In his 2013 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama made his bluntest call yet for colleges around the country to control the skyrocketing costs of higher education and not to consider his improved student aid program as a license to continue raising administrative costs. “Taxpayers can't keep on subsidizing higher and higher and higher costs for higher education....

Occidental plans to introduce a school-wide theme, tentatively called “H2Oxy," through the Cultural Studies Program (CSP) for the 2013-14 school year. The program will focus on the significance of water to humans and consist mainly of a speaker series and panel discussions, according to English and Comparative Literature Studies Professor and CSP program head Jonathan Swift. Included in the theme...

Thirteen students participated in this year's Alternative Spring Break program to learn about the political, social and cultural issues of immigrants across different ethnic groups in Los Angeles. Students stayed on campus for the week, taking daylong trips through Los Angeles to work with community partners. Partner institutions included the Mayor's Office and the student-based organization Dream Team L. A,...

A white van sat conspicuously in the quad on Thursday March 7 accompanied by loud music, glaring sunshine and paintbrushes. Two men sat by a table next to the van and encouraged passers-by to pick up a brush and begin decorating the van with the orange and black colors of Occidental College. Although initially hesitant, a small crowd of students...

Many think improv died in the '90s and stand-up comedy takes place exclusively in comedy clubs that have minimum drink requirements on top of ridiculous ticket fees. Well, maybe short-form improv died in the '90s, but some of the best comedy shows now don't happen in traditional comedy clubs and range from free to only ten dollars. Welcome to the...

In the darkly lit room where every beat is felt through the floorboards and walls, music from music duo Timeflies excited fans with immense stage presence that signified that this group is going to be a hit. The March 9 show was high energy from the start when opening act DJ Five and a Dime got the crowd dancing. The...

I have lost all of my patience in the past couple months. I don’t know if it’s just second semester of senior year or what. Do you walk slowly on that narrow stretch of the quad by the construction in front of Johnson Hall? Go to Hell. Do you give me a blow-by-blow plot exposition when I ask who starred...

Technology has evolved computer screens into virtual arenas allowing players around the world to team up and battle against each other. Some Occidental students are engaged in this culture of gaming, and students team up with friends to play MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) games. A few even took initiative and competed at a collegiate tournament for "League of Legends"...

The women’s golf team was hard at work over spring break, competing in two non-league tournaments as they prepare to head back into SCIAC play. The Tigers started off the week traveling out to Phoenix to play in the Shootout in Arizona hosted by Lewis University. Despite tough, rainy conditions that eventually caused a two-hour delay and ultimately cut the...

The World Baseball Classic (WBC), in its third iteration this spring, is meant to be baseball's answer to soccer's World Cup; an international showcase every four years for a sport that is immensely popular across cultures, languages and political borders. However, even as the tournament thrives abroad, the way in which Major League Baseball (MLB) has organized, presented and discussed...