#ClaremontMcKennaCollege

Pomona, Scripps, To Suspend Students For Missing COVID-19 Tests

Sophia Frye

Oct 5, 2021

Pomona, Scripps, To Suspend Students For Missing COVID-19 Tests

In an email to students sent today, Pomona College Dean of Students Avis Hinkson announced the details of Pomona’s three step sanctioning process for students who miss their weekly Covid-19 tests. Later on the same day, Scripps College’s Interim Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Adriana di Bartolo-Beckman announced Scripps’ disciplinary policies surrounding testing. Both institutions agreed that students who miss a certain number of tests will be suspend

Harvey Mudd Eases COVID Restrictions, Increases Maximum Gathering Size From 10 To 20

Santiago Barreto

Oct 2, 2021

Harvey Mudd Eases COVID Restrictions, Increases Maximum Gathering Size From 10 To 20

A policy update from Dean Marco Valenzuela sent to Harvey Mudd students yesterday announced that Harvey Mudd will be moving into Tier 2 of the college’s three-tier social protocol system. This entails an easing of restrictions on social gatherings put in place to combat COVID-19. Most significantly, the college will now allow social gatherings of up to 20 people, as opposed to 10 people, which was the gathering limit up until today. Private parties with 20-60 people are now a

Class Elections Imbued With Activist Sentiment

Theodore Pasquesi

Sep 30, 2021

Class Elections Imbued With Activist Sentiment

As apprehension mounted amidst impending Claremont McKenna College (CMC) class presidential elections, aspiring student leaders scrambled to win over their peers. Some candidates promised to “have your back,” while others pledged to direct funds to cafeteria waffle makers. Although ten of the eleven candidates ran on relatively similar campaign platforms, one candidate took an unconventional approach to gain support from his compatriots; he vowed to take a stance against a pr

CMC To Track Students Who Avoid COVID-19 Surveillance Testing

Kara Hagler

Sep 16, 2021

CMC To Track Students Who Avoid COVID-19 Surveillance Testing

Earlier today, Claremont McKenna College (CMC) Vice President of Student Affairs Sharon Basso informed the student body “that weekly covid19 surveillance testing is mandatory.” The email also explained that “[f]or those few who failed to get a weekly test – that is a conduct violation. Starting this coming week we will be receiving weekly data reports of any students who have not tested.” Under Claremont McKenna’s student conduct process, a conduct violation constitutes a “mi

Pomona Faces Accusations of Racism, Classism After Suspension of Student For Moving In Early

Santiago Barreto

Sep 6, 2021

Pomona Faces Accusations of Racism, Classism After Suspension of Student For Moving In Early

Last month, Pomona College, a member of the Claremont Consortium, suspended a transfer student for the fall 2021 semester for failing to comply with COVID-19 regulations by moving into on-campus housing before his appointed date. According to a suspension letter posted by the student on social media, Pomona College wrote that “after a thorough discussion of the circumstances of the incidental and your written statement [the College] found that [the student was] responsible fo

CMC Barn Party Canceled, Convocation Goes Virtual Less than a Week Before Classes Start

Abbas Seltzer

Aug 25, 2021

CMC Barn Party Canceled, Convocation Goes Virtual Less than a Week Before Classes Start

Two days after half of its freshmen and sophomores moved in, Claremont McKenna College (CMC) announced that its Convocation Ceremony will move from an in-person event near Kravis Center to an online event. Earlier in the day, students also learned that the College Programming Board (CPB) is canceling its annual barn party after the Dean of Students approached them. These two announcements reached students three days before the rest of the student body plans to move to campus,

Pomona Title IX Coordinator To Leave September 1

Liam MacDonald

Aug 24, 2021

Pomona Title IX Coordinator To Leave September 1

In an email sent yesterday evening, Pomona College Dean of Students Avis Hinkson explained to students that Title IX coordinator Sue McCarthy will be leaving the college for the California State University system on September 1. McCarthy has had a prominent role in several Title IX-related incidents at Pomona, including a discussion involving student blacklists and the suspension of the Pomona College Advocates for Survivors of Sexual Assault program. According to Hinkson’s e

Claremont McKenna Admits To Seven Total COVID-19 Cases, Strengthens Dining Hall Regulations

Liam MacDonald

Aug 18, 2021

Claremont McKenna Admits To Seven Total COVID-19 Cases, Strengthens Dining Hall Regulations

In an email to the student body sent earlier today, Claremont McKenna College (CMC) admitted to having had a total of seven positive cases of COVID-19 on-campus during August, some of which occurred in fully vaccinated individuals. The college has urged students not to linger inside dining spaces to socialize or “connect with multiple groups of people.” In its email, CMC informed students that “[t]he College has had a total of seven positive cases on campus in the month of

CMC To Implement Contact Tracing, Anonymous Reporting Mechanism, In Updated COVID-19 Policy

Kara Hagler

Aug 14, 2021

CMC To Implement Contact Tracing, Anonymous Reporting Mechanism, In Updated COVID-19 Policy

Today, Claremont McKenna College (CMC) sent an email to the Class of ‘24 following up on an announcement from CMC’s President Hiram Chodosh on new policies based on new guidance from LA county. The new guidelines include provisions for contact tracing and anonymously reporting policy violators of health regulations. CMC explained that “[s]tudents who test positive for COVID-19 will immediately enter the contact tracing process to identify and notify close contacts. The Colleg

Student Gov’t Passes Israeli Boycott Without Club Divestment Clause

Liam MacDonald

May 6, 2021

Student Gov’t Passes Israeli Boycott Without Club Divestment Clause

Earlier today, the Associated Students of Pomona College (ASPC), Pomona College’s student governing body, passed a modified version of its previous resolution to boycott companies listed by the United Nations as active in Israeli West Bank settlements. The version of the resolution passed by ASPC today removed the hotly contested final clause that was the subject of serious debate at ASPC’s meeting last week. The current resolution governs only internal ASPC spending, not clu

Rebuttal: We Shouldn’t Embrace All Cancel Culture

Kara Hagler

May 5, 2021

Rebuttal: We Shouldn’t Embrace All Cancel Culture

In recent years, cancel culture has gained notoriety for high-profile “cancellations” of prominent figures for harmful actions. The #MeToo movement saw people like Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby rightly exposed and brought down for instances of sexual assault. In these and other cases, cancel culture has effectively held people accountable for evil actions by giving average people the power to bring wrongdoings to light and deter future transgressions. However, the vagueness

Widespread Backlash to Student Gov’t Israel Boycott, Anti-Discrimination Petition Reaches 500 Signat

Kara Hagler

Apr 29, 2021

Widespread Backlash to Student Gov’t Israel Boycott, Anti-Discrimination Petition Reaches 500 Signat

Last week, the Associated Students of Pomona College (ASPC) passed a resolution divesting from companies operating in Israel as listed by the United Nations. The decision prompted outrage among many prominent Jewish groups and on social media nationwide. A petition circulated by Pomona students that called for Pomona President G. Gabrielle Starr to “condemn this resolution and protect the Jewish student body” received around 500 signatures in five days. The resolution has als

OPINION: The US Should Boycott The 2022 Olympics In China

Trevor Klein

Mar 30, 2021

OPINION: The US Should Boycott The 2022 Olympics In China

China is destroying promised liberties in Hong Kong, committing genocide in Xinjiang, and oppressing more people than any other authoritarian regime in the world. Apparently, these horrors do not matter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), as Beijing is set to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. The IOC has a weak record regarding cracking down on human rights abuses; in 1936, the games were held in Berlin under Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime. Neither the US nor the rest

Why You Should Support #Defundthepolice Even If You Don’t Think Our System Is Racist

The Claremont Independent

Jul 31, 2020

Why You Should Support #Defundthepolice Even If You Don’t Think Our System Is Racist

By Margot Rosenblatt I’ve never seen “The Purge,” but it seems like an unpleasant movie. Although it’s fiction, I believe it holds some truth: it would be bad if we had no law enforcement. This metaphor is fairly involved, but bear with me; I imagine American society as a beautiful vegetable garden. We spend billions each year keeping the weeds away because they inhibit the production of vegetables by stealing nutrients and otherwise hurting the other plants. I think it’s gre

How Problematic Thoughts Can Make You a Better Person

The Claremont Independent

Jan 17, 2020

How Problematic Thoughts Can Make You a Better Person

By Margot Rosenblatt A few weeks ago, on the raised section of the Hoch-Shanahan dining hall, a very wise Scripps upper-classman uttered ten words that made me think differently about my life: “You don’t have to beat yourself up to be successful.” For a moment, I was so shocked that I couldn’t fully comprehend what she had said. “But how will I change my actions if I don’t criticize myself?” I asked. “By being compassionate—recognize your mistakes without punishing yourself,”

The Antigua Incident: How Scripps Admin Trains First Years To Suppress Ideas From Day One

The Claremont Independent

Sep 28, 2019

The Antigua Incident: How Scripps Admin Trains First Years To Suppress Ideas From Day One

By Margot Rosenblatt I never thought that the Caribbean island of Antigua, of all places and things, would embody so well my apprehension of coming to Scripps College. Orientation was like Antigua; the light was blinding and as an East Coaster, the palm trees were a novelty. I remember being one of 250-strong first-year Scrippsies, packed in a line, three by three, marching in a herd towards Garrison Theater. It was time for yet another presentation, yet another lecture. They