The Occidental women’s softball team (5-17 overall, 2-10 SCIAC) played a pair of double-headers this weekend falling 11-1 and 4-3 to Pomona-Pitzer and 13-1 and 7-1 against Williams College. The Tigers played aggressive defense against the Sagehens, only to be plagued by a series of walks in the top of the second. Down 2-0 in the top of the second...

The Occidental men’s and women’s swim and dive teams wrapped up a historic season Sunday with the completion of the 2015 SCIAC Swimming and Diving Championships in Whittier, California. Both the men and women placed fifth overall; the women tied their finish from last year and the men moved up two spots from seventh. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps defended their titles, scoring over...

Despite chilly temperatures and sporadic rain showers, the Occidental men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams took to the pool Saturday, overtaking Whittier in the final dual meet before next week's SCIAC Championships. The Tigers brought home wins on both the men’s and women’s sides, delivering 168-117 and 160-88 victories, respectively. This competition marked the last home meet in Taylor...

Los Angeles defies the mold of most major global cities. We throw New York’s “scenes” scene to the curb, preferring individualistic attitudes and mingling between artists, actors, socialites and politicians. European-style public transit? Angelenos pick their hybrid Prii any day. Most unique among the cities of the world, however, is the vast area of L. A. dedicated to personal green...

The Pacific glows an azure blue through a wall of windows 18 stories above the California shore. Chic and modern seats, petite chandeliers and a polished, crescent shaped bar overlook the distant, glimmering Santa Monica Pier. Duck leg confit of plum, elderflower, windrose carrots and watercress sit on one platter; another contains a Yellowtail Crudo complete with Ah’s Melon, a...

In front of a small kitchen stockroom and surrounded by late-night snacks, Homer Umaguing greets students and makes coffee orders with a genuine smile. Umaguing, who has been working for the Berkus Coffee Cart and Campus Dining since 2008, found a home at Occidental following a recommendation from Victor Chico, the campus Postal Operations supervisor. “He spent the last ten...

Nearly 2,000 years ago, the great Roman philosopher Cicero wrote, “A room without books is like a body without a soul.” Thus, any question of Occidental College losing its soul in the wake of numerous controversies has been confirmed by the planned removal of thousands of books from the Academic Commons. According to the Academic Commons’ website and an Occidental...

Occidental students know the script well: “Occidental? No, it’s not a dental school— it’s a small, liberal arts college in Los Angeles. Actually, President Obama went to school there.” Then the inevitable, uncomfortable question: “I thought he graduated from Columbia?” to which “Yeah, he transferred," is the typically accepted response. Even The Los Angeles Times hinted at the awkwardness of...

Associated Students of Occidental College (ASOC) senate elections began late Monday night and will continue through Friday at noon. Many involved in the elections this year see improving voter turnout as a major priority for the election, and ASOC Election coordinator Ben Poor set a goal for 1,000 participating voters, a 100-voter increase from last year’s election. Economics major Sid...

Headlines fumed over the slowing job creation rate after the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) released the March 2013 jobs report, and political pundits spun the news every which way. Optimists expected 192,000 jobs to be created in March, but the stunted economy only produced 88,000. There are several hypotheses attempting to explain the slowed job creation rate. One...