The October 10 edition of the TSL contained an opinion wherein a staff writer complained that despite Pomona’s excellent facilities and high U.S. News and World Report ranking the college lacks “a solid household name for itself”. In this writer’s view, Pomona’s unrecognized status posed serious problems for the business of the college, students seeking employment, and the ability of students to engage in “Ivy League name-dropping.”

The first two problems mentioned above were inadequately researched and unfounded; for the past several years Pomona’s applicant pool has risen in size and qualifications. Notwithstanding isolated, individual experiences to the contrary, many prestigious businesses and nonprofits not only recognize Pomona’s name but specifically recruit Pomona seniors at college career fairs (see the CDO’s web page). Similarly, Pomona students regularly garner more than a fair share of Watson and Fulbright Fellowships.

On the other hand, the author of last week’s opinion is correct when she mentions the inefficacy of social name dropping for someone coming to Pomona. In casual conversation people from the Inland Valley frequently mistake the school for Cal Poly Pomona, a junior college, or simply haven’t heard of it. This is perhaps one of the college’s best characteristics. Pomona’s relative lack of name recognition among the general public distinguishes it from Amherst, Swarthmore, Stanford, and the Ivies by (for the most part) attracting a type of student that is not interested in having her ego stroked when talking with people outside the college community. Those who worry that Pomona’s name will fail to garner oohs and ahhs of flattery for them might stop for a moment, look around, and realize that this institution’s community is full of people with all kinds of ideas, experiences, and emotions to share with each other simply for the joy that can come from doing so. Similarly, we would do well to consider the idea that while conversing and building relationships with one another our most important attributes might have nothing to do with the contents of our resumes or concerns about social standing.

Pomona students who are still desirous of a prestigious academic name to throw around at home should have no difficulty gaining admission to an appropriate graduate school, which, as opposed to a publicity campaign, poses little risk of endangering the unique mix of academic opportunity and relatively low pretension that makes Pomona a unique place.

Sincerely,
Jackson Reed '05