Occidental's perennial debate over air conditioning (AC) in residence halls reemerged last month when a week-long heat wave and malfunction at the school's central chilling plant caused temperatures in buildings across campus to skyrocket."At the beginning of most school years we get an extra heat wave, almost without fail," Director of Facilities Thomas Polansky said. "And so folks coming in—especially...

Incoming Chief of Campus Safety Victor Clay wants to improve the frequently contentious relationship between Campus Safety and off-campus residents. He attributes much of Campus Safety's poor reputation with students to an inconsistent enforcement of policy."I was reading reports and they would say things like, 'disturbing the peace,' 'disorderly conduct,' and then you read the narrative of the report and...

Occidental Campus Dining incorporated a new labeling system in the Marketplace on Sept. 18 to increase students' awareness of food justice and sustainability efforts. The small, multi-colored labels—such as one near the salad bar mixed greens reading “RFC compliant: 250 miles”—indicate which options qualify as "real food" based on the Real Food Challenge (RFC) criteria. The RFC is a national...

Sustainability has become a hot-button issue in Eagle Rock in light of recent protests to shut down Glendale’s Scholl Canyon landfill. Located less than three miles from Occidental's campus, the landfill initially sparked debate about the garbage trucks that use Eagle Rock roads to truck in the waste. Increasingly, though, the debate has moved from one of back-and-forth local politics...

Brazil. Researchers in Rio de Janeiro set thousands of mosquitos free on Thursday in an attempt to fight dengue fever. The researchers claim that the mosquitoes carry a type of bacteria, Wolbachia, that will suppress the fever. Brazil has the highest number of dengue fever cases in the world, with 3.2 million people infected and 800 deaths from 2009 to...

A new policy requiring all faculty, staff, administrators, coaches and resident advisers to report all information regarding sexual assault cases to the campus Title IX Coordinator has generated controversy among faculty and student groups. The change, which faculty members claim was made without their consultation, runs counter to a recommendation by the Sexual Misconduct Advisory Board (SMAB) that faculty remain...

Due to ongoing conflict in the the Middle East and new travel warnings issued by the U. S. State Department, the Occidental International Programs Office (IPO) recently revised its application process to be more stringent for several territories in the region, including Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. The stricter application process has caused some students committed to traveling to...

Occidental is one of the most economically diverse colleges in the country, according to a report by The New York Times. The study, which examined the financial background of first year students and the cost of attendance, ranks Occidental 21st among four-year universities with a graduation rate of at least 75 percent. The New York Times study measures top colleges’...

Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a club new to Occidental this year, collaborated with Hillel and J Street last Wednesday to co-host a candlelight vigil mourning the lives lost in the most recent Gaza-Israel conflict. Approximately 30 members of the Occidental community gathered in the middle of the Quad in remembrance of those killed, and also in a stand...

After years of pressure from student and faculty groups, Occidental administrators are currently in the process of developing a position for the school's first chief diversity officer (CDO). The hiring of the campus's first CDO, which Dean of the College Jorge Gonzalez hopes will happen by the end of the academic year, will add Occidental to a growing list of...