Dean of Students Explains ‘No Cars for Freshmen’

After learning that CMC has decided to restrict freshmen from bringing cars to campus, we contacted Dean of Students Jeff Huang for an explanation of the change in policy. His response is available below.

CMC is joining with Pitzer College and Pomona College in restricting freshmen from bringing cars to campus next year. It’s my understanding that HMC is also considering a similar decision for the future, but no decisions have been made for the coming year.

Each of the Claremont Colleges has a slightly different set of circumstances for their decisions, and I cannot speak for the others.

In CMC’s case, the construction of the Kravis Center and the re-routing of traffic around the College have caused us to become concerned about the supply and location of parking for students, faculty, staff, and visitors. There are also environmental and community reasons why we think a restriction on freshman (not transfer students) cars will be beneficial. But the supply and location of parking is a concern.

Of course, there may be a few new students who have exceptional situations that request a waiver to the parking restriction. A few already have. We’ll review them on a case-by-case basis.

To help mitigate the situation, we have a couple of things we’re working on this summer. First, we’re building a small bike shop in the basement of Wohlford Hall. Students will be able to sign out “loaner” bikes for free, as well as get tires inflated, minor repairs, and things like that. It will be staffed by students. Of course, bikes aren’t helpful for every situation, but you can take one to run an errand in the Village.

Second, the Claremont University Consortium is in discussions with a national bank to add an ATM machine and/or branch bank in the Honnold-Mudd Library. There will also be a new coffeeshop opening in the Honnold-Mudd Library this year. These services may cut down the number of off-campus trips students need to make.

Finally, all of these issues are going to be more comprehensively addressed through the master planning process, which will be completed in the next one to two years.

Jeff Huang

When asked to elaborate on the “exceptional situations” that may justify a waiver on the parking restriction, Dean Huang offer this:

If you’re wondering what an “exceptional circumstance” is for the sake of an exemption to the parking rule, I cannot possibly define all of them. As a general rule, I would think that family and medical matters would be two important categories. An example might be that a student lives in Southern California and has a family member with an ongoing illness. Of course, we would verify this and then approve it.

More information will be posted as it is made available.

Abhi Nemani

Abhi Nemani has a problem. He doesn't sleep -- nor does he plan to. He plans on not sleeping in fact, so he procrastinates during daylight hours -- usually watching Mad Men or perusing lolz -- and then schedules productivity for 3am. So expect late, misspelled, and rambling emails (and bios) from this editor emeritus.

good job

doing what a certain angry, self-righteous facebook group creator/blogger couldn’t– get someone to take you seriously enough to respond to your email

agreed

I think it was more of a lack of respect– Charles claimed that he “broke the story” (it had been public information for months), accused Dean Huang of “social engineering,” created a facebook group of unknowing freshmen and bored cmcers to “protest” through a mass e-mail campaign, etc. Charles really has no standing in the CMC community aside from being known as a contrarian blogger who takes extreme, sometimes laughable positions on issues. The task of speaking to the administration on behalf of students is best left to someone they respect.

Charles was clearly either trying to generate buzz for himself, his blog, or trying to win over freshmen “fans” like some twisted political move. It sort of worked with the David and Kyle thing, but Dean of Students policy is best taken up by respectful disagreement through channels like ASCMC or campus organizations, not some nutty blogger who Dean Huang and much of the administration has had bad dealings with in the past (I’ve heard plenty of professors and administrators quietly deride “that crazy kid with the blog” as a nuisance or worse).

good job

doing what a certain angry, self-righteous facebook group creator/blogger couldn’t– get someone to take you seriously enough to respond to your email

agreed

I think it was more of a lack of respect– Charles claimed that he “broke the story” (it had been public information for months), accused Dean Huang of “social engineering,” created a facebook group of unknowing freshmen and bored cmcers to “protest” through a mass e-mail campaign, etc. Charles really has no standing in the CMC community aside from being known as a contrarian blogger who takes extreme, sometimes laughable positions on issues. The task of speaking to the administration on behalf of students is best left to someone they respect.

Charles was clearly either trying to generate buzz for himself, his blog, or trying to win over freshmen “fans” like some twisted political move. It sort of worked with the David and Kyle thing, but Dean of Students policy is best taken up by respectful disagreement through channels like ASCMC or campus organizations, not some nutty blogger who Dean Huang and much of the administration has had bad dealings with in the past (I’ve heard plenty of professors and administrators quietly deride “that crazy kid with the blog” as a nuisance or worse).

http://claremontconservative.com Charles C. Johnson

Seriously?

Did you not think that the reason he finally issued a press statement was that so many freshmen had been given the information for contacting him? Did you not think about how this story can to everyone’s attention? Or does your hatred of me taint your ability to give credit where it is due?

There are still serious questions for follow up and I’m concerned that the Forum seems to have dropped the ball there.

Am I right in assuming that the Dean of Students office has no intention of returning parking after the construction of new facilities? Is the measure then permanent to restrict freshmen from parking on campus?

I’m unsure what is meant by community concerns. Does the DOS office think that there are students who don’t spend enough time on campus? I never noticed that. If anything, it seems that the freshmen are too social and don’t spend enough time working. Are there figures that could confirm that willingness to go home often?

What are the “environmental and community reasons”?

What is the projected cost of financing a bicycle shop in the basement of Wolhford? Who will staff it? What will its hours be? And how will that be financed? Will student fees go up? How is that cheaper than upping the fee for registration and then subsidizing the remainders?

An ATM at Honnold-Mudd? What branch will it be? Will the DOS conduct market research before deciding what branch that will be?

Any answers to any of those questions would be greatly appreciated.
http://claremontconservative.com Charles C. Johnson

Seriously?

Did you not think that the reason he finally issued a press statement was that so many freshmen had been given the information for contacting him? Did you not think about how this story can to everyone’s attention? Or does your hatred of me taint your ability to give credit where it is due?

There are still serious questions for follow up and I’m concerned that the Forum seems to have dropped the ball there.

Am I right in assuming that the Dean of Students office has no intention of returning parking after the construction of new facilities? Is the measure then permanent to restrict freshmen from parking on campus?

I’m unsure what is meant by community concerns. Does the DOS office think that there are students who don’t spend enough time on campus? I never noticed that. If anything, it seems that the freshmen are too social and don’t spend enough time working. Are there figures that could confirm that willingness to go home often?

What are the “environmental and community reasons”?

What is the projected cost of financing a bicycle shop in the basement of Wolhford? Who will staff it? What will its hours be? And how will that be financed? Will student fees go up? How is that cheaper than upping the fee for registration and then subsidizing the remainders?

An ATM at Honnold-Mudd? What branch will it be? Will the DOS conduct market research before deciding what branch that will be?

Any answers to any of those questions would be greatly appreciated.
Community Concerns

Dean Huang issued a statement because, as is his job, he is meant to relay info to students. He did not issue a statement because of a facebook group with only 114 members, many of which are CMC alums or non freshman current CMCers. You do some good work but don’t kid yourself. This isn’t the pomona free speech case and you aren’t responsible for getting Dean Huang to talk. Huang is just doing his job. Some forum people politely emailed him to ask a question and he politely responded back. Try some tact next time CJ instead of aiming for the throat right away.

I believe Dean Huang is alluding to, with community and environmental concerns, the insepid hatred the city of Claremont has towards the college’s expansion. The noise pollution, DUIs, land expansion, increased population, and lack of parking which goes along with the 5C”s expansion has bred a lot of contempt from Claremont via lawsuits and the likes. I do not think Dean Huang meant environmental concerns as applying to carbon emissions and the likes.

A bike shop is cheap. Wohlfor’d basement is free land, the shop is student run, and we ought to have a bike shop and stop mooching off of Pitzer. Students will staff it, as Dean Huang stated. And the reason we can’t and shouldn’t up the registration fee is that there is a limited number of spots and supply and demand don’t neccesarily work in this situation because 1) people won’t register their cars if registration fees cost too much and 2) Unless the fees get really high, as in $200+, I don’t think there will be a significant cutback in demand, and then we still have the issue of people not registering.

Word is the ATM will be bank banc of america and though I do wish there was more student input into this, ban of america is tone of two ATMs that makes sense as there is a nearby branch and because they have by far the most ATMs of anyone. Wells Fargo would make sense too, especially since there is a BAC ATM at pomona, but so few people use WFC compared to BAC that I still think BAC is the best choice.

And no, as of yet, the DoS has said nothing about reinstituting parking for freshmen after Kravis is finished. Maybe if you get some tact and organize a real group or write down a legitimate list of complaints, you can be instrumental in bringing freshman parking back to CMC. But making a stupid facebook group and dominating the forum the last few days isn’t going to convince DoS of anything.
Community Concerns

Dean Huang issued a statement because, as is his job, he is meant to relay info to students. He did not issue a statement because of a facebook group with only 114 members, many of which are CMC alums or non freshman current CMCers. You do some good work but don’t kid yourself. This isn’t the pomona free speech case and you aren’t responsible for getting Dean Huang to talk. Huang is just doing his job. Some forum people politely emailed him to ask a question and he politely responded back. Try some tact next time CJ instead of aiming for the throat right away.

I believe Dean Huang is alluding to, with community and environmental concerns, the insepid hatred the city of Claremont has towards the college’s expansion. The noise pollution, DUIs, land expansion, increased population, and lack of parking which goes along with the 5C”s expansion has bred a lot of contempt from Claremont via lawsuits and the likes. I do not think Dean Huang meant environmental concerns as applying to carbon emissions and the likes.

A bike shop is cheap. Wohlfor’d basement is free land, the shop is student run, and we ought to have a bike shop and stop mooching off of Pitzer. Students will staff it, as Dean Huang stated. And the reason we can’t and shouldn’t up the registration fee is that there is a limited number of spots and supply and demand don’t neccesarily work in this situation because 1) people won’t register their cars if registration fees cost too much and 2) Unless the fees get really high, as in $200+, I don’t think there will be a significant cutback in demand, and then we still have the issue of people not registering.

Word is the ATM will be bank banc of america and though I do wish there was more student input into this, ban of america is tone of two ATMs that makes sense as there is a nearby branch and because they have by far the most ATMs of anyone. Wells Fargo would make sense too, especially since there is a BAC ATM at pomona, but so few people use WFC compared to BAC that I still think BAC is the best choice.

And no, as of yet, the DoS has said nothing about reinstituting parking for freshmen after Kravis is finished. Maybe if you get some tact and organize a real group or write down a legitimate list of complaints, you can be instrumental in bringing freshman parking back to CMC. But making a stupid facebook group and dominating the forum the last few days isn’t going to convince DoS of anything.
http://HelloAbhi @Chuckie

Your rapid fire, obsessively exhaustive list of questions makes you sound like a haughty toddler. While some of your concerns are legitimate, questions like “What are the ‘environmental and community reasons’?” are commonsensical and unnecessary. If you want to engage in a civilized discourse with anyone, (life lesson ahead) you’ve got to abandon your concepts of “credit” and “breaking the story.” CMC is a community; don’t allow divisive credit-grubbing, unceasing one-upmanship, and pigheaded faux-muckraking poison that. Pathological narcissism feigning concerned altruism is not concerned altruism.

In reality, yes there is a slight air of bait-and-switch with the 2013ers and their cars, but you cannot legitimately think it is out of any sort of malice or thoughtlessness on the part of the administration. They are, despite whatever paranoid delusions you may be harboring, concerned with our college experience and happiness. I for one am confident this decision was finalized only after thorough discussions and considerations of practical, reasonable options. They wouldn’t withhold a privilege if they didn’t have to. To quote Woody Allen’s Manhattan, “You have to have a little faith in people.”

With regards to your petulant, extensive questions about the specifics Dean Huang neglected to mention: relax. All of these answers will be revealed in due time. Its summer; step away from the ergonomic keyboard and go play outside.

Seriously? Seriously.

(life lesson #2: “Seriously?” is the most disdainful, dismissive, puerile, valley-girl interjection of them all. It makes you sound like an ass. And, of course, we wouldn’t want anyone thinking that.)

http://claremontconservative.com Charles C. Johnson

Thanks for the advice, @Chuckie, but I think I’ll take it with a grain of salt. I’m not inclined to take life lessons from anonymous trollers. As for credit grabbing, I think you’ve got the wrong idea. We bloggers love breaking stories and pointing things out, even when it means we’re right in the long run. I just insist over the record because I love this college and dislike the efforts on the parts of many to change it for the worse. Although I have to say, I was impressed by your SAT vocab words or did you go to a thesaurus? “Puerile”? “Pathological narcissism”? Someone’s taken a CMC psych course! I’ll save the armchair diagnosis for another time. Though I did enjoy your “projecting.” (See I took psych too!)

To everyone else that seems to think it’s cool to anonymously malign me in the comment section of this school-subsidized rag,

I won’t attempt to I don’t try and “change” things and I won’t apologize for caring about an issue, albeit more than most. There’s a fine line between obsession and passion and I won’t pretend to being unconcerned. I care and I care strongly. I don’t believe in the current culture’s obsession with being without passion or principle. And I strongly believe that what is being done to the freshmen belies a greater trend of reducing the quality of a CMC education that began with Gann’s ill-fated plans at expansionism. In short, I care about many things and I’m unwilling to shut up and sit down and be told what to do by any administrator, any student, any family member, any friend, any foe, any teacher, or anyone, really. I’m going to continue to advocate for the things I care about as passionately and as zealously as I can.

Don’t like it? Maybe I should invoke a little more valley-girl and tell you to “talk to the hand.”

As for the answers to my questions, Dean Huang graciously answered them via email. You’ll note that it doesn’t seem like they really worked through all their options. Instead, it looks like they wanted to win environmental brownie points.
Have a look. You might learn something about being persistent. http://www.claremontconservative.com/2009/07/dean-huangs-answers-to-my-questions.html

Seriously. (That’s polite for, “go f— yourself.” What can I say, I follow Cheney’s tradition there.) I don’t like saying “really” repeatedly. It’s so SNL.

PS. We gingers don’t go outside. The sun is the enemy.

http://claremontconservative.com Charles C. Johnson

Thanks for the advice, @Chuckie, but I think I’ll take it with a grain of salt. I’m not inclined to take life lessons from anonymous trollers. As for credit grabbing, I think you’ve got the wrong idea. We bloggers love breaking stories and pointing things out, even when it means we’re right in the long run. I just insist over the record because I love this college and dislike the efforts on the parts of many to change it for the worse. Although I have to say, I was impressed by your SAT vocab words or did you go to a thesaurus? “Puerile”? “Pathological narcissism”? Someone’s taken a CMC psych course! I’ll save the armchair diagnosis for another time. Though I did enjoy your “projecting.” (See I took psych too!)

To everyone else that seems to think it’s cool to anonymously malign me in the comment section of this school-subsidized rag,

I won’t attempt to I don’t try and “change” things and I won’t apologize for caring about an issue, albeit more than most. There’s a fine line between obsession and passion and I won’t pretend to being unconcerned. I care and I care strongly. I don’t believe in the current culture’s obsession with being without passion or principle. And I strongly believe that what is being done to the freshmen belies a greater trend of reducing the quality of a CMC education that began with Gann’s ill-fated plans at expansionism. In short, I care about many things and I’m unwilling to shut up and sit down and be told what to do by any administrator, any student, any family member, any friend, any foe, any teacher, or anyone, really. I’m going to continue to advocate for the things I care about as passionately and as zealously as I can.

Don’t like it? Maybe I should invoke a little more valley-girl and tell you to “talk to the hand.”

As for the answers to my questions, Dean Huang graciously answered them via email. You’ll note that it doesn’t seem like they really worked through all their options. Instead, it looks like they wanted to win environmental brownie points.
Have a look. You might learn something about being persistent. http://www.claremontconservative.com/2009/07/dean-huangs-answers-to-my-questions.html

Seriously. (That’s polite for, “go f— yourself.” What can I say, I follow Cheney’s tradition there.) I don’t like saying “really” repeatedly. It’s so SNL.

PS. We gingers don’t go outside. The sun is the enemy.
he sucks but let him suck

I sympathize with the commenters on this post, but you guys just don’t get it. “Charles C. Johnson” doesn’t care how many people hate him because there will always be those few people who think it’s admirable that he’s (a nut job) going against the grain of society (fighting the man!). If he cared about what people thought of him, he wouldn’t use his middle initial and facebook friend every member of the class of 2012 and 2013 before they even get to CMC. Trying to teach him life lessons is like reasoning with a religious fanatic– he’ll always be crazy but you’ll try to reason with him anyway.

He isn’t even wrong about most things, which is the sad part. He’s just such an asshole that the people who matter at CMC don’t listen to him or take him seriously at this point. Ask an administrator, admissions officer, or even an aware faculty member if they know of him and if they do, they’ll diplomatically agree that he’s a joke. He has no tact, and it will be his downfall. It has been already (blogger award, girlfriend, etc.)

http://claremontconservative.com Charles C. Johnson

The reason I use the middle initial is that I have received a lot of very weird emails and facebook messages from people who do not and have never met me. (There are over 700 Charles Johnsons in the Boston area alone, most of them black.) The reason I friend everyone at CMC is that I friend everyone at CMC, regardless of whether or not we get along or even like each other. I’ve found, however, that it’s much easier to respond to people on Facebook when they have questions about CMC than to field the email requests that I get from parents and administrators. I believe in living an open life and so I don’t much care if people see my photos or read my profile.

I’m curious as to “who the people that matter” are. I’ve never been able to tell and I’d love to know. I’m reminded of that funny quotation about “the people who mind don’t matter and that the people that matter don’t mind.” I think about that often at this place.

Are those that matter the Board of Trustees? If so, I’m routinely in communication with at least a few of them. One of them even described my blog as a ” CMC treasure.”

Are those that matter the Administration? I almost always get my emails responded to and find them all to be very diligent, nice people who occasionally disagree with me on matters of school policy. (David and Kyle come to mind.) And I’ve seen my role as a blogger to help them make good decisions from time to time.

Are those that matter the professors? The professors because I have never received anything but a glowing recommendation letter from anyone I’ve asked, including several who have asked me to work for them on their books.

Are those that matter, the admissions officers? I have given tours, officially and unofficially at CMC and I’ve been asked to write for CMC Nation, hosted prospective students, etc. In fact, at least one of the admissions officers I would consider a good friend.

If those that matter are the self-appointed, busy body, policy making, wannabe lefty elites who go to the parties and are oh so cool, I can think of no greater group to have despise me. I enjoy their snide and pathetic anonymous comments and attacks on me because it confirms to me that I’m doing what I should be. My role is not to be liked, but to believe in things and to advocate them. You say “no tact”; I say “chutzpah.”

On the point about the girlfriend, good riddance. (Remember the quotation from before about the people that matter? ‘Nuff said.) On the blogger award, it has only been given out to seniors two years in a row. Insofar as I can tell, I’m the only person who has been a finalist two years in a row. (with the possible exception of my friends at the Oregon Commentator.)

The point of all this? See if you can attack me on the merits of my arguments, not on your own hatred for someone who dares to think differently about big topics differently than you do. And do please come out of the wood work and hate on me in public. It’s much easier that way to know who to avoid.

he sucks but let him suck

I sympathize with the commenters on this post, but you guys just don’t get it. “Charles C. Johnson” doesn’t care how many people hate him because there will always be those few people who think it’s admirable that he’s (a nut job) going against the grain of society (fighting the man!). If he cared about what people thought of him, he wouldn’t use his middle initial and facebook friend every member of the class of 2012 and 2013 before they even get to CMC. Trying to teach him life lessons is like reasoning with a religious fanatic– he’ll always be crazy but you’ll try to reason with him anyway.

He isn’t even wrong about most things, which is the sad part. He’s just such an asshole that the people who matter at CMC don’t listen to him or take him seriously at this point. Ask an administrator, admissions officer, or even an aware faculty member if they know of him and if they do, they’ll diplomatically agree that he’s a joke. He has no tact, and it will be his downfall. It has been already (blogger award, girlfriend, etc.)

http://claremontconservative.com Charles C. Johnson

The reason I use the middle initial is that I have received a lot of very weird emails and facebook messages from people who do not and have never met me. (There are over 700 Charles Johnsons in the Boston area alone, most of them black.) The reason I friend everyone at CMC is that I friend everyone at CMC, regardless of whether or not we get along or even like each other. I’ve found, however, that it’s much easier to respond to people on Facebook when they have questions about CMC than to field the email requests that I get from parents and administrators. I believe in living an open life and so I don’t much care if people see my photos or read my profile.

I’m curious as to “who the people that matter” are. I’ve never been able to tell and I’d love to know. I’m reminded of that funny quotation about “the people who mind don’t matter and that the people that matter don’t mind.” I think about that often at this place.

Are those that matter the Board of Trustees? If so, I’m routinely in communication with at least a few of them. One of them even described my blog as a ” CMC treasure.”

Are those that matter the Administration? I almost always get my emails responded to and find them all to be very diligent, nice people who occasionally disagree with me on matters of school policy. (David and Kyle come to mind.) And I’ve seen my role as a blogger to help them make good decisions from time to time.

Are those that matter the professors? The professors because I have never received anything but a glowing recommendation letter from anyone I’ve asked, including several who have asked me to work for them on their books.

Are those that matter, the admissions officers? I have given tours, officially and unofficially at CMC and I’ve been asked to write for CMC Nation, hosted prospective students, etc. In fact, at least one of the admissions officers I would consider a good friend.

If those that matter are the self-appointed, busy body, policy making, wannabe lefty elites who go to the parties and are oh so cool, I can think of no greater group to have despise me. I enjoy their snide and pathetic anonymous comments and attacks on me because it confirms to me that I’m doing what I should be. My role is not to be liked, but to believe in things and to advocate them. You say “no tact”; I say “chutzpah.”

On the point about the girlfriend, good riddance. (Remember the quotation from before about the people that matter? ‘Nuff said.) On the blogger award, it has only been given out to seniors two years in a row. Insofar as I can tell, I’m the only person who has been a finalist two years in a row. (with the possible exception of my friends at the Oregon Commentator.)

The point of all this? See if you can attack me on the merits of my arguments, not on your own hatred for someone who dares to think differently about big topics differently than you do. And do please come out of the wood work and hate on me in public. It’s much easier that way to know who to avoid.

freshmen parking on campus

Holy shit, can we stay on topic? Don’t let one guy divert everyone’s attention away from the freshmen and toward himself.

Dean Huang is doing a fine job and I doubt this change will be permanent, though I’m not sure if it is wise in the first place. Students will no doubt have a large say over whether the freshman parking policy continues or not– these decisions are not made behind closed doors by some autocratic regime; they will be made with the input of students and ultimately, the Board of Trustees.

Also, all this means is that freshmen cannot park legally on campus. There are plenty of ways around that, so I think DOS will find that the best solution is just to allow it in the first place. Either way, I don’t think this is intended as a long-term policy– it’s almost definitely a one year thing.

http://claremontconservative.com Charles C. Johnson

Alas, I’m afraid not, freshmen parking on campus. Some people care a lot more about attacking me than they do about whether or not our younger students end up with the privileges that ought to be theirs. Their hatred blinds them to the fact that even if they disagree with me politically, this policy is still wrong.

I’m not convinced that this is a temporary measure. Think about it. The college is investing in a bike shop on campus. Do you really think that they are going to want their being more cars on campus?

We’ve asked Dean Huang repeatedly if this will be a temporary measure and he says to wait until the master plan is handed down.
http://www.claremontconservative.com/2009/07/dean-huangs-answers-to-my-questions.html

Call it a bold prediction, but I bet its permanent. Why else would the CMC administration make a point of bringing up that other colleges — with a lot more parking — were also restricting freshmen from having cars on campus?

Here’s a statement he gave to me about it. It looks like the freshmen will continue to suffer due to “environmental” and “community” concerns.

B

Well, to play the devil’s advocate, there WERE alot of freshman, both my year and the year after, that did not need a car at all. Basically, they were there to show off wealth or that “hey, look at me, I can drive off campus, look at me!” sort of thing. Maybe for freshman who have a legitimate job or something, they should get one. Otherwise, if you have sports or something at a club in Claremont, you can easily bike there. Most things are in biking distance.

freshmen parking on campus

Holy shit, can we stay on topic? Don’t let one guy divert everyone’s attention away from the freshmen and toward himself.

Dean Huang is doing a fine job and I doubt this change will be permanent, though I’m not sure if it is wise in the first place. Students will no doubt have a large say over whether the freshman parking policy continues or not– these decisions are not made behind closed doors by some autocratic regime; they will be made with the input of students and ultimately, the Board of Trustees.

Also, all this means is that freshmen cannot park legally on campus. There are plenty of ways around that, so I think DOS will find that the best solution is just to allow it in the first place. Either way, I don’t think this is intended as a long-term policy– it’s almost definitely a one year thing.

http://claremontconservative.com Charles C. Johnson

Alas, I’m afraid not, freshmen parking on campus. Some people care a lot more about attacking me than they do about whether or not our younger students end up with the privileges that ought to be theirs. Their hatred blinds them to the fact that even if they disagree with me politically, this policy is still wrong.

I’m not convinced that this is a temporary measure. Think about it. The college is investing in a bike shop on campus. Do you really think that they are going to want their being more cars on campus?

We’ve asked Dean Huang repeatedly if this will be a temporary measure and he says to wait until the master plan is handed down.
http://www.claremontconservative.com/2009/07/dean-huangs-answers-to-my-questions.html

Call it a bold prediction, but I bet its permanent. Why else would the CMC administration make a point of bringing up that other colleges — with a lot more parking — were also restricting freshmen from having cars on campus?

Here’s a statement he gave to me about it. It looks like the freshmen will continue to suffer due to “environmental” and “community” concerns.

B

Well, to play the devil’s advocate, there WERE alot of freshman, both my year and the year after, that did not need a car at all. Basically, they were there to show off wealth or that “hey, look at me, I can drive off campus, look at me!” sort of thing. Maybe for freshman who have a legitimate job or something, they should get one. Otherwise, if you have sports or something at a club in Claremont, you can easily bike there. Most things are in biking distance.

Righty Elite

lol @ “the self-appointed, busy body, policy making, wannabe lefty elites who go to the parties and are oh so cool”

what/who the hell are you even talking about? what’s wrong with “policy making,” going to “the parties,” or being well-liked/cool? what are you so bitter about?

this is either a string of words that would come out of a seventh grader’s mouth or like when a schizophrenic is convinced the “trapezoid people” are out to get him. you’re either as immature as a child or absolutely insane. i guess it’s a thin line, but you walk it.
Righty Elite

lol @ “the self-appointed, busy body, policy making, wannabe lefty elites who go to the parties and are oh so cool”

what/who the hell are you even talking about? what’s wrong with “policy making,” going to “the parties,” or being well-liked/cool? what are you so bitter about?

this is either a string of words that would come out of a seventh grader’s mouth or like when a schizophrenic is convinced the “trapezoid people” are out to get him. you’re either as immature as a child or absolutely insane. i guess it’s a thin line, but you walk it.
Patrick Atwater

All I want to know is when did people stop being in favor of hazing Freshman? What’s society coming to…
Patrick Atwater

All I want to know is when did people stop being in favor of hazing Freshman? What’s society coming to…
Huh?

“(There are over 700 Charles Johnsons in the Boston area alone, most of them black.)”

Most of them black. Most of them black? What does that have to do with anything? Trying to dissociate yourself from those “weird” blacks?

Are you kidding?

Good work, genius. You’ve got serious paranoia issues if you are really reading racism into that comment.

http://claremontconservative.com Charles C. Johnson

Finally: common sense.

I’m trying to differentiate myself from other people with a similar name.

Andrew,

If I criticized every unnecessary comment on here, Abhi’s traffic would fall off.

Huh?

“(There are over 700 Charles Johnsons in the Boston area alone, most of them black.)”

Most of them black. Most of them black? What does that have to do with anything? Trying to dissociate yourself from those “weird” blacks?

Are you kidding?

Good work, genius. You’ve got serious paranoia issues if you are really reading racism into that comment.

http://claremontconservative.com Charles C. Johnson

Finally: common sense.

I’m trying to differentiate myself from other people with a similar name.

Andrew,

If I criticized every unnecessary comment on here, Abhi’s traffic would fall off.

http://claremontportside.com Andrew Bluebond

@ Are you kidding?

I am not sure it’s fair to say that one has paranoia issues if they are a little uneasy with comments like the one CJ made about “most of them” being black; however, I also don’t think that there is a clear case of racism. I am not sure what the purpose of the comment was, but it does strike me as entirely unnecessary.
http://claremontportside.com Andrew Bluebond

@ Are you kidding?

I am not sure it’s fair to say that one has paranoia issues if they are a little uneasy with comments like the one CJ made about “most of them” being black; however, I also don’t think that there is a clear case of racism. I am not sure what the purpose of the comment was, but it does strike me as entirely unnecessary.
…

There’s absolutely no indication that Charle’s comment was racist. Treating race as something morally arbitrary doesn’t mean we can’t use it to distinguish ourselves. Can you imagine anyone getting the slightest bit upset if a black student had said his name was common and that most of the people who shared his name were white? I’m not in love with the talk radio PC bashers, but this is ridiculous.

Also, Andrew, you kind of open yourself up to the standard talking points critique of liberalism with your pussyfooting, 5 shades of nuance response. Just saying.
…

There’s absolutely no indication that Charle’s comment was racist. Treating race as something morally arbitrary doesn’t mean we can’t use it to distinguish ourselves. Can you imagine anyone getting the slightest bit upset if a black student had said his name was common and that most of the people who shared his name were white? I’m not in love with the talk radio PC bashers, but this is ridiculous.

Also, Andrew, you kind of open yourself up to the standard talking points critique of liberalism with your pussyfooting, 5 shades of nuance response. Just saying.
Back on topic…

Rather than making ourselves look like complete idiots by degrading one another (welcome to the forum, freshmen). Let’s act like adults and discuss the issue at hand. A couple of observations:

1. Last year there was severely fewer available student parking spots than the prior year, with a noticeably greater number of cars parked in the lot at Bisantz (partially because there is now actually a reason to park there, but also because Bauer and South Lot were consistently full).

2. Regardless, we could still accommodate freshman cars if the administration so desired, however in light of environmental initiatives, plus the Kravis Center lawsuit, clearly the school is trying to cater to environmentalist concerns without considering student culture/well being.

3. I am in full support of allowing freshman to bring cars- I had a car and needed it freshman year- however let’s be honest, there are very few who actually use their cars often.

4. A solution: Tiernan Field House parking garage at Scripps is essentially adjacent to CMC North Quad. It also happens to never be more than 20% occupied. I know I would be willing to pay a lot more than $50 per semester in return for guaranteed covered parking (especially covered- the paint on my car is literally destroyed after 3 years in Claremont). Given the occupancy rate at Scripps, the proximity to CMC, and the potential willingness of CMC students to shell out for these spaces, I don’t see why we can’t work out an arrangement that makes both Scripps and CMC better off (gotta love those Pareto improving outcomes).

http://claremontconservative.com Charles C. Johnson

I agree with all of your observations and would get behind it. We’ve already suggested moving to the Scripps parking lot, but there seems to be little political will to get that done. Thoughts on how we might change that?

Back on Topic

ok seriously, what makes you think it matters if you get behind it? who asked you to be anything? nobody wants “help” from a self-appointed and self-important attention-seeker

genius

good idea and good observation on the paint job thing. 3 years in LA will do that. I just got done spending $150 on a detail and should spend another $220 or so on a touch up paint job that wouldn’t have been necessary if I had been in a covered lot. Like you, I’d be more than willing to pay a bit more to use Scripps’ lot. I’ve thought of registering my car through a Scripps friend but thats too shady for me. Although I think you are on to something. Perhaps if people can take their teenage angst and direct it towards actual protest or letter writing, we can get Scripps to work out a deal. And by actual protest and letter writing I don’t mean making vague threats on banning scrippsies from all CMC events on a facebook group with ~ 150 people, none of whom I recognize as being involved with ASCMC finances.

Personally, I don’t see too much of an issue with banning freshmen cars (assuming there are exceptions for extenuating circumstances) but I’d be more than happy to lend my time and support to a legitimately organized group that had clear goals and clear plans of action which addressed the above posters’ concerns. Perhaps someone can make a facebook group about that. I’d suggest by polling some CMCers on how much they would pay for Scripps parking. I’d pay somewhere between $150 and $200, and then send Scripps admin a proposal. If we can get even 100 CMCers to pay that, well, its hard to turn down a free $15-20k in a recession when one’s endowment has shrunken by at least a third or so (last I checked). Thats a full scholarship basically. Better yet, “force” Scripps to open up their lot by creating a scholarship from funds raised from parking fees. I’m sure their alumni base wouldn’t be happy to hear they rejected a full scholarship in order to keep their lot isolated, but Scripps alum are weird about Scripps’ isolationist policies so maybe I’m wrong.

Back on topic…

Rather than making ourselves look like complete idiots by degrading one another (welcome to the forum, freshmen). Let’s act like adults and discuss the issue at hand. A couple of observations:

1. Last year there was severely fewer available student parking spots than the prior year, with a noticeably greater number of cars parked in the lot at Bisantz (partially because there is now actually a reason to park there, but also because Bauer and South Lot were consistently full).

2. Regardless, we could still accommodate freshman cars if the administration so desired, however in light of environmental initiatives, plus the Kravis Center lawsuit, clearly the school is trying to cater to environmentalist concerns without considering student culture/well being.

3. I am in full support of allowing freshman to bring cars- I had a car and needed it freshman year- however let’s be honest, there are very few who actually use their cars often.

4. A solution: Tiernan Field House parking garage at Scripps is essentially adjacent to CMC North Quad. It also happens to never be more than 20% occupied. I know I would be willing to pay a lot more than $50 per semester in return for guaranteed covered parking (especially covered- the paint on my car is literally destroyed after 3 years in Claremont). Given the occupancy rate at Scripps, the proximity to CMC, and the potential willingness of CMC students to shell out for these spaces, I don’t see why we can’t work out an arrangement that makes both Scripps and CMC better off (gotta love those Pareto improving outcomes).

http://claremontconservative.com Charles C. Johnson

I agree with all of your observations and would get behind it. We’ve already suggested moving to the Scripps parking lot, but there seems to be little political will to get that done. Thoughts on how we might change that?

Back on Topic

ok seriously, what makes you think it matters if you get behind it? who asked you to be anything? nobody wants “help” from a self-appointed and self-important attention-seeker

genius

good idea and good observation on the paint job thing. 3 years in LA will do that. I just got done spending $150 on a detail and should spend another $220 or so on a touch up paint job that wouldn’t have been necessary if I had been in a covered lot. Like you, I’d be more than willing to pay a bit more to use Scripps’ lot. I’ve thought of registering my car through a Scripps friend but thats too shady for me. Although I think you are on to something. Perhaps if people can take their teenage angst and direct it towards actual protest or letter writing, we can get Scripps to work out a deal. And by actual protest and letter writing I don’t mean making vague threats on banning scrippsies from all CMC events on a facebook group with ~ 150 people, none of whom I recognize as being involved with ASCMC finances.

Personally, I don’t see too much of an issue with banning freshmen cars (assuming there are exceptions for extenuating circumstances) but I’d be more than happy to lend my time and support to a legitimately organized group that had clear goals and clear plans of action which addressed the above posters’ concerns. Perhaps someone can make a facebook group about that. I’d suggest by polling some CMCers on how much they would pay for Scripps parking. I’d pay somewhere between $150 and $200, and then send Scripps admin a proposal. If we can get even 100 CMCers to pay that, well, its hard to turn down a free $15-20k in a recession when one’s endowment has shrunken by at least a third or so (last I checked). Thats a full scholarship basically. Better yet, “force” Scripps to open up their lot by creating a scholarship from funds raised from parking fees. I’m sure their alumni base wouldn’t be happy to hear they rejected a full scholarship in order to keep their lot isolated, but Scripps alum are weird about Scripps’ isolationist policies so maybe I’m wrong.

http://claremontconservative.com Charles C. Johnson

@Back on Topic,

I’m just a concerned citizen with 1500 people reading my content per day and an inbox full of email from freshmen parents. That’s all. Carry on insulting me.
http://claremontconservative.com Charles C. Johnson

@Back on Topic,

I’m just a concerned citizen with 1500 people reading my content per day and an inbox full of email from freshmen parents. That’s all. Carry on insulting me.
@ Back on Topic

WTF ARE YOU THINKING!!! Charles is incredibly powerful. Didn’t you know? He gets 1500 hits a day!!! (That’s not to mention a full inbox).

http://claremontconservative.com Charles C. Johnson

Sigh. Welcome to the post-modern kangaroo court, freshmen — where everyone’s a critic and no one stands for anything but sniping and being snarky.

@ Back on Topic

WTF ARE YOU THINKING!!! Charles is incredibly powerful. Didn’t you know? He gets 1500 hits a day!!! (That’s not to mention a full inbox).

http://claremontconservative.com Charles C. Johnson

Sigh. Welcome to the post-modern kangaroo court, freshmen — where everyone’s a critic and no one stands for anything but sniping and being snarky.

Photos
Videos
Activity
Tweets

Follow @cmcforum

Dean of Students Explains ‘No Cars for Freshmen’

More posts by Abhi Nemani »

Abhi Nemani