Vol. CXXXIII No. 19

VOL. CXXXIII NO. 19

FRIDAY, ApRIl 8, 2022

CLAREMONT, CA

Pomona students approve fossil fuel divestment referendum

New COVID cases pass 200

ELISA MEMBRENO & MAXINE DAVEY

FlORENCE pUN • THE STUDENT lIFE

Students study at Keck Science Center March 31. Events have been postponed and some classes held remotely as the colleges scramble to meet the recent surge in cases head on.

JENNA MCMURTRY & RYA JETHA At least 202 people have tested positive across the Claremont Colleges since Monday, intensifying a surge in COVID-19 cases that began late March after students returned from spring break.

Just weeks into loosening some health restrictions, the colleges moved quickly Wednesday to tighten them again in the name of slowing the increase, which may be fueled at least partially by the new BA.2 omicron subvariant.

Cross-campus dining, which resumed just five weeks ago, was suspended effective Wednesday evening, administrators said in messages to their student bodies.

Claremont McKenna College reinstated its indoor mask mandate, which it partially lifted last week, according to an email sent by the college’s COVID Compliance Committee.

With 57 cases recorded over the past two days at Pomona

College, 55 at Scripps College and 44 at CMC, the current case count across the 5Cs has reached a record high since students returned to in-person learning last August. Pitzer College reported 24 new cases in a Wednesday update, and Harvey Mudd College reported 22 in multiple email notifications to students.

The 5Cs reported 137 cases from testing last week, TSL’s COVID-19 tracker shows. With a rolling average of 2,078 new cases a day in California as of Tuesday, the 5Cs now make up at least a percentage of all reported cases throughout the state.

“As best we can tell, these cases are the result of social events rather than classroom or workspace transmission,” CMC’s COVID committee said.

CMC spokesperson Gilien Silsby said in an email that the college is “well-equipped to handle the recent surge of cases.”

SAMSON ZHANG • THE STUDENT lIFE

CMC’s medical experts expect the surge to subside within 1-2 weeks, Silsby added, but in the meantime the college will now mandate twice weekly testing for on campus students, faculty and staff. Harvey Mudd is also having students test twice a week.

However, the increase is beginning to strain each college’s isolation capacity. CMC and Harvey Mudd said Wednesday they would begin housing infected students in their existing residence hall rooms. Mudd facilities staff told some students Wednesday that they should be mindful of “the restrooms that have been designated for isolation use only and those that are for regular use.”

Erin Donohue HM ‘25 said the exhausted isolation spaces means she could be sharing a hallway with COVID-positive students, “which doesn’t seem like an arrangement that’s prioritizing the health of students or prioritizing stopping the spread.”

As for moving around gendered restrooms, Donohue said she doesn’t remember being asked for student input on the matter.

“Essentially, your genders in Case [Residence Hall] right now are COVID or no COVID,” Donohue said.

About one in 14 CMC students was isolating due to a positive test as of Wednesday evening.

“We are having a week, for sure,” CMC Vice President for Student Affairs Sharon Basso said in an email Wednesday.

“Over the past 3 days, the daily positive student case numbers have been significant and additive to the point that we have just over 100 students currently in isolation (at different time points in their 10 day isolation

Nearly nine in ten Pomona College students believe the school should move toward complete divestment from fossil fuels, a March 29 referendum revealed. 88 percent of students voted in favor of a resolution to divest on the ballot, while 96 percent of those who voted agreed that the Board of Trustees’ Investment Committee should disclose the percentage of Pomona’s endowment that remains invested in fossil fuels.

The two questions appeared on the ballot as a result of the efforts of ASPC members, alongside the Pomona EcoReps and climate advocacy groups Divest 5Cs and Sunrise Claremont Colleges. The election engaged 1,083 voters, representing a turnout rate of 64 percent.

ASPC President Nirali Devgan PO ’22 told TSL via email

she’s been in communication with the Board of Trustees on the topic of divestment since the beginning of the year.

“We’ve been meeting regularly with representatives from the Investment Office as well as [Pomona Treasurer] Rob Goldberg in order to establish rapport and a routine conversation on the topic,” Devgan said. “It’s been helpful to get a better sense of the logistical and operational matters in terms of examining what the bureaucratic process of eventual divestment would look like and a realistic timeline of such efforts, which we acknowledged early on this year would be a tiered, multi-year initiative.”

Nick Black PO ’24, a member of both Divest and Sunrise, noted that such meetings have often been unproductive, with board members continuously deciding to table votes regarding financial

See DIVEST on page 3

‘Scissoring’ cuts stigma VIDUSSHI HINGAD As soon as audiences walk into the Allen Theatre, sit down and see the inverted letters in the set design of “Scissoring,” they’re in for a thought-provoking exploration of the duality of Catholicism and queerness.

As part of its Studio Series, the Pomona College Department of Theater is producing “Scissoring,” its first student-directed show, according to Taelor Hansen PO ’22, the show’s director.

The story’s overarching tale is about identifying and disidentifying with religious beliefs, battling with the conscious and subconscious and an intersection between the id and the superego.

The plot revolves around the protagonist, Abigail Bauer, who is forced to come out of the closet when she takes a position as a teacher at a traditional Catholic school, despite her long-term girlfriend’s desires.

Abigail seeks advice from the ghosts of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Eleanor’s devoted friend and lover, Lorena Hickok, as she battles to balance her career ambitions, personal connections, religious beliefs and internalized shame. Abigail fights to find the strength to be herself in the midst of it all.

Exploring the theme of queerness in a constrictive society, “Scissoring” is a critique of certain ideas proposed by religion; however, the

See SCISSORING on page 6

COURTESY: EVAN JOHNSON

“Scissoring” at the Allen Theatre follows a school teacher who is forced to come out of the closet when she begins a job at a Catholic school.

See COVID on page 3

Claremont Unified School District loses federal funding for free COVID tests LUCIA STEIN & KEVIN HUA Like many members of faculty and staff across the 5Cs, Pomona College associate professor of English Colleen Rosenfeld, has a child attending one of Claremont Unified School District’s seven elementary schools.

When her family was exposed to COVID-19 this January and the testing site of her primary health insurance company was overwhelmed, she felt “it was really important at that moment that the school district

had testing available,” which it did at the time.

But as of mid-March this service has been terminated, part of a cessation of federal support for free testing programs which echoes the decline of free testing services in the greater Los Angeles County area.

“We received word this evening from our COVID testing vendor that the federal funding being used to provide no-cost COVID tests has ended and they will no longer be able to process free tests as of tomorrow,” parents were told in a

March 17 email.

Previously, CUSD students and their family members could obtain a free COVID-19 test at three CUSD schools testing centers or Taylor Hall, a community conference and meeting space.

As testing options have become increasingly more scarce, the challenge has only accumulated.

“As a working parent during the pandemic, you always need multiple sources for testing,” Rosenfeld said.

For her, the stress built up when

multiple sources started to disappear and she realized she only had a few backup testing services.

“The problem is not in losing one source of testing,” Rosenfeld said. “It’s like a coordination problem when everybody starts to withdraw — Pomona is not available anymore, the school district is not available anymore, [and if my healthcare company gets overwhelmed as well] — and that is when I feel like the storm begins to merge a little.”

Pomona’s testing service for fac-

ulty and staff, Hamilton Health Box, is no longer able to provide tests for faculty or staff members’ families, nor is Scripps College’s provider HITL. When Pomona provided testing access for faculty and staff family members the service came with a fee of $75, according to its COVID-19 FAQ. Pitzer College staff and faculty families can test through the college’s clinic, according to Nurse Zephyr Dowd-Lukesh. Claremont McKenna

See CUSD on page 3

SAMSON ZHANG • THE STUDENT lIFE

ARTS & CULTURE Saturday saw the return of the a capella festival SCAMFest, delighting audiences with dazzling performances after the event was postponed from the fall.

Read more on page 4.

The student newspaper of the Claremont Colleges since 1889

OPINIONS

SPORTS

The war in Ukraine demands that we think critically about our activism, writes Annika Reff PO ‘25. Read more on page 7.

Over the weekend in the SCIAC multi-duals, both CMS and P-P track and field teams recorded personal bests and set program records. Read more on page 10.

INDEX: News 1 | Arts & Culture 4 | Opinions 7 | Sports 9

News

pAGE 2

Pomona sells properties’ mineral rights

Harvey Mudd Homework Hotline receives permanent funding

RYA JETHA Pomona College sold its mineral rights for an undisclosed amount on March 18. The holdings were accumulated roughly over the past 50 years and were located across 14 states in the U.S. The college’s current policy is to sell any assets left to Pomona in people’s wills and use the proceeds for various college operations. However, in recent decades, there was a peculiar caveat to the policy — Pomona sold everything above ground while retaining the underground mineral rights.

Owning mineral rights allows for the exploitation of any natural resources that may be found beneath the land. Over time, the college accumulated a large number of mineral rights as well as mineral royalties bequeathed to Pomona by donors, according to Dave Wallace, the chief investment officer at Pomona College.

“The primary rationale [of the March sale] was to relieve the administrative burden associated with these assets,” Wallace told TSL via email, adding that the rights had to be regularly tracked and required numerous, time-consuming filings for property taxes.

The U.S. has a unique system of rights ownership governed by “severability,” meaning that surface rights, mineral rights and royalty rights of the same land can be owned by separate entities. In most other countries, mineral rights belong to the state or the individual landowner. In the United Kingdom, mineral rights for oil, gas, coal, gold and silver are owned by the state, according to Investopedia.

In order to attract a buyer, Pomona’s Investments Office bundled the mineral interests together.

JADYN lEE • THE STUDENT lIFE

AMARA MIR After 12 years in operation, Harvey Mudd College’s Homework Hotline, a free math and science tutoring service for K-12 students in the greater Los Angeles area, received permanent funding from the college.

The hotline has received an average of 3,000 calls per semester since its founding and is staffed by dozens of Harvey Mudd students.

HMC President Maria Klawe launched the Hotline in spring 2010 based off of the “Homework Helpline” run by students at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, a small STEM-focused college in Indiana. The hotline was originally funded by a $125,000 grant from STEM education philanthropists James and Marilyn Simons.

Originally serving the Claremont and Pomona Unified School Districts, today it targets ten school districts in the greater LA area and is accessible to all 79 school districts in LA County.

Anthony Quan, STEM coordinator at the LA County Office of Education, said he hopes that permanent funding will allow Homework Hotline workers to support students in ways beyond purely academic help.

“We need more students who are in the college system to be able to talk to students who are still in the K-12 system, and encourage not just the pathway toward academic achievement but more importantly [spark] conversations between tutors and students,” he said. “[The] homework hotline … serves a great need, especially in light of what we’ve gone through over the last couple of years.”

In spring 2020, the hotline temporarily expanded its hours to support students during the pandemic. In the 2020-21 school year, the hotline had to redirect calls to RHIT Homework Helpline workers due to a lack of funding.

The Homework Hotline resumed operations on campus on Sept. 7, 2021 fully staffed with Harvey Mudd students thanks to a $135,000 anonymous donation in Feb. 2021.

On March 23, Harvey Mudd announced that, in recognition of the hotline’s work for the community, the hotline would be permanently funded by the college as part of its overall operating

ApRIl 8, 2022

budget.

The permanent funding has the potential to fund more part-time staff for longer operating hours and assure school districts relying on the hotline.

Gabriela Gamiz, director of the Homework Hotline, said that permanent funding would allow school districts to more confidently rely on the homework hotline, according to a HMC news release.

“One of the biggest questions I hear from our school districts is, ‘how long is this program going to be in place?’” she said in the release. “It’s very important when we have a presence in the community to know that we’re there for the long term.”

Student tutors are also happy about the funding as the permanence of compensation will allow tutors to continue serving the community.

“Many students like myself rely on our work-study jobs like [Homework Hotline tutoring] to cover weekly expenses and tuition,” Diana Lin HM ’22, a tutor at the hotline for four years, told TSL via email.

“Harvey Mudd students enjoy helping students and not having this outlet [in 2020-21] was disappointing.”

Aldrin Feliciano HM ’23 said that permanent funding will allow the hotline to continue serving as an accessible way for students to give back to the community. “[The hotline] is a way that the school gives back to the community. Obviously there are multiple ways it does that but … [the hotline] is very accessible for people, so I like that we can keep it going for years,” he said.

Gamiz also emphasized the hotline’s value in allowing students to serve the community.

“Funding the program permanently is the College’s way of demonstrating its importance. Homework Hotline is part of our fabric, it’s part of our culture, it’s part of what we believe in,” she said. “We want to keep on sharing the amazing passion and talent that Harvey Mudd students have for math and science with the wider community.”

“The rights were sold to a group that aggregates these types of mineral interests,” Wallace said.

The proceeds of the sale will go to college operations including faculty salaries and financial aid.

Mineral aggregators, many of which are backed by private equity players, have become increasingly active in the past decade.

These companies consolidate mineral rights for exploration by oil and gas companies and reinvest their earnings into the acquisition of more property.

But while there is already some extraction activity and production at sites the college sold, Wallace said that Pomona officials “do not believe the sale of our mineral rights will enable more fossil fuel extraction.”

“The parcels we sold are too small to be used for extraction on their own,” he said. “Typically, a company interested in extraction would lease hundreds of acres.”

The sale has been criticized by members of Divest Claremont Colleges, including in a recent opinion piece in TSL, as a greenwashing effort that has the potential to increase fossil fuel production. Divest 5Cs is a student movement at the 5Cs pushing the colleges to divest their endowments from fossil fuels and fight the climate crisis.

“Rather than selling it to an aggregator out to make a quick buck on extraction, why didn’t Pomona find a way to ensure that the land wouldn’t be exploited? There are ways of removing an administrative burden without potentially contributing to the climate crisis,” Ethan Vitaz PZ ’22, the author of the opinion piece and a member of Divest Claremont Colleges, said in an interview.

Aurora Strauss-Reeves PZ ’23, another member of Divest Claremont Colleges, expressed skepticism about Pomona’s claim that the parcels will not be used for further extraction.

“I’ve had meetings with the Pomona administration and I know they think we’re young environmental radicals who don’t know what we’re talking about. But wealthy colleges like Pomona need to be doing everything they can to prevent future emissions and to put planetary health over profits,” Strauss-Reeves said. “There is a lack of trust between students and the administration over divestment and this is just another betrayal.”

Additionally, mineral rights become more valuable when oil prices are high and unconventional methods of oil extraction can become economical, according to Investopedia. Oil prices in the US are currently skyrocketing.

In response to student concerns, Wallace told TSL that the college was unlikely to find a non-financial buyer willing to also take on the assets with no current or future value.

“The sale included both producing and non-producing interests,” Wallace said. “To eliminate the administrative burden associated with these interests Pomona insisted that the buyer take all of the interests, even those with no future value.

The buyer hopes to make a profit from the producing interests that they purchased.”

He clarified that the college does not have the ability to stop any ongoing production because the agreements that permitted production were in place before the mineral rights were donated to Pomona.

In response to student concerns that the sale was not announced or conducted transparently, Wallace said that the college regularly receives non-cash donations, including stock and real estate.

“Given the high volume of these transactions, especially stock gifts, we don’t disclose each asset sale,” Wallace said.

College policy is to sell these assets and use the cash to fund college operations or fulfill the donors’ request, he added.

students push for Indigenous studies program ELINA LINGAPPA Calling attention to the 5Cs’ occupation of Indigenous Tongva land and histories of activism around representation and reparations, 5C students are advocating for the establishment of an intercollegiate department of Native American/Indigenous Studies.

Those advocating for the NAIS program include Alutiiq/ Sugpiaq student Mischa Brown SC ’23, Kankanaey student Malaya Caligtan-Tran PZ ’22, Navajo student Myryka Arviso-Yazza PO ’22 and other Indigenous students from the Indigenous Peer Mentor Program. Working with them are four Scripps College faculty: anthropology professor Gabriela Morales, American Studies professor Wendy Cheng and professors of Spanish, Latin American and Caribbean Studies Martin Vega and Claudia Arteaga.

In 2020, student activism, particularly that of Brown and Kanaka Maoli student Kawaiuluhonua Scanlan SC ’21 was

successful in establishing a NAIS minor program at Scripps.

But this broader campaign is far from new; in fact, it spans back decades. According to Arteaga, there was a Native Student Alliance more than 10 years ago, which had Africana Studies professor Sheila Walker as its faculty advisor. Walker conducted work in a liaison position with local communities, particularly around Indigenous student recruitment, Arteaga said.

Elena Nourrie, assistant director of Native Initiatives at Pomona College, is the current faculty advisor for IPMP. “We are not by any means the first ones in trying to establish a NAIS department,” Arteaga said in an email. “From what I have seen in my time at Scripps, students have always wanted this.”

Arteaga joined Scripps’s faculty in 2015 and recalls working with a group of Indigenous students on similar NAIS proposals.

She said Scripps’s new minor is just one small step in the right direction.

“It is time to build something

bigger across the 5Cs that is beneficial for current Indigenous students,” Arteaga said.

Caligtan-Tran said an Indigenous studies department would show ongoing, culturally aware support for Indigenous students at the 5Cs, as well as a stronger relationship with Indigenous communities.

“I think it is critical that the colleges move beyond acknowledging the schools are on Tongva land and move to build equitable relationships with the Tongva and surrounding native communities,” Caligtan-Tran said in an email.

Arteaga said that there is general institutional support for the program, but the implementation has to be done carefully to ensure that the needs of Indigenous students are adequately met. In addition, Arteaga emphasized the need for more Indigenous faculty in the department and an assured tenure track for these Indigenous faculty. “[We also want to] create strong ties with Indigenous nations and tribes,” Arteaga said. “Without their support, we cannot carry out this at all.”

Claremont Graduate University receives largest-ever philanthropic commitment SIENA SWIFT Claremont Graduate University was bequeathed a $42 million gift from alumnus Patrick F. Cadigan CG ’78, CG ’80, in order to construct a new building for the university’s School of Arts and Humanities. The donation, announced Feb. 15, is the largest in the college’s nearly 100 years of operation.

Cadigan, who died in April 2020, was a tech CEO and prolific real estate investor in Orange County with a portfolio of nearly $1 billion. CGU met with Cadigan in 2019 to discuss the project, but his ailing health forced them to cut the meeting short.

But last spring, Cadigan’s attorney called the university to notify them the alumnus had specifically earmarked money and a vision for the building in his will.

Cadigan earned both his postgraduate degrees from CGU, completing his master’s in 1978 and a PhD in executive management in 1980. He studied under CGU professor Peter F. Drucker, often considered the founder of modern management, who died in 2005.

The new building will be located on a two acre lot north of CGU’s Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management, on the corner of N. Dartmouth Ave and Drucker Way. Cadigan’s attorney and daughter toured the site in October 2021 and agreed to meet the $42 million

COURTESY: ClAREMONT GRADUATE UNIVERSITY

HUXlEYANN HUEFNER • THE STUDENT lIFE

left: CGU recieved the largest donation in its nearly 100 year history, $42 million, from alumnus patrick Cadigan’s will.

Right: The new building, which will house CGU’s School of Arts and Humanities, could open as soon as September 2024.

cost, payable in $7 million increments over the next six years.

Named in his honor, the Cadigan Building will be “a human-centered architectural design that invites collaboration and creativity. It will serve as a nexus for innovation, ingenuity, and transdisciplinary research,” CGU President Len Jessup said in an CGU news release.

“The working name in our master plan for the two-acre lot is the Da Vinci Project. That sets

a high bar for what we want to accomplish, and thanks to Mr. Cadigan, that goal is within our reach,” Jessup added.

The building, which will likely be two or three stories and about 40,000 square-feet, could open as early as the fall 2024 semester, according to the Claremont Courier.

“Cadigan believed, as did Drucker, in the social responsibility of companies—that every company’s goal isn’t simply profits and shareholder dividends,

but that each company has an obligation to support a functioning society with its success,” the press release said.

In 2020, CGU received $14 million from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians to establish the Yuhaaviatam Center for Health Studies at the former site of the Huntley Bookstore.

The research center will serve vulnerable populations in the Inland Empire and Indian Country.

The design was recently com-

pleted by Ontario-based architect Brian R. Bloom and awaiting city approval in February, according to the Claremont Courier.

“Education is the foundation to whatever you want to be in this world,” Cadigan’s daughter Maria Cadigan said in the release. “I feel so blessed that my father could give such a significant gift to a place like CGU so that many great minds will be able to collaborate and take what they learn into their professions.”

News

ApRIl 8, 2022

pAGE 3

DIVesT: Activists work toward concrete action from trustees Continued from page 1 disclosure.

“Last semester, we made an ask at the Investment Committee to disclose the percentage of the endowment that’s invested in fossil fuels, which they basically tabled for the March meeting. And then at the March meeting, they tabled it again,” he said.

Black added that the board has previously dismissed calls for divestment, citing lack of student support. The referendum questions were intended to disprove this argument.

“We already had a petition with thousands of signatures, but we wanted an official student government election that only Pomona students could vote in, because we knew that it would show that Pomona students are very supportive of [divestment],” he said. “So now the trustees no longer have the argument of saying, ‘we don’t necessarily know that students are in support of this.’ So if they continue to choose to deny the desires of the students, they have to do so publicly with the knowledge that this is what we want.”

The results of the election demonstrated that students overwhelmingly support the calls for disclosure and divestment. But the extent to which the votes will influence the Board of Trustees’ decisions moving forward is unclear.

“I passed the results of the referendum along to the administration, who will bring them up at the next Board of Trustees meeting. The results are more or less both what we (ASPC) and the administration expected, and we’re pretty happy with the overall turnout,” ASPC Vice President of Finance Adeena Liang PO ’23 said via email. “I’m personally hoping that the strong student interest in both disclosure and divestment will convince the trustees to more seriously pursue both of these important items.”

Board chair Samuel Glick PO ’04 said in an emailed statement

that the board “will continue our discussions with ASPC on the best way to move forward.

We believe the conversation has been productive so far.”

The board did not outline any further steps but stated that “Pomona is committed to sustainability and to reaching carbon neutrality by 2030.”

“We continue to focus on tangible, measurable commitments to sustainability on campus, taking effective action as a residential community and through the conservation choices we make as an institution,” Glick said.

On Dec. 6, 2021, a group of Pomona EcoReps met with Pomona Treasurer Robert Goldberg and CIO David Wallace to discuss divestment possibilities.

EcoRep Maya Nitschke-Alonso PO ’23 said the meeting was

successful overall. “[Goldberg and Wallace] were very willing to work with us by adding divestment to the list of topics to be addressed,” she said.

“Our role as EcoReps is really helpful because we are employees of the college.”

Nitschke-Alonso said that the main counterargument the Board of Trustees and other administrators make against divestment is the desire to maintain as large of an endowment as possible for student benefit. “[Divestment] is a complex discussion as we also must recognize the purpose of the endowment in providing essential support for academic excellence and our enduring commitment to financial aid,” Glick said.

“We want to be thoughtful and thorough in recognition of the

NANAKO NODA • THE STUDENT lIFE

Divest 5Cs leads a march to the Smith Campus Center in December calling for divestment at pomona,

CUSD: Testing cutoff may threaten district families’ health, parents say Continued from page 1 College has “temporarily suspended” testing for family members of faculty and staff, according to the CMC Returns faculty FAQ page.

Harvey Mudd College currently offers testing to faculty and staff and the families of those who live on campus, but not family members of faculty living off campus, HMC spokesperson Judy Augsburger said in an email.

Rosenfeld said she was told that Pomona reduced its testing capacity for family members in anticipation of the spring semester, when the returning student population was expected to put a strain on the testing and laboratory system.

In response to the federal funding cuts, CUSD superintendent Jeff Wilson advised students to seek other options for testing if exposed to the virus.

In a March 18 email, Wilson recommended that students test through their own health care provider if exposed to COVID-19, or obtain an at-home rapid test from their school. Though students won’t be charged for these tests, Wilson noted in the email that they are quite expensive for the schools to obtain, and therefore encouraged families to avoid asking for them.

Families can still request some free at-home tests through the federal government.

However, some 5C faculty who spoke with TSL expressed concern over the relatively high false negative rate of at-home tests.

As a parent of students attending a CUSD school, Scripps College professor Sumita Pahwa voiced her concerns with the federal government’s decision to reduce financial support for testing.

“Just in time for the fourth wave, we received notification that our school district’s free Covid testing program – which allowed students to quickly test/get back in class following exposure – has been canceled as federal funding for it was taken away,” Pahwa said in a March 16 tweet. “For shame, @POTUS.” For Pahwa, the testing program had been working well. Before cuts to the testing program were made, Pahwa said students had been required to get tested if exposed to the virus, or if symptoms arose, and would not return to in-person classes until they received a negative result.

Additionally, cold-like symptoms or fevers also called for a necessary negative test result before students could return. The free testing program helped alleviate the cost burden

endowment’s crucial role in ensuring equity and access across generations for the exceptional quality of a Pomona education.”

The board is likely to discuss the issue in an upcoming meeting.

“Historically, a lot of the trustees have been hardliners on saying no to divestment,” Nitschke-Alonso said. “And so I would like to see them have that meeting, actually discuss it and have student representatives there to answer questions about what this means for us and to reassure them that we want to work with them.”

Selene “Eli” Li PO ’25 was recently elected as next year’s ASPC commissioner of facilities and environment. She said she’s committed to facilitating movement towards divestment.

of the mandate. “[While] most faculty are lucky to have some financial stability and flexibility to [get a PCR test], about a third of the families in Claremont schools are, by CA standards, low income, and they may not have those benefits,” Pahwa said in an email.

Drawing on her political science background, Pahwa added that administrative burden coupled with transaction costs might make some families without benefits or assistance more inclined to seek out a rapid test instead of a PCR test.

Missing a day or two of in-person work in order to stay home with a child, given the time lag that comes with PCR tests, could be a significant loss or time restraint for many.

“I think this is a great failure from the government — if you leave it up to individuals to do what’s best for public health, chances are that they won’t,” Pahwa said. “Certainly not without paid sick leave or without good options for what to do with a child who is home sick, if it means potentially losing your own income.”

This prompted Pahwa’s decision to tweet about the issue and tag President Biden’s account, calling him to reinstate federal support for testing accessibility.

“There is no ‘back to normal’ or anything approaching it without support and mitigation measures,” Pahwa said.

The program’s suspension at CUSD could have repercussions beyond the classroom. Rosenfeld said there may be a decrease in the number of people who will get tested, given that access to free tests has been reduced.

“I feel like one thing we’ve learned through [the pandemic] is like, the easier you make it for people to get vaccinated, to get tested, etc., the more likely they are to do it,” Rosenfeld added.

Pomona philosophy professor Peter Thielke said in an email that although he didn’t take advantage of the testing offered by CUSD, “it’s disappointing that the testing program has been halted,” adding that “it provided a very helpful resource for the whole community, and not just CUSD students.”

As a parent of two children attending schools in CUSD, Pomona math professor Johanna Hardin felt people in the community were taking the virus less seriously.

“And that has to do with a lot of things,” Hardin added, “including the fact that we don’t have free access to testing or that the free access to testing is being taken away in a whole variety of ways.”

Hardin feels like the decision is not entirely a political one. She pointed out that maintaining a free testing system occupies a considerable money flow for the community and “it’s more cost saving mechanism and [a reflection that] people are feeling different about the disease.”

Free COVID-19 drive-through tests of different types including PCR and Rapid NAAT tests are currently available through private providers such as CVS and Walgreens in Claremont. Most sites require appointments and tests may be limited to patients who show COVID-19 related symptoms and have previous exposures.

HUXlEYANN HUEFNER • THE STUDENT lIFE

While COVID-19 cases surge on campus, access to testing facilities for faculty and staff’s family members has become increasingly scarce.

“Since I am now a member of the student body senate, I think it will be really important for me personally to work towards having a good relationship with the school administration and perhaps the Board of Trustees as well,” she said. “I’d really just like to play a role as sort of a bridge.”

Divestment is a controversial issue for reasons extending beyond endowment prioritization. Black noted that an argument he hears often characterizes divestment as purely performative, simply exchanging existing ownership of funds to new, possibly less environmentally-conscious ownership.

But Black said divestment aims to stigmatize the funds it targets.

“Divestment has been a proven tactic, and as more financial institutions such as Pomona, which is functionally a billionaire, choose to no longer financially support [the fossil fuel industry], the investments will become less popular,” he said.

As institutions like Harvard University and Middlebury College commit toward divestment, students argue that the Claremont Colleges should follow in their path.

“There are a lot of schools that Pomona tends to follow,” Nitschke-Alonso said. “And we also know that Pomona doesn’t like being the follower; it’s great to be the pioneer of these efforts.”

EcoRep Johnny Ellsworth PO’ 24 said the vote should act as a call to action for students fighting for divestment.

“It’s really important for students to understand how divestment kind of intersects with a lot of other issues, like gender, like class, like disability — and I would encourage students, if they are learning more about divestment, to also consider how those things interact with each other,” he said.

Editor’s note: Nick Black PO ’24 is a music columnist for TSL and has previously contributed to the opinions section.

COVID: Most events postponed or canceled Continued from page 1 periods).”

All social and extracurricular events have been canceled or postponed for now, with officials urging students to gather outside — preferably masked — in groups of 10 or fewer.

“All Pitzer, 5C parties and 5C student club and organization events and programs are canceled until further notice,” the Pitzer leadership team said in a message Wednesday.

The EUPHORIA X ONO X NOCHELLA Music Festival, scheduled for Saturday with headliners Cochise and Lakeyah, was canceled after the Pomona Events Committee’s previously scheduled Euphoria-themed party was originally postponed due to a previous surge in December.

Dining halls at Scripps, Pomona and Pitzer have closed indoor seating, while CMC restricted Collins Dining Hall to CMC students only and encouraged outdoor dining.

Mudd Vice President for Student Affairs Marco Antonio Valenzuela said in an email Thursday night that Hoch-Shanahan Dining Commons would also shift to takeout service only.

“We highly encourage the use of our outdoor eating areas and ask that you avoid eating indoors (i.e. dorm lounges, classrooms, etc.) with others to help reduce the risk of infection,” Valenzuela said.

After a long-awaited reopening celebration for Scripps’s Motley Coffeehouse was postponed until this Friday, staff announced on Instagram that the event would be canceled “until further notice.” The cafe, which reopened Monday, will only serve Scripps students for the time being.

With no guidance mandating a shift to virtual classes, some professors are opting to hold classes online or offering more readily available hybrid options.

Faculty can decide on their own whether to hold classes virtually for a short time, “if it makes pedagogical sense to do so,” Silsby said.

When half of her visual anthropology class was contact

traced this week, Andrea Zheng PO ’24 felt like she was left in the dark as to what measures the college was taking.

“I just feel very confused,” Zheng told TSL in a message.

“Everything seemed fine yesterday but today my class got moved online last minute and [the] dining halls only have grab and go options.”

For Nathan Hasegawa HM ’25, Harvey Mudd’s response to the recent surge has been worrying. He said he fears the college has not adequately dealt with isolation capacity that’s quickly proving to be in short supply.

Hasegawa questioned why the college has yet to look into providing additional quarantine spaces off campus, rather than have students quarantine in place where COVID-positive students risk unintentional contact in shared living spaces. “[Mudd] also ran out of isolation rooms in February, and it bothers me that they still have no plan for how to make more isolation rooms available, especially with fewer per capita isolation rooms than other colleges in the consortium,” he said in an email to TSL. Hasegawa also expressed confusion about seeing hundreds of visitors on campus for commencement ceremonies over the weekend and admitted students programs while the campus is struggling with health conditions.

“HMC has failed to enact commonsense precautions to keep students safe, such as closing indoor dining (which Pitzer did last week and Pomona did today), mandating masks outdoors and stopping visitors from coming to campus,” he said.

CMC’s Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum, which hosts several dinners and receptions for speakers each week, will pivot to outdoor dining from Monday and allow upcoming speakers to decide whether to go forward with their event or reschedule to another date.

“This spike in student cases is ongoing across the consortium, and we need to respond with vigilance and care,” Pomona’s COVID-19 Planning and Response Group told students in a Wednesday message.

Marcella Todd contributed reporting.

Corrections In Issue 17, an article about new programs at Keck Graduate Institute used the term “physician’s assistant.” The correct term is “physician assistant.” The article also said Sonia Otte is a practicing physician assistant, but she is no longer practicing, per a spokesperson.

In Issue 18, an article about the five-year anniversary of the Wabash Report included misspellings of Felipe Borja and Terrence Diaz’s names.

TSL regrets the errors.

Arts & Culture

PAGE 4

APRIL 8, 2022

SCAMFest returns to Pomona’s Big Bridges INDIA CLAUDY “When I saw SCAMFest my freshman year, I [thought], ‘That’s what I want to do,’” Sammy Shrestha PO ’23 said. Two years later, they not only performed in the beloved 5C event but were also responsible for organizing the entire show, a performance designed to celebrate the latest and best in collegiate vocal music.

On Saturday, Pomona College’s Bridges Auditorium saw the return of SCAMFest — the Southern California A Cappella Music Festival. The Claremont Colleges’ largest a cappella event of the year, SCAMFest brought together a host of singing groups and rounded up a sold-out crowd.

Ten groups took the stage, including six from the 5Cs: the Claremont Shades, Blue and White, Mood Swing, One Night Stanza, Ninth Street Hooligans and Midnight Echo. The seventh a cappella group on campus, After School Special, was unable to perform due to a high number of COVID-19 cases and exposures in their group.

Four a cappella groups from other California schools also took part, including two groups from UCLA: Bruin Harmony and the Scattertones (who will soon perform in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella finals). The other ensembles included UC Davis’ The Spokes and USC’s SoCal Vocals.

Usually held during the fall semester, SCAMFest was postponed to the spring due to COVID concerns this year. The typically-annual event is organized by Claremont Shades, a group headed this semester by co-presidents Shrestha and Kiana Harnish SC ’23.

The pair introduced the event, emphasizing how excited they were to be performing in SCAMFest after its two-and-a-half year hiatus. They also honored those in 7C a cappella groups who have graduated since the last SCAMFest in 2019 and were thus unable

FLORENCE PUN • THE STUDENT LIFE

SCAMfest was held on Saturday, featuring performances from ten collegiate a cappella groups from universities across California.

to perform in their final SCAMFest due to the pandemic’s limitations.

Shrestha and Harnish were then joined by the rest of the Shades, dressed in shades of red, and performed two songs: “Road Less Traveled” by Fatai and “Lavender” by Camille Trust. With an impressive arrangement that showcased both talented soloists and the strength of the group, the Shades kicked SCAMFest off on a high note.

Having been in awe of SCAMFest their first year, Shrestha remarked on their experience finally performing in the show. “[It was] definitely incredible to perform and absolutely terrifying to perform,” they said.

The other nine groups followed, each introduced by a

member of the Shades. The performances mostly alternated between 7C groups and those visiting from the other California schools.

Most groups took the stage clad in their group’s signature color: Blue and White wore those signature hues, Mood Swing dressed in yellow, Midnight Echo showed up in silver.

Aside from coordinated outfits and the lack of instruments, choreography is another facet of a capella which distinguishes this style from other vocal performances. Most groups had their own choreographer to arrange the groups’ presence — from swaying and hand motions to more complex orientations and movements — amplifying the production aspect of a cappella.

Audience member Alex Morgan PO ’25 appreciated the fes-

SHELF LIFE

THE CLAREMONT INDECENT

I’m a “Fangirl” of Rainbow Rowell’s college mythbusting KATE JONES I was going to reread Rainbow Rowell’s “Fangirl” after my first year of college. This had been my plan since eighth grade.

Sweet and heartfelt with fastpaced dialogue, “Fangirl” was one of my favorite books in middle school — mainly because I related to Cath, the shy, nerdy, college-aged protagonist. Once I had completed a year of college, my goal was to revisit the story and see where our experiences matched up.

After spending my freshman year online at home, I held off picking up my copy of the book again. I had no point of comparison to actual college life.

But recently — as my first inperson year of college drew to a close — I decided to go for it.

I was unsure of what to expect. (There are a lot of books I loved at thirteen that don’t quite hold up now.) But as I fell into the familiar rhythm of Rowell’s writing, I found myself utterly amazed by the book’s thoughtfulness and accuracy.

For those of you who weren’t on Tumblr in the early 2010s, “Fangirl” tells the story of a girl named Cath, starting her first year of college at a university in rural Nebraska. Things aren’t going great: she’s lonely, her roommate is standoffish, her dad is increasingly unstable and her prettier, constantly-partying twin sister is thriving in a separate dorm hall. The only thing Cath feels she has going for her is internet fame: she’s the author of “Carry On, Simon”, a popular fanfiction about the characters in “Simon Snow” (Rowell’s version of “Harry Potter”).

As a seventh-grader, I was mainly interested in Cath’s fanfiction. Scattered throughout the novel, it’s a kind of angstridden Drarry redux. (I never accused my thirteen year-old self of having interests particularly tasteful or original.) Now, rereading it at age 20, I found myself more compelled by Cath’s story itself.

In the beginning, Cath’s anxiety has taken hold of her life. Too terrified to go to the dining hall, she eats protein bars for every meal. She overthinks what to wear on the first day of classes and tiny moments in conversation. The book gets the little behaviors characteristic of social anxiety so right — while moving into her dorm, Cath refuses to make “friendly eye contact” with a girl at the sinks, too nervous to initiate that kind of social interaction. She spends Friday nights in her room alone.

There is a particularly insidious myth often casually

tival’s high-performance aspect.

“The UCLA boys’ group was definitely one of the most memorable performances because I think they really captured the spirit and performance of a cappella as it exists in pop-culture from shows like ‘Glee,’” he said. “But, I also really enjoyed the USC group and the Shades, among others, because they had some really beautiful arrangements as well, and they also had some really remarkable voices.”

The Shades meet three times a week, and they increased that to daily practices in the week leading up to the show.

Reflecting on all that went into the event — especially for the Shades as both performers and organizers — Shrestha expressed excitement about how it turned out.

“I am really happy with how

[SCAMFest] went, and a lot of people, including myself and all the other Shades leadership put in a ton of work since the start of winter break … And I’m really glad that we did because it paid off entirely, and it was incredible,” Shrestha said.

Due to the previous postponement, Shrestha and Harnish planned extensively in accordance with LA County and 5C COVID-19 guidelines, as well as with the staff at Bridges Auditorium and the visiting university groups to get the event cleared for the spring. After these coordinating efforts, the administration finally signed off on the event, and SCAMFest was confirmed.

However, Shrestha had to keep an eye on COVID numbers and regulations on a regular basis leading up to the show.

“It was pretty surreal, after doing a bunch of planning and answering emails every day and having meetings with the Bridges staff and just every aspect of that, to finally sit in the audience,” Shrestha said.

The only major shift from previous years was the disappointing absence of After School Special from the lineup, as well as an audience kept to 40 percent capacity; all 1,000 tickets sold out.

However, a smaller crowd didn’t limit the attendees’ enjoyment. Members of the audience shouted for their friends taking the stage. Standing ovations were frequent, and cheers were constant. The crowd was especially lively during performances of popular songs, like Ninth Street Hooligans’ rendition of “Die Young” by Ke$ha and when Bruin Harmony, an all-male group, leaned into the boy-band aesthetic and sang One Direction’s “Story of My Life.”

“What I remember most about the performance,” Morgan said, “was the energy in the room and the collective anticipation and excitement when one of the singers hit a really awesome note. And I wish that we could recreate that energy more often on campus.”

JADYN LEE • THE STUDENT LIFE

thrown at those who are lonely, awkward or anxious in high school. It’s this: college will immediately be better.

High school is something you wait out; college is where you find your people, place and popularity practically instantly. The reality isn’t so black-and-white. I remember being shocked, as a high school senior, speaking to friends who had graduated and discovering that the first couple months of college are really, really difficult.

“Fangirl” deconstructs that college myth. Rereading the book now, Cath’s behavior is deeply familiar. (I, too, moved into my dorm fall semester with two boxes of Larabars and a jar of peanut butter, nauseatingly anxious about where to eat dinner.) The shift into college life is rife with loneliness and instability.

“Fangirl” acknowledges this reality rather than glossing over it. The book never looks down on Cath for her anxiety, for struggling with the things — boys, parties, dining halls — that come so naturally to her sister and her roommate. Instead, it depicts Cath’s freshman-year challenges with empathy and honesty, and, more importantly, it moves on.

Throughout the novel, Cath builds routines. One trip to the dining hall with her roommate becomes two, becomes three, becomes a pattern. Studying with a girl in her fiction writing class becomes a habit. After failing a writing assignment, she goes to office hours for the first time and learns that she has a professor’s unwavering support. She even falls in love. Cath’s college navigation is a series of tiny, realistic

victories. At the end of the novel, she informs her sister that she has a roommate for the next semester with casual confidence, and I felt my heart swell.

Cath’s anxiety is a part of her. It is not something to be conquered or beaten back, but rather something she learns to balance and live with. Her character arc doesn’t end with her rushing a sorority. Instead, it ends with her feeling secure in her relationships with her sister, her roommate and her boyfriend, people who love her as she is and for who she is, anxious temperament and all. Cath displays consistent courage in an unfamiliar environment and is rewarded with authentic joy and connection. It doesn’t get much more beautiful than that.

I want to make some sort of disclaimer about how embarrassing it is for me to love this book as much now as I did at 13. Because sure, Cath submitting Simon/Baz slashfic to her creative writing professor as an official school assignment made me cringe a bit. Still, I can’t get over what rereading “Fangirl” has given me and, likely, many other readers. It provides a roadmap to finding joy, fulfillment and friends in college, even with anxiety.

The book didn’t pull punches. It acknowledged that this would be hard. And it took my hand and said we would get through it together: Cath, her box of protein bars and me.

Kate Jones PO ’24 is from Seattle, WA. Her favorite dining hall is Frank.

Not a Barbie body CROSS-CAMPUS PINING Claremont, welcome back to the column. I hope that spring break and midterm season has treated you well, and that you’ve been able to let off some steam in the bedroom (either by yourself or with others). This week, I wanted to debunk the myth of the “perfect body” that we see plastered all over porn, TV and social media.

I think a lot of people, myself included, have probably spent days — maybe even years — of our lives focused on our body hair. Most of us have been socialized to want to remove this hair, whether through shaving, waxing, tweezing, laser, threading, sugaring or one of the other millions of painful and expensive methods.

The very first time I hooked up with my ex-girlfriend, I had been going through a noshave winter season. I was just coming into my queerness.

One of my more out friends was growing out her armpit hair so she could bleach and dye it pink, and she inspired me to do the same. But, when I was in bed with my ex, clothes off, I suddenly felt so self conscious of not only my hairy pits but also my legs. I felt sweaty and manly and unattractive. Neither of us said anything about it, but as soon as I got home, I shaved every inch of my body and continued to do so until we broke up.

That was way back in high school, and I have a very different perspective on body hair now. Don’t believe the rumors that body hair is unsanitary or unattractive. I know personally, especially as someone with darker hair, I was so excited when I was allowed to start shaving my legs. Then it was my armpits, and then everywhere else. Now, though it’s taken a long time, I’ve finally learned to love my body hair and let it be.

Just recently, I had an unexpected hookup and hadn’t thought at all about the state of my body hair until I was looking it in the face, but it literally didn’t matter. Neither of us cared at all, and it was totally fine. For a long time, I felt that I needed to shave before every hookup, or they wouldn’t want to go down on me or have sex with me. If anyone ever gives you any kind of judgment for the way you choose to have or not have body hair, they are not the kind of person you should want to be around. Besides,

having pink armpit hair is way cooler than having none at all.

Another body taboo that’s top of mind for me is period sex.

Whether you’re someone who gets a period or gets with people who do, it can be a messy situation to navigate — literally and figuratively.

If you’re like me, you know that not everyone’s period is regular. Sometimes I’ll go months without it, and other times I’ll be spotting for weeks. My freshman year of college, I finally decided to go on birth control to try to get a more regular period and so I would have an extra layer of protection amidst the Claremont hook-up scene. The side effects of birth control are different for everyone, and when I first got on the pill, it caused me to spot every day for an entire month. I had just settled into a nice routine with my casual hookup, and I couldn’t just say I was on my period for a week, because it did not stop. Luckily, he was super chill, and it didn’t really change things. I did have to navigate taking my menstrual cup out and putting it back in in a random CMC bathroom, but we made it work.

The funniest period sex experiences I’ve had have been with super horny guys. Often, as clothes are coming off and we’re getting closer to having sex, I’ll be very clear and upfront about it if I’m on my period. One hookup in particular is coming to mind, because, in the moment, he seemed super okay and on board with still having sex. We put a towel down on the bed and hoped for the best. Things were going great, until he took a closer look and saw that there was actually blood on him. He freaked out and made us stop. Total vibe killer for literally no reason.

Period blood is natural and normal, and nothing to be fear.

It’s no reason not to have sex as long as all participating parties are enthusiastically consenting.

In fact, it can even act as a natural lubricant and help things slide into place. If you’re worried about making a mess, put down a towel like I do or hit the shower.

Don’t let that time of the month stop you.

I hope you head into this week with the important reminder that your body is amazing! Regardless of how you compare with what you see on a screen or in a magazine, the right answer for you is the right answer.

Until next time, Cross-Campus Pining P.S. Have thoughts, questions, concerns of your own? This completely anonymous Google Form is just for you: go.tsl.news/indecent. Share away!

Arts & Culture

APRIL 8, 2022 BEING REEL

PAGE 5

SCENE IT

Why ‘C’mon C’mon’ deserved more recognition ADAM OSMAN-KRINSKY When A24 announced last year that Joaquin Phoenix would star in its new feature indie film “C’mon C’mon,” I was excited. I hoped that this might be the 2022 equivalent of “Lady Bird” — a charming yet emotional coming of age movie that channeled current indie film aesthetics. The trailer featured Phoenix speaking to child actor Woody Norman in hushed tones with a flute playing “Claire de Lune” in the background.

This film, which exceeded my “Lady Bird”-defined expectations, is a touching story about a documentarian uncle (Phoenix), who cares for his nephew by taking him around the United States while the child’s mother takes care of his estranged, bipolar-affected father. It was my favorite film of last year.

“C’mon C’mon” definitely is a movie that tugs on your heartstrings. I watched it on Prime Video with my mother over winter break and we paused it multiple times because it inspired heartfelt conversations about my upbringing. But this film doesn’t only look inward at family dynamics. One of the beautiful things this film accomplishes — much like last year’s Best Picture winner “Nomadland” — is it combines documentary and fiction together.

A key aspect of this film’s screenplay and action is the real documentary-style interviews conducted throughout with kids around the country regarding what they think about the future. Some kids bring up their concerns about the environment and others bring up social issues like racial inequality.

These interviews mean that at its core, the film is honest and earnest, seen through its inclusion of the lexical stumbles common for young kids.

This movie had all the ingredients of an Oscar movie. Joaquin Phoenix and Gabby Hoffman are known actors (with Phoenix recently winning Best Actor for his role as the Joker in “Joker”) and Woody Norman — despite his very young age — arguably belonged in this year’s Best Supporting Actor’s race. Mike Mills, the writer-director, has a previous nomination for Best Original Screenplay. There was precedent here for a nomination, even by the Academy’s standards — and yet, no nomination.

The reason that this feels like a grave mistake by the Academy, especially after reflecting on the cha-

otic Oscars from two weeks ago, is because of how weak the category of Best Original Screenplay was this year. The nominees included a drab biopic of Richard Williams, a sweet but slightly Woody Allen-esque rendering of the millennial experience, a twoand-a-half hour long nostalgia trip through the 70s that caused a lot of controversy, a self-righteous mess of Trump-era comedy, and the winner: a cheesy (in the derogatory sense) and oversimplified political drama told through the eyes of a young Irish child. “C’mon C’mon” is in many ways a film about how making art is difficult, especially when there are so many other moving parts to life. The characters in this movie often struggle with choosing between their careers and the children that need care in front of them. As much as it might seem like an obvious choice to choose the child, when the career is based on something people consume, the creative job also is what is providing for the child, making the trade-off more difficult. It becomes hard not to see the need to take care of the child as an inherent aspect of doing what is needed creatively to get money.

This film, then, might have been too critical of the culture industry that is currently more interested in “content” production than it is original work — perhaps explaining its lack of Oscar nomination. But that is also the same reason why “C’mon C’mon” deserved to get its flowers. People are starving for original content, especially when the biggest blockbusters we can look forward to each year is a new Marvel movie or “Star Wars” installation.

“C’mon C’mon” represented not only a desire to tell a story of the future in the way that children see it, but a story of what we should aspire to out of our American movie industry. If the Oscars do not want to award that, then we, as consumers and — first and foremost — appreciators of the arts, should do the work to acknowledge the beauty in what was created.

Adam Osman-Krinsky PO ’25 is from New York City. He loves movies and logs all his most recent watches on his letterboxd @Adam0k and is currently looking for a new alter ego.

COURTESY: TOBIN YELLAND

“C’mon C’mon” is an A24 indie film writted and directed by Mike Mills that was released in 2021.

How ‘The Godfather’ baptized American cinema

COURTESY: ALEX J. BERLINER/ABIMAGES

“The Godfather” was first released in 1972 and will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022.

HANNAH ELLIOT The cries of an infant echo through a church bathed in warm light and in the faint chords of an organ. A Catholic priest begins to give the blessing in Latin, setting the scene of a baptism. He turns to Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), asking him: “Michael, do you believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of Heaven and earth?”

“I do.”

“Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord?”

“I do.”

“Do you believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church?”

“I do.”

The sounds of the organ and the priest’s blessing linger in the background as the scene cuts to a man loading his revolver. When the organ music crescendos, the killings begin.

The heavy irony of this scene is clear. While Michael observes and participates in a Catholic baptism, praising God and renouncing “Satan and all his works,” his hitmen eliminate the other heads of the New York mafia families on his order.

As his godchild is baptized into the Catholic faith with holy water, Michael is baptized as godfather of the Corleone family with blood.

This iconic scene unveils the moral hypocrisy that dominates Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather.” Michael Corleone is a cold-blooded murderer and crime boss, but he is also a man who is deeply devoted to his wife, his family and his faith. The contrast between his gentleness and sentimentality and the viciousness of his crimes has fascinated viewers since the film’s release 50 years ago and still marks its lasting legacy.

Ahead of its 50th anniversary, “The Godfather” is being

restored under the supervision of its original director, Francis Ford Coppola, and re-released in limited theaters.

The film is legendary, winning best picture at the 45th Academy Awards and inspiring a string of other nominations and wins, including Marlon Brando, who enlisted Sacheen Littlefeather, a Native American woman, to decline the Best Actor award on his behalf to protest “the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry.”

“The Godfather” is famous for its brutal violence, first-rate editing and innovative cinematography. It also brought the gangster genre into the mainstream, inspiring other gangster films and shows like “Goodfellas,” “The Sopranos” and “Donnie Brasco.” David Chase (the creator of “The Sopranos”) has often said that his television series about Tony Soprano, a mobster in therapy, wouldn’t exist without Coppola’s film. Even real-life Italian mobsters embraced it.

The film, however, has been bashed for its allegedly criminalized portrayal of Italian-Americans. While “Caesar” (1930) and “Scarface” (1932), both inspired by the life of Al Capone, were the first films to expressly introduce the notion of the Italian as a gangster, critics have slammed “The Godfather” for its role in promoting the ethnic stereotype that all Italians are criminals and linked to the mob. Even before filming began, “The Godfather” faced backlash from the Italian American Civil Rights League, led by alleged mobster Joe Colombo, who protested the project for its alleged targeting of Italian Americans by the feds.

While “The Godfather” was not the first film to depict Italians and Italian culture, it was one of the first films to depict them as more than simply stereotypes or caricatures. It was also one of the first films made about Italians by Italians.

Coppola does show stereo-

types of gangsters in pressed suits and pinky rings committing vicious acts of violence. But he also displays the vulnerable side of men like Michael Corleone: a loyal brother, decorated war veteran and college graduate.

No amount of gentleness, sentimentality or love of family can justify the actions of men like Michael. That was not Coppola’s intent. If anything, it was to show how these men were capable of violence and betrayal as well as loyalty and tenderness, all in search of the dignity and power ascribed to the American Dream.

The Corleone family embodies the great ambition of the poorest Italian American immigrants of the early and mid-20th century: to become American. The film’s very first line — “I believe in America” — sets up a tale that tells of the madness, glory and failure of the American Dream. The line is spoken by Amerigo Bonasera, a Sicilian man who tells an immigrant’s tale of working hard, trying to stay out of trouble and build a life for his children. However, the American justice system has failed him, and he must seek help from Vito Corleone, a man whose power usurps all legal authority.

Coppola’s cynical look at the American Dream was introduced at a time when the nation was mired in the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, and it inspired the New Hollywood films of the 1970s that looked more roughly at America’s social ills.

None of this is to say that “The Godfather” is innocent of all the criticism it has faced. One could still argue that it is guilty of glorifying mob violence on some level. However, its impact on Hollywood and American culture in general is undeniable. Fifty years later, in spite of the criticism it has faced, the film still deserves its title as the baptism of American cinema.

Hannah Eliot SC ’24 is from San Francisco, California. She likes to surf and is trying to learn to play the guitar.

Pitzer sophomore launches first-ever free chest binder program for students MAYA OLSON Offering free chest binders is mainly a matter of safety, as improper binding can be extremely dangerous. Worn to compress the chest and minimize its outward appearance, binders can help relieve gender dysphoria.

However, finding a well-fitting and high-quality binder can be difficult. Many are financially infeasible, or the process of buying one could require outing oneself to family or fear of doing so. Besides, many who want to buy a binder still wonder what a properly fitting binder would feel like and wish to try different sizes.

That’s why Lila Feldmann PZ ’24 launched Pitzer College’s first-ever free chest binder program for students.

“The way that the program works is that we have an anonymous order form for chest binders from this company called gc2b,” Feldmann said. gc2b was founded in 2015 by a Black trans man named Marli Washington. They say their binders are the first gender-affirming chest binders specifically created for trans people — as opposed to chest binders previously designed by and for cis men. The company also donates binders and sponsors organizations that support LGBTQ+ communities.

“Improper binding can be really dangerous. You can damage your organs, you can fracture

your ribs,” Feldmann explained.

“Specifically, [binders] are really interesting in terms of finances. I wanted this program to be accessible to all students regardless of their financial background.

Sure, some students may have a lot of money, but what if they aren’t comfortable coming out to their parents as trans?”

Despite attempting to start this project for a long time, Feldmann struggled to find funding.

However, the Queer, Trans, Plus Student Alliance at Pitzer was able to support her. Feldmann hopes to expand the current six-week trial run for Pitzer students to make it available to all 5C students, if it is successful on this smaller scale.

First, Feldmann placed an order for binders in every size available to keep for trying on in the Lavender Resource Room at Pitzer. After speaking to many friends, she realized the necessity of having the option to try one on before placing an order.

Students who want to try on a binder could do so in the Resource Room starting Monday.

This option also offers the students the opportunity to explore their identity before owning a binder.

On Monday, an anonymous order form was sent to Pitzer students, with results processed before delivery to the mailroom so that mailbox numbers and students weren’t connected.

COURTESY: MARLI WASHINGTON DESIGN

Pitzer student Lila Feldmann PZ ’24 launched a free chest binder program this week.

Students also had the option to pick up the package in the Resource Room, for those apprehensive about anonymity. The binders come in inclusive size options, fun colors and a variety of nudes — all of which can be found on the gc2b website. Anonymity, according to Feldmann, was the most crucial part of the program.

Taking advantage of resources for queer students can require comfortable being out. She established the program knowing that there are students who are still exploring their gender and

that there needs to be space for such exploration without it being public.

Feldmann also knew that lack of access to a quality binder often leads to improper binding, so she took matters into her own hands.

“When people are in need of binding their chest, they’re going to find a way to do it,” Feldmann said. “It’s our responsibility as a queer community to provide them access to a safe way to do it. There needs to be space for people not fully comfortable with everyone knowing

their gender identity.”

This program also highlights a common question: what is a school obligated to provide? Does the administration do enough for queer and trans students, especially those with less socioeconomic privilege?

Feldmann emphasized that students are the ones who primarily fund the Student Senate, which then pays for many student activities and resources, so she is attempting to provide more for the students with the money they already spend.

“With this program, we’re trying to provide things for free back to students,” she said. “Not just providing the resources for where students can find these chest binders, but actually providing them for free, taking every opportunity to give Senate money back to the students.”

The basic needs of students are often overlooked. Having resource centers and displays of support does not compensate for the fiscal and physical needs that the colleges could be providing.

“The one thing I want to make clear is … [that] people should not feel guilty for taking advantage of this resource if they do have the financial means to pay for a binder. It is okay to use this resource because you’re not comfortable being out, not only if you can’t afford it,” Feldmann said.

“Put yourself first and use the programs provided to you.”

PAGE 6

Arts & Culture

FILM FILES

APRIL 8, 2022

MOMENTS TO SAVOR

‘Pam & Tommy’ does the very thing it argues against

Scrambling to find the best egg dish EMILY KIM

LUCIA MARQUEZ • THE STUDENT LIFE

RORYE JONES “Pam & Tommy” is a good show — but it never should have been made.

The Hulu limited series details the real-life scandal of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s stolen sex tape in the 90s, also imagining the effect this had on the couple’s marriage and Anderson herself. I take care to use the word “imagining” because, notably, the show was produced without Anderson’s consent, despite both celebrities still being very much alive, and despite the show’s delicate content.

“Pam & Tommy” explicitly promotes a narrative condemning the exploitation of women’s bodies. In fact, this is the show’s central point: documenting the exploitation of Pamela Anderson’s body as her sex tape was stolen and subsequently distributed online, enabling millions of unwelcome viewers to help themselves to an intimate video solely intended for the eyes of Anderson and her husband, as created on their honeymoon.

However, even as the series claims to stand for victims of leaked porn and the emotional trauma it wreaks, the show does exactly what it warns against by again exploiting the story, and body, of Pamela Anderson, in order to turn a profit.

And, as Anderson is still living, she has to relive this painful experience all over again — whereas her now ex-husband Tommy Lee purportedly never felt as negatively affected by the sex tape, and even gave his unsolicited approval of the miniseries, Anderson feels quite differently. In fact, a source stated that Anderson felt “violated” by the release of the TV show without her approval, and she found its contents “painful.” Furthermore, Anderson appeared to be so outraged by “Pam & Tommy” that she now plans to release a Netflix documentary about her life to “tell the real story.”

Even worse is the fact that “Pam & Tommy” is actually an objectively good show.

Though I’m definitely familiar with Pamela Anderson as the actress from “Baywatch,” I had never heard of the sex tape fiasco prior to watching “Pam & Tommy.” So, at first, I was a bit skeptical of how one leaked video could supply enough content for an entire miniseries — it seemed like such an event would be better condensed into movie format.

However, I was wrong: I found the show to be utterly enthralling from start to finish due to the admitted creativity of the show runners. Lily James’ makeup and prosthetic team did an excellent job; in no way did her appearance feel too forced, cheap or exaggerated, as is often the risk when portraying a well-known icon. Instead, James looked like she emerged straight out of the 90s, at least paying decent visual homage to Pamela Anderson. Sebastian Stan’s portrayal of Tommy Lee looked a little less believable with a fake-looking goatee, but his enthusiastic mannerisms genuinely sold the smitten rock star role he sought to fill.

In fact, this was my favorite part of “Pam & Tommy” — the love story. I bought the whirlwind romance wholeheartedly; both James and Stan made it look so earnest (regardless of how true-to-life it was, as Lee was arrested for spousal abuse, followed by the couple’s divorce).

At the time of watching “Pam & Tommy,” I was not aware of Anderson’s reaction to the show’s creation. But even without this knowledge, watching the show began to make me feel icky due to its blatant hypocrisy.

Thanks to makeup and prosthetics, Lily James looks exactly like Pamela Anderson in the 90s, and Sebastian Stan looks remarkably similar to Tommy Lee (I remember my mom thinking “Pam & Tommy” was a documentary because she could have sworn that the Hulu picture of James and Stan was an actual photo of Anderson and Lee).

The actors’ striking resemblance

to those they portray is, on one hand, incredibly cool to watch.

That said, while it undoubtedly makes their performance feel more real, this can only make it feel all the more painful for those it depicts.

The show emphasizes the immense emotional stress placed on Anderson as she deals with the thought of her body engaging in a most intimate act displayed across millions of greasy computer screens. Additionally, it documents the sexist treatment Anderson receives from legal teams, journalists, late night talk hosts (the Jay Leno interview is truly skeevy to watch), the public and her own husband. Even still, outrageously, “Pam & Tommy” dares to simulate Anderson and Lee having sex.

This means that, across millions of greasy monitors, people can yet again watch the exploitation of Anderson’s body at their leisure, without her consent, and with eerily similar body doubles carrying out the act. “Pam & Tommy” stops short of re-enacting the actual sex tape, as if this somehow rectifies releasing what is akin to a glorified sex tape of Pamela Anderson again without her consent, forcing her to relive something she finds “painful” so that she once more feels “violated.”

Whenever there is a victim involved in the narrative, and they are still alive, the proper consent should be obtained to maintain some semblance of an ethical code. Otherwise, the show’s creators are simply subjecting the victim to another round of unwanted publicity, reminding them of their painful experiences and exploiting this pain for money and clout.

Unacceptable.

Ahh, eggs. You may love them or hate them, but even if you are part of the latter, you can’t deny their versatility.

A couple of weeks ago, my friends ate brunch at Frary and, amid a conversation about Spiderman (brunch conversations are the best conversations), we quickly noticed that though the contents of our greenboxes varied, we all had eggs prepared in some way. One friend and I had scrambled eggs, one went for a classic Frary omelet and another had a hard-boiled egg nestled snugly between two hash browns.

Our conversation swiftly changed to something that was far more pressing at that moment: What was the best way to eat eggs? Or rather, because we didn’t want to have a full-fledged debate on that peaceful Sunday morning, what was everyone’s favorite way to eat eggs?

As expected, the answers varied significantly. There was a discussion about Japanese tea eggs, a passionate soliloquy of appreciation for fluffy scrambled eggs and even an homage to the often overlooked hard-boiled egg.

We went around the table, and when it was my turn, I talked about my love for gyeranjim, a fluffy Korean egg soufflé prepared in a piping hot stone pot. When paired with rice and some kimchi, gyeranjjim is the ultimate comfort meal. My friends nodded in encouragement, and we continued circling the table multiple times, adding more and more egg delicacies to our ever-growing list.

Though the conversation could have gone on for hours, we eventually put it to a close.

We gathered our stuff and scattered, but for the rest of the day, I was still thinking about eggs. I stared at my code for my introduction to computer science class — my mind was on nothing but egg soufflé. “Right now, gyeranjjim is my go-to egg dish,” I thought. “But it was not always like that.” Indeed, my egg preferences have changed throughout different seasons of my life.

Rorye Jones PO ’23 finally got around to finishing “Titanic” and can now reasonably call herself TSL’s TV and film columnist.

Yes, she did cry (mainly for the violinists).

I thought about how my mom would frequently pack me hard-boiled eggs with my lunch when I was in elementary school.

Initially, I was not the biggest fan, but once she came back from the Japanese dollar store with animal-shaped egg molds, which changed the game entirely.

Suddenly hard-boiled eggs were my favorite part of my lunch, and I would always rush to the lunch tables with eager anticipation of which egg animal would be staring back at me when I opened my bag.

Then, my mind turned to when I tried a soft-boiled egg for the first time (I didn’t even know they existed) at a family friend’s restaurant. It was such a satisfying topping for my avocado toast that, following that meal, my dad and I tried to perfect our own soft-boiled eggs at home. I chuckled to myself as I recounted mornings in high school when my dad would dart his eyes between the boiling eggs and the timer on his phone, sprinting to the sink when the timer beeped to submerge them in the ice water at precisely seven minutes.

Next, I started thinking about how simple fried eggs over rice (drizzled with sesame oil and soy sauce) satisfied me when I lived alone in Seoul during my gap year. Finally, my mind returned to the present day — and how, though I sadly cannot get gyeranjjim at Frank or Frary, it is a must-eat whenever I do venture out of the Claremont bubble.

The amusing conversation over brunch with my friends led me to realize that eggs don’t get nearly enough credit. There are so many ways to prepare them and so many ways that they can satisfy you.

So, the next time you go into the dining hall, I encourage you to survey your egg options. As you do, ask yourself the same question that my friends and I asked ourselves at brunch: What is the best way to eat an egg (for me, right now)? If you have an answer, I hope that, at the dining hall or elsewhere, you can indulge yourself and enjoy it soon. Maybe you don’t have an answer. In that case, with time, I do not doubt that you will find one.

Emily Kim PO ’25 is from Irvine, California. She loves baggy sweaters, YouTube karaoke and banana bread.

SARAH FLEMMING • THE STUDENT LIFE

SCISSORING: Play explores queerness, religion and coming of age Continued from page 1 story encompasses more than just that. Doa Barney PZ ’25, who plays Lorena Hickok, explains that it’s more than just a coming-out story.

“Queerness has been touched on just being the [subject], especially in such a concretely normative space like the Catholic Church but I think tangentially parallel to that, it is also a coming of age story, as well,” Barney said.

While the play is set in the ’90s, the themes remain understandable and the conflicts remain universal.

Cast member Lila Rubin PZ ’24, who plays the character of Celia, believes in the enduring relevance of the play.

“The plot is something that I think people don’t realize still happens,” Rubin said. “When I talk to people about what the play is, they think it’s set in the 80s or the 90s, but [don’t know] the morality clauses still exist.”

The morality clause refers to a religious contract that sets rules and moral expectations for the employees of Christian schools. Stage manager Claire Van Note PO ’23 explained how the morality clause fit into the plot of the play.

“Abigail takes a job at [an] all-Catholic girls high school teaching history but in order to take that job you have to sign the morality clause, where the school says we can terminate your employment if you do anything that goes against our Catholic values,” Van Note said.

“She identifies as homosexual, so

she kind of has to hide that part of herself while she’s at school, which starts bleeding into her romantic life.”

“Scissoring” retells history as it actually is, not as it often is — told by men. Elements of magical realism seep through the figments of Abigail’s imagination, exposing the censored affair between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickock. Hansen believes this is an important relationship to educate the audience about.

“Many people don’t know that Eleanor Roosevelt had a long term lover [and] long term romantic relationship with a female journalist, and I’m so excited to share that story because it’s often just swept under the rug,” Hansen said. “Lorena Hickok was a journalist that eventually moved into the White House and had an adjoining room with Eleanor Roosevelt.”

Many of the cast and crew members resonate with the plotline and hope that the audience

will relate to it too. Paige Blackwell PO ’22, the light designer of the show, reflected on how they connected with the play.

“This show feels very indicative of the way that I grew up and I definitely see myself in the main character,” they said. “The protagonist and I both find ourselves grappling with the two different sides of our identities.”

The play showcases a performance about how choices, commitment and courage conflict

when two communities interact, but love prevails over all and thus bigotry is overpowered. The play is a true celebration of queerness.

“Come for a laugh, both awkward and humorous,” Doa said.

“Come for some tears, both [of] sadness and joy — but most importantly, come for self-reflection.”

“Scissoring” will run from April 8-10 at the Allen Theatre. Tickets can be purchased from the Seaver Theatre box office or the show’s website.

COURTESY: ARJUN GOVIND

“Scissoring,” a student-directed show, will run from April 8-10 at Pomona College’s Allen Theatre.

OpiniOns

April 8, 2022

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Trans women belong in college sports GWEN TUCKER The debate around transgender athletes is not a new conversation, but it has recently focused its attention on college athletics. The discussion of trans athletes in college sports has become particularly focused on Lia Thomas, a transgender woman and swimmer at the University of Pennsylvania.

As Thomas gathered momentum in women’s swimming competitions, she immediately became the consistent target of vitriolic transphobia from right-wing media sources (and even celebrities like Caitlyn Jenner).

In fact, in December and January, Fox News aired 32 segments about her in just six weeks. After she became the first trans athlete to win an NCAA swimming championship for her 500-yard freestyle race, Reka Gyorgy — a fellow collegiate swimmer at Virginia Tech — wrote an open letter blaming Thomas for her own 17th place finish. The NCAA responded to Thomas’ historic win by ‘updating’ its policy on transgender athletes, making it so their ability to compete is determined on a case-by-case basis, where each sport sets requirements for testosterone or estrogen levels required to compete.

The transphobic response to Lia Thomas’ success represents a larger political attack on transgender people, and trans athletes more specifically. For example, Iowa’s governor recently signed a law that prevents

transgender women and girls from participating in women’s sports at public and private K-12 schools, community colleges and any college or university that is affiliated with the NCAA or NAIA conferences. Iowa is not the only one: In 2021 alone, more than 30 states proposed bans on trans individuals participating in sports, and nine actually enacted their legislation.

Whether these talking points come out of the mouths of Lia Thomas’ fellow swimmers, rightwing media commentators, or powerful politicians, they are spreading rampant misinformation about transgender identities and experiences. One common argument used by opponents of access to gender-affirming sports teams is that transgender women have an inherent “biological advantage” over their cisgender counterparts.

The fact is, this claim is completely false. Many athletes competing at high levels, regardless of their gender identity, have physiological advantages that make them better suited for their sport. For example, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps – a cisgender man – has been said to have a “perfect swimming body” with a large wingspan and short legs, which gives him genetic advantages over other athletes. This is simply how athletic competition works. The notion of transgender women having a unique advantage has been shown to be scientifically

false.

Additionally, the claim that transgender athletes have an unfair advantage completely disregards the countless ways transgender people are subject to discrimination on a daily basis. Trans individuals are more likely to suffer from bullying, depression and anxiety, and they are more likely to experience poverty and homelessness than their cisgender peers. Disregarding these experiences ignores the real conditions of these individuals’ lives.

The underlying argument for excluding trans women from gender-affirming sports teams, is that their perceived advantage hurts supposed “real women”: their cisgender competitors. Gyorgy relied on this trope in her letter, where she wrote, “every event that transgender athletes competed in was one spot taken away from biological females throughout the meet.”

In reality, excluding trans women from sports hurts all women.

While the impacts obviously fall hardest on transgender individuals, the fact is that all athletes competing in women’s sports could now be subject to “gender policing,” subjected to accusations of being “‘too masculine’ or ‘too good’ at their sport to be a ‘real’ woman.’”

Defining womanhood purely based on biological characteristics — hormone levels and sex organs — instead of recognizing the socially

Ukraine reaction shows the fine line between action and awareness ANNIKA REFF As you scroll through social media, it’s likely that your feeds have been inundated with Ukrainian flags and Instagram stories flooded with infographics about the war. Sharing support and information about the ongoing crisis is a good use of social media, but it must not be mistaken as a substantive action. Social media is a great platform for connectivity, but a risky one for making change. Some of its significant downsides are the prominence of scams and virtue signaling.

You might have seen Instagram graphics that make claims like “repost and we’ll donate a meal to Ukrainian refugees.” Scammers see social justice causes and humanitarian crises as a way to make money. Many scams are extremely prominent on social media feeds and often masquerade as legitimate charities or enterprises.

For example, the largest Black Lives Matter Facebook page, which raised $100,000 and had 700,000 followers, was a complete scam, CNN reported.

It was owned and operated by a white Australian man who had no affiliation with BLM. In 2021, a report found that people lost $796 million to fraud via social media platforms. Since the war began, thousands of fake charities and war scammers have already appeared, targeting those looking to donate to Ukraine.

These scams are harmful, and they capitalize on performative activism.

Many of these fake charities and in-

accurate infographics are perpetuated by people more concerned with appearing altruistic than effecting actual change. People reposting scams and misinformation are at best naive and at worst virtue signaling — when one posts on social media relating to social or political issues “for the intention of receiving praise of one’s righteousness from others who share that point of view, or to passively rebuke those who do not.”

While posting a black square, flag or infographic is not fraud, it can be difficult to distinguish sketchy sources and misinformation from genuine news.

Social media is a great way to show solidarity, but it is not a replacement for action. For example, the #BlackoutTuesday campaign in June 2020 demonstrated solidarity against police brutality following the murder of George Floyd. Still, posting a black square was not an actual form of activism, though many viewed posting as participation in BLM, “exempting” them from donating or getting involved off of social media. Posting is a gesture, not an action, and it should not be perceived as such.

The best way to contribute to the war effort and help Ukranians is to spend time doing research and contributing through more traditional means. While it may be appealing to donate to name-brand large international organizations like the Red Cross, it is more beneficial to donate to smaller-scale charities

based in Ukraine instead. Some great organizations include Hope for Ukraine, United Help Ukraine and Save the Children. Charity Navigator is a useful tool to aid in further research. Other ways to help include paying for hotels and Airbnbs for Ukrainian refugees.

Supporting organizations who are based in Ukraine or had operations there before the war is essential. Non-financial means of helping those impacted by the war include donating food, clothing and other supplies, such as through organizations like Nova Ukraine. Attending peace rallies and protests is another way to demonstrate support and spread awareness at home, thus keeping up the pressure on governments to continue their support of the Ukrainian cause.

We should continue to show solidarity and spread information about the war on social media, but we must not confuse posting or reposting with making a difference.

Posting will never be as impactful as donating your time or money to help Ukraine. We cannot “influence” our way out of a crisis, whether it’s systemic racism or a war.

Annika Reff PO ’25 is from Los Angeles, California. She enjoys consuming an unhealthy amount of caffeine and listening to the soothing voice of Michael Barbaro.

Popular teen shows weren’t made for everyone

BEllA pETTENGill • THE STUDENT liFE

SHAY SURESH Our childhoods’ most popular teen shows weren’t written for me.

Don’t get me wrong, I watch them. Enjoy them, even. But they were written from a distinctly privileged perspective and for a particular audience. Newsflash: characters who come from privilege and are “making their way up” are not exactly representative of all viewers.

I do not mean to discourage you from watching these shows, but rather to encourage you to recognize what they lack.

Some of my favorite shows happen to be revered 2000s classics, like “One Tree Hill” and “The O.C.” Other well known shows from this time are “90210,” “Gossip Girl” and “Gilmore Girls.” All entertaining, but not at all realistic in the ways that matter.

Take “One Tree Hill,” a show centered around a majority white cast with the exception of characters like Skills and Fergie, who are given nowhere near the amount of screen time as the main characters.

Or “The O.C.,” which follows lovable — but rich and white — teens from sheltered backgrounds. And “Gilmore Girls,” while a famously comforting show, suffers from a lack of diversity from nearly all directions. Watch a “Gossip Girl” trailer and the pattern is self-ex-

planatory: much of the television we know and love tells white stories from white perspectives.

It is not that none of these shows had characters from underprivileged backgrounds, but what representation these shows did have was rarely accurate. In “The O.C.”, the only representation consisted of stereotypical portrayals of people of color from working class communities. Though there is representation present, it’s not much better than the original “Gossip Girl”, where the cast contains only white, upper-class teenagers. Both instances go to show, heteronormative and homogenous characterizations of our generation need to go.

As a woman of color, it’s hard to reconcile our generation’s favorite shows with their almost exclusive focus on white stories. It is especially difficult to hear people say that these shows have had a cultural impact while not being representative of their viewers.

The representativeness — or lack thereof — of the most popular shows indicates to watchers that the stories worth telling are ones from primarily white perspectives. It signifies a preference for privilege and uniformity in a world that contains a myriad of perspectives and intersectional identities.

Teen shows today are making changes. These more recent shows include “Never Have I Ever,” “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” and a personal favorite, “Sex Education.” It’s promising to see that I see people who look like me from my sources of entertainment. On the other hand, though we see diverse casts in shows like “Euphoria”, the show still suffers from unfinished storylines for its marginalized characters, negative stereotyping and cliches. Every character, whether the side or main role, deserves a thorough, representative and non-exploitative narrative that speaks to watchers who see themselves in these TV personalities.

The best characters are the most realistic ones. And the best shows are those with a cast reflective of the people we encounter in our day-to-day lives and the individual experiences we’ve had. Teen shows need to stop associating characters with their racial stereotypes.

They need to stop demonizing the most diverse characters, or killing them off to evoke the white savior complex. Consult the people who are playing the characters you’ve created, and consult their communities. Television should stop manipulating real stories into what are supposedly more entertaining ones.

It is a disservice to underrepresented communities and the stories they wish to tell.

I ask all of you to watch the shows you watch with a critical eye. We should not feel guilt for enjoying the shows we enjoy. Instead, we should ask ourselves if the show in question demonstrates diverse, accurate and non-stereotypical representation and narratives. Respect your stories by keeping your favorite creators accountable.

Shay Suresh CM ’24 is from San Jose, California. She loves literary fiction, indie music and making Pinterest boards.

COUrTESY: TED EYTAN

College athletics must allow transgender women to compete on the team that aligns with their gender identity, writes Gwen Tucker SC ‘25.

constructed nature of gender and gendered stereotypes is inherently in opposition to women’s rights.

Furthermore, this framing plays into harmful stereotypes that women are weak and must be protected. If these politicians really cared about protecting women, they would support reproductive rights, the Violence Against Women Act, and other policies that actually keep people safe from gender-based discrimination and violence. Instead, they scapegoat transgender people, spreading blatant and vitrolic transphobia whenever possible.

There is, unfortunately, no simple solution to this widespread problem. In addressing discrimination that transgender individuals face nationwide, one small place to start is in college sports. The NCAA must change its inherently reactive

policy, proactively accepting and encouraging the participation of transgender people in the sports team that is affirming to them.

The Claremont Colleges specifically can further this work by explicitly stating their commitment to accepting, welcoming and supporting transgender athletes on any of the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps or Pomona-Pitzer teams. We as students can also take individual actions by finding ways to support our transgender peers in meaningful and important ways. Showing that trans people belong in sports is the least we can do to ensure that trans people belong everywhere.

Gwen Tucker SC ’25 is from Evanston, Illinois. She is passionate about community organizing, Jewish identity, and showing everyone pictures of her foster dogs.

Pomona endowment disclosure must include divestment from Israeli occupation SARAH BURCH Throughout this school year, not a single presidential email to Pomona students has gone by without a mention of “community,” particularly in the context of the ongoing pandemic and its repeated surges.

The use of collectivist language to paper over power imbalances in decision-making and access to information comes as no surprise, particularly to those of us who have watched the Pomona administration’s response to student and faculty calls for endowment disclosure over the years. As 5C Divest activist Ethan Vitaz PZ ’22 wrote last week in TSL, the college has continuously refused calls for endowment transparency, with the Board of Trustees in a recent meeting refusing even to put to a vote whether to disclose the percentage of Pomona’s endowment funds invested in fossil fuels.

While it is well known that Pomona has an astronomical endowment, which recently cleared the high-water mark of $3 billion, the implications of such a number often go unconsidered. As divestment movements have identified, there is often a great deal of exploitation lurking in opaque investment portfolios. The overwhelming student approval of the recent ASPC referendum to both disclose the percent of the Pomona endowment invested in fossil fuels and to divest from fossil fuels is a major step in reckoning with the real cost of these institutions. I wholeheartedly commend ASPC, the 5C Divest organizers and the entire Pomona College student body for recognizing the dire need for disclosure and divestment from fossil fuels.

However, it behooves us to remember that students organizing for Palestinian liberation across the Claremont Colleges have also been seeking to draw attention to the endowment for years, calling for total disclosure of the Colleges’ investments and total divestment from companies on the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions list — companies complicit in perpetuating the Israeli occupation of Palestine. BDS, a movement in solidarity with Palestinian liberation, calls for the boycott of, divestment from and sanctions on the Israeli apartheid regime.

Its goal is to build international pressure to end the illegal military occupation of Palestine, end discrimination against Palestinians living within the state of Israel and to allow Palestinian refugees the right to return to their homes.

At the 5Cs, pro-BDS organizers have worked alongside the goal of fossil fuel divestment, understanding that the struggle against profit-driven destruction of the environment and the struggle for decolonization are not only linked, but frequently one and the same fight. Indigenous land defenders from Standing Rock to Wet’suwet’en land have demonstrated this, standing against oil pipeline construction: a devastating environmental threat made possible by the settler-colonial claim to their sovereign lands.

The Palestinian liberation struggle, too, has always fought

against Israeli greenwashing and environmental destruction, which goes hand in hand with the militarism that undergirds the occupation of Palestine. The same U.S. defense budget that hands over $3 billion (no relation) yearly in military funding to Israel also funds the largest polluter of any individual organization in the world, the U.S. military. The extraction and use of fossil fuels is historically deeply tied to histories of war and imperialism, meaning that a movement for environmental justice that ignores Palestinian liberation fails to get to the root of the problem: the global legacy of colonial extraction and exploitation.

Increasingly, students across the 5Cs have recognized this entwinement, and it is no coincidence that support for divestment from fossil fuels and from Israeli apartheid has grown in tandem.

Pitzer College has long seen organizing for fossil fuel divestment, and its faculty and student representatives showed their support for BDS and Palestinian liberation in 2019 in their historic vote to suspend Pitzer’s Haifa University study abroad program, later undemocratically overturned by President Melvin Oliver. Pomona’s student government, too, has been a staunch ally of the Palestinian cause, most recently in the unanimous passage in 2021 of a resolution to divest ASPC’s own funds from the Israeli occupation.

Educational institutions across the U.S. have joined the 5Cs in recognizing the need for divestment from the Israeli occupation, furthered by a strengthening international consensus that the occupation of Palestine is not only illegal under international law but also constitutive of an apartheid regime. The International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School, for instance, submitted a report to the UN last month finding that the actions of the Israeli regime in the occupied West Bank “amount[s] to the crime of apartheid under international law.” Undergraduates at Harvard, Columbia and the University of Michigan, among others, have taken up the call for divestment from the Israeli occupation and made similar connections to movements against fossil fuels.

The recent banners dropped across the Claremont Colleges during Palestine Freedom Week made clear their demand: “5C ADMIN: DIVEST FROM ISRAELI APARTHEID.” Calls for endowment disclosure and divestment from fossil fuels without the simultaneous call for BDS are incomplete, and while there may never be an ethical endowment, it is our obligation as students in the U.S. to support the Palestinian struggle for liberation in material ways. I urge ASPC and the 5C student body not to abandon Palestine, but to maintain consistency and moral clarity on this issue, about which there can be no compromise. Moves for endowment disclosure and divestment must address both fossil fuels and investment in the Israeli occupation, not only because there is clear student support on both issues, but because the environmental and Palestinian struggles must be seen as one and the same – as the struggle against the destruction of war and imperialism.

Guest columnist Sarah Burch PO ’22 loves fiction and 1980s media in all forms, and is on a much anticipated gut health journey.

OpiniOns April 8, 2022 Gaming doesn’t have to be gatekept

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Jasper’s Crossword: A brief refresher

ANNA TOLKIEN

JASpEr DAViDOFF • THE STUDENT liFE

ACROSS 1. Tax-filing cred.

4. They’re on ceilings or stands 8. Double-check 14. It comes before milk or meal 15. Rapper and SVU star 16. Second try 17. Enzyme that’s inhibited to fight HIV 19. What Mario says 20. *Healthy alternative to a Coke 22. Lemon- or lime- drinks 23. Loan interest stats 24. ___ Angeles 27. CGU’s color 28. Cost for a commercial 30. “Me too!”

32. *Late-to-class activity 34. Turkish capital 37. Pigment in red wine 38. *Verging on sweater weather 42. Many a Futurama character 43. Teeny-weeny 44. Sine ___ non 47. Faux-___ 48. Cat door, often 49. Tim on Project Runway 50. *How you could describe 20, 32 or 38-across 54. Minecraft-like game 57. Certain parenting instinct 58. At the very least 59. Land unit 60. Knot 61. Chatted on iMessage 62. Classmate 63. Sponsored FB posts DOWN 1. Police cruiser, casually 2. Event with a marching band 3. Made amends 4. Lord’s land, in olden times 5. Kind of bowl at Malott brunch 6. Coffee with a “Taster’s Choice” brand 7. Was in hot water?

8. Changes to a draft 9. Observe 10. Cubs slugger Sammy 11. Cavaliers’ sch.

12. Dream stage of sleep 13. Poet’s “before” 18. App agreement you didn’t read,

briefly 21. Barrymore in Charlie’s Angels 24. Reclined 25. Prefix to present or potent 26. Communicate visually 28. MasterChef contestant’s uniform 29. Like CODA star Troy Kotsur 30. In a cunning manner “Gotcha” 31. Fill to excess 33. Tissues you can tear, for short 34. “Stat!”

35. Where Bourbon St. is 36. Pomona alum Kristofferson 39. Gaelic person 40. Graphic that shows density 41. All set 44. Brunson on Abbott Elementary 45. Implied, but not voiced 46. Occasional victims of Razor scooters 48. Repaired 49. Attack dog’s warning 50. Oodles 51. Old tales 52. To be, in Toulouse 53. Claremont Craft Ales product 54. Decompose 55. Deposit in the earth 56. Off-road kind of bike

Let me set the scene for you.

You’re twelve years old and love “Minecraft” and log into your favorite server. The moment you join a voice chat and they hear your voice, much older men make sexually demeaning comments. Some creepy old man tells you to show your boobs.

Defeated and embarrassed, you close the application and decide to not play games on servers anymore. You keep playing on your own, building castles and aquariums and treehouses.

Unfortunately, this experience is typical for women when gaming. Gaming switched from being something that was imaginative and social to something that scared and embarrassed me.

Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve loved video games – especially Nintendo. “Wii Sports”, “Nintendogs”, “Cooking Mama”, “Mario”, “Kirby”, “Zelda” and “Style Savvy” were all religions for me. I treasured my Wii, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Gameboy and Playstation. I’d love going to my friends’ houses and playing games together, and I even remember playing the Wii with my whole family.

But, in the seventh grade, everything changed. Sleepovers stopped being Minecraft building sessions, instead they were all about gossip and painting our nails. I started to notice that things I enjoyed like “Minecraft” and Nintendo were considered babyish. But for the guys at my school, gaming was still cool.

They went onto online platforms like Skype and Discord to form gaming communities, which I was left out of.

This gendered gaming divide widened as I got older. By the time I got to high school, gaming was exclusively a male hobby. Whenever I joined my

guy friends to play games like Call Of Duty or PubG, I was always on the outskirts and not fully accepted into their community.

I was deemed girly and not a real gamer for being into story-based and world-building games rather than shooter games.

I wasn’t accepted in the gamer community at large because I liked playing games like “Animal Crossing” and “StarDew Valley” instead of ultra-violent shooter games. I was a novice, immature, sandbox gamer, and my girl friends made fun of me whenever they found out I was playing games at all. Girls around me thought it was weird for me to be playing video games in general, and guys around me thought the games I was playing weren’t valid. This made me feel like I didn’t fit into either community.

But the preconceived notion that gamers are all male is false.

According to Forbes, women make up 46 percent of gamers.

Yet, 79 percent of video game main characters are men. This is a literal representation of how unrepresentative and closed-off the gaming community can be.

Women and new gamers often face gatekeeping when they first enter the gaming community.

There is a huge focus on being a “real” gamer, and you’re labeled a “noob” (newbie player) if you don’t have the right equipment such as a microphone, headphones, multiple monitors or a specific type of chair. There’s also a focus on what games you have played; for instance, if you don’t have a PC and play on consoles like Playstation or Nintendo Switch, you are essentially considered less established than PC gamers. There are also certain games, like “CSGO”, “Dark Souls” and “League of Legends”, that are considered tests of whether you are a real gamer.

Such perceptions all need to

change in order for the gaming community to expand. However, many individuals in the gaming community fear that if gaming becomes widespread and open to anyone they will lose the safe space it gives them. Gamers have faced judgment and bullying in the past and so many retreat and close off their servers or groups. They see their private Discord servers as places to be unfiltered, send edgy memes and be around people who share their interests.

However, doing so inevitably excludes others from enjoying video games and further creates misconceptions that gaming is something that only guys can do, or that it’s nerdy or that it’s something that only certain people can enjoy.

If we could open up the gaming community instead of focusing on someone’s gender, what equipment they have and if they’ve jumped through arbitrary hoops of which games they’ve played, the gaming space would become a lot more inclusive and exciting.

This exclusivity in gaming is even reflected in game design itself. For example, one of the most popular gaming companies, Blizzard, reported that 76 percent of its designers were men. It raises the question of how many wonderful, creative and unique games could be made if women didn’t feel excluded from the field. We could make games that everyone can enjoy, and hopefully bring even more women into gaming.

So, gamers, the next time you see a newcomer trying to get into video games, don’t shut them down or exclude them from your servers.

Have sympathy, remember what it was like when you were first starting out, and welcome them no matter what place they are at. Have fun out there, gamers!

Anna Tolkien CM ’24 is a literature and film dual major. She loves her pugs, creative writing and iced coffee.

Would you be interested in joining a 5C crossword club next year? Visit bit.ly/crossclaremont to join the email list.

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS

lilliAN ViSAYA • THE STUDENT liFE

The gaming community must be more inclusive to newcomers, especially to female gamers, writes Anna Tolkien CM ‘24.

Survivors deserve a place at the Athenaeum Editor’s note: TSL’s editorial policy generally prohibits the publication of anonymous opinions content, except in extraordinary circumstances. It’s our judgment that the inability of a survivor to attend programming at Claremont McKenna College’s flagship educational venue is pertinent enough to merit publication. Publicly disclosing a personal history of sexual violence is a personal decision that can incite harrassment, and we have determined that this author should have the ability to make her experience known without facing such hazards. TSL accepts community op-eds and letters at tsl.news/submit.

CW: Sexual assault “Anita Hill is coming to the Ath.” My hands begin to shake as I confirm the news on the Athenaeum website. Shaking hands evolve into tears as I see Anita Hill, a pillar of strength and survivorship, pictured on the Athenaeum website titled under “Believing.” My tears do not fall until I read the fine print: “Professor Hill’s Athenaeum presentation is co-sponsored by the Open Academy at CMC.” Although Anita Hill has attended the Athenaeum before, her talk is now wrapped in added layers left behind by Laura Kipnis. I want to be very clear: Anita Hill’s upcoming

April 12 talk marks an incredible step forward within the CMC community. Her courage and advocacy work has paved the way forward for survivors, especially survivors of color, to be heard, to be seen and to be believed.

Anita Hill symbolizes so many positive steps forward, and yet I remember what happened last fall in the very same space that will host her this Tuesday. And then I remember all the reasons I will be unable to attend.

While I have no intention of recapping Laura Kipnis’ October talk, I can still hear every word she spoke, remember every time she invalidated my experience and others’ and feel every emotion I had in that room. As I stood at the door, listening to her empower perpetrators and dehumanize survivors, I said goodbye to my favorite place on campus. My avoidance of the Athenaeum does not embody a symbolic middle finger to the administration or a self-righteous protest. Rather, it is due to my inability to handle being in that space without being consumed by overwhelming panic and fear.

And this is what the CMC administration fails to recognize and address: the invisible weight that survivors carry with them each

Editorial Board

day. For me, I have (with much therapy, a strong support system and time) gotten far enough in my healing process that I mostly carry reminders of my own strength instead of reminders of the pain inflicted upon me.

But healing isn’t a linear process. When triggered, I can feel physical freezing sensations, numbness, panic and cannot talk.

The intensity of feeling triggered changed many students’ relationship to and comfort attending events at the Athenaeum. Only Dean of Students Dianna “DT” Graves CM ’98, CMC Advocates and ASCMC addressed the pain Laura caused, denounced her beliefs and reaffirmed their support for survivors. The Athenaeum, Open Academy and president’s office remained completely silent. Their silence represents a fundamental disconnect between the CMC administration and understanding how trauma manifests, its nuances and the CMC students’ needs and experiences. Silence emboldens those that share Laura’s dangerous beliefs.

Students, especially survivors, needed a space to process the talk and immediate validation of their experiences. We needed written

affirmation from those in power that CMC does not support Laura’s views and that CMC is a place that believes survivors and only accepts affirmative consent.

My mind has since filled their silence with questions rooted in deep sadness, anger and genuine betrayal. Do they even care about us? Are they even listening to their students? Do they not believe survivors? Would they believe me?

Open Academy’s sponsoring of Anita Hill was not only a slap in the face but also has dangerous implications. I appreciate the newly found transparency but I am angered at the lack of accountability from the Ath, the administration and the Open Academy for the harm they sponsored on October 6, 2021.

By co-sponsoring both Laura Kipnis and Anita Hill’s talk, it is implied that Anita Hill is meant to counter Laura Kipnis, following the Open Academy’s “diversity of thought” framework on campus.

Sexual assault and consent, however, should never have been on the table to debate, especially at an institution with immense power and respect on CMC’s campus. Expecting and hoping the institution would take accountability does not mean that I believe the Athenaeum or co-sponsor has control over a speak-

er’s content. However, the foresight they had about the content, should have led to greater anticipation of the damage possible to occur.

All I want is to learn from Professor Hill, show my solidarity as a survivor and reclaim the space I used to attend weekly. But I can longer enter that room without beginning to disassociate and become extremely anxious. For some survivors, however, Professor Hill’s presentation will offer an opportunity to reclaim the space and heal, for which I am immensely grateful. My aim is not to detract from Anita Hill’s visit, cast judgment on those that attend the Ath or discredit the countless hours that student organizations, like CMC Advocates, have done to support survivors and repair the community. I hope to instead give room for the complex emotions associated with Anita Hill’s talk at the Ath and inspire much needed change to administration’s treatment of students impacted by trauma.

And who knows, I could be alone in this. But if you are also a survivor, or have ever felt angry, powerless and unheard by the administration, then this is for you.

You are not alone.

The author is a student at Claremont McKenna College.

THE STUDENT LIFE

JASPER DAVIDOFF, Editor-in-Chief ANUSHE ENGINEER, Managing Editor CAELAN REEVES, Managing Editor

Senior Staff JAMES KARSTEN, Production Editor GRACE SAUERS, Production Editor MARCELLA CANNATTI, News Designer KLARA JACOBS, Arts and Culture Designer GIULIA BELLON, Opinions Designer JOSIE DE ANDA, Sports Designer LONDON LORDOS, Copy Chief ANNA PREWITT, Copy Chief

HUXLEYANN HUEFNER, Photo Editor NANAKO NODA, Photo Editor BELLA PETTENGILL, Graphics Editor JENNA MCMURTRY, News Editor SIENA SWIFT, News Editor SAMSON ZHANG, News Associate MENA BOVA, Arts & Culture Editor ZOEY LOFGREN, Arts & Culture Editor

LARKIN BARNARD-BAHN, Arts & Culture Associate SAE FURUKAWA, Opinions Editor BEN REICHER, Opinions Editor ALEX CHUN, Sports Editor HANNAH WEAVER, Sports Editor KENNY LE, Diversity & Inclusion Editor ANURADHA KRISHNAN, Diversity & Inclusion Editor GWYN WONG, Business Manager

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

Singles copies of TSL are free and may be obtained at news stands around campus. Multiple copies may be purchased for $0.47 per copy with prior approval by contacting editor@tsl.news. Newspaper theft is a crime; perpetrators may be subject to disciplinary action as well as civil and/or criminal prosecution.

SportS

April 8, 2022

pAGE 9

No. 3 Athenas hot to begin SCIAC play, slashing through No. 22 Beavers and Regals for tenth straight victory

COUrTESY: CMS ATHlETiCS

left: Alisha Chulani HM ‘25 returns a ball from her opponent en route to sweeping her competition 6-0 in both sets against Cal lutheran. right: No. 3 ranked Crystal Juan SC ‘22 returns a forearm swing against her CalTech opponent.

ALEX CHUN

tennis team boasted dominant performances against No. 22 Caltech and Cal Lutheran, securing 9-0 victories versus both squads.

In addition to an exciting victory from Lee, her other ranked teammates proved dominant against their competition against Caltech as well. Crystal Juan SC ’22 crushed her opponent in two sets, 6-4 and 6-1.

Some of her Athena teammates followed suit. Rookie Ella Brissett CM ’25 and Audrey Yoon CM ’24 swept their opponents with ease. Brissett dominated her opponent 6-1, 6-0, while Yoon won 6-4 and 6-3.

Gabby Lee CM ’23 followed up with another strong showing for the Athenas, winning by 6-1 and 6-0. In the final singles match, although Devon Wolfe

Following a comfortable 6-4 first set win, No. 5 singles-ranked Sydney Lee CM ’22 seemed to be in control of her singles match on the road against Caltech April 1.

However, Lee was overwhelmed in the next set, getting swept 6-0, shifting the momentum of the match. The final set came down to a sprint.

Despite the momentum shift, the veteran came roaring back in the third set and outscored her opponent 10-5 to seize victory against her singles matchup.

This performance was one of the Athenas’ many victories over the weekend as they began SCIAC play. After finishing their preseason on an 8-game winning streak, the No. 3-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women’s

CM ’22 overwhelmed her opponent in the first set 6-1, she allowed a comeback in the second set, losing narrowly by a score of 6-7. Similar to Lee, Wolfe regained momentum in the third set to pull out a 10-6 set win.

In the doubles matches, the Lees paired up in the first match to handedly beat their opponents 8-5. Following this performance, the second match featured pair Sarah Bahsoun CM ’22 and Sena Selby CM ’24 with an even stronger performance than the last, winning 8-4 against their matchup.

To close out the afternoon, Juan and Alisha Chulani HM ’25 won in a tight match in the third doubles game, clinching an 8-6 victory to finish off the 9-0 clean sweep.

Back on their home courts,

CMS put on a more commanding display against the Regals the following day, winning by margins greater than three games per set.

The first singles match began with dominant showings from Yoon and Brissett, both pulling off flashy victories against their opponents. Yoon recorded two consecutive 6-3 set victories to retire her opponent while Brissett finished with scores of 6-2 and 6-1.

These performances were followed up by an excellent match from Bahsoun, who only surrendered two games en route to her consecutive 6-1 set wins. Chulani did one better in the next matchup, cleanly sweeping her opponent to earn two 6-0 set victories.

The final two singles match-

ups featured Selby and Gabby Lee, handling their competition easily in two set sweeps by beating them by more than four games in each set.

In the doubles matches, the Lees again put on an impressive showing by outlasting their opponents 8-4 in the single set.

Selby and Bahsoun easily defeated their competition by handing them a 8-1 defeat, while the final doubles featuring Wolfe and Juan ended in a clean 8-0 sweep to complete the two 9-0 sweeps in the first two conference games of the year.

Currently at the apex of the SCIAC leaderboard early in the season, the Athenas are looking to maintain their ten-game winning streak against San Diego Christian and Whittier in a doubleheader this afternoon.

Sports Calendar

P-P

CMS

Friday, April 8

Saturday, April 9

Friday, April 8

Saturday, April 9

Men’s Tennis @ Westcliff College

Men’s and Women’s Track and Field p-p invite

Women’s Tennis vs. San Diego Christian vs. Whittier

Men’s & Women’s Track and Field p-p invite

Men’s Tennis vs. Whittier

Men’s Tennis Claremont-Mudd-Scripps @ Biola

Men’s Golf SCiAC #2 @ Costa Mesa GC

Women’s Tennis vs. Chapman Softball @Chapman Baseball @ Whittier Men’s Tennis @ Chapman Men’s Track & Field pp invite Men’s Golf SCiAC 2 @ pomona, CA Mountain Meadows GC Women’s Golf SCiAC 2 @ pomona, CA Mountain Meadows GC Women’s lacrosse @ CMS

Baseball vs. Whittier Women’s Water polo @ Whittier Softball vs. Chapman Women’s lacrosse @ CMS

Baseball @Occidental Softball @ Whittier

Women’s Golf SCiAC #2 @ industry Hills GC (City of industry, CA)

Men’s Tennis @ Whittier

Women’s lacrosse vs. p-p Men’s Tennis @ UC riverside

Sunday, April 10

Baseball vs. Occidental

Women’s Tennis @ Whittier

Softball vs. Whittier Men’s and Women’s Tennis vs. Chapman

CLASSES OFFERED ONLINE & IN-PERSON THREE- AND SIX-WEEK COURSES TAUGHT BY HMC FACULTY $3,500 (3-CREDIT COURSE)

View program details, courses and registration information at hmc.edu/summer-session22

GET AHEAD. IGNITE YOUR INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY.

SportS

pAGE 10

April 8, 2022

CMS and P-P track and field sees program and personal bests during SCIAC’s multi-dual conference

ANNA CHOi • THE STUDENT liFE

Top left: logan Spoonemore pO ‘25 runs down the runway, preparing to throw the javelin.

Bottom left: Dante Paszkeicz PO ‘22 sprints the first straightaway of the 400-meter dash.

Right: Agustin Gomez de la Vega HM ‘25, Zachary Traul HM ‘25 and Raja Batra HM ‘24 clear the water pit during the men’s steeplechase race.

DAISY ALVAREZ As she stepped up to perform her high jump attempt, Caroline DelVecchio SC ’23 was already competing in her third event of the afternoon. With two track wins under her belt from earlier in the day, DelVecchio took a breath, ran up with long strides and cleared the pole with ease.

After reigning victorious in the high jump, DelVecchio capped off her afternoon with a strong anchor leg in the 4x400 relay to bring in another victory for the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas. But the junior couldn’t have dreamed of performing this well just a few hours prior to her stellar performance, she told TSL. “I thought I had COVID [that morning]!” DelVecchio said. “I tested negative [but also] slept really poorly. I woke up really early too so I wasn’t feeling very great.”

Her four wins contributed to nine first-place finishes for the Athenas in the afternoon, setting personal bests in her three running events: 14.61 seconds in the 100 meter hurdle, 1:02.32 in the 400 meter hurdle and 4:01.25 in the 4x400 relay. Her time in the 400 hurdles was the fourth best in program history.

“I probably ran the best meet of my life,” she said.

On the mens’ side, the Stags also proved dominant against their opponents by earning victories in 12 events, sweeping the competition with ease. For Pomona-Pitzer, the men’s team had three first-place finishes and the women had two.

Along with each team’s wins, both sides bagged a handful of personal records, program contenders and first place wins.

In addition to DelVecchio for the Athenas, long distance

Casual but competitive, Claremont men’s club volleyball is setting up for success COOPER TARTER Since February, the Claremont men’s club volleyball team has been racking up wins over other regional club teams.

They compete in the Southern California Collegiate Volleyball League, which includes schools such as Azusa Pacific and smaller California State schools in the Inland Empire area.

The club team may be more advanced at volleyball, but that should not deter anyone from joining the team. This reporter had the chance to play with some of the members this Friday, learning about volleyball callouts and positioning — though it took me a few tries.

Originally from Shanghai, China, Jason Ma CM ’23 picked up volleyball when he first moved to campus and joined the club team at the beginning of last semester.

“We didn’t have volleyball in high school, so I only started playing at the beginning of college,” Ma said.

Learning to improve at volleyball can be challenging, especially because of all the equipment and people required to play a game. The easiest way to get better quickly is by joining open gyms, where you pay a fee to play games with other casual players.

The 5Cs have a Facebook group for the volleyball open gyms, although it’s been utilized less during the pandemic. Most casual games are now played

at the outdoor courts behind Pomona College’s Wig Hall and on Walker Beach.

The club team themselves is competitive, winning the majority of their games against other college teams.

“I think we have a good mix of being chill and being competitive,” Ma said. “We scrimmage other teams to make sure that our skill level is up to par with people in our league, but during the practices, we just do a drill or two and then work on what we need to work on personally.”

Being on the club team offers the players an accessible commitment level, with consistent games and practices.

The players on the team I spoke to enjoyed the sense of community and clear goals that came along with being on the team.

The team is in the second division silver bracket alongside Loyola Marymount University and is hoping to go for their first title since their victory over LMU in 2015.

Many of the players on the club volleyball team are seniors, so the club is looking for new people to join.

“If you want to join a fun, competitive environment and still do well at national tournaments while playing a sport that brings the best out of you, then please come to tryouts next semester!” Ma said.

runner Riley Harmon SC ’22 and pole vaulter Brooke Simon CM ’23 secured top finishes and broke personal records in each of their respective events.

Harmon placed first in the 3k steeplechase, clocking in at 10:58.75. This was the first time in her career going sub-11 minutes in the event, landing her the fourth-best time in CMS steeplechase history.

Simon competed in the pole vault. Her personal-best distance of 3.85 meters served as the second best in program history, landing her a historic spot in the record books.

Sagehen long distance runner Colin Kirkpatrick PO ’24, short distance runner Brady Anderson PZ ’22 and pole vaulter Elliot Raskin PO ’22 all took home gold in their respective events, setting personal bests along the way.

For Kirkpatrick, his first place finish in the 3k steeplechase happened to be the first time he had performed the event competitively. Usually a long distance runner, the newfound territory of dodging obstacles on the track was something he only began to practice two days before the meet.

“My goal was to finish without face-planting in the pool of water,” Kirkpatrick joked.

His record time of 9:05.48 clocked in at sixth best in program history and is currently the best time Division III has seen this season.

“I didn’t think it was going to go like that.” Kirkpatrick said.

“But it’s a nice reminder that I can do it.”

In the 400 meter hurdles, Anderson took home first and achieved a personal best time of 57.55 seconds. In pole vault,

Raskin’s personal best landing of 4.55 meters ranked sixth in P-P pole vault history.

The P-P men lost to Chapman with a score of 82-70 and to CMS 119-32, but beat La Verne 77-66.

Likewise, the Sagehen women lost against Chapman 74-64 and CMS 109-49, but swept La Verne 96-39.

During the multi dual conference — where each of the five participating teams competes against two schools — CMS men reigned with the biggest lead, defeating Cal Lutheran 119-26 and Pomona-Pitzer 119-32. Similarly, CMS women maintained a comfortable lead over P-P with a 108-49 win but a narrow clutch win over Cal Lutheran (89-73).

CMS and P-P are set to compete once again Saturday at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational, on home turf at Strehle Track.

Athletes of the Week Pomona-Pitzer Hannah Brajkovich PO ’22 Softball Walnut Creek, CA After the Sagehens began the season 1-5 in the conference standings, Brajkovich led the charge for P-P to earn three crucial victories to sweep the season series against Cal Lutheran this past weekend. outfielder went 6-for-9 at the plate with 2 home runs and 6 RBIs, being a prominent part in the offense as the No. 6 hitter in the lineup. While also demonstrating a flashy glove on the defensive end by producing outfield assists, Brajkovich earned Player of the Week honors for her performances over the weekend, bringing her batting average to .244, her home run total to five and her RBI numbers to 17. Currently at sixth in the standings, the Sagehens look to improve their placement in a series against Chapman this weekend.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Olivia Carey CM ‘22 (Grad) Women’s Lacrosse Blue Bell, PA In two consecutive wins for the Athenas over the past week, graduate student and star attacker Olivia Carey CM ’22 had her imprints over two wins against Colorado and Whittier College. She produced three goals and five assists in the 21-12 win against Colorado on Sunday, doing most of her damage early in the first quarter. In Wednesday’s match versus Whittier, she logged a similar statline in a more dominant showing for the Athenas, recording three goals and four assists, en route to a 21-3 win over the Poets. Having started off the season with a 5-1 SCIAC conference record, the second-place Athenas look to chase the Sagehens in the standings via a Sixth Street Rivalry game coming up on Saturday.