Do dreams make up who we are? Back with her weekly column, Alison Barrera PO ’29 explores the concept of dreams, specifically, how the people in our dreams make up who we are. With the help of a strange airport and the unexpected return of childhood friends, Barrera highlights how our past selves shape the person we’re becoming.
Tag: Shixiao Yu
No Sex In This City: Crush course in crushing
Tom Cat is back. In the latest rendition of her weekly column, she discusses the daunting issue of having a crush. Turning to the male audience, Tom Cat uncovers the secrets of having a crush and how fellow students deal with the delusional fervor.
Inscriptions: ‘On the Calculation of Volume’ and cleaning up your room
Returning with his weekly column, “Inscriptions,” Liam Riley PO ’26 discusses “On the Calculation of Volume” by Solvej Balle. For Riley, the piece is a thought experiment, ripping the reader from their world and pulling them into one that is far richer.
So I had this dream last night: Stories we tell ourselves at night
For columnist Alison Barrera PO ’29, “So I had this dream last night” is about exploring student’s relationships with dreams. She tackles what dreams look like for college students, and how they act as a mouthpiece for what our subconscious is trying to tell us.
Rooted and Restless: A moon for those who wander
Between mythology and migration, academia and activism, Rochelle Lu SC ’28 reflects on what it means to keep pushing — writing, feeling and existing — across languages and worlds. This Mid-Autumn Festival, she considers if traditions and purpose can survive translation with all the physical, emotional and temporal distance in mind.
Inscriptions: Terror and beauty in Big Sur
Liam Riley PO ’26 returns with his weekly column. In this rendition, he explores Jack Kerouac’s slide into alcoholic psychosis. Riley explores Kerouac’s ideas in conjunction with his own, coming to the conclusion that discovering ultimate truth can spring from a deep dissatisfaction with everyday reality.
Suspected theft at Pitzer Student Garden: Two chickens displaced, one remains missing
Two Pitzer Student Garden chickens were found displaced from their coop on Tuesday morning; one chicken remains missing.
The Poem of Ecstasy: Sex, disciplines and society of “Salò”
What can we learn from a provocative film aimed to challenge the audience’s perception on sex and social orders? Leslie Tong PO ’29 delved into the film “Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom” on its central theme of moral deprivation in a modern society. With the humanization of every prevalent feature that constructs a society, we humans embarked on a suspiciously voluntary journey in internalizing disciplines that enforced morality on our conscious behaviors. The result is obvious — our unconscious rejection and avoidance in facing our imperfect desires.
Rooted and Restless: Sleepwalking through stigma
Rochelle Lu shares her experience navigating insomnia and the stigma of mental health throughout her childhood in China and now here in Claremont. Lu faced relentless challenges as she sought relief, whether it was doubting critics or inaccessible wellness resources — chasing sleep felt like a never ending nightmare. Lu emphasizes the intersectionality of her struggles as an international student, explaining how the added stress of managing familial relations abroad paired with the sudden introduction to a new culture inherently impacts one’s wellness.
Inscriptions: A place of my own (kind of)
What makes a place truly one’s own? Liam Riley PO ‘26 paints us a picture with the help of Michael Pollan’s collection of essays, “A Place of My Own.” Inspired by Pollan’s efforts to construct a writing shack in his backyard, Riley embarked on a journey to transform his buddy’s old van into a livable camper. Here, he recounts the “heres” and “theres” of his experience, underscoring that every attempt to make something independently your own will unwaveringly require the support of those in your corner.