No one special in your life at the moment? Enter Like Secret. Co-founded by Pomona freshman Jesse Pollak, Like Secret is an easy (and anonymous!) matchmaking app that may just score you a date this Tuesday night.

Launched just over a week ago, Like Secret has already gained over 400 users and is growing fast. Here’s how it works: Log into the site using Facebook and click on the friends you are romantically interested in. They then receive an anonymous notification that someone is interested in them. If they log in and happen to pick you too then you are matched up! If not, your secret is safe with them (read: it’s a really simple way to avoid rejection).

Yes, you heard right—gone are the days when sending red roses from “your secret admirer” was the best way to inform your crush of your interest. Welcome to the 21st century, where having zero game or being sick of hoping your crush can read your mind at TNC are officially non-issues.

Sure, online matchmaking sites are nothing new. Match.com is a wonderful way to meet people if you’re willing to create a public profile. Not only does this kind of site cost money, any member of the site can contact you (Like Secret is only between Facebook friends). Like a Little is also fantastic if what you are trying to do is write a post about how it was love at first sight in Collins last Thursday and wait for Guava to reciprocate that sentiment. It may never happen.

Pollak says he got his inspiration for starting the site when he realized that neither Match.com nor Like a Little really served the role of providing an online connection between young people. “I was lying in my bed on a Saturday night and the idea just kind of hit me: most dating sites are all about setting you up with people you don’t know, why not flip that idea on its head and focus on setting you up with people you do know?”  Unlike Like a Little, Like Secret allows more than just anonymous online flirting: it allows people to form real connections.  Pollak’s site is especially useful for college students, who nearly never use online dating sites, but are almost universally addicted to Facebook.  ”I think [college kids] see friends hooking up with people and think that something is wrong with them if they need help meeting people. In reality though, everyone struggles with dating and relationships and the success of dating sites has shown that people really do need help,” the co-founder explains.  Like Secret, he hopes, can serve this valuable function for people of all ages, but especially for students looking for romance on a campus far removed from the passion-filled world of “The Notebook.”

Now I don’t want you to think I’m some pessimist who cries herself to sleep at night wishing Noah Calhoun went to the Claremont Colleges. What I’m saying is that Like Secret is a means to an end. It is completely anonymous and it really works (trust me, my friend and I just tested it out). So give it a shot and if all else fails, well…like I said, I’m single.

There are some upcoming improvements for Like Secret as well.  Some ideas in the pipeline are a messaging platform to contact your matches, and the ability to set up friends you think would hit it off. So if Screw Your Roommate ended up going a little more like screw-over your roommate, it may be time to give Like Secret a try.

It isn’t fair. And it hurts.

Needless to say, this has been a rough couple days for CMC. Not only was the news surrounding the fudged SAT reports a poor moment for the administration, but it was also a difficult moment for the Claremont community. After all, we are the ones who love this place. We serve as its principal defenders and advocates. We devote inordinate amounts of time to explaining our institution to relatives and job recruiters– even strangers on the street.  It’s an incredible place, we argue. You’ve just probably never heard of it.

Now they have. It is a great irony that we receive so much attention for an issue that is so far removed from the hearts and minds of CMCers. Rankings are not necessarily what drove us here as prospective students, nor are they what we seek to take away with us as graduates.

I did not choose Claremont McKenna College for its name recognition; I came here in spite of its nonexistence.  I chose CMC because, despite knowing it was small and little-known, I had a feeling in my core it was worth the risk.

Let’s be clear: the unethical move highlighted in the press today was made by an administrator. It was one singular employee.  Perhaps he was moved deeply by his passions for the school, but nonetheless, his actions were his and his alone.  The bad news was honorably self-reported by the administration.

Our community, on the other hand, is innocent. This incident is by no means indicative of our school culture.  After three years here, I can tell you firsthand that Claremont McKenna College is not a hyper-competitive learning institution. The students here are scholars and leaders, not grimey grade-obsessed teenagers. Where I go to school, people do not try to sabotage their peers over grade point averages. Rather, they derive pleasure in seeing their peers succeed, in every venture.

The most important thing we can do as students in this moment is simple– we must defend the community we hold so dear.   Now is not the time for internal competition, rumors or conspiracy theories. We should take this moment to reaffirm our values as Claremont McKenna College’s finest, by supporting our classmates. This is an opportunity to reevaluate who we are as members of the CMC community. No matter what your major may be, we can all agree that, as students enrolled in this institution, we are part of an incredible organization.  This community is a caring one, founded on our ability to support each other regardless of our yearly U.S. News and World Report ranking. We do not find value in petty competition for competition’s sake. Claremont McKenna is better than that.

The CMC they’re writing about? That’s not my school. What happened this week– it is not who we are. Let them not extrapolate their opinion of our admissions office to that of us as a community. While it is clear that the administration needs to make some changes, it is important to remember that our college culture is not what is coming under fire.  Professors and students alike, continue your good work. Our educational policies are not the problem. Please don’t change a thing; you’re wonderful the way you are.

Here on the front lines in pleasant Claremont, California, one fact rings true: competition does not consume, nor define us. What happened on Monday is not reflective of our school community. Claremont McKenna College is a top-tier liberal arts college unlike any other in the nation– I maintain that opinion regardless of the news that broke this week.

In the last few days, I’ve used a mobile search engine to resolve a number of factual disagreements. One friend assumed that the GDP of China had exceeded that of the United States (nope), I called out my dad for turning right on a red arrow (as it turns out, this is legal in Washington State) and I lost a game of chess because my opponent got his pawn to the end of the board and gave himself a second queen (chess sucks).

Win or lose the arguments, I ended them with my fingers.

Five years ago these debates might have continued until we found a computer. Twenty years ago they could have lasted until we went to the library. But the vast majority of these arguments of the past fizzled out into “we’ll never know” or “let’s stop talking about this” or “hey a**hole, you can’t have two queens.” Today, I can quickly sift through a vast collection of information to find the answer, simply by reaching into my pocket.

This is not a passing trend. If CMC is anything like the outside world, there will be more networked devices on campus this year than last year. These devices will be more powerful than before, and cheaper too. Together we will create more data (this article is on the Internet!), and accessing and sorting that data will be faster and easier (Bing it!)

Not to get too “out there” on you, but we are on a path to the point at which accessing online data takes as much time as accessing it from our own memory. When we get there, the time you spent memorizing the periodic table in high school will be one-hundred-percent worthless—even for you, chemists.

We need to change how we do things.

First of all, don’t worry about learning facts. What is the atom structure of methane? Who is the chair of Pomona’s Lit department? How do I get to Los Angeles? Learning the answer to these types of questions was incredibly valuable in the past. When learning simple knowledge was hard, memorizing facts could give someone a huge advantage. Those with huge stores of facts in their brains could easily access that data and apply it to the situations they faced. Today, a critical mass of CMC students can learn the answers to these questions while in Collins, on their way to meet the chair of the Pomona Lit department or while their friend is driving to Los Angeles. Putting this type of information in your brain is increasingly useless. Stop doing it.

Instead, learn skills. Knowing when you need to seek out more information, where to find it, how to analyze it and how to explain it—these are the things that matter in today’s world. The same goes for the ability to play an instrument, write a compelling argument, and study for exams. These are skills. Probably most of what you do academically at CMC is learning this type of complex knowledge. Keep doing it! If you value your education and your time, take classes that emphasize learning new skills over memorization.

Hopefully taking some time to think about your relationship with information will help you spend your time more wisely. But students are not the only ones who need to adapt. Our professors do too.

This is an entrance exam to Harvard from the late 1800s. Without the Internet handy, this test would destroy me. Why? Because I have not spent any time learning how specific words translate into Latin or where rivers of the world originate. Having that information in my brain is close to worthless because I can learn it at a given moment with a few thumb flicks.

In the 1800s, Harvard University thought having this knowledge mattered. In 2012, Claremont McKenna College must realize that it matters much less and perhaps, doesn’t matter at all. Soon, we will command the entire collective knowledge of the human race with our fingertips (or our eyes, or our gestures or our brains). Professors need to help their students tackle the big picture problems, rather than mire them in the minutia. For the most part, they do a wonderful job of this, but most tests are wildly out of date: taking away our tools and asking us to perform fact-based tasks prepares us for the 1970′s, not the 21st century.

Last time I attended trivia night, I saw several people Googling answers under tables. Yes, they were cheating. But at some point, we won’t be able to stop them, and we won’t want to. During our lifetimes “searching it” will become the same as “knowing it.” We should accept that today.

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!

To say I’m picky about my coffee is almost an understatement. I have been known to drive an hour into the city of Chicago just for a decent cup of Joe and even wrote my college application essay on the topic of my caffeine of choice. Rather than face another burned espresso from Fivebucks  – er, Starbucks – or singlehandedly reverse the recession through my frequent support of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, I settled for dining hall tea and coffee as soon as my flex ran out. That is, until I discovered the charming, cheap, and convenient Last Drop Café.

Close enough for an enjoyable walk or bike ride but not so close that you feel guilty about driving, the Last Drop Café is located just a few blocks away from Pomona’s campus on Harvard Avenue among many of the village’s quaint and sometimes quirky shops. Keeping with the small-town vibe, the café itself isn’t very large – just 4 or 5 small tables inside – but its décor offers interesting photographs, up-to-date interest magazines, and some of the friendliest staff I’ve ever encountered to keep you entertained while you wait for your perfectly crafted order.

Ordering itself can be the hardest part when over 5 different kinds of fresh brewed coffee and more than 15 different tea flavors are available, not to mention flavorings and milk substitutes galore. Navigating the menu is a daunting task, so I advise newcomers to ask the barista for suggestions – the coffee I was directed to, Vanilla Vanilla, didn’t disappoint (and neither did the price –a small costs only $1.75). I enjoyed a slightly sweet blend of French Vanilla coffee with Vanilla creamer that held a surprisingly smooth finish. Charbucks  Starbucks lovers, get ready: your taste buds have been trained to expect the bitterness of burnt beans masked by 500 calories of sweetness that you will not find here. If it is sweetened supercaffiene you crave, the Mike’s Special is a tantalizing alternative to an energy drink. As a Yelp! reviewer accurately describes it, “the Mike’s Special is a layered espresso drink that has three different flavor profiles and three different temperatures.”  All this with the added kick of a massive dose of caffeine – one cup of this is equivalent to three cups of coffee – this super-drink promises to tease your tastebuds and keep you wired for hours. The layers of caramel, cream, vanilla, chocolate, Irish cream and espresso, are really something you have to experience for yourself. For less than $4, it’s more than worth it. Perfect with finals quickly approaching and flex for the Motley running out…

If you decide to spend a few hours at the Last Drop taking advantage of their free wifi to watch funny YouTube videos study, you may find yourself tempted to try an interesting soup-sandwich combo. Give in and indulge: the make-your-own roast beef sandwich is fresh and includes generous fixings, and the soups taste homemade, and has a vaguely spiced with the aftertaste of the French onion. Pair it with a vegan banana chocolate chip cookie (sound familiar? Last Drop is where the Motley gets their batch) and you’ve got a fully fulfilling meal for under $10. A variety of bread options gives the food menu, too, virtually limitless possibilities, bringing you back to try different combinations. Speaking of combinations, I’ve heard the amusing blend involved in the avocado banana smoothie is something you must try, simply for the novelty if for nothing else….

If this doesn’t pique your interest, stop in and have a chat with Mike, the owner. Another friendly village shop owner, he knows most of the regulars by name and order and will happily describe to you how his coffee, smoothies, soups and sandwiches are all lovingly prepared daily. If nothing else, he’s a great guy and sympathetic to listening to you vent about finals. That being said, it might take a while for you to make your way to the cash register if there’s a long line since the staff takes their time to take care of each individual customer, but it’s well worth the wait.

Out of 5 stars, I’d easily give the Last Drop a 5.  Yelp! agrees. You can’t find a place like this anywhere else in the Claremont area.

The Last Drop Café is located in the village at 119 Harvard Avenue. It is open Monday through Saturday at 7:00am and Sunday at 8:00am.

All photos are from the Last Drop Café’s Facebook page.

Photo credit: Huffington Post

The firings signal the end of a verification process that began on November 7th, when the college notified 84 employees that they must provide updated citizenship documentation by December 1st, or they would be let go. The Student Life reports that the letter was sent after the Pomona College Board of Trustees had received a complaint that some campus employees were undocumented, and that the investigation was part of a “series of legal obligations.”

“The College and some of its employees have been placed in a difficult and unfortunate situation, which we wish could have been avoided,” Paul Efron, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees wrote in an email to the Pomona community. “However, while many of us believe that the country’s immigration policies are in need of reform, it is important to emphasize to the Pomona community that the College has a responsibility to comply with the current laws.”

Photo credit: Huffington Post

After 17 employees failed to resolve the discrepancies in their files, the college terminated them effective today. Instead, the employees came to work chanting “we’re here, and we’re not leaving,” according to the Huffington Post.

The employees were joined by an estimated 150 protesters in Frary dining hall this morning, which has been the target of a boycott since Wednesday.  In a school-wide email to Pomona students, Miriam Feldblum, the Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, announced that protestesters were permitted to take-over the dining hall. ”The organizers stated that their intention was to have 17 of their number arrested by Claremont Police, but College officials declined to have them arrested so long as they were peaceful,” Feldblum writes. “The protestors then moved to Alexander Hall, where they resumed their protest, continuing their stated intention of being arrested. Around 11:30 this morning, as a result of a negotiation between the protestors and the police, CPD arrested 17 protestors for blocking College Avenue.”

Photo credit: Huffington Post

Pomona dining hall workers have been attempting to unionize for over two years, although the L.A. Times reports that talks with Pomona’s administration have stalled. Cynthia Peters, media relations director for the college, told the Huffington Post, “The terminations had nothing to do with the union organizing. The two issues are completely separate.”

The events surrounding this issue are still on-going and this article will be updated as more information becomes available.

Omnivorous Diet
This is the diet of the original human, consuming an “I eat anything in front of me” diet that does not exclude any particular food group. For most people, an omnivorous diet is the best choice: it allows for plenty of variety in foods, which provides sources of many different nutrients. However, it is important to make sure that you are consuming a “well balanced” diet that has high amounts of vitamins and minerals.

Vegetarian Diet
Vegetarians (like myself) consume any foods that do not include animal flesh. There are many sub-groups of vegetarians: lacto-ovo vegetarians include dairy and eggs, lacto vegetarians consume dairy but no eggs, and pescatarians make an exception for seafood. Vegetarian diets are generally lower in saturated fat and cholesterol and higher in fiber than an omnivorous diet, which can be a great health boon. However, vegetarians must work hard to achieve a balanced diet with the proper amount of vitamins and minerals. Iron, protein, and calcium are often the most difficult to obtain while avoiding meats or animal products, because according to Brede “we don’t absorb these from pants as well as we absorb them from animal products.” Iron and protein deficiencies can cause chronic low-energy and muscle weakness. To counteract these deficiencies, vegetarians should eat plenty of nuts and beans (for protein) and consider taking supplements and multivitamins.  Some bodies do absorb vitamins better than others, and if this is the case switching to a vegetarian diet can actually cause an increase in energy levels.  If you’re interested, just give it a try, and see what your body tells you after a month or two of the switch.

Vegan Diet
A vegan is the most restrictive type of vegetarian, including no dairy or eggs in their diet. Some vegans avoid other animal-produced foods like honey or products that require non-plants or fungus for their production. The benefits of veganism closely match those of vegetarianism, but the health risks are even more extreme. Vegans are at risk for low protein, iron, and calcium as well, and additionally often have a low level of vitamin B-12. Again, taking supplements or even injections can be a good way to work around these deficiencies. Often, people choose to become vegan because they are lactose intolerant to begin with, or they appreciate the lowered environmental impact of a vegan diet. As long as enough care is paid to getting the proper minerals, the vegan lifestyle can be a rewarding one.

Gluten-Free Diet
The protein “gluten” is found in wheat, barley, and many other types of grains: read, pastas, pizzas, breads, cereals… most of our most delicious carbohydrates contain gluten. Some people suffering from celiac disease, a metabolic disorder which impedes the body’s ability to process gluten, are forced to become gluten-free, while others simply choose it as a lifestyle. Although many popular books and magazines have touted the diet as a weight-loss strategy, Brede emphasizes that “research does not indicate any health benefit for individuals who do not have a gluten intolerance.” Not only that, but the health risks of cutting out gluten, no matter what the reason, are numerous. Gluten is very common in our food supply, and avoiding it can create many deficiencies, especially in B-vitamins, iron, and folate. Additionally, many people find themselves experiencing mood- and energy-swings after cutting out carbohydrates. If you want (or need) to go gluten-free, be sure to eat plenty of gluten-free carbs like rice and potatoes, and foods containing flours made from soy, nuts, or gluten-free grains.

Raw Food Diet
The most extreme type of dietary restrictors, raw foodists eliminate any foods that have been cooked or processed from their diets. This includes obvious things like baked goods and packaged foods, but also applies to less apparent foods like pasteurized milk, cooked eggs, and unsprouted grains. People who follow this rigorous regime most often include more fruits and veggies than the average eater, which provides them with many healthy nutrients and fiber. In addition, “some nutrients can be destroyed by heat and cooking, and would be preserved on a raw diet,” Brede says. However, health risks abound for raw foodists. “Uncooked dairy, meat, fish, or eggs are at a higher risk for carrying bacteria that can make a person sick, like Salmonella,” Brede points out. Less immediate risks include the fact that, conversely to the previous point, some nutrients actually need heat and cooking in order for the body to readily absorb and process them. A raw food diet is often inadequate in iron, calcium, vitamin D, protein, zinc, and calories, leading to a host of complications in the short and long term.

So, what does your ideal diet look like? Brede recommends eating some fruits and veggies at every meal, regardless of what the rest of your plate looks like: a pizza and some carrots is better than a pizza and no carrots. She also stresses not to skip meals: get some snacks and quick meals for your dorm room if you don’t have the time (or the meal plan) to eat at the dining hall three times a day.

For more information and tools to support healthy eating and the creation of a balanced diet for you, check out www.choosemyplate.org.

Want more health tips from Nora? Check out these great articles on how to stay healthy around midterm season, how to eat right when the budget is tight and the perfect P.E. class for each type of person

It is an oft-heard gripe that perhaps it is the sameness of the parties that makes them feel lackluster. While it is true that most parties are similar, they are similar in that they cater to the students. ASCMC has a budget, and between 6:01, the Pirate Party, Monte Carlo, and the Wedding Party, (not to mention those hosted by the other colleges) they make good use of it. It is not as if they don’t attempt to inject variation into our nightlife – rather it is the fact that the same student body will move towards creating the same atmosphere.

The problem lies not within the parties themselves, but rather in our failing to remember that there are certain tradeoffs you make when you decide to go to a school with 1200 students. Undoubtedly, one of the most noticeable of these tradeoffs is giving up any sense of anonymity. It is near impossible to even walk through a TNC without seeing at least ten people you know. While some see this as monotonous, I think that it is precisely this quality that allows CMC’s parties to seem so sociable.

While a large school naturally offers a more varied array of nightlife options, CMC’s party atmosphere allows you the comfort of going to any given party and running into someone – especially that someone you’ve had an eye on – without having to search high and low. With this reliability comes a level of security hard to find anywhere else – at a CMC party you can rest assured that you are taken care of. The level of community that comes with a student body so small creates an environment in which students truly care about each other’s safety. It is only because of this that we can feel comfortable even when we have had a little too much ‘dancing juice’ and lose our friends in a sea of togas.

Despite the pervasive sense of familiarity at parties, it is not as though there is no new-ness. While it may be easy to find those you know, there are always new people to meet. For those willing to put in the effort, there are always people to get to know and people to get to know better–whether they are students from the other four colleges, transfer students, freshmen, or CMCers you’ve never spoken to before. It is this quality that helps us forge a deeper sense of unity. We create connections with fellow students that we would be unlikely to create at any other type of school. In this way, it is the smallness of CMC that allows us to befriend more people rather than fewer.

So rather than wonder why you see the same people all the time, remember what it was you signed up for, and relish in the fact that every weekend you can go out, see all of your friends in a safe environment, and create those memories that you’ll never forget (or never remember).

 Note: Forum staff did not edit or revise these statements in any way. They are directly from the candidates in their own words. Their views do not necessarily represent those of the Forum.

Alexandra Cooke

Although I am the only candidate for the Student Life Council Chair (SLC Chair), I still take this election very seriously. As your prospective SLC Chair, I promise complete dedication to the job.

I have several goals to bring our already-close CMC community even closer through established traditions and new, diverse events.

CMC social life tends to be polarized: wet and dry events. Each of these has different qualities that attract separate crowds.  I see my job as the possibility to create new events that bring diverse groups together, forgetting the notion of wet and dry and fostering a more inclusive atmosphere.

If elected, first and foremost, I want to immediately establish a Council to help with throwing two or three events per week. This council should be composed of students with diverse ideas to ensure that the SLC events will appeal to a wide array of students.

Even though this will be a new position for me, there will be no lag time with putting on events; I already have a great working relationship with the ASCMC Exec Board, because I have served as the Executive Secretary since Spring Break.  Through my work with ASCMC so far, I also have experience working with DOS and following through with executing successful events.

Some of my ideas for SLC events are:

• ESPN College Gameday parties with FOOD
• Themed TV and movie nights (i.e. Dress up like the characters from Mad Men during a reception and a screening)
• Board game tournaments
• Music Events (i.e. Open Mic Night, Karaoke, live bands)
• Off-Campus events
• Continue the past traditions (i.e. Pumpkin Carving, Dodgers Games, TV showings, Ginger Bread Houses, Ski-Beach Day, etc.)

Most importantly, if elected, I want feedback from all of you. E-mail me if you have ideas or comments or just want to get to know me at acooke14@cmc.edu.

Remember to vote outside of Collins or at the Senior Apartments on Thursday! I hope to have your vote and have a great rest of the year with all of you as your SLC Chair.

ASCMC election rules prohibit candidates from campaigning online.  Since the Forum allows anonymous commenting, the editorial staff disabled commenting on articles to prevent any rule violations. If you have any questions about this policy, please email forum@ascmc.org.

Winning a landslide victory last semester with 71.8% of the vote, Zanft took ASCMC office in March 2011. Zanft ran on a platform of inclusion, stating his number one priority was “making everyone feel welcome at SLC events.”

Burk Zanft

In his campaign, Zanft suggested using ASCMC funds for providing non-alcoholic drinks at Thursday Night Club (TNC), hosting karaoke and “open mic” events, and creating opportunities for live student bands.

As Student Life Chair, Zanft held two “Hangover Hangouts,” a free offering of assorted food and drinks for the morning after TNC. The “hangouts” were met with some opposition, and some argued SLC events like these catered to a wet campus rather than dry events. Through the “hangouts,” Zanft aimed to “unite the parties” at CMC and create a more integrated student life culture. Burk also continued the Hub Quiz tradition on Friday nights.

ASCMC is scrambling to put together a special election for the vacant SLC seat. If you are interested in running for the position, ASCMC will hold an information session on Tuesday, September 27 at 9:30 PM at the Hub. Candidate speeches will be held the following Wednesday, October 5 at 10:45 PM in Collins Dining Hall during snack. The special election for SLC Chair will begin on Thursday, October 6, and results will be tallied that evening.

The SLC Chair heads the Student Life Council, which is primarily responsible for coordinating and promoting non-alcoholic extracurricular activities that benefit the general student body of CMC

Check in with the Forum next Wednesday, October 5, for live blogging of the candidate speeches and be sure to check out the election results exclusively on the Forum on Thursday, October 6.