The montage at the beginning of Kyle Rodriguez's (senior) film "It's Okay" condenses a semester's worth of hiking, kayaking, alpaca petting, exploring local towns, enjoying live music and relaxing on Argentine beaches into a few minutes of video set to upbeat music. Eventually, the music slows as the images turn to ones of routine: a bedroom, a subway station, a...

I’m an adult who likes cartoons. From this statement, one might imagine someone eating cereal and milk in front of the television on Saturday mornings like a sweaty, overgrown kid. I can say only one thing is true of this image: I am often snacking while watching cartoons. The "overgrown kid" image is fading, however, and nowadays it's not as...

Students and community members perused student art displays while nibbling on Brie and grapes at the first Occidental art walk Friday. Tables touting the wares of student artists lined a blocked-off section of Bird Road in front of Haines and Weingart Halls, and acoustic music wafted from stages on the road. Around eight or nine students displayed their work at...

Australia. Criminal charges were dropped against five bikers arrested and held for three weeks in January 2014 after they stopped to buy ice cream while on vacation. The men were detained for violating an anti-association law, which prohibits more than two bikers to be in public together. The Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment Act (VLAD), established in 2013, is meant to...

First-year and sophomore students interested in pursuing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) majors will have the opportunity to apply for a new scholarship from the Creating Opportunities in Science and Mathematics for Occidental Students (COSMOS) program this spring. Mathematics Professor Ron Buckmire led a team of Occidental faculty including Gretchen North, Carmel Levitan and Scott Bogue in successfully submitting...

Raúl Castro visited New York to address the United Nations General Assembly this past Monday, his first trip to the United States in 56 years. Castro’s speech pushed for the United States-Cuban Thaw in an attempt to end the U. S. economic embargo on the island. As a Cuban exile, I am hurt. According to the Obama Administration, the reopened...

Rubber soles screech on the polished wooden floor of Rush Gymnasium as volleyballs whiz by, bouncing off the folded bleachers and concrete walls. A mix of shouting and cheering echoes throughout the gym, a sound that can be heard from the parking lot outside over 50 feet away. Members of the Occidental women’s volleyball team are in the midst of...

By 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 22, the line to hear author Junot Diaz speak at Thorne Hall had reached the Johnson Student Center. Students and community members from all over Los Angeles had arrived over an hour and a half early just to secure a seat. Diaz received a standing ovation from a handful of audience members the moment he...

Avoiding losses during a bear market is simpler than one might imagine. Surprisingly, the key is to do nothing. If your portfolio is a diversified mix of stocks and bonds set with a long term strategy in mind, then leave it alone and wait until markets rebound before you do any tinkering. In my opinion, long term investing is the...

As I approached by fourth week here in Ecuador, I have become more accustomed to life here and all the differences in cultures. Sadly, this week also was the third and final week of my tropical ecology class and we had our final field trip on Tuesday to the páramo, which are the highlands in Ecuador, where altitudes reach over...