The lecture series TED (which stands for technology, entertainment, design) has arrived at Occidental with the first-ever TEDxOccidental College event. The independently-organized event by Occidental will bring students, alumni and community members to speak to the community on this year's theme of "Reinventing the American Dream" this Saturday. Oxypreneurship member and economics major Shilpa Bhongir (sophomore) began planning the event...

Dean of the College Jorge Gonzalez announced the drafting of a proposal for a new minor in Africana Studies following a yearlong campaign by students and faculty to add the program to Occidental’s academic curriculum. The proposal represents the first concrete step toward the implementation of the minor. "We are currently recruiting up to five faculty members to develop an...

A new triples-only room draw intended to help streamline the yearly allocation of housing will be available ahead of regular room draw this year. Residential Education and Housing Services (REHS) created this option for students to consider when selecting housing for the 2014-2015 school year. According to Director of REHS Chad Meyers, for students who want to live in a...

Occidental Greek Council and the Office of Student Life (OSL) are considering introducing new Greek organizations to campus in the next three to five years to address the growing popularity of Greek Life on campus. Several students have proposed the national and historically African-American sorority Delta Sigma Theta, members of which have been on campus gathering support for a potential...

Ukraine. The inhabitants of Ukraine's Crimea region voted Sunday to join the Russian Federation on unspecific terms. Turnout was said to be over 50 percent with initial results showing 95 percent in favor of secession. While many Crimeans celebrated the result in the streets, the divisive issue caused some families to flee the peninsula. The European Union, United States and...

The Los Angeles Times fired reporter Jason Felch on Friday following revelations of an inappropriate relationship he had with confidential source for a Dec. 7 article. The article, as well as several subsequent articles authored by Felch, stated that Occidental College did not report 27 sexual assaults it was required to report under the Clery Act in 2012. The L....

Occidental hired 10 new tenure or tenure-track professors in eight different departments. These 10 hires mark the most tenure appointments in one year for the last five years, according to Dean of Students and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jorge Gonzalez. Eight faculty members are also leaving the college, either due to retirement or personal reasons, resulting in a net...

The Center for Digital Learning and Research (CDLR) is opening a digital production studio for student use on March 10 as part of a larger effort by the college to encourage the use of digital media in the community. The new focus on technological creation greatly broadens the function of the CDLR, a department based out of the academic commons...

Last week's water conservation challenge spread awareness for what may be California's worst recorded drought. Despite last weekend's storm, which produced the hardest rain the college has seen in three years, California's drought continues to threaten the state's water supplies. Resident Advisor (RA) and kinesiology major Sita Wong (junior) organized this semester's challenge with Sustainability Coordinator Emma Sorrell '13. Wong...

Ukraine. Russian troops have surrounded ports and cities in the Crimean peninsula. Russian President Vladimir Putin asked the Duma parliament for authority to deploy the military more extensively, claiming that the Russian Federation reserves the right to protect Russian speakers in Ukraine. This follows a Feb. 26 Simferopol protest by Crimean Tatars in support of the resignation of former Ukrainian...