Ryan Strong
May 7, 2013
Filed under News, On campus, Top Stories
Occidental’s faculty body overwhelmingly passed two no confidence resolutions against Dean of Students Barbara Avery and General Counsel Carl Botterud on Monday in an executive session. The motion on the Dean of Students passed with 65 in favor, nine opposed and six abstaining while the Botterud... (more...)
Ryan Strong
April 16, 2013
Filed under Features, On campus
Students may pay higher student fees next year as part of an Associated Students of Occidental (ASOC) senate proposal to raise the fees in order to better fund student activities on campus. The proposal, enabled by the passage of an amendment to the ASOC Constitution last year that allows... (more...)
Ryan Strong
March 20, 2013
Filed under Features
In his 2013 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama made his bluntest call yet for colleges around the country to control the skyrocketing costs of higher education and not to consider his improved student aid program as a license to continue raising administrative costs. “Taxpayers... (more...)
Ryan Strong
March 5, 2013
Filed under On campus, Opinions
Recently, Occidental College’s Campus Dining Department realized it had a problem. Student surveys put Occidental food on the low end of a “value” metric compared to other institutions. Most people would confront a problem like this in a very common sense way: they would work... (more...)
Ryan Strong
November 28, 2012
Filed under News, Uncategorized
Occidental successfully opposed a legal motion filed by persistent birther Orly Taitz to compel the college to release President Barack Obama’s college records, including his application. Birthers such as Taitz believe that President Obama has a fake birth certificate and was not born... (more...)
Ryan Strong
October 24, 2012
Filed under News
After returning a healthy 19.5 percent investment earnings rate in the 2011 fiscal year, Occidental’s endowment took a hit last year, despite the college’s fundraising success and 125 anniversary. College officials note that the endowment has started moving in the right direction... (more...)
Ryan Strong
April 22, 2012
Filed under Uncategorized
In 1977, to celebrate the college’s 90th anniversary, Occidental revived a tradition called O-Day with carnival games, an all-campus photograph and a cake large enough to feed the entire campus. In this celebrated history of the college, Andrew Rolle ’43 recounts that the next... (more...)
Ryan Strong
April 17, 2012
Filed under News
Occidental is set to implement a new mandatory mentoring program for incoming first-year students next Fall. The First-Year Residential Experience (FYRE) is designed to immerse new students in the Occidental community more quickly and effectively while enhancing students’... (more...)
Ryan Strong
November 21, 2011
Filed under News, On campus
A group of students led by Kenji Hammon (sophomore) created a Facebook group dedicated to collecting student opinions on administrative policy, mostly focusing on drug and alcohol policy and putting those ideas into action. Over a couple of weeks membership in the closed group has ballooned... (more...)
Ryan Strong
November 15, 2011
Filed under News, On campus
Newcomb Hall sustained extensive water damage on Thursday evening after heat sensors triggered the sprinkler system in a dorm room on the third floor. Campus Safety and the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the dormitory but found no fire, though they encountered a large flood caused... (more...)
Ryan Strong
November 8, 2011
Filed under News, Off campus, On campus
The number of judicial referrals at Occidental for alcohol policy violations on-campus is nearly triple the average for Top 50 Liberal Arts Schools ranked by U.S. News according to Clery Act disclosures released this October. Amongst SCIAC colleges, Occidental’s 389 referrals for... (more...)
Ryan Strong
November 1, 2011
Filed under News
Occidental’s Financial Aid Office is concerned that a congressional super committee charged with cutting $1.5 trillion from the federal budget may severely cut funding to the Pell Grant program that many students rely on. Occidental has already absorbed spending cuts to... (more...)
Ryan Strong
October 11, 2011
Filed under News, Off campus
President Jonathan Veitch recently received a strongly worded letter from local resident Rick Taylor complaining about off-campus partying and threatening to take his complaints to the Los Angeles City Council if the college does not deal with the problem. Because major construction projects... (more...)
Ryan Strong
October 3, 2011
Filed under News, On campus
The College is looking into purchasing a set of villas on Colorado Boulevard, two and a half miles away from campus, as student housing. With 80 beds in total, the villas would be a college-sponsored, off-campus living option open to seniors and juniors and would also house two Residential... (more...)
Ryan Strong
September 27, 2011
Filed under News, On campus
President Veitch released a draft of the vision statement for the College on Sept. 16, enumerating Occidental’s goals while focusing on the College’s urban and global identity. On Sept. 20, he held an at-capacity meeting for students, professors, administrators and staff to comment... (more...)
Ryan Strong
April 19, 2011
Filed under News, On campus
Volleyball Coach Mike Talamantes resigned on Monday afternoon as an investigation into NCAA and SCIAC bylaw violations neared conclusion. Talamantes was hired in spring 2008. This past season, he led the volleyball team to a school record 25 wins and a second-place finish in conference. “Coach... (more...)
Ryan Strong
March 1, 2011
Filed under News, On campus
After a one year hiatus, Programming Board revitalized the game of Mafia this year with two times the participation of the 2009 competition. The game is ultimately a giant game of water war. Teams of eight attempt to eliminate other “mafiosos” by shooting them with water... (more...)
Ryan Strong
February 7, 2011
Filed under News, Off campus, On campus
An Occidental sophomore was assaulted by a visitor on the night of the Mardi Gras Dance Jan. 30 causing a black eye and swelling of the jaw. The aggravated assault, which took place on the quad, was the first one this academic year. Two active-duty marines, with about three months on the... (more...)
Ryan Strong
October 13, 2010
Filed under Uncategorized
Occidental’s administration touts the College’s diversity. However, it is the staff and student leaders at the Intercultural Community Center (ICC) who directly work to foster the diverse community that has earned the College its high rankings on the subject. The ICC is largely... (more...)
Ryan Strong
September 13, 2010
Filed under Uncategorized
The renovation of Swan Hall fell behind before it even started. With the exception of the installation of fencing, a single portable restroom and the removal of asbestos and lead paint, the expansion and revamping of the outdated building has not yet begun, due to a lack of permitting and... (more...)