As contemporary art shifts its focus from form to identity, does it still challenge the viewer, or has it become a closed loop of self-referential politics? Elias Diwan PO ’25 argues that contemporary art’s fixation on representation has turned inclusion into a substitute for communication, sidelining quality and meaningful engagement with the work itself.
Opinions
OPINION: You are too comfortable with your family being ‘comfortable’
Being upper class has become deeply un-chic. Be it class guilt or an inability to imagine yourself rubbing elbows with the Elon Musks of the world, the one-percenters of the Claremont Colleges have become accustomed to downplaying their wealth. Parker Devore PZ ’27 argues that those in the position to inherit wealth should not be afraid of it and should be conscious of the impact that their positionality will grant them in our society’s increasingly oligarchical state.
Opinion: Clean energy alone won’t save us
The green energy revolution has been a promise of the new millennium. With growing wind, solar and hydroelectric resources supplanting existing carbon resources, the energy capacities, and resultantly, production abilities of our nation are seemingly endless, capable of fueling an ever-growing economy. Eric Lu PO ’28 argues that, for any of the changes made by green energy to have lasting effects, we need to change our economy and consumption patterns.
OPINION: Beyond the campus bubble: Making long-distance relationships last
Long-distance relationships (LDRs) are renowned for being unsustainable, overly challenging and even detrimental to personal and social development. Sarah Russo, PO ’28 argues that while the idea of maintaining a relationship across miles can seem daunting among college students, it is more attainable than many think.
OPINION: Lunar New Year felt like it was my birthday and no one knew it
Imagine if you woke up on your birthday and waited with excitement for that first text from a friend or any recognition, only for nothing to happen. Imagine that feeling of erasure, invisibility. This was how Nicole Teh SC ’27 felt on Lunar New Year. Despite decoration and excitement abound, Teh felt unmoored from her culture and encountered a great hesitance to engage in celebration from her predominately white peers. Teh argues that cultural sensitivity has reached the point of cultural blindness and that we must be willing to authentically engage with the differing cultural and ethnic backgrounds we encounter.
OPINION: We need more religious understanding
Last year, Elizaveta (Lisa) Gorelik CM ’25 was born again. This process of discovering faith has revealed the extent to which secularism and religious prejudice have seeped into the conversations we have at our institutions.
Gorelik argues that if our colleges want to uphold their mission of shaping responsible leaders, then our classes ought to bridge the gaps of understanding between the upper class, secular, liberal spaces of our campuses with the rest of the country.
OPINION: When Campus Security fails, who keeps us safe?: Pomona’s ongoing failure to protect students
In the wake of increased security spending by Pomona Campus spurred by student protests, the students of Lyon Hall have been neglected. Sara Russo PO ’28 details a semester of break-ins and unresponsiveness from Campus Security that culminated in an intruder masturbating in a Lyon bathroom while a resident was showering. Russo argues that Pomona should utilize its increased security to protect, not persecute its students.
OPINION: GOP and Trump’s political chaos mask his policy failures
As the GOP escalates its attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, the Idaho House has taken steps to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark ruling that established federal same-sex marriage protections. Celeste Cariker PZ ’28 contends that these efforts — along with other sweeping measures like ending birthright citizenship — are not isolated policies but part of a broader “shock and awe” strategy.
OPINION: Your guide to the off-year 2025 elections
Disappointed by the 2024 election results and wondering what’s next? Akshay Seetharam HM ’27 breaks down the key off-year races in 2025, from state Supreme Court battles in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — where ideological control is up for grabs — to New York’s mayoral free-for-all. With courts at risk of shifting conservative and governorships on the line, these elections are an early test of the post-Trump landscape.
OPINION: Bag your own bags
25 cases of beer, 30 packs of premium ribs, and an unnecessary amount of potato chips and a seemingly endless assault of demeaning glares. This scene has colored Daniel Han Tae Choi PO ’28 experience as cashier at a local asian grocery store over the past couple years. Hours of bagging, and simple refusal from customers to help has reminded him of the way that the American dream has morphed to paint unskilled laborers as a cautionary tale instead of an essential group of people that make our country function. Choi argues that the very least we can do is say hello, bag a couple groceries and treat the workers who keep our society working as our equals.