It is on the front page of the Education section of the New York Times. Publications like USA TODAY, CNN, the Wall Street Journal, TIME, Bloomberg, ABC, and countless others are all writing about us. Finally, people all over the country are talking about that “small, selective liberal arts college in California.”

Credit: hhsprincipalsoffice.wordpress.com

This is definitely not how I pictured it would happen.

Students and professors are shaking their heads in disgust, and Pomona students are preparing “S-A-T” chants for the next basketball game.

I am the first one to tell you that rankings matter. You may, in fact, recall the Forum article I wrote last fall in which I argued that CMC’s rise in the national rankings changed people’s perception about the school. Claremont’s ascension into the ‘elite’ tier of liberal arts colleges convinced many students who would have otherwise gone elsewhere to choose CMC. Perhaps you are one of them.

So, yes, rankings do matter.

Do they matter too much? What could drive a “senior administrator” to adjust already-great scores? There are many unknowns here, but one thing is absolutely clear: there’s no excuse for cheating. Period.

No increase in applications, donations, or rankings could possibly justify risking CMC’s reputation. Nothing can justify fudging the numbers at any time. The fact that the admissions office apparently did it for six years straight is truly disturbing.

Claremont McKenna prides itself as an institution that educates leaders. CMC graduates often go on to run for public office or lead successful businesses. Teaching ethical conduct, no matter the circumstances or competition, is one of the most important lessons a school can teach.

The blame game has already started. Former Dean of Admissions Richard C. Vos is no longer employed by CMC. Honestly, I don’t know who is responsible. Instead of calling for scapegoats, however, I am calling for answers.

The administration owes the Claremont community a further explanation.

Where is the transparency after-the-fact? The news broke after one vague email to the student body, and after 36 hours, the Office of Public Affairs has not released any more information except that the Dean of Admissions has been replaced. Trying to close the book on the issue with an email saying we caught the bad guy and hired lawyers won’t suffice. I understand that there may be legal reasons certain details cannot be revealed, but some very general questions need to be answered before we can move on.

I want to know how these discrepancies came to light. Why now? The administration apparently found out about this in January. Does that mean January 1st? Does that mean Monday morning? Does the timing of this incident just happen to be after applications have been turned in? Was there internal or external pressure to climb the rankings? Were there cutoffs the admissions department were told to meet? Were there incentives in place that may have motivated the individual to manipulate the scores? Most of all, I would like to know how this could have happened – for six years – without anyone else knowing about it at a college that is built on leadership, accountability, and integrity.

The fact that President Gann publicized this information is an important first step. This could have been swept under the rug completely, but it wasn’t. An official from Public Affairs has agreed to address the Student Senate next week. That is a crucial next step.

We need more information. We need to have an open discussion about what happened and how we can move forward from here. The best way to get past this is to understand it and learn from it. Transparency is the only way to end the speculation and conspiracy theories. Only shedding light on the issue will bring us closure.

Is this the end of CMC as we know it? No. Will future employers look at recent grads any differently? Probably not. But will CMC’s reputation be stained indefinitely? Maybe.

Current, future, and past students had nothing to do with this incident, but we now have to pay the price.

The pride that I have in my peers and professors at Claremont McKenna remains unchanged. My professors are no less brilliant, and my peers are no less amazing. The spectacular experience that I have had here as a student cannot ever be taken away from me. My future degree is not any less meaningful to me than it was on Sunday.

But we need information. We need answers.

We need to talk openly about this, because this matters. Yes, rankings matter. Ethics, however, matter more.

That said, the thought of dating is also potentially stressful; figuring out what to wear, who’s to pay, how reserved to be, navigating awkward situations and trying to gauge the interest of the other person. Now the Forum can’t help you with any of that, but what we can help you with is potentially the hardest part of all; figuring out what to do. Obviously a good date-plan will come from knowing the interests of your date, but if you’re stumped for ideas give one of these a try!

Traditional Date

From Union on Yale Facebook page

This date is admittedly not creative: Dinner, Movie and the Bar. Cliche as it may be, even the oldest standbys are standbys for a reason. Try starting your night by taking a walk into the village and getting some pizza from the village’s newest restaurant and bar Union on Yale.  Get a table outside by the heaters (inside can be distractingly loud). The restaurant is trendy with a friendly and fun atmosphere, perfect for a first (or second) date. From there, head over to Laemmle to catch a movie. If you want to prolong the date a little longer, stop by Eureka Burger for a drink or two: they have great cocktails and an outstanding beer selection. Some nights they have live music, and if you go on a Wednesday night you get a glass you can keep with whatever the beer special is that night, a memento for you to remember the date forever.

If you’ve got a car, another spin on this traditional date would be to take your partner to the Mission Tiki Drive-In Theatre in Montclair; comfortable, classy, and you have to ability to chat with your date during the movie if you so choose.

Dates don’t all have to be about eating or doing something stationary, there are plenty of options right around Claremont for more active dates. For example, beat the California heat by taking your date ice skating in Ontario-Mills. Admission and rental skates cost $9 per person, and you can find their public skate hours here. If that’s not enough activity for you, grab your date and head for the hills! There’s plenty of beautiful, good, mellow hikes for people of any fitness level. Claremont Wilderness Trail at the end of Mills Ave is a nice loop, and Barrett-Stoddard Truck Road (also known as Storybook Trail) a trail off of Baldy rd. has some great views.

Adventurous Date

Photo from skydiveelsinore.com

Sometimes the stress of school can make you want to jump out of a plane or off a bridge. Why not take those urges and make them into the best date ever? Skydiving and bungee jumping are activities sure to get your adrenaline pumping, and they will give you the opportunity to see your date in a completely new context outside of his or her comfort zone. If you want to quickly  bond with your date, high-intensity outings are a must. As we learned from Dr. Love last semester, high stress situations like skydiving, roller coasters, or bungee jumping produce a lot of oxytocin, a chemical hugely involved in building relationships. If these ideas are up your alley, check out Skydive Elsinore, and Bungee America. This is a pricey date idea, but also an experience of a lifetime and a date you and your partner will never forget.

Cheap Date

Admittedly, so far the dates I’ve recommended could do a number on your wallet and require a car. I don’t mean to suggest that all dates must cost a fortune: in fact you can have a perfectly romantic date without ever leaving the 5C’s. Start off by getting takeout from the dining hall of your choice. Grab a blanket, a bottle of wine, and head over to the Pomona Green across from Bridges and have a picnic. Once dinner is over, there are many options for what comes next. One of the greatest advantages of the consortium is the sheer number of opportunities of things to do. With minimal digging (Good Morning CMC, E-mail alerts, and Facebook events are great places to start) you can plan the date around an on campus event like a Without-A-Box performance, an a cappella  concert, a big sports game, or even ballroom dance lessons. To those who think an on campus date would be lame, you aren’t trying hard enough to find interesting opportunities.  It could definitely be one of the cheapest and most interesting dates you ever go on.

Beach Date  

Photo from Paradise Cove website

Whenever I go back home, one of the most frequent questions I’m asked is, “So do you go to the beach a lot?” to which I always respond, “Occasionally, but not as much as I’d like to.” I imagine this is the same for most people; you get wrapped up in things on campus and go to the Scripps pool when you get the urge to swim or lay in the sun. A date is a perfect opportunity to get out of the Claremont bubble and actually visit the great beaches our friends assume we go to on the reg. Beach options are truly endless around here (Santa Monica, Venice, Laguna, Huntington), but if you want a less well-known option try Paradise Cove in Malibu. It’s a reasonably priced and casual restaurant with outdoor seating (definitely sit outside) and its own section of private beach.  With the beautiful scenery, hot weather, and wide array of activity offered by the waterfront this is a date sure to be both memorable and fun. One word of advice though, this is a date that will require a lot of conversation due to the long car ride and downtime on the beach. Make sure you have some ideas of conversation topics and activities ideas that you can pull out if the conversation hits a lull. Try to think ahead of things you can do on the beach, like frisbee or building sandcastles.

Okay CMC, now go forth and woo! And commenters, we would love to hear from you too! Share your stories! What other date ideas do you have?

While many students who came into CMC with strong backgrounds in their high school bands, orchestras or art programs have adjusted to CMC’s lack of an art program, some still ask for CMC to change its ways.

Sophomore Chelsea Durgin says, “Students would really benefit from art as an outlet to the stress of school… I think that a lot of students at CMC are extremely talented in the arts, but they can’t express themselves because of the CMC reputation.”

Devashish Dey performs at the Athenaeum (Photo by Warren Bessant)

For students from neighboring schools and artistically-inclined CMCers, the school’s image as a leadership-driven institution for go-getters has left its commitment to the art world by the wayside. CMC has abandoned some traits of average liberal arts schools and become the economics-oriented school that it is, but as Durgin says, this doesn’t mean that CMC students are devoid of any artistic talent.

The idea of pursuing art on campus has inched into the spotlight with the appearance of Stark’s new piano and with growing involvement with arts organizations at the 5Cs. Yet, some students still argue that CMC is not currently an art-friendly school and believe that there is a stigma associated with pursuing a degree in the arts.

Freshman Becca Rosenthal says, “At the very least we can start putting student artwork in Kravis, but ideally there should be an arts GE.” Those who are proponents of larger changes to CMC’s image like Rosenthal argue that the school could start embracing its liberal arts label by requiring students to study art.

For other students, calling Claremont McKenna a liberal arts school is almost a misnomer. CMC has a unique approach to providing students with a well-rounded education: we receive the benefits of a liberal arts school, yet we’re unlike any other. One of the things that sets us apart is a focus on creating leaders in business and the professions. Advocates of CMC’s leadership-oriented mission point out that our access to the resources at the other 4Cs – including arts programs like theater, music, studio art, and art history – allow us to bypass the implementation of our own arts program.

Indeed, those who actively pursue the arts have many opportunities, even as a CMC student, to be involved in the arts. A CMC-specific theater club Under the Lights allows students an outlet for artistic expression. Other 5C opportunities include taking part in KSPC, Pomona’s student radio station; an acapella choir like Shades; or Without a Box, the Claremont Colleges’ improv group. For those students willing to integrate with the rest of the 5Cs, the abundance of artistic opportunities on our neighboring campuses offer CMCers a chance to pursue their artistic passions with ease. The beauty of the consortium is that each of the schools can specialize in a few fields, instead of attempting to do everything at once, which would be redundant and ineffective.

Local band Songword performs at the Motley on Scripps College campus (Photo by Yuqiao Guo)

The accessibility of the other Claremont Colleges and their strengths in the arts balance out the unique liberal arts appeal of CMC. The administration faces a choice between encouraging the appreciation of art at CMC and offering art programs on CMC’s campus. But one thing is sure: when it comes to whether art should be more encouraged on campus or remain an untouched issue, Freshman Erika Sa says, “I want more!” The best resolution is for CMC to encourage students to appreciate and participate in some form of art, but continue to utilize the other art programs in the Claremont Consortium instead of devoting resources and time to building a new one at CMC. In other words, take advantage of the resources that the consortium offers.

CMC students’ interest in pursuing art academically is less common perhaps than at other 5C institutions. Appeals for drastic changes to CMC’s academic focus seem to be coming from a unique group of students who would like CMC to acknowledge the importance of art by offering art programs on campus. However, this desire does not seem to apply to most students and thus no change will likely be made.

But CMC students as a whole do not disregard the arts entirely. The claim that students don’t care about art because CMC is a school focused on a couple of strong programs is simply not true. It is true, however, tacking on an art department to CMC’s academic offerings would not increase the benefit to CMC students enough to justify the cost. It would be both widely beneficial and much easier for the student body to simply ask CMC for more on-campus practice rooms or to see more student-made art in the hallways of our dorms. Adding small things like pianos or providing an area just to hang out and play music would give CMC some artistic flavor of its own. We don’t have to drop our reputation as a school of industrious students in order to appreciate the arts – we can embrace it without becoming a run-of-the-mill liberal arts school. With the new piano in Stark and the ever-growing involvement of students in artistic programs on and off campus, it seems like we’re on the right track.

CMC plans on accepting fewer than 600 of these applicants in order to avoid housing shortages. According to their calculations, this would place CMC’s acceptance rate for next year at just 11.7%. The admission rate for the Class of 2015was 13.8%.  CMC could be the most, or one of the most, selective liberal arts colleges in the nation.

Photo by Karan Malik

Last year, Pomona College just barely beat out CMC’s 2015 acceptance rate with 13.6% admittance but, as early reports indicate, growth in Pomona’s number of applications has essentially remained flat. The Office of Admissions also pointed out that Amherst college, last year’s most selective liberal arts college in the nation, had an acceptance rate of 12.8%. Swarthmore College admitted just under 15% of its applicants to the Class of 2015.  Williams College, the top liberal arts college in the nation, announced a 17% admission rate in 2011.

Over the past few years, CMC’s acceptance rate has been plummeting, and this year is a good sign that we might see that trend continue. In 2010, the school accepted 17.2% of applicants, and last year, when 4,481 applied to be a part of the class of 2015, the acceptance rate fell to 13.8%.  If those were great years, the next one may be amazing.

CMC benefits from a dropping acceptance rate. Although the administration may have to say no to more potential Stags and Athenas, increased selectivity will hopefully produce a stronger freshman class, composed of great students and promising leaders. This is just one more sign pointing to a bright future for CMC.  As it continues to grow more selective and appears higher and higher in the rankings each year, it will draw more attention from all corners of the country.  That means more public interest, more renown, and, hopefully, the end of that “I swear it’s not a community college” conversation for non-Californians.

For students here at CMC, there isn’t any doubt that we are attending one of the best school’s in the country. With any luck, this unprecedented admittance rate will force others to take notice as well. For anybody interested in watching CMC take its proper place at the forefront of America’s elite colleges, the Office of Admissions’ announcement is great news.

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!

The jokes, however, turned bitter when former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited CMC’s campus on November 30th.  Campus news articles and blog posts became online battlegrounds of political rhetoric, pitting “conservative” CMC students against “liberal” Pitzer students.  On the campuses themselves, there was a prescient sense of animosity; in class, I could truly sense a distance among Pitzer students during some of the more heated days of the online controversies.

Most people, Pitzer and CMC students alike, went to Ducey Gymnasium on Wednesday expecting to be involved in a tense shouting match.  In some small ways, the expected malice was there. When I introduced myself as a CMC student to Marcus, a demonstrating Pitzer student, his response was “you’re from CMC?  Baby-killer!” Marcus, however, certainly was not representative of the entire student population at the protests on Wednesday.  In general, the protests were incredibly constructive and peaceful, with little in the way of altercations beyond a few students who seemed intent on provoking a fight where there was none to be found.

Indeed, the aggressors in the crowd seemed to be more the exception than the rule.  Protestors and CMC students alike were generally incredibly respectful of one another.

Christian Neumeister, a CMC freshman who attended the talk, was understanding of the protests. “I certainly think [the protestors] have the right to voice their opinions.  I don’t necessarily agree with their opinions, but it’s their fundamental American right to voice them,” Neumeister said.

An unnamed Pitzer demonstrator agreed: “CMC brought Dr. Rice because it hopes to foster a discussion as part of its Athenaeum program.  That is all well and good – the reason we’re here is not to stop that discussion, but rather to promote our own outside.”

The protests themselves were very different from the disorganized mess that some predicted they would be. During the talk, professors and students lectured bystanders and demonstrators on different topics, which ranged from the use of torture to the impetus behind the Iraq War.  Near the Northeast corner of the parking lot, a group of students held a waterboarding demonstration in order to provoke student dialogue around the moral and ethical issues involved with the practice.  These lectures – while certainly biased to present an anti-Condoleezza Rice perspective – created an environment more conducive to learning than to accusation, and were a welcome presence on a college campus.

Feel free to chalk it up to my freshman naiveté and optimism, but this made me happy to be a student at the 5Cs.  To me, the 5Cs are built on a certain morale and community camaraderie that governs our campus-to-campus interactions, including a certain sports rivalry (in which CMS is most certainly superior).  It is certainly true that the anonymity and immediacy of the Internet allowed the controversy of Dr. Rice’s visit to become more malicious than intended.  Yet, once CMC and Pitzer students were face to face, the conversation took on a human face, one that represented our students in a much more flattering light.

Entering KSPC is like walking into a BBC documentary about pop culture through the ages. The walls of the basement-studio are completely covered with posters, stickers and pictures of bands, concerts and funny slogans. Photos of old student DJs and some famous personalities adorn the waiting room.  The hippie/indie paradise is completed with the presence of two turntables and shelves packed with endless rows of CDs and vinyls, showcasing the amazing collection of underground music that the station owns.  In the main room are the two sets of broadcasting/recording equipment where the DJs work.

KSPC (Or KSpaCe, as it is now known) is a 24 hour station that was founded at Pomona College in 1956. It is a designated educational radio station that is committed to promoting music that major commercial radios will not air. From classical music to electronic, KSPC has a huge variety of shows. There is a strong emphasis on “non-mainstream” music, and DJs try to promote great indie and underground bands.

KSPC is run by students of the Claremont Colleges on a volunteer basis and this non-commercial, interest based functionality only adds to its charm.   Along with music there are many quirky and engaging talk shows like the “Sunset Review,” which is an older show that includes “comedy cuts, novelty records, and its own brand of gentle silliness, biting satire, and sardonic absurdity.” Another show, the “NightCap,” is a popular sports radio talk show featuring eight members (4 CMCers) that airs on Monday nights from 8:00pm to 10:00pm. The station even devotes time to public announcements and news casting, making it truly a station of all trades. Some of the shows are even hosted by volunteers from the local community.

Drake Escrofani Broadcasting a Show

College radio allows student DJs to discover and share music and ideas that they have discovered, a unique opportunity in most college students’ experiences. There are some CMC DJs at KSPC as well. Drake Escrofani (or DJ Dashiel) has a show on Monday evenings that “ranges from Indie Pop to electronic.” Kevin Wallentine (an IR major) is the head of the World Music department and hosts the international music show. Students can come in for DJ training and even apply for their own show. All volunteers at the station have to put in volunteer hours every week where they listen and review new music for the station.

KSPC runs on a non-commercial basis and receives a lot of its music from underground record labels. I have discovered a lot of new music by listening to KSPC 88.7FM and hope that more students follow the channel and work at the station in the future.

KSPC can be streamed live online at this website.  Give it a listen!

See below for more photos. All photos were taken by the author.

The Sunset Review

Kevin Wallentine

KSPC Broadcasting Studio

KSPC CD Collection

KSPC LP Collection

In the Lobby at KSPC Headquarters

The Motley: If you’re looking for coffee and can’t haul your butt all the way down to Honnold, the Motley is always a great choice. The noise level is moderate, but there are enough people that it all almost sounds like white noise. But beware: the seating is limited, and there are paper mache boobs on the wall.  The drinks and food are well worth it, though, and on these cold nights the Motley is always toasty and cheerful.

Hours: Mon-Thu, 8am-12am; Fri 8am-5pm; Sat, 11am-5pm; Sun, 11am-5pm, 8pm-12am

The Living Room: The most novel place to study on campus. The Living Room has cool new furniture that’s surprisingly comfortable – however, the tables are low, so all you can really do there is read.  Plus, be ready for the “new car” smell that permeates the whole room, a bi-product of those fancy new leather couches.  Always look to see who is studying in there. And a final reminder: When you’re in there at night, even if you can’t see everyone outside, creepily enough – they can see you.

Hours: Mon-Thurs, 8am-12am; Fri, 8am-10pm; Sat, 12pm-10pm; Sun, 12pm-12am

The Reading Room: Probably the most popular place on campus to study this year, the reading room offers two floors of absolute quiet. It’s like taking the 4^th floor of the library and putting it in Bauer. While there’s no food available, the short walk can’t be beat.  However, if you need to study in groups or like that “white noise” aspect of a study room, this may not be the one for you.  For those who need utter silence: you have found your haven.

Hours: Mon-Sun, 10am-1am (extended during finals week)

The Coop: If you’re like me, and the presence of anyone you recognize is the perfect way for you to procrastinate, take a walk to the Coop. There’s great food and drinks, and you are less likely to know the people there, so you won’t have that overwhelming and urge to talk to everyone you see (although, I’m sure they’re great people too). If you want even more privacy, sneak over to the Pomona Living Room: it has great couches, bright lights, and even a fake fireplace for your wintertime ambiance.  One of the less-known study-spot gems on the 5-C’s.

Hours: Mon-Thurs, 9am-12am; Fri, 9am-1:30 am; Sat, noon-1:30 am; Sun, noon-midnight

Off Campus: Drag yourself to Starbucks, The Last Drop Café or Coffee Bean in the village, or even further off campus to Panera or Fruizen, and you might find that removing yourself from the stressful atmosphere of finals makes you less stressed and more productive.  Enjoy the change of scenery and that fresh start might be just what you need to get a kick-start on your studying.

As you make your way to wherever it is you’re studying (everything feels like a trek during finals week – maybe it’s because your textbooks weigh more when you’re actually going to have to read them), just remember to mix it up. You’ll make it through, I promise. Just breathe, switch to decaf, and get some sleep.

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.