It isn’t fair. And it hurts.

Needless to say, this has been a rough couple days for CMC. Not only was the news surrounding the fudged SAT reports a poor moment for the administration, but it was also a difficult moment for the Claremont community. After all, we are the ones who love this place. We serve as its principal defenders and advocates. We devote inordinate amounts of time to explaining our institution to relatives and job recruiters– even strangers on the street.  It’s an incredible place, we argue. You’ve just probably never heard of it.

Now they have. It is a great irony that we receive so much attention for an issue that is so far removed from the hearts and minds of CMCers. Rankings are not necessarily what drove us here as prospective students, nor are they what we seek to take away with us as graduates.

I did not choose Claremont McKenna College for its name recognition; I came here in spite of its nonexistence.  I chose CMC because, despite knowing it was small and little-known, I had a feeling in my core it was worth the risk.

Let’s be clear: the unethical move highlighted in the press today was made by an administrator. It was one singular employee.  Perhaps he was moved deeply by his passions for the school, but nonetheless, his actions were his and his alone.  The bad news was honorably self-reported by the administration.

Our community, on the other hand, is innocent. This incident is by no means indicative of our school culture.  After three years here, I can tell you firsthand that Claremont McKenna College is not a hyper-competitive learning institution. The students here are scholars and leaders, not grimey grade-obsessed teenagers. Where I go to school, people do not try to sabotage their peers over grade point averages. Rather, they derive pleasure in seeing their peers succeed, in every venture.

The most important thing we can do as students in this moment is simple– we must defend the community we hold so dear.   Now is not the time for internal competition, rumors or conspiracy theories. We should take this moment to reaffirm our values as Claremont McKenna College’s finest, by supporting our classmates. This is an opportunity to reevaluate who we are as members of the CMC community. No matter what your major may be, we can all agree that, as students enrolled in this institution, we are part of an incredible organization.  This community is a caring one, founded on our ability to support each other regardless of our yearly U.S. News and World Report ranking. We do not find value in petty competition for competition’s sake. Claremont McKenna is better than that.

The CMC they’re writing about? That’s not my school. What happened this week– it is not who we are. Let them not extrapolate their opinion of our admissions office to that of us as a community. While it is clear that the administration needs to make some changes, it is important to remember that our college culture is not what is coming under fire.  Professors and students alike, continue your good work. Our educational policies are not the problem. Please don’t change a thing; you’re wonderful the way you are.

Here on the front lines in pleasant Claremont, California, one fact rings true: competition does not consume, nor define us. What happened on Monday is not reflective of our school community. Claremont McKenna College is a top-tier liberal arts college unlike any other in the nation– I maintain that opinion regardless of the news that broke this week.

Recently, my darling Heath has been begging me, along with many other members of the class of 2013, to contribute to the Forum‘s Letters to Home series.  But as much as I’m sure that “Letters to Home: How I Fell Off a Swing By Myself and Split My Head Open in Chile” would be an instant classic, I’m saving it for my memoir.

So here’s the back up plan: write about fat girls.

Like it or not, we’re all thinking about it – the prospect of going abroad with that cute little California beach body and coming back only to have been transformed into a whale hanging out at Scripps pool.  I might weigh 135 pounds, but that’s only 60 kilograms, so that means I’m actually skinnier in South America, right?  That’s a thing.

Let’s start from the beginning.  Before I’d even booked my plane ticket for my big Southern hemisphere adventure, I knew what was up.  My friends warned me about it all summer, teasing me endlessly.  “All the girls that go to South America get fat,” they reminded me.

One put it a little more tenderly, providing some charming advice: “Mimbs, don’t f#@king get fat down there.”

Easier said than done.  When you’re in a world of new, good habits are hard to maintain.  You’re only abroad once is frequently our rallying cry, our excuse to tear into anything and everything put in front of us.  It isn’t healthy, but who knows.  Maybe it is our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have Dulce de Leche and Coconut flavored ice-cream.  And, yes, I could probably find that back in the States, thanks to globalization and what not, but shush.  Don’t tell me that.  Let me savor this mouthful of wonderfulness like Argentina and I are going to break up – and this is my last opportunity to savor our rich, rich relationship.   Besides, I haven’t had a real waffle cone since, like, 1998.

My tortured existence on this deserted continent of fine wine and Latin lovers now consists of two ever hounding thoughts: “when is my next meal coming” and “I should really be more careful at my next meal not to get fat.”  The pendulum unpredictably, and unproductively, swings between the two.   Thinking about it is not helping anything, but taking the time to stay in shape isn’t easy.  Going for a run is difficult – especially when there are modern art museums to see and chocolate chunk lattes to try.

I don’t think I’m alone in this experience. After Skyping with friends studying in many parts of the world, I’ve reached one final conclusion – more likely than not, I’m not the only one going crazy over food while abroad.

Rather, we’re each asking questions: is my on-campus boyfriend still going to love me when I come back from Europe looking like I just ate a Frenchman?   Are the new freshman going to be hotter than me?  And how the hell am I going to fit into all my American Apparel body suits for theme parties in the spring? By the way, screw the lingerie party.

More then once on this trip, I’ve found myself quoting Mary Scmich’s “Wear Sunscreen” essay.  The essay, packed with fitting life advice, was adapted to music video in 1999 by Baz Luhrmann, and features one increasingly relevant line: “You are not as fat as you imagine.”  Dreamy and idealistic, but also not so far from the truth.  While there’s less research on weight gain of college students during their junior year, one recent study showed that the “Freshman 15″ isn’t actually a real thing.  It is nothing but a panic-inciting, salad-diet-inducing myth: the average student only gains about 3 pounds their first year in college.  At the end of the day, it’s more in our heads than we realize.

I could feed you some sort of cookie-cutter “cherish the moment” advice, but you’ve had enough cookies already, girlfriend.  Let’s just put it this way – there’s something more important to study abroad than counting calories.  As one CMC alum sagely advised me –  ”If you are going abroad, eat, drink and party like they do. Weight is something that can be lost, but experiences can’t.”

So breathe, you’re still a hottie.  And if you put on some weight, it’s not the end of the world.  There’s always Jessica Mao’s killer kick boxing class in the spring to get you back into shape.

Besides, Pirate Party’s not till May. Ya got time.

Food images courtesy of Elizabeth Petit ’13, currently studying abroad in Sydney, Australia.  Photos were taken during a trip to New Zealand. 

I hadn’t a clue that I’d be walking into another country’s nightmare.

Turn back thirty-eight years.  Santiago, Chile.  It is September 11th, 1973. The democratic government of President Salvador Allende falls in a military coup d’etat. The President, according to one account, commits suicide by a single bullet through his chin.  Martial law is declared; General Pinochet takes control. Within twenty four hours, a dictator’s reign has begun.

Over the span of the next seventeen years, over 3,000 people will be killed or, worse, disappear after being detained by the dictator – their bodies still missing to this day.  Some will be recovered – their remains having been mutilated by torture and tossed in mass graves, only to be identified decades later for their grieving husbands, wives, and children.

On the tenth anniversary of September 11th, I didn’t think I’d find myself spending quality time with the Chilean socialist party. But I did, and though I find myself quite far from being socialist, we shared a sidewalk – and a hope that such atrocities will never happen again.

Neither 9/11 supersedes the other – no country has a monopoly on tragedy, especially when it comes to that infamous day. That they share a single date is no more than coincidence, one of those quirky little twists of fate. But there is a moral to these stories – that even in our modern “civilized” society, there exist flagrant human rights violations and unspeakable violence.

On September 11th, I held vigil, along with many others – from Manhattan to Santiago – to honor the victims. We gathered around candles, bearing our red, white, and blue, to take a somber moment to remember those who lost their lives in these two senseless tragedies – and to pray that no more pain be inflicted on this date in the future.

Photos from la marcha para los derechos humanos
9/11/2011

On May 14th, 2011, the sun set on silent tents and empty chairs. The stage had been crossed, the diplomas awarded, and the champagne drunk.

As they say, it ain’t over till the Registrar sings.

Class of 2011, we here at the Forum wish you all the best. It has been a privilege to live in your shadow, and we look forward to seeing what great things you will do in the future. Keep on wearin’ it.

You can see the rest of the pictures on our main slide show here.

Drill this into your brain: this Sunday is Mother’s Day.

(Yes, I bolded that for a reason. Don’t mess this one up.)

Flowers, again? Yawn.

So how are you planning on spoiling your mother? If you are like me, you already pulled the 1-800-Flowers.com trick freshman year. Besides, while flowers are a pretty expression of a child’s affection, they are not exactly pragmatic.  Pastel roses, unlike my love for my Mother, wilt and fade within days, crumbling into the muddy water of their own vase.

I considered sending her an eCard, but my mother is getting too tech saavy to find kistchy animated cats endearing.  After all, she just figured out Facebook mobile uploads.

Unfortunately, to procure a suitable alternative gift, I need the help of my family from afar.  Now, I find myself three-thousand miles away from my little brother, and trying to micromanage my Mother’s special day via text message. Gift-splitting may be practical for college-aged siblings with limited budgets, but cross-country coordination can be difficult.

What’s a kid to do?

Enter Splittr.

Splittr, the joint brain-child of CMC Alum Erik Hansell ’09 and current senior Eric Scott, is a online gift-giving platform which allows users to contribute to gifts over the internet.   Splittr is a place where relatives and friends alike can pool together their money and – well – split the cost of gift, instead of each just sending a Hallmark card with cash.

How does Splittr work?  First, a user decides what they want.  For instance, say I want a new laptop for my birthday.  I choose the computer I want and add it to my Splittr account.  I am then provided with a link to send to my family and friends, who can each chip-in a small amount.  When the target amount is reached, Splittr ships the laptop to my house.  (If not enough funds are secured to make the purchase by my big day, Splittr sends me an Amazon gift card with the amount I acquired.)

Some might believe that Splittr undermines the art of gift giving.  The social norms surrounding the giving and receiving of holiday presents seem deeply ingrained into our society.  Having one pick out their own gifts feels strange.  It seems to violate the unwritten constitution of gift-giving.

“Social conventions have already changed because of social media,”  CEO Eric Scott argues.  “With Splittr, we’re just trying to harness those social conventions. For instance – the ‘Happy Birthday’ Facebook Wall post.  You could say it’s ruined social interactions, but I don’t think that’s true. It’s just made different ones.”

Sure, Splittr might work well if your Mom ardently desires a pink iPod shuffle or a Martha Stewart Pie and Tart Cookbook (both of which can be found in Splittr’s database),  but what of handmade gifts, tenderly baked cookies, and sweetly constructed Mother’s Day poems?

Certainly, Splittr is not the optimal tool for die-hard romantics.  Scott himself acknowledges the intrinsic value of these kinds of gifts.  “The best gifts money can’t buy,” he admits, “but for everything else, there’s Splittr.”

So if you’re still hell-bent on toying with pipe-cleaners and glue this weekend, craft away for your dear Ma.  Just be careful – when you’re twenty, framing your own art isn’t nearly as cute.  You know what?  It’s actually kind of pretentious.  Who do you think you are, Van Gogh? Besides, I’m fairly certain that if I mailed my mother a popsicle stick sculpture this year, she’d laugh and mail me back an unpaid tuition bill.

No matter what you decide to get Mom and how you decide to get it, don’t you dare forget that Sunday morning phone call home. (See, I bolded that too.)  She deserves it.

You’re not going to be able to get ‘Shots’ out of your head for a week, but whatever – it was so worth it.

According to Pitzer Professor Thomas Borowski, Adderrall will increase your endurance - not necessarily your performance.

It’s a late night in Honnold Mudd, and at least one work-weathered student from Claremont McKenna College is tired. Nonetheless, a ten page Government paper is still due in the morning. He has neglected to start it until now, instead letting it gnaw at the rear of his conscience all weekend. Now it is finally game time; there is no comfortable wiggle room to procrastinate.

He needs a stimulant, something to perk him up. And fast.  The Honnold Café is still open, but he has no interest in coffee.

He pops a small, blue pill instead.

“People would be upset if they knew the amount of Adderall usage that occurs here,” asserts Charles Camp*, a student at CMC and a former dealer of the prescription stimulant Adderall. Even while making this bold statement, Charles fidgets uncomfortably throughout our interview.  He is clearly conscious of the negative stigma surrounding what he has come here to discuss.

Diana, on the other hand, a sophomore at CMC, is a little less shy about her illegal use of prescription stimulant drugs.

“It’s the best drug ever,” she muses cheerily from a dorm room. “It rocks.”

Later in the interview, Diana describes a recent deal she made with particular excitement. The market price for Adderall or Ritalin at the Claremont Colleges is usually around $5 per pill, with some variation based on the dosage, but Diana boasts about how she recently scored ten pills for only ten dollars, saving herself forty bucks.

______

In a national survey, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that 6.4% of full time college students age 18 to 22 used Adderall, a stimulant prescribed for the correction of Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, for non-medical purposes in 2006 and 2007. [1] Students without prescriptions buy these pills illegally, and then use them with the hope that the pills will increase their concentration on homework assignments.

Professor Thomas Borowski, a professor at Pitzer College and coordinator of the 5C Neuroscience program, questions the effectiveness of these drugs on students who are not diagnosed with ADHD.   “In terms of facilitating your retention of material, it has no effect,” he says, adding that it also will not help your memory.

While it can help with concentration, he notes that the drug “facilitates endurance more than concentration.” By endurance, Professor Borowski means the ability to study without getting tired.  In other words, stimulants may help you concentrate to a degree, but their real specialty is keeping you awake.

Even if students are able to study the material while under the influence of stimulants, that does not necessarily mean they will be able to remember what they learned when they sober up the next morning.  There is a phenomenon known as “State-dependent learning.”  This occurs when a person learns information in a drug-altered state, and their brain encodes that material in that state.  In order to recall the information, he or she has to be in the same state.  Essentially, as Professor Borowski explains, a student would “have to take the drug again to effectively write the test.”

Professor Borowski also estimates that somewhere around 30% of the feeling of “increased productivity” that students claim to feel after popping Adderall or Ritalin is simply a placebo effect.

The negative health effects, on the other hand, are very real.  That energetic heart-racing feeling many students describe after taking the stimulant is the result of increased strain on one’s heart.  In the short term, this could cause “cardiovascular failure (heart attack) or lethal seizures.“  Stimulant abuse in the long term has been known to cause heart disease and chronic hypertension.  Some users can even become psychotic, developing a predisposition to anxiety and panic attacks.

“Drink a strong cup of coffee,” Professor Borowski recommends.

_____

Students at the Claremont Colleges face a new kind of ethical dilemma: to take or not to take?

CMC’s Academic Integrity policy makes no mention of study drug abuse.  The policy, as currently written, neither condones nor outlaws the practice.

Students should be wary of taking this as a “green light” to go ahead and take the pills. While CMC may not explicitly ban prescription stimulant abuse, the United States does.  Adderall and Ritalin are classified as Schedule II substances, in the same category as cocaine.  Use without a prescription is a felony.

Despite the legal liability, many CMCers feel pressure to use the drug in order to compete with their peers.  The logic seems simple: if one person uses it to get ahead, his peers must also use it or end up at the bottom of the pack.   Stimulant abuse suddenly switches from a personal choice to a necessity, all in the tragic name of classroom competition.

Laura Miles, a sophomore who is diagnosed with ADHD, has been prescribed Adderall.  She compares her prescription to sight correcting glasses. The real purpose of these drugs, she points out, is to help those with ADHD compete on an even playing field in the classroom.  This makes it unfair for others to take it.

“People who wear glasses without a prescription can’t see through walls, but people who don’t need Adderall who take it can do the equivalent of academically seeing through walls,” Miles says.

“My doctor gave me Adderall so I can be like you,” she adds, clearly frustrated. “If you take Adderall, you’re way up higher than I am.”

______

Many people justify abusing Adderall by challenging the authenticity of study drugs as a whole, claiming that they are an over-prescribed treatment for a completely subjective disorder.  Many students brag that they can easily walk into a doctor’s office and finagle their way into a prescription. “Well, everyone has ADHD to a degree” is an all-too common defense, but an unsupported one.

If one truly believes they have symptoms of disorder and that Adderall will help them, they should go out and take the test, to see if they can get a prescription.  In the meantime, however, they have absolutely no right to weakly justify their illegal behavior on a hypothetical.

Putting Adderall and ADHD subjectivity arguments aside, the issue is black and white.  It is illegal to use the drug for non-medical purposes. Therefore, unless one has been has been prescribed it by a doctor, it is illegal to use here at CMC.

It is a great tragedy to think that so many bright kids consider themselves dependent on Adderall in order to succeed.  Adderall usage completely undermines one’s academic accomplishments.  And to what avail?  A couple of extra points on an assignment?

Contrary to popular belief, not everyone is doing it.  The statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, while disappointing, also display positive results.  They also show that the vast majority of students, over 90%, are not abusing Adderall.  These students are here to learn, and to learn the nitty-gritty, old school, get some of that Honnold Mudd dust in your lungs kind of a way. They have succeeded, and not while doped up on some stimulant.

Without a doubt, every single student at Claremont McKenna College is smart enough to successfully complete this curriculum without having to abuse Adderall.  And that is exactly what they should do.

*Students’ names have been changed to protect those interviewed.

CMC's Development Office is looking to give the Flamson Plaza fountain an aesthetic upgrade, while maintaining its practical design.

This project will include beautifying the fountain and completing some functional repair work.  The administration is currently working with architecture firm Moore Ruble Yudell, the same firm handing the implementation of CMC’s Master Plan.

Though summer is only four months away, the project is still in early planning stages.  No official decisions have been made with regard to what kind of changes will occur, nor have dates been formally approved.

“At a minimum, we want to clean it up.  Give it a refresh,” said Bibbens.

Also occurring in summer 2011 will be a full scale renovation of the interior first floor of the Athenaeum, including a complete overhaul of the Security Pacific Dining Room.  The fountain renovation will coincide with changes being made to make the Athenaeum’s first floor entrance more accessible.

The Athenaeum renovations will cover new lighting, furniture, flooring and walls. The lobby will also be upgraded. Acoustics and art presentation are high priorities.

While first floor changes will be followed by upstairs renovations to the VIP residences, the development office has no plans to touch Parents Library, where tea takes place five days a week.

West Campus, the Kravis Center, and Athenaeum renovations are all scheduled to be completed by the beginning of the 2011 Fall Semester.

The Aftermath

The partridges have stopped singing and the pear tree is rotting on the rug.   You’ve already pleasantly forgotten what day of the week it is, but that does not mean you should slumber away the rest of your break.

Here’s what to do the 12 days after the holiday glitter settles:

1. Write your damn Thank-You Notes. Get out your stationary and write a note to everyone you received a gift from this year.  By write, I mean scratch a pen on paper, not a compose a text.   It’s the polite and courteous thing to do.

2. Take a high school teacher out to coffee. Shoot an email at one of your favorite teachers from back in the day and take the time to sit down with them over a warm cup of java.  The holidays are the perfect time of year to show appreciation.

3. Back up your hard drive. God forbid you lose those hundreds of TNC photos you acquired this semester.  Take the time post-Holidays to back up your precious digital data.

4.  Get your palm read by a psychic. Grab a friend, go see Miranda the Mind Reader, and I guarantee you will be in giggles.  You don’t have to believe fervently in what the undoubtedly kooky women says, but it is nice to hear someone rant about your next ten years.  It’s a goofy way of putting things in perspective, but it reminds you that, in the end, you make it.

5.  Cook your Mom dinner. She deserves it.  Plan a three course meal, down to the napkin rings.

6. Cross something off your bucket list. Have you been reading Ellie Beckett’s Forum articles?  Girlfriend is jumping off bridges on the reg.  The year 2010 is almost over, but give it one last hurrah.   Whether that means getting a tattoo or telling your longtime crush you might be in love with them, go for it.  There’s no better time.

7. Re-tour your town. What makes your hometown famous?  Pretend you are a tourist, and remind yourself why you still love it here.  I don’t care how many times I’ve seen it, the U.S. Capitol Building still gives me chills.

8. Read an entire book in one day. It’s the most wonderful time of the year: every major paper will be releasing its “Top 10 Books of 2010” List.   Relish in the extraordinary amount of free time you currently have in your possession.  Pick the one with the prettiest cover and try to finish it within 24 hours.

9.  Get nostalgic. We keep my great-grandfather’s 1920 love letters to my great-grandmother in a cherry wooden cabinet in my living room.  Sometimes I lie belly on the carpet and pore over his pretty words.  Ask your grandparents to tell you a story or just take a look at your childhood halloween pictures.  Warm memories defeat the iciest of winter frost.

10. Do it better than Martha. Go to Martha Stewart’s website and check out her craft ideas.  Pick out one and complete it with one purpose – to one-up her.  You can even sort the crafts by the materials you have lying around in the basement.  Pipe cleaners, please and thank you.

11.  Get chubby. Indulge yourself in all your favorites.  If you were planing on making your New Years Resolution to lose weight, I don’t want to hear it.  I want to hear about cheese rolls and carrot cake, not ellipticals and treadmills.  I hope you are all fattened up with all that love and goodness when I see you in January.

12. Rest. You’ve earned it, my dears.  Cheers to a marvelous fall semester, and here’s for an even more lovely spring.

When you’re done shedding your tears, know that there is still hope.  Built right into every CMCer’s school-provided Google email is the efficient mode of communication known as G-Chat.  Just like AIM, this feature allows students to instantly “chat” each other through their email interface, allowing for quicker responses than sluggish emails.

If you email back and forth with someone for long enough, you will notice that their name will naturally begin to hover in the bottom left hand corner of your email.  They have automatically been added to your G-Chat buddy list. By clicking their name, you can open up a chat window with them, where you can exchange messages.

You can also add buddies to G-chat by using the “Search, add, or invite” feature.  Simply start typing a friend’s name in this box, located at the top of your buddy list, and they should be suggested automatically thanks to your CMC address book. Now click “invite to chat.” If they accept your request, their name will appear on your buddy list momentarily.

So now that we have tackled the issue of how to use G-Chat, we can tackle the bigger issue of why you should use it.

Here are five reasons why this is one tool you don’t want to overlook:

1. It’s extraordinarily helpful. Per usual, the possibilities are endless. You can use G-Chat to message a friend in Poppa, to figure out whether the temperamental printer there is working before you make the trek, or just to ask a friend how far they are on studying for that upcoming midterm.

2. It’s easier than texting. We’ve all had to send it – that socially awkward text to someone in your class, one that you’ve never actually talked to, because you desperately need the homework. (“Hi, this is Caroline. So I got your number from Drew and…”)

3. It’s less distracting than Facebook chat. Come on, you know full well that the second you log on to that evil network, even if it’s only to get your Math 30 homework, you will end up spending thirty minutes creeping on photos from TNC. Save yourself the distraction.

4. It’s fun. Feeling creative? Just like AIM Away Messages, G-Chat allows you to set your availability to “Available” or “Busy,” with a space to elaborate known as your G-Chat status. Recently, a trend has emerged where students make their G-Chat statuses a pun on the location in which they are studying. For example, here are a few Ryal related statuses:

• Casino Ryal
• The X-Ryals
• First Chair Ryal-in
• Man vs. Ryal-d
• Ryal my guitar gently weeps
• Good ole boys were drinking whiskey and Ryal

5. Your friends are using it. Or at the very least, could use it. Since every CMCer automatically has G-Chat as part of their email, it tends to catch on as you get older. Upperclassmen are certainly the most active G-Chat users, whereas freshmen struggle to get their buddy list started. End the age gap, freshmeat, and fearlessly add your peers instead of waiting for them to automatically appear. Start the trend. AIM may be outdated, but efficacious methods of communication never go out style.

Still need G-Chat help? Try here.