Jewish Archives - The Student Life

By Kahani Malhotra 1072 Views Campus Chaplains, Catholic, Catholicism, Chalpaincy, Claremont Colleges, Jewish, Judaism, kahani malhotra, McCalister, TCCS

Fr. Vitus Mbamalu stepped into the role of interim Catholic chaplain at the Claremont Colleges Chaplains Office on Oct. 6.

The Chaplains and a map of McAlister, as printed in a 1985 letter to graduate students from the Honnold Mudd special collections. L to R: Rev. Catharine Grier Calrson, Rabbi Ben Beliak, Fr. M. Francis “Frank” Meskill

Arts & Culture Features Special Projects

April 11, 2025 12:47 amSeptember 16, 2025 7:27 pm

Pluralism, progress, problems: 50 years of interfaith chaplaincy

By Lydia Jung 2049 Views 5Cs, archival, Archive, ASA, Baha’i, buddhism, Buddhist, Budget cuts, Campus, campus chaplaincy, Campus Chaplains, Campus Life, Campus Ministry, campus programs, Campus Religious Communities, campus religious life, Care, Catholic chaplain, Catholic chaplaincy, Chabad, chaplain roles, chaplain services, chaplain turnover, chaplaincy evolution, Chaplaincy History, chaplaincy review, chaplaincy support, Chaplaincy Turnover, chaplaincy updates, Christianity, Claremont College History, Claremont Colleges, Claremont Hillel, Claremont History, Claremont McKenna College, Claremont religious history, college chaplaincy, Community Building, community service, COVID, COVID-19 and Campus Life, Diversity, diversity and inclusion, diversity in religion, Easter services, faculty-student relationships, faith and politics, faith leadership, faith traditions, Faith-Based Counseling, faith-based events, faith-based volunteerism, Harvey Mudd College, Haverim, Hillel, Hillel and Religious Life, Hindu, History, inclusive chaplaincy, Inclusivity, interfaith, Interfaith Chaplaincy, interfaith collaboration, Interfaith Dialogue, interfaith events, Interfaith Programming, interfaith services, Islam, Jewish, Jewish chaplain, Jewish Chaplaincy, Jewish student organizations, Jewish-Christian Relations, lett, lydia jung, mcalister, McAlister Center, McAlister Center for Religious Activities, mental health and religion, MSA, Multi-faith Community, multi-faith gatherings, multicultural community, multicultural spiritual services, multiculturalism, Muslim, Muslim Chaplaincy, Muslim Life Coordinator, Muslim Student Association, muslims, outreach, Palestine protests, Pitzer College, Political Activism, Political Activism and Religion, Pomona College, Post-Pandemic Challenges, Protestant chaplain, Protestant Chaplaincy, Protestant-Catholic Relations, Protestant-Catholic-Jewish collaboration, rabbi, Ramadan, Religion, religious, Religious Activities, religious community, religious counseling, religious diversity, Religious Diversity on Campus, religious education, Religious Holidays, Religious Inclusivity, religious life, religious life coordinator, religious outreach, Religious Pluralism, Religious Services, religious space, Religious Studies, reverend, Scripps College, Shabbat services, Sikh, Social Justice and Religion, spiritual, spiritual care, spiritual events, spiritual events calendar, spiritual leadership roles, spiritual life, spiritual programs, spiritual well-being, student, student engagement, Student Faith Groups, student identity, Student Identity and Faith., Student Organizations, student outreach, student religious groups, Student Support, student volunteering, student well-being, Students, Volunteer Opportunities

At the intersection of Scripps College, Pomona College and Claremont McKenna College stands the McAlister Center for Religious Activities (also called the McAlister Center for Spiritual Life), an institution many students pass every day. However, according to former Protestant Chaplain Naima Lett, 75% of the community she encountered during the 2021-2022 school year was unaware of the center’s chaplain services, which provide counseling for all students and faculty of the Claremont colleges regardless of religion. Even less known is the chaplaincy system’s fifty years of complex history, representing both the cutting edge of inclusive college campuses and archaic systems no longer relevant to student needs.

Arts & Culture Features Special Projects

March 27, 2025 11:15 pmSeptember 16, 2025 7:30 pm

Claremont Mosaic: Monique Saigal-Escudero: How her grandmother’s courageous act saved her from the Nazis

By Kaitlyn Ulalisa 1567 Views adoption, Author, bachelors, Book, city, Claremont, community college, concentration camp, dax, elderly, emerita, emeritus, escudero, Europe, Feature, France, french, godmother, holocaust, Jewish, Judaism, kaitlyn, Kaitlyn Ulalisa, Language, language table, leiba, Literature, masters, monique, monique saigal, monique saigal-escudero, mosaic, Music, nazi, Old, Oldenborg, paris, phd, Pomona College, Professor, Profile, rachel, rivka, rivka leiba, romance language, saigal, saigal-escudero, sing, Singing, son, Song, Spanish, story, Train, UCLA, ulalisa, War, world war, World War 2, world war ii

Born in Paris, France in 1938, Monique Saigal-Escudero is an Emerita Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures at Pomona College. At just three years old, during the peak of Hitler’s reign in Europe, her grandmother threw her on a train headed for a small city in Southwestern France: an act that ultimately saved her life. Her passion for storytelling would soon bring her back to this history, and once again place her grandmother’s courageousness front and center in her life.

Pomona College free wall displaying various graffiti

News

October 31, 2024 4:46 pm

Haverim paints over Walker Wall with ‘apolitical and inclusive’ designs

By Rhea Sethi and Reilly Costello 6222 Views Free Speech, Haverim, Israel, Israel-Palestine, Jewish, Jewish Voice for Peace, JVP, Palestine, Walker Wall

Haverim painted over Walker Wall on Oct. 19 with “apolitical and inclusive” designs in an attempt to help students feel more united on campus.

A big building sits at the end of a very green quad.

Front Page News

May 16, 2024 2:07 pmJune 24, 2024 2:23 pm

Brandeis Center and Anti-Defamation League sue Pomona College over antisemitism Title IV violation

By Ben Lauren 13300 Views ADL, Anti-defamation league, Anti-Semitism, antisemitism, Avis Hinkson, Brandeis Center, Divestment, G. Gabrielle Starr, Gabbi Starr, Gaza, Hate, Israel, Jewish, Jewish Voice for Peace, Jews, Josh Eisenberg, Judaism, JVP, Mark Kendall, Palestine, Pdfa, Pomona College, Pomona Divest From Apartheid, SJP, Students for Justice in Palestine, Zionism, Zionist

On May 9, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) announced they filed a federal Title VI complaint suing Pomona College for rising campus antisemitism since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

4 loaves of freshly baked Challah ready to eat on table.

Arts & Culture Features

February 29, 2024 10:05 pmNovember 23, 2024 4:19 pm

Interfaith challah-making event braids together Muslim and Jewish students

By Niko Kay Smith 11785 Views Challah, challah making, Faith, Gaza, interfaith, Islam, Jewish, jewish students, Judaism, MSA, Muslim, nishmat, Palestine, Religion, solidarity

There are few feelings as universal as ripping into freshly baked bread, warm and fluffy right out of the oven. On the evening of Feb. 23, two dozen Muslim and Jewish students savored that pleasure together at an interfaith challah-making event co-hosted by Nishmat and the 7C Muslim Student Association (MSA). Nishmat and MSA organizers emphasized the importance of Jewish-Muslim solidarity amidst Israel’s ongoing siege of Gaza.

A photo of the Pomona College Smith Campus Center

Front Page News Pomona College

February 19, 2024 12:55 amFebruary 20, 2024 10:25 pm

Pomona students to vote on divestment from the ‘apartheid system within the state of Israel’ via ASPC referendum

By Kahani Malhotra and Sage Harper 13731 Views antisemitism, Apartheid, ASPC, Associate Students of Pomona College, BDS, Boycott Divestment and Sanctions, Claremont Divest, Claremont Jewish Voice for Peace, divest, Divest 5Cs, Divest Claremont Colleges, Election, G. Gabrielle Starr, Gabbi Starr, genocide, I/P, Israel, Israel-Palestine, Jewish, Jewish Voice for Peace, JVP, JVP-LA, Mark Kendall, Palestine, Poll, Polls, Pomona College, Pomona Students, SJP, South Africa, Voting

Between Monday, Feb. 19 and Wednesday, Feb. 21, the Associated Students of Pomona College (ASPC) will host a vote on a student-led referendum regarding Pomona’s investments in Israel and whether Pomona should disclose their holdings and divest — sell their holdings — from “the apartheid system in the state of Israel.” The referendum, which was proposed by Divest Claremont Colleges and endorsed by 34 other on-campus student organizations, will be held via a confidential ballot system sent to students’ email addresses.