The messy paint job was a result of the previous night’s Thursday Night Club (TNC), a weekly party sponsored by CMC’s associated student government, ASCMC. The event, which boasted a DJ, beer, and of course, bottles and bottles of paint, was open to students from all five Claremont Colleges and took place at CMC’s eastern tennis courts.

Even without the addition of paint, TNCs have a reputation of leaving behind quite a wake of debris. Director of Facilities and Campus Services (Story House) Brian Worley explains, “Each party has its own gestalt in the aftermath.”

But the paint party had a gestalt all its own. Worley remarked that in all his time at CMC (5 years, to be exact), he had never seen a “Paint Party” TNC requiring a comparable clean up effort. The clean up, which began the next morning, has meant repeated power-washings of cement sidewalks and the repainting of benches near the tennis courts. Over a week later, the clean up is still incomplete.

Students Enjoying the 2010 Paint Party (Photo by Andrew Jordan)

PAINT IT RED

This is not great news for ASCMC—and its budget. So far, Facilities has billed ASCMC for $612 worth of damages from Thursday’s Paint Party, but the final tally could be upwards of that.

Alexandra Cooke, former ASCMC Student Life Chair and current Dorm Activities Chair, led the Paint Party planning efforts and said the event cost ASCMC about $500 to host. When combined with the damage costs, this means ASCMC is paying over $1,100 in student funds for one night of brightly colored debauchery.

The cost of the paint itself–about $300–is the average cost of throwing a regular TNC, estimates Cooke. “We were willing to spend more on a 5C TNC,” she explained, “because there will be more people in attendance, and therefore, more people enjoying the event.”

Cooke notes that the outcome of the Paint Party shouldn’t be a shock to anyone at Story House or in the Dean of Students office. She says ASCMC made clear the details of the event to both Facilities and Assistant Dean and Director of Student Activities Jim Nauls.

“They understood the nature of the event,” said Cooke, “and that there would be damages. If there had been adamant resistance, we would have taken that into account and restructured the party or reconsidered the theme.”

Indeed, the aftermath of the Paint Party is somewhat unsurprising. The combination of free booze, paint, and college kids does not bode well for cleanliness. However, in previous years, the party was more successful at managing to limit destruction to campus property.

Worley recalls a Paint Party held a few years ago in McKenna Auditorium, where the party sponsors laid out plastic sheeting throughout the enclosed space. This meant paint-splattered surfaces could be balled up and thrown away, without causing any damage to the wooden floors and walls.

According to Worley, Story House offered the party sponsors a water hose to facilitate clean-up during Thursday’s party, but no one from ASCMC ever retrieved it from the offices. Cooke noted that in the future, ASCMC will look into the possibility of a “clean up/wash station” for party guests to de-paint before leaving the venue and heading home.

BILLS, BILLS, BILLS

While the paint damages are certainly costly, some of the most expensive TNC-related charges ASCMC has paid have been the result of stolen campus property or the removal of furniture from a party space—both of which count as vandalism, according to Story House.

In January of last year, Story House charged ASCMC over $355 in damages for “several lights” missing from Fawcett Hall’s first floor lounge following a TNC event. For the same event, Story House billed ASCMC for $144 for 8 building attendants to return all lounge furniture from outside the building to its proper place.

The 2010 Paint Party Tarp (Photo by Andrew Jordan)

“If the damages are in a dorm where TNC takes place,” says Cooke, “then ASCMC will be charged. If the damage is in a dorm that wasn’t where TNC was located, then the dorm is charged.”

This school year, the most expensive single charge for a TNC event has been $428 worth of carpet damage in CMC’s newest dorm, Claremont Hall. The figure includes the cost of replacing the damaged carpet as well as the cost of hiring a professional carpet cleaning company to remove the stain.

In some instances, it is difficult to attribute costs directly to the party sponsors, and Story House’s billing policies have come under fire by students at ASCMC.

Jessica Mao, former ASCMC President, expressed frustration over the billing system, saying, “I think there needs to be a more structured system of payment and damage disputing between ASCMC and Story House. It seems ridiculous to have this accumulation of bills happen every few years when both sides could easily do a better job of sorting them out.”

With the ASCMC Financial Advisor now acting as a direct liaison between students and Story House, says Mao, “charges that don’t seem accurate can be caught right away as opposed to 2 years after a party happened.”

Worley understands the difficulty in ascribing damages to students. He offered the example of damage from a 5-College event held just after the Paint Party on Saturday, March 31. On Sunday morning, broken bottles littered the street between CMC and Scripps College, which co-sponsored and hosted the party.

“I don’t believe we will be billing anybody for the broken glass because it was just random acts that were done,” says Worley. “It wasn’t something that you can directly attribute to the party per se. In the case of the paint, it obviously is directly attributable to that.”

PAY DELAYS

While students may have their beef with Facilities over billing policies, ASCMC does not have a particularly stellar track record in paying up to Story House. Worley explains that, in past years, ASCMC has been tardy in paying for damages. and the costs lag over into the next fiscal year. In other words, students have been sacked with paying party damages for which they might not be responsible.

“The previous year’s billing wasn’t paid,” says Worley, “and that saddled the next year’s ASCMC budget with the major amount of money to come out of their funds that really had to do with the previous year.”

In May 2011, the total charges to ASCMC amounted to just over $9,864, which included charges for the entire school year as well as leftover charges from previous years. After ASCMC successfully disputed several charges, Facilities settled for $5,000 in February 2012.

This situation is not ideal for either party. The college loses thousands of dollars, and ASCMC is left to foot the bill racked up by graduated classes. Because neither Story House nor ASCMC sets a hard and fast deadline for repayment, the system leaves much room for error in attributing costs to students.

In the meantime, Story House and ASCMC are working to clarify the muddier parts of the process . “We’re trying to move forward to make sure that billings are done in a timely manner and payment from ASCMC is in a timely manner as well,” says Worley.

WORTH IT?

For students, the money going toward damages in the aftermath of a party depletes funds that might otherwise be used for putting on student events—not cleaning up after them. Students have responded by launching campaigns to encourage party clean-up, but none have seem to stuck.

The heaviest of costs, however, are not a result of a few red cups. To limit the cost of damages may be a matter of changing campus culture and perhaps making visible the monetary effects of stealing a chair from Claremont Hall or breaking windows in North Quad.

“Sometimes we become a little concerned that we’re facilitating inappropriate behavior,” says Worley. He elaborated, “We’re cleaning up messes that maybe ought to be seen for a little while rather than hastily cleaned up like it never happened. I become a little bit concerned about that, but again, our charge is just to make the campus functional and presentable.”

And the Facilities crew is working to do just that. Ironically or not, Story House is just a few coats of paint away from restoring campus back to normal.

Carmen Lundell (Boswell) If you couldn’t guess by her use of the phrase “uff da” or pronunciation of the word “bagel,” Carmen was born and raised in Wayzata, Minnesota. Because she can’t get enough of the Ducey weight room, Carmen fills her athletic appetite by diving for the CMS Swim and Dive team and teaching aerobics for the Claremont Colleges (P.E. 007 if you’re interested in enrolling).  Carmen studies Government with a Leadership Sequence in hopes of becoming the next Sophia Grace. When you see Carmen at a party, don’t be alarmed that you missed the “theme party” memo. Carmen just likes to showcase her extensive costume collection.

 Lannie Rosenfield (Green) As a native Chicago resident, Betty aka “Lannie” Rosenfield is an avid Bulls fan with both season tickets and a mild to moderate understanding of who is on the team. Contrary to popular belief, Ms. Rosenfield’s tan is not a result of her Indian heritage, but instead due to her dedication to the Wohlford bench. Hey! Let’s play two truths and a lie: Lannie has failed: a) jogging PE, b) spinning PE or C) inline skating PE. TRICK QUESTION! She’s failed all three. Despite all these failures, she’s remains optimistic that Taylor Swift will one day write a song about a love-affair they will inevitably have.

Connor O’ Boyle (Wohlford) I am from Seattle, Washington and I actually do like the rain. I fly fish like its my job; the waders are my favorite part, as I look like a 90 year old man. I’m a Biology/Pre-med major and on the football team. I am an avid outdoorsman, climbing trees and making fires all over the pacific northwest. If you catch me wearing flannel don’t worry, I’m not the brawny man.

Kelsey Brown (Beckett) Kelsey, also known as “KBrown” or “KBro,” comes from the capital of America’s Dairy State. Contrary to stereotypes about Wisconsin, she’s not nice. She is notoriously bad with numbers but can write a sentence more eloquently than any other RA. Thus, she is a lit major. Kelsey can be further characterized by her constant fidgeting, her love for writing and her obsession with pesto pasta. Although she is only two months older than some of her WOA babies, most of them still call her “Mama Kels.” She hopes her residents in Beckett will love her even half as much.

Katie Lorish (Berger) Katie Lorish is an Econ-Accounting and Government major from Portland, Oregon. Aside from long walks on the beach and colorful sunsets, she enjoys grubbing on pizookies, collecting cats for her dorm room collection, showing Connor O’Boyle how to build v-type and turboprop aircraft engines (he is such a rook), and posting inappropriate Craigslist ads. As a haiku-writing prodigy since age 2, she kindly provided one of her most heart-felt pieces with the Forum readers: Berger is the most glamorous dorm on campus, Boom boom pow Berger.

Ari Davis (Claremont) Ari is an International Relations major addicted to traveling and will often be found pacing back and forth in Claremont Hall planning future trips. Ari spent the summer walking across Spain and a semester studying abroad in Jordan. He is from Boulder, Colorado, one of the best places on earth, and could probably tell you all about staring at the sky, doing outdoorsy things and why the Pitzer kids are actually cool. Ari spend lots of his time working out for track but if he’s not working out, he’s probably on some crazy adventure, lost on Mt. Baldy, wearing plaid, or skiing. He also let Priscilla, his fellow C-hall RA, write his bio for him.

Priscilla Hsu (Claremont) Priscilla is a junior majoring in International Relations and an Asian American Studies Sequence. She returns to CMC this spring after spending a year off-campus, including a semester in D.C. and 8 months in Asia, mostly wandering around but also looking for lost relatives. She hails from East Los Angeles but spent her teeny bopper years at various malls all over the city, so feel free to ask for suggestions about the Greater Los Angeles area. When she’s not busy coordinating outfits with Ari, she enjoys lounging in her mega-bed, pretending she can play the ukelele, and luring residents into her room with candy.

Kelsey Gross (Phillips) Kelsey hails from the small town of Medford, Oregon, though she proudly reps her true state, the glorious State of Jefferson.  When not scrambling up mountains, star gazing, or flying to the moon, she can be found squawking along to country music in Poppa Lab or prancing around campus with the Ballroom Dance team.  She regularly utilizes her economics major to evaluate the utility of yet another Yogurtland visit (note: it’s always very high).

Hannah Whittemore (Auen) Hannah Whittemore ghost rides it to Claremont every semester from the beautiful, quaint town of Mill Valley (#90 billboard hit in 1970) in the northern Bay Area. Her favorite activities include testing hot sauces, scrambling eggs, and drinking oolong tea. She may or may not be easily seduced by food. Though settling on a Government major, you may find her doing research in a chemistry lab at Keck Science where Erlenmeyer flasks and TLC plates give her a sense of peace in this frenzied world.  She is well-renowned in the snowboard community for having recently received the award for “most graceful fall coming off a chair lift” at Mt. Baldy ski resort. Her life philosophy is to “keep it sexy.” Obviously.

Harmony Palmer (Benson) Harmony Palmer (gangster name Harm-$$) hails from Oceanside, CA. She recently downgraded to a bike after spending her first two years riding around campus on a scooter in Crocs. When she isn’t causing a scene with her Forrest Gump impersonations, you can find Harmony huffing and puffing on the softball field or with her boyfriends Honnold and Poppa studying accounting. She is proud to say she is one of the few warriors who has lived in Benson 3 out of her 4 college years.

Ethan Gilbert (Fawcett) Ethan Gilbert is a Claremont legend.  He began his time at CMC right – by chugging syrup on his freshman WOA trip.  An International Relations major, Ethan comes to Claremont from Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is a firm advocate of socks with ‘stocks (Burkenstock sandels and bright colored socks) and plays lacrosse with for the Cougs. UGHUGHUGH.

Will Knowles (Marks) William Edward Knowles II is a Los Angeles native hailing from the wonderfully average town of Chatsworth.  When he was not busy acting during his youth (you may know him as a child star), he played baseball and spent quality time with his imaginary friends since he did not have any real ones (he was homeschooled).  Now that he is in beautiful Claremont, he studies Economics and is getting a Masters in Finance.  Most of his free time is spent on the baseball field, in the weight room, or courageously trying – but usually failing – to fix the printers in Poppa Lab as an LTA.  He is also a huge Dodger fan and is anxiously awaiting MLB’s decision on his bid to purchase the bankrupt franchise.

Olivia Graham (Stark) Olivia Graham calls Mercer Island, WA home, and she relishes the opportunity to jump in rare SoCal rain puddles. Even though she loves the 350 days of sunshine, she gets horrendous cap and goggle tan lines from her many hours spent at the pool. When she isn’t practicing with the CMS swim and water polo teams, Olivia can be found feeding the birds, rodents, albino soft-shell turtle, and other animals at JSD, since she is a biology (with a leadership sequence) major, after all. Olivia also enjoys eating/making/thinking about food, especially Coopcakes (cupcakes from the Coop), and jamming out to Akon.

Elise Yoshida (Stark) Elise comes from Rolling Hills, CA, one of the few places where you can reasonably fear a swarm of peacocks attacking you. To escape said peacocks, she fled to CMC where she could continue to bask in her beloved SoCal sun. After over-analyzing many situations during her time at CMC, she realized that the logical solution to end her career as an Undecided major was to major in Psychology. Elise generally spends her time running way too much for way too long or maintaining a near-constant stream of TV and movies. If you want the route to her heart, she has never been known to deny something tasty or something delicious. Both items tasty and delicious will win you brownie points. (Brownies are encouraged.)

Skyler Grossman (Apartments) Skyler Grossman is a Northwest native from Lake Oswego, Oregon. A career procrastinator, he is just now discovering how much he enjoys the study of economics and hopes this will add an element of practicality to his government major (aside: he loves studying government, especially after it took him to DC these past six months). He enjoys working at his camp in the Rocky Mountains, listening to country music, and very, very short walks on the beach. He also tries to keep up with his ex-chef parents, and is convinced he will one day host Iron Chef.

Brooke Nayden (Apartments) Brooke A. Nayden hails from the great state of Idaho.  When not admiring the state bird and flower, she is recitingall 44 counties in reverse alphabetical order.  Here at CMC she can be found eating couscous while watching endless YouTube videos of baby hedgehogs and teacup pomeranians.  B-Nasty doesn’t always go to school, but when she does it’s as a History and Lit dual major.  (She’s been called a bit bookish).

India Wade (Apartments) India Wade is from Bainbridge Island, Washington. Her parents are wonderful. Their names are Yuko and John. She has three half brothers and two half sisters, all from John’s side. True playa for real. She has a cat name Simba with whom she has a volatile relationship. She loves Shakira more than most people she actually knows. Please refer all further questions about India to her sidekick/confidant/roommate Brooke Alexandra Nayden.

Photo Credit: Jessica Dang

Each of our fourteen dorms has everything needed to build the strongest communities on campus.  Every dorm has great people, great ideas, and great space; all your friends are just a quick jaunt down the hall.  And every dorm could have a stronger sense of community than it does now.  Here are some of the ways that we are building better dorm life this year:

Intramurals.  Last year we didn’t even have dorm intramural teams, and in years past they had been getting progressively less attention.  But this year we have re-instated dorm intramural teams, and everyone can play!  If your thing is football, soccer, or anything in between (read: innertube water polo) your Dorm Championship Series for that league is going on now!  Every dorm has a team, so if you’re not already reading your RA’s e-mails about those games, grab a quick word with your dorm jock or bra about when the next one is or checkout the Facebook group, and come out to support your dorm!  And if playing isn’t your thing there can never be too many fans, especially with all those Mudders coming out in droves.

Dorm events.  Every dorm is having at least one dorm event every other week, so it should be easy to get out and mingle with your extended roomies at least a few times this semester!  These dorm events can be anything from pre-games to dorm snacks to TNCs.  You may make dorm shirts, have barbeques or dorm meals, get subsidized concert or event tickets, or play broomball with that dorm across the quad.  These events are the perfect chance to get to know your hallmates, the girls upstairs or guys downstairs, and that kid in the corner room who you can’t believe you haven’t met yet. So get out to all of the events that you can!

Photo Credit: Heidi Carlson

Keeping up traditions.  For instance, Thursday Night Club is one of our best traditions, but every year it is in danger of getting shut down.  I’m working closely with the Dean of Students Office to make sure that doesn’t happen this year.  Also, having TNCs all throughout the quads as well as in new spaces is another priority of mine this year.  So be on the lookout for TNCs in south, mid, and north quads, as well as other new places around campus!

These are just some of the things, that we are doing to further dorm life this year at CMC.  It all comes down to one main goal: I want dorms to be like families.  No matter where your best friends live, you should always feel comfortable as an integral part of your own dorm community.  So I ask two favors of you all:  first, get to know everyone in your dorm.  Don’t just stick to the friends you moved in with; make an effort to meet everyone else.  Your dorm events are for your whole dorm, so never feel shy about going to one, even if you go alone.  Once you get there, you won’t have any problem finding people to hang out with—everyone is nice!  And if you’re at a dorm event and you see someone you don’t know, introduce yourself!  The first step to a tight community is to know each other. And second—take pride in your dorm!  Every dorm has something awesome about it. Claremont Hall?  Yeah, you’re the nicest dorm on campus and everyone knows it. And it may be nicknamed “the Dirty Berg,” but Berger has one of the strongest and most welcoming communities on campus.  No matter if you live in the Apartments, Stark, Green, off-campus, or anywhere in between, you can be proud of where you live, and the strong community that you’re fostering there.  So own it!  And if you have any ideas or questions about anything, you can always talk to your Dorm Presidents, and you can always contact me (CRiva13@cmc.edu).

Barbara Castillo is the warm and energetic housekeeper of Claremont Hall.  She has been in charge of the dormitory since it opened four years ago, and she runs a tight ship.  Her supply closet is immaculate and filled with photographs of her family and cards from students.  Though it was clear from the way she had kept every one and put them all up, she let me know how much she appreciates them.  She does her best to get to know all 108 of her students and make them feel at home, and keeps tight records of the goings on around the dorm.

She keeps records of everything that happens, from spilled tea to holes in the wall, on 8½ X 11 notepads, which she keeps neatly organized in the supply closet in a bin on a shelf.  She keeps them in case students or the administration have any questions about work orders or dorm damages.  There are four notepads from the first year, 2008-2009, three from the second year, two and a half from last year, and hopes to keep it down to one and a half this year.  It’s not that she is recording less; students have just gotten better about making a mess.  This fall, she’s only filled out a half-notebook—so far.

This is how she feels about it: “I mean I don’t love that I write everything down, I hate that I have to write these things down, but just to me, you know, it’s something that I have to look forward to, to see how good my kids can be.  And so far this has been the best year, not even a whole book yet.  So I said, come on dorm, let’s not go over one book even—but if we have to go one and a half, okay!”  She laughs.  She is constantly smiling and has a powerful laugh; it’s hard not to join in.  “So far this year, these kids have been really good.”

She takes care of students’ rooms like they were her own children’s.  Make your bed, or she’ll do it for you: she insists “a room is not clean unless the bed is made.”

When talk moved on to party night aftermath, I asked her about how hard it was to get beer out of Claremont Hall’s plush carpeting.  She responded:

“I don’t call it beer, you know what I call it?  Devil’s water, the Devil’s water.”

“When it’s on the carpet, or when it’s-“

“All over.”

When I asked her what she does at home and what makes her happy, she had a one-word answer:

Jesus.

Barbara is deeply religious.  She was married to her husband twenty years and almost divorced because of her husband’s problems with substance abuse.  You can understand why she calls alcohol the Devil’s water.  When the problem came to a head and she was ready to leave, he turned to the church for help, found Jesus, and got clean.  Her kids convinced her to give him one more chance.  She was a Catholic her whole life, but started going to his church with him, and for a whole year before she started attending it full-time, went to her church in the morning and his in the afternoon.  They have been together 38 years now.  They are happily married, active members of their church, and spend lots of time with their large extended family.  During the holidays they all get together and make as many as one thousand tamales in an evening.

She is a happy woman.  She says, “God puts you through things, you know, but yet, he shows you all the Glory.”

About all of you that live over in Claremont Hall, she says: “I love my kids, I love them here, I just tell them, take care of the place, it’s our home away from home.  I love it.  I can’t tell you how much I love Claremont.  It’s so much fun to work here, and the kids, you know, some of my kids are really, really good.  They keep their rooms immaculate.  I got some kids, I’m like, oh Chihuahuas, do I have a bunch of Chihuahuas here?”  She laughs.  Clean or messy, she loves them all.

We talked through her entire lunch break, and could have kept going, there was a lot to talk about.  Share your favorite story about Barbara below in the comments section.

Though she has three different machines to get stains out of the carpet, she still has to get on her hands and knees to remove wine stains.  Please try not to spill your drink, for everyone’s sake, and pick up after yourself.  You know she’ll notice.  Don’t forget to say hello!

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 earlier editions of Better Know a Building Attendant? Get to know Ilma in Green and Sylvia in Fawcett.

As of January 31^st, the campaign has raised $469,785,572 towards its goal of $600 million.

The record-breaking campaign, which entered its public phase in the spring of 2008, is the largest liberal arts college campaign drive ever announced. Although 2008′s financial crisis put a damper on the efforts to raise the money, the college is approaching its lofty goal.  Importantly though, as the endowment fund took a hit, the money already raised via the Campaign, about $400 million,  helped to alleviate significant losses for CMC investments in financial markets.

While many of the “mega gifts”, such as Robert Day’s $200 million commitment, were pledged before the recession hit, smaller gifts in the $250,000 to $3 million range were the ones that were noticeably affected.

“[When the recession hit] we didn’t change anything [about the campaign],” said Claremont McKenna President Pamela Gann. “We still wanted to raise money for the same things but we had to be patient and wait. The rate at which we raised money definitely slowed down but our activity level did not. It was a time to listen, not a time to stop.”

People delaying their gifts to the college or extending their payment schedule also had an impact on the campaign.

“We are trying to be donor-centric,” explained CMC Vice President for Development and External Relations Ernie Iseminger. “We are always trying to honor the donor and honoring what makes sense for them.”

The greatest effect of the recession on the campaign, however, was the hesitation of most donors to commit to  gifts of significant size.

“Most of our donors are 60 years old or older,” said Gann. “Whatever it was that created their wealth, they are not going to create another round of it. Most of them needed to pause and see where the economy was headed.”

At the beginning of the recession, losses on the return of investment from CMC’s endowment, which provides nearly 20% of the operating budget revenue, were projected at -30% for fiscal year 2008-2009.  While the college only realized investment losses of -21.7% in fiscal 2008-2009, an initial projected reduction of nearly $12 million was planned over three years in the operating budget, said Jim Floyd, Associated Vice President for Investments at CMC.

Although investment returns were better than initial projections, operating support from the endowment will likely remain near fiscal 2008-2009 levels for the next few years rather than increasing at the past normal levels of about four percent each year.  Currently, the endowment spending level remains well below pre-financial crisis expectation.

While in house projections expected worse than what in reality happened to the fund, the makeup of the pre-recession portfolio did not sufficiently protect itself.  The Forum, without confirmation from CMC administration, has gleaned from sources that the portfolio contained self-interested investment choices.  Additionally, the Forum has heard that the portfolio did not include adequate insurance on its investments should they have failed as they did.  The fund, as a whole, took a short position on volatility.  This position is taken via a type of options that allow the fund manager to bet that future volatility, meaning potential deviations on the market or certain investment returns, will be less than expected.  When the recession hit, these three factors contributed to significant financial losses.

Luckily, the campaign provided crucial funds for the college by replacing a portion of what was lost with new gifts. “It is safe to say that without the campaign, the recession would have been a lot more painful for us,” said Gann.

Scholarship funds and pledges for endowed chairs from the Roberts Challenge received prior to the recession provided CMC with a smooth transition into their new economic reality and preserved CMC’s focus on the student experience.

“In that time period, we were true to what mattered,” said Gann. “We wanted to make our cuts in a way that had the least possible impact on students and their time here.”

Efforts to mitigate the effects of the recession on CMC manifested themselves in freezes on salary increases and voluntary early retirement plans for faculty and staff along with the layoffs of several staff members.

“We did a lot of things, I don’t want to say drastic, but things we had never had to do in any previous situations,” explains Robin Aspinall, CMC’s Vice President of Business and Administration and Treasurer. “If we had not made reductions, we would currently be in a much more difficult place.”

In spite of the hardships imposed upon the campaign drive and CMC, both have prospered in recent years. Even with more than a year to go, the campaign drive will soon become the largest in liberal art colleges’ history.

In rankings released earlier this week by the National Association of College and University Business Officers, CMC’s return on endowment investment, which grew +16.4 percent for fiscal year 2009-2010, was ranked in the 95th percentile for one year return, in the 75th percentile for three year average return, and in the 94th percentile for five year average return.

“To be in top five and six percent of a group that includes Harvard, Yale, [and] all the big endowments out there is a big accomplishment for us,” said Floyd.

With the campaign nearing completion,  parties involved with its implementation are eagerly awaiting the effects it will have on CMC’s future.

“[The campaign] is attracting the best students and faculty we can find,” said Floyd. “It will continue to improve our competitive position in the market place, but where it will take us, who knows.”

The sentiment was echoed by President Gann.

“CMC is a very outstanding college but we are also young and we are very ambitious to be extraordinary,” said Gann. “It takes a great faculty, great students and great resources to get there.”

Princeton Review

The Princeton Review released its college rankings list August 1 and CMC took top spots in flattering categories, including Happiest Students (#2), Best Quality of Life ( #4), Best Career Services (#7) and School Runs Like Butter (#7).  The full lists are available here.

The Princeton Review book, which profiles the best 300+ colleges in its yearly publication, is a trusted staple for helicopter parents, prospective students, and college administrators.   But the unscientific methods used to create the venerated lists suggest our adoration may be misplaced.

The rankings are calculated by current student surveys.  Here’s Princeton Review’s official word on methodology:

“Most questions offer an answer choice on a five-point scale: students fill in one of five boxes on a grid with headers varying by topic (e.g. a range from “Excellent” to “Awful”). All of our 62 ranking lists tallies are based on students’ answers to one or more of these questions with a five-point answer scale. Some questions on the survey are open-ended and offer students the opportunity to answer with narrative responses.

Once the surveys have been completed and the responses stored in our database, we tally the results. Our methodology and the math by which we calculate our ranking results are quite simple. Each college is given a score (similar to a GPA) for its students’ answers to each multiple-choice question. These scores enable us to compare student opinion from college to college. They are the sole factors that determine which schools make it onto our 62 ranking lists.”

Of course, a rank near the bottom or the top of the pack has some truth to it.  Yes, our professors are accessible, perhaps too accessible when they wander through North Quad on a Thursday night.  But we’re #5 in “Lots of Beer” and UC Santa Barbara is #20?  Is our standing meant to imply that there is more beer consumed per capita at CMC than Santa Barbara? Anyone who believes that, to speak proverbially, clearly has had too much to drink.  That’s up from #13 since last year, but our alcohol policy has only become more restrictive.

CMC, at #8, outranked Scripps in the “Dorms Like Palaces” category.  If the category was “A Dorm is Like a Palace,” then perhaps CMC’s Claremont Hall could give Scripps’ GJW a run for its money.  But no one would doubt CMC’s founding fathers had utility, not luxury, in mind when designing North and Mid Quads.  Save a few hinges, the dorms could have been tipped on their sides and hosed down after a keg tap gone wrong.  Compare this to Scripps, where the sheer number of clinging vines may be enough to qualify it for a feature piece in Martha Stewart Living. The dorms also boast stained glass windows, coincidentally the window material favored by those who live in… palaces.

Forbes

CMC ranks between Harvard and Yale in the Forbes ranking.

The new Forbes Magazine college rankings were released on August 11 and soon became linked and liked all over Facebook.   The Forbes rankings system is its infancy–it’s only three years old–and the magazine is admittedly still working out flaws in methodology, which may explain dramatic year-to-year changes.  CMC moved from #27 in the “Best Colleges” list to #9 in the span of one year, placing it between Harvard (#8) and Yale (#10).

The rankings here are compiled from a combination of student opinions, including 17.5% from RateMyProfessors.com, and objective data, including alumni salaries from Payscale.com.

But the factors included range in legitimacy. Under “Postgraduate Success” is the outright absurd measure of listing of alumni in Who’s Who in America, featured only ten years earlier in the same magazine as “The Hall of Lame” for containing “a lot of relatively unaccomplished people who simply nominated themselves.”  This makes up 10% of a college’s score.

Since last year, they’ve dropped faculty awards altogether from consideration.  Previously, faculty awards made up 8.33% of the rankings.  They’ve included new variables to measure alumni success and default rates on loans.

U.S. News & World Report

The only rankings to get a school-wide email shout-out from President Gann, the U.S. News Rankings released yesterday are the gold standard in college rankings.  They’re also the most methodologically rigorous, incorporating objective measurements as well as subjective evaluations by students, peer institutions, and high school counselors.

The much-anticipated rankings varied only slightly from last year, despite changes in methodology that diminished the influence of ratings by peer institutions’ college presidents that attempted to quantify the reputation of the school.  In 2010, Claremont McKenna was ranked #11 on the list of best liberal arts colleges, a position shared with Vassar College.  In 2011, CMC retained its spot at #11 but has edged ahead of Vassar.   Pomona College, #6 last year, also remains at #6, suggesting to consumers that the methodological changes were not as dramatic as expected.

In 2011 the magazine placed more weight on graduation rates, increasing the measure’s weight from 5 percent to 7.5 percent of the final score.  High school counselors are now given a say and college officials’ opinions will receive less weight to accommodate them.

High honors or cheap sales?

“Top” liberal arts colleges formalized their objections to college rankings by circulating a petition in September 2007 agreeing not to use rankings in promotional material. Notable signatories included the presidents of Amherst, Carleton, Haverford, Wellesley and Pomona Colleges.

In a wide-ranging interview conducted last year by Forum Editor-in-Chief Michael Wilner, Pomona President David Oxtoby discussed his position on college rankings. Although he does think rankings in general have helped all liberal colleges by placing them among larger, well known schools including Ivies and public universities, he wished colleges and prospective students would place less faith in them.

“They have absurd claims to being scientific, which is really frustrating,” Oxtoby said. “On the other hand, the idea of protesting is a waste of time.  So I did not agree to the boycott. I think the reputational rankings are probably more valid that the rest of the survey components.”

He added, “I think we’re under-ranked. We should be higher.  In different ways, the other [Claremont] colleges may be under-ranked as well.”

President Gann had a different approach to the boycott, which she articulated in an interview with Inside Higher Ed.  Gann claimed that CMC only makes “very limited use” of rankings in promotional material, and that her objection to the boycott was the fundamental fissure it would create with the college’s core philosophy.   “Claremont McKenna College is very committed to free markets and individual choice,” she was quoted, “For-profit publications and rankings are what they are in our free-market economy.”

Staff Writer Sara Birkenthal and Editor-in-Chief Michael Wilner contributed to this article.

Inspired by a photo and a boring, blank cinder block wall, sophomore Rebecca Salzman had the clever idea to liven up fellow sophomore Diggory Rycroft’s Claremont double using the simple tool of chalk. This mural adds a real personal touch to his living space and is a great conversation starter. Unlike paint, Diggory will be able to wash this artwork down at the end of the year (how sad though).

Music lover? Blank wall? Sale at Rhino Records? Just purchase some fun records from the $1 bin and liven up your wall. Here sophomore Brendan McDonald demonstrates such an idea with Elton John, the Temptations, and yes, the Sound of Music.

Senior Courtney Dern has turned this wall into something truly special. Paint color aside (by living off campus, she has the good fortune to paint her walls), she purchased an assortment of small frames from vintage stores. Then, by incorporating her favorite images and art, her wall collage adds a homey feel to her room. Courtney doesn’t have one common theme, but reports: “I guess I’m just into making mundane 2D objects more extraordinary.”

Speaking of not being able to paint, a quick way to add color to your room is to adhere inexpensive fabric to your walls. Junior Aviana Gracial bought this roll of thin yellow cloth at a fabric outlet in LA. The block of color gives a fresh splash of sunniness to this Green room.

Apartments RA Aleksis Psychas had the awesome idea to decorate his family room by organizing a community art mural. Pairing the event with a senior class brunch after 6:01, he stretched out a length of poster paper and set out paint.  Anyone could add their special phrase, image, home state, or whatever came to their mind. The resulting mural is the perfect way to add interest to the upper part of the apartment’s vaulted ceiling.

Imitating a similar idea from fellow senior Kristin Dessie, Sandy Russell is able to exhibit her study abroad memories by graphically linking them to a map of Europe. What a clever way to visually record one’s travels!

The off-campus home of seniors Courtney Dern, Madison Gonzalez, Aisha Shaikh, and Hazel Joyce is known for its fun themed parties. By writing certain words in twinkle lights on the wall, the girls can set a unique mood for their visitors. The wall is your palette!

Send any dorm design ideas to Gloria Chang (gchang10@cmc.edu) or Cameron Hanson (chanson10@cmc.edu)! We’d love to come tour your rooms!

The update, which was covered in detail by Rodner’s email announcement, is just the first step of a process that will bring Claremont Mckenna College up-to-date with existing web technology.  “By comparison to where Web 2.0 technology is, we are far behind the curve,” says Rodner, but he stresses that the school will be able to expand its image and capitalize on the future re-design.  The result will be not only a site that supports CMC’s core image, but also a Web 2.0 element allowing student-generated content to be more easily reached by a larger community.

The sweeping success of social-networking sites has generated a host of new ways in which colleges can interact with their own and prospective students.  Some institutions, like Maine’s Colby College, are switching the focus of their admissions advertising away from costly paper and brochure campaigns and instead placing the emphasis on electronic photo albums, podcasts featuring interviews with students and faculty, and a student newspaper that recently switched to an all-electronic format.  Other schools, such as Northeastern University, are working to put prospective students in direct contact with admissions officials, with Dean of Admissions Ronné Patrick Turner developing a blog that has received consistent traffic since its debut.

While the design and planning process for the new CMC website has yet to begin, Rodner says that student involvement and participation will be key.  “We want to establish a framework that is efficient and capable of serving our community’s needs.  Part of this will be search engine optimization and layout improvements, but part of this will also be more content: forums, opinions, blogs, and sharepoints coming from within the school.”  Additionally, changes to the website will profile some of the school’s newest selling points– the Robert Day School, Claremont Hall, and the upcoming completion of the Kravis Center.

The development of a new web portal is an essential tool in recruiting new students.  “One of our main challenges is name recognition,” says Rodner, “making sure we are visible in as many areas as our peers are visible.  Schools that are east coast-based have some advantages, with the density and exposure they get.  They have many more alumni than we do.”  By taking advantage of new technology, CMC is able to reach students who typically wouldn’t hear about the school, building upon attention garnered from national rankings such as US News and World Report and The Princeton Review.

While it won’t likely be until next semester that the new website is up and running, CMC students should be on the lookout for further announcements detailing changes to the web infrastructure.  If Rodner’s vision of a user-friendly interface combined with an increased net presence for the school comes to fruition, CMC could very well be making waves in cyberspace before 2010 is out.

“The ‘Environmental Crusaders’ name wasn’t effectively portraying our mission,” Munro explained.  Indeed, the Crusaders have frequently been at the forefront of some of the more controversial environmental efforts on campus.  For Earth Day in 2008, the Crusaders constructed a pyramid of trash demonstrating the amount of food waste produced at Collins Dining Hall in a single day.  More recently, blogger Charles Johnson generated controversy when the Crusaders took a school-funded trip to Washington, DC for the Powershift 2009 conference.   “I believe that this new name is representative of a new direction we are taking the club, helping to make Claremont McKenna a more sustainable college.”

The last several years have seen Claremont Mckenna College take a number of steps to conserve waste and reduce the environmental footprint of the school.  The opening of Claremont Hall, the school’s first LEED Silver certified building, was hailed as a breakthrough for the college.  Additionally, CMC (as part of a consortium move), eliminated trays from dining halls for the 2009-2010 school year.  Club Vice President Ashley Scott says the change was not directly linked to her group.

“The administration made the call on their own.  I think that some people don’t realize that this is a beneficial move for our campus,” said Scott, a junior who has been involved with the group since her freshmen year.  “Students are being asked to trade a little inconvenience for a policy that saves the school money.  It’s a matter of environmental economics, not something that’s purely ideological.”

SPEAR plans to push several campaigns for environmental activism on campus.  Among these, Munro points to Take Back the Tap, a national effort to reduce bottled-water usage as an important effort for CMC students. Drinking bottled water comes at a high cost both in terms of trash produced and money spent he says and there are opportunities for students to both save money and reduce waste.

Starting this month, SPEAR hopes to involve itself in the school’s long-term conservation goals.  “The Administration is forming an ad-hoc committee that will include students to revisit some of the conservation policy the school is involved in,” said Munro. This includes goals to make CMC a carbon-reduced or even carbon-neutral institution, provided there are opportunities to do so.  Also on the docket is continued support by President Pamela Gann of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, which she signed in 2007.

So far, both Munro and Scott see their club’s re-branding as a success.  Although the group may still serve as a lightning rod for environmental issues on campus, the new incarnation of the club is working towards a more moderate and professional image.  With a larger-than-usual turnout for the club’s first official meeting, the group will continue to partake in discourse at CMC and on the 5C campus, lest we forget global warming has the potential to affect even the very beer we drink.

Claremont Hall, the future of CMC

When Claremont Hall was designed, our administration supposedly put thought into the “social life potential” of the new dorm.  Dean of Students’ office told ASCMC the new dorm’s design would foster an environment conducive to parties.   As of yet, ASCMC hasn’t hosted a party in or around Claremont Hall.

Alas, Claremont Hall has gained a reputation as the “morgue” or the next Stark Hall (the second newest dorm), the only “substance-free” dorm on campus.  Some have said there’s a pattern emerging– the newer the dorm, the newer the student body, the quieter CMC gets.  Maybe it’s a good thing; I don’t know.

Stay tuned for the Party Inform.