From then, the Stags trailed the Sagehens and went into the half down 41-35.

After the game, Jones reflected on how the Stags changed their mentality at the half.

“We just studied the game plan [and] stayed aggressive and we just tried to attack them.” Jones said. “We just tried to turn that up in the second half and just continued to take it play by play. We knew it was going to be a grind out game.”

The pace of the second half matched the first with the lead flying from one side to the other. However, CMS was able to cut P-P’s lead to four with a series of three free throws by Will Householter CM ’27. Despite this, P-P held on to the lead until a series of Sagehen mistakes. A three point miss by Treene followed by a foul on a three pointer by Jones brought P-P’s lead down to 56-54 with 11:14 left in the second half.

CMS capitalized on this momentum and promptly took a 57-56 lead with a three pointer by Josh Angle CG ’24 with 10:19 left in the second half. However, the Stags weren’t able to hold onto it and two free throws by Cookson put the Sagehens back up 58-57. The game continued to go back and forth until a decisive layup by Angle that brought CMS up 69-67 with 2:10 left in the second half.

From there, P-P would not regain the lead. A missed layup by Cookson with 20 seconds remaining forced the Sagehens to foul Jones, resulting in two more free throws that extended CMS’

lead to 74-69. In the final seconds, Pete Boyle PZ ’25 managed to sink a layup with 6 seconds remaining which pulled the Sagehens within three. However, a last ditch three point from Cookson fell short at the buzzer and CMS secured their spot in the SCIAC final.

Jones said the feeling was electric for the Stags, noting the infrequency of wins such as this one.

“It’s awesome,” Jones said. “As a basketball player, you live for games like this. I wish everyday could be this game, [but I’m] acting like I don’t get another one tomorrow.”

The south side of Sixth Street had a different reaction to the game results. Hedin said that narrowly

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

Sarath Kakani CM ’24

Sammamish, WA Throws

Friday,

Sarath Kakani CM ’24 continues his third year of domination, crushing Division II competition at the annual Rossi Relay event on Saturday, February 24. He pushed his shot put personal best as he gears up for his last championship wearing the cardinal and gold for CMS Kakani bested his personal-record mark from last year’s SCIAC Championship with a throw of 52 feet, 9.25 inches (16.08 meters), crushing the rest of the competition. Kakanin increased his PR by two feet, and continues to climb further into the top 10 all time for CMS shot put.

missing a chance to compete for the SCIAC title was disappointing. “I know our teammates wanted to win as much as we’ve ever done, it’s a great group of people, so we brought it to the game, which I think was evident,” Hedin said. Boyle reflected ahead on how the loss will affect P-P’s plans heading into next season.

“It’s hard to look ahead right now but we have a lot of returners,” Boyle said. “This one stings and it’s going to last. We are going to think about it all off-season, so that is going to bring energy into the next season.”

For Jones and the rest of CMS, their win secured them a berth in the SCIAC final against Cal Lutheran,

who won their semi-final match on Friday against Chapman 85-76. Jones looked forward to what the team needs to do to play well in the final.

“Cal Lu is an amazing team, we know they play hard,” Jones said. “We are going to have to play a lot harder than we did today, so we’ll watch their film and figure it out.”

The two teams faced off for the final on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. on the road at Gilbert Arena. CMS beat the Kingsmen on their homecourt 61-55, with Angle leading the Stags in points with 17. This is both CMS’ first SCIAC title and first bid to the NCAA tournament since 2018. The Stags continue on, facing St. Thomas in the first round of the tournament on March 1.

Pomona-Pitzer

Alex Turvey PO ’24

Vancouver, Canada Freestyle/Fly

Alex Turvey PO ’24 made her last SCIAC’s count, entering the maximum of seven events — three individual races and four relays — and earning gold in all of them. She dominated sprints, locking in the 50 and 100 meter freestyle and crushing in the 100 meter butterfly. Thanks to her herculean efforts, Turvey was selected as the Women’s Swimming and Dive Athlete of the Year before her and her team continue their season at NCAA regionals.

Friday, March 1

Men’s Tennis @ Pac Coast Doubles Tournament

Men and Women’s Dive @ NCAA Dive Regionals

Women’s Tennis vs. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Women’s Water Polo vs. UC Irvine and SDSU (Claremont Convergence Tournament)

Baseball vs. Claremont-MuddScripps

Saturday, March 2

Women’s Tennis @ ITA Indoor Nationals (Nicholasville, KY)

Men and Women’s Track and Field @ SCIAC Multi-Dual

Women’s Water Polo vs. University of Southern California and Siena College (Claremont Convergence)

Women’s Lacrosse vs. Claremont-MuddScripps Softball @ Whittier College Baseball vs. Claremont-MuddScripps (Double header)

Sunday, March 3

Women’s Tennis @ ITA Indoor Nationals (Nicholasville, KY)

Men’s Tennis vs. University of Mary Washington

Monday, March 4

Baseball vs. Adrian College

Tuesday, March 5

Women’s Lacrosse vs. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Wednesday, March 6

Women’s Lacrosse vs. University of Redlands

Women’s Water Polo @ Claremont-MuddScripps

Sarah ZIFF • ThE STUDENT LIFE

Pete Boyle PO ’25 drives into the paint during CMS’ 74-71 victory over P-P in the SCIAC semifinals on Feb. 23.