Voting in Two Presidential Elections During the Pandemic

Sonam holding her Green Book
By Sonam Rikha ‘24 In the months leading up to the US presidential race, my Instagram was flooded with messages telling me to register to vote. Whether it was Cardi B, the kids from Stranger Things, or my fellow classmates, all seemed to want one thing: for me to exercise my civic right and vote. Luckily for me, I was already registered and, by the time October came, ...
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5 Things I Miss About College

"Urban Light" at LACMA
By Siena Swift ‘22 Since I filed for a leave of absence from Pomona College for the fall semester, I’ve been thinking a lot about how much I will miss my college community and Claremont itself during this time. I think most of us miss “normal” (i.e. pre-COVID) life: going out to restaurants, concerts, hugging people outside of your family, being able to be in a room without ...
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Making a Change For the Better

Sunrise members protesting
By Ben Reicher ‘22 When I started college, there was a lot I didn’t know, and I’m sure there still is. But I knew that there were a lot of problems in the world, and I knew I couldn’t just stand by and watch them happen. I knew the planet was on fire, and that I had to do what I could, no matter how small, to help extinguish the flames. If you’re an incoming or prospectiv...
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10 Moments that Highlighted My First Year at Pomona

Selena hiking to Hollywood sign
By Selena Lopez ‘22 I don’t know about you, but, to me, there has always been something about lists that draws me in. “Top ten places to visit,” “best books to read this break,” “47 things to do while at Pomona”— the list goes on. Do I complete these lists? No … not necessarily. I’m also not good at keeping up with the lists that I make. Daily to-do lists? Can’t follow them....
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From Hiding in My Room to Being a Student Leader in the Draper Center

Selena and friends in the classroom
By Selena Lopez ‘22 Back in the year 2018 (seems far away, doesn’t it?), I came across a Facebook post asking for someone to lead a tour for a group of first-generation, low-income students visiting the Draper Center, the center for community service at Pomona. Being a fellow first-gen, low income student, I  thought it would be fun to show them around my school. Did I know ...
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The Claremont Community

Daphne at Bert & Rocky's
By Daphne Chapline '22 One rainy Sunday morning, I was walking back to campus from a yoga class at Claremont Yoga when I heard someone yell, “Daphne, wait!” I turned around and saw a staff member of Bert and Rocky’s, an ice cream shop in the Claremont Village. I ran inside the shop, she handed me some pumpkin bread and said “Here, on me!” As I ate my pumpkin bread, I chatted...
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Service, Sun and Sagehen Fun

students on Alternabreak
By Daniel Garcia '21 There aren’t many colleges that will cover your spring break trip, much less a spring break trip back to the place where you grew up, but Pomona’s Draper Center for Community Partnerships did just that for Spring Break 2019. Through a set of programs called “Alternabreak,” Pomona sent me and nine other students to New Orleans to do community service and ...
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Alternabreak Oakland: An Empowering Journey

Alternabreak group with large balloon creatures
By Marie Tano ‘21 This past spring break, I spent time as a Student Coordinator for the Oakland Black Alternabreak trip. I co-led this trip with Katlyn Young ’21, and we spent an entire week in Northern California where we partook in community engagement, volunteerism and self-reflection. All of the students involved with the trip labeled it as an impactful and eye-opening e...
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The Spirit of Service

By Toran Langford ’21 Building Leaders on Campus—affectionately known as BLOC—has come far since back on March 29, 2010 a band of four students launched one of the most affective organizations at the Claremont Colleges. BLOC’s founders are Salif Doubare '12, Brian Ssembajjwe '12, Martin Barrera '13, and Corey Jacinto '14. Today, BLOC has grown to more than 50 participatin...
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A Summer in the Land of the Midnight Sun

By Sarah Binau ‘19 It’s July 1st, and I’m on an Alaska Airlines jet headed to Bethel, Alaska, to work for the town’s Cultural Center and live with a Pomona friend. I land on Bethel’s only runway in a 50-degree drizzling rain. “Remote” and “rural” begin to take on new meanings. The town of 6,000 has one main road (warped by the melting permafrost below), a gallon of orange ju...
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