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

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

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

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

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

In an email sent to the student body earlier this evening, Claremont McKenna College (CMC)’s Associate Dean of Students for Student Engagement Devon MacIver revealed that CMC would be moving training for its First Year Guides (FYGs) online for the day after at least one student tested positive for COVID-19. The email stated that the college had “had a member of the FYG team test positive for COVID 19. Social tracing has started and our team is reaching out to students and inf

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

Earlier this evening, Pomona College President G. Gabrielle Starr sent an email to the student body stating that, as LA county’s regulations transition into the less-restrictive red tier, students may be able to return to campus in the summer of 2021. The news also solidifies Pomona’s plans to reopen in the fall, announced in January of this year. California’s tier system measures risk levels for COVID-19 on a county-by-county basis. Under the tier system, a county in the red

Since achieving statehood in 1850, California has retained its appeal to people across the country. As the most populous U.S. state, California seems, on the surface, like a great place to live, work, and study. With its oceans, mountains, deserts, and forests, it is perhaps one of the most beautiful U.S. states. It’s also extremely wealthy; if it were a country, California would have the fifth-largest economy in the world. It seems that California is the epitome of the Ameri

Today, Claremont McKenna College (CMC) President Hiram Chodosh informed students that he plans to partially reopen recreational facilities on campus this month. Additionally, he announced that CMC faculty and staff will meet coronavirus vaccination eligibility requirements this month. CMC plans for students to return to campus this Fall. As new COVID-19 cases continue to decline in California, the email stated that “[Los Angeles County] officials have signaled that they will

With the beginning of the second half of the academic year, the Pomona College community has endured another semester of online schooling. The College has made it clear that there won’t be a January return, or even the originally planned March return. Many of us at the Claremont Colleges desperately yearn a return to campus to secure some semblance of normalcy and socialization. However, I strongly agree with a certain TSL opinion article that such a wholesale return is “self

The recent announcement of the Spring 2021 Academic Calendar has left many students feeling unheard, in despair, and worried for the semester ahead. Most notably, the calendar has eliminated the normal weeklong spring break, replacing it with three one-day breaks spread throughout the semester.  This calendar would be bad enough for students living in the same time zone as their professors; for those who aren’t, or have other stressors placed on them, it’s unbearable. Student

In an email sent to the student body earlier today, Pomona College President G. Gabrielle Starr confirmed that Pomona is currently planning to bring students back to campus, pending approval by LA county officials. Classes will still be held online, and students “will be required to wear masks at all times except when they are alone in their single room or are eating.” According to Starr, “Pomona is committed to bringing our students back to campus safely and quickly. This wi

Last Friday, in response to the widespread furloughs of Pomona College staff caused by a $37 million budget shortfall resulting from the COVID-19 crisis that came into effect on Oct. 1, the student group Occupy Pomona released a survey “to provide more information to Pomona College about the importance of financially supporting staff through this difficult period.” In the accompanying Instagram slideshow, “Debunking Pomona College’s Excuses For Furloughs,” Occupy Pomona charg

To a mother bird, feeding her baby bird is a very meaningful, very rewarding practice. Baby birds depend on their parents for sustenance. However, if the food supply is low, the mother bird must make sure she has enough for herself to survive — if she does not, she will never be able to return to her nest to feed her hatchling. This may result in a hungry, noisy baby bird, but it’s the right choice for both the mother and the baby. Pomona College announced earlier this month

Following significant budget shortfalls, Pomona College is furloughing staff amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In an email to the Pomona community, Pomona College President G. Gabrielle Starr stated that financial shortfalls amid lost room and board revenue are causing the furloughs. Pomona moved to an all-online semester this year. In her email, Starr wrote that Pomona managed to hold off furloughs for nearly half a year: “As the crisis began to have a deepening impact on college

Far from the familiar flurry that comes upon us as we prepare for move-in, this August, our community is spread all over the world taking online classes and gap semesters. We are all united in a state of crisis against a common enemy, yet its impact on each of us is far from equal. I have spent the better part of this year wistfully pining for the past we left and begrudging the four-year college experience that had been stolen away by politics and our country’s collective fa

After developing comprehensive plans to reopen campus in the fall, Claremont McKenna College (CMC) President Hiram Chodosh announced that classes will be held fully online. According to the email, CMC’s online curriculum will be an “immersive, personalized, advanced learning and leadership experience.” All aspects of a normal educational experience, including science labs, will be held at home. A day before they were officially notified, students received an email stating tha

In an email sent to the student body earlier this afternoon, Pomona College President G. Gabrielle Starr expressed concern about “the impact upon [Pomona] students of last week’s guidance from ICE about the status of international students on F-1 visas for the fall semester.” The president confirmed that Pomona has joined 20 other colleges in the western United States in “suing the federal government today to block the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from revoking visas

Despite charging fifty thousand dollars yearly for online courses, Pomona College is disallowing students who take a leave of absence (LOA) from transferring coursework from another institution for credit during the 2020-2021 academic year. Students learned of this decision amid a global pandemic and economic meltdown, when many are both less able and less willing to pay for expensive online courses. In the past, Pomona College permitted students to transfer credits from othe