All the Claremont Colleges enact a “substance-free opening” policy, meaning that any substance use by any students on the campuses will absolutely NOT be tolerated (even by those legally of age). Administration enacts this because studies have shown that a large number of sexual assaults happen during the first two weeks of the semester, and a high percentage of them involve substances. So, to prevent sexual assault, we institute a substance-free policy for the first week-ish of school.
“That Saturday Group,” also known as TSG, is a group on campus that throws alternate, substance free activities on the weekends in case people don’t want to go to the typical Saturday night college “party.”
So, for sub-free opening, they threw “Inception,” on the South Portico of Big Bridges Auditorium. The party was given the tag line, “The First Epic 5-C Party of the Year!” but turned out to be practically unattended except when the free taco truck showed up. There was a consistent line from 10 pm till midnight, and I have no idea if they even managed to get close to getting rid of the approximate 1,200 tacos ordered. Considerately, the college ordered both chicken and potato tacos to service the Claremont Colleges’ large vegetarian population.
Free tacos are pretty exciting.
What’s more exciting? Requesting the “Cha Cha Slide” when no one was dancing and it was starting to rain a bit, getting super into it, having people join you, and eventually getting Frank Bedoya and his golden retriever to join the dance. As students fondly refer to him, “Frankie B.” is Pomona’s Senior Associate Dean of Campus Life, which essentially means he’s in charge of everything involved in the actual “living” that happens at college—the dorms, the dining halls, and the parking permits. This prominent member of the administration danced to a song so silly as the “Cha Cha Slide” with us, something that could only happen at a small school like Pomona. Maybe next time he can teach me how to dougie.