Student Activism Is Alive and Well

Media outlets everywhere are declaring a renaissance of student activism at universities across America. Whether as simple and emphatic as the Penn State "Beer Riot" of 1997 or as complex as the ongoing unionization efforts of graduate student workers and teaching assistants at Yale and NYU, student activism is becoming increasingly visible in the national spotlight. And it is doing so with increasing results on their home universities. [con't]

Pomona Lost Ego War to Stern, Aramark

Returning to college this semester seems to have held more genuine disappointments for students than the usual smack back into the (sur)reality of campus life. Flex dollar allotments have been reduced, room and board has been raised, dining halls are overstuffed and understaffed, Walker Wall advertizes our embarrasing drop in ratings in the US News and World Report, and the Smith Campus Center results in more queaziness than a bowl of cherry tomatoes. The general theme here, it seems, is students, as well as the College, are paying more and getting less. [con't]

PO’s Hip-hop Squelched by Admin

Editor,

Once upon a time in a place called Grooveline, MCs, and breakdancers (some famous, most talented), from LA and around the world came to visit our campus. This event was known as "Open Mike." For those who don’t know what an Open Mike is all about or for those who don’t understand hip-hop as an art form, Open Mike consisted of a DJ scratching and matching, an MC circle where poets (some 5-College students) recite rhymes to each other and the whole club, and another circle at the center of which amazingly talented break dancers would tear it up. [con't]

WSC Campaign Continues On

Editor,

It is pertinent that the incoming class and returning students are well informed about the concerns of workers in the dining halls. The Worker Support Committee (WSC) is a five-college student organization dedicated to supporting Aramark workers in their campaign for better working conditions.

Last year 122 food service workers roughly 40%, 221 faculty members roughly 50%, 2,670 students roughly 55% signed petitions calling for better working conditions. There were also joint student, professor, and worker actions aimed at pressuring the presidents to have Aramark sign a neutrality agreement. These actions included delivering letters from workers to the presidents, rallies and protests, and culminated in a student hunger strike. [con't]