"Dirty Blue Velvets" might just tear this school apart. For those who have sampled this bizarre amalgam of coffee and tea, these three words represent a surprisingly tasty way to get that much-needed caffeine fix. For baristas in the Green Bean, however, "Dirty Blue Velvet" induces a mixture of repulsion and annoyance. “To date, the Dirty [Blue Velvet], which is...

All it takes to bring the porn industry to its knees is a little bit of latex. Nearly a year after California passed the Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry Act, also known as Measure B, reports have been trickling in documenting the remarkable drop in permits to make adult films in Los Angeles County, where over 90 percent...

If there is any takeaway lesson from October's federal shutdown, it is that flatly rejecting a non-comforming opinion, value or strategic approach stalls progress in the most basic way. Closing off communication channels and refusing to thoughtfully engage with others rejects the basic building blocks for enacting change. In the same way, openness and civility prove to be a recurring...

“Ninety-five percent of male students are not perpetrating sexual assault crimes, while five percent are doing it a lot,” Survivor Advocate and Project S. A. F. E. Coordinator Naddia Palacios said. “The focus needs to be on how to empower the 95 percent and how we are going to change the culture.” After the events of last spring, the seizure...

Five professors will be tenured or promoted this semester, including Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy Martha Matsuoka ’83, Professor of Sociology Richard Mora, Professor of Psychology Andrew Shtulman, Professor of Spanish and linguistics Michael Shelton and Professor of Mathematics Eric Sundberg. Dean of the College Jorge Gonzalez hosted an event at the Collins House Patio on Oct. 29 to...

People like to get inebriated. They always have, and they always will. The recent year-long moratorium imposed on school dances after six transports from the Toga dance, however, testifies to the administration’s exasperation with the drinking culture at Occidental. While the crackdown evinces the need for a radical reappraisal of Occidental’s policies regarding alcohol use, it would be unfair and...

The federal government reopened last Wednesday after nearly two weeks of being shut down. The inability of the House and the Senate to come to consensus on how to fund a bill, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), started the shutdown. Although the United States' government escaped a potential financial crisis and things are "back to normal," the shutdown had virtually...

Papermache, a startup company that made its private beta launch this summer, is including Occidental as one of the schools participating in its test run. Papermache aims to connect college students online, where they can upload, edit and share their academic work. Papermache’s Chief Marketing Officer and Occidental graduate Alex Miller ‘13 weighed in on what the company has to...

After an online petition created by Former Black Student Alliance (BSA) President Brandi Locke ’13 acquired several hundred signatures last February, student support for the creation of a Black/Africana Studies major seems to have simmered. Dean Jorge Gonzalez, who has been with the college since 2010, said that the slow process in the creation of a major has been an...

Emmons Student Wellness Center launched the new 24/7 Confidential Hotline on Aug. 23 and is intended to expand Emmons' services to all Occidental students in need of any psychological support, whether they face finals period stress or more serious conditions. Through the hotline, students have direct access to clinicians at any hour who can counsel them, refer students to therapists...