THE STUDENT LIFE FRIDAY, SeptembeR 27, 2019 | CLAREMONT, CA | VOL. CXXX NO. 2
ASCMC eliminates ticket charges pAtRICK LIU In an effort to make Claremont McKenna College’s parties and events more accessible for students across all income levels, ASCMC is eliminating ticket charges for every school-wide event in the 2019-20 academic year, ASCMC President Dina Rosin CM ’20 announced last week. Historically, ASCMC has charged between $15 and $30 for tickets to popular CMC events like Monte Carlo and Wedding Party, Rosin said in a press release. “If we want the social scene at CMC to truly be inclusive, then a crucial step is to fully remove the financial barrier to entry,” Rosin said. ASCMC plans to offset ticket fees with a new budget enlarged by the recent increase in student fees from $122.50 to $142.50 per semester, an ASCMC endowment recently established by ASCMC chief financial officer Max Dawson CM ’21 and requests for financial contributions from other 5C student governments, among other channels, according to Rosin. Rosin said via email that funding requests are currently being made to the other student governments for Monte Carlo, but have not yet been answered. Pitzer Senate President Clint Isom PZ ’20, SAS President Niyati Narang SC ’20, ASHMC President Kyle Grace HM ’21 and ASPC Executive Vice President Payal Kachru PO ’21 all said they were aware of the initiative and of ASCMC’s intent to request funds. “I’m fully aware of the situation and I fully support ASCMC’s decision to get rid of party fees,” Isom said via message. The move is part of a broader initiative by ASCMC to advance
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BOILING OVER
Claremont joins global climate strike warning of environmental crisis KeAtON SCHILLeR “You’ll die of old age, we’ll die of climate change,” read one sign as Claremont residents and 5C students gathered at Claremont City Hall to bring attention to the
global climate crisis Sept. 20. About 100 protesters yelled various chants and a few gave speeches to voice their anxiety, concern and anger about climate change — just one manifestation of the pent-up frustration that led more than four
Oldenborg construction delayed to at least spring 2021 ALLISON FItZ The demolition and reconstruction of Pomona College’s Oldenborg Center will now begin no earlier than spring 2021 — a delay from the previous estimate of 2020 — according to Anne Dwyer, the building’s faculty director. The news is the latest development in an ongoing conversation about the future of the college’s language residence hall, which houses roughly 140 students, a dining hall and class space. In November 2018, Dwyer said the demolition could start as early as 2020.
COURTESY OF KRISTOPHER VARGAS
Pomona College’s new Benton Museum of Art is scheduled to open next fall following two years of construction.
Steve Comba, the interim director of Pomona College’s soon-tocome Benton Museum of Art, won’t miss the school’s current museum. “I’m going to be the one driving the bulldozer,” Comba joked, while giving a tour of the new structure to Pomona admissions and financial aid officers Tuesday. The current museum — which was completed in the 1950s, according to a Pomona press release — has long suffered from a lack of storage and gallery space, and has often been forced to hold presentations and performances by visiting artists and academics at
other locations on campus. After years of legal hurdles and construction, the Benton Museum, which is more than triple the size of Pomona’s current museum, is scheduled to open in fall 2020, according to Comba. Its first exhibit, displaying art by Alison Saar, will open Sept. 1, according to Pomona’s website. “Now, [the Benton] is the very central location of everything that will be happening,” curator of academic engagement Terri Geis said. “This allows us to generate more excitement within an event and allow people back into the galleries and more closely connect the events that we’re doing
million people worldwide to march and speak out last week. Claremont High School student Eila Planinc, who organized Claremont’s climate strike, was the first of several to speak at the protest. “We strike today, three days
before the 2019 [United Nations] climate summit to prove to lawmakers that we care about this issue, our future and the future of our planet,” Planinc said, earning cheers from
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Fantastic Ms. Foxes 5C women’s rugby flourishing
“I don’t think the project has been exactly ‘pushed back,’” Dwyer said. “But other things have asserted themselves and had more interest and more donors. … These projects do take a long time.” Originally, Oldenborg’s 2020 reconstruction was scheduled to accompany that of the Rains Center gym, which is set to be completed by 2021. That plan, however, is no longer feasible, and Oldenborg’s reconstruction will have to wait, Dwyer said. She said she couldn’t elaborate further. “I have been told that Old-
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MAX WEIRAUCH • THE STUDENT LIFE
The 5C women’s rugby team practices on Sept. 26.
After years of waiting, Pomona art museum to open in fall 2020
mARIA HeeteR
ALYSSA LEONG • THE STUDENT LIFE
back into the galleries.” The current museum will stay open for the 2019-20 academic year, displaying the exhibition “Euclidean Gris Gris” by artist in residence Todd Gray. The Benton, located at the edge of Claremont Village, will house 33,331 square feet of gallery and storage space, compared to a combined 10,000 square feet currently available in the current museum and exhibition spaces in Bridges Auditorium, according to Comba. PCMA has a collection of approximately 15,000 art pieces, Comba said. With the Benton’s larger galleries and specialized storage space, Comba hopes to eventually grow the collection by 25 to 30 percent. In the last two weeks alone, the school added 1,000 photographs to the collection, he said. Janet Inskeep Benton PO ’79, a Pomona trustee and the building’s namesake, donated $15 million to the project in February 2019, according to Pomona’s website. Construction costs totaled $44 million, with the remainder coming primarily from Pomona alumni and through other private foundations and individuals, according to Pomona Regional Director for
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LIFE & STYLE
As tattoos increase in popularity nationwide, the trend is hitting the 5Cs in the form of stick and poke. Read more on page 6.
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HUGO WARD Three years ago, Amanda Martinez SC ’20 couldn’t even fill a full women’s rugby team. Now, she can barely squeeze the Claremont Foxes’ more than 30 members on the field for practice. “It’s a very physically demanding sport, but people all over the world have been quickly falling in love with it in the last few decades,” said Martinez, a team captain. That’s certainly the case in Claremont, where the Foxes, the 5C women’s rugby team, has grown rapidly in number over the last few years. “Just a few years ago, it would be hard to get 15 people to even show up to practice, and now we are expecting a solid 30-man squad for the year,” Martinez said. Rugby, a contact sport similar to football, can be played in a seven-a-side or 15-a-side format. The Foxes play both ways, “with the exact same ball, the exact same rules and for the exact amount of time” as men’s rugby, Martinez said. For the Foxes, increased numbers have coincided with greater success on the field; they moved up to Division II from Division III two years ago with their 15-a-side team, finishing as runners-up to Tulane in their first-ever USA Rugby Division II Spring College Championship final. This past spring, the 7-a-side championships saw Claremont beat out San Jose State University to finish third in the nation — but the Foxes want more.
OPINIONS
Martinez is optimistic about a national title. “Hopefully, third time’s a charm,” she said. The Foxes were founded in 1995, and for the first few years, struggled to attract women to what has traditionally been a male-dominated sport. But increasingly, women are becoming more involved — to the occasional surprise of onlookers. Martinez recalled that when the team travels for games, people in their hotels have been confused by women playing rugby, and at times ask if it’s a non-contact sport. It’s not. “We play full-contact, 80 minutes, same rules, just like the men,” she said. “Our game is just as tough as theirs, and I doubt any rugby fan would disagree.” The sport is increasing in popularity, both at the high school and college level because it provides
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MAX WEIRAUCH • THE STUDENT LIFE
The 5C women’s rugby team practices on Sept. 26.
SPORTS
“Need-aware admission policies give the privileged another unfair advantage in gaining access to higher education.” — Anais Rivero PZ ’22. Read more on page 10.
Season preview: P-P women’s soccer climbs to No. 9 in the nation for Division III, their highest ranking in program history. Read more on page 11
INDEX: News 1 | Life & Style 5 | Opinions 8 | Sports 11