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Madison Lewis

A drawing of a person wearing a backpack and holding a ballot with a checked box, happily walking to the polls.
Opinions 
March 9, 2023 10:17 pm

OPINION: The Claremont Colleges should make Election Day a holiday

By Madison Lewis 2619 Views Civic Duty, Civic Engagement, Elections

College students are notoriously unreliable when it comes to voter turnout – but Madison Lewis PO ‘24 says colleges have an opportunity to change that.

Read more
A drawing of a person at a buffet line. There are sections for vegetables, grains, protein, fruit, and dairy. All the sections are full except the fruit section, which is empty except for a single cube of tofu.
Opinions 
February 23, 2023 11:36 pmFebruary 24, 2023 12:52 am

OPINION: The unintended consequences of Meatless Mondays

By Madison Lewis 5474 Views Environmentalism, Food, Frary Dining Hall, Vegetarianism

Frary’s Meatless Mondays have environmental benefits, but pose a danger by encouraging restrictive eating, argues Madison Lewis PO ‘24.

Read more
Opinions 
November 11, 2021 10:40 pm

OPINION: DIII women’s sports deserve greater institutional support

By Madison Lewis 2827 Views disparity, Division III, Donations, Title IX, women's sports

Colleges have a responsibility to provide institutional support to Division III women’s athletes to help them make up for disparities in donations and networking opportunities, argues Madison Lewis PO ’23.

Read more
Drawing of a map of the USA with hearts and peace signs on the coasts and red fires on the central areas.
Opinions 
October 28, 2021 9:41 pm

OPINION: 5C students should reexamine their regional biases

By Madison Lewis 2166 Views Claremont bubble, coastal elitism, regional bias

Some 5C students’ stereotyping of central and southern areas of the US as backward and intolerant is unfair and can blind us to persistent inequities where we live, argues Madison Lewis PO ’23.

Read more
Palm trees surround Malott Commons, the Scripps College dining hall.
Opinions 
October 8, 2021 12:02 amOctober 8, 2021 12:49 am

OPINION: It’s time to rethink cross-campus dining

By Madison Lewis 4219 Views COVID, cross-campus dining

Cross-campus dining can be reopened while keeping COVID-19 spread under control, argues Madison Lewis PO ’24.

Read more
A hand holds up ballots under the blue sky.
Opinions 
September 23, 2021 9:57 pmSeptember 23, 2021 10:53 pm

OPINION: California recall election shows that voting in college doesn’t have to be a hassle

By Madison Lewis 1927 Views California, governor, recall, turnout, vote by mail

The California gubernatorial recall election demonstrates why vote by mail should be made more accessible and widespread, especially for students, argues Madison Lewis PO ’23.

Read more

Weekly Newsletter

Top Articles Today

  • Report finds four Claremont Colleges linked to ‘uncivil’ discourse programs with billionaire, anti-activist ties
  • CGU announces planned cuts and consolidations to address projected deficit
  • OPINION: The 'Cornell 7' exposes that Title IX systems will not protect us — even at the 5Cs
  • Regency Theater opens in Claremont village after Laemmle's closure
  • OPINION: Did yesterday’s march truly support Jane Doe?

Instagram

Metrolink, the commuter rail transport system across Southern California, raised fare prices on Oct. 5 for the first time in 13 years. In a press release, Metrolink said that “limited fare increases” are due to rising operational costs, decreased ridership and a lack of federal funding.
 
One-way Metrolink fares rose by up to about 14%, while the weekday SoCal Day Pass rose from $15 to $19 and the weekend and holiday pass rose from $10 to $12. Metrolink maintained its 50% student discount, but students still had to pay more as the underlying fares increased. 

Isha Raheja PO ’27, Associated Students of Pomona College commissioner of facilities and environment, said transportation accessibility has been a focus of the 7C Transportation Working Group, a student group aiming to expand affordable student transportation and reduce student car dependency. 

“We’ve known for a long time that Metrolink has financial and operational difficulties,” Raheja said. 

Words by Sofia Latapie and Nate Littell | Graphic by Zoe Tang
Read more at the link in our bio.
•
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Metrolink, the commuter rail transport system across Southern California, raised fare prices on Oct. 5 for the first time in 13 years. In a press release, Metrolink said that “limited fare increases” are due to rising operational costs, decreased ridership and a lack of federal funding. One-way Metrolink fares rose by up to about 14%, while the weekday SoCal Day Pass rose from $15 to $19 and the weekend and holiday pass rose from $10 to $12. Metrolink maintained its 50% student discount, but students still had to pay more as the underlying fares increased. Isha Raheja PO ’27, Associated Students of Pomona College commissioner of facilities and environment, said transportation accessibility has been a focus of the 7C Transportation Working Group, a student group aiming to expand affordable student transportation and reduce student car dependency. “We’ve known for a long time that Metrolink has financial and operational difficulties,” Raheja said. Words by Sofia Latapie and Nate Littell | Graphic by Zoe Tang Read more at the link in our bio.
7 hours ago
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1/9
Claremont Graduate University (CGU) announced plans for extensive cuts and consolidations to university operations in light of a projected $7.8 million deficit for the coming year, according to an Oct. 6 email to faculty and staff from President Michelle Bligh obtained by TSL. 

Bligh outlined five key areas where changes will be made to address the deficit. Among these is a voluntary separation program — a benefits package offered to employees for their resignation or retirement — for CGU faculty and staff. 

“Personnel is our biggest expense at CGU,” Bligh wrote. “[Voluntary separation programs] are a critical part of our broader effort to bring our workforce — both academic and operational — into alignment with the university’s restructuring and financial realities.” 

Words by Patrick McDowell | Photo by Andrew Yuan
Read more at the link in our bio.
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Claremont Graduate University (CGU) announced plans for extensive cuts and consolidations to university operations in light of a projected $7.8 million deficit for the coming year, according to an Oct. 6 email to faculty and staff from President Michelle Bligh obtained by TSL. Bligh outlined five key areas where changes will be made to address the deficit. Among these is a voluntary separation program — a benefits package offered to employees for their resignation or retirement — for CGU faculty and staff. “Personnel is our biggest expense at CGU,” Bligh wrote. “[Voluntary separation programs] are a critical part of our broader effort to bring our workforce — both academic and operational — into alignment with the university’s restructuring and financial realities.” Words by Patrick McDowell | Photo by Andrew Yuan Read more at the link in our bio.
9 hours ago
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2/9
In light of a lawsuit filed by a former Cornell University student identified as Jane Doe against seven fraternity students, Aria Wang PO ’27 writes about the rally against sexual assault on Oct. 8, which attempted to display solidarity with Jane Doe. She situates the rally within institutional constraints, arguing that demandless action without adequate input from survivors on future care and resistance can often fall short.

“After all, survivors are not just people to rally behind, but also people to live alongside,” Wang writes. “The initial turnout for the symbolic march on Oct. 8 already answers whether we will stand up for survivors. Now, we must ask ourselves if we will sit beside them, practice what we preach once the rally ends and support Jane Doe, the people.”

Words by Aria Wang | Photo by Gabi Ricciardi
Read more at the link in our bio.
•
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In light of a lawsuit filed by a former Cornell University student identified as Jane Doe against seven fraternity students, Aria Wang PO ’27 writes about the rally against sexual assault on Oct. 8, which attempted to display solidarity with Jane Doe. She situates the rally within institutional constraints, arguing that demandless action without adequate input from survivors on future care and resistance can often fall short. “After all, survivors are not just people to rally behind, but also people to live alongside,” Wang writes. “The initial turnout for the symbolic march on Oct. 8 already answers whether we will stand up for survivors. Now, we must ask ourselves if we will sit beside them, practice what we preach once the rally ends and support Jane Doe, the people.” Words by Aria Wang | Photo by Gabi Ricciardi Read more at the link in our bio.
2 days ago
View on Instagram |
3/9
Rochelle Lu SC ’28 returns with her cultural column, “Rooted and Restless,” to explore what China’s stray cats reveal about the society around them. 

Drawing on her memories of seeing stray cats everywhere in Shanghai and the stories of the three cats her family took in, Lu examines how animal welfare is shaped by social structures, cultural attitudes and even misogyny. 

“They were not ‘adopted’ in the American sense of the word, but they were found on the streets,” Lu writes. 

From the historical opinion towards animals in China to the misogyny directed at the people who protect them, her column asks what the treatment of strays can tell us about vulnerability and care.

Words by Rochelle Lu | Graphic by Shixiao Yu
Read more at the link in our bio.
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Rochelle Lu SC ’28 returns with her cultural column, “Rooted and Restless,” to explore what China’s stray cats reveal about the society around them. Drawing on her memories of seeing stray cats everywhere in Shanghai and the stories of the three cats her family took in, Lu examines how animal welfare is shaped by social structures, cultural attitudes and even misogyny. “They were not ‘adopted’ in the American sense of the word, but they were found on the streets,” Lu writes. From the historical opinion towards animals in China to the misogyny directed at the people who protect them, her column asks what the treatment of strays can tell us about vulnerability and care. Words by Rochelle Lu | Graphic by Shixiao Yu Read more at the link in our bio.
3 days ago
View on Instagram |
4/9
This fall, Pomona-Pitzer (P-P) athletics implemented new trainings titled “A Long Talk About the Uncomfortable Truth” aimed at cultivating an anti-racist culture and strengthening department-wide community. A Long Talk focuses on the simple formula that “information plus empathy equals action.” 

“It's a real simple formula of connecting the dots between people who might have a good heart, but might not know about a bunch of stuff,” founder Kyle Williams said in an interview with TSL. “Or they might have read a book and got some information, but they don't have the passion behind them to want to go do something. And so what we do is keep connecting the dots with people like that and put them in a community to do this work together.”

Dr. Danielle Lynch, the new director of athletics for P-P said that that the impact A Long Talk has goes well beyond just reforming anti-racist standards, emphasizing that the anti-racism training offers athletes and staff a “shared language” that carries over into their every day interactions.

“What I value just as much is what it does for community more broadly,” Lynch wrote in an email correspondence with TSL. “Teams are built on trust, and trust comes from people feeling seen and being willing to tell each other the truth. How we create space, who we invite into the conversation, and whether people feel safe enough to be honest are not soft skills. They are the work.”

Words by Zachary LeBlanc | Graphic by Melinda Qerushi
Read more at the link in our bio.
•
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This fall, Pomona-Pitzer (P-P) athletics implemented new trainings titled “A Long Talk About the Uncomfortable Truth” aimed at cultivating an anti-racist culture and strengthening department-wide community. A Long Talk focuses on the simple formula that “information plus empathy equals action.” “It's a real simple formula of connecting the dots between people who might have a good heart, but might not know about a bunch of stuff,” founder Kyle Williams said in an interview with TSL. “Or they might have read a book and got some information, but they don't have the passion behind them to want to go do something. And so what we do is keep connecting the dots with people like that and put them in a community to do this work together.” Dr. Danielle Lynch, the new director of athletics for P-P said that that the impact A Long Talk has goes well beyond just reforming anti-racist standards, emphasizing that the anti-racism training offers athletes and staff a “shared language” that carries over into their every day interactions. “What I value just as much is what it does for community more broadly,” Lynch wrote in an email correspondence with TSL. “Teams are built on trust, and trust comes from people feeling seen and being willing to tell each other the truth. How we create space, who we invite into the conversation, and whether people feel safe enough to be honest are not soft skills. They are the work.” Words by Zachary LeBlanc | Graphic by Melinda Qerushi Read more at the link in our bio.
4 days ago
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5/9
Welcome back to What’s Happening at the Claremont Colleges!

Here’s what you missed across the 5Cs this week 🎥
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Welcome back to What’s Happening at the Claremont Colleges! Here’s what you missed across the 5Cs this week 🎥
6 days ago
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6/9
Milk & Honey reopened on Tuesday, Oct 6. Pomona Dining Services previously shut down the student-run boba shop on Sept. 10, sparking student outcry and renewed debate over Dining Services’ decisionmaking and labor practices. 

Starting at 7:15 p.m., the shop — which operates out of Café 47 — was packed with students and filled with animated chatter. Students arrived early to queue for drinks, in a line that trailed out the door and across the courtyard. 

“It's important to emphasize how incredible it is that we as Milk & Honey baristas and the student body managed to bring back Milk & Honey and have such a successful opening,” Milk & Honey co-manager Dora Wang PO ’27 said. “But at the same time, emphasize how this is a milestone rather than an end goal.”

Words by Nadia Hsu, Siena Giacoma and Ananya Vinay | Photo by Dora Wang
Read more at the link in our bio.
•
Follow
Milk & Honey reopened on Tuesday, Oct 6. Pomona Dining Services previously shut down the student-run boba shop on Sept. 10, sparking student outcry and renewed debate over Dining Services’ decisionmaking and labor practices. Starting at 7:15 p.m., the shop — which operates out of Café 47 — was packed with students and filled with animated chatter. Students arrived early to queue for drinks, in a line that trailed out the door and across the courtyard. “It's important to emphasize how incredible it is that we as Milk & Honey baristas and the student body managed to bring back Milk & Honey and have such a successful opening,” Milk & Honey co-manager Dora Wang PO ’27 said. “But at the same time, emphasize how this is a milestone rather than an end goal.” Words by Nadia Hsu, Siena Giacoma and Ananya Vinay | Photo by Dora Wang Read more at the link in our bio.
6 days ago
View on Instagram |
7/9
Multiple leftist student groups across the 7Cs collaborated on a “Week of Action” from Oct. 5 to 9, organizing a series of events including teach-ins, poetry readings, a 10:07 a.m. walkout and additional programming. The events marked three years since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel, with student organizers protesting Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, as declared by the UN.

“This upcoming week not only marks the beginning of the most recent escalation of the genocide against the Palestinian people, it is a time for us to honor their struggle by remaining steadfast in our commitment to fight for Palestinian liberation and confront our institutions’ complicity in the ongoing genocide,” Claremont Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) wrote in a Sept. 30 Instagram post announcing the week’s events. 

Amid tensions between the college administrations and certain student organizations advocating for Palestinian liberation, students raised concerns over some of the programming and questioned its choice of timing. 

Words by Madeleine Farr, Audrey Green and Cloud Morgan Clark | Photo by Madeleine Farr
Read more at the link in our bio.
•
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Multiple leftist student groups across the 7Cs collaborated on a “Week of Action” from Oct. 5 to 9, organizing a series of events including teach-ins, poetry readings, a 10:07 a.m. walkout and additional programming. The events marked three years since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel, with student organizers protesting Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, as declared by the UN. “This upcoming week not only marks the beginning of the most recent escalation of the genocide against the Palestinian people, it is a time for us to honor their struggle by remaining steadfast in our commitment to fight for Palestinian liberation and confront our institutions’ complicity in the ongoing genocide,” Claremont Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) wrote in a Sept. 30 Instagram post announcing the week’s events. Amid tensions between the college administrations and certain student organizations advocating for Palestinian liberation, students raised concerns over some of the programming and questioned its choice of timing. Words by Madeleine Farr, Audrey Green and Cloud Morgan Clark | Photo by Madeleine Farr Read more at the link in our bio.
1 week ago
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8/9
About 150 community members across the 7Cs gathered at Scripps College’s Elm Tree Lawn Thursday at 1 p.m. and marched to Pomona College’s Walker Beach to rally against sexual violence in the wake of drugging and sexual assault allegations at Cornell University. 

Co-organizers Don James (DJ) Basilico PO ’27 and Stephanie Li PZ ’28 brought together several student organizations, advocacy groups and Title IX Coordinators to spread awareness about sexual violence on college campuses and to protest the Cornell Administration. Li said she organized the rally to stand with the Cornell plaintiff, referred to as Jane Doe in a lawsuit filed last month, and every survivor of sexual violence.

“I wanted to send a message to Jane Doe to tell her that we, as the Claremont College Consortium, support her,” Li said. “I wanted to send a message to Cornell that this is what a proper administration that supports its survivors looks like.”

The EmPOWER Center, a violence prevention and advocacy center, aims to support all 7C members by offering bystander intervention training and support hours. The CMC and Pomona advocates both have a 24-hour hotline. CGU and KGI students can reach their advocates by hotline as well. Scripps Advocates operate an anonymous non-emergency “warmline,” which operates from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. every day of the school year. HMC, Pitzer and Scripps Advocates all have support hours by appointment or drop-in. 

Words by Caprice Bielby and Nicole Teh | Photo by Gabi Ricciardi
Read more at the link in our bio.
•
Follow
About 150 community members across the 7Cs gathered at Scripps College’s Elm Tree Lawn Thursday at 1 p.m. and marched to Pomona College’s Walker Beach to rally against sexual violence in the wake of drugging and sexual assault allegations at Cornell University. Co-organizers Don James (DJ) Basilico PO ’27 and Stephanie Li PZ ’28 brought together several student organizations, advocacy groups and Title IX Coordinators to spread awareness about sexual violence on college campuses and to protest the Cornell Administration. Li said she organized the rally to stand with the Cornell plaintiff, referred to as Jane Doe in a lawsuit filed last month, and every survivor of sexual violence. “I wanted to send a message to Jane Doe to tell her that we, as the Claremont College Consortium, support her,” Li said. “I wanted to send a message to Cornell that this is what a proper administration that supports its survivors looks like.” The EmPOWER Center, a violence prevention and advocacy center, aims to support all 7C members by offering bystander intervention training and support hours. The CMC and Pomona advocates both have a 24-hour hotline. CGU and KGI students can reach their advocates by hotline as well. Scripps Advocates operate an anonymous non-emergency “warmline,” which operates from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. every day of the school year. HMC, Pitzer and Scripps Advocates all have support hours by appointment or drop-in. Words by Caprice Bielby and Nicole Teh | Photo by Gabi Ricciardi Read more at the link in our bio.
1 week ago
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9/9
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