I hope these were not the “best” four years of our lives, but they may have been the most fun. You have to believe life gets better, but nothing will beat free Snack at 10:30 PM every school night. I’ll never forget the first time I went to snack. Prospie Josh thought he had floated himself into heaven. And it wasn’t even mozzarella sticks night. This was back when the fro-yo machine was always on and Gavin ruled the World Wok. I’ll miss Collins.

It’s one thing to say you will “miss” college and another to wake up Sunday morning after graduation, have to move out of your apartment, and start picking health insurance. I don’t remember high school graduation being this bittersweet, but that’s probably because I knew life would get much, much better in college. For many of us, the future is completely unpredictable.

I had a lot of ideas about what to write for a “Goodbye from the Class of 2010″ post. It’s my last written assignment for college, so there is a lot of pressure to not disgrace myself or give the anonymous commenters any reason to go on some crazy tangent. Speaking of which, someone should write a thesis about CMCForum.com’s anonymous-optional comment section. “Thesis ideas are everywhere.” Tangential advice: Don’t let anyone tell you your thesis is “more than just a paper.” It is just another paper.

I was going to work with friends to release a music video, That’s So North Quad, to chronicle the end of the college era. At least that’s what I tell people it would have been about. But our expectations were too high. We had a great script, but we didn’t write it down. No evidence. It would have been to the tune of a Broken Bells song remix. Or this song.

I was going to plan a senior prank, but the prospect of going to white collar prison scared me. I don’t believe they actually let you wear (and they definitely don’t let you pop) white collars in those places.

I was going to write a number of Forum posts (see list below) and I was going to compile “The Class of 2010′s Guide to CMC.” It would have come with a free CD-ROM version of That’s So North Quad.

I really wanted to make sure I passed down all the knowledge and information I had for the Class of 2014, but there’s only so much you can put into words. Too bad I gave up on CMCPedia.com. Maybe someone can get that going again?

I was going to write something like David Nahmias’ (CMC ’10) goodbye letter but took issue with the suggestion that I should pick up my own toys. Why don’t we just attach a claw to the gigantic Kravis Center crane and use that to solve the problem? Yeah, that would probably solve the toy litter problem, David.

On a more serious note, I’m a little concerned about how things at CMC are going to change in the future. For one thing, CMC is going to get a lot, lot richer. With money comes responsibility. Responsibility is a downer. As I wrote that sentence, a man walking with a baby in a stroller passed by our senior week beach house in Mission Beach. As he glanced at us, he noticed girls in bikinis, a keg, loud music, and people having a great time on our front porch. He did not look happy to have “responsibilities.”

Not sure what the future will bring, but John Faranda will keep us updated. And the Siegel Swimming Pool (where Phillips Hall currently sits) will come with a large trampoline.

I was going to write a goodbye article about graduating, life, etc. I had some thoughts about Claremont Confessions, CMC’s Dean of Students’ office, the RA system, and a multi-paragraph rant about the Admissions Office. But it doesn’t matter anymore. We’re finished with college. Time to move on.

We’ll miss you, CMC.

At the risk of breaking up the rhythm of this shoddily-written, nonsensical, unstructured goodbye post, I’ll divide the rest of this post into “Top Five Regrets” and “What I’ve Learned.”

Top Five Regrets

1. Not Coming to CMC Until Sophomore Year

Although my situation was unique, I feel bad for anyone who misses freshman year at CMC. Transferring to CMC as a sophomore (or worse, junior) puts you at an immeasurable disadvantage to the rest of the school.

2. Not Partying More

I went to Slippery When Wet at Mudd for the first time this semester. I went to my first Pitzer party a few weeks ago. I have never played Tuesday Night Beirut. I guess I fooled myself into thinking partying more would hurt my academic career at CMC. It’s just not true — nobody looks back at CMC and regrets not studying more.

3. Not Creating More Stuff

I started a website called Claremont Confessions last year. The name wasn’t my idea, but I take responsibility for the damage that ensued. I won’t go into details here, but you can see the Facebook group someone started in protest here and read a bit more about it here and here. What I regret is shutting down the site instead of using it as a springboard to launch a site that actually did something to bring the 5Cs together for more than gossip.

Another example is this website (cmcforum.com). I revived the site from its print deathbed my sophomore year, but didn’t act on or complete a lot of ideas for additional features for various reasons (couldn’t figure out how to implement it, would have taken up too much time, etc.). It was also impossible finding anyone willing to help. Thankfully, The Forum has gotten to the point where finding competent people to help, write, and run the site isn’t a major problem. I hope the site gets stronger, but as we’ve seen in the past and with any organization, one year of bad leadership could ruin it all. It might be a good idea to put some institutional controls in place for the future.

4. Drafts

Over the past couple years I’ve started drafts of articles I never published on this site. I regret not finishing more. Some were just a few sentences, most were longer. Here are some of my favorite unfinished drafts:

• “Top 10 CMC Moments in the Past Four Years”
• “What I’ve Learned About CMC’s “Problems”
• “Things I Thought I Was Promised When I Came to CMC”
• “Honnold Mudd in 2020″
• “Things I Didn’t Know About CMC”
• “Rants from a Nostalgic Senior, Part I”
• “How to Be a Good Professor at CMC”
• “Stop Whining, CMC”
• “Student Health Services Is Unhealthy”
• “The Case for the Block Plan at CMC”
• “You know it was a long night when…”
• “Computer Science Should Be Mandatory”
• “RDS Advertises on Facebook? Seriously?”
• “Ferris Wheel in North Quad”

5. Not Figuring Out What I’m Interested In

I am an economics major. I’m not interested in academia. I have a job next year in which the major appeal is having no specific focus or industry. I have interests, but I don’t have a calling yet.

What I’ve Learned

A few random thoughts:

• I agree with Patrick — leisure time in college is too valuable to spend too much of it studying. If you are at the very top of your class, I think you are doing something wrong. Or a Lit major. (That was a joke, Lit majors.)
• It’s strange that only a small number of students are allowed to e-mail the entire student body and are given no guidelines about what is or is not acceptable use.
• John Faranda and much of the Development Office are very good at their job; the Public Affairs office is not. Why don’t we have any CMC alumni working in the Public Affairs office? I bet their incentive would far exceed their salary.
• If you stop worrying about putting any information about yourself, your thoughts, etc. on the internet and start making sure that what you’re putting on the internet isn’t really stupid, you’ll be fine.
• As we’ve seen in the past few years, the print media is an industry prone to consolidation. As a microcosm, the Port Side, The Forum, and Claremont Independent struggle because our campus is too small to support three major newspapers.
• An unintentional offspring of CMC moving to Google for e-mail has been the widespread popularity of communicating through GChat. It could be improved.
• Our education system is incredibly inefficient. We spent 22 years learning what we could learn in far fewer.

Wait, let’s rewind a bit.

Pitzer President Laura Trombley and Robert Day '65.

In case you need to brush up on your Claremont Colleges history, here’s a little lesson: George Benson was the founding president of CMC.  Though he later helped out in the founding of both Harvey Mudd and Pitzer,  Benson seemed to be the embodiment of the ultimate CMCer.  Throughout his life, he was involved Los Angeles Republican party politics; he was even one of the original supporters of President Richard Nixon.  So why have our not-so-conservative neighbors chosen to honor Benson?

It turns out that Robert Day, CMC class of ’65 and former chair of CMC’s Board of Trustees, recently donated the $3 million for the renovation of Pitzer’s primary auditorium.   When given the choice, Day was the one that asked that the auditorium be named for Benson.  However, it does not seem that Day has abandoned his love for his alma mater and changed his allegiance to our northeastern brethren.   On the contrary, it seems that the move may have been entirely for the benefit of CMCers.  Rumors have begun to circulate that Day donated the Auditorium as a trade with Pitzer.   In exchange for the major gift, Pitzer would allegedly agree to allow the new Joint Science Building to be built in the lot across from the current building, right on the edge of CMC’s campus, on the plot of land that is currently the parking lot at 9th and Mills.  This would make the new structure just a stone’s throw from North Quad, and therefore very accessible to Claremont McKenna students. Though Pitzer had originally wanted the new project to be located further north, on a plot of land up towards Mudd, it seems more likely that the new building will be built much closer to CMC’s campus.

Interior of the new Benson Auditorium. Photo credit: Amy Jasper PZ '10

CMC’s VP of Alumni Relations, John Faranda, could not confirm the rumors that the donation was a buyoff. However, he did mention, “Robert [Day] is a very smart man, and we know he is very interested in helping science.”  In fact, it is part of Day’s family legacy.  Day is actually a relative of W.M. Keck, after whom the current Joint Science Center is named.   The W.M. Keck Foundation has provided funding for all sorts of science related projects, from the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii to USC’s Keck School of Medicine. In other words, Day is merely continuing his family tradition, albeit in a very hands-on manner.

In some ways, it appears that Day is the epitome of a CMC graduate.  He is an extremely savvy businessman who is using his expertise in the world and his monetary power to forward a cause he feels passionately about: the well-being of CMC students.  As for naming the auditorium after Benson, this is not uncalled for.  Much of the nomenclature around all five colleges is already intertwined.  In fact, Pitzer itself was named after Russell K. Pitzer, who provided one of the crucial initial donations to get Claremont McKenna off the ground.

Fundraising is not currently underway on the project, and it will probably be years before construction on the Joint Science Center Expansion officially begins.  Perhaps years down the road, CMC students can show gratitude to Day for his contributions to science at the Claremont Colleges and a shorter walk to class.

Best Overall: Kelsey Rose Weber ’13 and Laura Daugherty ’13  Prize: Dinner at Elephant Bar

Most Economic: Emily Coleman ’11  Prize: CMC Maroon Fleece Blanket

Messiest Room: Brittany Taylor ’11   Prize: Target Gift Card for cleaning supplies!

Best Use of Technology : John Oliphant and Nick Rowe ’13 / Prize: Best Buy gift card

The motivation behind it all? John Faranda summarizes: “Basically, some years ago someone came up with the idea that each dorm on campus should have a professor assigned to it. I think the alumni office received a donation or came up with a budget to support this. The professor was responsible for carrying out some event(s) with the assigned dorm that was not related to whatever their expertise was. So, for example, an economics professor could not do an activity related to econ. It was not very successful because professors didn’t really want to do it and therefore had non-professors also participate, hence John Faranda being assigned to Berger. This idea only lasted for two years but John Faranda decided to stick around and continues to organize activities for Berger.”

Here’s a quick glimpse into the rooms that stood out.

Kelsey and Laura‘s room definitely gives off a laid back vibe. Their room is richly decorated with warm colors, Tibetan prayer flags, music posters, and exotic tapestries. John Faranda was impressed with their use of space, and Dean Spellman was tickled by the school spirit displayed above Kelsey’s bed nook.

Emily recently returned from studying in Brazil, but that didn’t prevent her from making her room a statement of her personality. She won the Most Economical prize due to her bargain hunting prowess and ability to pair fun and colorful objects. “She has a very cute room,” says Ruth Calvillo.

Scott Martin ’13 wasn’t awarded a prize, but his unusual room design and poster layout set him apart from the crowd. You don’t have to worry about making your posters straight if you follow this idea.

Aanya Dubash ’12 showcases another great example of simple wall décor. Grab your favorite t-shirts and memorabilia – and get started!

We’d love to hear your design ideas and see your room examples! Contact Gloria (gchang10@cmc.edu) or Cameron (chanson10@cmc.edu).

The same night, the Pitzer Student Senate was throwing their biggest party of the year up on their campus. They brought in a great mash-up group, Super Mash Bros, which cost them $5,000. There were some other expenses and the whole party was probably close to $10,000. I’m sure it was a lot of fun. I wish I could have been there.

A few weeks before the Pitzer party, ASCMC got an e-mail from one of the organizers of the party. In the e-mail, the girl, a Pitzer freshman, asked ASCMC to help fund the party. After a few more e-mails, the same girl came to request money from the ASCMC Senate. The ASCMC Senate wound up giving $200 to the party (the Senate budget is ~$10k for the whole year and receives a few similar requests a week). Andrew Cosentino added another $300 from his SAC fund, bringing the total contributed from ASCMC to Pitzer to $500.

To put this in perspective, $500 is a substantial amount for ASCMC to contribute to Pitzer for a party that relatively few CMCers would actually attend. Pitzer has given ASCMC less than $1,000 this year and we gave them $750-1,000 for Kohoutek alone.The Super Mash Bros contribution of $500 was given based on the premise that CMC students would not be charged or turned away from the event. We didn’t anticipate many students going to the Pitzer party over the Wedding Party, but we wanted to make sure students had another option anyway.

The day of the party, some organizers of the party at Pitzer contacted ASCMC again. They wanted more money — the party had gone over budget and they would be in debt by over $2,000. They asked for another $500 from multiple people within ASCMC.

When they unexpectedly called me, I was changing into my suit before hurrying back to help set up the Wedding Party an hour before the dinner started. I was rushed, stressed, and wearing 48 hours of Las Vegas (what a week). The conversation went something like this:

Pitzer Girl: Hey, this is *****, we need $500 more for the Pitzer party tonight.
Me (confused): Uh, who told you to call me?
Pitzer Girl: Andrew said he couldn’t give any more money from his fund so we’re calling you for $500 more.
Me: …but we gave you $500 total. The party is tonight. It’s not reasonable for us to make a split judgment for $500 more right now, I’m sorry.
Pitzer Girl: If we don’t get $500 more from ASCMC, we won’t let CMCers in. Or we’ll charge them at the door.
Pause.
Me: …Oh?
Pitzer Girl: Yeah sorry, that’s the way it is.
Me: Alright then.
Pitzer Girl: ?
Me: We don’t negotiate with terrorists.

Epilogue: We took back the initial $500 commitment and married some people instead. Pitzer charged CMC students $5 each. Few CMCers showed up. Definitely not 100. They would have been better off with our $500 had they cooperated. (And I’m reminded of my Game Theory midterm…)

This account of the story is obviously supposed to make me and ASCMC sound cooler than we really are, but let’s ignore that. The real point is, Pitzer really tried to extort ASCMC. Not cool, Pitzer. If we weren’t like the America of the Claremont Colleges Consortium (or like Rome when Romans were super chill and running the world) and sly econ wizards (interesting fact: 11/18 of ASCMC’s Board are econ majors), we might have just given into Pitzer’s demands. But not on our wedding day. Not in America.

*Props to Andrew Cosentino ’11 for coming up with the idea for the Wedding Party and executing it beautifully. Also credit to Ben Kraus ’11 and the rest of ASCMC for help with planning and execution. I sincerely hope ASCMC’s next Board of Directors makes even bigger moves.

History of the Tortugas

The “Tortugas of Prado Dam” were last active at CMC in 1970. The name “Tortugas of Prado Dam” stems from the legend that the original Tortugas would float from Prado Dam on a raft, all the while enjoying a special “Tortuga” drink. A hard copy of the recipe dates to 1952 and bears the name Mike Brown, one of the men believed to be a founder, written on it.

According to Jerry Cadagan, a Tortuga Alumni from the class of 1960, in the early ’60s “the school coerced the club to change it’s name to Mara Togas.”

The original Tortugas were an exclusive social club founded in 1953. Mr. Cadagan, who was vehement that I address him as Jerry, said they were “absolute hell-raisers.” Jerry is quick to note that “Tortugateers” were also commonly Dean’s List students and have maintained a strong bind since graduation, leading to several reunions, financial contributions to the school, and a scholarship fund established in 2005.

The Tortugas Return

The current Tortugas began as a barbeque club in the fall of 2006 but evolved into a social club entitled the Saturday Night Stags that adopted the name Tortugas after John Faranda mentioned the name to Kyle Ragins. “We contacted [the old Tortugas] and they were pumped to help us start it up again…so we renamed ourselves the Tortugas,” explained Caldwell. The alumni, led by Jerry Cadagan, provided a short history of the Tortugas and their traditions for the current Tortugateers so they could have an idea of what the group once was. Several current Tortugateers have also been invited to the upcoming reunion on April 26^th.

The original revitalization of the club was sparked when the DAC and SAC sent out an email last year to the student body about the party scene. Several students felt the party scene was lacking; the email addressed those issues and asked for help from the students who could throw their own parties, according to Caldwell.

Membership

Membership is by invitation only, and members go through an initiation. Currently the Tortugas have about 40 members, all male students at CMC. Brian Fuerst, a Vice President of the Tortugas, was recently elected Social Affairs Chair of the ASCMC. What some see as a conflict of interest, the Tortugas see as an advantage– the leadership of the Tortugas say they work with the SAC and school administration. The Tortugas also have all four north quad dorm presidents and Yohei Nakijima, former SAC, as members of the Tortugas.

Though their numbers are growing, the Tortugas have been low key and are trying to gather more money from members. Dues are $60 per semester, but not all members are paying. The money goes toward parties, says Caldwell, some of which are exclusive; some are open to all. According to Caldwell, Tortuga parties have been tame and sparse this year compared to where the organization hopes to go in the coming semesters.

While the Tortugas have been fairly quiet this year, hopes are big for next semester. After Caldwell concluded the interview, he immediately began to explain where he sees the Tortugas going next year. Caldwell turned to his roommate at the time, Skipp Stillwell, and said, “Just talking about it gets me so excited– next fall I want to do even bigger things.”

Most CMCers don’t know how the Athenaeum program started, or that CMCers used to hire typists for their senior theses, but one alumnus-in-residence remembers.

It was a leisurely, rainy and blustery Friday afternoon when I stepped inside CMC’s Claremont Boulevard building. After insisting that I help myself to some flower-shaped pieces of fruit, John Faranda, perhaps one of the most known CMC personalities, ushered me into his office. It was then, in between some idle chatter, some laughs, and some sharing of pictures, that I was able to interview the “Vice President of Alumni Relations.”

First, where you were born? Where did you grow up?

Well, I’m an Orange County person; I was born in Anaheim. I also lived in Illinois outside of Chicago for a while growing up. When I was at CMC my family moved to Saudi Arabia, so for a couple of years I was sort of an international student. Then I went to Washington DC on the CMC’s Washington Program, but I’m relatively a local to Southern California.

What was your favorite subject in school?

In school? That seems like a long time ago… I don’t know. I mean, I had a lot of fun in high school. French, German, and Speech were probably some of my favorite classes.

What did you do for fun? Outside activities? Hobbies? Extracurriculars?

Well, I was involved in student government. I was student body president in high school and junior class president and did a bunch of things with the school board. I did a lot of that kind of thing, and what I do now at CMC is sort of like being the student body president again and working with the school board. But now, instead of having a dance or a bake sale to raise a couple thousand dollars, we’re trying to have dances and bake sales that raise millions of dollars!

What made you choose to attend CMC?

I didn’t want to go especially far from home, which is ironic since my parents had by then moved to Saudi Arabia. My father had gone to Occidental College and it was probably my first choice at the time. It is a nice liberal arts college, but one of my father’s friends convinced me that Oxy’s time was past and that there was this up and coming men’s college I should look at in Claremont. When I came out here to visit, it just felt like a really good place for me. I was interested in government and economics and relatively conservative, so CMC fit better than Occidental.

What other activities were you involved with on campus at CMC?

I found CMC challenging and I spent a lot of time studying, but I was involved in College Republicans – I was President – and some other things on campus.

The old Athenaeum, which is now the Admissions Office, started as a place where professors could schedule classes. I think I was a first semester sophomore when my first class met there, and I was like “Oh this is cool!” I had never been there before, so I went and talked to the director and said, “You know this is really cool place, but if a professor doesn’t schedule something, you don’t get to come here. You should have some dinners that are just open for anyone at the school who wants to come.”

The Athenaeum Director said that dinners sounded like a good idea and that I should organize it. I was like, “Wait, no! I just wanted some free dinners!” But some students and I got involved in what we called the Meeting of the Minds Society, and we would schedule maybe one dinner a week. We pretty much went around to students at the other colleges and asked them who their favorite professors were, their Jack Pitneys, and we would have them come and talk for free because there was no budget for any of this. That first meeting morphed into the whole Athenaeum program. So that kept me busy. We also had what was called The James Madison Society, which was a political philosophy group and we organized a big conference once. I worked on that before, you know, there were Xerox machines, where you had to do all the printing by hand. Yeah, it was fun.

Were there any particularly good Athenaeum dinners that you recall?

From my era? I guess I would say the first President Bush was probably one of the most memorable speakers because I sat with him before we went into dinner and he, let’s see, had just finished being the CIA director, so it was before he ran for the presidency, but he wore these little reading glasses, and when he would talk to you, he would look over his notes and take his glasses off, and you felt when he took these glasses off as if he was opening up his soul to you. Milton Friedman was there, too. That was a very good talk, but the first George Bush was a pretty special meeting.

Were you ever “ponded” when you were here?

No I don’t think I was because at that time the ponding took place at Scripps and I think any of my friends were energetic enough to carry me there.

So how did you end up back at CMC then?

After graduation, I worked for two ethics committees, but I was involved with the alumni association and doing a bunch of things. I was at the Athenaeum one night and I remember Jill Stark was there saying, “Oh John you’re here so much we really should put you on the payroll.”

To this day I don’t think I was ever really offered a job. I just got a letter from Jack Stark saying “Dear John, we want you to start on February 15^th, and your salary will be X… please be here.” And I thought, “Well, they want me!” So I quit my other job and came to Claremont. That was twenty-three years and a week ago.

How long does it take you to learn the names and the people in each incoming class?

It’s hard. I mean, I have two things going against me: one is that I’m getting older and my brain is turning into Jell-O, and the other is that there are just so many more CMCers. Now there are 10,000 alumni and you just can’t keep 10,000 people in your head. But I do think that your generation has an advantage with Facebook, which does let you connect names with faces. I do not know everyone and I do not remember everyone’s names, but I try, and if I fail, please forgive me. Send me a message on Facebook or even better, come up and shake my hand and say hello. And I appreciate that CMCers are so good about that – a firm handshake and a, “Hello my name is X” can take you far in life.

Out of all the CMC events, do you have a favorite?

Yes, my favorite is Orientation. I love getting to meet all the freshmen. I really enjoy getting to say hello to everyone and welcome them, and then as you can imagine, the corollary is that I hate graduation. For even the most organized classes, only 50% will come back for their reunion, so I know that at least half of the class I’ll never see again. I know a lot of people in the class will stay connected, take trips together… but for me, a lot of the time I don’t see them again. Oh, and I do love Reunion Weekend, too! Welcoming everyone back and such.

We sometimes see you around Snack.

So one of the things that happens with Snack… I used to go more often when my office was in Bauer because I would just walk home. Now it’s sort of a long walk… sometimes I’ll stop by when I’m driving home in my car, and since faculty and staff aren’t on a meal plan and we don’t get Snack, to sort of be ethical about it, I never eat or drink anything at Snack. I think I’d have to pay $2.50 or something. Also, for most adults, the kinds of things that are at Snack just aren’t on our diets. I don’t need a donut or churros. So I guess my favorite item at Snack is conversation!

How do you think students have changed since you’ve been a student here?

Well, the co-ed thing was big, but it wasn’t as big as it was for other schools because we had Scripps across the way. I think that the two things that attract CMCers are pretty constant: law, government kind of things and finance, economics. We still see a pretty high proportions of students getting law and masters degrees. Then there are always five or ten physicians and teachers, but many people are interested in the investment banking thing. I do think that CMC students now are better prepared and more directed than we were – they clearly have a huge advantage in having technology on their side. You can finish a paper at 10:50 and hand it in 11:00. When we finished a paper at 10:50, we then had to type it up, which would take hours of typing on a typewriter. Most people actually hired typists to type their senior theses.

Where do you see the future of CMC going?

Well, we definitely have a lot of strategic things on the horizon for the college. There are a lot of good things happening here and now. CMC just continues to get better in moving forward – it’s attractive for students, and it’s attractive for alumni.

No… umm… no. I don’t want to be working here when I’m 76, but I hope that I will… I don’t know. I hope that I’ll still have a relationship with the college and the students. Do you know Goodbye Mr. Chips? It’s a novel about a beloved professor at Oxford who, you know, goes through his life making a difference in people’s lives but it’s told from the point of his retirement. All of the freshman come and have tea with him, one by one, and he talks with them about their lives and what they hope to do, so maybe I’ll have a “Mr. Chips” role at some point in the future. But at 76 I don’t want to be here trying to keep up with you. You’re too energetic.