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I Did Not Meet You “At a Very Chinese Time of Your Life"
“You met me at a very Chinese time of my life.” The phrase has taken over social media since it was coined by Chinese-American TikToker @sherryxiiruii, who uses her platform to share cultural insights about China. Her primary business is advertising traditional Chinese medicine practices to her audience, such as avoiding cold foods and wearing house slippers for winter. In a video from early January, Rui detailed small “Chinese” habits while telling viewers they were “turning
Shelby Tang
Apr 27


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


Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty Announced as Claremont McKenna Commencement Speakers
Former United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will deliver the commencement address at Claremont McKenna College’s graduation ceremony on May 16, alongside his wife, Akshata Murty (CMC ‘02). The announcement came in an email from President Hiram Chodosh Thursday morning.
Greta Long
Apr 3


Pomona College to Host California Gubernatorial Debate
Pomona College will host primary candidates for the California governorship in a debate on April 28, College President Gabi Starr announced earlier this month.
Andrew Lu
Mar 31


The Quiet Politics of School Holidays
Cesar Chavez speaking in Los Angeles. (Photo Credit: Los Angeles Times ) School holidays are not neutral. They are signals about what we choose to elevate, and what we set aside. When schools drop Presidents' Day but keep Cesar Chavez Day, that is not just a calendar decision; it’s a value judgement. But more than that, it reflects our changing relationship with history itself. To begin with, neither holiday is required. Although Presidents' Day is a federal holiday, schools
Naya Dermenjian
Mar 27


The Liberal Arts Aren’t Broken, American Colleges Are
The liberal arts in America have moved away from their traditional mission of providing students a space for inquiry while educating them about the intellectual foundations of their civilization.
Shiv Parihar
Mar 25


Harvey Mudd Student Body President-Elect Recalled Following Racism Accusations
A recall campaign against the Harvey Mudd College’s student body President-elect has succeeded, with a simple majority of voters choosing to recall the President-elect and hold new elections. The recall was prompted by controversial remarks the President-elect made over a year ago, with the recall petition itself being filed by her opponent after he lost the election.
Emilio Bankier
Mar 24


Harvey Mudd Student Body President-Elect Faces Recall Over Year-Old Racism Accusations
The newly elected president of Harvey Mudd College’s student government (ASHMC) is facing recall over a comment she made during the Spring 2025 election season. Though the president-elect issued multiple apologies, the incumbent student government leadership has withheld constitutionally required onboarding training and worked with Mudd’s Dean of Students to organize a public March 10 forum where the president-elect and her accusers, including the candidates she defeated, rea


Man Wins First Place in Women’s 100m Dash at Pomona-Pitzer Track Meet
A video showing a man dressed up as a woman to compete in the Women’s 100-Meter Dash at a Pomona-Pitzer track meet went viral on Monday, garnering millions of views across social media platforms. Jonny Curren competed under the name “sara curren” [sic], outpacing 31 female runners to win first place by 0.02 seconds.
Andrew Lu
Mar 10


Artificial Intelligence Will Drown You In Your Dreams
The Pied Piper leads children to their deaths with his beautiful song. (Credit: Carl Offterdinger ) Much ink has been spilled over the so-called “alignment problem” of artificial intelligence. Will it behave as humans want it to behave? Will it provide what humans want it to provide? My critique is not downstream of the alignment problem. I am not qualified to predict whether AI will someday misalign with mankind’s wishes. It is, however, becoming increasingly eviden
Shiv Parihar
Mar 2


Motif: A Humanistic Magazine’s Inhuman Cover
In late November, the Gould Center for Humanistic Studies at Claremont McKenna released their fall semester edition of Motif, a student-run creative arts magazine. The issue included a variety of art mediums, from poetry and creative essays to pencil sketches and nail art. In the editorial board’s introductory letter, they said they were “thrilled to support CMC artists and creatives.”
Greta Long
Feb 20


Pomona and Claremont McKenna Began Unprecedented Lobbying Efforts in 2025
In 2025, Pomona and Claremont McKenna Colleges spent $190,000 and $100,000, respectively, to lobby the federal government. Pomona hired lobbying firm theGROUP DC while CMC hired law firm Holland & Knight. According to OpenSecrets, neither college, since 1998, has recorded lobbying activity until this past year. Harvey Mudd, Scripps, and Pitzer Colleges have yet to record any lobbying activity.
Dhriti Jagadish
Feb 8


Pomona Considers Coop Fountain Closure Due to Center for Global Engagement Construction
Pomona College administrators are considering closing the Coop Fountain restaurant in order to relocate the college’s catering operations, which will be disrupted by the construction of Pomona’s new Center for Global Engagement. The closure was presented to the student government’s food committee as a done deal, but administrators have since back-tracked, claiming there had been a misunderstanding.
Emilio Bankier
Feb 3


Former Employee Defrauded Claremont Colleges Out of $1 Million
A Santa Clarita man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to embezzling over $1 million from the Claremont Colleges, where he was employed as an electrical shop supervisor.
Sarah McPeek
Jan 9


Pomona College Officially in “Exclusive Partnership Negotiations” with Claremont Graduate University
Pomona College and Claremont Graduate University announced in parallel statements Thursday afternoon that they have entered exclusive negotiations on a “potential partnership,” described as a parent-subsidiary structure. Sources familiar with the matter told the Independent that the institutions’ respective boards signed only a non-binding letter of intent, meaning negotiations could be broken off at any point.
Emilio Bankier
Dec 21, 2025


Pomona Settles Title VI Antisemitism Complaint, Commits to Significant Changes
Protests held Oct. 7, 2024 at Pomona College. Pomona College resolved a Title VI complaint with the Brandeis Center, Anti-Defamation League and Hillel International on Wednesday, agreeing to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s Working Definition of Antisemitism, appoint a Title VI coordinator, and update speech and demonstration policies, among other provisions. “We are pleased to have resolved these important discussions through a thoughtful and comprehe
Kendall White
Dec 10, 2025


Pomona College Poised to Enter Exclusive Acquisition Negotiations with Claremont Graduate University
Pomona College is close to entering exclusive negotiations to acquire Claremont Graduate University, multiple sources familiar with the matter told the Independent. CGU, which announced in April that it was seeking “a strategic partner or partners,” was courted by a pool of suitors including Arizona State University, Loyola Marymount University, and Northeastern University.
Emilio Bankier
Dec 6, 2025
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