When Pomona College President James Blaisdell hired Ralph Cornell as the college’s supervising landscape architect in 1919, he instructed him to create “a college in a garden.” Although Cornell was known for his love of native plants, the fields and plantings he designed for Pomona were more reflective of the founders’ vision of a
Author: Samuel Breslow
Deresiewicz and CMC’s Problematic Priorities
I love going to hear guest speakers. They allow me to procrastinate on my schoolwork without being nagged by the feeling that I’m wasting my time on frivolous, non-educational activities. As a result, I’ve been to Claremont McKenna College’s Athenaeum at least a dozen times so far this semester and
Consumption Conundrum: Food Labels in 5C Dining
For many of us, the distinction between ‘food’ and ‘not food’ is relatively straightforward: Everything served in the dining halls is food, and most other things are not food. However, for those of us with dietary restrictions, making that distinction isn’t always so easy. I have been a vegetarian for
How Letter Grades Are Failing Higher Education
A, B, C, D, F. Letter grades have always had a simplistic appeal; they allow us to judge our performance in a class with a mere symbol. Unfortunately, the reality of education is far more complex than the neatly distilled grades would have us believe. For starters, there is a
Let’s Diversify Our Conversations on Diversity
Diversity is a very popular topic at the 5Cs and for a good reason: While awareness alone isn’t enough to solve diversity-related issues, we can’t begin to address them unless we’re actively thinking about them. That said, conversations about diversity at the 5Cs can also get repetitive, and many end
The Case Against Being (Ranked) the Best
When U.S. News & World Report released its annual college rankings two weeks ago, Pomona College tied for 5th out of all liberal arts colleges, a rank perfectly consistent with our impression of ourselves as an elite school. Because we tend to fare so well in the U.S. News rankings, it