top of page


Pomona College and Claremont Graduate University Announce Takeover Deal
Pomona College will become Claremont Graduate University's parent institution, formalizing a “strategic partnership” the two schools began negotiating late last year. The deal, announced Monday, will require state and federal regulatory approval.
Sarah McPeek
6 days ago


All Along Walker Wall: Pomona Wants to Be Original
The Originals Festival on Pomona's Marston Quad.
“Originals: The Campaign for Pomona College” is now public. The college’s most ambitious fundraising campaign ever, “Originals” is ripe with goals, well-choreographed promotional videos, and vague statements about the future of Pomona College. At its core, the campaign says less about Pomona and its future and more about how out-of-touch the college’s leaders are with their own institution, something you can see clearly by
Emilio Bankier
Oct 23


Harvey Mudd Has Too Many Climate Majors – And Not Enough Environmentalism
Since 2024, Harvey Mudd College has created four joint majors, all related to climate: Chemistry and Climate, Computer Science and Climate, Biology and Climate, and most recently, Mathematics and Climate. Despite making up four of only 15 majors at the college, only eight of Mudd’s 649 declared students are in one of the joint climate majors. If Harvey Mudd wants to be at the forefront of environmental issues, it needs more students majoring in climate, not more climate joint
Owen Prioreschi
Oct 14


Claremont McKenna’s Speed Dots Fail to Make Campus Safer
They are impossible to miss. Hundreds of small white dots have made a mess of Claremont McKenna’s walkways and unnecessarily impeded students’ travelling around campus. Despite assurances that these speed dots will create a safer campus for pedestrians and control the speed of vehicles, in practice they are a headache for campus commuters and a waste of CMC resources.
Jacob Pippel
Oct 12


Pro-Hamas Scholar Addresses Claremont Students Virtually on Oct. 7
Pro-Hamas scholar Mohamed Abdou addressed Claremont Colleges students virtually on Wednesday, Oct. 7, as part of his “Death to the Akademy Tour.” The talk was hosted by the People’s Fund, an organization also operated by Claremont Colleges students, which met at an unknown location to project the event live.
Emilio Bankier
Oct 10


Pomona Promises to Welcome All Students. Jews Too?
Three years ago, more than a thousand civilians were murdered on October 7th. Two years ago, protesters stormed Pomona’s Carnegie Hall and spraypainted “intifada” across its walls. One year ago, students from the Claremont Colleges disrupted a memorial for the lives lost in the attacks, shouting “Zionists not welcome here.”
Olivia Rosenthal
Oct 7


All Along Walker Wall: Pomona Plays with Your Food
There is a great game at Pomona College. It is not the Sixth St. Rivalry game against CMS, or the now-defunct rivalry game with Occidental College, or even the distant tradition of the Sophomore–Frosh rivalry. Pomona’s Great Game is a seemingly never-ending contest between the College’s various administrative offices. The objective? To make students’ lives harder.
Emilio Bankier
Sep 28


The Entrance Interview: President Dudley on His Washington & Lee Presidency and His Plans for Claremont McKenna
President William C. Dudley is Claremont McKenna College’s sixth president, assuming the position after serving as president of Washington & Lee University for nearly a decade. He was preceded by Hiram Chodosh, who helmed Claremont McKenna for 13 years.


In Defense of the Suburbs
Last month, during a nightly scroll through social media, I came across an unfamiliar subreddit: r/SuburbanHell. Out of curiosity, I clicked on the banner, only to find hundreds of posts, all berating the very existence of suburbs. Users shared aerial photos of cookie-cutter houses, miles on end, with captions mocking the dullness of suburban life and the difficulties it wrought upon them.
Arjun Vohra
Sep 24


Pomona Dining Chief Abruptly Leaves After Series of Controversies
Pomona College has parted ways with Dining Services General Manager Jose Martinez after a series of controversial decisions and years of staffing woes. A spokesperson for the college confirmed to the Independent that Martinez “is no longer employed by Pomona College.”
Emilio Bankier
Sep 23


FIRE's 2027 Free Speech Rankings: Claremont McKenna Takes Second, Pomona Scrapes in at 226th
The University of Chicago surpassed Claremont McKenna College in the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s 2027 Free Speech Rankings released Wednesday. Claremont McKenna slid to second place after topping the 2026 report, while Pomona ranked 226 out of 261 schools.
Greta Long
Sep 13


“Heartbreaking”: Claremont Students Express Dismay as Peers Celebrate Anniversary of Charlie Kirk Assassination
A year after Charlie Kirk was murdered in front of thousands of onlookers at a debate event at Utah Valley University, the assassination continues to divide the Claremont Colleges. The anniversary of the murder prompted celebrations on campus and online, which drew national attention on X. Students the Independent interviewed expressed concern that the normalization of political violence chilled free expression on campus.
Shiv Parihar
Sep 12


Jewish Ex-Employee Sued Pomona College, Former Bosses for $1 Million
Pomona College was back in the national spotlight this summer after reporting in the New York Post and Daily Mail surfaced a lawsuit filed against the College by a former employee, Melody DiDonato, in 2025. The suit alleges that Pomona discriminated against her on the basis of her disability and Jewish faith and subjected her to a hostile work environment. An amended complaint was filed in May 2026.
Andrew Lu
Sep 11


Pomona and Campus Safety Chase Seniors Across Claremont to Stop Their Graduation Celebration
A final nighttime gathering of freshly graduated Pomona College seniors was met with swift response from Pomona staff, Campus Safety, and eventually the Claremont Police Department over graduation weekend, leaving many departing seniors with a bitter feeling as their alma mater got in the way of their last night together.
Emilio Bankier
Jul 4


The Exit Interview: President Chodosh on Pre-Professionalism, Free Speech, and Administrative Bloat
Claremont McKenna College's fifth president, Hiram Chodosh. (Photo Credit: Jasper Langley-Hawthorne) President Hiram Chodosh is Claremont McKenna College’s fifth president, assuming the position after serving as Dean of the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law. After thirteen years in the role, President Chodosh will be succeeded by former Washington & Lee president William C. Dudley. President Chodosh’s wife, Priya Junnar, will also depart as Director of the Athe


Data Still Held for Ransom as Canvas Returns Across the Claremont Colleges
Claremont Colleges students lost access to Canvas, a learning management software used by roughly half of American colleges and universities, for several hours during a nationwide cyberattack targeting the website’s parent company just a few days before finals week.


Rideshare Software Developers Demand $10,000 from Pomona Student Government
Pomona College’s student government, the Associated Students of Pomona College (ASPC) Senate, is facing a sudden $12,000 demand from the student software developers behind its ridesharing service. The graduating developers are asking ASPC to buy the software, after originally agreeing to develop and maintain it for $700 a year before passing it on to younger students. The matter has created confusion within ASPC and between the outgoing and incoming Senate leaderships, as con
Emilio Bankier
Apr 23


When Sex-Positivity Stops at Pregnancy
Sex Week reflects the internal contradictions of the Claremont Colleges’ supposed sex-positive culture. Events like these trivialize sex as a consequence-free means for pleasure rather than aiding students who are actually affected by its physical and mental consequences. If student groups want to remain true to their mission of supporting students and survivors, they should make active efforts to care about students at every point on their sexual journey – including pregnanc
Greta Long
Apr 21


Fizz Goes Flat: The Mimetic Danger of Anonymous Social Media
Fizz is a mobile app that lets college students post anonymously to their campus community, verified only by a school email. Fizz sells itself to students as a fun, casual campus-exclusive feed to share jokes, memes, and gossip. However, Fizz quickly becomes a place for targeted bullying, false accusations directed at students and staff, and pile-ons that spread rapidly. Unverified information about campus events can be misleading and even dangerous.
Lia Gabai
Apr 9


Angela Davis Entertained Tyrants and Border Guards Before Pitzer’s Class of 2026
Pitzer College is widely understood to be the most uniformly left-wing of the Claremont consortium. This morning, they announced a commencement speaker who celebrated border guards and shook hands with dictators.
Shiv Parihar
Apr 7
Archive - All Articles
bottom of page
.png)