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

“The Analyst Papers,” named in honor of CMC’s first student newspaper, the Analyst, is a five-part series published by the Forum, the official student publication of Claremont McKenna College.

For the first time, the history of Claremont McKenna has been brought online. The Analyst Papers has been published in the form of five accessible articles, with the aim of navigating through years of characters, monuments, and obstacles. CMC’s history is a short one, but a good one, and few know much of it. To learn it is to better understand what CMC stands for, its challenges and its future.

In 1996, the Trustees of CMC commissioned California historian Kevin Starr to write a book commemorating the College’s first fifty years. His remarkable work, “Commerce and Civilization: Claremont McKenna College, 1946-1996”, has been a key source for this series.

Additionally, CMC’s Development Office has opened the College’s archives to Forum staff for this project. We thank them, as well as the CMC Alumni Association, for access to primary sources and first-hand interviews.

Part I: The Founding: An Idea, Long Before a College

Part II: CMC’s Conservative Heart

Highlights in Part III:

· CMC’s campus mirrors the school’s founding philosophy, as well as the conditions in California that existed as it was developed. North Quad in particular represents a unique space on its own terms, personifying the school’s founding struggles.

· Within its first four years, the school grew from six prefabricated units to an early draft of North Quad, with CMC’s four most iconic dorms standing erect.

· The Athenaeum, an idea first concocted in 1968 by Donald McKenna, was not completed as a space until 1983 – giving the campus an intellectual mantlepiece.

Part IV: Claremont Men’s College, with Women

Part V: Our Place in the Liberal Arts

____________

Part III

The Challenge of the Campus

While CMC's first students lived in the basement of Bridges Auditorium, dormitories that the College first called its own were vet units, pictured here in 1947.

In June of 1946, Robert Bernard made a judgment call.  Gordon Kaufmann, architect behind the primary Scripps College Quad and Harper Hall, had just completed his preliminary drawings for Honnold Library.  Bernard, a founding trustee, was planning on sharing these drawings with Marie Rankin Clarke – a wealthy and generous philanthropist who had expressed interest in the Group Plan.  George Martin, another trustee, had warned Bernard not to ask Clarke for money on behalf of the new men’s school, but rather to approach her as an emissary for the entire consortium. But Bernard, before bringing the drawings to Ms. Clarke’s room at the Biltmore, asked Kaufman to sketch in the hopeful foundations of CMC’s campus to the East of Honnold.

Up to that point, the only plans for a Claremont Men’s College campus were six prefabricated buildings, acquired as a result of a housing surplus at an Army Air Force Base in Santa Ana.  Called “hubs,” these units lived on as the original nickname for the Student Union and, now, The Hub. President Benson had purchased these units through the Federal Public Housing Authority – another New Deal program vital to the anti-New Deal boosters of the new college.

In its very first days, before these units arrived, CMC students lived in the basement of Bridges Auditorium, famously decorated with potted palm trees and referred to by its inhabitants as Coconut Grove. They took classes in makeshift rooms, surrounded by sheets draping from the ceiling in Bridges’ attic before the arrival of all the units.

Allison and Rible drew this blueprint for Claremont Men's College in 1947. It is likely the first of its kind.

While meeting with Ms. Clarke, Bernard explained what the area just East of the library contained – Claremont Men’s School.

Starr writes, “When Mrs. Clarke showed interest in the new school, Bernard followed up by sending her a copy of the program of the opening convocation, together with the photos of students living in the basement of Bridges Auditorium.”

Mrs. Clarke ended up giving $500,000 before the first semester of the school came to a close.  With such bold beginnings, the school incorporated, and began to plan out its physical environment.

Sixty years later, another trustee, Henry Kravis, would sit down with another architect, Raphael Vinoly, to dream up the next step for CMC’s academic village.  In between were six decades of transitional and incremental campus development.

Unlike Scripps, largely planned out and financed with Ellen Browning Scripps’ initial investment, CMC could only build a campus environment piece by piece. Each piece would provide CMC’s founders with serious fundraising challenges.  But each piece, at least through the 1970s, would reflect both the foundational ideas – California conservatism – as well as the norms of the typical American campus structure.

Somehow, these campus foundations had to be reconciled with a college that had visions way beyond the confines of acreage.

CMC’s campus is often discarded or discounted when compared to the gorgeous gardens of Scripps or the handsome and traditionally tailored campus of Pomona.  But while there is no aesthetic competition with the Scripps physique, CMC – North Quad in particular – has its own architectural legacy and stories.

This past reflects and twists the American notion of the campus space, symbiotic of both CMC’s daunting and unlikely struggle for national success, and its roots in California’s growth.  In short, the bleakness of CMC’s architecture, thanks to Benson, who had little concern with its form, is in itself something to celebrate.  CMC’s campus space is a story representative of conservative roots, social norms after World War Two, and California’s multi-partisan progressive tradition.  In this, North Quad provides its own brutal beauty.

CMC students made the most of limited resources, Analyst coverage shows.

The Group Plan became a vestigial of Los Angeles traditions of progressivism and boosterism. Bernard, in a Harper’s article, explained not just of CMC but the entire consortium: “No period of American history has a monopoly on founding…there is nothing to be undone here; we start from scratch.”

Only in California could such a statement be made. In 1923, a Los Angeles Times editorial read, “We are being hotly pursued by our future.” Los Angeles, never a static place, internalized these fears, explain historians, soldering themselves to doctrines of development. CMC’s founding is rooted in California’s fanatic 1920s growth.

Architecture, particularly in southern California, is an expression of history and social process. CMC is no exception, representing its own flavor of the “academic village,” derivative of a distinctly American feature of higher education – the idea of the university as a community in and of itself. For CMC, this community would mimic 1940s restraints: “values of thrift, efficiency, and functionalism,” explains Starr.

He continues, “Like the odds and ends of military attire favored by the undergraduates in the first two years, surplus housing units of either wood or steel vividly evoked the transitions of the postwar era.”

The first permanent structure was the original Story House.  The building, named after Russell M. Story, served as a dormitory, commons, and focal point for campus life. By 1947, however, work had already begun on dedicating the furnishings of a campus.

Out of a dire need for dormitories came the first pillar of North Quad.  Architecture firm Allison and Rible, an omnipresent character throughout the campuses accelerating first fifteen years of growth, presented Benson and his trustee building committee with their work: a dorm turned inside out.  Instead of a central corridor, rooms would be accessed from a first or second story gallery.  The endeavor, now Appleby Hall, turned out to be a cost-effective success in the short run. And the College’s first dorm came to personify CMC’s aspirations and inclinations – functional and pragmatic, yet democratic, and distinctly Californian.

By the 1950s, CMC's architects were asked to draw up plans for a student center that would be shared with Scripps College. It would eventually adopt its colloquial name, "The Hub."

Benson, aware of the need to define and begin projecting a campus for recruitment and fundraising needs, had Allison and Rible quickly turn the project into a master plan – the initial rendering of a four dormitory quadrangle with an adjunct cafeteria.  By 1950, the four-legged quad was enclosed by Appleby, Green, Boswell, and Wohlford.

The college rounded out the 1940s with Pitzer Hall at the Western end of the Quad.  Before construction, however, there was a need to acquire the land. After World War Two, California experienced a significant housing crisis. “Even the most embattled shelter represented an asset,” explained Starr.  In total, the trustees spent $100,000 to clear the land for Pitzer Hall.  With limited funds and Russell Pitzer’s gift already tied up in loans associated with the construction of the dormitories, trustees pored over Allison and Rible’s drawings looking to cut costs.  Hot water in the bathrooms was eliminated by Benson.  Fortunately, through small gifts and loans from local banks at the hands of respected trustees, construction started in 1949, mirroring the construction on the Eastern end of the quad of Boswell Hall.

In this 1952 rendering from a promotional pamphlet, the shape of the campus begins to crystalize.

Upon the conclusion of the Korean War in 1953, the American economy accelerated – particularly in Southern California, where a building boom commenced. CMC trustees, many personally reaping the rewards of the 1950s, were eager to fund CMC’s own building boom.  Pitzer Hall was expanded in 1955.  In 1957, construction on Collins Hall, giving North Quad a permanent dining location, was completed.  The dining hall sat just off the quad, overlooking the green with large glass windows that demanded a vibrant and public eating routine, a dramatic contrast with Mallott Commons’ intimate rooms or Frary’s monolithic dining room.

While amidst a boom, the overlapping projects pushed the College’s finances to its limits, mandating further austerity for the buildings.  But within fifteen years, CMC’s academic village had arrived, after donations and loans were precariously strung together, leaving behind evidence of the financial restrictions imposed on the campus’ architectural needs.  In 1959, the interest on the $750,000 in loans taken out from the bank and endowment was about the same as an associate professor’s salary.

Now with a campus, the trustees and administrators sought to further provide the furnishings the college’s environment. Sixteen projects, including Auen, Fawcett, Benson, Berger, and Marks Halls, were completed during the 1960s.  Pitzer Hall, by the 1960s, could no longer support the administrative needs of the school.  Bauer Hall, with its groundbreaking in 1967 after Modestus Bauer’s $2.2 million gift, provided the solution. Bauer Hall provided the eastern end of north quad, and, remarkably, was accepted as an impressive architectural terminus for the quad.  The building mimicked the themes of North Quad: exterior corridors, simple hints of Mediterranean style, and an emphasis function over form. Bauer Center, while certainly no rival to the Kravis Center across the quad, still provides CMC with its own academic rotunda, and has played a key role in defining North Quad as a dynamic and multipurpose place that contained residential, academic, administrative, and social spaces.

Claremont McKenna's current master plan calls for an extension of the College's original quad.

The following years, while not without construction, were years focused on academic and administrative planning and development. Little physical change occurred when the College went coed. It was not until the 1980s that North Quad received an intellectual mantlepiece with construction of the Atheneaum. Donald McKenna pushed the project to establish a permanent building for speakers and discourse.  As early as 1968, McKenna had formulated the concept of the Atheneaum, a space that could simultaneously serve as an intellectual hub to exchange and learn but also mesh with the school’s ambitions to maintain a residential college. A $2 million building, construction began in 1982 and was finished within a year.  Now the campus had an explicit space where intellectual pursuits flirted and mingled with the CMC community in a social setting.

With the completion of the Ath and now further aware of how its identity had adapted to changing times, CMC announced a Master Plan in the mid 1980s.  Of most importance, Starr notes, was the realization that the older buildings were “disconcertingly Spartan in appearance,” due to lack of funding, and the aesthetic minimalism of the founders. Still, the campus had overcome architectural austerity to develop a profound space that respected the academic ambitions of the College. And while the founders saw little intrinsic value in designing a campus beyond its basic needs, these very tenets had, in a twist of fate, created a unique California campus that would become cherished by its inhabitants.

Read Part IV: Claremont Men’s College, with Women.

My original intent was not to one-up my editor.  I was already on day 13 of my diet when Carl’s article surfaced. My story begins in the utopian land of Vermont. A friend of mine had recently started dating a person 100% devoted to the raw lifestyle. Within a few weeks, my friend had bought her one way ticket to crazy town; she chose to go raw.

Knowing nothing myself of raw eating, I asked her about a million and one questions. “So, can you eat tuna? That’s raw!” I ventured.  “No,” she responded, “because when the tuna get killed they’re really stressed out, and when you eat the stressed tuna meat, the stress gets injected into you.” I just stared at her blankly. Initially, I dismissed the diet as hippie jargon that was stupid, unscientific, and unhealthy. My friend, realizing she was not getting her point across and  that I’m never one to turn down a challenge, challenged me to eat raw for 30 days. Ok, I thought, bring it on!

So, what exactly is the raw diet? Put simply, it’s a diet in which everything you eat meets the following criteria:

• Nothing in the product has been heated over 116 degrees
• The product is unprocessed
• The product is preferably organic

Foods that fit these requirements are fruits, vegetables, nuts, and a category known as superfoods. This means no breads, pastas, meats, cereals, granolas, or dairy (unless unpasteurized milk is used) qualify as raw. The theory is that when food is cooked, the healthy enzymes and bacteria are killed, the nutrients are removed, and the food becomes more acidic. By eating living foods, you feel more alive and your body processes those foods better.

Superfoods are a class of food that are considered extra nutritional. When at all possible, you should incorporate these foods into your diet. Things that fall into this category are blueberries, gogi berries, açai berries, raw organic honey, cacao, maca, and varieties of seaweed.

Raw foodies describe their eating habits as a lifestyle, not merely a diet.  Though weight loss is a benefit, there are many more positive effects. Benefits include a massive increase in energy, more focus, a boosted immune system, clearer skin, and reported cures for ailments from asthma to diabetes. A raw foodie may see colors brighter, feel more in tune with the earth, and feel at peace with the world. Raw foodies even have their own Facebook-like social networking site: Thebestdayever.com

Sounds great, right? A miracle diet that could fix virtually everything ailing your body and mind. The only cost, a high one, is giving up everything delicious. Ok, maybe not everything delicious; you can still get the benefits if you eat at least 80% raw. I tried to go 100% with 3 exceptions: salad dressing, coffee, and alcohol.

The first days were torture. I tried to equate good scents with flowers– something I liked to smell but didn’t want to eat. Not effective. I felt depressed and crabby, by day 10 it was already monotonous. I began to look beyond Trader Joe’s and the dining halls for options. I ended up ordering foods online and finding a few places in the Village (more on these below) that sold raw treats. After two weeks I started feeling better…and better…and better.

I’ll answer the most pressing question: What do you eat?!

Morning:

• a glass of water mixed with red maca root powder
• Pitzer smoothie (you can make your own fruit-only smoothies)

Afternoon:

• Salad at any dining hall, including all veggies that are raw. (Note: Scripps and Frary have the most raw salad options)
• celery and carrots

Mid afternoon

• mix a spoonful of Seaclear with water
• a handful of raw nuts, gogi berries, and cacao nibs
• Raw energy bar

Evening

• Dinner= More salad
• For a great dessert grab a banana at breakfast and freeze it. After dinner eat it with a few spoonfuls of honey.

Where to buy raw foods and favorites at these places:

• Trader Joe’s: raw almond butter, raw honey, and Pure bars
• Gluten Free Market: (next to Yogurtland) raw cheesecake and ice cream (made with cashew cream) many raw energy bar options
• Farmer’s Market: fresh produce in the Village each weekend
• EcoTerra: (Next to American Apparel) raw cheese, cacao nibs, pre-made raw salads like raw bok choy, or acorn squash and peach salad.
• Therawfoodworld.com: Red Maca root powder, Seaclear, truffles.

Drawbacks:

• The dining halls are relatively easy, but club barbeques or dorm events with pizza are more difficult.
• Raw food is expensive.
• Constantly being on the defensive with questions, comments, and judgment is tough–“Aren’t you anorexic this month?” I got often. Without the excuse of “my friend challenged me” the comments may have gotten to me.
• Alcohol toleration goes way down: Frank the Tank quickly becomes Sally the Scooter.

Now for the big question: Did it work?

• Weight loss: absolutely. I lost about 10 pounds, not too shabby for only 30 days.
• Increased energy: surprisingly, yes.  It took about 2 weeks for the energy to noticeably increase. By the end, I had cut my coffee intake from 8-10 cups a day to 1 every few days. I didn’t need it anymore, I was napping less, and I felt more alert in class and around campus.
• Clearer skin: There was no noticeable difference, but perhaps with a longer test period.
• Brighter colors and a deep connection with nature: debatable. How colorful a day here is mildly dependent on the smog levels.  Mother Earth and I have always been pretty tight, so this probably didn’t have an effect.
• Overall, I felt healthier and happier throughout the month. This was a huge test in self-control and creative eating. I’m plan to continue with a bit tamer version of the diet, and I would recommend the raw lifestyle to anyone.

So would these guys.

The main windows of Collins Dining Hall were painted over last night.

Late last night, “Fuck CMC” was painted on the main windows of Collins Dining Hall.

Pomona students are alleged to have committed the act, based on a continued graffiti trail back to the Sagehen campus. But Dean of Students Mary Spellman said there is no evidence to support this claim, and said that Campus Safety was continuing an investigation into the matter.

“I just received a report this morning,” Spellman said, adding she knew nothing else of the event.

The incident comes in light of a long history of similar episodes. CMC students infamously broke into Frary Dining Hall and defaced Prometheus years ago, and Pomona has damaged the Flamson Plaza fountain outside the Athenaeum in recent past.

The graffiti, which included phallic imagery along with the slur, was promptly cleaned up this morning. Today is one of two major on-campus days for prospective students.

Here are some ground rules. I’m going to have two center focus points: North Quad and South Quad. I feel like this adequately covers the CMC community. Seniors in the apartments use the dining halls less and Mid-Quadders can figure it out based on which quad they are closer to. Secondly, the unit of measurement I used is the average size of a Claremont city block. To put this in perspective, the distance between Stark Hall and Boswell is approximately 2.5 blocks. I think this will be easier to think about than something like “2,834 feet to the Muddhole”, and much easier for me to measure.

The dining halls we will cover are Scripps/Motley, Pitzer, Frary, the Coop, and Hoch-Shanahan/Muddhole. I feel like these are the most popular destinations. Also, this article is based solely for travel purposes. If you want to read something that discusses quality, there was a recent article written about coffee and Claremont that also reached out for my professional opinion (the last paragraph!). Anyway, back to business.

South Quad: If you live in the South Quad, you are just under two blocks from Collins, your closest dining hall. Branching out, Frary is only a slightly further walk, and would probably be the same if it wasn’t for the construction.  The Hub is a little over two blocks and Scripps comes in exactly at three as the crow flies. Pitzer is a medium distance of four blocks. The real treks start to occur when you try to eat at the Coop or at Mudd. The Coop is five blocks away, while Hoch comes in at a whopping 7, over half a mile.

Consensus: If the food looks better at Scripps or Frary, go for it. A half mile for Mudd? No thanks.

North Quad: Since Collins and The Hub are right at your front door, I’m not even going to acknowledge them with a distance. Just walk outside. However, Scripps and Pitzer are also excellent options at only two blocks away. Mudd is still pretty far at about 4.5 blocks, but it’s really just on the other side of Scripps.  As for the Pomona eateries, Frary is about 3 blocks, while the Coop, with construction, is almost 7.

Consensus: Pitzer and Scripps prove the easiest alternatives to CMC food. Mudd is doable if you have some time, but unless you are meeting some friends on the weekend or after Pub, I really don’t see any point in venturing over to the Coop.

Well, there you have it. The dining hall distances are broken down.  Of course, if you are rushed for time, Collins is still the easiest, but some of the others are surprisingly closer than I initially though. In any sense, we’ll all probably still end up trekking seven blocks to the Muddhole next Saturday for one last steak quesadilla before bed.

The roadblock to union-forming stems from a argument over which type of voting process will decide the issue. The staff-only group Workers For Justice has proposed a card check system, while Pomona’s administration favors the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) process. The NLRB is an independent agency tasked with organizing union elections.  At its best, this system is the most democratic for the cause. But it can also be vulnerable to employer intimidation and long delays. Card check neutrality is a voting process that bypasses the NLRB, instantly forming a union when over 50% of employees vote in favor. This system is faster and less likely to be dominated by employers, but it instead can lead to intimidation by union organizers. To date, neither side has been willing to compromise on the voting method.

Student anger has only grown at Pomona since the movement began to unionize dining hall workers.

Though the distinction has not always been clear, there are in fact two organizations working in consort. The first is Workers for Justice (WFJ), a dining hall staff group pushing for a union through the card check neutrality procedure and non-intimidation agreement. Their student counterpart is Students in Solidarity with Workers for Justice (SSWJ), a student organization led by student organizers.

I find myself sympathizing deeply with the goals of SSWJ. Yet even as a signer of the SSWJ petition, I am worried by their rhetoric and methods. The group advocates an all-or-nothing approach and refuses to compromise with the administration on any of their key issues. While their dedication is certainly admirable, not everyone who supports the workers takes such a hard line. By making the cause ‘with-us-or-against-us’, Students for Solidarity forces many students, myself included, to either side with their demands or to leave the issue behind.

As an organization, we should credit them for the effectiveness of their campaign. In their underlying goal to provide a voice for the staff workers, they have undeniably succeeded. The organization has been covered in local newspapers and on several prominent blogs including the Huffington Post.

Still, many students feel that the administration is being unfairly vilified. While the administration has been unwilling to compromise on the card check issue, they have been receptive to many of the concerns and demands of WFJ. President Oxtoby has written three major emails to the Pomona community responding to concerns, and clarifying his administration’s position regarding the unionization process. This week, he plans on sitting down with dining hall staff to discuss staff concerns. Because of this apparent openness by the administration, many students worry that if the rhetoric and tactics used by Students in Solidarity do not change, the same alienation of the college community may result. In particular, I refer to the SSWJ’s stance against compromise on card check neutrality.

I am not arguing that the workers themselves should necessarily compromise on the issue. Maria R. Garcia, a Pomona dining hall worker for ten years, was one of the first members of staff to unite behind the proposed union. She believes that card check is the only solution. She said, “With NLRB they get all the power. It could go on for years. With the card check, it’s our voices, it’s our decisions.” There have been many reported instances of poor treatment of staff workers, including injury neglect and unpaid overtime. Garcia worries that without a union and card check, workers will be forced out of the conversation in the future. “We can’t be doing this every year. They need to give us a chance to work things out.”

Many on campus are also concerned about the seeming lack of division between Workers for Justice, the staff group, and Student in Solidarity with Workers for Justice. The distinction has gone unnoticed by many, including the recent article “Working For Workers” in the Claremont Port Side. This confusion has many consequences, not the least of which is that were the two groups the same, it might appear as though the students were exerting too much influence upon the workers’ decisions. Sam Gordon PO’11, media spokesman for Students in Solidarity, admits issues like these weren’t discussed appropriately in first wave of publicity but remains optimistic that the organization’s message and role will be more clearly defined.

“We were a little frantic and didn’t know the nuances of what we needed to do,” said Gordon. ”Since spring break, we’ve had the opportunity to refocus and we’ve been a lot better about making the distinction between students’ roles and workers’ roles.”

So what needs to happen? Both Pomona’s administration and SSWJ have roles to play. The administration can gain a great deal of credibility by admitting that the NLRB method of union creation has flaws, and explaining why, in spite of these, they believe that it is still the best method in these circumstances. SSWJ should continue their move away from direct representation of workers and towards their newly clarified goal of supporting the workers in their actions without necessarily taking a stance on the unionization process. Privately, several members of SSWJ have said that they believe that the NLRB process, if initiated at Pomona would likely form a union in a reasonable time.

As one member who wished to remain anonymous stated: “The workers have every right to demand the card check process, and we ought to let them have the voice to do so, but we can stand behind the staff without necessarily standing behind everything they say.”

Challah for Hunger is the brainchild of Scripps alumna Eli Winkelman. In 2004, Winkelman and her friends began baking challah for Shabbat dinners organized by Hillel of the Claremont Colleges. The group’s products became so popular that they decided to start selling their goods to benefit genocide victims in Darfur, people for whom hunger is one of many threats faced daily. Challah for Hunger, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that now splits donations between AJWS relief in Sudan and local organizations, arose. The Scripps students’s efforts soon inspired 30 additional chapters to form; Challah for Hunger is active on U.S. college campuses from Brooklyn to San Diego, and even thrives internationally in Australia and Montreal. At the Clinton Global Initiative in 2009, Bill Clinton commended Winkelman and Challah for Hunger for their efforts on national television.

Student volunteers from all five colleges now run the Claremont chapter of Challah for Hunger. Baking takes place every Thursday in Frary dining hall’s kitchen. Fresh, golden loaves are sold on Fridays from around 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. (if supplies last that long!) at various locations throughout the 5C campuses. A complete schedule of times and locations is available on the Challah for Hunger website. Sales at CMC take place just outside Collins; be sure to purchase your challah as early as possible, especially if you’re craving the coveted “mixed” challah.  Challah generally cost $4 and can be charged to your Claremont Cash (thanks, Mom and Dad!)– a reasonable price given the charitable cause and the generous size of a single loaf.

Rachel Hamburg, a senior at Pomona College, is the co-president of the organization’s chapter in Claremont and a serious challah-lover. “What do I love about challah?” Hamburg mused, “I love the golden brown color. I love how soft and fluffy a loaf of challah is when broken in half. I love how it is a community food that you can share with friend…and even strangers!”

Special events, like Challah for Hunger’s epic karaoke party in the fall, help to raise awareness about important global issues while bringing together like-minded students committed to social justice. “Care-oke” is scheduled to happen again later in the spring, in addition to an Earth Day documentary and a National Women’s Day event. For Valentine’s Day, “Challah-grams” were available for purchase; these mini-loaves with special notes attached are one of many ways that Challah for Hunger pairs delicious, fun treats with activism efforts.

Challah for Hunger is a 5C club that welcomes all volunteers willing to roll up their sleeves, don a hairnet in the Frary kitchen, and join in the fight for social justice in Sudan and in the Inland Empire. Uncommon Good, the mentoring program that many CMC students participate in, is one of many local charities to which Challah for Hunger donates profits. A plan to involve mentors and mentees in a “Bake Your Own Challah” event is in the works for this spring semester.

Although my liberal guilt deterred me from eating, I have a number of bones to pick with this boycott. First, why did the students think the boycott will be effective at all? The boycott simply transferred traffic to other dining halls for one night and in all likelihood made the jobs of the already overworked employees at other dining halls that much harder. Additionally, Pomona’s food service provider has monopoly power and long-term contracts–do the students really expect substantial change? The economy is still terrible and companies will probably need to make budget cuts no matter what students say. Furthermore, the boycott would have likely been more effective (and less frustrating for me) if it had been properly advertised to students at the other Claremont Colleges. I have been informed that it was well advertised at Pomona, but why was not more of an effort made for 5C outreach? Although the majority of students who eat at Frary are probably Pomona students, it gets substantial traffic from students at the other 5Cs, particularly from CMC.

Additionally, the tactics used by the students blocking the entrance to Frary left a bitter taste in my mouth. Rather than politely explaining their cause and telling me why a boycott was the best way to address their grievances, the students poured on the social pressure and deliberately tried to make me feel guilty for continuing with my normal routine. I don’t doubt that these tactics are effective, but are they worth the cost? Maybe it’s just my aversion to ethical consumerism in general, but I think that guilt tripping students is the best way to conduct a targeted campaign and build allies in the long run. We liberals should make standing up for various causes (including the welfare of food service workers at the 5Cs) fun and inclusive, rather than engage in heavy-handed tactics.

Most importantly, Pomona students are in no position to get on their moral high horse when it comes to handling budget cuts. Pomona students were recently asked for their input on how Pomona College should make budget cuts in order to save money during these hard economic times. The students said they would be willing to make the incredible sacrifice one night of snack a week. Armed with this noble sacrifice, they then suggested Pomona should save money by cutting professor salaries. I am not joking. Pomona students, who attend one of the best liberal arts colleges in the country, believe their college should jeopardize its most important asset: the human capital that professors bring to the institution. You get what you pay for when it comes to professor quality, which means professor pay should be the absolute last thing reduced during budget cuts. I spoke with a recent Pomona alum who was embarrassed that Pomona students would be so short-sighted. When Pomona students are willing to sacrifice more than one night of snack a week to help with budget cuts, I’ll start listening seriously to what they have to say about boycotting dining halls.

There are weekend mornings when I wake up and roll over to squint at the clock, only to groan after realizing that I have just missed brunch.  Almost every CMC student is bound to find him or herself in this same situation.  So, in the spirit of minimizing the decision-making that your groggy brain would have to deal with, here is some crisis preparedness training for just such a moment:

Let’s pretend you just woke up and think you’ve missed brunch.  What should you do?

Step 1: Have you really missed brunch?

Collins may close at 12:30, but other dining halls offer more reasonable brunch hours.  Mudd closes at 12:45 and Frary closes at 1:00.  If you wake up at 12:31, not all is lost.

Step 2: Ok, so you really have missed brunch.  What now?

If you have woken up after 1:00pm, you can still get food.  Here are the two questions to ask yourself: Do I want to pay for my food with flex or cash?  Can I make it down to the village?

Flex Options:

The Coop opens at noon on weekends and is your best bet for getting a filling meal on campus after the dining halls close.  The Coop can make amazing sandwiches if you customize them properly.  If you are unsure how to order a sandwich, follow the helpful guide taped to the counter.  Be sure to remember that you can have your bread toasted and your meat grilled.  You can also ask for avocado and/or bacon.  Here is my personal favorite: Sourdough bread (toasted) with turkey (grilled), swiss cheese, avocado, bacon, lettuce, tomato, onions, mayonnaise and mustard.

The Grove House also opens at noon on weekends.  You can get cookies, bagels, coffee, juice, tea and lemonade there.  The Motley opens at 11 on weekends and offers similar fare.

Real Money Options:

If you feel like transporting yourself to the village for a late brunch, you have a plethora of options to choose from.  For a reasonably priced, diner-style brunch, try my personal favorite: The Village Grill (on Yale and 2^nd).  For a bagel sandwich, try 42^nd Street Bagel (also on Yale, next to Rhino Records).  If you want to shell out some serious cash, try Le Pain Quotidien (next to the movie theater) or Walters (on Yale between Bonita and 4^th).  These are only a sampling of the options in the village.

And now, on to the menus for the week:

Monday:

Start your week off at Scripps on Monday with a Crispy BLT Chicken Sandwich from the Grille, or eat healthy at the Caesar Salad Bar.

If Scripps seems too far away, you can meander over to Collins for a Turkey Club from the Expo and Beef Nachos at the Options.  Gyros will be available at the Grill.

Tuesday:

Calling all those with avidly adventurous appetites, Collins is serving “Crepe Expectation- Prawn Crepe and Tofu Crepe” this Tuesday.  While it seems overwhelmingly likely that these will be gross, not to mention the Collins menu could be lying about the crepe flavors, there is a chance, however minute, that prawn and tofu crepes could be so strange that they actually work (I mean, theoretically one of the Collins dining hall staff has tried these and liked them enough to actually serve them).  Those of you brave (or daft) enough to eat outside the box can join me at Collins.  Collins will also be serving Philly Cheese Steaks.

Alternatively, if the thought of prawn crepes turn your stomach, you can go to Frary for Taco/Burrito/Quesadilla Tuesday.

Wednesday:

Wednesday features a much more conventional set of dining options: dueling Japanese nights.  Head to Collins for the best Sushi on the 5C’s or venture to Frary for Teryaki Chicken, Shrimp Tempura, Sticky Rice and Sushi.

Thursday

This Thursday Collins will be serving its tasty Southwest Chicken Wrap at the Expo, “Taste of Europe- Spaghetti al Ranceto” at the Expo (which could be good, the fact that it could be plausibly mistranslated “Rancid Spaghetti” notwithstanding).  The At Home will feature Meatloaf and Chicken & Penne Casserole.  Put a piece or two of Collins meatloaf between two slices of bread with lettuce tomatoes and mayonnaise for a nice meatloaf sandwich.  The chicken casserole might seem uninspiring, but casseroles are a traditional strong suit for dining halls and cafeterias and Collins is no exception.

If none of the above sounds appetizing, try Mudd’s Burrito Bar or Scripps’s Red Curry Stir-fry Pork.

Friday

Mudd is really knocking this Friday out of the park with Individual Pizza’s, Carne Asada Tacos, Chicken Tenders, and Clam Chowder.

If you don’t want to go to Mudd, try Scripps for their sushi night.

Saturday

This Saturday, Scripps takes the cake (or should I say the steak).  Scripps will be offering Steaks Cooked to Order as well as Chipotle & Cheese Quesadillas.

Sunday

Beat the crowds up to Mudd on Sunday for Steaks Cooked to Order, Fettucine Alfredo with Shrimp, Corn on the Cob and a Baked Potato Bar. Go early rather than late.  Few people get motivated enough to go to dinner right as the dining hall opens.

Frary has also started to cook steaks to order, but their steak is rather disappointing.  Last Sunday they had a great Chicken Wrap, but it remains to be seen what they will offer this Sunday.

Pitzer always has great Macaroni and Cheese for those who are tired of dining hall steak.

That’s all for this week.  Thank you for reading!

Dessert is often the most enjoyable part of a dining hall meal.  Dining halls seek to satisfy students’ sweet teeth by offering a plethora of dessert options.  Almost every dining hall provides students with ice cream (both hard and soft serve), cookies and various other puddings or pastries.  While you might be tempted to merely choose one of the desserts prepared for you, ignoring these low-hanging fruit and creating your own dessert is the mark of a true epicurean.  By breaking through the false (and dining hall abetted) categorization of some foods as “dessert” foods and others as “non-dessert” foods you can simultaneously combat food stereotyping and liberate your taste buds.

The 22^nd Choice

1.       Obtain a bowl or to-go cup

2.       Find peanut butter from the appropriate dining hall area (crunchy or smooth)

3.       Use a knife to spread liberal amounts of peanut butter onto the outside of your bowl/cup.  It doesn’t have to be evenly spread.

4.       Get frozen yogurt from the machine (Vanilla works well)

5.       Add desired topping(s) (eg: chocolate chips, crumbled oreo, butterfinger bits)

6.       Mix thoroughly

This recipe has been traveling around campus (and the CMS track team) by word of mouth.  It is amazing.  The finished product tastes almost exactly like something you could order from 21 choices.  Of course, the dining hall version has the benefit of being virtually free.   The key breakthrough here is mixing peanut butter (not usually considered a dessert food) with frozen yogurt (a traditional dessert food).  The ingredients for this recipe can be found in every dining hall.  The only variation would be in the flavor of frozen yogurt available.

And now, onto the menus for the week:

Monday

Collins almost never gets the nod for Monday night, but this week it seems bent on changing that fact.  Collins is offering a Seafood Chowder Bread Bowl at the Options station, a Turkey Club at the Expo, and their weekly Gyros at the Grill.  Collins seems to be revisiting Mardi Gras with a Cajun themed Sausage Gumbo.

Alternatively, Scripps is serving a Turkey Bacon Melt at the Grille and has Chorizo & Cheese Quesadillas at the Expo.

Tuesday

Tuesday is a no-brainer.  None of the dining hall menus can compete with Frary‘s Burrito Night.  Go order a huge tortilla full of scrumptious Mexican food.

Wednesday

Frary earns repeat honors this Wednesday with its Japanese Night.  The first time I went to Frary’s Japanese Night it was only so-so, but I gave it a second chance and their  Chicken Teryaki was amazing (by dining hall standards, of course).  The ability to get multiple items in a single order also allows you to sample a variety of tastes.  If you have been to Collins sushi night for the last few weeks, I recommend changing up your routine and heading to Frary.

While Frary is good, Collins sushi still reigns supreme.  Frary’s Japanese Night allows you to sample multiple items, but Frary sushi is no match for Collins sushi.

Thursday

Every station is pulling its own weight this Thursday at Scripps.  The Grill is offering Chorizo & Cheese Quesadillas for those of you who missed it on Monday.  The Exhibition is running a Baked Potato Bar. Finally, the regular line is serving Beef Lasagna to satisfy your inner Garfield.

If none of the above dishes appeal to you, try Collins.  There you will find a Chinese Mandarin Salad at the Options station, Lemon Pepper Shrimp Linguini at the Expo and Sloppy Joes at the Grill.

Friday

While last week I endorsed the Collins Za-tar Hummus Bar, this Friday is all about Mudd. Mudd really does Friday dinners right.  Order an Individual Pizza and then take the edge off your appetite with a tender Carne Asada Taco while you wait.

Saturday

It seems like Scripps has more baked potatoes than it knows what to do with.  In addition to its traditional Steak Cooked to Order, Scripps is offering another Baked Potato Bar at the Exhibition station as well as Baked Sweet Potatoes in the normal line.

Sunday

Sunday features steak at Mudd, Pitzer, and Frary.  Mudd cooks steaks to order while Frary is serving flank steak and Pitzer offers delicious macaroni and cheese.

That’s all for this week.  Thank you for reading!