1) I have to add Claremont Cash to pay for that extra cup of coffee my Flex can no longer cover.

2) The occasional “study break” for Collins snack becomes a 5-C snack challenge.

3) I take the time to read the self-promoting posters around campus.

Upon allowing my eager eyes to wander, I came across one poster that caught my attention:

If the site itself was as provocative as the poster, I thought, I should see what this proposed solution to sex hair is all about. It would be, at least, a source for further procrastination. What I found on the website, located at HerCampus.com/CMC, was even more disturbing than the posters. I was appalled to find not only an inaccurate representation, but, more importantly, a superficial portrayal of CMC women.

“Don’t make yourself too available, but throw out hints like ‘I really enjoy hanging with you’ so you can boost his confidence,” the dating tip reads.

“Build up his confidence a little, stroke his ego (and maybe a little more),” a sex column advises.

Statements such as these ask women to succumb to a behavior just “get the guy.” Not only do the sex and dating articles suggest that a woman’s self-confidence is dependent on male approval and physical appearance, but it also assumes a solely heterosexual student body. Placing such a heavy emphasis on dating, exercise, partying, and senior crushes simply reinforces the superficiality from which the women’s movement continuously works to distance itself.

It would be one thing if the alcohol-induced girls running after the boys in bro tanks were an accurate depiction of the women here. But it’s not. My time here has presented me with women that are not only remarkably intelligent, but also independent thinkers and leaders. As a woman at CMC, I can confirm that we spend our time discussing issues of greater substance than those the Her Campus website would imply. Like most college girls, we still talk about our weekend hookups and our Pilates workout schedules, but that just barely skims the surface of what I have come to know in the women around me. Contrary to what the site may demonstrate, we are more than a group of diet-frenzied, boy-crazy, party-hopping women, grasping onto our days as love-struck tweens who watched Degrassi.

And we don’t want to go back to those days either. While we may occasionally fall victim to Leonardo DiCaprio’s love sonnets in Titanic 3-D, we are in no way trying to become the desperate-to-find-Prince-Charming Bridget Jones, despite what this statement from the Her Campus website may imply:

“All that is left are girls hopelessly waiting for guys to sweep them off their feet and take them to their fairytale love story.”

This summer, in the absence of TNR and Wednesday afternoon party informs, CMC students could easily take the time to sit back and relax. Instead, women at this campus have found interesting opportunities outside the world of Pilates and dating. Lauren Callahan ’14, for example, will be working for the Institute for Science and International Security, researching nuclear weaponry and diplomacy in the Middle East while attending meetings with other related think tanks. Across the globe in Mysore, India, Amy Hershberger ’14 will be interning at the Public Health Research Institute of India, researching antibiotic resistance of UTI’s and traveling to various hospitals in India to compile data for the research. And freshmen Elise Hansell ’15 will be working for the Human Rights Initiative in Dallas to help refugees seek asylum by organizing cases with pro bono attorneys.

These are only a few of the responses I received from asking just 30 girls about their summer plans. So perhaps for the next “CMC Celebrity,” the Her Campus writers will, for example, choose to highlight a student’s ambitious summer plans instead of glorifying the popularity of a so-called iconic male student.

Her Campus has the potential to be a great resource for students. It serves as a way to individualize CMC women from those of other colleges across the country, and if you couldn’t tell from this article, I am all in favor of more spaces for women on this campus. The problem is that, even with one recently posted article about CMC women, Her Campus is still a poor representation of the student body.

Right now, the site undermines the character and achievements of the women on campus while exacerbating stereotypes that uphold sexism. Interestingly, I looked at other Her Campus college branches only to find myself engaged and impressed with the information presented. This is not a criticism of the brand, but rather a criticism of the majority of the content on the CMC portion of the site.

All this being said, I write this article understanding that this is a fairly new undertaking. For this reason, I urge whoever decides to write, or continues to write, for Her Campus to take a step back and really take a few minutes to think about the women at Claremont McKenna. Think about your friends, your girlfriend, and your classmates; think about the people they are because I can bet my cup of coffee that they are more than what this says about them. This is not simply a message to Her Campus, but rather a message to the student body to remember that, when utilizing our voice, we have the power to collectively construct an image of CMC that is truly representative of who we are.

“I mean, I feel like I should be. I’ve followed the prescribed CMC regimen pretty closely, and from what I know about CMC alumni, it seems reasonable to think that things are going to be OK. I did fairly well in my classes at CMC. I got involved on campus. I’ve made an incredible group of friends here. I had some cool internships during the summer. I went to TNC. I’ve been ponded. I’ve been to Baldy. I’ve been to the Ath so many times I can pretty much generate the taste of the salmon in my mouth at will.

“And it looks like I’ve got a lot to look forward to. There’s a great job and great friends waiting for me in San Francisco.

“All these things make it pretty easy to project an outward appearance to my parents and others that I’m ready. And to laugh and tell all my classmates and fellow CMCers that ‘I’m not ready! I could never leave. I LOVE CMC!’ But the reality is somewhere in between, and it involves a lot of introspection.”

I guess that’s a lot for Google to squeeze into one button. The beauty of college is that I don’t get to waffle in real life. Senior week flew by, and tomorrow, May 12, Dean Hess is going to call my name, and that’ll be it. The rest of my life is real life, whether I like it or not.

My favorite quote of all time is from Robert Louis Stevenson’s first book, An Inland Voyage. To close the book, he writes,

The most beautiful adventures are not those we go to seek.

One last piece of advice. I have loved writing about technology for the Forum for the past year, and I hope that I’ve shared at least one thing you’ve found helpful. I love my computer, my phone, and my iPad. But I love my time away from them even more. Leaving my phone at home when I go to my girlfriend’s, leaving it in the car when I go to the gym, not getting reception up on Baldy—those are the peaceful moments with which no amount of Netflix or Reddit can compete. Don’t become a Luddite, but make sure you spend some time unplugged.

Time Management:

The first step of getting a hold of your life is to make a game plan.  You should make at least a rough schedule for yourself between now and your departure. In order to stay on top of your tasks in the coming days, use calendars and to-do lists religiously. Keep a pad of paper with you, make a list on your phone, keep a doc on your computer up, whatever. Each time you remember something you need to do, big or small, instantly put it on your list. Set aside five to ten minutes later in the day to schedule all your tasks somewhere in your calendar.

For more thoughts on time management, here is a synopsis I wrote last year of some helpful time management strategies from Peter Drucker’s book The Effective Executive.

One Step at a Time:

Now that you’ve got a plan, get yourself into an appropriate mindset. Nothing makes a big task seem more daunting than seeing the task as one big, impossible challenge. Consider climbing a mountain; if you start out by thinking, “I have a whole mountain ahead of me,” you’ll feel defeated before you even begin. But when you break it down and focus on the present, you find that no individual step is actually that difficult.  By focusing on each individual step–by methodically putting one foot after the other over and over again–you will reach your goal. In the coming days, instead of thinking, “I have SO MUCH to do between now and the end of school!” and stressing yourself over the whole, break it down piece by piece and take it one step at a time. Remember that there is no particular piece of the whole that you can’t handle.

Stay Healthy:

It’s tempting, I know, but try not to let go of healthy habits. When things get hectic, you fall into the trap of skipping out on exercise, you order perpetual Mix-Bowl and pizza, you opt to have a working dinner in Poppa consisting of only a 5-Hour Energy. You are so focused on what you need to do and where you are going that you neglect the vehicle that’s supposed to get you there. Remember, healthy habits are not only good for your body, but they also fuel your brain. There are specific foods you can eat that will set you up for success this week. Simple diet choices can give you energy, increase focus, and improve memory. Good brain foods include foods high in Omega-3’s (salmon, avocado, fish oil), whole grains (oatmeal, granola), and proteins (mixed nuts). Along with staying on top of your diet, remember to exercise. It has long been accepted knowledge that exercise improves both mood and academic performance. Even a quick walk outside could tremendously help you with your ability to study or write. You’ll feel happier, healthier, and have more brain power by treating your body well.

Remember to Celebrate! 

This one is big. Take a second to enjoy the view and note your progress. Each time you finish a substantial step on your way to the end, take a moment to reflect and be really proud of yourself; You just accomplished something big, you learned a lot, you did good.  You know so much more right now about [insert class subject here] than you did four months ago. You are allowed to be proud of yourself and give yourself a little time to celebrate your successes–maybe treat yourself to some 21 Choices–before getting back to the grind.

Hope this helps, CMC! Happy finals week!  You are almost there, you can do it! 

The event was run by ASCMC Student Life Chair Mohammad Abdul-Rahim ’15.

Vocabulary of the Week: Bro Portmanteaus

portmanbro

Update your brocabulary with the most popular and latest portmanbros. For the Econ majors, a portmanteau is a combination of two (or more) words into one new word.

Music Discovery Tool of the Week: Band of the Day (iPhone/iPad)

Band of the Day

A free app that brings you a new band each day in a digital magazine form, along with reviews of the band’s music and full streams of its top songs and videos. It’s a great app for keeping in the know of which bands are currently cool to know.

Smart Move of the Week: Mac Rumors Buyers Guide

Apple Buyers Guide

This website provides an easy to understand product summary for the current product cycle of each Apple product and provides a summary of currently available rumors for each model. What this means is, you check this site before buying your next MacBook or iPad so that you aren’t the chump with the obsolete model one month later.

YouTube Channel of the Week:

Beardyman

It’s hard to determine whether this man is brilliant or crazy. Either way, the beatbox-based music he makes is entertaining, spontaneous, and complex. Watch this one to understand his process, and then go back to the link above to get your fix.

Student Photograph of the Week: Sean McQueen ’13

Best Person to Share a Desert Island With: Michael Lapadot

Most Dreamed About: Katie Bonneau

Friendliest: Taylon Johnson

Most Likely to Have a CMC Building Named After Them: Alex Berman

Poppa Power Couple: Mark Munro & Erica Libby

Most Likely to Become a CMC Professor: Jake Petzold

 

 

Most Likely to #OccupyWallStreet: Dan Evans

Most Likely to Take Over the World: Dana Staley & Drew Oetting (together)

Best All-Around: Kevin Macpherson & Elena Davert

Most Nominated: Alex Wheatley

After the dinner, the Senior Class went across Foothill Blvd. to local piano bar Piano Piano, where the above mentioned winners enjoyed free drink coupons. But what were some category suggestions that didn’t make the cut? Here are some “more inspired recommendations coming from the broader Senior Class,” as Class of 2012 President Mary Doyle puts it:

Featured image credit goes to John Faranda.

ASCMC’s Chief Financial Officer, Kevin Sullivan ’12 noted that the original target, set in September, was a $4000 expense.  A few weeks before the party, in late February, party planners realized it was going to cost more than expected and adjusted target expenses to around $8000.

To account for the unexpected extra $12,000 in expenses, Sullivan explained that the lighting for AN21’s set cost $6000 more than anticipated and that the artist fees to bring AN21 were $2,000 more than originally expected. Additionally, ticket revenues were $6000 lower than expected, with about 400 fewer tickets sold than initially intended.

Overall, the White Party resulted in a $20,000 net expense: roughly $36,200 in total expenses while the total revenue was $16,200.

Last year’s ASCMC sponsored concert featuring LMFAO resulted in a $25,000 expenditure, and the year before that Lupe Fiasco’s performance ended in a $50,000 expense. Though each year marks a decrease in expense, the high annual cost raises the question of whether or not this type of event should continue on or, at the very least, be scaled back.  “The White Party was a very expensive success,” said ASCMC President Aditya Pai ’13.  ”It provided great benefit to students, but at great cost. The question going forward for everyone to consider is whether the benefit justifies the cost – or whether we should pursue other options.”

ASCMC conducted a poll to gauge student body’s response that indicated that over 60% of all respondents considered White Party among their top two favorite parties of the year.

“Undoubtedly the White Party was a success,” said Steven Limandibhratha ’14, Social Affairs Chair (SAC), “According to the responses on the survey, over 30% placed the White Party as their favorite party of the year, and over 60% placed the party in their top two parties.

A Breakdown of the White Party Expenses, Totaling Around $36,2000, Provided to the Forum by ASCMC

“Regarding the significant expense of the party, I believe working with the new board, we will be able to reduce these expenses in the future,” Limandibhratha commented,

When asked if the party was worth the money, freshman Liza Farr responded, that depends on what one’s priorities are. “White Party was really fun, a bunch of people went out for it and danced like crazy in a cool location with awesome lights and a fantastic DJ,” she said. “However, it did cost [ASCMC] a lot of money while it didn’t seem all that different from any of other, much cheaper parties.  I don’t think it was worth the immense amount of money spent on it.”

The grand prize went to freshman Chris Rama ’15. The event raised $586 for Rama’s charity, the Red Cross.

Last week, CMC formally released an external investigative report on the SAT scandal it first discovered in January. The 25-page report, which has been independently authored by the law firm O’Melveny & Myers LLP, is publicly available on the College’s website. The main findings of the report are that Richard Vos, the former Vice President of Admissions and Financial Aid, reported falsely modified SAT scores, ACT scores, class rank statistics, and application statistics since 2004.

On April 19, following the release of the report, U.S. News and World Report‘s Bob Morse wrote an article in which he said the College’s ranking would most likely have remained the same whether or not the test numbers were fudged. He interviewed Editor and Chief Content Officer Brian Kelly, who said that the publication is currently reviewing the report and that the “preliminary calculation shows that based on the correct data, Claremont McKenna College’s ranking would not have changed.” He added, “We will decide if further adjustments or explanations to our readers are necessary.”

CMC is currently ranked by the publication as the 9th best liberal arts college in the nation. At the time of the scandal, it was believed that pressure to improve rankings played a central role in motivating Vos to falsify the data. However, the independent report states that Vos did not face any extraordinary pressure “or any form of intimidation that might reasonably lead us to view the pressure exerted as coercive or improper.” The report highlighted that increasing CMC’s ranking was not Vos’s motivation for reporting false data and that it “believes the VP’s (Vos’) assertion to be true”.