New President Aims to Break the Pomona 'Bubble'
By Kyle Warneck
News Associate

In his Inaugural Address, President David Oxtoby announced his intention to restore Pomona to its place as the happiest college in the country.

“The next step to move forward, in my view, is to encourage students to break out of what they refer to as the Claremont Colleges ‘bubble’: the delightful but somewhat artificial world that seems to confine them to our campuses twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week,” Oxtoby said.

Oxtoby also announced the formation of his first presidential-level taskforce. The 47 Things Presidential Taskforce is charged to “prepare a list of the 47 things that every Sagehen should do in the Los Angeles area during his or her four years on campus.” Professor David Menefee-Libey was chosen to head this taskforce.

“The 47 Things Presidential Taskforce is in its earliest stages. In other words, so far it’s just me” said Menefee-Libey. He plans to recruit students, faculty and staff to help compile the list.

Menefee-Libey reported that help seems forthcoming.

“People began contacting me within hours of President Oxtoby’s announcement, so it’s clear that the idea has captured people’s imagination,” he said. Menefee-Libey encouraged “students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, Claremonters and anyone who loves the Los Angeles Basin” to contribute to the list by sending emails to 47things@pomona.edu.

Menefee-Libey stresses that this list will be practical. It will tell students not just what to do, but how to do it. He expects to include activities here in Claremont, the Pomona Valley and the larger Los Angeles area. The project is set to be completed by convocation next fall.

Oxtoby hopes to burst the Pomona bubble in a number of other ways as well. In his address, Oxtoby called for more internships, field trips, and social excursions into Los Angeles. These goals reflect ongoing efforts throughout the College.

The Pomona College Internship Program, which pays students to take unpaid internships during the school year, was started with this principle in mind, and may be a model of how to burst the Pomona bubble.

Community Affairs Commissioner David Henderson ’05 said, “People shouldn’t be afraid to interact with community organizations at the city level or whatever.” Henderson says he would like to see more students volunteering and taking internships with other groups.

The Community Affairs Committee has also begun a study of volunteering on campus. Their conclusions are likely to shed light on the bubble dilemma. The goal is to find ways to make the volunteer center more attractive to students. Henderson says that he also hopes to encourage students to move towards long-term service opportunities rather than one time events such as canned food drives and Pomona Outreach to the World day. Henderson stresses that he thinks these long term activities are more meaningful for both the students involved and the organizations.

ASPC President Ari Greenberg ’04 announced that the 5 C Council of Presidents is establishing a regular meeting with Claremont Mayor Paul Held. They hope this council will provide insights into future ways to connect the colleges with the Claremont community.

There are a number of opportunities to increase social excursions to Los Angeles. One of the main barriers is transportation. Metrolink’s limited schedule can leave students with few options on weekends and evenings. The bus commute is long and busses going to the heart of Los Angeles come infrequently due to Pomona’s position at the very edge of Los Angeles County.

The College has run shuttles to Los Angeles in the past, but the program was discontinued because of a lack of ridership and the difficulty of developing a schedule flexible enough to meet student needs reported Dean Quinley. The campus center has recently begun to advertise the Sagehen Shuttle more aggressively to increase use. Resolving the transportation dilemma will be an important part of making social events in Los Angeles possible.

Another option may be to increase the number of school outings to Los Angeles, such as the trip to The Producers and the trip to the Opera planned for next semester. These events would require either more funding or reallocation from other types of events.

These social excursions into Los Angeles will also serve to provide students an alternative to drinking according to the last year’s Alcohol Report. The more activities available, the less likely drinking is to be the only choice. Given the desire to reduce Alcohol in Pomona culture, these social excursions could take on increased importance in the way Pomona breaks the bubble.