Henry Kravis ‘67 knows a thing or two about Claremont McKenna College’s oft-heard tagline “leaders in the making.” As co-founder of the international private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), Mr. Kravis has built a multi-billion dollar empire and made serious waves in the business world.

Mr. Kravis is among CMC’s greatest benefactors and most recently, contributed the funds for the new Kravis Center facility located on the westernmost part of campus. The $80 million building is the largest on CMC’s campus and houses faculty offices, classrooms, and a much-needed underground parking structure. The Kravis Center also unites five of CMC’s touted research institutes under one roof.

Three years after breaking ground, CMC celebrated the opening of the Kravis Center on Friday, October 21, 2011. As part of the convocation ceremonies, Mr. Kravis spoke with Tova Markowitz ’12 and Heath Hyatt ’12 at an Athenaeum luncheon. Mr. Kravis discussed lessons learned as a major corporate figure at KKR and emphasized the importance of a liberal arts education in today’s globalized world. In his opinion, successful CEOs are those that can innovate to adapt to a changing world and shifting markets. “There are very few companies today that aren’t somehow affected by what’s going on in the rest of the world,” said Mr. Kravis.

Below is a video recording of Mr. Kravis’s visit to the Athenaeum. The video also appears on CMC’s website.

Conversation with Henry Kravis ’67 from Claremont McKenna College on Vimeo.

While many students who came into CMC with strong backgrounds in their high school bands, orchestras or art programs have adjusted to CMC’s lack of an art program, some still ask for CMC to change its ways.

Sophomore Chelsea Durgin says, “Students would really benefit from art as an outlet to the stress of school… I think that a lot of students at CMC are extremely talented in the arts, but they can’t express themselves because of the CMC reputation.”

Devashish Dey performs at the Athenaeum (Photo by Warren Bessant)

For students from neighboring schools and artistically-inclined CMCers, the school’s image as a leadership-driven institution for go-getters has left its commitment to the art world by the wayside. CMC has abandoned some traits of average liberal arts schools and become the economics-oriented school that it is, but as Durgin says, this doesn’t mean that CMC students are devoid of any artistic talent.

The idea of pursuing art on campus has inched into the spotlight with the appearance of Stark’s new piano and with growing involvement with arts organizations at the 5Cs. Yet, some students still argue that CMC is not currently an art-friendly school and believe that there is a stigma associated with pursuing a degree in the arts.

Freshman Becca Rosenthal says, “At the very least we can start putting student artwork in Kravis, but ideally there should be an arts GE.” Those who are proponents of larger changes to CMC’s image like Rosenthal argue that the school could start embracing its liberal arts label by requiring students to study art.

For other students, calling Claremont McKenna a liberal arts school is almost a misnomer. CMC has a unique approach to providing students with a well-rounded education: we receive the benefits of a liberal arts school, yet we’re unlike any other. One of the things that sets us apart is a focus on creating leaders in business and the professions. Advocates of CMC’s leadership-oriented mission point out that our access to the resources at the other 4Cs – including arts programs like theater, music, studio art, and art history – allow us to bypass the implementation of our own arts program.

Indeed, those who actively pursue the arts have many opportunities, even as a CMC student, to be involved in the arts. A CMC-specific theater club Under the Lights allows students an outlet for artistic expression. Other 5C opportunities include taking part in KSPC, Pomona’s student radio station; an acapella choir like Shades; or Without a Box, the Claremont Colleges’ improv group. For those students willing to integrate with the rest of the 5Cs, the abundance of artistic opportunities on our neighboring campuses offer CMCers a chance to pursue their artistic passions with ease. The beauty of the consortium is that each of the schools can specialize in a few fields, instead of attempting to do everything at once, which would be redundant and ineffective.

Local band Songword performs at the Motley on Scripps College campus (Photo by Yuqiao Guo)

The accessibility of the other Claremont Colleges and their strengths in the arts balance out the unique liberal arts appeal of CMC. The administration faces a choice between encouraging the appreciation of art at CMC and offering art programs on CMC’s campus. But one thing is sure: when it comes to whether art should be more encouraged on campus or remain an untouched issue, Freshman Erika Sa says, “I want more!” The best resolution is for CMC to encourage students to appreciate and participate in some form of art, but continue to utilize the other art programs in the Claremont Consortium instead of devoting resources and time to building a new one at CMC. In other words, take advantage of the resources that the consortium offers.

CMC students’ interest in pursuing art academically is less common perhaps than at other 5C institutions. Appeals for drastic changes to CMC’s academic focus seem to be coming from a unique group of students who would like CMC to acknowledge the importance of art by offering art programs on campus. However, this desire does not seem to apply to most students and thus no change will likely be made.

But CMC students as a whole do not disregard the arts entirely. The claim that students don’t care about art because CMC is a school focused on a couple of strong programs is simply not true. It is true, however, tacking on an art department to CMC’s academic offerings would not increase the benefit to CMC students enough to justify the cost. It would be both widely beneficial and much easier for the student body to simply ask CMC for more on-campus practice rooms or to see more student-made art in the hallways of our dorms. Adding small things like pianos or providing an area just to hang out and play music would give CMC some artistic flavor of its own. We don’t have to drop our reputation as a school of industrious students in order to appreciate the arts – we can embrace it without becoming a run-of-the-mill liberal arts school. With the new piano in Stark and the ever-growing involvement of students in artistic programs on and off campus, it seems like we’re on the right track.

It was a busy semester at CMC.

CMC moved up in the rankings to the 9^th best Liberal Arts College in the country.

The Kravis Center officially opened to students and faculty.  The Living Room (affectionately known as ‘the Kube’) attracted students’ attention  after some technical difficulties and the administration’s initial decision to limit access to students. This was all before the Kube became home to one Pomona student’s temporary interpretive dance studio.

The fall semester also celebrated and embodied student leadership at CMC.  Students started a movement to do a better job of cleaning up after parties and led an effort to change our campus conversation about sex and gender norms. Trying bridge the gap between our Building Attendants and their residents, the Forum got to know some of CMC’s friendliest staff members. CMCers led a campaign to be more environmentally friendly on campus and coordinated a day of reflection on 9/11. Others took the lead in social activity planning, expanding student involvement with Dean of Students and creating the College Programming Board (check out the big name they are bringing to campus). Student initiative also brought the popular TED talks to the Claremont Colleges, hosting a TEDx conference in September.

CMC also faced a number of challenges in the fall of 2011: an unexpected over-enrollment of students forced the conversion of two popular study spaces into four-person rooms and a large number of students returning to CMC in the spring from fall study abroad programs led to an on-campus housing crisis.  The story behind the “Marks Squatter” brought some humor to a rather-serious-but-now resolved issue of on-campus visitors.

The Associated Students of Claremont McKenna College was hard at work all semester, advocating for students on issues such as increased study spaces, building a better quality of life, and providing some much needed snack time.

The Occupy Movement swept the nation this semester and arrived at the doorstep of our Claremont Colleges. Students were active in the protests in Claremont, Los Angeles, and the rest of the nation. Indeed, two Pitzer students were arrested for their involvement in the Occupy LA protests.  Political dialogue was alive and well, especially towards the end of the semester, when CMC welcomed former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to our campus. Many 5C students, however, had a different plan in mind and formed an “unwelcoming” party for Rice’s visit. The planned protests forced a change in venue for Rice’s speech, which triggered an outcry from students. While the protests stirred up quite a controversy, the civility and political discourse throughout the evening exemplified students’ diversity of thought, without provoking violence or hostilities.

The Forum sat down with our very own college president Pamela Gann and discussed her current and future projects for the school, which included a revamp of the beloved North Quad and expanding the new Center for Civic Engagement.

But it wasn’t all business this semester at the Forum. Speaking with Paul Zak, a.k.a Dr. Love, the Forum got to hear the Doctor’s thoughts on love, life, and how giving 8 hugs a day will make the world a better place. Those student globe-trotters enjoying their study abroad experience took time to write home to CMC and share their experiences from far-off lands such as Washington D.C., South America, Italy and Oman. And for those bright-eyed freshmen, returning students and Dean Spellman gave them their two cents (sometimes musically) on how to navigate their first semester and discover how great this college really is.

We uncovered the top 5 companies that hire CMC students, brought Words with Friends lovers the 10 most useful Scrabble words, and suggested 8 classes to students that might have overlooked some academic treasures. Students contributed to the ongoing discussion on topics such as art, film, pop culture, public radio, music and concerts. And despite the delicious unveiling of a new Ath menu, the Forum offered some tips on how to stay healthy, even in the face of all those Rice Krispie treats.

A-Mitch even appeared for an encore.

ASCMC hosted a number of events this semester, improving on past traditions—Monte Carlo—and even starting some new ones—The Boardwalk Empire party and No Shave November. We know you can’t wait for the Wedding Party next spring—and neither can we. Expect even bigger surprises next semester.

Our tech guru offered some awesome tips on his #CMCTech blog, including advice on how to make your work faster and more effective, thoughts on the Semester in Silicon Valley Program and even a holiday gift guide (it’s never too late to get that perfect present).

The Forum also better incorporated sports into our publication. The Forum now offers live broadcasts of all home CMS athletic games, complete with video and audio from student broadcasters.  We celebrated triumph, defeat and the utter domination at SCIACs.  The publication also took and in-depth look at sports at CMC and uncovered how SCIAC rules hurt CMS recruiting high school athletes and what many are doing to save the Intramural program.

Outside of the CMC bubble, the Forum checked in with our beloved Claremont village, celebrating the once-in-a-century Zipcode Day (9/17/11=91711) and partaking in the delicious festivities at the California Beer Festival.

It was a busy semester and time for reflecting has just begun. First, we would like to thank you, our readers, for your support, comments, advice, kindness, crudeness, humor and thoughtful discussion. But, we have one more request. The Forum has grown considerably in the last semester but we want to know how we can continue to improve. Below is a short survey that we hope you will fill out so we can make this publication stronger. We look forward to hearing your constructive thoughts, suggestions and comments.

The Forum wishes you a wonderful break and a restful holiday. We promise to bring you the best in news, opinions, and insights from Claremont College students as we enter our spring semester. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading with us this fall, and we’ll see you in 2012!

The jokes, however, turned bitter when former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited CMC’s campus on November 30th.  Campus news articles and blog posts became online battlegrounds of political rhetoric, pitting “conservative” CMC students against “liberal” Pitzer students.  On the campuses themselves, there was a prescient sense of animosity; in class, I could truly sense a distance among Pitzer students during some of the more heated days of the online controversies.

Most people, Pitzer and CMC students alike, went to Ducey Gymnasium on Wednesday expecting to be involved in a tense shouting match.  In some small ways, the expected malice was there. When I introduced myself as a CMC student to Marcus, a demonstrating Pitzer student, his response was “you’re from CMC?  Baby-killer!” Marcus, however, certainly was not representative of the entire student population at the protests on Wednesday.  In general, the protests were incredibly constructive and peaceful, with little in the way of altercations beyond a few students who seemed intent on provoking a fight where there was none to be found.

Indeed, the aggressors in the crowd seemed to be more the exception than the rule.  Protestors and CMC students alike were generally incredibly respectful of one another.

Christian Neumeister, a CMC freshman who attended the talk, was understanding of the protests. “I certainly think [the protestors] have the right to voice their opinions.  I don’t necessarily agree with their opinions, but it’s their fundamental American right to voice them,” Neumeister said.

An unnamed Pitzer demonstrator agreed: “CMC brought Dr. Rice because it hopes to foster a discussion as part of its Athenaeum program.  That is all well and good – the reason we’re here is not to stop that discussion, but rather to promote our own outside.”

The protests themselves were very different from the disorganized mess that some predicted they would be. During the talk, professors and students lectured bystanders and demonstrators on different topics, which ranged from the use of torture to the impetus behind the Iraq War.  Near the Northeast corner of the parking lot, a group of students held a waterboarding demonstration in order to provoke student dialogue around the moral and ethical issues involved with the practice.  These lectures – while certainly biased to present an anti-Condoleezza Rice perspective – created an environment more conducive to learning than to accusation, and were a welcome presence on a college campus.

Feel free to chalk it up to my freshman naiveté and optimism, but this made me happy to be a student at the 5Cs.  To me, the 5Cs are built on a certain morale and community camaraderie that governs our campus-to-campus interactions, including a certain sports rivalry (in which CMS is most certainly superior).  It is certainly true that the anonymity and immediacy of the Internet allowed the controversy of Dr. Rice’s visit to become more malicious than intended.  Yet, once CMC and Pitzer students were face to face, the conversation took on a human face, one that represented our students in a much more flattering light.

The entrance to the talk was crowded with several dozen protesters from the 5C’s and the surrounding community. The gathering of dissenters held signs, which varied in messages from peaceful indignation to vulgar allegations. “War benefits the 1%,” read one sign and another displayed a photo of Rice’s face superimposed on a hyper-sexualized image of Wonder Woman.  The protest itself, dubbed “Unwelcoming Condoleezza Rice,” was organized by Pitzer students Emma French ’13, Vincent Giannotti ’12, and Liz Scherffius’13, who hoped to “open a discussion on how foreign policy is, and should be, made.”

When asked whether they believed that the protest — which drew its influence from the Karl Rove Athenaeum protests of 2008 – could possibly be construed as impolite, French responded that “CMC students need to straighten out their priorities; Condoleezza’s crimes are so much more severe than rudeness.” French further explained that the “demonstrators were upset with the protest zone” and felt that it was “not accommodating.” When pressed about the private property laws that would allow CMC administration to expel the protestors from even the zone appropriated to them, French continued to assert that the “restriction had no basis.”

While the event was held and sponsored by CMC, French stressed that the issue was “not about Pitzer or CMC ideology,” but rather about “the larger effect,” and that “making the argument otherwise is incredibly shallow.” Some students did take the time to talk to the protestors, attempting to decipher the argument which “got bogged down in ideological rhetoric,” explains Kyle Gosselin’14, who spoke with the protesters for the duration of the lecture. Gosselin continued that his “impression was that they were expressing their opinions, and even though [he] disagreed wholeheartedly, [he] respects them for getting out there and doing it.” Others, like Sae Bin Park ’12 were not quite so receptive, claiming, “no one cares about liberals at CMC and what they have to say.” Overall, however, French expressed her great satisfaction with the event, explaining that it had turned out “a hundred times better than [she] ever expected,” and that she was “proud that [the protesters] proved [they] could have really strong opinions without being disrespectful.”

The lecture itself began with a lighthearted jab at the evening’s venue change as Athenaeum Fellow Jake Petzold ’12 remarked, “Welcome to the…where are we?” After his introduction, Rice began her discussion on policy-making and her experience as Secretary of State in the President George W. Bush’s administration. Discussing her reaction in the wake of, the 9/11 attack, Rice described the aftermath of that unforgettable day as living every day “like it was September 12^th.” Rice also offered commentary on the state of certain countries throughout the world, noting Brazil and India as countries with great liability but expressing her appreciation for the value of their brand of “multiethnic democracy.” Rice went on to call China a miracle, contend that the upheavals and anger in the Middle East are “ultimately a better outcome than the silence of authoritarianism,” and describe the United States of America gone bad as the “biggest challenge to the United States of America.”

Aware of her college audience, Rice also stressed the importance of education and the pursuit of one’s passion as the key to happiness and success. Rice herself was a music major until the end of her sophomore year at University of Denver when she realized that she did not have the talent to play professionally. She then described her path to finding a major, eventually landing on becoming a Soviet specialist noting, “From that moment on, everything started to fall in place.” Rice then expressed her great belief in finding one’s passion, with great conviction in the idea that when you “find your passion, you will be a long way towards happiness and prosperity in life.” With this, she advised students to try something difficult, explaining, that “if you make yourself succeed in things that are hard for you, you will find that you are more fulfilled and that you find greater satisfaction in overcoming something that was hard for you than in doing something that was easy.”

Photo Credit: David Leathers

Her words were well-received by CMC students. Hillary Lundberg’14 describes the talk as “witty, honest, and inspiring – rare qualities in someone of her status and experience.”

Rice then took on a half hour of questions from the audience that ranged from her difficulties as a minority female, to foreign relations with Iran and Iraq, to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s “kind of creepy” affection for her. She addressed the administration’s use of water boarding as an “enhanced interrogation technique,” and defended it after the Justice Department deemed it legal  before it was used. In response to one question, Rice affirmed that “Iraq is still a lot better off without Saddam Hussein,” and she was “glad that we are not sitting here talking about an arms race, a nuclear arms race between Iran’s Ahmadinejad and Iraq’s Sadam Hussein, and that’s exactly where we would be.” She then went on to dub Iran the “most dangerous country in the world right now,” and suggest that tougher sanctions should be levied against the state. Rice cautioned, however, that for those students who hoped to influence policy, “take it one step at a time.”

Rice closed her talk stating, “I have no problem with protests, this country was born in protests,” in reference to the reactions of many to the decisions made in Iraq. But perhaps in her own nod to the protesters right outside Ducey Gymnasium, Rice noted that when people protest “they need to be sure they’re not getting in the way of others who might want to have a civil dialogue about differences.”

Editor’s Note: This article originally stated that the administration “defended it [an enhanced interrogation technique] as it passed through judicial review before it was used.” The Justice Department reviewed and deemed the action legal and it was not passed through judicial review. This article was updated at 11:30am on December 2, to reflect this change.

He began his story with his entrance into monastic school at the age of 10 in the early 1940s. Gyatso wanted to live as “a simple monk,” which he did for many years. On March 10th, 1959, at the age of 28 he met demonstrators on a road from the Tibetan capital. The protesters were holding a peaceful rally to protest the Communist Chinese regime’s occupation of Tibet, a rally that the monk gladly joined. Chinese soldiers soon broke up the protest, and Gyatso, along with many of his fellow demonstrators, was detained. He spent the next 33 years enduring torture in Chinese prisons.

CMC students with Palden Gyatso

Now in his late 70s, Palden Gyatso has traveled around the world speaking on behalf of the prisoners of Tibet. He has written a book, The Autobiography of a Tibetan Monk, which includes jarring pictures of various devices of torture that he was able to smuggle out of prison. These pictures were passed around to the students gathered for tea in the Athenaeum.

Sitting next to his translator, Gyatso took a minute to pause from his retelling and contemplate his dentures. He took them out and showed the assembled students. His translator chimed in, explaining that while in prison, soldiers attached electrodes to the inside of the monk’s mouth, causing all of his teeth to break and his tongue to forever lose the sensation of taste.

Gyatso went on to detail a game that the soldiers played with the Tibetan prisoners. The soldiers would ask them: “Is Tibet its own country?” If the prisoners refused to admit China’s dominance, they were stripped, put on a sling, whipped, and made to drink and bathe in scalding water. For Gyatso, to deny his own country’s sovereignty and swear loyalty to the Chinese would also mean renouncing his belief in freedom, renouncing the Dalai Lama, and, worst of all, renouncing his Buddhist faith. He never relented in his support of Tibet’s independence, and so for 33 years, until his release, he suffered cruel and violent torture.

Gyatso was finally freed due to overwhelming pressure on the Chinese government coming from the international community. He explained that it is through such international attention that Tibet and other oppressed peoples will gain freedom. His advice to graduates seeking to help is to find an internship or a job working for an international amnesty-seeking organization or a news organization to spread awareness of injustice. Many Tibetans still live under the heel of an oppressive regime, but if the international community can be made to focus on their plight, they, like Monk Palden Gyatso, can be freed.

In welcoming monk Gyatso to the college, Professor Edward Haley described CMC’s students as setting out to become leaders in the battle for human rights, no matter what career each student followed. As with Monk Gyatso’s release, the first step towards holding a superpower accountable is by making its actions known to the world. If students leave the college with that mission in mind, with the resources provided them by their education, and with the blessing of whistle-blowers like Palden Gyatso, they too can become leaders at the forefront of the battle for international justice.

To the CMC community:

As current and former Athenaeum Woolley Fellows, the Athenaeum holds a special place in our hearts – as it does for so many of you.  According to its mission statement, the “Athenaeum was conceived as a place where students and faculty could gather for intellectual discourse in an intimate and relaxed setting and integrate their academic and social lives.”  What sets the Athenaeum – and CMC – apart from other schools’ speaker series is not the caliber of the speakers alone, but a special setting that enables students, faculty, and guests to engage in a positive and productive exchange of ideas.

Unfortunately, Condoleezza Rice’s appearance on campus Wednesday night does not meet this goal.  We feel that Secretary Rice’s lecture, staged in Ducey gym, without a reception or dinner and with an auditorium-style arrangement, can no longer be considered an Athenaeum event.

The changes to the program undermine the spirit of the Athenaeum and intellectual discourse.  While we embrace the opportunity for more students to see Secretary Rice, the goal of a true learning experience would be better served by a live stream of an event that features meaningful dialogue.  The goal of the Ath is not to get the most people in the room.  An audience of 200 students who can engage in meaningful dialogue is preferable to an audience of 400 with no dialogue.  For students who won’t have a chance to engage Secretary Rice, what’s the difference between watching her lecture in person or on YouTube?  At least through a live stream, students can observe a valuable exchange.

A lot has been made of the fact that Secretary Rice is on a book tour and will likely deliver the same remarks here as she has at every other stop.  We don’t mean to dismiss the potential educational value of her talk.  However, a one-size-fits-all lecture elevates the importance of the unmediated interactions between students and guests that a reception and dinner offer – in short, the stuff that makes the Ath the Ath.  When Donald McKenna and CMC’s early leaders envisioned the Ath, they weren’t hoping that students could get their pictures taken with celebrities.  To herald that opportunity as a consolation is a mockery of the Athenaeum’s mission.

We are also extremely troubled by the precedent this change in format and location sets.  Dean Huang’s school-wide email cites the “possibility that people who have nothing to do with the Claremont Colleges will attend this rally and/or try to disrupt the program” as the primary security concern behind the move.  He adds, “Those individuals, whose numbers we cannot accurately estimate and whose intentions are unclear, may not care to abide by CMC’s rules or the rally organizers’ plans for a peaceful event.”  By enabling undefined, unknown, and only possible threats to dictate such a change, the school is caving to a threat that exists for every Ath dinner.

Even if the administration claims the change is a unique reaction to a one-time security challenge, their logic would still apply to any speaker that might inspire vocal opposition.  We cannot endorse this potential path toward sterilizing future Ath events. What makes the Ath worthwhile is thought-provoking and important topics and ideas, even when controversial.

We understand the security and logistical challenges the CMC administration faces in staging an event of this scale.  However, we feel that the school’s chosen course represents a drastic overreaction to a hypothetical threat – and a dangerous precedent for the Athenaeum and for academic discourse at CMC.  Are we done with having prominent or controversial speakers at the Athenaeum?  If the administration does not allow us to fairly address meaningful and fundamental issues in this setting, the Athenaeum serves little purpose.

Students can see big-name speakers in large gymnasia at any institution in the country – in fact, probably in much nicer facilities than ours.  The Athenaeum is unique to CMC and a vital part of our identity.  We think the school’s decisions in this matter threaten that identity.  We hope you will join us in discussing the role of the Athenaeum on our campus and how to preserve it in the face of controversy.

Sincerely,

Jake Petzold ‘12

Clare Riva ‘13

Jeremy B. Merrill ‘12

Pyper Scharer ‘13

Paige Costello ’12

David Nahmias ’10

Brian Davidson ’08

Sara Roberson ’09

Aaron Champagne ’10

Luke Johnson ’09

Occupy Claremont held an event to publicize their protest on Monday, November 21st, including a screening of the British comedy In the Loop, a dark parody of the political atmosphere surrounding the start of the Iraq War. It didn’t directly mention Iraq, President Bush, Condoleezza Rice, or any actual members of the American government, but it makes politicians look bad, so why not? For the record, I actually loved the movie and encourage readers to check it out.

I'd rather talk to Occupy Claremont

Following the screening, Pitzer professors Dan Segal and Geoffrey Herrera hosted a discussion about the film and its relation to the coming visit of Condoleezza Rice. During the course of their discussion, organizers of the Rice protest, with the help of Segal and Herrera, clarified their motivations for putting together the demonstration.

Namely: Condoleezza Rice, philanthropic pianist and advocate of increasing aid to Africa, is evil and CMC has nothing to learn from her. And that evil part? That’s no exaggeration, that’s straight out of the mouth of Professor Segal.

To begin, they pointed out repeatedly, we can’t actually learn anything from a decorated Stanford Professor and key figure in the American political scene, and if we can, we certainly can’t do it in person! As Herrera explained “We should all continue to learn from Condoleezza Rice, but you don’t have to listen to her in order to do that.” Segal added, “She’s much more polished and practiced at this than the people in the audience, so she’s ready for everything so it’s not actually going to be an open exchange.”

Our mistake, I guess we should be learning from Condoleezza Rice by ignoring her. What were we thinking? How could we ever hope to glean any insight from an individual with polish and an aptitude for public speaking. Perhaps we could invite Joe Biden instead?

Rather than listening to Rice, organizers of the protest hope that you will instead elect to learn from them at their “teach-ins” where they will provide lectures on her “crimes against humanity.”  That sure sounds like a non-biased, quality educational opportunity to me, especially when anyone is allowed to lead one.

But why protest the event? The professors and organizers attending the film screening provided a large variety of reasons for protesting the event, some of which make less sense than others and some of which make no sense at all. Here’s what the event organizers (who did not give their names) had to say. One hoped to “bring up the fact that [the Iraq War] is not over yet.” Maybe she hasn’t heard that it will be in less than two months. Another boldly and incoherently charged, “I feel that she should not be educating college students on policy because she did not follow policy while she was National Security Advisor,” while a third proclaimed, “It’s not just about her as an individual, it’s the fact that people use Condoleezza Rice to say that we live in a post-racialized, post-sexualized society because a women of color got into such a high position of power, which is not the case … and that’s also part of the reason why we’re bringing awareness to what’s going on.”

So there you have it. The student masterminds behind this particular endeavor want to remind everyone that a war that is just weeks away from ending is not, in fact, over yet, that policy is apparently synonymous with protocol, and that the success of one talented African American woman proves the horrible racism and sexism that is crippling this nation.

The professors justifications for the demonstration were a little easier to follow, but no less questionable. When asked directly about the purpose of the protest, for example, Professor Herrera explained, “The thing that’s most astonishing to me perhaps about those that were involved in foreign policy decision-making during the Bush administration is that none have really suffered for it.” He may be right. Perhaps Condoleezza Rice, a well respected public figure and successful professor, will experience such profound suffering at the sight of a few dozen college students calling her names while she talks about her very lucrative book, that she will change her direction in life entirely and sign up to work for Ralph Nader.

Professor Segal, on the other hand, criticized those who “put their careers first, as Condoleezza Rice I think has quite consistently for decades.” First, over what? Justice, he seems to think. He does make the ironclad point that “She was without question on duty when the United States went to the UN and lied to justify to going to the war. She was without question on duty when the United States made decisions to use torture against its prisoners.” Sounds fair. Rice is evil because she did not resign when the general political goings on were unsatisfactory for two Pitzer professors and Occupy Claremont, who, by the way, have actually set up a small Occupy encampment over on 2nd street. Feel free to visit and show your support for their efforts to block sidewalks and demonstrate that you can, in fact, Occupy Wall Street while still on main street.

It is the right of Claremont McKenna College as an independent institution to invite who we choose to our school, with or without the expressed written consent of Occupy Claremont and a select group of Pitzer students. They have a right to their opinions, but not the right to push them on us. In response, I hope that CMC’ers will pack the Athenaeum this Wednesday. Let’s show the demonstrators that we don’t need their approval to exercise our right to learn from whomever we choose to.

“It’s beautiful,” Rosa says, savoring a spoonful of yogurt for lunch, when asked about the rejuvenated Athenauem. She does note, however, that the new fixtures take longer and more effort to clean, something that surely does not come to the minds of most Ath admirers. The Ath runs on an exceptionally tight schedule, keeping Rosa constantly on her toes. She has to make the most of the small window of time she often gets between events. Rosa ensures that all three meeting rooms, the lobby, along with the guest rooms for speakers are always readily available for use. After peeking at her schedule, we wonder how she manages this on her own, despite her clearly conscientious time management. Rosa reveals she has a support system in friend Rosie Lupercio, who shares some of the work at times of need.

Before becoming the hidden hero of the Ath, Rosa spent her childhood in the beautiful and rainy Michoacán, a riverine state of Mexico. She moved to United States as an adult, seeking better education and ultimately a brighter future for her children. The family settled in nearby Pomona, making frequent trips to Michoacán during vacations. When it came to finding a job, Rosa prayed for two things: that she wouldn’t have to drive far and she would find work in housekeeping. Luckily, employment at CMC provided both of these things. Rosa began as a temporary housekeeper on the campus over the summer of 2004. In a happy coincidence she became an official employee of the College on September 1, her birthday. “It was like a birthday gift,” she says.

Although it is hard to imagine where she finds the spare time, Rosa is an avid reader and worries about the declining reading culture among younger generations. On her much-deserved down time, she especially enjoys perusing theories that explore meditation strategies. As a mother of a teenager and three young adults, Rosa also keeps an eye out for books that help her understand her kids. “I also read books that are similar to the Chicken Soup for the Soul series,” she tells us, remembering that she recently picked up a copy of The Tree of Life for her son. Rosa isn’t sure whether he has actually read it but she sure isn’t giving up. She takes him to the library frequently and encourages him to check out books. “My girls all read but the boys don’t like to read at all,” she says before asking if things are the same with us. We sheepishly admit to our poor reading habits, and actually mean it when we say we’ll try to do more.

Rosa herself is working on honing her English skills. She first enrolled in ESL (English as a second language) classes (available to CMC employees) when she began working. Today, she is able to see the results and is happy with how much she has picked up. “I can understand most of what is said during meetings now,” she says. Even though her English is already quite good, she plans to continue working on it until she is fully fluent.

Rosa’s dreams for her family and children are slowly being realized. Her eldest daughter has completed a Master’s in Education and now works as a guidance counselor at a high school. Her eldest son is a loan officer for a bank, and Rosa is radiantly proud of both. The rest of the kids are also on similar tracks, though like most parents, Rosa clearly does worry a bit more about the youngest. Meanwhile, having built a strong foundation for her family, Rosa can now transition into the next phase of her life. This includes watching her children build successful careers on their own, welcoming grandchildren into her life, and perhaps one day soon, enjoying more leisure time to read.

So there you have it folks, Rosa Nuñez, the wonderful Building Attendant for the Athenaeum. Interested in getting involved in appreciating our support staff? The Worker’s Support Committee (WSC) meets on Thursdays at 7:30pm in Marks Lounge. Each month WSC holds student sponsored appreciation events for our service staff.

Want more Better Know a Building Attendant? Get to know Jennie in Phillips, June in Berger, Ilma in Green, Sylvia in Fawcett, and Barbara in Claremont Hall.