VOL. CXXXVI NO. 5

5C students walkout Oct. 7; occupy and vandalize Carnegie Hall

INK in Palestine (SJP) and Mudders Against Murder. “We know it can be intimidating to take a stand at these colleges but at this point in watching genocide unfold, we have no other choice,” the post reads. “Our numbers will bring us safety, not our silence.”

At 10:07 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 7, over 400 5C students participated in a demonstration for Pomona College to divest from companies and manufacturers supporting the Israeli government. A group of protestors eventually moved to occupy Carnegie Hall, resulting in the building being closed and suffering extensive damage and vandalism.

The day of the walkout marked the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ targeted attack in Southern Israel, where 1,200 Israeli people were killed and 251 were taken hostage. Since then, Israel has launched a large-scale invasion of the Gaza Strip, and over 41,500 people have been killed.

Monday’s rally was announced on Oct. 4 through a joint Instagram post by Pomona Divest from Apartheid (PDfA), 5C Prison Abolition, Claremont Students for Justice

The post also details the plan that students followed to convene during Monday’s rally. Those who didn’t have a class to walk out of were asked to meet at various places across the Claremont Colleges, including the Bauer Center, the Nucleus, the Pit-Stop Café and the Studio Art Hall, among other locations.

At the scheduled start time of 10:07 a.m., masked protestors gathered outside of their selected locations and began moving towards the intersection of North College Avenue and East Sixth Street, all the while chanting sayings including, “Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest,”

and “There is only one solution:

Intifada revolution.”

The first group of students arrived at the intersection at 10:18 a.m. where they proceeded to block off traffic. By 10:33 a.m., students from all across the colleges had converged at the intersection and begun calling out “What do we want? Divestment / When do we want it? Now / If we don’t get it? Shut. It. Down!”

The chanting continued for about 20 minutes as protest organizers steered through the crowd and passed out water bottles and masks. Then, at 10:50 a.m., the assembly quieted down for a speech given by an unidentifiable speaker.

“We are here today because for the past year, most of us have had to wake up every morning and witness genocide between our eyes and our phone screens,” the speaker said. “That should not be normal.”

The speaker proceeded to con-

the recent shutdown of Scripps College’s Motley Coffeehouse following student employees’ pro-Palestinian political organizing, describing the suspension as “nothing short of disgusting.”

Then the speaker recounted the Pomona administration’s decision to call the police and arrest 20 students at a demonstration in Alexander Hall last April. The crowd yelled cries of “shame!” in response. Meanwhile, about ten faculty members joined the procession.

“Injustice in any situation is injustice everywhere,” one anonymous faculty member said to TSL. “I don’t want to be any part of a system that actively participates in genocidal behaviors.”

Following the speech, at 11:06 a.m., the assembly passed through the intersection and moved into Pomona’s Carnegie Building, disrupting classes. Those inside the building who were not participating in the protests — including some high school participants in the college’s Perspectives on Pomona program — had to relocate.

Two unidentifiable protesters said that they “had no idea” why

5C Jewish groups mourn lives

lost in Oct. 7 attack

ANNABELLE INK

This past week, various Jewish groups on campus came together to mourn the events of Oct. 7, 2023, when Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an attack in southern Israel. An estimated 1,200 people were killed at the attack, and over 250 more were taken hostage.

On Monday, Oct. 7, Claremont Hillel, 5C Chabad, the Jewish Chaplain and Haverim hosted a memorial for the victims of last year’s attack. The memorial was held at Pomona College’s Estella Court at 5 p.m., and was followed by a falafel dinner.

Maya Malev SC ’27, a programming intern at Hillel, estimated that there were around 60 to 70 people in attendance. She explained that participants spent time remembering and honoring the victims and praying for the safe return of the hostages and gave her thoughts on the significance of having the event.

“I think mostly the reason [for the event] is just so Jewish students feel supported, especially when there’s so much polarization on campus,” Malev said. “Having a space where they can feel like they can be publicly

Jewish is really important, especially because some students have connections to people whose lives were taken on Oct. 7.”

Hillel also hosted a campus trip to the Los Angeles Nova Exhibition on Oct. 6. According to the exhibition’s website, the installation serves as a way to remember last year’s Oct. 7 attack at the Nova Music Festival.

“The installation sets out to recreate a festival dedicated to peace and love that was savagely cut short by a terrorist attack on that fateful day,” the website reads.

“This groundbreaking installation is presented as a way to empower visitors to responsibly explore & bear witness to the tragic events of October 7 and its aftermath.”

Additionally, Hillel kept its Hillel Room, located off-campus, open on Oct. 7 as a “safe haven” for Jewish students, according to a newsletter sent to members on Oct. 10.

“Our goal remains clear: to ensure the well-being of Jewish students and to create an environ-

See RESPONSE on page 3

Scripps administration shuts down Motley Coffeehouse

ANNABELLE INK & ANSLEY WASHBURN

serve the feminist and intersectional ethos that has shaped the Motley’s culture and ensure that it also embodies the spirit of access and inclusion we strive to create on Scripps’ campus.”

Marcus-Newhall cited several factors that led the administration to close the Motley. She claimed that Motley managers had ignored requests about the coffeehouse’s visual materials, refused to attend meetings with the college’s Business Affairs team and closed the space for political purposes.

The Scripps College administration shut down its student-run Motley Coffeehouse on Saturday, Oct. 5, citing concerns about an “unwelcoming atmosphere” and the restriction of free speech within the space. The coffeehouse, which has received backlash from administration in recent weeks for its pro-Palestinian political organizing, will be closed until further notice.

“We did not arrive at this decision lightly, as we recognize the Motley’s centrality as a cherished campus hub for community engagement and entrepreneurial experience,” Scripps President Amy Marcus-Newhall wrote in an email to the Scripps community Saturday morning. “It is our aim to pre -

Scan here to listen to the Splash, tSL’s news analysis podcast. Hosted by ben Lauren PZ ’25 and Dania Anabtawi PO ’26.

But the Motley barista team denied each of these claims in an Oct. 9 statement released to the Scripps student body. They also highlighted the impact of the abrupt closure on the Motley’s 50 employees, some of whom are work-study or low-income students and rely on their employment as a “financial lifeline.”

While Marcus-Newhall told TSL that employees will be paid for the next two weeks and that the Office of Human Resources has offered to place students in other positions on campus, Motley team members said that

See MOTLEY on page 3

YUHANG XIE & ANNABELLE

YUHANG XIe • tHe StUDeNt LIFe

On the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel, over 400 5c students gathered to call for Pomona to divest from the state of Israel.

demn Israel for the bombardment of universities in Gaza and to grieve the rising death toll in Lebanon. They also brought up

See WALKOUT on page 2

WeNDY

SASHA MAttHeWS • tHe StUDeNt LIFe

ANSLeY WASHbURN • tHe StUDeNt LIFe

Scripps President Amy Marcus-Newhall ordered the Motley coffee house to be closed indefinitely on Oct. 5, following a dispute over the hanging of a Palestinian flag on its walls.

Protestors spray painted walls and floors, among other acts of vandalism, prompting criticisms from community members.

cOURteSY: POMONA FAcULtY MeMbeR

Editor’s Note

In the last year, college campuses across the world have wrestled with the weight of devastating international war and, in response, many have ignited with a new wave of campus activism. News outlets have grappled with covering stories that highlight voices from all perspectives, understanding that many of these sources may face repercussions for speaking out. Because of this, some outlets have made the decision to grant anonymity to these sources in order to share crucial information that cannot be obtained under any other circumstances.

At TSL, we hold ourselves to both high ethical and journalistic standards and work our hardest to apply this ethos to everything we publish. As the editorial board, we understand that anonymous sources can raise questions about the ethics and credibility of our reporting.

TSL’s constitution states our mission as follows: “We are dedicated to the relentless pursuit of truth, empowering students and giving voice to the voiceless.”

We hold that there are always real voices behind anonymous sources and the choice to grant anonymity is not made lightly.

While we adhere to the journalistic ethic of “do no harm” when gaining privileged information through anonymous sources, we also are constantly in conversation about any overstepping of protections. In these conversations is the topic of blurring faces in photos. Though students hold a vulnerable place in the power structures of the administration and institutions of universities, we do not believe that it is our place to choose whose identity deserves protection.

As a result, we have made the decision to not blur the faces of anyone featured in our photos. This choice is rooted in our mission to document the truth and be an objective source. We respect individuals’s decisions to conceal their own identity, however, it is contrary to our journalistic principles of authenticity, which prohibit the manipulation of photos.

News articles not only inform the public about what’s happening today but also serve as primary sources for the historical record. In order to ensure accurate coverage, we must commit ourselves to transparent reporting.

We are constantly striving to uphold the highest standards of journalistic integrity while adapting to the evolving landscape of campus activism and societal change. As we navigate these complex issues, we aim not only to set a precedent for responsible reporting but also to embrace the challenges of our times and ensure that we remain a reliable source of truth for our community.

Ansley Washburn, Editor-in-Chief

June Hsu, Managing Editor of News and Sports

Tania Azhang, Managing Editor of Arts & Culture and Opinions

continued from page 1

the group had chosen to occupy Carnegie, but an anonymous organizer later told TSL that it was because the building is one of the most historic and iconic on Pomona’s campus and is often used for branding.

As people continued to move into Carnegie, protestors repeated their chants and waved signs and banners reading “Israel Bombs, Pomona Pays,” “Long live the martyrs,”“F*** your land acknowledgement / Land Back,” “Jews 4 intifada,” and other similar messages.

At 11:40 a.m., protest leaders announced a blockade of the building. At this point, protestors restricted further entry into the building, securing its doors with zip-ties. The doors and windows at the front of the building were plastered with pro-Palestinian posters, poems and handmade signs.

For the next several hours, protest leaders provided students with lunch and held several trainings to teach them about skills that they could use in the “divestment fight.”

At 1:30 p.m., Dean of Students Avis Hinkson emailed Pomona’s student body to announce that Carnegie Hall was closed and that individuals should leave the building and surrounding area.

“We will not permit the presence of masked, unidentifiable individuals on our campus refusing to show identification when asked,” she wrote. “Nor will we stand for the takeover of buildings and the disruption of academic continuity.”

Soon afterward, Dean Brandon J. Jackson and Dean Tracy Arwari moved towards Carnegie’s back entrance, asking students who were leaving the building to take off their masks and identify themselves. Jackson also recorded people who entered the building.

Several hours later, protesters began to exit the building, with all students out by 3:52 p.m.

Following the protest’s conclusion, Vice President Jeff Roth an-

nounced in an email to the student body that Carnegie would be closed until further notice, citing damages incurred during the takeover.

Inside the building, some protestors had used red spray paint to write “F*** Pomona,” “Intifada,”

“From the river to the sea” and “Free Palestine” on the walls and floors. Others destroyed AV equipment, printers, plaques and various materials, according to individuals who viewed the space the following day.

“The individuals responsible face sanctions that may include restitution, suspension, expulsion, as well as being banned from campus,” Roth wrote. “ We will not, however, be commenting on individual cases.”

Several days after the protest, Claudio Castillo PO ’26, vice president of academic affairs for the Associated Students of Pomona College, invited students to write letters of support for faculty and staff members impacted by the “extensive property damage” in Carnegie.

to feel safe.

“The sudden occupation of the building, the expulsion of its legitimate inhabitants, and the wanton destruction that ensued, are antithetical to that communal project,” their statement reads. “The fact that this occupation took place on October 7, a day that should have inspired a very different kind of gathering, only added insult to injury.”

Lenny Fukshansky, a professor at Claremont McKenna College, also questioned the decision of protestors to host the occupation on Oct. 7. He added that many Jewish students on campus feel unsafe, and compared the anti-Zionist rhetoric of protestors with the Soviet Union propaganda that he grew up with.

Anonymous protestors hidden behind the invisibility of a mask shatter our common humanity, and eradicate the empathy and trust we have built throughout many years. the protests on Monday had a chilling effect to those of us who work at carnegie.

Fernando Lozano,

Pomona Economics Department Chair

“Perhaps [protestors] feel that their heart is in the right place, and maybe it is,” he said. “But I want to warn them. I want them to know that while their heart may be in the right place, they are using very hateful rhetoric, and they’re aligning themselves with some of the most evil, the most disgusting people in the world.”

“In addition to damaging educational spaces, faculty members representing the academic disciplines housed in Carnegie Hall have lost access to their office spaces and teaching spaces,” they wrote. “Memorabilia of students past and present have been lost or destroyed. The physical damage is a great loss to our academic community.”

Pomona’s Faculty Executive Committee also commented on this damage via an Oct. 10 statement condemning the actions of the protestors who occupied and vandalized Carnegie. The committee said that Pomona serves as a place of learning where everyone plays a positive role and deserves

Fernando Lozano, chair of Pomona’s Economics Department, said that events like Monday’s are “antithetical to our most sacred values” and have no place at a liberal arts college.

“Anonymous protestors hidden behind the invisibility of a mask shatter our common humanity, and eradicate the empathy and trust we have built throughout many years,” he in an email to TSL. “The protests on Monday had a chilling effect to those of us who work at Carnegie.” Claremont SJP and PDfA did not respond for comment.

Ansley Washburn, Ben Lauren and Anne Reardon contributed reporting.

A look into Pitzer residence life: How students are faring after last year’s housing shortage

MADELEINE FARR

Last April, Pitzer College informed students in the class of 2027 who had not yet completed the room selection process that housing had reached capacity, leaving the remaining students on a waitlist. Despite this setback, all students ultimately received housing assignments by the end of the semester. Now, halfway through the current semester, students have adapted to their new living arrangements with mixed results.

The shortage was caused by an unexpected over-enrollment in the incoming freshman class, coupled with Pitzer’s contractual obligation to house all first-years in on-campus housing accommodations. Because of this, the school was forced to assign rooms to many first-year students in buildings traditionally reserved for upperclassmen, such as East and West Halls.

“When I first learned that I was assigned upperclassman housing, I was a bit confused and upset,”

Anja Flannery PZ ’28, who lives in East Hall, said in an email to TSL. “Living in the first-year dorms that surround the pool sounded like a nice perk, and it was where I was told I would be living during [my] tour.”

The residence halls surrounding Pitzer’s pool — Pitzer, Atherton, Sanborn and Skandera Halls (PAS) — are traditionally occupied by first-years. Per PAS’ webpage: “This will be your home base your first year living at Pitzer.” Flannery said that while her initial reaction to living in the East Hall was negative, she came to appreciate its perks.

“Now that I have gotten used to living here, I enjoy it and would not wish to live somewhere else,” Flannery said. “We have bigger dressers, more bathroom storage and great people on our floor.”

Her positive outlook was not shared by everyone, however.

Thomas Merrilees PZ ’26, who was also placed in East Hall in his third year, said he was not happy to be there.

“You’re not closer to anything,” Merrilees said. “Even something like West or Skandera, you’re closer to Mudd field. East, you just have to walk further.”

Due to first-year students occupying rooms typically designated for returning students, many sec-

In the wake of a housing shortage at Pitzer last spring, some students have had to adapt to unconventional living arrangements.

ond-years and upperclassmen were unexpectedly assigned to the Claremont Collegiate Apartments (CCA), which are located off-campus.

In an email to TSL, Alexandria Nyx PZ ’26, who lives in CCA this year, said that they indicated CCA as their last choice on the housing form last spring.

“It’s always terrifying with housing because where you get housed can severely impact your living experience,” Nyx said.

Nyx said that their CCA apartment is less than ideal due to its size and quality of amenities.

“When I was walking in, I anticipated the room being kind of small, however, what I didn’t anticipate was the room being so small that it feels like I’m suffocating every time I’m in my apartment,” Nyx said.

As someone who likes to bake and cook to relieve stress, Nyx said they are struggling since the apartment has lackluster kitchen facilities — no oven, poor ventila-

tion and a shallow sink.

“Pitzer as a whole consistently fails its students financially, academically and emotionally, all the while charging us an arm and a leg,” Nyx said. “Pitzer is nothing but a trap that sacrifices the well-being of its students in the interest of more money, while also simultaneously never having enough of it in the first place.”

Nyx also noted that their accommodations allowed them to request a single, and because singles are more common at CCA than on Pitzer’s campus, this limits the available housing for students with such accommodations.

In addition to accommodations, some students say gender can also complicate an already cumbersome housing selection process.

Ezra Levinson PZ ’27, who is transfeminine, said they were placed in an all-male suite their freshman year on a male-dominated floor.

“That was a really uncomfortable situation for me,” they said. Levinson had hoped to get a

jump start on their housing process last spring to avoid a similar outcome, only to find that their gender marker was incorrect.

After initially being placed in an all-male suite again, Levinson underwent a complicated process working with Pitzer’s Data, Systems and Integrations team and the Registrar and Residence Life Office to find a housing placement that worked.

“They offered me at first an on-campus alternative and then it turned out, unsurprisingly, because campus is so packed this year, there was no on-campus alternative [so] they offered me a CCA single,” Levinson said. Levinson noted that CCA is not ideal for students who do not own a car. They also added that although it’s been nice to have their own space, they wish they could experience the community that comes with an on-campus housing experience. Pitzer’s housing page reads, “Our campus living is at the

heart of the experience, with most of our students calling one of our six vibrant residence halls home. This isn’t just about having a place to sleep; it’s about creating a shared space where ideas and learning flourish in a supportive and diverse community.”

For those in unconventional and unexpected housing situations, the ability to enjoy Pitzer’s residential community seems to vary.

“I also have heard such wonderful things from friends of mine about what it’s like to live in a dorm with other people when that’s an environment that’s supportive and affirming, and I think that’s something that’s a lot harder to achieve as a gender non-conforming student, but it must be possible,” Levinson said.

They emphasized the positive role that on-campus housing plays for many students.

“I think college students live in dorms because that’s part of the college experience,” they said. “It’s a part that I want.”

Amy Marcus-Newhall named 11th president of Scripps College, faces backlash for closing Motley

MACY PUCKETT

On Sept. 30, Scripps College announced that the Board of Trustees unanimously voted to extend President Amy Marcus-Newhall’s contract until June 2028, making her the 11th president of the college.

“My fellow Trustees and I are thrilled that the College will continue to benefit from her strong leadership through our Centennial year,” Board of Trustees Chair Laura Hockett ’85 said in an email to Scripps community members.

Two days later, Marcus-Newhall emailed the Scripps community, thanking them for their support, documenting past projects such as gaining funding for the Scripps Access Initiative and the opening of the Nucleus Science Center and announcing plans for the future.

“I look forward to many more victories before, during, and after our centennial, and I thank you for your confidence and support as I accept the privilege of serving you as the president of Scripps College through 2028,” the Oct. 2 email reads.

The email touched on proposed plans for the future, including her plan for the Centennial Plaza Project, which entails the construction of a new dance center following the purchase of the E. 10th Street property from Claremont Graduate University. According to the email, the dance center is set to be finished in the 2026-27 academic year.

“This endeavor captures the

power and possibility of the Scripps community working together and embodies the most rewarding aspects of leading this institution,” she said in the email.

Previously, Marcus-Newhall served as Scripps’ vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty from 2010 until 2023, most recently serving as interim vice president following Suzanne Keen’s resignation.

Scripps Associated Students (SAS) Vice President of Student Affairs Simran Sethi SC ’26 noted Keen’s resignation when describing her lack of surprise by Marcus-Newhall’s tenure extension.

“She’s been very present with the community since she was just elected as an interim president, whereas like Suzanne Keen, I don’t think I saw her face at all my freshman year,” Sethi said. “[Marcus-Newhall] had a lot more of a presence, [would] host office hours, and people would show up.”

SAS President Melina Durre SC ’25 said her initial reaction to the announcement was positive, given the college’s previous problems with administrative turnover.

“If we have a member of the administration that wants to stay, in my opinion, it can only benefit us because she has that institutional knowledge and has been here for so long,” Durre said. “So how could that possibly really be negative?”

But Marcus-Newhall found herself almost immediately fac-

RESPONSE: 5C Jewish groups commemorate lives lost in Oct. 7 attack

continued from page 1

ment where they never feel ashamed or afraid to express their identity,” the newsletter reads.

Claremont Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), Nishmat 5C and Claremont Muslim Student Association commemorated the lives lost on Oct. 7, 2023 — along with those lost in the preceding and ensuing conflicts — in a different way: through a series of mourning ribbon distributions. The distributions were inspired by Nonviolence International’s campaign, “Every Life, A Universe.”

Those who chose to participate wore black mourning ribbons, which were distributed around the colleges on Oct. 6, 7 and 8, to grieve the different lives lost.

On Oct. 6, these participants condemned the “violence of the apartheid, displacement, confinement, and persecution” inflicted upon Palestinians prior to Oct. 7, 2023. The next day, participants did the same for the actions of the Palestinian militant group Hamas the year before. On the last day of the series, participants grieved the ongoing genocide of Palestinians by Israel. They also hosted a community processing space at Pitzer College’s Grove House Outdoor Classroom on Monday night.

“[W]e cannot grieve selectively,” the groups announced in a shared Instagram post on Oct. 4. “[J]oin us in grounding our resistance to oppression, war, and genocide in the sacredness of every life.”

Ezra Levinson PZ ’27, a member of JVP, reiterated the idea that people cannot grieve selectively.

“That’s what I’ve been feeling for weeks, even for the entire past year, and what I heard from so many other students — Jewish and otherwise — during the ribbon distribution and at the processing space we held,” Levinson said in an email to TSL. “It felt important and powerful to hold open a space that can grieve all death, and acknowledge the value of all life, without obscuring the circumstances that led up to October 7 or ignoring Israel’s horrifying genocidal response which continues to escalate a year later.”

They then quoted the Kotzker Rebbe, a Hasidic rabbi and spiritual founder, who said “there is nothing so whole as a broken heart.”

“Sometimes we hide from complex pain and grief by ignoring power dynamics or by grieving some deaths and not others,” Levinson said. “But then we’re not whole, and it’s harder to act with integrity.”

the Scripps board of trustees unanimously voted to extend Scripps

2028.

ing backlash from students after announcing the closing of the Scripps Motley Coffeehouse in an email just four days later. The announcement drew criticism from student groups amidst calls for reopening.

“It was just a very fast turnover from getting that tenure position to making this decision,”

Geeta Karlcut SC ’26, SAS’s covice president of finance, said. “It just seemed that sometimes her actions, or the actions of admin and Scripps as a whole kind of speak louder than the words that they put out.” Durre noted the impact the Motley announcement will continue to have on Marcus-Ne -

cOURteSY:

whall’s presidency.

“This is something that’s going to be a stain forever,” Durre said.

“The freshmen here will remember it. When I graduate, I’ll remember it. So it’s really hard to come back from that.“

Marcus-Newhall did not respond to an inquiry from TSL.

MOTLEY: Scripps administration shuts down Motley following pro-Palestine organizing

continued from page 1

this financial support was not offered until days after the coffeehouse’s unprecedented closure.

They added that the Motley’s current decorations — including a Palestinian flag that administration asked managers to take down last month — are appropriate in the “inherently political space” that the Motley has historically been. According to Scripps’ Guide to Student Life, the Motley has been an intersectional, political and feminist business since its establishment in 1974.

“We understand that the College owns the business,” team members wrote in the Oct. 9 statement. “However, it is essential to recognize that the Motley has always been a student-initiated and administered space that uplifts the voices of marginalized peoples to meet the current moment.”

Motley team members also questioned Marcus-Newhall’s calls for inclusivity, arguing that administration had at

no point specified how certain decorations created an un-inclusive environment.

“To be clear, we reject the premise that displaying a Palestinian flag is inherently unwelcoming to any students, including Jewish students,” their statement reads. “Centering marginalized voices, particularly global communities of color, remains integral to our mission of building an anti-racist intersectional feminist space.”

The Motley barista team is far from alone in its condemnation of the administration’s actions, with numerous students and at least 19 community groups — including Claremont Students for Justice in Palestine, Pomona Divest from Apartheid and Scripps Associated Students (SAS), among several others — taking to social media to express their solidarity with the coffeehouse.

SAS also organized a station in the Scripps Student Union for community members to express their support for the Motley workers. The station, entitled “Hearts 4 Motley,” has writing utensils and paper hearts available for those who

choose to participate.

Scripps professor Marina Perez de Mendiola criticized the college’s actions in an email to TSL.

“In the 26 years that I have been at [Scripps], I don’t think that the Motley has been subjected to this level of egregious censorship,” she wrote. “The fact that this particular community space is being targeted today for being ‘non inclusive,’ shows [Scripps’] selective, strategic, and misguided deployment of ‘inclusivity.’”

She added that the suspension is contrary to the college’s values.

“By closing the Motley, [Scripps] radically undermines the basic principle of freedom of expression and, as importantly, deprives OUR students of their very much needed income to finance their studies,” Perez de Mendiola wrote. “Students should not have to choose between their right to freely express themselves personally and as a collective and the right to work without fear.”

The Motley will reopen as soon as the college establishes “viable working protocols,” according to Newhall.

AUDREY PARK & CHLOE ESHAGH

On Saturday, Oct. 5, Claremont McKenna College’s (CMC) Open Academy hosted a discussion titled “Should Universities Boycott, Divest, or Sanction Israel” at CMC’s Kravis Center. Featuring two professors, one advocated the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS) movement while the other argued against it.

The BDS movement calls for institutions to cut ties with “companies that participate in Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.” The debate around this sentiment is especially prevalent among U.S. college and university students, including those at the 5Cs.

Yuval Auner, an associate professor of philosophy at Scripps College who specializes in agnosticism and epistemology, represented the anti-BDS position. David Lloyd, a professor of English Emeritus at UC Riverside whose expertise focuses on Irish culture and postcolonial and cultural theory, represented the pro-BDS stance.

Facilitated by Heather Fergusen, associate professor of history at CMC, the emotionally charged event had community members challenging the professors’ perspectives, sharing their own experiences and asking questions.

Following Fergusen’s brief intro-

duction to the professors and outline of the event’s structure, each professor delivered opening statements, addressing their stances on the movement.

Auner gave an opening statement on why universities should reject BDS and encourage engagement with Israel instead of resisting. Auner said he disagreed with Pitzer College’s decision to remove its study abroad program at the University of Haifa in Israel, which was driven by the BDS movement.

“The University of Haifa is an incredibly diverse school that pro-

vides substantial opportunities for its students,” Anvar said. “If the aim was to encourage Israel to provide better opportunities for Arab-Israelis, this, I think, was a spectacular and hypocritical failure. We should instead engage with the University of Haifa to strengthen the positive role it plays for Arab-Israelis.”

Auner closed his statement by emphasizing why he believes the BDS movement can cause harm to the 5C community.

“As an academic community, we must do better than getting into simple good versus evil narratives

and into false colonizer-colonized dichotomies where they don’t exist,” Auner said. “We need to think critically and seek out knowledge about the problems we wish to solve, not accept sloganeering and propaganda. This is why we should reject BDS.”

Lloyd followed up with his proBDS argument, countering Auner’s argument that the movement is divisive.

“BDS is a civil rights movement,” Lloyd said. “It seeks to transform a situation by placing external pressure, not divisive pressure, by any means, in the interest of having people learn to live together.” Lloyd explained how the practices of BDS hold power when targeted toward a country such as Israel.

“Sanctions and divestment and boycott are only really effective where it is possible to put pressure on a population that might conceivably make them change,” Lloyd said. “It is possible for Israel to decolonize.”

When asked why universities are the appropriate setting for discussions and boycotts, Lloyd noted larger academic spaces as the ideal place for these difficult conversations.

“If we are going to proximate truth or social justice, and I don’t think the two are fully separable,

then this is how we do it,” Lloyd said. “We talk. We try to persuade and we try to introduce people to facts they haven’t heard before. The boycott strategy is precisely designed to do that.”

Following the professor’s opening statements, Ferguson opened the conversation for comments and questions. During this time, several students detailed their personal experiences relating to the situation, resulting in some tension and high emotions.

Event attendee Alyssa Wu PO ’28 said that while the space allowed for a productive and necessary conversation, at times, questions felt targeted toward Lloyd.

“Some questions, which were back-to-back, were asked in what felt like an antagonistic manner,” Wu said. “It didn’t really feel as if some of the questions were coming from a state of wanting to know more but instead an unwillingness to hear out the other perspective.” Wu said that overall, the event was helpful in education on the topics and left her feeling prepared to engage in discourse surrounding them.

“A lot of history, terms and specific documents were talked about,” Wu said. “Just being able to hear them explained in a more simplified manner was really nice, and I plan to use this as a gateway to do my own reading and research.”

ScRIPPS cOLLeGe

President Amy Marcus-Newhall’s contract until June

Budget backlash: How Pomona College budget shortages have

affected major departments and student organizations

AAMI SEJPAL & JOELLE RUDOLF

Pomona College’s budget cut affects departments and student organizations.

Students and faculty at Pomona College are reportedly facing difficulties in securing funding from the college for their projects and initiatives, with some sources claiming that administrators have significantly cut budgets across nearly all areas of student life.

While administration did not respond to comment, Eloísa Tirres PO ’25 — who has spoken with several faculty members at length — said that they seem to have cut budgets for numerous enterprises on campus.

“The school’s budget cuts have affected all academic departments, which is really unheard of for an institution of our caliber,” Tirres said. Tirres said that the impacts of the cuts are already being felt across campus. In Pomona’s history department, an American history professorship was recently eliminated. According to Tirres, this elimination complicates a student’s pursuit of the history major.

“People have to go to CMC or Scripps if they want to meet the requirement for studying U.S. history,” she said.

Tirres also expressed concern for the potential long-term effects of this budget shortage-induced elimination.

“When you cut a position out entirely, you’re not able to apply for it anymore,” she said. “That position can’t be opened up or filled by anyone. You’re essentially just shrinking the department, and when you shrink the department, the school is saying, ‘Oh this isn’t as important to us anymore.’” Department liaisons — who act as intermediaries between academic departments and the student body — have also been impacted by budget cuts. According to some liaisons, their jobs are no longer paid positions.

Angel Yuan PO ’25, an international relations liaison, spoke about her reaction upon learning that she would no longer be paid for her work.

“When the Academic Coordinator for our department notified me that liaisons will no longer be getting paid, I was shocked,” Yuan said.

As a liaison, Yuan is responsible for creating opportunities for students within the department; her duties include planning and advertising events, coordinating between faculty and student affairs and answering student inquiries, among other various tasks.

Through the end of last semester, many academic departments paid their student liaisons hourly or provided a stipend. However, according to Yuan, once the Dean of Students office became aware of budgetary constraints in certain departments —which had already shifted some liaison positions to a volunteer basis — they concluded that it would be

best to mandate that all positions become volunteer roles.

Vidusshi Hingad PO ’25, a psychology liaison, said that the decision could have been a matter of equity for liaison jobs across different departments. Still, Yuan expressed that making liaisons a volunteer role, instead of a paid one, was neither logical nor beneficial.

“If some departments aren’t able to pay their liaisons, the dean’s office should take steps to allocate additional funding to those departments,” Yuan said. “I don’t think the best solution there was to just cut funding altogether.”

Yuan also emphasized that the equity argument falls through in light of certain departments finding loopholes to continue paying their liaisons.

“It’s also frustrating to find that some departments ultimately still found ways to get around the dean’s restriction, so it’s still not 100 percent equitable at the end of the day,”

Yuan said.

Yuan expressed concern that turning a liaison’s job into a volunteer position diminishes the efforts and responsibilities they shoulder.

“[We] aren’t getting compensated for the work we put in, and some students have to take on more jobs because this isn’t paid anymore,”

Yuan said.

On The Loose (OTL), the Claremont Colleges’ robust outdoor club, has also struggled with similar monetary issues, according to staff members. The club relies on funding from the five colleges to provide these experiences and maintain its daily operations. For the 2024-2025 school year, OTL experienced a 70 percent decrease in funding due to Pomona’s budgetary cuts, resulting in a dip from around $12,000 last spring to $2,800 this fall.

“This is unbelievably frustrating, not only because the budget cut undermines the services of our club, but also because it came without any

explanation or acknowledgment surrounding the reasoning and effect of such an extraordinary shift,” OTL staff Frances Carleson, Saya Kim-Suzuki, Stella Guy Warren said in an email exchange with TSL.

OTL staff reached out to ASPC and budget committees seeking justification for funding cuts but said that they were met with non direct and illusive responses.

“They just told us, ‘many clubs have received funding cuts’ and that ‘the amount was determined after a thorough analysis of expenditures from the past three years,’” OTL staff said.

“This does not make sense considering we did meet our entire $12,000 budget from last year.”

This year, OTL has been forced to turn down many trip proposals due to a current inability to financially support them, leading to a growing sense of disappointment and frustration from OTL’s over 300 active members, staff members said.

“We are trying as hard as possible to maintain focus on our larger goals at hand, but we rely on funding to create the opportunities that OTL offers,” they said.

They added that they fear this cutback could diminish student engagement and community building, both key aspects of OTL’s mission.

However, OTL staff said that although funding is down, morale among student members remains high. OTL staff emphasized their dedication to keeping the club alive, applying for individual funding from the campuses, attending budget meetings and actively brainstorming creative ways to fundraise.

“Despite kicking off the semester with harsh financial difficulties, we are, and will continue to, prevail in our mission to be fancy-free and On The Loose,” they said.

Vigil at Scripps College remembers lives lost

KEEANA VILLAMAR

On the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, over 100 students, faculty, staff and community members gathered together in memory of those affected by the wars in Palestine, Israel and Lebanon. The vigil took place Monday, Oct. 7 at Scripps’ Elm Tree Lawn from approximately 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Many students and community members wore keffiyehs and held posters with photos of victims of the war. A total of seven speakers, four of which were staff and faculty of the 5Cs, shared a few words.

Among the speakers were representatives from Claremont Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), Nishmat at the 5Cs and the Claremont Muslim Student Association (MSA).

Around 4:30 p.m., the vigil began with a prayer and a poem inspired by Abel Meeropol’s “Strange Fruit,” asking for peace and patience for those in Palestine and their loved ones. The next student speaker acknowledged the many other communities affected, including Israeli, Lebanese, Syrian and Yemeni people.

“The Palestinian struggle is not theirs alone, but calls upon all of us to have our eyes open to the devastation and those who drive it,” a student speaker said.

At around 4:51 pm, the final student speaker, a member of JVP, emphasized that every human has the right to live in safety and freedom.

“As Jews, many of us are descendants of those who’ve survived a genocide and ethnic cleansing,” the speaker said.

“Our ancestors taught us to never be bystanders in the face of injustice”.

One staff member shared their thoughts about the campus protests and encouraged students

to continue expressing their values.

“As an employee of this academic institution, it’s disappointing that leaders of these institutions lack the ability to recognize apartheid,” the speaker said. “As Americans, my apologies to the Palestinian people because we failed them for a lifetime.”

Members of Nishmat then said a few words before they led the crowd in two prayers. The crowd was asked to form a close circle around a tree, remain close to the speakers and recite the names of those who lost their lives, which is a Jewish tradition.

“We are horrified that we do not have enough time today to read the names of [the] tens of thousands of people who have been senselessly killed in the last year,” the speaker said.

A member of Nishmat then led a moment of silence and waved their hand around the crowd during which people could recite the names of lost ones aloud or to themselves.

Papers were passed around the crowd with two prayers: the “Mourners’ Kaddish” and the “Mi Shebeirach.” The first of the prayers is meant to honor someone who has died and comfort those who are scared, while the second one is a prayer for healing.

“With [the Mi Shebeirach], protection is asked for those in harm’s way, especially those in Palestine and Lebanon who are suffering,” the speaker said.

Around 5:10 pm, both the prayers ended. Students then distributed flowers, lit candles, and gathered around a tree where a sign displayed ‘To the Innocent Martyrs of Gaza’.

The crowd then stood in silence as people taped posters of people who had lost their lives on the tree around the sign. Around 20 posters were taped to the tree, while on the floor, students placed flowers and candles.

“As we stand here today in a place of immense privilege with a government that funds the occupation, we must respond with unwavering solidarity,” a speaker said.

“Gender and the e lections” talk series: Professor Lynn Itagaki and the role of race, gender, and power in multiracial identities

ELLIE LAKATOS

On Tuesday, Oct. 8, Claremont McKenna College’s (CMC) Gender and Sexuality Studies Department invited Lynn Itagaki, associate professor of literature and gender at CMC, as part of their “Gender and the Elections” lunch series. This talk, “Mixed

and Multiracial: Race, Gender, and Power,” was the first in a three-part series and took place at the CARE Center at CMC.

One of the organizers, Diana Selig, associate professor of history at CMC, commented on why the talk series was created.

“We organized the lunch series on gender and the elections

in order to spark discussion on important and timely topics,”

Selig said in an email to TSL. “We aim to provide opportunities to think about how dynamics of gender and race can help us understand the current election.”

The talk opened with an introduction of Itagaki as a scholar

of many disciplines including literature, cultural studies, race and ethnicity, gender works on women of color, feminism and gender studies and comparative race studies.

Itagaki spoke on gender and the election in regard to presidential candidate and current vice president Kamala Harris. Itagaki later tied the conversation back to the subject by citing heavily criticized comments made by Donald Trump about Harris’ identity during an August interview at the Chicago National Association of Black Journalists Conference.

“She was Indian all the way, and then all of the sudden she made a turn, and she went — she became a black person,” Trump said.

Itagaki then spoke about how race in the census used to be determined.

“We had until 1950 that people who are census takers would look at you and be like ‘You’re that identity,’” Itagaki said. “Whether or not you agreed. It didn’t matter.”

After diving further into United States history, Itagaki remarked on the significance of such a discussion.

“We hear this history of genocide, we hear this history of dispossession, and we hear this history of unfreedom, right and enslavement in the creation of property, in the creation of racial categories,” Itagaki said. “And so the sense of, I don’t know you, I know you, or I need to know you, has this kind of legacy that is really part of American history that people don’t want to think about.”

Itagaki continued her talk with a question on intersection -

ality and its use. She mentioned Michael Dawson, a political scientist in the 1990s, and his work “Behind the Mule,” which discussed African American voting out of the Civil Rights era.

Itagaki then discussed the concept of “linked faith,” or how voting is tied to group identity or faith, looking at Harris’ campaign as an example.

“It makes sense why Harris would try to activate this voting population and why her opponents would try to make this activation disingenuous, like she’s not Black enough, because of this linked faith,” Itagaki said.

Itagaki continued by asking the audience to discuss intersectionality and incited a conversation that allowed students to share their own experiences of being multiracial. She concluded by connecting racial identity to the larger United States.

“We have this legacy of the past to the present day,” Itagaki said.

Chloe Ray, assistant director of the writing center at CMC, and audience member spoke on the new perspective she gained from the talk.

“Seeing these moves to use race in this way or to make people trust because of multiraciality, I didn’t think about it in that way,” Ray said. “That [was] really clever to do that.”

Ray also said she noticed the impact the talk had on broadening people’s views on identity.

“Usually identities are acknowledged in a kind of monoracial or kind of not an intersectional way, so it’s nice to see this intersectional identity brought up, and to see students chiming in, excited to share and people who are monoracial to be interested to learn,” Ray said.

ANNAbLLe INK • tHe StUDeNt LIFe the Scripps campus vigil united over 100 people in solidarity for victims of the war in Palestine and Lebanon.

KAYA SAVeLSON • tHe StUDeNt LIFe

Recent budgetary cuts at Pomona have limited the resources available to student organizations and academic departments, which has frustrated many students and faculty alike.

eLLIe LAKAtOS • tHe StUDeNt LIFe

On tuesday, Oct. 8th, claremont McKenna college (cMc) hosted a talk, “Mixed and Multiracial: Race, Gender, and Power,” given by Lynn Itagaki, associate professor of literature and gender, in the first of a three-part lunch talk series.

Voting Carnival sparks civic engagement ahead of 2024 election

GEORGIA ALFORD & AMELIA BERTSCH

With 25 days left until the upcoming 2024 presidential election, the 5Cs are brimming with voter education events and outreach. Things such as tents offering free

boba and ice cream for registered voters have become a common sight. Most recently, on Oct. 9, Claremont McKenna College’s (CMC) Parents Field was awash with red-and-white stripes for the 5C wide Voting Carnival. Game booths and food stands

decorated the far corner of the grounds. Pop hits blasted from loudspeakers, enticing passersby to learn about voter registration.

The event boasted churros, boba, a Kona Ice truck, civics-themed carnival games and a prize raffle. Volunteers from Every Vote Counts Claremont and the Claremont Initiative for Voter Engagement Strategies (CIVES) helped students navigate the online registration and absentee ballot process.

Sophie Jorgenson CM ’28, a volunteer with Every Vote Counts, explained that though voting registration deadlines have already passed in 10 states, those in the other 40 can still register to vote in time for the upcoming presidential election.

“I actually registered to get my absentee ballot through Every Vote Counts before I joined [the organization],” Jorgenson said. “For a lot of students here, it’s their first time voting ... It was [also] my first time trying to deal with an absentee ballot and voting from a different state. So we… help people with those challenges.”

Other students shared similar motivations for attending and volunteering.

Who am I if not my race?

This semester, like most firstyear students, I joined every possible club I could, including each affinity group that was applicable to me. Being Korean and Taiwanese, I signed up for the Korean Students Association, the Taiwanese Students Association and the Asian American Mentor Program (AAMP).

When my AAMP group met for the first time a couple of weeks ago, I sat quietly at the dinner table, feeling a bit awkward and misplaced. There were over half a dozen other students — all cool in their own ways, all excited to be at dinner together — yet we kept running out of things to talk about.

I felt like we had been shoved together, expected to be friends because we fell into this general category: “Asian American.”

Still, AAMP has been a positive shift from my upbringing, and I’ve enjoyed getting to talk to upperclassmen and other students that I might have never met if not for the group.

Growing up, I was part of a predominantly Korean church and attended a racially diverse school. While I was never self-conscious of my race at church, I was self-conscious of who I was as a person. Unlike the majority of kids at church who had immigrant parents, I was third-generation Asian American, wasn’t fluent in Korean and felt more of the “American” than “Korean” in Korean American.

Though I tried to find community within my church, joining Bible study groups and trying the Sunday evening Korean classes, I felt somewhat ostracized from the rest of the congregation. Even though we were all Korean, it

seemed like I couldn’t connect with my pastors and peers over shared experiences.

Meanwhile, my high school made a point of emphasizing racial diversity, mandating workshops and holding space for affinity groups. I remember being both amazed by the number of resources and a bit disoriented by this new mentality.

Race felt omnipresent, reflected in our English class literature and evident in the high number of volunteers for student-led diversity workshops. In my first year of high school, I didn’t even bother to join the Asian Student Union (ASU). Most people, even other ASU members, assumed that I was in the club anyway.

But when the ASU held its all-school convocation, I sat in the audience feeling uncomfortable and judged for not being on stage. By sophomore year, I was the first name on the ASU list.

In a discussion about being a minority that my high school facilitated between teachers and students, I remember sitting quietly, content listening to other students share their stories.

But afterward, an Asian classmate got upset at me, asking, “Why didn’t you speak?”

I felt this pressure to speak on behalf of all Asians when, at the same time, I couldn’t completely identify with or even understand the Korean subgroup at my church.

California is a pretty diverse place, and the 5Cs offer a plethora of inclusive communities and safe spaces. While these places to share our experiences are certainly beneficial for many students, I’ve found that affinity groups can feel exclusionary on the inside.

As a speaker at one of my

high school diversity conferences noted, “Race is the first thing people see you as.”

While terms like “Asian American” unite us, they also lump us under one racial category.

I’m Asian – half Korean, half Taiwanese – and you could probably tell that just by looking at me. My family has an intricate history that I shouldn’t lose, nor should the generations after me. But I was born in the United States and don’t speak any Asian languages, so what does my being Asian tell you about me?

I have enjoyed finding solidarity with other Asians in affinity groups, but sometimes I feel a little tired of having to identify as Asian American all the time. I’m not just my race; I’m a student, writer, musician, Marylander and Trader Joe’s fanatic.

And I worry that if I try to be more “Asian” in circles other than affinity groups, that’s all I’ll be seen as.

For those also wondering where they can find their perfect community or identity, know that there are others searching too. Words like “Asian American” are umbrella terms that don’t always provide the full context for who we are as humans. As evidenced by AAMP, people who are similar in some ways are wildly different in others.

All I can say is we don’t always have to fulfill a certain expectation — one placed on us by ourselves or others.

Ellie Chi PO ’28 is from Clarksville, Maryland. Her New Year’s resolution is always to be more honest, and she honestly really enjoys reading “The Catcher in the Rye.”

“A lot of people stay informed but then aren’t able to vote, whether that be because of registration or other guidelines that they weren’t quite sure of. I think it’s great that they’re doing this at a college campus and getting more information out there,” Celine Aoki SC ’26, Scripps junior class president, said. The carnival featured state-fair style games with a civic twist. Citizenship exam cornhole, local, state and federal Connect 4, voting rights darts and constitutional water pong, or con-pong, were among the attractions. The games exercised students’ basic knowledge of the U.S. government.

Aoki volunteered to run ConPong, a riff on classic cup pong, where participants answered Constitution-related questions in order to earn a shot at landing a ping pong ball in the cups.

The games were part of the carnival’s broader mission to encourage civic engagement. 5C students had different impressions of the levels of political engagement at their respective schools.

“In groups, people will bring up [politics] and it is definitely a thing [at CMC],” attendee Lucas Williams CM ’28 said. “You’ll see

resources to help you with voting, which is very insightful,”

Every Vote Counts Claremont, Kravis Lab and CIVES regularly visits each of the five campuses to display registration information and help answer voting questions. The organizations monitor the number of registration tables at every campus, and Every Vote Counts noted that Harvey Mudd College has lower engagement compared to the other schools.

“One of the challenges we face is Mudd students,” Jorgenson said. “There tends to be a lot less support … There’s a lot of tabling on the other four campuses. So we’re trying to increase engagement at Mudd and hopefully this event will draw some students.”

Aoki said the 5Cs provide a great environment for political engagement, with many students being well-informed and eager to expand their knowledge.

“I feel like [5C students] are very in tune with what’s going on nationwide and internationally,” she said. “I feel like it’s a very intelligent community that is very focused on politics, more so than I’ve been around in the past. I feel like everyone has very strong opinions and is very well informed in their own ways.”

Caffeinated confessions from a novel English major

I’m reading and writing a lot this semester. With my three English classes, I feel completely immersed in the worlds of Edmund Spenser’s “The Faerie Queene,” Samuel Richardson’s “Pamela” and Mel Chen’s “Chronic Illness, Slowness, and the Time of Writing.” Sometimes it very well feels overwhelming – even the other English majors in my classes say that three English classes is a lot – but I like it. Immersing myself in literature and theoretical essays felt like a breath of fresh air after spending so much time with cognitive science papers over the years. I still love cognitive science but as a double major, it’s nice to have a brief break from eye-tracking studies and L1-L2 interactions.

Beyond the coursework, I’ve also really enjoyed getting to know more of Pomona College’s English community this semester. A couple of weeks ago, I went to an English department event put on by the department’s student liaisons. Sitting in the dimly lit Ena Thompson Reading Room in Crookshank Hall, we all chatted about the English major and more over T&Joy boba. Over the course of the evening, in addition to meeting a lot of new faces, I caught up with a couple of friends who I had not talked to since our Asian American Literature and Queer and Cultural Critique class last semester. I even ran into a handful of peers from the Faerie Queene class. Boba in hand, we laughed nervously about our upcoming paper due that Friday that many of us had not yet started. “I’m working on that paper immediately after this,” I said, cackling.

“The caffeine from the boba will pull me through tonight.”

Even though I was stressed about my paper and I easily could have spent that hour in Ena Thompson drafting, I was glad I came to this event. Since I declared my double major in English only at the very end of last semester, I entered this year feeling a severe case of imposter syndrome. Did I even really know how to close-read? What if three English classes were too much for me? What if all the other English majors had already established their friendships – would it be hard for me to make friends? But sipping on boba with

other English enthusiasts in the cozy space of Ena Thompson quickly allayed these fears and made me feel welcomed. It reminded me that it ultimately didn’t matter how late I declared the major – I could very much still be a part of this community.

After the event, I made a beeline to the library where I spent a few hours working on my paper. The caffeine from the boba indeed kept me awake and I walked back to my dorm feeling warm and fuzzy inside, thinking back on the Pomona English community that I had so sweetly conversed with that evening. I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting since the start of senior year – on friendship, on allowing myself to feel slumpy and stressed and sad – and now I have another reflection to add to the list.

As I think about my academic journey, I am grateful that I discovered cognitive science and wholeheartedly explored linguistics, language acquisition and bilingualism. That academic path has shown me what kind of career I want to pursue post-graduation.

However, I am also grateful that I have been able to nurture an appreciation for English that has been budding since high school. In my first two years of college, I only took an English class here and there. But last semester, I realized just how much I loved it – and I had space in my graduation requirements to love it in the form of an entire second major.

Now, as I am finishing half of the major in one year, I know I will have a lot of reading and essays in the future. I don’t mind though. I know it’s ultimately only for a little longer that I’ll be able to discuss epistolary novels, the function of “yet” in a stanza and how to “crip” the process of writing, all in the comfort of cozy Claremont.

The fact that we are already past the halfway mark of the semester serves as a potent reminder that, ultimately, our time here is short. So whether or not you are an English major, my simple advice to you is this: As you make your way through the fall semester and the rest of your time in Claremont at large, don’t be afraid to explore your interests, whether old or new.

Pick the brains of the brilliant people around you; read those books; write those papers. If you need a caffeine boost, T&Joy is only a short stroll away.

Emily Kim PO ’25 is from Irvine, California. She recently lost her voice after singing “Love on Top” in karaoke with friends but considers it worth it.

SASHA MAttHeWS • tHe StUDeNt LIFe

ELLIE CHI

JIAYING cAO • tHe StUDeNt LIFe

EMILY KIM

MOMeNtS tO SAVOr

cOUrteSY: rAcHeL PIttMAN

DeAr rOOMMAte

Students gathered over boba during an english liaisons event last week.

Students played civics-themed games and learned to navigate voting registration at the Voting carnival on Parents Field on Oct. 9.

Arts & Culture

Pitzer BSU’s third Black Flea Market showcases Black creatives and entrepreneurs

Upcoming comedy cookout hopes to support first-time home buyers

individual.

Amidst the hot breeze and rhythm of DJ sets, 5C students and local residents gathered at Pitzer College’s Mounds on Oct. 6 for the third annual Black Flea Market. Organized by the Pitzer Black Student Union (BSU), the event featured a variety of student and local vendors offering customized shirts, jewelry, tooth gems, sweet and savory treats and more.

DJs Zay, Eman and Moongurl kept the energy high with sets that had attendees dancing their way through the market. Vibrant tents lined the path, some draped with colorful clothes swaying in the breeze. The event aimed to foster community by supporting Blackowned businesses, creators and entrepreneurs.

“It’s cool having a place specifically for Black artists, sellers and creators… to get some value out of being community members here, getting the chance to sell and make stuff,” William Marshall PZ ’25, a student vendor, said. The flea market financially and socially uplifts members of the community by creating a hub for expression, relationships and trade. At his booth “William’s Wardrobe,” Marshall sold second-hand clothes. He said he enjoyed the steady income he has earned over the last three flea markets.

“Being low-income and first-[generation], this is for my own social and economic status,” Marshall said. “Right now, what I need is extra support.”

Many vendors, like Marshall, return year after year, forging lasting relationships with both event organizers and customers.

“It’s a nice event. A lot of times when we like an event that’s new, we choose to grow with it,” Crystal McClendon, co-owner of DD’s Chick and Cat Shack, a Southern food truck that has been part of all three Black Flea Markets, said.

She and her husband, co-owner

David McClendon, were originally invited by members of BSU who had visited their restaurant.

The appreciation students have for returning vendors highlights the sense of community fostered by the space.

“As a creative, it is nice to share a space with people who look [like me] and share my experiences,” Marshall said.

One particularly popular vendor was Its-In-Scope. The brand, which is primarily a community research studio, draws inspiration from artistic archives. The organization’s recent research focuses on “abundance” found in land use, diaspora and the collective. Their table featured a series of prints and apparel patterned with distinctive tie-dye bleach stains, some depicting natural elements, inspired by this theme of abundance.

Similarly, clothing brand Rock Face Inc., created by Evan Penn Brown PZ ‘25, attracted the attention of many shoppers with its unique approach of taking thrifted clothing and imprinting them with artistic bleach symbols, shapes and patterns.

“Seeing [vendors] again and building that connection and building that rapport is one of the aspects I really love about the flea,” attendee Rahim Chilewa PZ ’27 said. “The implementation of Black spaces, Black vendors and Black sellers on campus is probably my favorite part.”

By financially supporting Black-owned businesses and student vendors, the market exemplifies the Claremont colleges’ mission to foster relationships between students and individuals in the Inland Empire and greater Los Angeles.

“Bridging that gap of really cool stuff from creatives who need the support, to a [college] that is hypothetically built off of supporting people and sharing resources, is a really good opportunity,” Marshall said.

PATRICK MCDOWELL

The stand-up comedy fundraiser Laughs & Grills: A Comedy Cookout, sponsored by organization Living Life Through Love (LLTL), a nonprofit dedicated to creating affordable housing solutions for underserved communities, will take place Sunday, Oct. 13 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Pomona College’s Rose Hills Theater. The event will feature four stand-up acts from Los Angeles County and catering by local vendors, with all proceeds supporting LLTL’s housing projects and community initiatives.

Founded by Claremont Graduate University (CGU) dual-doctorate student DeMaree Williams, LLTL aims to provide affordable housing solutions for veterans, as well as Black, Hispanic and other communities of color. The organization offers housing construction, housing education programs and credit counseling services for individuals who might otherwise struggle to afford a home.

“The goal of [the event] is to have people come down, enjoy some comedy and fundraise so we can get people their first down payment for a home,” Williams said.

The event will feature performances by comedians La Rance Braggs, Cedrik Whittaker, Warren V and Louis Smith and will be hosted by comedian Rafael Wright. Rainy’s Authentic Soul Food and Walt’s Wings will provide catering.

Though the event was independently organized, the Claremont Colleges’ Office of Black Student Affairs (OBSA) and Chicano Latino Student Affairs (CLSA) helped with logistics and promotion.

“Our office assisted DeMaree by helping identify a venue and strategizing logistics to help him become familiar with organizing events on a campus different from his own, and will help promote the event to students,” the OBSA sent in an email to TSL.

LLTL creates pathways to generational wealth for people from underserved backgrounds. Williams said he believes home ownership is a crucial step in building generational wealth.

“As a fellow veteran and BIPOC individual, oftentimes we don’t get the amount of resources that are out there…[that could] help us [compete on] the same playing field,” Williams said.

The organization serves individuals in greater Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, but is looking to expand its reach. To date, the organization has helped around 30 individuals navigate the home-buying process.

Williams draws on his family’s construction background to build homes on plots of land — as little as three to five acres — which can accommodate around 30-50 housing units. They sell these homes directly to first-time buyers, cutting out middlemen like brokers and agents to reduce costs.

Williams emphasized the importance of building micro-communities — groups of smaller homes on a larger shared plot of land where residents can support one another. These communities support individuals in areas beyond just home ownership, providing a sense of belonging.

“The overall goal is to be able to give people the resources they need not just to own a home, but to increase their generational wealth,” Williams said. As a part of that mission, Williams said he believes in the development of the entire

“We want to focus on the mental, physical and spiritual well-being… because in order to have financial health you have to have all of those three things together as well,” Williams said.

Williams is working to partner with mental health experts to ensure resources can accommodate individual circumstances. He is looking to provide spaces, like gym facilities and parks, where those in micro-communities can engage with one another and foster a sense of unity.

In addition to housing initiatives, LLTL offers financial literacy workshops. An upcoming session at CGU in November will include a course that will help first-time buyers understand budgeting and financing options. This winter, they plan to host a one-stop-shop in the Inland Empire, where lenders, credit counselors and real estate agents will be present on-site to assist local buyers through the purchasing process.

As LLTL grows, so do their partnerships. LLTL seeks to work alongside Habitat for Humanity and the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) to become official HUD Counselors. The organization also plans to collaborate with the event Black College Expo under the National College Resources Foundation (NCRF). The founder and CEO of NCRF, Dr. Theresa Price, also serves as a board member for LLTL. These future initiatives reflect LLTL’s progress and potential for growth.

“LLTL is quite new, its direct impact is just beginning, but the vision to empower families through sustainable housing and financial literacy is clear and promising,” Dr. Juanita Johnson, a member of the Board of Trustees for CGU, said.

When life gives you lemons, bring them camping

By the time this article is published, I’ll be cruising up the Pacific Coast Highway on my way to Yosemite National Park.

The thought of wind blowing through the car while my music is blasting on aux is the only thing getting me through this first round of midterms. Senior year is no joke — but then again, every year comes with its obstacles. I remember needing some rejuvenation at the halfway mark of every semester of college. Fall break of my freshman year, I went home to the East Coast, a trip which ultimately ended up being more draining than rejuvenating.

So that spring break, I decided to do something different: my first camping trip.

Our goal was to visit the Grand Canyon, Arches National Park, Zion National Park and a friend’s home in Colorado. The route my friends proposed was roughly 1800 miles. Coming from New England, this distance was hard for me to wrap my head around. Back home, you drive for two hours and visit four different states. Boom! Road trip complete. I didn’t know how to contribute to planning the trip: I had no idea what gear we needed to check out from the Pitzer Gear Closet or how to book a campsite. As the day of departure approached, I texted my friends incessantly with questions about all aspects of the trip. They as-

sured me that everything would be OK, which I found hard to believe. The day we were set to leave, I was a nervous wreck. I called my mom to tell her “I love you” before trekking to the parking lot with my gear. As I dropped my bags beside our borrowed Subaru, yet another wave of panic came over me. “There’s no room in the car.”

“We’ll make room,” my friend said. There were sleeping pads acting as booster seats and shoes hung around head rests. Sure enough though, we did make room and, despite being behind schedule, turned out of the parking lot and onto Claremont Boulevard. At the end of the road would be

yet another first of mine — my first national park, the Grand Canyon. Before entering the park we stopped to set up camp on dispersed land, land outside of designated campgrounds. As soon as the work was done, I was eager to jump back in the car, though my friends were not.

I didn’t care to sit and do nothing — I was itching to see the park.

After some time we got back in the car and sped to the lookout point where we planned to watch the sunset. Sitting in the passenger seat, I fixated on the snowy pine trees and junipers that rushed past my window. It was then that I saw lights and heard sirens.

“Oh my gosh. I’ve never been

LIA FOX • tHe StUDeNt LIFe pulled over before,” my friend said.

“It’ll be fine,” I responded. Was I reassuring her or myself? “Just get your license out.”

“It’s in the back of the car.”

The officer came to the passenger side and tapped on my window. I rolled it down, flinching at the rush of cold air.

“License and registration, please.” My friends in the backseat rummaged through our bags, searching for our friend’s wallet.

I hurriedly reached to open the glove box. While trying to appease the officer in time to catch the sunset, I had forgotten about all of our nifty little storage hacks. With

the click of the glove box’s latch, a 12 inch cooking knife fell straight into my hand.

“Okay ma’am, slowly hand that to me with the blade facing you.” He placed it on top of the car and said something into his walkie talkie. We found the license and handed it over: “Stay in your car,” he said. When the ranger came back, he gave us a warning and told us not to keep knives in our glove box. As we drove away, we couldn’t stop laughing at what he must have thought at a young girl accidentally pulling a knife on him.

We made it to the lookout point just in time for sunset. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before — layers of red and orange sedimentary rock rising as far as my eyes could see lit up with a yellow and pink sun. Despite the cold air, the world felt warm.

Obstacles should be expected when you adventure outdoors, but that’s what makes for good stories and worthwhile lessons. Not in spite of, but because of their challenges, trips into the outdoors have taught me courage, trust, problem solving, adaptability and humor.

My friends and I have a saying: “If you don’t plan for failure, you can’t fail.” Don’t get caught up in how you think the trip will go, just accept it as it comes.

Annika White PZ ’24 is an environmental columnist from Southport, Connecticut. She enjoys hammocking, journaling and making playlists on Spotify.

cOUrteSY: LIVING LIFe tHrOUGH LOVe

Stand-up comedy fundraiser will be hosted by Living Life Through Love, a nonprofit that provides housing solutions for individuals in underserved communities.

ANNIKA WHITE

AUDREY GREEN & CHARLOTTE HAHM

cOUrteSY: PItZer cOLLeGe

UNDer tHe cANOPY

Pitzer bSU hosted the third black Flea Market, featuring clothes and novelties from black-owned businesses and student vendors.

Arts & Culture

John Warner on defending writing from AI

John Warner argues that to fully appreciate the importance of the writing process, we must move away from treating education as a mere transaction.

“We have to renew our relationship to the experience of work, to be more in touch with the process, rather than just generating the product,” Warner said. “Education is more than a transaction. If we can decide what’s good or not good with a human sense, we don’t have to worry about ChatGPT or large language models taking over.”

On Oct. 8, Warner, a writer and former professor at College of Charleston and Virginia Tech, among other institutions, delivered the second lecture in the annual Nelson Distinguished Speaker Series at Harvey Mudd College. Titled “Resist, Renew, Explore: Human Values in the Age of AI,” the talk explored the importance of preserving the humanity of the writing process amidst the rise of generative AI. Warner, author of the upcoming book “More than Words: How to Think about Writing in the Age of AI,” has written extensively about writing pedagogy and higher education.

Kyle Thompson, the director of learning programs at Harvey Mudd College and director of the Nelson Speaker Series, chose Warner as the speaker in order to present multiple perspectives on this year’s topic, AI and learning. He highlighted Warner’s focus on day-to-day teaching and writing pedagogy, contrasting it with the “business standpoint” of previous speaker Sal Khan.

“Warner himself has been critical of how Khan [frames] technology as potentially saving education,” Thompson said.

Warner emphasized that writing articulates the process of thinking.

“When we write, we are trying to express an idea,” Warner said.

“While you are writing an idea,

it is taking a different shape. We have to see writing as an iterative sequence and recursive [to] earlier parts of the process.”

He dispelled the common belief that writing is linear, arguing that this fundamental misconception reveals why AI cannot truly replicate the process.

“The linearity of writing is illusion after [the] fact. When we see ChatGPT produce something in seconds... it is an indicator that it’s not writing,” Warner said.

Warner said the intention and purpose of our words stem from a rhetorical situation, which he described as the context from which the words stem.

“When we write, we write inside a rhetorical situation. This is true, even if we’re writing a diary … There is no rhetorical intention in the large language model,” Warner said.

By contrast, syntax generation by large language models occurs entirely without intention or conscious decision-making.

“It’s like a very big eager dog [that you tell] to go fetch. It’s pattern matching,” he said.

Warner introduced a framework for critically examining the role of AI in our lives with three key components: resist, renew, explore. He urged caution in humanizing AI and placing too much faith in its potential.

“We should resist crediting the hypothetical potential to the present reality … We learn through experience. We live through experience,” Warner said.

Recalling an experience teaching a student who viewed writing essays like a five-paragraph algorithm, he became aware of the harm of reducing writing to a mechanical process, especially when it comes to self-expression. He also questioned Sal Khan’s claim that AI tutors could improve education.

“What problem is the AI

solving?” Warner said. “A teacher [with] 180 essays [to grade] … her problem is she has too many students. So this idea that equity is going to be solved by getting students that can’t afford [it] access to AI tutors [is ridiculous].

I promise you, the rich kids will still have human tutors.”

Warner also underscored the financial burden of expanding AI, citing Sam Altman’s $7 trillion request for OpenAI’s chip costs. This amount is seven times the U.S. education budget from kindergarten to postgraduate, and surpasses the combined

annual gross domestic products of the UK and Germany.

“This is unfathomable, double the spending we have on education and management,” Warner said. “So this idea that this thing is our savior, that somehow, because we can’t do this other thing, we need AI, it’s absolutely broken.”

Attendee Vir Patwardhan HM ’28 said he appreciated Warner’s demonstration of the challenges AI poses to education.

“[The talk] was pretty well done,” Patwardhan said. “John [illustrated] some of the funda -

mental issues with AI in education and why the educational system in the United States needs to transform right away in order to incorporate some of the elements that he spoke about.”

Attendee Jeanne Berrong, a high school English teacher, said she found the talk to be reassuring for the future of her career.

“I feel really validated by this,” Berrong said. “I’ve spent the last two years with a mixture of horror and amazement, watching how many more shortcuts [students] jump through to [save time]. Now I’m hopeful.”

How horror movie exposure therapy eased my anxiety

NIKO KAY SMITH

Despite the 90 degree weather in Claremont, it is, in fact, October. That can only mean one thing: it’s spooky season, baby!

But what if the idea of a horror movie or haunted house attraction fills you with dread? Never fear, scaredy cats. Your local horror columnist, in her infinite wisdom and benevolence, has put together a guide on how to transform your fear into a genuine love for horror, based on my own personal experience.

That’s right, I once was a horror virgin like you. And now look at me: the Carrie Bradshaw of horror columnists. Instead of Aidan or Mr. Big, I’m prepared to ruin my life for Mike Flanagan. Since childhood, I’ve been terrified of everything. In middle school, plagued by various anxiety disorders, I could barely order at a restaurant or deviate from my regular routine without breaking down in tears.

I refused to watch PG-13 movies until my 13th birthday, and obsessively looked up every film on Common Sense Media before I could see it, in fear that I would accidentally traumatize myself by

watching the wrong thing. I had a fear of fear itself, and I despised the unknown. Horror is all about the unknown. The torturously slow walk down the dark hallway, the hidden identity of the killer behind the mask, the unexpected figure that makes you jump. Basically, an anxious mind’s worst nightmare. But at the same time, I’ve always been fascinated with spooky media. I found ways to get a glimpse of it while protecting myself as much as possible — reading the plots of scary movies and creepypastas on Wikipedia, or watching YouTube playthroughs of horror games on mute with the window shrunk down to the size of a postage stamp.

My problem with horror wasn’t the subject matter itself. I didn’t have nightmares about Michael Myers or the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” animatronics coming to get me. I just couldn’t handle the stress of the movie-watching experience itself.

In the words of PJ Vogt on The Scaredy Cats Horror Show podcast, “It doesn’t feel like a movie. It feels like you’re watching a movie, and behind you there’s a guy with

a baseball bat who’s going to hit you four to six times really hard during the movie … So much of your brain is just like, ‘How bad is this going to be and when’s it going to be bad?’”

For a long time, I accepted that my nervous system just couldn’t handle the guy with the bat, and swore off horror movies as not for me.

Then I watched “Scream” (1996).

Credit to my friend Lucia, who changed the trajectory of my life with her decision to stay in on a Friday night sophomore year and show me a really obscure, underrated little art film called “Scream.” I watched through my fingers, but when it was over, I realized that I had survived.

More than survived — I had a new favorite movie.

Ever since then, I’ve been working my way through horror movie exposure therapy, stepping further and further outside my comfort zone. Horror is like a workout for my anxiety — a safe, controlled environment that lets my mind chew on its worst fears and discover that feeling afraid is something I can get through,

not something that needs to be avoided.

“Scream”as baby’s first horror movie is a cliche at this point, but that just speaks to its divine power to convert horror nonbelievers. If you’ve somehow avoided the film thus far, why are you still reading this article? Go watch it right now. The opening ten minutes are the scariest — if you can make it through that, you’re golden.

To be clear, you don’t have to watch horror movies if you don’t want to. You have nothing to prove, and anyone who insists otherwise is an asshole. But if, like me, you feel this itching curiosity to figure out what goes bump in the night, I have some tips. First, start slow. If you’re a horror virgin, there’s no need to go all the way the first time. Begin with a horror comedy — that’s your “Scream” (1996), “Ready or Not” (2019), “Abigail” (2024) or “Bodies Bodies Bodies” (2022). If horror is all about tension, comedy is the release valve; plus, a satire can take some bite out of the horror formula.

Once that feels doable, start stripping back the comedy and moving up the rickety horror lad-

der. I recommend bringing a friend along — it’s more fun to scream as a group, and having someone to riff with can help when the going gets tough. The power of friendship is the only reason I survived Hereditary (2018) without shitting my pants. Being able to laugh away the fear is great, but ultimately you’ll have to embrace the fact that you’re going to be scared. That’s part of it. Instead of shying away from the fear, lean into it. Try not to look up the plot beforehand. Venture into the dark one step at a time. Make friends with the guy with the baseball bat. With any luck, you’ll emerge from your horror exposure therapy as a true final girl, shedding your previously innocent self in favor of an axe-wielding, blood-splattered, maniacally laughing horror fiend. Happy watching and happy Halloween!

For all their newfound bravery, Niko Kay Smith (SC ’25) still absolutely refuses to watch “Terrifier.” Sorry, it’s just not happening. ‘A Nightmare on 6th St’ is TSL’s horror column, where Niko covers their journey from scaredy cat to rabid horror fan, one movie at a time.

ANANYA VINAY • tHe StUDeNt LIFe

ANANYA VINAY

NIGHtMAre ON SIXtH Street

John Warner delivered the second Nelson lecture at Harvey Mudd college’s Shanahan Auditorium on Oct. 8.

You should go to church

A 3 a.m. Saturday bedtime and

a 9 a.m. Sunday wake up call. This has become my new routine this semester, for the church bells have summoned me.

Every Sunday, I attend a morning service at a different church in the Claremont/Upland area — Catholic, Presbyterian, Orthodox, Methodist, Unitarian, Episcopal, non-denominational, you name it.. I began this practice to discover my own religious beliefs and learn about Christianity from the perspectives of different denominations.

During this exploration, I have noticed not only the religiously guided benefits of regular church attendance, but also a positive impact on my mental health, daily routine, levels of stress and interpersonal connections. To my surprise, I found a plethora of scientific studies that supported my findings, and now I want to share this evidence with you.

Before I go any further, I would like to begin my argument with a disclaimer: I am not trying to convince you to convert to Christianity. Places and modes of worship can look different for everyone, and I want to encourage you to interact with these communities, whether this be through churches, synagogues, mosques or temples. But as a Christian who is most familiar with the order and purpose of a church service, it is my lived experience that I will draw from.

From the ages of 11 to 18, I was forced to attend an Anglican church four times a week at my British boarding school. Back then, I could not appreciate the religious purpose of forcing students to go to church. I think that many of my peers agreed with this, and chapel time was seen more as a social event where you could ogle your high school crush across the pews.

Three years after graduating high school, I now realize how much I miss going to church. The aspect that I miss the most about these services is the powerful, energizing feeling that I got from belting out a hymn, or reciting a prayer word for word alongside a thousand other people in perfect unison. It made me feel like I was a part of something bigger than myself and no, at that time it was not God that I was thinking of. It was community. We hear the word “community” so much that the word has almost lost its meaning. The Claremont Colleges’ community is very supportive and tight-knit, but it is isolated from the real world outside of our seven campuses. After three years of living in Claremont, church has been the one thing to actually connect me with the broader Inland Empire community. Going to church forces you to step outside of the Claremont bubble and interact with the people around you. No, it is not the same as going to a coffee shop, or

a concert, or a hike — there is no escaping conversation at church. Many of the services that I have attended incorporate a “handshake of peace,” where everybody stands up and moves through the sanctuary, shaking hands, introducing themselves and blessing each other. The typically-elderly ushers greet you with a smile and make small talk, the pastor shakes your hand and thanks you for coming at the end of the service and the volunteers offer you coffee and snacks as you arrive. Be prepared to chat.

The great thing about church is that you can take a step even further into the community if you want. Most congregations run social and religious activities outside of Sunday services. If you end up liking the community a lot, you could join Bible study groups, a Womens’ or Mens’ Ministry, identity-based

retreats, catered lunches and dinners, youth groups and so on. On multiple occasions, I have been the youngest, or even the only young person at a Sunday service. Gen-Z’s church attendance is low, so the congregation is always happy to see students walk through their doors. Church fosters intergenerational interaction, which we tend to lack at our colleges. In social settings, we are almost exclusively surrounded by people from the same generation, but there are real benefits to exploring intergenerational friendships.

Not only does going to church connect you with people that otherwise you would not have interacted with, but it also encourages long-lasting friendships and a support system. That is why multiple studies have found that regular church attendance not only improves

your mental well-being, but can also prolong your life and decrease rates of addiction and addiction-related deaths.

We frequently associate church solely with religion and worship, forgetting the its role as a social institution and its importance in a community. Everyone can go to church, even if you are a non-believer. You do not have to believe in God or Jesus. You do not have to participate in the recitation of prayers. You do not have to sing. You do not have to accept the Eucharist. You do not have to be baptized. You can come, sit, chat, meditate, listen, relax and learn. Maybe you will find out something new about yourself, or connect with a total stranger.

Just don’t knock it ‘til you try it. Venture out into different churches — almost all of their services look different, and depending on what you

are looking for, one may be more suitable than another. The more you go, the more you explore, the more you will understand what you want church to mean to you.

Incorporating Sunday services into my weekly schedule has been a blessing (literally). I am still continuing my journey of religious discovery, while also enjoying an hour when I can unplug from my anxieties, reflect, practice gratitude and prepare for the week ahead of me.

So keep an open mind about church, and maybe connect with a couple of seasoned church-goers to show you the ropes. In whichever path you decide to take, I hope you may find the same kind of peace that I did.

LISA GORELIK

Elizaveta (Lisa) Gorelik CM ’25 is from Moscow, Russia. She is looking forward to discovering a scenic church near Yosemite during the Fall break.

MAX r ANNEY • t HE S t UDEN t LIFE

Pomona’s culpability under International Humanitarian Law

MIKE WITHEY

As we reflect upon the events of the past year in the Middle East, we grow increasingly concerned that the circumstances we are living through may bring the entire world to the brink of apocalypse. Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel on Oct. 7 last year, followed by the devastating invasion of Gaza and tragic loss of over 40,000 lives, along with the rapidly escalating war between Israel, Hezbollah and Iran, all are dire threats to world peace. On Sept. 4 of this year, hundreds of thousands of Israelis protested in the streets and launched a general strike throughout the country to condemn the government’s failure to negotiate in good faith for a ceasefire and release of all hostages.

Our current global situation invites sober reflection on our individual and collective responsibilities. We must ensure the international legal conventions designed to prevent genocide and violations of international humanitarian law, and peaceful resolution of difference, are upheld. We ALL, as taxpaying citizens of the United States, have a duty to take concrete steps to end the genocide, and the war crime of the mass killings of Palestinians in Gaza.

Pomona College stands complicit in this crisis. We have witnessed votes by students and faculty alike to seek a policy of divestment from specified U.S. corporations profiting from war in Gaza. Pomona also saw the formation of a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus and the arrests of 20 protestors at Alexander Hall on Apr. 5, 2024.

I used my degree from Pomona in International Relations and Law degree to specialize in international human rights. This experience leads me to ask: how does Pomona view its obligation to uphold international humanitarian law and to seek a peaceful and deliberative resolution of the students’ protests? In service of this solution, I propose an academic conference bringing all sides together to discuss the issue of Israel and Palestine.

I acknowledge there are those community members who support President Starr’s decision to call in the police to clear Alexander Hall on the day of the arrests. I am also keenly aware there are many students, faculty and alumni alike who believe that the broader issues raised by Pomona Divest from Apartheid (PDfA) cannot be resolved by police force and academic sanctions, but rather by reconciliation and rational debate in the manner suggested by Pomona Professor of Politics Amanda Hollis-Brusky.

Following a Pomona College faculty vote in favor of a divestment resolution, Hollis-Brusky noted the examples of more peaceful resolutions at other institutions. “There were institutions across the country that had listened to students and faculty and diffused tensions on campus and came to more of a peaceful, deliberative resolution,” she wrote.

I strongly agree. Many of the criminal cases brought against protestors around the country have been dismissed, including those in Columbia University and the charges against the “SeaTac 46,” whom I helped represent. As U.S. taxpayers who are financing military aid to Israel, including its war in Gaza, we have a civic responsibility to oppose U.S. support for a war in which Israel has been found by the World Court to be committing genocide and/or war crimes against Palestinian civilians.

Would dropping all charges and academic discipline against the protestors who were arrested at Pomona last spring not be one concrete action you can take to foster a deliberative reconciliation process as well as to do what is right under international law?

Would calling for a dialogue between ALL sides of this debate to come together to convene an academic conference on Israel/ Palestine?

The Geneva Convention defines genocide as committing specified acts “with intent to

destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, as such.” Israeli officials made their intentions quite clear on Oct. 9, in the prelude to the invasion of Gaza when Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said “I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we act accordingly.”

The government of South Africa presented an application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague, seeking a ruling declaring that Israel is engaged in genocide in Gaza. After a trial, the ICJ ordered six provisional measures, including for Israel to refrain from acts under the Genocide convention of the Geneva convention to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to genocide and take immediate and effective measures to ensure the provision of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza.

relating to the conduct of hostilities (jus in bello), regardless of whether a State may be considered the aggressor or whether the initial resort to force was lawful under jus ad bellum. The protection of civilians against the harmful effects of hostilities is one of the main purposes of the law of war.“

In short, there are times when committing “illegal” acts is necessary to try to prevent a great evil. Such a “necessity defense” is an issue for the jury in these cases. but the point is that protesters committing civil disobedience are on the right side of history. those who arrest them are not.

According to the Human Rights Watch as of Feb. 2024, the government of Israel has failed to comply with these legally binding orders.

Complicity to commit genocide is a standalone crime, triggering both State responsibility and individual criminal responsibility, regardless of position, under the Genocide Convention. U.S. taxpayers’ dollars are being used to provide armaments to Israel, thus funding the Israeli war in Gaza and sharing responsibility to end the genocide.

The US Department of Defense War Manual (updated 2023) states: “States fighting against one another must adhere to rules

Thus, Israel has a legal duty to protect civilian populations, medical facilities, schools and infrastructure. Its use of population displacement, cutting off food, power and water in this war violates the law. The Israeli IDF’s killing of over 40,000 innocent civilians, including thousands of children, its repeated bombings of hospitals, humanitarian aid convoys and U.N. infrastructure clearly violate the principle of proportionality and thus constitute war crimes. We make no excuse for Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, 2023, its taking of hostages and its use of Gazan civilians as human shields, all of which also violate international humanitarian law.

Moving to the charges and academic discipline against the protestors who were arrested at Pomona last spring, I ask once again, could dropping all charges not serve as one concrete action the institution could take in fostering a deliberative reconciliation process as well as adhering to international law?

Civil disobedience has shaped American law, policy and public opinion throughout our history. Relying on the opinion from United States vs. Kabat (1978), a pivotal course in the protection of free speech: “We must recognize that civil disobedience in various forms, used without violent acts against

THE STUDENT LIFE

others, is ingrained in our society and the moral correctness of political protesters’ views has on occasion served to change and better our society.”

In short, there are times when committing “illegal” acts is necessary to try to prevent a great evil. Such a “necessity defense” is an issue for the jury in these cases. But the point is that protesters committing civil disobedience are on the right side of history. Those who arrest them are not.

In my experience representing mass protest movements, including the arrests by the Seattle Police Department in the 1999 anti-WTO protests, I would also argue that those who engage in nonviolent civil disobedience have their own responsibilities. There should not be physical violence or property destruction, nor should Jewish students be targeted. With this in mind, I reiterate again my call for a dialogue between ALL sides of this debate to convene in an academic conference on Israel/Palestine.

Such a conference would invite all sides to participate, free of the threat of criminal sanctions, with an agenda and speakers to be agreed by them.

This conference can facilitate an informed conversation on the divisive and emotional topic of Israel and Palestine. Conflicting narratives of the historical record have dominated the discussions of culpability both for the start of the war and how it is currently being conducted.

How do we create a new narrative to work toward shared power and peace? This conference will discuss the use of the terms “antisemitism,” “apartheid,” “globalize the intifada” and “from the river to the sea” to determine whether systems of oppression may be harbored there and how we need to understand and acknowledge the emotions these terms evoke. The goal is to redirect the heated and contentious discussion that has occurred on campus to a more positive and peaceful place.

For instance, it might discuss such topics as: (1) Is the war in Gaza the graveyard of interna -

tional humanitarian law? (2) Is Israel an apartheid state? (3) What is our individual responsibility to take steps to support a cease-fire in Gaza and oppose violations of international law? (4) Does divestment from corporations who profit from the war in Gaza serve the mission of Pomona College? This Conference would be similar to the lecture series conducted by the Henry Jackson School of International Studies of University of Washington’s earlier this year which I attended. I have provided a draft proposal for a conference below, including topics and potential speakers that could be used as a starting point for such a conference or even a “teach-in” at Pomona. I call upon PDfA, Jewish students and organizations at Pomona, the administration and the faculty to participate in such a conference, but first charges should be dismissed.

It is time for President Starr and the Pomona College Board of Regents to fulfill their responsibility under international law. It should convene an academic conference on Israel-Palestine, call for a divestment from corporations that profit from sales of military weapons to the IDF and ask local authorities to dismiss all charges against those arrested on campus. Let us all make this a teachable moment.

Mike Withey graduated from Pomona College in 1968. He attended USF Law School, obtaining his J.D. degree in 1971. He has practiced law in Seattle since 1972 and litigated the case of Domingo v. Marcos against the former dictator of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos and his allies for the murders of two anti-Marcos union activists in 1989.

Lawyer and alum Mike Withey PO ’68 makes the argument that Pomona’s responsibility under international law is to divest and push towards an academic conference.

It’s time for Pomona to appoint a student trustee

ERIC LU

This Monday marked the oneyear anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel, which has since been followed by an extreme military retaliation from Israel on the Gaza Strip. The conflict has reverberated globally, including at the 5Cs, where students have repeatedly demonstrated against Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip and decried Pomona College’s investments in weapons manufacturers linked to the conflict.

Last May, students and faculty at Pomona voted to divest from “weapons manufacturers” and corporations “complicit with war crimes and other human rights violations committed by the Israeli government.”

Yet, despite sweeping majority opinions among both students and faculty, the premise of the vote remains unacknowledged by the Board of Trustees and the divide between students and administration has only widened. To mediate these tensions, and to provide students with a voice at the table, Pomona should appoint a voting student member to its Board of Trustees.

Pomona students do already possess a degree of representation on the Board. Twice a month, Associated Students of Pomona College’s (ASPC) Board of Trustees representative for student affairs voices students’ concerns through bi-semesterly reports to the Board. While the position somewhat allows students to express themselves to the Board, it lacks the power of a vote to effectively communicate students’ concerns and provide the student body with real representation at the decision table.

Instead of granting students a voting voice, administrators have focused on fostering open dialogue between the Board, students and faculty in response to rising tensions between students and administration. Yet, after countless escalations and confrontations, it’s clear that the divide between students and the Board runs so deep that student representation isn’t just a potential solution — it’s a necessity.

No amount of dialogue can replace having a seat at the decision-making table. That said, in these polarizing times, it’s uncertain whether a student trustee alone could effectively bridge the

divide between students and the administration. However, as Pomona prides itself on fostering hands-on learning and intellectual engagement with the world, this would be a principled decision that would demonstrate a genuine respect for its students. The disconnect between students and the administration extends beyond challenges like the conflict in Gaza. As a piece in last week’s TSL issue on Pomona’s fire response illustrated, administration often appears detached and unresponsive to the issues affecting students — even when these situations pose risks to their health and well-being. Absent a persistent, consequential student voice, the Board of Trustees has grown increasingly disconnected from day-to-day

concerns of student life. This disconnect is not just a failure of the Board but a fundamental flaw in how it communicates with students and implements decisions.

The Board of Trustees is tasked with the crucial responsibility of overseeing and guiding the mission of the college. Such a responsibility should not preclude student participation on the Board, but guarantee it. Students provide a unique perspective that differs from that of existing stakeholders on how institutional responsibility should guide investments. Adding students to the committee would remove the bureaucratic barriers that dilute and overlook student concerns, which would eliminate the need for

Board members to speculate on student needs. Moreover, if Pomona is genuinely dedicated to fostering diversity within its community, it should build a Board that reflects the rapidly evolving priorities of its diverse student body.

While critics may argue that students lack adequate financial and managerial experience to hold voting positions, the reality is that students have the purest understanding of what they need. If Pomona’s administrators truly believe in the quality of their education and the prudence and capabilities of their students, they would entrust them with a voting voice at the decision-making table. Other institutions, including Cornell University, have demon -

strated their trust by electing student trustees to their Boards for decades. Appointing a student trustee does not diminish or undermine the Board’s expertise — it enhances the Board’s ability to govern by bringing in lived experiences and the authentic voices of students. Pomona’s students deserve more than just a voice in the room, they deserve a vote at the table. It’s well past time for the Board of Trustees to go beyond rhetoric and appoint a student trustee. By doing so, Pomona would take a decisive step toward truly living its commitment to shared governance and mutual respect.

Eric Lu PO ’28 is from Salt Lake City, Utah. He is excited to continue exploring Claremont and Los Angeles.

Y/our language speaks us out of existence

Language is the ultimate form of self expression. It has the miraculous power to make people visible. Because of this, it makes sense that queer identity is so invisible when it comes to language. Pronouns are the simplest example: he, she, they, it, among others. Everywhere, and even at the queer-tolerant Claremont Colleges, we are all linguistically culpable in queer erasure. Our pronoun use particularly demonstrates y/our own anti-queer culpability.

How are we culpable? What is the threshold for erasure? Good question — the threshold of culpability is very low. The moment you assign someone with the incorrect pronouns, either in your head or spoken aloud, is the moment you

make someone invisible. I am constantly guilty — so are you. As a result, the opinions of strangers matter. These opinions can be life or death for queer expression. Queer people must have a sixth sense for this language. Queerness is hard-fought and often repressed. Our bodies and behaviors can, and sometimes must, switch in response to linguistic restrictions. Misapplied pronouns are the forefront case. You don’t need to be said aloud to be culpable . Often, y/our language refuses to let queerness exist. See Scripps, which self-describes as a historically women’s college. They/them pronouns are still far too modern — their users are routinely discussed and seen as men. I am treated as an outsider in Seal Court, on Elm Tree Lawn,

inside Mallot and even in classes that first began with stating our pronouns. Even in conversation, I am physically conjoined with a constructed “him”foreign to me. Often, y/our language can make physical space outright dangerous for queer people. A grotesque example is restrooms. It not only depends on what pronouns the restroom claims (in crude pictures, no less) but how people interpret y/our relationship to those gender caricatures. An imagined “he” could easily make you a predator, or a groomer or mentally warped. Through someone else’s language, your body has lost its voice.

At the Claremont Colleges, y/our language is far harder to articulate. Our queer erasure can be much less direct. It is less like

a knife, and more like a lengthy private interrogation of oneself, designed to leave minimal visible injuries. Misuse of pronouns functions this way. It is a slow and effective hurt, with very little vocabulary involved – he, she, (rarely) they. I have been robbed of the words or anecdotes to encapsulate both my fury and begrudging resignation at being unseen. I tried to estrange a friend over this once, but was unable to tell him. When I tried, he could not hear it. I might have been a fly buzzing by, the way he later remarked, “he needs to control his anger?” Hence I have always heard and deafly forgiven, resigned to silence by my loved ones. Acquaintances are trickier. They have no responsibility to

know. Sometimes, the sly ones are able to catch on. On what might as well have been a boy’s trip in San Jacinto, all of a sudden people noticed an incongruity in their midst. In a scattered conversation, some progress was made on knowing what I had just said: “heTHEY said …” What had alerted them? The incongruous nature of someone applying “they” to me! Another option is never correcting anyone on your pronouns. This is good policy when you have established a satisfactory relationship with some person who can harm you very much, or not harm you at all. Being visible might scare them. They might react queerly. All the more tragic when they think and speak of you wrongly.

As it affects the Claremont Colleges, we must understand that any language — thought, spoken, physical — involving queer identity has enormous effects. I have been alone in many gender-neutral bathrooms, because my gender-neutral body has been thought of, heard or seen (somewhere) as the opposite sex. That is just one, of many, daily experiences involving y/our language dictating my body.

I acknowledge that Claremont is far more tolerant than other places for queerness. This tolerance, though, cannot be used to excuses y/our language injustices. We have to go further. You may respect queer identity, but room is rarely made for queer voices. My supportive friends often misgender me — inexcusable. My classmates and professors do it far more — inexcusable. The rate is excruciatingly close to 100 percent among people I do not know — yes, inexcusable. There are others. You and I can’t hear them. This failure is y/ours. It is the way you think. It is the way I think. The only way forward is with painstaking attention. Listen: y/our tragic absurdity will come out. Somewhere, everywhere, people are always defining others through y/our invented language. We say that some genitalia is he, some is she, and some are they. We rarely sit down and justify this. Do it. Explain their androgyny. Explain her body. Explain his voice. Continue in the mirror until we fall apart.

SHIXIAO

SHIXIAO

LUKE BROWN

Sagehens beat the heat in intense 2-0 Sixth Street Rivalry triumph

Braving the sweltering 90-degree heat, Pomona-Pitzer (P-P) women’s soccer claimed a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) on Oct. 5. As a result, the Sagehens added to their impressive record in the iconic Sixth Street Rivalry, having now gone undefeated in the last 10 matchups against the Athenas.

With key goals from Ella Endo PO ’25 and Hannah Hong PO ’26, and a solid defense that kept the Athenas at bay, the Hens earned a clean sheet win to bring their SCIAC record to 4-1-1.

The game started seemingly even, with both teams maintaining spells of possession and playing out wide to build up attacks. As the first half wore on, however, P-P gradually took control of the midfield, pushing forward and creating several dangerous chances. Their first major opportunity came around the 30th minute from a short corner, which forced Athenas’ goalkeeper Sadie Brown CM ’26 to make a crucial save. Brown reflected on her team’s approach going into an especially tough matchup.

“When it’s a Sixth Street Rivalry game, we kind of get antsy,” Brown said. “It’s a lot of pressure. Our main tactic going in was to play our game.” Despite a resolute CMS defensive

performance, the Hens eventually capitalized on a set piece in the 40th minute when the Athenas conceded a freekick outside the box. Centerback Vivian Rojas Collins PO ’27 delivered a pinpoint assist to 2023 First Team All-American Endo, who headed the ball into the back of the net for her fourth goal in 11 games this season. According to Endo, it was a moment she had been waiting for.

“This is a game that we look forward to all season,” Endo said. “I think that we play our best against CMS, and CMS plays their best against us because it has such a history of competition.”

Coming out of halftime with a 1-0 lead, it did not take the Sagehens long to double the score. In the 51st minute, Imogen Jenkyn PO ’28 found Hong with an airborne cross into the box. Hong powered in another header, giving the Sagehens breathing room.

Endo commented on how the team has been working to diversify their attacks.

“We focused on varied attacks, and today we scored two headers,” Endo said. “That’s not something we usually do. It was a good sign that we’re evolving in our attack.”

Despite the two-goal lead, P-P kept up their high press, pushing for more goals and denying CMS any real chance of getting back into the game. The Athenas struggled to find their rhythm as the Hens

frequently snatched back possession, and were limited to just six shots compared to 13 for the birds in blue.

Collins played a key role in keeping the Athenas quiet, anchoring the defense with composure and organization. For her effort, Collins was awarded the team’s “brick,” a tradition that honors the game’s standout player.

“We call it bricks, and it’s pretty much the coach picks one player

for every game we win to get a brick,” Collins said. “It’s like building up to SCIAC and NCAA.”

The rivalry brought out passion in both teams, with Brown speaking on what the Athenas could do moving forward in the season after the loss.

According to Collins, the Hens rose to the pressurized occasion.

“I think it was really good for our team to get to play at that level,” she said. “It’s obviously extra intensity, and it was great to get the clean sheet.”

The Athenas defeated La Verne 1-0 at home on Wednesday, Oct. 9 and the Hens will face La Verne on the road on Saturday, Oct. 12.

“In our post-game talk, we definitely talked about our standard of play and how we know that we can do better than this,” Brown said. “We are disappointed with the result from today, but we know we can do better.”

Stags soccer best the Sagehens 1-0 in the Sixth Street Rivalry

ANEESH RAGHAVAN

Dark skies and cool weather ushered in crowds of fans to Pritzlaff Field in the long-anticipated men’s soccer Sixth Street matchup. Tensions flared as Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) and Pomona-Pitzer (P-P) faced off in a heated contest Saturday, Oct. 5. In the end, the Stags walked away victorious thanks to midfielder Rafael Otero CM ’25 putting away his penalty kick to give CMS the 1-0 win.

Cheers, stomps and chants came from the stands, mostly from the outnumbered P-P fans in attendance. The rivalry atmosphere extended to the field, where the two teams engaged in staredowns, jeering and small fights. A total of four yellow cards were issued and CMS and P-P had eight fouls each.

The Stags nearly took the lead five minutes in, with a shot from Collin Ross CM ’28 hitting the crossbar. Sagehen goalkeeper Jasper Broad PZ ’26 was able to recover, denying Ross’ follow-up attempt. Efforts from James Gomez CM ’27 and Otero were also denied by Broad, who was able to help keep P-P afloat during the opening moments.

The Sagehens eventually found their footing and settled into the game, but were held at bay by the Stags. At the half, CMS had outshot P-P eight to four, coming close to the net on multiple occasions and forcing Sagehen goalkeeper Broad to make six saves.

The breakthrough eventually came for the Stags shortly after halftime in the form of a penalty kick after a P-P player clipped Nico Del

Villar HM ’25 from the back in the penalty box. Otero, 2023 First-Team All-SCIAC, stepped up to take the shot. He slotted the ball into the upper left corner with conviction to put the Stags on the board. According to Otero, who has now scored three goals in his last three Sixth Street games, his successful performances in pres-

sure-filled rivalry games are a result of his calm mindset.

“In some of my earlier games, I felt nervous,” Otero said. “You know, you have all your friends watching, it’s a bigger atmosphere. But I think it’s really about just calming yourself down.”

The height of the tensions came during the 64th minute, when Sagehen Aidan MacLennan PO ’27

was issued a red card. After a brief altercation with goalkeeper Miles Demarest CM ’27, MacLennan slid studs up into Christopher Kim CM ’27 and was ejected.

According to defender Tommy Brown CM ’25, the Stags’ mentality allowed them to triumph in the heated encounter.

“Obviously we weren’t happy with the tackle,” Brown said. “But

I thought that our team did a really good job of handling it and defending our teammate while also keeping our heads and not letting it boil over into any retaliation tackles.”

The Stags maintained control for the rest of the game, securing the 1-0 victory and the Sixth Street trophy. CMS led P-P in shots taken, shots on goal and corner kicks. Otero led all players with five shots on goal, followed by Ross with three.

During the post-game celebrations, CMS head coach Edward Cartee spoke of his team’s win against an aggressive P-P side.

“Credit to Pomona-Pitzer for a really gutsy effort,” Cartee said. “I thought they had a good defensive gameplan in the first half, but I thought that our team showed a lot of composure and when we were able to break through their midfield, we looked really dangerous in attack.”

Despite the loss, P-P goalkeeper Broad had 13 saves, preventing many scoring attempts and keeping P-P in the game until the final whistle.

“I thought I played a good game but ultimately you know not winning or tying, it is kind of rough,” Broad said. “It kind of leaves a stain on that, but I thought I did all I could.”

After the Sixth Street win, CMS defeated La Verne on the road 3-2 to bring their SCIAC record to 4-2 and 8-2-1 overall. Looking forward, the Stags will face Caltech Saturday, Oct. 12.

As for P-P, they now sit at 0-5-1 in SCIAC and 2-6-2 overall. The Sagehens will look to rebound Saturday, Oct. 12, when they face La Verne at home.

P-P water polo comes up short against nationally ranked UC Irvine

After a long fought battle on Oct. 5, the Pomona-Pitzer (P-P) men’s water polo team fell to the University of California Irvine Anteaters 22-14. As part of the annual Gary Troyer Tournament, both P-P and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps hosted some of the nation’s top teams for the weekend.

On the first day of the tournament, the No. 2 Division III ranked Sagehens battled Division I Johns Hopkins and Division III Pepperdine, and finished off against Division I teams UC Irvine and Mt. Saint Mary’s the following day. P-P closed each day with a record of 1-1, with wins against Johns Hopkins and Mt. Saint Mary’s, and losses to Irvine and Pepperdine.

Day two of the competition for the Hens stood as a particularly tough challenge as they faced off against the No. 6 ranked UCI Anteaters. The Anteaters came out strong, taking an 8-3 lead in the first quarter. However, the Sagehens were determined to put up a fight.

“After the first and second quarter, our coach was just like, ‘pretend it’s a 0-0 game,’” Connor Sullivan PO ’28 said. “That’s what we did. If you look at the goals each quarter, we did better and better.”

In the second quarter, additional goals from Logan Colman PZ ’28 and Chase Barman PZ ’27 helped the

Hens improve their form and lessen the Anteater’s lead. Despite their effort, at the beginning of the second half the Anteaters took full advantage of another strong start, extending their lead by nine by the end of the third quarter. Despite the large deficit, Colman said he saw the benefit of playing such highly ranked teams like UCI.

“[When] we’re going against these DI teams … it makes us do the fundamentals,” he said. “[That way] when we go against the CMS’, the Chapmans, the Redlands, we’re perfect in those games and we’re able to execute.”

P-P continued their fight into the fourth quarter, outscoring Irvine 4-3. Colman finished the game with four goals, and Sullivan and Zach Whitfield PO ‘27 each notched two on the scoreboard.

While the loss wasn’t the result that the Sagehens had hoped for, Head Coach Alex Rodriguez said he saw the game as a step in the right direction for the team.

“We signed up for games like UCI and last night’s game for an opportunity to play better competition and to develop,” Rodriguez said.

After wrapping up at Gary Troyer, the Hens reentered SCIAC action with a 15-10 win against Occidental College Wednesday night and look forward to a battle against Chapman University Saturday, Oct. 12 at 11 a.m. where they will work to improve their 7-8 overall and 2-0 SCIAC record.

GEORGIA MCGOVERN

eVeLYN HArrINGtON • tHe StUDeNt LIFe

SArAH ZIFF • tHe StUDeNt LIFe

JUN KWON

eVeLYN HArrINGtON • tHe StUDeNt LIFe

Annika Marshall cM ’28 defends ella endo PO ’25 during the women’s soccer Sixth Street game on Saturday, Oct. 5, when the Sagehens claimed a hard-fought 2-0 victory over the Athenas.

collin ross cM ’28 holds off a P-P defender during the men’s soccer Sixth Street matchup on Saturday, Oct. 5. the Stags won 1-0 on a penalty kick from rafael Otero cM ’25.

Max Distaso PO ’28 holds off

Stags buck late P-P comeback attempt to defend Sixth Street Title

As the sun set and the lights came on, the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) men’s football team successfully staved off a fourth-quarter comeback attempt from Pomona-Pitzer (P-P) to retain their Sixth Street crown on Saturday, Oct. 5. Amidst jeers and cheers at Merritt Field from competing Claremont sides, the Stags held steady against the Hens to close out a 20-14 rivalry victory.

The Stags received the game’s opening kickoff and their offense immediately answered the call. Quarterback Walter Kuhlenkamp CM ’25 capped off an efficient drive with a 39-yard touchdown pass to receiver Mason Cotton CM ’25 to give CMS their first six points of the night.

The touchdown was just the beginning of a decisive first-quarter showing for the Stags. The CMS defense forced multiple incomplete passes before defensive back Thanio Bright CM ’25 intercepted a pass from P-P quarterback Nick Kim PO ’26.

Starting the drive at their own 35-yard line, CMS offense immediately jumped into action again, converting a long third-down try with a 25-yard pass from Kuhlenkamp to Cotton. Running back Justin Edwards CM ’25 received the ball on a handoff, rushing one yard for the Stags’ second touchdown of the quarter.

After falling into an early 14-point deficit, the Sagehens came back onto the field for the kickoff in hopes of getting their offense rolling. However, despite a couple of quick completions in the drive, P-P’s momentum was stifled by another interception. On third-andfour, under heavy pressure from the CMS defensive line, Kim threw to the waiting hands of defensive back Jacob O’Connell CM ’25. Bright and O’Connell notched interceptions in last year’s Sixth Street game, proving trouble for the Sagehen offense in back-to-back seasons. According to Head Coach Kyle Sweeney, this consistency is a key part of CMS’ defensive performance.

“I have a ton of confidence in our defense,” he said. “You can count on them to make big plays and get turnovers and make sacks and all that stuff because they’re hungry.”

Just as the quarter was winding down, Sagehen receiver Quinten Wimmer PZ ’25 received a direct

snap and launched a pass to the sideline. He found fellow receiver Matthias Olson PO ’26 in traffic over two CMS defenders, advancing the ball to the 20-yard line to end the quarter.

As the second quarter began, the Sagehens immediately struck back. After Wimmer took a few snaps in a wildcat formation, Kim re-entered the game and immediately found Olson for a short touchdown pass after a scramble to make the score 14-7.

A couple of drives later, the Stags’ defense forced another punt from the Hens to put their offense back on the field, opening up with strong runs from Edwards. Capitalizing, Kuhlenkamp launched an 85-yard touchdown pass to receiver Anderson Cynkar CM ’25. Despite missing an extra point due to a missed field goal, the Stags headed into the locker room with a commanding 20-7 lead over P-P.

Kuhlenkamp credited the offensive line for their role in keeping the Stags on top of the

scoreboard.

“It seems like there’s a tremendous challenge in front of them and they just go out there, execute, open craters up front,” Kuhlenkamp said. “So I got all the time in the world. I love those guys more than anything.”

After a halftime performance by the 5C Dance Company, both teams came charging back onto the field. At the start of the second half, the Hens turned the ball over on downs but forced a punt from CMS to get their offense rolling again halfway through the third quarter.

A 90-yard scoring drive with a 43-yard reception by Olson put P-P in scoring position. Kim fired a five-yard touchdown pass to wide-open receiver Joaquin Valdez PZ ’26 to close the gap to six points and finish out the quarter.

As both teams entered the fourth quarter, the P-P and CMS crowds grew louder, leading chants and providing a raucous backdrop to the last minutes of the game.

Jogging onto the field with

nine minutes remaining in the game, the Hens’ offense attempted a last-minute comeback to shock the Stags. P-P running back Brennan Dragomer PZ ’27 took the team down the field with 23 rushing yards over the possession, and a 19-yard reception by Sander Wimmer PZ ’25 helped put the Hens at CMS’ 25-yard line. Despite the strong start to the drive from the Sagehen’s offense, an illegal snap penalty put the P-P offense into a first and long where they were met by a reorganized Stags defense. Linebacker Joey Asta CM ’25 was able to stop a run for a short gain before a holding call the very next play put the Hens 10 yards further from the end zone. The Stags defense immediately capitalized after the penalty as defensive end Michael Houk CM ’26 sacked Kim for a five-yard loss. With only one play to go 27 yards, Kim threw up a pass towards Olson in a last-ditch bid to continue the Hens’ comeback but Bright was able to knock down the pass and seal the victory for the Stags.

Despite the outcome of the game, Olson reflected on the positives for the Sagehens.

“I think the key is looking at what we did wrong and then capitalizing and figuring out how we can adjust better next week and really using this loss as motivation as we continue the season,” he said.

Kuhlenkamp said the rivalry victory meant something special for him as he is now in his last season with the Stags.

“It really gets your heart going, makes you feel alive. Not many people get to experience this,” Kuhlenkamp said. “I’m honestly lucky to be a part of this team. I’m honored that they let me play quarterback for them.”

After claiming the Sixth Street Trophy yet again, the Stags now sit at 4-0 overall and 2-0 in SCIAC and will continue their quest for the SCIAC Championship on Saturday, Oct. 12 when they face Chapman University. P-P, whose record is now 2-2 overall and 1-1 in SCIAC, will look to right the ship against Redlands University also on Saturday, Oct 12.

OLIVER SCHOENING

SArAH ZIFF • tHe StUDeNt LIFe

claremont-Mudd-Scripps (cMS) quarterback Walter Kuhlenkamp cM ’25 winds up a throw during the Sixth Street rivalry game on Saturday, Oct. 5. the

Stags beat the Sagehens 20-14 to secure the title for the second year in a row.