From the 2003-04 Head Sponsors: We're Listening, Share Your Ideas
By Tony Forte '04, Christina Elmore '04, and Andres Lopez '04

As the new head sponsors we are tremendously enthusiastic about our team, the forthcoming year, and our new responsibilities to the Pomona College community. We are seriously committed to the sponsor program as a student-run program that can foster unique connections among students and administrators. The sponsor program is facing a variety of issues that will have significant impacts on residential life at Pomona. We want to explicitly encourage all students to engage in discussions on issues of diversity and difference, First Year Row, and substance free housing. These issues affect a sense of residential community beyond just new students and the sponsor program. We all applied to be head sponsors because we have deep personal investment in Pomona College and the sponsor program. A willingness to be critical of the program is also important to us, and we know that most of you probably have positive and negative things to say about sponsor groups. We want to hear these things. We have lots of decisions to make and we really think that the integrity of the program depends upon well informed head sponsors. We want to know what you think.

We also strongly encourage involvement in the mentor programs at Pomona. The Queer, Questioning, and Allied Mentor Program, the Asian American Mentor Program, the Office of Black Student Affairs UJIMA Peer Mentor Program, and the Chicano/Latino Student Affairs Sponsor Program are all important spaces of solidarity, activism, and dialogue. These programs also contribute to the Pomona Sponsor Program. We are devoted to discussions with these mentor programs, and we believe that there would be a void in sponsor training without contributions from all of these programs.

Additionally, we want to shamelessly plug the program by encouraging all first year students to seriously consider applying for the sponsor position. The sponsor program depends upon good head sponsors and a really great group of sponsors. Applications are available today, Friday February 14, in the Office of Campus Life. They are due February 24, 2003. Talk with your friends and sponsors, pick up an application, and ask questions. We are excited about getting to know the Class of 2006 and we're thrilled about sifting through hundreds of housing forms for the Class of 2007...

Our brief tenure (less than a week) as new head sponsors has forced us to appreciate the dedicated work of all the current and past head sponsors. Thank you, Meredith, Jason, and Alex for all you've done to carry on the valuable traditions of years past and creatively incorporate the quirky/cool/fabulous ideas that are unique to the three of you. We appreciate you as friends, role models, colleagues, and erratically brilliant advisors. Frank -- thank you for a warm welcome. We're ready.

We're here -- we eat at the dining halls, we go to snack, we're in classes with you. Talk to us. We want to listen.