Issuu

VOL. CXXXIII NO. 5

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2021

CLAREMONT, CA

Now in its second year, Nobody Fails at Scripps settles in for the long haul

Student groups condemn Ath speaker: ‘No place on our campus’

GABRIEL SHERMAN This piece is the first in a series on mutual aid groups at the 5Cs.

NANAKO NODA • THE STUDENT LIFE

Students attend a talk at the Ath. In the wake of Laura Kipnis’s visit last week, CMC Advocates and ASCMC reaffirmed their commitment to supporting survivors.

WALLY BARGERON CW: Mentions of sexual violence As Claremont McKenna College’s Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum prepared to host Northwestern University professor Laura Kipnis on Oct. 6, some 5C students were busy deciding whether or not they would attend. The Athenaeum, known by students as “the Ath,” showcases speaker events throughout the semester, designed to host speakers with a wide range of viewpoints — sometimes on topics that students find divisive. Kipnis’ talks are known for taking controversial angles on sensitive subjects ranging from Title IX to “sexual politics on campus,” and the CMC Advocates warned in an email to students that her talk could be triggering. CMC’s Advocates

provide support and resources for survivors of sexual assault, separate from the Title IX office. “Without minimizing the realities of sexual assault on and off campus … [Kipnis] argues for more transparency about the Title IX process, along with more oversight and review of those making the findings,” the Ath said in a description of the talk. “Laura Kipnis didn’t know much about Title IX until she found herself brought up on Title IX complaints … for writing an essay,” the description said — sparking a career in writing and debating sexual assault policies on campuses. The talk was co-sponsored by CMC’s Open Academy initiative, which was approved by the board of trustees in 2018 to provide funding for programs that reinforce the college’s commitment to freedom

Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny talk political thriller at Scripps Presents

COURTESY: SCRIPPS PRESENTS

Hillary Clinton’s own experiences as U.S. Secretary of State inspired her new novel, written with author Louise Penny.

ELLEN WANG Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and international award-winning author Louise Penny joined Scripps Presents on the day of the release of their new political thriller “State of Terror.” The discussion on Oct. 12 was moderated by National Book Award-winning writer Susan Choi. In addition to the insider look at the highest levels of politics from the first woman in US history to be the presidential nominee of a major political party, the fast-paced novel is packed with the layers of literary expertise that characterize Penny’s writing. Clinton said the book features “what goes on behind closed doors in high-stakes diplomacy, when a crisis is truly staring you in the face. Our

heroines don’t shoot, or open the door and throw grenades. They use their wits ― they use their experiences. They are heroic but they’re not extra-human. They are very, very human and at the heart of the story is their friendship, and these two very brave, tenacious women.” The central relationship in “State of Terror” is between the fictional Secretary of State, Ellen Adams, and her lifetime best friend and now counselor, Betsy Jameson. Clinton and Penny took much inspiration from mutual friend Betsy Johnson Ebeling, Clinton’s best friend from childhood who had passed away in 2019 and was the reason they met. “We kept coming back to our mutual love for and how much we missed Betsy,” Clinton said about their book brainstorming process. Clinton’s close friend and former Under Secretary of State, Ellen Tauscher, died the same year as Egeling and was also a strong influence in the book through the protagonist of the same name. Clinton and Penny bonded over their grief and over being women at similar stages of their lives. Clinton has written seven previous nonfiction books, and said her first foray into fiction “was quite liberating, to break through those bounds, and think about not what has happened but imagine what could happen.”

See HILLARY on page 6

of expression. “CMC’s Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum continues to be a nationally recognized sanctuary where speakers of many ideological stripes are welcomed,” the program’s announcement said. But the CMC Advocates said the harm Kipnis’ ideas brought to campus outweighed any benefit from ideological diversity. “We take great issue with the ways in which Kipnis discusses survivorship,” their email said. “A ‘victim blaming’ mentality has no place on our campus.” The group asserted that they stood firmly against Kipnis’ work and views. “[The] Advocates believes Kipnis’s work does in fact minimize the realities of sexual violence on college campuses and is

See ATH on page 3

T he l i ne at Bla z e Pi z za i n Cla remont w rapped a l l throughout the restaurant on a warm Thursday in late September. It’s not unusual for lines to be long there, especially at dinner time on a Thursday or Friday night. But on this night, the space was packed with Scripps students and others from across the 5Cs. Ma ny showed up t hat night because Nobody Fails at Scripps partnered with Blaze for their most recent round of mutual aid funding — the first round solicited since students returned to the 5Cs. A similar event was held the next evening at Pepo Melo. “They didn’t raise a ton of money,” NFAS organizer Uma Nagaraja n-Swenson SC ’22 admitted. But the in-person events did garner a lot of attention. “I think they gave us a lot of momentum and a lot more legitimacy,” she said. NFAS began in response to a specific crisis: students wanted a universal pass grading policy for the spring semester of 2020 as a result of the then-nascent pandemic. Then, as student need became apparent, the group did a round of mutual aid fundraising before the fall 2020 semester, followed by another before spring 2021. Last semester, some organizers were unsure if NFAS would continue to exist past their graduation last spring.

Through a casual recruitment process on social media and then Zoom, the organization added new members and kept going this year. “I really love the way that we operate because, I mean, the way that we operate is there’s not a hierarchy, there’s just capacity,” Maddie Moore SC ’22 said. “And so for this round of mutual aid funding, it was a lot of Julia [Thomason SC ’22] and I leading our meetings because we were students that had experience and had the capacity to take on more things.” NFAS has become something beyond an informal fundraising group for Scripps students. Including the most recent round, they’ve raised about $150,000 in a little over a year for students. But the organization also has almost 1,600 followers on Instagram and has taken on issues beyond Scripps’ walls, becoming involved in the fight to reinstate Drew “Ziggy” Carter PO ’23 at Pomona at the beginning of this semester. Nagaraja n-Swenson u nderstands the power that the NFAS’ reach can have, and hopes to begin doing more work beyond fundraising. “There’s a lot of things that need to c ha nge,” she said, i n regard to the ways in which she feels Scripps is failing to meet student need, “and that’s definitely something we’ve been thinking about, like how do we continue doing this work without letting the institution of Scripps get away with this?” It’s a daunting question, and not one that NFAS has a clear answer to, at least right now. After

See NFAS on page 2

Claremont evaluates pilot program for mental health emergency response LUCIA STEIN As towns and cities across the country struggle with the goals of their public safety spending, some are working to address the need for mental health professionals to respond to non-criminal police calls. Claremont is in the process of doing just that. Even before calls for police reform gained traction and spread nationwide over the summer of 2020, Claremont Police Ch ief Shelly Va nder Veen was working to implement a Psychiatric Assessment Care Team (PACT) for the city, according to Mayor Jennifer Stark PZ ’98. The team started in April after the program was approved as a pilot in February, with PACT working from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. “ PAC T w a s d e v e l o p e d to respond to non-v iolent, non-criminal calls for assistance received through CPD’s dispatch center involving mental health related concerns,” Vander Veen explained at a Sept. 28 City Council meeting, where the council reviewed the program’s first six months in action. “The goal is to utilize police resources more effectively and efficiently in our response to mental health needs within Claremont.” PACT works through a part-

nership between the Claremont Police Department and the TriCity Mental Health Authority, which, along with the salaries for the PACT members, is funded by “an arrangement between the State and counties that dedicates portions of Vehicle Licensing Fees and Sales Tax revenues to county health, mental health, and social services programs,” accord i ng to t he si x mont h evaluation of the program. The funding needed to develop the partnership came from the police department’s budget. When dispatch receives a call that could be appropriate for PACT, “a watch commander will triage the situation and decide whether the call is best handled by the police, or an officer and the PACT team,” the Claremont

Courier reported last spring. An officer can additionally request PACT’s assistance after responding to a call if it appears mental health assistance may be necessary to address the issue at hand. PACT’s responsibilities include following up with those it interacts with on their calls, and with those responded to by officers during the time PACT does not work. Vander Veen, who will retire next month after nearly five years as chief, was surprised by how busy the team has been over the past six months. “I orig i nally quest ioned whether we would have enough activity to keep the team active,” Vander Veen told the council.

See POLICE on page 2

CECILIA RANSBURG • THE STUDENT LIFE

Claremont is evaluating a pilot mental health response team which aims to supplement the police in certain situations.

SAMSON ZHANG • THE STUDENT LIFE

ARTS & CULTURE From boxes of worms on a string to plates of grilled cheese, 5C students are branching out into unexpected forms of entrepeneurship. Worm your way to page 5.

The student newspaper of the Claremont Colleges since 1889

OPINIONS

SPORTS

The reactions to a hateful comment recently reported at Pitzer are a reminder that conversations about prejudice must start from a place of support for and centering of marginalized individuals’ voices, argues Kenny Le PZ ‘25. Read more on page 8.

After participating in renowned indoor climbing competitions and earning prestigious titles, Bella Jariel HM ‘24 has shifted her focus to conquering outdoor, natural climbing courses and gaining “first woman ascent” titles. Read more on page 9.

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

News

PAGE 2

OCtObEr 15, 2021

Harvey Mudd opens doors to new Scott A. McGregor Computer Science Center

NANAKO NODA • THE STUDENT LIFE

this semester, Harvey Mudd College opened the doors of its new Scott A. McGregor Computer Science building.

ANURADHA KRISHNAN After years of having its growing computer science department spread all over campus, Harvey Mudd College has finally opened the doors of its brand-new Scott A. McGregor Computer Science Center. The college began the building’s construction in summer 2019 and added in the finishing touches in recent weeks, just in time for the fall semester. The three-story McGregor Center features 37,000 square feet of

computer science clinics and project studios, teaching and research laboratories, collaboration spaces and department offices in addition to a permanent makerspace. Students like Qing Yang HM ’23 are finding the new computer science building a much needed change to the previously “disorganized mess.” “I remember in my freshman year I had class in the Galileo lecture hall and in the basement part of the building and it was so confusing to get around. They basically were having CS students

run all over campus in maze-like buildings. It was really hard to find professors’ offices or even a room to study in,” Yang said. Yang first saw the McGregor Center over Zoom last semester as her professor gave students a virtual tour of the building during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I remember seeing the new CS building and really loving it because we finally have a building that is really nice and easy to navigate,” she said. The building’s unique location and orientation help create a

NFAs: Organizers reach out in first months on campus Continued from page 1 all, NFAS is a grassroots organization and an anti-institutional one at that. “We rise to meet the urgent needs of our students,” Moore said. “So I think it’s hard to anticipate what the future holds because we can’t really anticipate what that’s going to look like.” Moore mentioned that NFAS wants to create an ongoing mutual aid fund. She and Nagarajan-Swenson both talked about wanting to lay the groundwork for the longevity of the organization. Institutional memory doesn’t last very long at the Claremont Colleges, so taking steps to establish NFAS with younger grades was a priority for Nagarajan-Swenson and Moore. “I would definitely say to any underclassmen … if you are looking for places to meet people, I think – – find those organized hubs on your campus because that’s where I know I’ve made the greatest connections,” Moore said. Now on campus, NFAS is still figuring out what it means to be physically in community. Up until a month ago, the organization had never operated in-person. One effective fundraising event this time around was the art market, where NFAS sold art donated by students from across the 5Cs. “I think NFAS is the community because, even like, I’m an NFAS

COURTESY: NOBODY FAILS AT SCRIPPS

Moving into its second year, Nobody Fails at Scripps is working on establishing a permanent presence to support students at the 5Cs.

organizer, but I would say anyone that donates or participates … it’s the community supporting itself,” Moore said. Still, even organizers are a little mystified about why NFAS has had such prolonged, profound success since their inception almost a year and a half ago. “The beginning of Nobody Fails was really controversial with the universal pass stuff. Students at Scripps knew our name and some of them really hated us,” Nagarajan-Swenson said. “When we started doing mutual aid work, it definitely

became less popular to hate us … I don’t know, our politics haven’t shifted.” Nagarajan-Swenson’s housemate, Lily Hibbard SC ’22, also offered her take on why Nobody Fails has been such a success. “You guys have been really clear about your politics and about the fact that you’re really for students, like you guys have been unwavering in who you serve and why you’re doing what you’re doing,” she said. “I think that spoke to a lot of people.”

Editorial Board KAYLA ALCORCHA, Editor-in-Chief JASPER DAVIDOFF, Managing Editor CLAIRE DUMONT, Managing Editor

Senior Staff ANURADHA KRISHNAN, News Editor JENNA MCMURTRY, News Editor SIENA SWIFT, News Associate LARKIN BARNARD-BAHN, Arts & Culture Editor MENA BOVA, Arts & Culture Editor HANNAH WEAVER, Arts & Culture Associate AVIKA JINDEL, Opinions Editor BEN REICHER, Opinions Editor ALEX CHUN, Sports Editor

TSL’s Editorial Board consists of the editor-in-chief and two managing editors. Aside from the editorial, the views expressed in the opinions section do not necessarily reflect the views of The Student Life. Singles copies of TSL are free and may be obtained at news stands around campus. Multiple copies may be purchased for $0.47 per copy with prior approval by contacting editor@tsl.news. Newspaper theft is a crime; perpetrators may be subject to disciplinary action as well as civil and/or criminal prosecution.

42 percent of last year’s graduates opted for a computer science-related major, statistics show, compared to 32 percent just five years prior. The building’s novel design by the Steinberg Hart architectural firm won numerous awards over the past year, including the Southern California Development Forum’s Honor Award last December, as well as its 2020 People’s Choice Award. Engineering News-Record California also named the computer science center as Southern California’s best higher education/ research project in July.

POLICE: Program aims to add trained support on calls Continued from page 1

THE STUDENT LIFE

JAMES KARSTEN, Production Editor SELENA LOPEZ, Production Editor GRACE SAUERS, News Designer STELLA CHENG, Opinions Designer CHARIS KIM, Sports Designer ANNA HARTMAN, Copy Chief SIMONE NIKITINA, Copy Chief ANNA CHOI, Photo Editor NANAKO NODA, Photo Editor MARIANA DURAN, Graphics Editor

welcoming gateway to the HMC campus, according to the HMC guide to McGregor. The McGregor Center “will help us build a sense of community and belonging while also allowing us to better respond to the needs of students in a more integrated, cohesive way,” Jim Boerkoel, chair of the Department of Computer Science, said on the HMC website. The building will help respond to a surge in popularity for Mudd’s computer science offerings in recent years. More than

But she said the team’s initial work and follow up work “has shown to keep the team busy throughout their shifts.” T h e s i x- m o n t h r e v i e w Vander Veen submitted to the city manager notes the multiple achievements the program has accomplished. “With the PACT in place, the number of [involuntary psychiatric] holds written by officers has been reduced,” Vander Veen’s report says. Los Angeles County defines involuntary holds, also known as 5150 holds, as a 72-hour period in which someone who is in “serious need of mental health treatment can be transported to a designated psychiatric inpatient facility for evaluation and treatment … against their will.” PACT authorized 52 percent of the 50 holds administered during the first four months of the program. The program has also worked “to provide alternative means to transport an individual on a 5150 hold, rather than being handcuffed and placed in a patrol car,” Vander Veen’s report said. The team can have individuals transported via ambulance instead, and this has been the mode of transport for 60 percent of involuntary psychiatric holds within the program’s first four months, the report said. “I’m very pleased,” Stark said in an interview with TSL. She sees responses to non-violent, non-criminal calls as “much better suited to mental health professionals, who have the requisite training, and can assist, because these are medical issues.” Stark said she was hopeful about this initial change to Claremont ’s social services institutions. “Police officers are under a lot of st rai n a nd a lot of crit icism is comi ng to t hat profession because they are not adequately equipped or trained … to go into mental health services, but it keeps landing on them,” Stark said. Stark laid out two paths for addressing officers’ gaps on mental health issues. “We either need to broaden what ‘public safety’ means, and have it be ‘mental health, public safety,’” she said, “or we need to figure out a way that police officers aren’t ad-

dressing the complicated issues of addiction, mental illness, being unsheltered, and how those create a kind of chronic problem for some individuals.” Kaia Smith SC ’23, who is on the leadership of Blend — Scripps’ mixed-race affinity group — expressed concern that a police officer accompanies PACT members on calls. Rather than keeping the PACT members safe, Smith said, “the presence of t he police officer could create the danger because there’s a pre-existing, violent relationship between police and homeless communities and other communities that are likely to be affected.” Smith said the most pressing issues for her are the end result of the program and, more generally, the distribution of public service resources. “I think the biggest thing … is whether this is leading towards the expansion of the police in the incorporation of mental health services, or … towards mental health services replacing police response,” she said. If mental healt h responses have to go through or are overseen by the police, Smith thinks “that’s kind of contributing to this system.” PAC T c o nt i nue s t o b e r e viewed, Stark said, and students and residents can still contribute their input to shape how the program progresses. “It’s exceptionally important to me that the people who come to study here know that they are living in a town that really cares about being a part of the future that they want to help lead,” she said. A nd Sm it h hop e s t he 5Cs take advantage of their unique position to create change in Claremont. “I definitely think the colleges could leverage their position in the community to demand bigger changes as well,” she said. “I also think that partnerships between t he col leges a nd pol ice have been and continue to be an issue for st udents, especially Black students on campus. That is not something [the] college administrations have reckoned with.” Stark said she understands that students “want to see their world move in a certain direction.” “I think that that is part of a huge asset for Claremont, because we want to also be that place,” she said. “We want to make the students feel proud that we are trying to be a part of the changes they want to see in the world.”

News

OCtObEr 15, 2021

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7Cs welcome two new chaplains JOHN PAUL FERRANTINO & JENNA MCMURTRY Along with two classes of new students, the academic year also brought two new religious leaders to the Claremont Colleges. TSL sat down with the new chaplains, Reverend Dr. Naima Lett and Rabbi Hannah Elkin, to learn about what brought them to the McAlister Center for Religious Activities and what they hope to bring to the 7C community. Although Lett will only be in Claremont for the 2021-22 academic year as interim Protestant chaplain, she plans to make the most of her time at the 7Cs. Prior to her arrival in Claremont, Lett worked at Hope in the Hills, a Beverly Hills-based church she founded and has led for the last 12 years. She calls the church a place for “dream-makers and dream-chasers.” Lett’s academic pathway began at Howard University, where she earned her undergraduate degree in theater. The next phase of her academic career took her to Biola University, where she received her Doctorate of Ministry and became the program’s first woman to receive a degree in preaching. The death of her mother during her sophomore year left Lett “grappling with what life really means.” In her search for a meaningful life, she turned to faith and decided to pursue a career in ministry. “Right now, there are a lot of students in college grieving,” Lett said, referring to the challenging year and a half since COVID-19 set in. ”And that’s kind of where we come in, as the support services … to make sure that students can find [their] way through.” While pursuing her ministry degree, Lett also ventured into the entertainment industry, a pairing she says “works hand-in-hand.” She has worked as a producer, writer and professional actor, most notably appearing in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Living Proof,” among other productions. Lett also founded Lett’s Rise! Productions, a studio to create inspiring, faith-based media, and the 40|50 Project, an initiative to address the racial divide in the United States through prayer and fasting.

EMMA JENSEN • THE STUDENT LIFE

reverend Naima Lett (left) and rabbi Hannah Elkin (right) stand in front of the McAlister Center.

Rabbi Hannah Elkin, who teaches from the reform branch of Judaism, was recently ordained at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles, where she helped lead several LA-area religious organizations. Her transition to the Claremont Colleges had a familiar feel — an alumna of Middlebury College, Elkin came with a liberal arts background. After completing her undergrad, she went on to receive a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School. Elkin’s career has included

CMC and Pitzer partner with foundation to support women of color

advocacy work for survivors of assault, abuse and harassment, with a background as a spiritual counselor at a Jewish-based addiction recovery center in Los Angeles. “Judaism was a big part of my life, something that I found really enriching and helpful,” Elkin said of her decision to become a rabbi. She was initially drawn to pursue ministry, she said, because “[Judaism is such that] I could ask three questions and get five answers and ask 10 more questions based on that.” Elkin said she came to the

CHRIS NARDI • THE STUDENT LIFE

SIENA SWIFT Claremont McKenna College and Pitzer College have partnered with Seeds of Fortune, a foundation which supports women of color in higher education, according to an Oct. 1 press release. Seeds of Fortune focuses on supporting families in the scholarship and financial aid processes as well as training students, namely women of color, on financial literacy. Its offerings include workshops for high school students dealing with the college admissions process, programs that support students transitioning from colleges to careers and fairs that connect them with partnered colleges. For the 2021-2022 school year, the organization has nine college partners coming on-board, including schools like Occidental College and George Washington University. CMC and Pitzer are among the colleges partnering with Seeds of Fortune as “liberal arts partners.” Si nce its foundi ng i n 2013, Seeds of Fortune has graduated over 80 scholars, boasts an online net work of over 300 program members and has assisted women of color in obtaining over eight million dollars’ worth of schol-

arships, according to a 2020 Forbes article. Citing the decline of FAFSA applications last year, Seeds of Fortune is seeking to further bridge the gap between families and educational institutions in accessing financial aid. It hopes to accomplish this through these “alliances with educational institutions who are committed to the organization’s values and want to provide opportunities for the demographic they serve,” the press release said. “I applaud the leadership of each of these institutions for seeing the benefits of providing a platform for young women of color to not only attend, but afford college. I look forward to expanding our partnerships and know this will play a valuable role in how we serve our members,” Nitiya Walker, a Posse Scholar and the organization’s founder and executive director, said in the press release. Seeds of Fortune is also offering its students who applied to CMC, Pitzer and Occidental a 3-day, all-expenses-paid trip in late November to visit the Southern California colleges.

great to have so many opportunities to meet students and … get a lot of folks through the door.” Like Lett, she felt welcomed. “At the first Shabbat dinner, a lot of the upperclassmen were asking me how I was,” she said. “I just thought that was just so sweet and caring.” Regarding what’s coming up for the 7C community, Elkin said, “everyone’s been gone for a year – it’s a lot of reinventing the wheel and figuring out how do we do things, what we need to do differently, what can stay the same from before and what needs to be totally reimagined.”

ATH: Students challenge Kipnis’s positions on Title IX Continued from page 1

CMC and Pitzer College have partnered with Seeds of Fortune to support women of color in higher education.

Claremont Colleges because she felt she could be “helpful and supportive to people who could use religious and spiritual support … especially coming off of this last year and a half.” As the Jewish High Holy Days came earlier than usual this year, the transition to the chaplain’s office initially felt like a “tidal wave,” and, as the chaplain’s office is a 7C service, “there’s an awful lot of people to meet, abbreviations to learn, and a bunch of different campuses to figure out where things are,” Elkin said. Amidst an overwhelming start, though, she found it “really

counter productive to the efforts of those working to make the Title IX process more equitable and accessible,” they said. “Her work is also ignorant of the nuances of trauma responses.” The Scripps College Advocates, in conjunction with the Scripps student government, released a similar message on Oct. 6 which reaffirmed their support for survivors and provided further resources for students. They also said advocates would be present at the talk for students who needed support. “We firmly stand against Kipnis’s criticism of the Title IX process. We feel her beliefs are counterproductive to the movement making Title IX more equitable and accessible,” the email said. “Her work fails to address the nuances of trauma responses and advocates for a harmful rhetoric that has no place within our community.” This isn’t the first time Kipnis has stirred controversy at the 5Cs. In 2018, a debate hosted by Pomona’s Student Union resulted in contentious exchanges between students and Kipnis, along with writer and activist Roxane Gay, another speaker at the event. Ashley Park CM ’25 almost canceled her reservation for the talk after reading the Advocates’ email and the attached articles. “I ended up going because I think a part of me wanted to hear what she had to say,” Park said. “I also wanted to see how students would react and how that discourse would go.” At the dinner before the talk, Kipnis sat and talked with a table of students. During the talk the front row was empty except for a student Ath fellow and Director Priya Junnar. Just before Kipnis began her talk, Junnar reminded students to be respectful. “There will be lots of pointed questions for Dr. Kipnis,” she said. “Dr. Kipnis, I hope you’re ready.” Kipnis started her talk by referencing a survey from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which gave CMC a “green” rating, indicating that CMC does “not seriously imperil speech.” CMC is the only liberal

arts college to receive this rating, according to the college. The foundation has been criticized as having a conservative bias, although it is officially non-partisan. “We don’t know what we mean by sexual assault because the definition keeps shifting,” she said early in the speech. During the talk and subsequent Q&A period, Kipnis focused on a range of topics related to sexual assault, including the role of alcohol, the drawbacks of Title IX procedures and the possibility of false accusations. Kipnis also implied that alcohol can amplify “stereotypical female behavior, namely passivity and helplessness,” which can lead to assault, adding, “What’s more passive than a passed-out person?” “It’s not your fault if you’re drunk at a party and get assaulted,” a member of the Advocates responded, during the Q&A section. During the speech, Kipnis questioned: “Why is it that women keep going to frat parties?” Answering her own question, she said, “[because] that’s where the guys are.” Kipnis also said that once an accusation is made, the Title IX procedures may not dispense justice in a fair way. “[I] don’t think that career [altering] accusations should be made behind closed doors,” Kipnis said. “[The] fetish for secrecy has so far gone unquestioned.” Kipnis also discussed her belief that Title IX is used against professors and others when no sexual assault took place. “Title IX is being used not infrequently for retaliatory purposes,” she said. In the Q&A section, Kipnis took issue with students who suggested that false accusations of sexual assault are rare. “It’s not as cut and dried as … ‘there’s no such thing as false accusations,’” she said. Towa rds t he end, K ipn i s seemed to be frustrated with one person asking questions. “I don’t really want to answer [your] question because your tone is annoying,” Kipnis said to the student. But Park said she admired students’ collective response during the Q&A portion. “The student reaction was very put together, everyone was able

to hold it together and they were able to articulate their ideas and they were able to collectively reject it, and that was really nice to see,” Park said. Park said she does not believe Kipnis’ talk could be justified by referring to it as a different perspective. “On the one hand I understand that they want us to see different perspectives, but I also wish that they would bring fresh perspectives instead of an old perspective on repeat,” Park said. “This is a perspective that we have heard for decades, that unwanted sex is not necessarily rape and this victim-blaming mindset.” The Advocates agreed in an email following the talk: “We are deeply saddened and disgusted by the blatant disregard for the survivor experience that was shown by Laura Kipnis at the Athenaeum tonight. Advocates understand the grave impact that her words have had on our community.” The Advocates’ email also condemned CMC’s role in bringing Kipnis to campus. “We are extremely disappointed in the lack of institutional accountability that allowed a victim blaming r*pe apologist a platform at our school,” they said. CMC and Junnar did not respond to a request for comment. In an Oct. 13 email, ASCMC released a statement in support of the Advocates and demanded accountability. “Too many of our peers are hurting for the Athenaeum to walk away from its complicity in the decision to bring this speaker to campus, and for the College to remain silent in the aftermath,” the statement said. It also affirmed that the student government stands with survivors and thanked campus leaders for their support, while acknowledging that they should not have to take on that responsibility. “As ASCMC, we are deeply sorry to our community. We demand the Athenaeum and the College learn from this moment,” the statement said. Ultimately, Park said, bringing Kipnis to the Ath felt like a poor decision. “The Athenaeum is meant to help free speech and it’s meant to help us view fresh perspectives, but it’s not meant to waste our time. And it kind of felt like they were wasting my time,” she said.

Arts & Culture

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OctObEr 15, 2021

Moments to savor: A faithful friend in pumpkin bread

ZOEY LOFGrEN• tHE StUDENt LIFE

EMILY KIM My parents fittingly chose my middle name, Autumn, as fall is my favorite season. I love when the weather cools down, and I can slip on a sweater so baggy that it nearly envelops me, feel the brisk breeze on my face and hear the leaves quietly rustle around me. My favorite part of fall, however, are the flavors that gloriously take center stage for a precious few months — the pumpkin, the apple, the plethora of cinnamon, nutmeg and spices galore — nestled into a variety

of baked goods. I have a special place in my heart for pumpkin bread in particular. This seasonal treat, in all of its spiced goodness, has been a loyal childhood friend, staying by my side and helping me navigate through various aspects of growing up. My earliest memories of pumpkin bread include coming home from elementary school on October afternoons to the scent of the freshly-baked delicacy. I would always recognize its sweet, cinnamon fragrance as soon as I walked through the door, so I would hurriedly

toss off my backpack, race to the kitchen and find my mom waiting for me, smiling, with two slices of pumpkin bread sitting on the table. We would enjoy the dessert together, talk about our days, and then I would go off, finish some homework and spend the rest of the afternoon playing. These afternoons were leisurely and fun. During my elementary school years, pumpkin bread established itself as sweettasting comfort after a long day at school, consistently easing me into a carefree afternoon. Then, in middle school, pumpkin bread was not only a comforting snack, but also a loyal companion as I navigated what it meant to be a young teenager in the 21st century. I remember one day when I grabbed a box of Trader Joe’s pumpkin bread mix from the pantry. “Do you want to make pumpkin bread? We already have some in the fridge,” my mom noted. I quickly told her no, and that, like it was obvious, I just wanted to take a picture. She looked at me confusedly, but this confusion quickly turned to amusement when I started taking dozens of selfies with the bright orange box. Once I found one that I liked, I slapped on an oversaturated filter and proudly uploaded it to Instagram with the caption, “The reason why I love fall #pumpkinbread” with an orange heart emoji. Looking back, I laugh at myself — hard. But in spite of

the cringiness, pumpkin bread played a new, albeit comical, role for me in this moment: It graciously accompanied me in one of my social media posts, withholding any judgement even as I tried to project a ‘cool’ online image that seemed so important in middle school. Its original purpose did not disappear, because like my mom mentioned, it was in the fridge if I wanted a snack, but it was also ready to pose with me as I fumbled my way into the world of social media for the first time. The pumpkin bread took on a new role for the sake of my learning and maturing, with this cringey middle school moment illustrating how it adapted its usefulness in my life as it saw me growing up. Many autumns have passed since then, and I am now a college student who is almost halfway through the semester. I no longer post homages to pumpkin bread in an attempt to appear cool, nor do I eat pumpkin bread and then build pillow forts immediately afterwards. I still crave it, though, and now this fall treat serves a purpose fit for my new undergraduate identity — just like I would scribble in my notes, “pumpkin bread = study fuel.” I recently got pumpkin bread at Starbucks in the Claremont Village, where I spent hours poring over Descartes’ “Meditations,” patterns in Korean phonology and readings on the deep-rooted superiority of Western art music. With

notebooks strewn across the table and dozens of tabs open on my laptop screen, it was evident that times have changed from my earlier, simpler school days. Yet the nostalgic flavor of the pumpkin bread comforted me and provided the sugar rush that I needed to continue studying. Just like it was there for me in my elementary and middle school years, it was there for me in college — and I was grateful. Though I still had many things left to complete on my checklist, I took a moment in the middle of studying to pause, glance over at the now half-eaten dessert in front of me and reflect. It’s comforting to know that pumpkin bread will be with me through various stages in life. Each fall when I welcome and celebrate its reappearance, as I would an old friend, I can trust that it will provide comfort, just as it did in my childhood, while also satisfying my evolving needs. That is the power that pumpkin bread holds for me, but perhaps you feel the same about another fall delicacy. Whatever it is, I encourage you to find it and appreciate the ways in which it has satisfied you over the years. Truly treasure this time with the flavors of fall — be sure to savor them, appreciate them and hold them close. They will be gone before you know it, but there’s no need to fear, because they will assuredly return, too. Emily Kim PO ’25 is from Irvine, California. She loves baggy sweaters, YouTube karaoke and banana bread.

FrONt OF HOUSE

Ina Garten and Stanley Tucci How Black artists are talk culinary arts, connection rewriting the Wild West at Scripps Presents CAELAN REEVES

From cowboys and pioneers to sheriffs and gunslingers, the Wild West is the source of some of America’s most iconic imagery. The sandy wooden playground of the old American town has served as a site of play for both prestigious directors and rowdy children alike. It’s an integral part of American media and legal history. However, the era of the American frontier is not always portrayed truthfully. The Western heroes of Hollywood’s golden era were largely white men, with the image of the cowboy becoming synonymous with the John Wayne-type Hollywood actor. This image that has such a beloved spot in our cultural memory is white, when in reality, the parts such actors play and the stories they mimeograph owe their cues to Black and Indigenous people. Much of the imagery of cowboy culture is taken from the Vaquero culture popular among indigenous Mexican men. American pioneers appropriated their practices during the process of colonization and following the annexation of Texas, when many vaqueros were forced to find jobs working for white American landowners. Vaquero culture was imitated, diluted and then molded into the image of the American cowboy that we know today. Those roots are still visible; the word “lasso” comes from the Spanish word “lazo,” which means “rope.” Even beyond that, many of the first and most important explorers in America’s Western expansion were freed Black people. It’s estimated that around 25 percent of the first cowboys were Black, and many of them pioneered cattle herding practices that became staples of the practice. A Black US Marshal is thought to be the basis for the iconic Lone Ranger as well. The narratives of the Wild West are historically Black, but beyond that, those narratives serve as a striking parallel for the experiences of Black and brown young people today. Movies like “Lone Star” show how racism and the trauma it causes pass from generation to generation — and are just as potent all those years later. The heroes of the American Western were outlaws, moving through the world in fundamental opposition to law enforcement and in

cOUrtESY: DAVID LEE/NEtFLIX

“the Harder they Fall” portrays the underrepresented history of black cowboys.

their own self-interest. There were plenty of sheriff protagonists in classic Western films, but they were rarely prescribed the edgy cool-factor given to their outlaw and cowboy counterparts. Cowboys ride against the grain of the establishment, and we cheer them on while they do. The journey of the cowboy is an attempt to define himself through accrual of wealth and a pre-written ideal of masculinity riddled with violence. Scholars of Black history have identified this constant conflict between respectability and defiance in the contradictory images of success with which young Black men are presented. Law enforcement and government establishments ruthlessly antagonize young Black men, whether they misbehave or not. Success is intrinsically a triumph over the system. The underlying narrative, then, becomes the same: a success story against the odds paved with run-ins with law enforcement, with undertones of vigilante justice. Is that not the cowboy’s journey? Then why did the gunslingers of the Wild West earn themselves an endeared spot in our cultural imagination, while the same narratives are chastised when coming from Black and brown rappers? There has been academic writing concerning this contradiction, but few have outlined the issue as succinctly as Lil Nas X in the wake of the success “Old Town Road” and its successive remixes. The popularity of “Old Town Road” was an extraordinary moment in media history for many reasons, but the quality of the music video is a large part of what solidified the song as more than just a viral hit. The video takes place partly in an image of the Western frontier outfitted with every trope of the genre, and partly in a visibly low-income black neighborhood like the one he grew up in. Though in different time periods, both are labelled simply, “The Old Town Road.” This parallel, along with Billy Ray Cyrus’ supportive words in the face of the song’s reception by the country community, speak volumes to the congruence of Western narratives and the fortitude displayed by Black communities in the face of adversity. What positive reception there was to Lil Nas X’s subversion of the country and Western genres serves as a point of optimism for the reclamation of those narratives. The upcoming film “The Harder They Fall” is poised to work in a similar direction. They are steps in the direction of remembering this deeply treasured genre for its true roots and resonances. Caelan Reeves CM ’24 is a Literature and History dual major from Chicago, Illinois. They love everything to do with music, movies, and books.

cOUrtESY: ScrIPPS PrESENtS

Stanley tucci and Ina Garten spoke virtually at Scripps Presents on Oct. 7.

DIYA MEHTA Knock knock! Who’s there? Stanley Tucci and Ina Garten. While this may sound like the start of a groan-inducing joke, it instead (luckily) describes the two speakers at the Scripps Presents event on Oct. 7. What could Ina Garten and Stanley Tucci possibly have in common? Well, for one, they have eight Emmys between them. Additionally, both share a passion for food and the ways in which we cook and eat. It was this culinary expertise that was the subject of the Scripps Presents event, as Garten and Tucci engaged in a conversation about Tucci’s new memoir “Taste: My Life Through Food.” The memoir is not Tucci’s first successful venture. He is the director of five films and has acted in 70 films, as mentioned in the introduction of the talk. Some career highlights include “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Easy A” and the “Hunger Games” trilogy. He is also a producer, writer and the recipient of two Golden Globes and four Emmys, including one for his most recent series on CNN, “Searching for Italy.” Garten can hold her own, too. She is a New York Times best-selling author of 12 cookbooks, as well as the host of “Barefoot Contessa” on Food Network, which has been awarded four Emmys. It was exciting and explosive to see these two talents speak about food, family and everything in between. “Taste” is the “story of Stanley’s life, from childhood until now, but told through the lens of food. And we’re talking about a lot of food,” Garten said. It was a delight to see two culinary experts share their love for gastronomy. Both Garten and Tucci share

a similar philosophy when it comes to food. “Your recipes are the way I love things,” Garten said. “They’re taking the intrinsic ingredients and making them taste better. They’re classic; they’re simple. But they’re right.” Garten’s only warning for “Taste: My Life Through Food”: “I think it should come with a warning sticker: If you read this book, you will be very, very hungry.” The conversation shifted to Tucci’s ideas of recipe creation, in which he highlighted the importance of accessibility for cooks of any and all abilities. “[The recipes] are very clear,” he said. “They make you feel like you can do it, even if you’re not an experienced cook. They make it possible.” For Garten and Tucci, cooking is about more than just food. It’s also something that can bind communities together and build self-confidence and self-sufficiency. It is important to learn how to care for oneself, and for Tucci, a big part of this is learning how to feed oneself. “I think that’s one of the exciting things about reaching out to people about cooking, which is ‘you can do this,’ and ‘you should do this,’ because it’s a really wonderful expression of love,” Tucci said. “It’s a wonderful activity to do with your family and kids and even just for yourself. It’s this incredible sense of accomplishment that occurs, when you have successfully made a meal, almost no matter how simple that meal is.” This sentiment was echoed by Garten, who stressed the importance of cooking as a way to connect with people and to share your love and care with those around you. “The food is important, but also it’s the connection you get with the people that you share food with,” she said. “It’s about

taking care of them, it’s about loving them, and it’s about getting everyone around the table.” One of the highlights of the talk was the way in which Tucci interweaved charming personal anecdotes with his experiences of food and recipe-making. Through his stories, the audience was able to travel to his childhood home in Katonah, New York, where his mother’s love for cooking inspired the same in him. They experienced the crowded restaurants of his ancestral homeland, Italy, where a lot of his technical culinary knowledge was gained. “Taste” also covers the subject of his two-year battle with oral cancer, which was the source of much personal conflict and pain. The cancer took away Tucci’s enjoyment of the culinary, and with it, his love and passion for food. “When you can’t eat, when you can’t drink — even water — it’s so painful,” Tucci said. Thankfully, Tucci was able to recover, and rediscover his love for the culinary arts. Moreover, he was able to appreciate cooking in a new way, as his temporary loss of taste allowed him to truly understand and appreciate his love for food. “It made me realize how much I love eating, cooking, drinking, sharing food, and that my whole life is really about that,” Tucci said. “It’s more important to me now than just about anything else that I do. And the fact that it was taken away from me for a while, and was almost permanently taken away from me, was terrifying.” The conversation was intimate, engaging and funny. With nearly 1000 online attendees, comments and questions were constantly rolling in, as everyone was immersed in the knowledge of these two cultural figures. After covering technical knowledge of how to make everything from a ragù sauce to baked potatoes, the event left a sweet taste in everyone’s mouth.

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Turn up the music: 5C singer-songwriters on self-expression, success ALLY HUANG Looking for new tracks to add to your playlists? Singer-songwriters at the 5Cs have you covered. From reimagining traditional Ecuadorian songs to performing in indie bands, students on campus are actively involved in creating music. María José Najas PO ’24 and Alex Albrecht CM ’23 both have unique stories of their songwriting journeys, motivations and processes. However, what they have in common is a dedication to balancing music with full-time academic responsibilities and a passion for sharing songs with the world. María José Najas PO ’24 Latest release: Album “Serenata” by Majo Najas, available on all platforms The most emblematic music genre in Ecuador, Najas’ home country, is the pasillo. Through Pomona College’s Remote Alternative Independent Summer Experience (RAISE) Program, Najas created renditions of traditional Ecuadorian pasillos, releasing a full album of covers in her own style. “I finished my freshman year, went back home and was in my house all day. I didn’t know what to do,” Najas said about the first summer after the COVID-19 pandemic started. “So I applied for RAISE with this idea of making a project that would be a tribute

to my country’s music, and it got approved, and I ended up recording my album.” Najas listened to the pasillos in order to recreate them so many times that she internalized their emotions and meanings. Many of the pasillos’ profound lyrics, which she would read over in detail, originated from poems. By studying the origins of the pasillo and the history of her own culture, she has gotten to know her identity better. For Najas, music is also tied to her connection with her family. “There was always music in my family,” she said. “Music is such a big part of my relationship with my dad and my mom. Everyone on my mom’s side sings, and I think that I sing because of her. My sister also sings [and] my brother plays the guitar. We’ve performed countless times together.” Now, away from home, Najas still forms connections with others through music. She serves as a music director for the Claremont Shades a cappella group and often jams together for fun with other students. Of all her songs, she recommends listening to her rendition of the pasillo “Nunca” as it retains many traditional elements of Ecuadorian music, serving as a good introduction to her culture’s music but also her unique voice and interpretation of the song.

Songwriter Alex Albrecht cM ’23 hopes to connect the 5c student music community.

“To be able to represent [my culture] gives me so much pride because I can now share a part of my country, a part of where I come from, with the world,” she said. “Knowing that people from the U.S., or all the different international students from Pomona, now have listened to and are aware that the pasillo exists because I was able to share that part of me with them is one of the greatest feelings in the world.” Alex Albrecht CM ’23 Latest release: Single “Amelia” by

cOUrtESY: EMILIA bEtANcOUrt AND ALEGrIA MArtÍNEZ

María José Najas PO ’24 draws on her Ecuadorian heritage to produce her music.

Alex Albrecht, available on all platforms For Albrecht, music is both a way to take his mind elsewhere and a tool to process the events happening in his life. “If you’re listening [to music], there’s millions and millions of songs out there, so it’s always fun to find one that makes you feel a certain way,” he said. There are even more options when he is the one creating the music. “You can kind of customize where you go with your music if you’re making it,” he said. “It’s like there’s a dialogue between music and my own life where they each add to one another. It makes my life richer emotionally. That’s probably why I love music.” Albrecht began writing songs at the very end of high school. His usual process starts with a smaller snippet of music — such as a riff or chord progression — that he plays over and over in slightly different ways until he has cobbled together enough parts to create a song. “I think the hardest part for me is fitting lyrics at the end,” he said. “When I’m playing the music, it could be anyone, and the music itself sounds good, but once I hear my own voice singing over it, it always feels a little bit silly and strange at first. So the part that is the hardest for

cOUrtESY: JOrDAN EcKStEIN

me is finding words that take the song where I want it to go.” This process has changed since coming to college, where Albrecht currently plays in two bands. While he still prefers the personal nature of writing songs alone, his collaborations with other musicians have helped him streamline the process. “It used to be very piece-bypiece,” he said. “Now, if I come up with a guitar part or bass part, I can hear counterparts or accompaniments more easily now.” While Albrecht finds the 5C songwriter scene pretty small, he has met many passionate people who have done incredible things for the community. “In my freshman year, we had a music room at CMC, but it was kind of dingy and dirty and full of junk and broken equipment,” he said. “Then my friend Deaglan DiMurro [CM ’23] basically took on that room as a pet project. He spent a lot of time fixing up that room, and now it’s really nice. Having a great place to play with a drum set and a bunch of instruments you can try out has been so valuable.” Albrecht hopes for more people to come and support their fellow students at shows this year, and also wants to work with other musicians. “If we could connect all these bands and establish a bigger 5C student music community,” he said, “that’d be really cool.”

Scripps students launch spontaneous on-campus businesses KATIE HANSON Eager to come to campus after time away, or for the first time, students across the 5Cs found that spontaneous businesses left them with more than just some extra change. With teams working together, customers rallying and morale raised, two businesses quickly became hubs for communities. A whole new can of fuzzy worms: Kate Katen SC ’25 is starting from the ground up When fuzzy worm memes spiraled through the internet last year, Kate Katen SC ’25 wanted to buy a few for her room. After going on Amazon, she was disappointed to find the googly-eyed worms were only sold in bulk. She didn’t let that stop her, though: A few clicks later, Katen had ordered 200 worms. Katen had only ever wanted a few worms. Soon, she started selling them at her high school. Administration quickly cracked down on her business, so she went underground, discreetly selling worms by the dollar at her locker. Fast forward to her first month at Scripps College, and Katen immediately recognized the school’s demographic as “worm people.” So, she repeated her process. This time, she received 200 worms in the mailroom and opened up the nearly overflowing box in her dorm room. “I remember opening them, and I was like ‘there they are,’” Katen said. “These are the lads. I’ve been waiting for them.” Katen opened shop in her dorm room, with a rainbow of worms spread out on her desk. She began promoting her $1-a-worm business on her Instagram story, encouraging her friends and early customers to repost her worm photos and information. She now carries the worms with her everywhere she goes, from her Italian class to her rollerskating trips. “My only Venmo history is just like ‘worm,’ ‘worm,’ ‘worm’ with dollar charges for worms,” Katen said. Seeing Katen’s worm promotion on Instagram, Laskin PZ ’25 immediately wanted one. They thought it would be a great opportunity to get some decor, see more of the Scripps campus and

meet Katen in person. Laskin ended up buying seven worms, each in a different color. “I was impressed that there were so many worms in one room,” they said. “I would definitely recommend it to my friends to buy a worm. They’re very cute and simple items.” After selling nearly 70 worms, Katen acknowledged she had to make a few changes. The sporadic orders created an irregular yet constant flow of customers, and she didn’t want to disrupt her roommates. Katen now has set worm hours — similar to office hours — for customers to drop by her dorm. With 130 worms left to sell, Katen said she sees herself as a small business owner and that obstacles are bound to arise. While she’s enjoying selling the worms she has now, she doesn’t anticipate acquiring and selling another batch until next semester. “Being a small business owner in this day and age is really difficult,” Katen said. “I’m very passionate about selling my worms because I don’t know what I’m going to do if the semester is over and I have 100 worms left.” Scripps students bring in the cheddar with Munch 5C Sitting in the study room of their dorm at 8 p.m., Stella Markey SC ’24 and Olivia Shrager SC ’24 were craving a good snack. They scrolled through their phones, but every restaurant and grocery store was either closed or ridiculously overpriced. They wanted something nostalgic, a comfort food — something like grilled cheese. Since that night a few weeks ago, Markey and Shrager established their business, Munch 5C, which offers warm, late-night grilled cheese sandwiches to be delivered to the doors of any Scripps student. “It felt like this astronomical pipe dream,” Shrager said. “Then a couple weeks later, all of a sudden, it was a thing.” For two humanities students, the world of entrepreneurship was foreign. They worried that taking on a business in their first semester of on-campus learning would be overwhelming and a failure. Still, they couldn’t stop

thinking about the potential of the perfect study snack. So, they set off. Shrager designed posters and created their social media account. On their new Instagram, they followed all the Scripps students they knew and then started reaching out to the ones they didn’t. The duo went to the Montclair Target to buy their ingredients (which they vehemently refuse to reveal). Within the next 24 hours, they were in the kitchen. Suddenly, orders started flowing in at the tailend of their set hours, and the kitchen began to buzz. “We were in the kitchen and it was hot and it was stressful,” Shrager said. “But looking from the outside, everyone we talked to the next day was like, ‘Oh my God, your grilled cheeses were delicious.’” While the duo said they have a few things they want to work on, they saw their soft launch as a wild success. So much positive feedback came flowing in that they decided to go forward with

another late night grilled cheese delivery event this month. Jaela Alvarez SC ’23 bought sandwiches from both events after seeing their promotions on Instagram. She was looking for a study snack and their delivery sealed the deal for her. “I really like grilled cheese, and it said that it was going to be delivered,” Alvarez said. “It’s like, ‘Well, late night snack during studying, of course I want that.’” Markey and Shrager attribute much of their success to their focus on collaboration. The two have a strong friendship, after meeting online in the fall of 2020 before both deciding to take gap semesters and joining a study abroad program that took them to France. While they loved exploring together, with lockdown in place, many of the restaurants were closed. In between language classes, the two spent much of their time cooking comfort dishes from home. Cooking brought the two closer as friends, and they hope it has

the same effect on the 5Cs. “I feel like food brings people together,” Markey said. “One girl was like, ‘The grilled cheese made our night,’ and that’s really happy.” Markey and Shrager don’t want to stop with the classic grilled cheese sandwich. They have big ideas of developing further flavor profiles or extending the menu beyond just grilled cheeses. Outside of the kitchen, they want to expand their delivery to include all 5Cs, a plan their company name alludes to. Beyond the food, they also want to make an app, something they hope a Harvey Mudd College student could help out with. “It’s honestly really nice and helpful being on the college campus starting a business,” Markey said, “because you’re surrounded by so many interesting, smart people who all have such different talents.” Editor’s note: Olivia Shrager SC ’24 is a photographer for TSL.

cLArE MArtIN • tHE StUDENt LIFE

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Arts & Culture

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Brevity is the soul of wit: Pomona hosts 10-minute play festival during Family Weekend MIRABELLA MILLER An impending apocalypse, a chat-roulette website and an angel escaped from heaven: These vastly different topics are the premises of three of the five 10-minute plays premiering in Pomona College’s 10-Minute Play Festival on Oct. 16. The festival, part of Pomona’s Family Weekend activities, provides a showcase for the writing, directing and acting talents of the 5C community. All featured plays were written by 5C students and faculty and are student-directed and acted. “The exciting thing,” said Teddy Rodriguez, a lecturer in the Pomona College theater and dance departments and producing director for the 10-Minute Play Festival, “is that all the writers are first time writers. So we’re just hearing really, really new voices.” The faculty and staff playwrights whose works were selected to be staged at the festival wrote in response to last year’s competition theme: “Community and Connection in Times of Crisis.” The plays each offer a unique take on this theme, challenging the audience to think about what connection and community look like and exploring the many avenues through which they can be found. One play, “Happy Asteroid Day,” written by Grace T. Marca SC ’22 and directed by Licheng She PZ ’25, focuses on a family as they wait in their basement for an asteroid to strike Earth. Julia Abate SC ’24, an actor in “Happy Asteroid Day,” was drawn to the script because of the unique ways each character handles feelings of doom and fear. “It reminded me of how a lot of kids dealt with COVID last year … versus the way a lot of parents viewed COVID, and the genera-

tional difference,” she said. Another play, “Stranger Arranger” — written by Regina Famatigan SC ’21 and co-directed by Arden DeForest PO ’25 — centers on an app by the same name, similar to Omegle or Chatroulette. Two characters speak anonymously to each other through the app and begin to “kind of come to realizations about themselves and the sorts of connections that they want to make and the sorts of connections that are possible during a time that’s plagued by a pandemic,” said Rinny Williamson SC ’23, who is one of the two actors in “Stranger Arranger.” It speaks to the power of ordinary and fleeting interactions in isolation, as well as the freedom that comes from letting go of the pressure we put on ourselves to appear like the kind of person we wish we were. “Regina [Famatigan] does a really good job of showing how meaningful even just a 10-minute conversation can be,” Williamson said. Just like a brief conversation can be extremely powerful, so can a brief play. The 10-minute format provides unique challenges and opportunities, which actors and directors alike are approaching in various ways. The time constraint can prompt a focus on small moments within a larger concept. “I think, since it’s short, it’s just like a snapshot or a small frame of what’s happening in the larger picture,” said Phyllis Chee PO ’25, who is directing a play titled “Bubonic Plague: Fear, Loathing, and Love in San Francisco,” written by Scripps music professor Hao Huang. The limited scope of the plays can provide an opportunity to add depth to characters, especially when working with

a small cast like “Stranger Arranger” does. “I really like short plays to work with because I feel like you can do a really deep dive into character work,” DeForest said. “I’m really interested in psychology as well, so I really like analyzing characters and kind of what their motives are, or their background, or what kind of things in their life influenced them.” Williamson believes the time constraint forces the writer to distill the script down to the most impactful parts. “With a one-act and really short plays, you know that the writer put every line there for a specific reason,” they said. “They probably had to cut a ton of things to get it down to 10 pages, so it’s a much more purposeful style and there’s no

filler.” Rodriguez appreciates that the 10-minute form allows for experimentation and boldness that would be overwhelming in a full-length play, illustrated by the range of concepts and cast sizes present in the five plays that make up the festival. “The cool thing about the 10-minute [format] to me is that it’s a very blank canvas,” he said. “We have shows that are two people, we have a monologue, we have one that’s like 10 people.” Since the festival is a part of Pomona’s Family Weekend, it is free and open for everyone to attend. Both actors and directors are excited to watch their hard work come to fruition and hope the audience resonates with the plays and the themes they evoke.

HILLARY: Novel resonates to current events and importance of speaking up continued from page 1

OLIVIA SHrAGEr • tHE StUDENt LIFE

Jessica Mei Sc ‘22 and Wendy Zhang Sc ‘22 play the card game boss Monster together with their friends.

On Saturday nights, from 7:30 p.m. to practically midnight, the Scripps College student union above Malott Dining Commons is buzzing with student conversation. In the midst of midterm season, the study rooms and couches are full — but instead of reviewing flashcards or editing lab reports, the occupants are laughing over stacks of cards and game pieces. A table in the corner is close to overflowing with brightly colored and well-loved cardboard boxes; advice for playing The Mind is called out across the room, solicitations are made for extra players and introductions are exchanged across Mysterium boards. This is the 5C Board Game Group. After a year away due to COVID-19, the club is back and better than ever, with a new meeting space and a dedicated group of officers. Mercy Bickell PO ’22, a club officer who has been in a leadership position since her sophomore year, shared the reasoning for moving the club away from Pomona College’s Smith Campus Center, where it had met in previous years. “This year we moved to the Scripps student union. It’s a lot more central for people, and more accessible, and has bigger space,” Bickell said. “So I’m hoping that people will lean on the club more this year for stress relief.” At the 5Cs, especially as classes start to increase their workload and midterms begin, it can be difficult to find time to do anything that isn’t studying. The Board Game Group provides this time, a break that can be both structured and social — whether it be the length of a game of Settlers of Catan or a round of Uno. “People are able to come in and out as they want,” said club officer Claire Partridge PZ ’23. “It’s not

like they have to get there right at the start or stay right up till [the meeting] ends. So if they want to go to the library, study, come take a 30-minute study break and play a game or two and then go back, that’s totally cool with us.” This flexibility forms one of the key features of the club. “I think it’s appealing because there’s almost no time commitment,” Bickell said. Zola Hefta-Gaub SC ’25 discovered the club at Turf Dinner and has attended every weekend since then. With its time slot on a Saturday night, the group offers a lively form of socializing which acts as an alternative to the college party scene. “It’s kind of nice to have something to do on a weekend that’s not necessarily partying … having an activity on those nights you can go to and maybe not feel as lonely about not going out,” Hefta-Gaub said. The environment is overwhelmingly a welcoming one, which didn’t surprise Henry Long CMC ’25. “I usually like the energy surrounding board games, just the people who come … usually, it’s a good crowd that shows up,” Long said. At the 5C Board Game Group, club officers such as Jessica Mei SC ’22 cultivate that energy with intention. “I like to think that my main role is, as a facilitator, to make sure everyone’s comfortable and everything’s running smoothly. It really sucks when you’re new, and you don’t know who to play with or how the game works,” Mei said. Bickell agreed, sharing her strategy for making everyone feel welcome. “Some people come in groups, and some people come alone,” Bickell said. “If people

The festival will be performed Oct. 16 at 3:30 p.m. at the Marston Quad outdoor stage at Pomona. It is free and open to all.

SELENA LOPEZ • tHE StUDENt LIFE

Midterms monopolizing your time? Try your hand at the 5C Board Game Group

KATE JONES

“From the play ‘Happy Asteroid Day,’ I want people to be able to find some level of humor in the show because even though it is dealing with this event of impending doom, I think the characters are able to, by the end of it, find some comfort in one another and are able to accept each other,” Abate said. “I hope people feel like they can laugh and feel hopeful at the end of it.” Williamson acknowledged how long it’s been since actors and audiences could experience a performance in the same room. “It’ll be nice to see people connecting again,” they said, “and it will be nice to see that on stage as well.”

come alone, we try to reach out to them and include them in a game. I usually play a quick, easy-to-learn game in the first 30 to 45 minutes so that I can easily invite people when they walk in.” Attendees adopt this welcoming approach as well — Hefta-Gaub experienced it firsthand after attending a meeting alone. “Last week, there was a group of people who I think all knew each other, but they invited me to join their game,” she said. “And so then it was like, ‘Oh, I’m part of this group now! And we’re all hanging out together.’” Ultimately, the 5C Board Game Group is an exercise in inclusivity, openness, flexibility and enthusiasm. “Even if people are kind of nervous or don’t know that many games, or don’t have anyone to come with, board games club is still a space for you,” Partridge said. With this energy, the club has established a loyal group of regular attendees while consistently welcoming all newcomers, creating connections that last across colleges and over years. “I never really played board games that much before coming to college … but it’s really where I’ve made some of my best friends. It’s a really great way — a really low-stakes way — to get to know people,” Mei said. Bickell’s experience exemplifies the club’s connection-building potential. “This is where I met my long-term partner,” she said. “I think it’s a great place to meet people, and this is definitely a testament to that … you can make some real, long-lasting connections.”

One perk is the ability to implicitly reveal in a novel what otherwise would not be allowed in a memoir, including geopolitical insights from behind closed doors. “We get not just a peek, but we get to walk through these doors that nobody else has been in except the Secretary of State ― to sit at this table to watch the mind games and passive aggressive things that were happening as the politicians are all trying to collaborate but also get one up on each other,” Penny said. “And then how they treated the woman in the room ― being dismissive and diminishing her.” Penny and Clinton gushed about writing strong female characters that take others’ underestimation of them to their advantage, naming Angela Merkel and Janet Yellen as real-life examples. “We would build on each other ’s ideas, now I couldn’t parse what Hillary brought or what I brought,” Penny said. The protagonists, like the two authors, are avid readers and literary fans. Penny often weaves literary illusions into her works, most notably the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series. Though she had never co-authored a book, this one is no different. “It’s really the rare thriller that delights with a series of jokes about grammar that make up a secret code be-

tween the [protagonists] ― this tells us a lot about these characters and what is meaningful to them,” Choi said. “I felt it also spoke to what matters to us as humans and what we have at stake. This book was saying our culture matters, and we’re in danger of losing really important parts of it.” It is impossible to ignore the references to current events in the book. The geopolitical emergencies that thread through the story are close parallels with the conflicts currently present. “We have a continuing constitutional crisis in our country, because a very powerful minority with not only huge financial resources but enormous sway over shaping public opinion wants us to distrust each other, want us to give up on each other, wants us to turn our backs on each other, wants to define who’s a real American and who isn’t,” Clinton said. The authors discussed the urgency of speaking up for one’s beliefs and standing up for one’s rights and the rights of others. “The book talks about what lives in the vast silence and how the worst of the terrorists aren’t necessarily going to claim responsibility because they don’t want that ― what they want are the results,” Penny said, speaking from her decades-long career as radio host and journalist. Clinton and Penny asserted their worries for the future of American democracy and society. While their book aims to offer answers for some of the questions it raises, they hope it keeps people thinking.

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