Author: Alan Mitchell

During my time as the Opinions Editor for this newspaper, I often approached acquaintances to ask them to write columns for The Student Life. Many of them agreed, many declined and several said that they were only willing to do so if I would agree to publish them anonymously. Some

Perhaps the most generous observation one might make about last semester’s documentation controversy is that it generated a great deal of conversation. From passionate TSL articles to Facebook diatribes to protest movements, I have never seen the entirety of the Pomona community as engaged as it was in the aftermath

As Opinions Editor this semester, I have learned about the dedication of the staff and the immense amount of work that goes into the newspaper. I have also learned that the newspaper receives a nontrivial amount of criticism for the work published in its name. Perhaps this merely demonstrates my

Surprisingly little has been written in these pages about the ongoing economic calamity that has plagued the country for the last several years. Make no mistake, either—the crisis is certainly ongoing, as unemployment hovers around nine percent nationally, with much worse numbers for our age group, and the further economic

These pages have already seen an extended conversation on whether or not a liberal should feel comfortable supporting the reelection of President Obama. I don’t wish to reopen those wounds. Instead, I hope to explore Mr. Obama’s decision to crack down on California medical marijuana dispensaries, reflecting on what this

Barack Obama’s leftward rhetorical shift has caused many on the right to accuse him of engaging in class warfare. I wonder if they aren’t missing a more important war that is being conducted against a demographic to which all Claremont students belong. This war reaches across national boundaries, touching members

When I arrived at the Claremont Colleges in 2008, the Consortium had a plan for a new campus in Singapore. Regardless of the merits of the plan (many questioned whether a liberal arts institution could exist in an authoritarian state), the idea was bold, and it offered a response to

I visit the Coop Store almost every day. Conveniently located, staffed, and managed by an extraordinarily friendly subset of the Pomona College community, and selling delicious and nutritious (well, at least, delicious) items for “fake” money, it satisfies my snacking needs. Aside from the markup on food, I have no

At my new student orientation freshman year in 2008, the welcoming speakers emphasized Pomona’s wealth. With an endowment, at the time, of $1.9 billion, Pomona could apparently fund anything a student could imagine. Trips to exotic places, crazy parties, and luxurious quarters were merely a few of the amenities that