politics – Voices

Voting in Two Presidential Elections During the Pandemic

Posted on May 18, 2021September 21, 2022 by Sonam Rikha

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, ...

It’s Really Not About the Major

Posted on July 30, 2020September 21, 2022 by Siena Swift

By Siena Swift ’22 These days, most high school students are pressured to decide on a major, if not an academic field, before applying to college. Many colleges or universities require you to apply into a major or school within the university, and transferring into a different major can often be difficult. I personally didn’t think about these issues when applying to college...

Making a Change For the Better

Posted on June 23, 2020September 21, 2022 by Ben Reicher

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...

Learning to Love Los Angeles

Posted on November 26, 2019September 21, 2022 by Elias van Emmerick

By Elias van Emmerick ‘21 Pomona’s lack of name recognition is a bit of a running gag at the Claremont Colleges. Students love to joke about how their friends think they go to “Paloma,” “Panama,” or “Pavlova” College. We can point at the Forbes 2015 Best Colleges #1 ranking all we want, but Harvard we are not. Now imagine what “Pomona College” means to a 14-year old Belgi...

You Do Not Know What You Do Not Know

Posted on April 27, 2018September 21, 2022 by cyhg2015

By Cheryl Yau '19 A key aspect of a liberal arts education that I really relish is the serendipitous exposure to ideas and people I would have not actively sought out on my own. In my very first semester at college, I registered for a class that I thought was titled “Violence, Media and Transnational Justice.” I later found out during the first class that I had misread the c...

Competence, Confidence and Creativity

Posted on March 19, 2018September 21, 2022 by Sophia Sun

By Sophia Sun '18 As a senior who has strived to fully engage intellectually and socially in the opportunities that Pomona College offers, I’ve realized that the heart of the liberal arts education is not anti pre-professionalism; rather the heart of the liberal arts education involves being self-reflective, throughout the process of learning, about how you can extract trans...

Junior Year Semester One Reflections: Debussy, and a Memo for My Future Self

Posted on December 21, 2016September 21, 2022 by April Xiaoyi Xu

The gentle softness. A dialogue where the two of them find phrases slipping naturally out of their inner souls, flowing, overlapping with each other at times and pausing for a restful break at others… That sheer sense of indescribable serendipity and relaxation that render you speechless: a quiet observer to this brave new world where you anticipate the unknown rises and falls....

Halfway Through College! Sophomore Year Reflections and Summer Plans

Posted on May 17, 2016September 21, 2022 by April Xiaoyi Xu

It’s that time of the year again: Finals, followed by Commencement (goodbye, seniors, I will miss you…) and SUMMER! I have one more final project to work on, so this is a good time to jolt down some quick reflections on the semester and a few words about my summer plans. This week is atypical of my finals’ weeks at Pomona so far since I don’t have any traditional in-class fi...

Exploring Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder: An Education

Posted on April 14, 2016September 21, 2022 by April Xiaoyi Xu

The Museum of Jurassic Technology (MJT) is an eccentric museum that houses objects from various geographical regions across different time periods — including human horns, a scaled model of Noah’s Ark, and mice on toast. Not only is David Wilson’s cabinet of wonder full of items that spark our curiosity to find out more details about its individual marvels, it fundamentally...

A Declaration of “Major” Importance

Posted on April 1, 2016September 21, 2022 by April Xiaoyi Xu

Second-year undergraduate students in the U.S. have a special item on our checklist: declaring a major. To me, the word “declare” sometimes sounds a little grandiose in a comical way: something solemn, resembling the Declaration of Independence, maybe? Yet, “declaring a major” is also important, somewhat daunting, and often accompanied by much pressure. Indeed, “decl...