On Feb. 27, the Pitzer Green Bike Program (GBP) began hosting weekly women and gender-nonconforming hours on Tuesdays from 3 to 5 p.m. The initiative, which allows students of all gender identities to stop by and receive support specifically from women and gender-nonconforming mechanics, was launched in an attempt to build a more inclusive environment and bolster diverse student engagement with the program.
The GBP was first started in 2001 when students founded it in the hopes of increasing bike usage on campus.
According to its webpage, “The GBP began as an attempt to counter Los Angeles’ renowned car culture by encouraging people to use bikes and by facilitating their accessibility for Pitzer students and their maintenance for the whole of The Claremont College Consortium.”
The program, which is based in a small work shed across from Skandera Hall, offers free mechanical support to all students and faculty members across the 5Cs — the only cost is that of new bike parts. The GBP also provides a 24-hour bike rental service for Pitzer students, as well as bike raffles held at the start of each semester with refurbished bikes found abandoned around campus.
According to Annika Salomonsson PZ ’25, a staff member at the GBP, the new women and gender-nonconforming hours were created largely in response to student anxieties about the GBP’s ‘intimidating’ environment.
“There’s usually a big group of people hanging out outside and if you don’t know any of them, it can be a little tough to know if [GBP] is open or if [staffers] are willing to work,” she said. “[The new hours] were just a way to confront possible anxiety from the student body and make things a little bit more consciously open-minded.”
The majority of the mechanics on staff are men which, according to Carolyn Lao PZ ’26, creates a potentially unwelcoming environment. Lao, a frequent user of the GBP, noted that several of her friends had expressed unease over this fact.
“One of my suitemates had a bike problem and she also needed a bike pump, but she just bought it herself,” she said. “She didn’t want to go inside the GBP, because the people who work at the GBP are super nice, but they’re very much a guys-clique.”
While Lao herself said she felt comfortable going to the GBP even before the new hours, she acknowledged that many students on campus shared the same anxieties as her suitemate.
“A lot of people were intimidated by GBP,” she said. “They may not be the most approachable.”
Marjorie Haddad PZ ’26, a staff member at the GBP, said that the new women and gender-nonconforming hours were meant to address concerns like these.
“Working in an all-female environment can help ease some stress and nerves,” she said. “It always can be intimidating being in a male-dominated environment.”
Veronica Britton PZ ’26, a staff member at the GBP and one of the leaders of this initiative, agreed. She explained that, oftentimes, she would find that she was the only woman on shift. This was something that she wanted to change.
“It’s just hard being the only girl,” she said. “We have awesome girls, but I wanted us to all hang out at the same time.”
Britton also emphasized the fact that the new hours were not meant to discourage community among students of different gender identities.
“It’s not like it’s girls versus boys,” she said. “These are my buds, these are my friends, but it’s definitely a different environment.”
Britton explained that, when she first introduced the initiative at a meeting last month, it was well-received by other staff members. On Feb. 20, the GBP ran an initial test trial of the hours to see if students would attend them and to give staff members time to adjust to their schedule changes.
“It was the busiest two hours we’ve ever had,” Haddad said.
The following week, the GBP’s women and gender-nonconforming hours officially began. Staff members noted that students were quick to take advantage of the new hours, which evoked an overall positive response from the community. Britton also noticed that the new hours seemed to make some students feel more comfortable with the GBP in general.
“Telling [students] that we have a women’s hour makes it more approachable even if they can’t come to the hour,” Britton said. “It shows that we’re trying.”
Lao suggested that the new hours reflect well on Pitzer overall, noting that the GBP is often brought up to prospective students.
“Having it be something that the students actually want to be involved in and don’t feel intimidated or scared by … something [that is] by and for the people is good,” she said.
Along with addressing student anxieties, the initiative offers female and gender-nonconforming staff members an opportunity to improve their skills as mechanics.
“Not only is it beneficial for the outside community … it’s been fostering a positive learning environment for us,” Haddad said.
Still, despite these successes, Haddad explained that working during the new hours could be stressful at times.
“There are also not that many of us working,” she said. “It does get overwhelming.”
Salomonsson felt similarly, encouraging more women and gender-nonconforming students to apply to work at the GBP next semester.
“We’re getting so many people during those two hours — sometimes we do feel a little bit overrun,” Salomonsson said. “For the next coming year, if you’re a woman and you do want to apply to work at the GBP, you should so that we never feel understaffed because of the ratio of men to women.”
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