Parking lots and baseball fields currently utilize this space east of Bauer Center, itself to be replaced with a campus center. In the future, new quads, academic and residential, will take up the land, along with a new admissions office and alumni house, located on the corner of 9th St. and Claremont Blvd.

The plans were formulated based on a proposal to expand the student body from 1150 to 1400 (the maximum allowed in accordance with the College’s Constitution). The rest of the plan describes how the College will reach its “full potential.” Fear not – the sacred student-to-faculty ratio will be preserved at 8:1. But how will the College accommodate all these new students and simultaneously improve the physical campus with the “new or renovated academic facilities, a new fitness and athletic center, a new campus center, and the potential development of an Alumni House” all mentioned in President Gann’s email? These objectives may require diverse and potentially startling changes to the CMC landscape.

The plan assumes that, in order to continue attracting the best faculty and students, the College requires newer and more numerous facilities. This will be accomplished through a set of goals and objectives, which include:

• Making a clear vision for CMC allowing the improvements to strengthen the identity of the College.
• Increasing the aesthetics of CMC.
• Increasing the sense of community through greater opportunities for interaction.
• Environmentally responsible development and planning.
• Better interior and exterior infrastructure.
• Alternative strategies for meeting parking, mobility, and service needs and maintenance.

But what does this actually mean for CMC?

Bauer Center will first be the first major building torn down, to be replaced with a campus center, which will provide a real entrance to Ninth Street. “Much like the Smith Campus Center at Pomona, this central building would have an open, adaptable ground floor, and would house mail facilities, dining options and lounge spaces,” says Buildings and Grounds Commitee member Lucia Foulkes. Collins will be replaced and the new dining hall will be located further north near the new campus center. One wonders whether this will cause more South Quad residents to frequent Frary, and widen the North Quad-South Quad social gap. Perhaps anticipating this worry, the Master Plan only has one dining hall, maintaining the sense of community fostered by Collins. To ASCMC President Tammy Phan, “one dining hall means that we still haven’t grown too large,” and that there still is a “central meeting and eating area.”

This new academic building will be built where McKenna Auditorium currently stands, right outside the Flamson Plaza Fountain and across from the Athenaeum. In the distance, the new campus center is visible, where Bauer Center is located today.

The temporary offices, sardonically referred to as “Trailer Park West” by some peeved professors, will finally be removed and replaced with an eastern expansion of Parents Field. Linked with the new campus center, Parents Field will form the “heart” of campus. The athletic fields to the east will be replaced with a new residential complex – an “East Quad” – consisting of two halls facing each other around a courtyard and a series of gardens. The student apartments will be renovated, but Phillips will be demolished to make room for a Social Pavilion and Recreational Pool. The Hub will be gone as well, replaced by an academic building with a clear path to Scripps.

Of course, the Stags and Athenas will have a new place to shine. Ducey Gym will be replaced with a new Fitness and Athletic Center, and the track and football fields will be converted to intramural and club sport fields. The varsity soccer field will be moved across 6th Street and the rest of the varsity sports’ fields including football, track and field, baseball and softball will be situated in the East Athletic Expansion, across Claremont Boulevard from the apartments.

A substantial overhaul of the College’s pathways is also planned, throughout new and old quads alike. Such pathways are primarily responsible for connecting the campus and for welcoming visitors. Major axis will be redrawn to make for better navigation throughout CMC, and for clearer entrances to the College from various points. These entrances will be more aesthetically pleasing – the first of them being the Kravis Center itself. Trimming and lighting are small aspects of the plan that may have a surprising effect on the look of CMC in the short run.

Overall, these changes sound dramatic, and indeed they are. However, the Master Plan makes a concerted effort to preserve the intimate nature of CMC while strengthening the positive characteristics. “The College has done a lot of planning and group sessions with students,” says Phan, suggesting that we have had and will continue to have a voice in CMC’s future. The architecture of the new buildings will flow with those surrounding them, attempting to create an aesthetically-cohesive campus from two conflicting styles: the utilitarian concrete structures from our founding and the modern masterpieces designed by Architect Rafael Vinoly and CO Architects, among others. Pleasing everyone who enjoys the California sunshine, the plan calls for more open and green spaces round campus and gives them a practical purpose beyond mere enjoyment. The green spaces are designed for better “natural” drainage during rains.

While the changes can seem intimidating, our most characteristic features are here to stay. “It’s reassuring to know that some things will never change,” says Foulkes. “In 25 years, when some of us will have kids at CMC, North Quad will still be here to remind us of our youthful exploits.”  The buildings thoughtfully chosen to remain represent our core CMC values and culture; polished up a bit, but essentially unchanged.

I am quite fond of the quirky questions that we got asked in the CMC application. Reading some of the frankly genius retorts gave me that warm feeling of being completely outclassed by plenty of my peers. However, when I checked the 2009 application, those quirky questions are exactly the same as when I applied in 2008.

I know we are not the most creative school. We all remember the new and improved CMC website, which garnered the impressive C- grade from EDU Checkup. However, maybe we should adopt a more progressive attitude when it comes to encompassing technology. A look at Tufts’ admissions website fills me with a sense of shame when compared to our beloved one. Tufts’ site has vibrant titles and  a nice, simple layout. Compare this to the bland reality of our own (although the faces of Claremont McKenna idea is good). And what’s this…Tufts doesn’t have both an “Apply” tab and an “Admissions” tab? How will we ever click back and forth?  Their website also shows that Tufts understands technology and social media. There are signs for Facebook, Twitter, podcasts, and of course the YouTube videos.

Maybe CMC doesn’t have to be as progressive as Tufts, which is known for its quirky applications, but we should add something new to our application. We would be able to learn something more about future CMCers rather than the drivel that is normally spouted in college admission essays. Who knows, a more cutting edge admissions program may result in a higher application rate, which could only do good things for CMC. An appreciation for the new and the fresh, rather than comparing ourselves to the old Ivy League style schools, will create a much stronger and I feel more interesting brand image for CMC. Let those colleges be the symbols of tradition and decorum; we shall be the vanguard of progress, creating leaders who know how to lead in the modern world.

It rained hard this year, so what?  Well, sure, we only had about three and a half inches of rain in February so far, and two and a half inches fell just on  Feb 6. This may seem like a fluke, but data taken over a 86 year period suggests that we have an average of about 18 inches of rain a year, with most happening January through March. My point is this: Why can’t Facilities and Services look into better drainage? I  may be biased living in Marks Hall, right at the bottom of campus where all the rain flows to, but even the walk to the apartments has had flooding problems. In January there was a very damp week (seven inches, if you’re interested) and throughout last week, the paths to campus from Marks, and the apartments I am told, were flooded with mini rivers and lakes. Dinner was an exercise in trying to keep your feet only mildy damp, rather than, as was often the case, soaked.

People may state that with the fluctuations of rainfall year to year, sorting out the drainage problems would not be a beneficial use of resources. I, and all the others affected by this disagree. We spend enough money to be here, we shouldn’t need to spend money on renting canoes next January.