Weekend Event Calendar

FRIDAY NIGHT FLICKS

Vince Turner over at the Claremont Community College sent us a reminder about his Friday Night Flicks short film series at the Claremont Village Expansion above Chico's.

Date: Thu, March 24, 2011 4:35:58 PM
To: moviefans@claremontcommunitycollege.com
Subject: WOW Friday Night Flicks!

We're batting a thousand! So far every chair has been filled at Friday night Flicks! (OK. So we didn't set up all the chairs!)

This weeks theme is WOW! If you don't say WOW after each flick, then we didn't do our job.

Friday Night 7 PM

101 North Indian Hill BLVD Suite C2 203

Claremont Community College Where the learning never stops!

--
Vince Turner
(909) 477-1747

Also, don't forget that CCC's 5 Second Film Festival is set for April 28. CCC's mission statement, which we've posted below, may preclude certain humor-impaired Claremonters from attending (you know who you are):

Our Mission Statement

• To acquire and disseminate knowledge in a humorous way.
• To recruit like minded people to spread the word that learning can be fun.
• To remember to laugh at our failings before somebody else does.
• To keep an open mind on suggestions even if they sound silly - which most are.
• To recruit more Deans than students for obvious reasons.
• To reserve the right to refuse entry to the College to anyone who takes our mission too seriously.

RAVELERS, HERE AND ON THE ROAD

The Ravelers, Claremont's classic rock band, are on the move. Tonight, they're at the Padua Hills Theatre for Claremont Community Foundation fundraiser (from The Ravelers' PR dept.):

Hey Now...

The Ravelers are proud to be asked to be involved in several fundraisers this year, providing fun music for great causes.

This one is special for us because we call Claremont our home, and we have been looking forward to playing in the newly renovated and historic Padua Theater! We have peaked through the door and walked in the old theater every time we played a wedding reception or event over the past 24 years...hoping someday it would be remodeled to provide a nice place for entertainment and gathering. That day has arrived!

The Claremont Community Foundation was established in 1989 to serve the longer-term philanthropic needs of the community. The Foundation has awarded grants to more than 60 programs and special projects, enriching the lives of youth and adults throughout the community. Please join us to help continue these contributions...

Friday, March 25- Sock Hop at Padua Hills Theater!!!
Padua Hills Theater
4467 Padua Ave
Claremont, CA 91711
(909) 398-1060

The Ravelers play 7-11pm. Join us at the newly renovated theater for some great tunes, a delicious retro buffet, a cash bar and special surprises!

The proceeds go to benefit the community. Tickets are $50. Click here for more details.

Hope to see you in the new theater!


Hai, Pat, Martie, Rob

The Ravelers
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Ravelers/266682436238?ref=ts

The Ravelers are also at Santa Anita racetrack for the 5th Annual Cal Rods Car Show this Sunday, March 27, from 1pm to 4pm and will be playing between races.

Also, on April 28, The Ravelers are at the Ontario Convention Center for a Campfire Girls fundraiser.



AT THE CLAREMONT FMC


Saturday night at the Claremont Folk Music Center, journey back to ancient Persia, land of poets and musicians:

Saturday, March 26, 2011

JOHN BILEZIKJIAN "master Oud player" show

John Bilezikjian is "America's Oud Virtuoso". Mr. Bilezikjian may be the most prominent Oudist of his generation. He is a master Oudist who has elevated this instrument to the concert stage as well as continues to perform as a folk musician. He has performed for some 51 years on this ancient eleven stringed Persian fretless instrument dating back some 2,000 years. The Oud is performed with an eagle's quill.

$10 (doors@7)

Folk Music Center & Museum
220 Yale Avenue
Claremont CA 91711
(909) 624-2928

AT THE 5Cs

Also, check out the Claremont Colleges calendar to see what's happening at the 5Cs this weekend. The following events are on tap:

Saturday, March 26, 2011

• 7:00 AM - 6:30 PM - Latina/o Student Union 4th Annual Rockabilly Festival
  
  Pitzer College
  1050 N. Mill Ave.
  Claremont, 91711
  (909) 607-7492
  
  Enjoy a day of cars, music and food. Hosted by the Latina/o Student Union.
  
  
  
• For the kids:
  
  10:00 AM - Story Time at the Stone Center:
  Goldilocks and the Three Bears
  
  Stone Center for Children's Books
  Claremont Graduate University
  740 North College Avenue
  Corner of College and 8th St.
  Claremont, 91711
  (909) 607-3670
  
  
  
• 8:00 PM - Senior Recital:
  Eddie Sayles, tenor
  
  Bridges Hall of Music
  Pomona College
  150 E. 4th Street
  Claremont, 91711
  (909)607-2671
  
  Pomona College senior, Eddie Sayles will present his senior vocal recital performing the music of Barber, Donizetti, Ravel, Falla and others assisted by pianist Gayle Blankenburg.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

• 3:00 PM - The Claremont Concert Choir and The Chamber Choir Spring Choral Concert
  
  Garrison Theater
  Scripps College
  Scripps College Performing Arts Center
  
  241 E. 10th Street
  Claremont, 91711
  (909) 607-3267
  
  Charles W. Kamm (Scripps/Joint Music faculty), conductor
  Paul R. Bishop (Scripps performance staff), piano and organ works by Brahms, Britten, Purcell, Whitacre, and others.
  

Claremont Colleges 2010 Commencement Calendar

The academic year has wound down, and next weekend we say goodbye to another group of graduates from the Claremont Colleges. May they recall their bright college days in Claremont with fondness.




Here's the slate of speakers for next week's commencement ceremonies:


Friday, May 14th

• Baccalaureate Ceremony
  The Claremont Colleges
  3:30pm - 4:30pm
  Bridges Hall of Music, Pomona College
  150 East Fourth Street, Pomona College
  Please contact the Office of the Chaplains for questions regarding this event.
  
  Speaker:
  Jacqueline Powers Doud, Ph.D., President, Mount St. Mary's College, Los Angeles
  Alumna, Claremont Graduate University
  
  

Saturday, May 15th

• Claremont Graduate University Commencement
  9:00am
  Mudd Quadrangle
  Harvey Mudd College
  E. 10th St. and Dartmouth Ave.
  (909) 607-3305
  
  Commencement speaker:
  Heidi Hartmann, president and founder of the Institute for Women's Policy Research and research professor at George Washington University.
  
  
  
• Pitzer College's 46th Annual Commencement
  10:00am
  Commencement Pavilion
  Pitzer College
  1050 North Mills Avenue
  (909) 607-2690
  
  Commencement speaker: The Honorable Cory A. Booker, mayor of Newark, New Jersey.
  
  
  
• Keck Graduate Institute Commencement
  11:00am
  East lawn
  Keck Graduate Institute
  535 Watson Dr.
  (909) 607-0389
  
  Commencement speaker:
  David R. Walt, Robinson professor of chemistry and professor of biomedical engineering at Tufts University.
  
  
  
• Claremont McKenna College
  2:00pm
  Pritzlaff Field
  Claremont McKenna College
  South of 9th St. and Claremont Blvd.
  (909) 621-8117
  
  Commencement Speaker:
  Henry Kravis '67; founding partner of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and CMC Trustee.

Sunday, May 16th

• Pomona College Commencement
  10:00am
  Marston Quad
  Pomona College
  College Ave., between 4th and 6th Streets
  (909) 621-8131
  
  Commencement speaker:
  Janet Napolitano, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, former Arizona governor, former Arizona Attorney General
  
  
  
• Scripps College
  10:00am
  Elm Tree Lawn
  Scripps College
  345 E. 9th St.
  (909) 607-1870
  
  Commencement Speaker:
  Speakers: Sue Monk Kidd, New York Times best-selling author, The Secret Life of Bees,; and her daughter Ann Kidd Taylor, co-author, Traveling With Pomegranates.
  
  
  
• Harvey Mudd College Commencement
  1:30pm
  Harvey S. Mudd Quadrangle
  Claremont University Consortium
  East Tenth Street and Dartmouth Avenue
  Claremont, 91711
  (909) 621-8125
  
  Speaker: Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, longtime president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and advocate for promoting education within underrepresented groups.

Tuesday, May 18

• Claremont School of Theology Commencement
  8:30am
  Kresge Chapel Green
  Claremont School of Theology
  1325 N. College Avenue
  (909) 447-2552
  
  Service presided by President Jerry Campbell.

7-Eleven Foes Take to Social Networking

You have to hand it to the residents who are fighting the proposed 7-Eleven convenience store at Foothill Blvd. and Mills Ave. Now that the applicant is appealing the Claremont Planning Commission's denial of the 7-Eleven's conditional use permit, the residents are gearing up to pressure the City Council into upholding the CUP denial.

Besides the expected opposition from the Preserve Our Neighborhoods (PON) group, whose attorney submitted a letter on behalf of PON to the Planning Commission, Claremont Courier reporter Tony Krickl writes on his COURIER City Blog that the 7-Eleven opponents have a Facebook page and even have a YouTube presentation:

It's a video posted on Youtube by David Sawhill, a resident who lives near the proposed 7-Eleven site. See below. Sawhill can't attend next Tuesday night's city council meeting due to an open house at Claremont High School where he works, so he's asked city staff to show the video during public comment in his absence.

Sawhill, by the way, is a graduate of the Claremont Colleges (Pitzer '01) and teaches math at Claremont High School. He is also a CHS yearbook adviser. In his video, Sawhill also tells us that he got his teaching credential at Claremont Graduate School. Sawhill may have a problem getting an airing of his video before the City Council: There's a four-minute limit on public comment and Sawhill's video runs over seven minutes. Then again, new mayor Linda Elderkin, who is against the 7-Eleven, may show her foolish consistency and allow the video to run.

As an aside, it strikes us as so typically Claremont how, whenever a group of neighbors opposes a project that most of the Claremont 400 would rather not have, the group is considered community activists. On the other hand, when a group opposes something the 400 is for, they are NIMBYs. These quintessential Claremont inconsistencies drive us nuts, and we have some more to illustrate on this and other subjects in the next week or two.

In any case, here's Sawhill's video:

If It's a Second Tuesday It Must Be Council Night

4PM STUDY SESSION

The Claremont City Council meets tonight, minus the Claremont Unified School District board. The council will meet for a special meeting at 4pm in City Hall's Citrus Room (upstairs from the Council Chambers).

The special meeting will be a study session on "Institutional Zone Parking," meaning the Claremont Colleges, public schools, and retirement communities. Each institution is supposed to provide sufficient parking for the number of people staying or visiting their respective locations. The City has a formula for figuring the number of parking spaces needed.

According to the city staff report on the parking situation at the colleges, Claremont Graduate University, Pitzer College, and Harvey Mudd College have a parking deficit. Pomona College and Scripps College, and the 5C's as a whole have surpluses:

From Pg. 18 of the study session report on institutional parking
(Click to Enlarge)

REGULAR MEETING

Tonight's regular meeting has a number of interesting items listed:

• City Manager Jeff Parker seeks council approval to spend $112,962 for Mobile Data Computers to be installed inside police vehicles, as well as $76,690 to purchase in-car digital video systems for CPD's vehicles.
  
  The City would contract with CDCE Incorporated in Yorba Linda for the mobile computing hardware and with Insight Video Net for the digital camera systems.
  
  
• Staff is asking the council to approve a General Plan amendment and a zoning change that would change the land-use designations for three Caltrans properties along the 210 Freeway from Park/Resource Conservation (open space) to single-family residential use.
  
  The three Caltrans parcels were originally zoned for residential use and were changed to open space in 2005 when the City completed it's General Plan update. Caltrans then sued the City for inverse condemnation because the rezoning took away a potential revenue-generating use for its land.
  
  The parcels are located at:
  
  
  1. Live Oak and Base Line Rd., north of the 210 Freeway.
  2. The east side of Sumner, north of the 210 Freeway (between Webb Canyon and Towne Ave.).
  3. The southwest corner of Monte Vista Ave. and Base Line Rd., north of the 210 Freeway.
     
  
  The City and Caltrans reached a settlement agreement this past January, and rezoning the parcels for residential use was apparently part of that agreement.
  
  On April 21, the Planning Commission denied the considered a recommendation for the changes and denied the request on a 4-3 vote, so the matter goes back to the council. Four of the five councilmembers must approve the amendment.
  
  
• The council will be asked to consider an amendment to the already approved special event permit for the Wednesday night Family Festivals in the Claremont Village Expansion. The amendment would extend the closure on Oberlin Ave. north to Bonita Ave. It would also add one hour to the festival, going from 5pm to 9pm, instead of ending at 8pm. And the street closures would run from 3pm to 10pm, adding an hour at each end.
  
  The city staff report, by Director of Community Development Tony Witt - or T. Witt, as he is affectionately known - also asks the city to approve the use of small, "quiet generators." You've gotta love the way Tony slips in a modifier, as if that really means anything. It's just an old Madison Avenue advertising trick ("New and Improved!") that's meant to assuage the concerns of people in the Village who might voice objections to the generators.
  
  And, as usual, Tony withholds the key information. He doesn't specify what exactly the generators would be used for. Whenever Tony employs this sort of obliqueness in a report, beware! You're sure to be in for big surprise.
  
  This one was fast-tracked by the City and Tony to avoid generating any controversy. It will set a record for time from idea to implementation.
  
  As we wrote last week, this Family Festival expansion seems to mix up the cart and the horse. Witt has based his decision on one data point -the initial April 29 festival night. If you went to the second one, last Wednesday, you would have noticed a marked drop off in attendance, so staff's expansion of the event may be premature.
  
  It's not unlike the Claremont Trolley - magical thinking in search of a staff report to justify it. It's sooooo Claremont! You just have to love it.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• The council is also considering approval of an exclusive negotiating agreement with Jamboree Housing Corp. to develop 75 units of affordable housing on the old Claremont Courier site at 111 S. College Ave.
  
  The proposed development would be a mix of senior and family housing units. 59 of the units would be reserved for very low-income residents, and 19 units would be for low-income tenants.
  
  The landlord would be obliged by the agreement to give preference to families with at least one household member who works in Claremont. One should remember that this preference is only good for the initial leases. When the units turn over, there is no preference. With residency length in our area averaging around seven years, according to Councilmember Peter Yao, after that time we can expect the local preference to have been thrown out the window.
  
  
• Lastly, the council will discuss the Metropolitan Water District's model water conservation ordinance. With the state entering its third year of drought, MWD is restricting the amount of water available for purchase by agencies like Three Valleys Municipal Water District.
  
  MWD has asked local government and water agencies to adopt water conservation ordinances to help reduce water consumption. The City is looking to vote on an ordinance by June 9, and implementing the ordinance will require the cooperation of Three Valleys and our local water company, Golden State Water.
  
  We've heard through the jungle drums that one of the proposals may included spying on your neighbors. Thank you, Tim Worley, for that one!
  

Claremont City Council
Study Session - 4pm
City Hall, Citrus Room
207 Harvard Ave.

Regular Session - 6:30pm
Council Chambers
225 W. 2nd St.

Call (909) 399-5460 for information.

Coming Soon: Commencement Weekend

Another academic year has come and gone, and in a couple weeks Claremont's education mills will be shipping off the 2009 product models into the job market with much attendant fanfare.

We're still very much a company town or, more precisely, a consortium town, so the pace of life in the Claremont Village will slow perceptibly with summer's approach and the departure of the colleges' students.

In the meantime, here is a list of this year's commencement events:

Friday, May 15th

• Baccalaureate Ceremony
  The Claremont Colleges
  3:30pm - 4:30pm
  Garrison Theater
  Scripps College
  231 E. 10th St.
  (909) 621-8685
  
  Speaker: Scripps Alumna Karen Tse,
  
  
  
• Baccalaureate Ceremony
  Claremont School of Theology
  4:30pm
  Kresge Chapel
  Claremont School of Theology
  1325 N. College Ave.
  (909) 447-2552

Saturday, May 16th

• Claremont School of Theology Commencement
  8:30am
  Claremont School of Theology
  Quad
  1325 N. College Avenue
  (909) 447-2552



• Claremont Graduate University Commencement
  10:00am
  Mudd Quadrangle
  Harvey Mudd College
  E. 10th St. and Dartmouth Ave.
  (909) 607-3305
  
  Commencement speaker:
  James P. Carroll, acclaimed author on religion and politics whose writings and novels include four New York Times bestsellers, two New York Times' Notable Books of the Year.
  
  
  
• Pitzer College's 45th Commencement
  10:00am
  Brant Clock Tower Lawn
  Pitzer College
  1050 North Mills Avenue
  (909) 607-2690
  
  Commencement speaker:
  David Feldman, Emmy award winning comedy writer and performer. He has written for ABC's Roseanne, HBO's Dennis Miller Live, HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher and Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He currently writes for Talk Show With Spike Feresten on Fox. David also appears frequently on NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
  
  
  
• Keck Graduate Institute Commencement
  11:00am
  KGI campus lawn
  Keck Graduate Institute
  535 Watson Dr.
  (909) 607-0135
  
  Commencement speaker:
  Myrtle Potter, President and CEO, Myrtle Potter and Company and Former President and COO of Genentech, Inc.
  



• Claremont McKenna College Commencement
  2:00pm
  Pritzlaff Field
  Claremont McKenna College
  South of 9th St. and Claremont Blvd.
  (909) 621-8117
  
  Commencement Speaker:
  Surin Pitsuwan ’72, Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Sunday, May 17th

• Pomona College Commencement
  10:00am
  Marston Quad
  Pomona College
  College Ave., between 4th and 6th Streets
  (909) 621-8131
  
  Commencement speakers:
  Bob Herbert, New York Times, Op-Ed columnist, playwright Luis Valdez and Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich '75.
  

• Scripps College Commencement
  10:00am
  Elm Tree Lawn
  Scripps College
  345 E. 9th Street
  On campus lawn - two rows of elm trees
  just north of the Malott Common
  (909) 607-1870
  
  Commencement speaker:
  Gabrielle Giffords, U.S. Representative (D-AZ) and
  Scripps College graduate, class of '93.
  

• Harvey Mudd College Commencement
  1:30pm
  Mudd Quadrangle
  Harvey Mudd College
  E. 10th St. and Dartmouth Ave.
  (909) 607-7924
  
  Commencement speaker:
  Dean Kamen, founder of FIRST, entrepreneur, inventor, physicist, advocate for science and technology.
  

Protest Is in the Air

A friend sent us a couple of snaps of some bedsheet signs that went up Tuesday (and probably came down shortly thereafter) on the Mills/210 overpass near the Vons market. They were readable to westbound traffic--ignoring the fact that at rush hour Tuesday afternoon most of the traffic would be eastbound.

This is probably Pitzoids doing some of their "protest for credit" that was alleged in connection with the local Republican Club event that was chased from Buca de Beppo last week. (note: the whole "protest for credit" idea seems to have been debunked.)

We are not to sure, but the proponents seem to be--it's just a guess--against David Dreier, for more college grants, for votesmart.org, for reading, thinking, and acting, and against clean coal, or we should say, with the usual academic scare quotes, "clean coal". Here, through the magic of Photoshop, we are able to present the signs in readable form, even though the originals came to us reading through the back of the sheets.


We are once again on notice that the rebellious juices are not dead, even with (or perhaps because of) the impending end of the semester. Will these causes be the topic of future council meetings? Only time will tell. At least at recent council meetings all the agitation by committees in South Claremont and Coalitions in Claraboya has been for apartment dwellers and low and very low income rental dwelling dwellers...not for these issues.

Reminds us of the last protest at the graduate school housing, which had much better graphics:

Sunday Mail

Catching up on our enormous mailbag backlog we found an email from a reader who commented on post about the Candlelight Pavilion's loan arrangement with the City of Claremont.

The reader offered up a possible win-win solution to help guarantee the city's loan - one that doesn't require an orchestral swell and breaking into song:

DATE: Monday, March 16, 2009 12:57 PM
SUBJECT: Candlelight Pavillion Theater City Loan
TO: Claremont Buzz

Dear Buzz,

The city has two options regarding the loan it has given to the Candlelight Pavillion Theater: one, it can forgive the loan completely or two, it can ask the Theater to repay the loan in full immediately.

In 2000 when the city approved the loan and a grant ($160,000 loan and $15,000 grant) there was a feeling that the Theater was a valued asset to the community, hence deserving of public support. The city approved the loan with a clear understanding of the risk, as stated in the staff report: "The nature of the loan and the current state of the property ownership and theater lease represent a repayment risk because of possible third-party actions."

The approved loan agreement stated that "If the theater closes due to the action of third parties the second ($80,000 ten-year repayment) component is forgiven."

Later the first $80,000 five year repayment plan, which was due in 2006, was amended (at the Theater's request) to amortize $55,000 over ten years after the Theater had paid $25,000. So the city could just forgive the loan voluntarily, or third party conditions at the site might lead the Theater to request forgiveness under the approved loan agreement.

Or, the city could initiate its own amendment to the loan agreement and ask the Theater to repay the full loan amount immediately. How will the Theater raise the money for the balloon payment? By obtaining a new private loan through the Small Business Administration (SBA). The city loan was granted at 6% and 10% interest rates. It is conceivable that under the Obama Administration's plan (announced on March 16, 2009) to help small businesses, the Theater could obtain a loan with more favorable conditions than the city's loan.

Under the plan, the Small Business Administration will increase loan guarantees to 90% from the current 85% on a loan up to $150,000 or 75% for a loan more than $150,000. The 90% SBA loan guarantee reduces lender risk, and the administration will temporarily eliminate upfront fees up to 3.75% or as much as $75,000 that are paid by borrowers.

This plan looks attractive. If the Theater takes advantage of the SBA plan, it can obtain a cheaper loan and be able to pay off the city loan. The Theater can offer a private bank the "20 theater production sets" as security. The city will in turn get its money back sooner to put in the budget at a time of pressing need.

* * * * *

We also received this note from a reader who saw our post about the job fair Congressman David Dreier is hosting April 8th. The reader wanted to offer an additional job resource:

DATE: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 3:28 PM
SUBJECT: Job News
TO: Claremont Buzz

One resource you forget to mention is the highly successful"community-based" project of Pitzer College professor Jose Calderon and his students, The Pomona Economic Opportunity Center. I'm sure our neighbors would be glad to assist any Claremont residents who wish to sign up at The Pomona Day Labor Center. This facility was started with $50,000 of Pomona citizens' tax money and currently Pomona "provides just over half the $330,000 budget" plus many other services. I also suspect that since Norma Torres is such a strong supporter of this type of solution to our economic problems, that her influence on President Obama may bring many more benefits to the patrons of the Day Labor Center.

• Article by Professor Calderon posted on the Pitzer College website
  
• Pomona Day Labor Center website
  

Does This Sound Like a College Administrator Who Just Really Really Wishes this Issue Would Go Away?

Graffito found in graduate apartments in November

Referring to this story, and this missive, Saturday's Courier had a short letter under the head, "Vandals are held accountable":

Dear Editor:

In response to the recent story [print only, not online] and letter to the editor regarding vandalism at the old Claremont Graduate University apartments on Dartmouth Avenue, please note that the Pitzer College students found to be involved were held accountable by the College.

They were required to pay for the clean-up, will perform community service and face additional sanctions. Statements to the contrary are untrue.

Kira Poplowski
Vice President of
Public Relations and Marketing
Pitzer College

Well, at least it's good to know that the responsible students are out on the chain gang. Nice suits, too. Pitzer Orange.

Riot Here, Riot Now

A reader alerted us to a case of vandalism last week at a decommissioned Claremont Graduate University dorm. The reader sent along a slew of photos, which we've include in this post. Unfortunately, space limitations preclude us from displaying all of the photos, but you'll get the idea (as always, click on the photos to enlarge them).

The reader indicated there may be some connection between the CGU vandalism and a proposal by CGU to purchase part of the Bernard Field Station land currently owned by Harvey Mudd College (the Claremont Courier had an October 29th article about that).



The reader's email also explains the backstory and tells us that at least some of the perps were apprehended:

DATE: Friday, November 21, 2008 4:40 PM
SUBJECT: Scoop!
TO:Claremont Buzz

I have a scoop for you that might actually get people off of yelling about pilgrims for a while. On Wednesday night, a group of students from Pitzer vandalized an abandoned dorm at CGU.

It's actually pretty sad...the international students who used to live in the dorm were forced out and left a lot of their things behind. If you go through the dorms now, it looks like a scene out of Hurricane Katrina - almost fully stocked kitchens, clothing, books left behind, cards, decorations (mostly for Chinese New Year, things from their home countries)...you almost have to see it to believe it. The electricity is still on, the doors and windows have been broken...its a dangerous and sad situation.



CGU donated the appliances and air conditioners to third world countries and this kind gesture actually left the dorms vulnerable. Vandals accessed the apartments through the holes left from window air conditioners.

I asked a security guard why there doesn't seem to be any security on the building, or why it isn't at least fenced off and condemned until they can bulldoze it. He said there's some kind of argument between the city, CGU, and a professor at Scripps.

Some of the vandals were caught, which is how we know they were Pitzer students. It seems to be vaguely connected to their anger about the field station and CGU's involvement in paving it. They do have a right to be angry about this, but destruction and vandalism aren't effective ways to get the administration to hear your concerns.

Meanwhile, the dorm is becoming an increasing eye sore and safety hazard. I'll send you the pics.


A friend of mine noted the irony in the fact that these students who were fighting the imperialist system (according to their graffiti) were drinking expensive imported beers (which the left behind...doesn't seem very eco-friendly to me).

No, not so friendly, either. Our reader was bothered enough by all of this to send along even more:

Overkill, I know, but the slogans are kinda amazing. And by amazing, I mean sad and ridiculous.

* * *

Pomona College News

The Student Life, the newspaper published by Associated Students of Pomona College, reports that Pomona College senior have received 16 Fulbright fellowships, tops among US liberal arts colleges. The article by news associate Sarah Higley says:

For the second year in a row, Pomona has topped the list of liberal arts colleges receiving the most Fulbright fellowships awarded to its seniors. The graduating Class of 2008 received 16 of the fellowships, not including a student who received an award but turned it down and [an] alumni who come [sic] back to use college resources in their application process.

Following Pomona [among liberal arts schools] were Smith College with 15 fellowships awarded, Swarthmore with 12, and Pitzer with 11. Scripps received five, and CMC, three.

According to Paula Goldsmid, Director of the Graduate Fellowships Office, the Pomona Fulbright program has used increased publicity to greatly expand the program over the past four or so years.

"More people succeed, and that encourages other people," she said.

Goldsmid added that she thought that many Pomona students are attracted to Fulbrights because of shared values of community service and the flexibility they offer.

TSL's Higley also has an article about the final Pomona Alma Mater forum. The Alma Mater has become controversial because it was allegedly written for a minstrel show in 1910. Higley's article says:

On Sunday, the Colleges Songs Committee hosted a student meeting, the last of three forums to gather community input before forming a recommendation on the future of the Alma Mater "Hail, Pomona! Hail" and "Torchbearers." The faculty and staff forum was held last Friday, Oct. 24, and alumni had a chance to give their opinions last spring. The student forum that took place on Sunday, Oct. 26, on the other hand, was closed to the public.

In a separate article, TSL reports that Pomona alumna Rosemary Choate has submitted a report to the college that says that there is a lack of documentation to show that the Alma Mater was written specifically for the minstrel show. You can read Choate's report here.

Pitzer College

The newest of the undergraduate colleges in Claremont, but now some 45 years old, Pitzer College began as an all-woman's college emphasizing psychology, sociology, and anthropology. It long, long ago went co-ed, and numbers as its graduates Fabian Núñez, former speaker of the California State Assembly, David Bloom, an NBC newsman and former co-anchor of Weekend Today, and of course Pomona College Dean of Faculty in 2005, Gary R. Kates (compensation $181,628). We think the image, above left, of David Bloom reporting from Iraq is so typical of the Pitzer student or graduate: flak jacket, surrounded by military vehicles, in the midst of lots and lots of shooting.

Let's see how Pitzer stacks up against the other undergraduate institutions in Claremont. We will present certain numbers from the Pitzer IRS form 990 for 2004-2005 (the latest available to us). This earlier post gives some general information and warnings about the interpretation of these data. You may compare with the other colleges by clicking on these links: Pomona College, Scripps College, Claremont McKenna College, and Harvey Mudd College. Remember, all data shown is as of June 30, 2005 unless otherwise noted.

Tuition and Fees: $27,566,023

Room and Board: $7,228,556

Total Revenue: $47,800,688

Total Expenses: $40,932,412

Excess for the year: $6,868,276

Net assets on July 1, 2004: $78,891,037

Net assets on June 30, 2005: $87,615,880

Corporate Officers

Laura Skandera Trombley, President
Compensation: $236,309
Contributions to employee benefit plans: $26,063
Expense account and other allowances: $27,200

Alan Jones, VP and Dean of Faculty
Compensation: $137,700
Contributions to employee benefit plans: $22,815

Arnaldo Rodriguez, VP, Admission and Financial Aid
Compensation: $134,556
Contributions to employee benefit plans: $19,801
Expense Account: $541

Vicke Selk: VP, Treasurer
Compensation: $183,162
Contributions to employee benefit plans: $29,528
Expense Account: $1,036

James Marchant, VP, Dean of Students
Compensation: $108,979
Contributions to employee benefit plans: $20,509

Anne Moran, VP, Advancement
Compensation: $136,578
Contributions to employee benefit plans: $22,384

Lori M. Yoshino, Budget Director, Associate Treasurer
Compensation: $93,584
Contributions to employee benefit plans: $11,971

Compensation of the Five Highest Paid Employees other than Officers, Directors, and Trustees

Carol Brandt, VP International Programs
Compensation: $127,234
Contributions to employee benefit plans and deferred compensation: $18,823

Barry Sanders, Faculty
Compensation: $123,513
Contributions to employee benefit plans and deferred compensation: $15,636

Stephen L. Glass, Faculty
Compensation: $115,698
Contributions to employee benefit plans and deferred compensation: $19,710

Ann Helton Stromberg, Faculty Emerita
Compensation: $118,348
Contributions to employee benefit plans and deferred compensation: $13,797

Albert Wachtel, Faculty
Compensation: $110,991
Contributions to employee benefit plans and deferred compensation: $19,071

Wachtel ran for Congress many years ago against David Dreier. It would have been Congress's gain and Claremont's loss. By accounts one of the best teachers in Claremont. Sometime try to get him to discuss Shakespeare, Sonnet 73:

That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou seest the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire
Consumed with that which it was nourish'd by.
This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.

Compensation of the five Highest Paid Independent Contractors

Agape Employment, Rancho Cucamonga, Employment
Compensation $215,071

Papillon Tours and Travel, Los Angeles, Travel
Compensation: $111,400

PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP, Los Angeles, Audit and Tax
Compensation: $107,011

MJS Professional Cleaning Service, Upland, Janitorial
Compensation: $86,913

Primary Cableworks, Inc., Riverside, Rewire Building
Compensation: $60,600

Claremont Colleges Stereotypes

We were on the campuses over the weekend trying to keep our fingers on the pulse of the Young Generation. As Yogi Berra said, "You can see a lot just by observing". While lots of students were wearing college T's, sweats, and hoodies, we saw these examples of self-referential commentary:

Pomona College: "The Ivy League Called, They Want Their Pretension Back"

Scripps College, the Women's College (and this shirt antedates the recent episode of "Foot-in-Mouth" disease suffered by the Dean of Students): "Its not PMS, We're Just Indignant"

Claremont McKenna College: "Love Fades, but Money Is Forever"

Harvey Mudd College (from the women's viewpoint): "The Odds are Good, but the Goods are Odd"

Pitzer College: "Why Go to College When You Can Go to Pitzer?"

We understand that these shirts may have originated as a fund-raising tool for one of the college clubs. Our rendition may not be exact; we weren't taking notes and are doing it from memory. We would welcome corrections and additions of any memorable phrases we may have missed. We'll print those that are printable.

The Dog That Did Not Bark

We can learn from history. In Claremont, we learn that with the Claremont 400 and their fellow travelers, history doesn't necessarily repeat itself. There's no intellectual consistency. Part of the reason the Insider too often dredges up historical events is that these events are available to us. If we tried to show things using future events, that would be speculative and not too convincing.

In that vein, we want to remind folks about the mean-spirited and clearly orchestrated attack that took place against one particular school board candidate in the last election. An element used in the attack was the church-state separation issue we have examined the past few days with respect to 2007 candidate Beth Bingham.

On a single day, October 12, 2005, the Claremont Courier printed five separate letters, all from college faculty members (four from Pomona College, one from Pitzer College), all similarly attacking 2005 candidate Kris Meyer. One letter quotes Nobel Laureate James Watson--a fraught endeavor given Watson's recent fall from grace. One calls Meyer a "scary guy" and goes on, in quite rational and measured professorial tones to say that Meyer can "spout cockamamie creationist theory in the privacy of his own home..." Another refers to Meyer's writing as "an incoherent rant". Say what you will, these are at least passionate people and the Insider hopes they treat their students with more courtesy than they treat their political foes. (We provide the letters opposite these paragraphs because we think they are instructive. Click on the small images for a readable image. We did some cutting and pasting for continuity and coherence and we don't think we messed up anywhere; not intentionally in any event.)

What surprises us--well, it doesn't really surprise us--is that there is no such orchestrated and passionate defense of the separation of church and state this year with an ordained, active minister running for office. We are shocked--shocked! It's the dog that did not bark. So, with apologies to Professor John Seery at Pomona, we will write the letter he doubtless would have written had his vigilant citizen cabal brought this issue to his attention. (His original letter is the middle one in the group to the right, under the head VIGILANCE: Thanks.)


Dear Editor,

I'd like to express my gratitude to several vigilant Claremont citizens and the Claremont Insider for alerting the rest of us to school board candidate Beth Bingham's stealth agenda and deceptive tactics.

In a letter to the COURIER (and I join others in urging the COURIER, as an act of public service and in the spirit of full disclosure to reprint her letter), Bingham has taken very adamant stances on school issues (decrying, for instance, the use of business concepts in the management of the school district, and a concern for the wall of separation between church and state when it's someone else's religion), and yet she reveals none of these positions in her current campaign literature.

My own view is that we need to elect board members who will exemplify high standards of integrity, candor and transparency. My question: Do the Claremont residents now displaying Beth Bingham signs know the full story about her views and nonetheless support them and her campaign, or have they been misled into believing she is simply a straightforward "children's" candidate.

definitely not written by John Seery

Claremont, CA

The point here is not to pile on Beth Bingham--though she felt compelled in her letter of November 5, 2005 to pile on Kris Meyer (linked two paragraphs above and here also). The point is that these crudely- and transparently-orchestrated attacks are well-oiled parts of the Claremont machine. It is never enough to put forward your own positions--in fact, that is seldom done. Gathering testimonials and lists of the usual suspect supporters is their way. Better to demonize and smear your opponent than to engage. Think of Glenn Southard's smearing of Obie Landrum, or the queasy activities of Preserve Claremont.