While many colleges and universities have rock climbing facilities on campus, members of the Occidental Rock Climbing Club must venture outside of Eagle Rock to practice their sport. The good news is that multiple new rock gyms have sprung up in Los Angeles over the last few years, giving climbers access to cutting edge facilities and various gym options; the...

The Occidental website describes the Eagle Rock community as one filled with “critically acclaimed restaurants, cozy coffeehouses and vintage boutiques [which] share the boulevards with Mom-and-Pop markets and no-nonsense boxing gyms.” Yet beyond the acknowledgment of a boxing community, details are scarce, and most boxers train in anonymity. The Co-Presidents of the Occidental College Boxing club, Earl Park (senior) and...

Bryan Scott The Occidental football team opened the season with a 46-41 shootout victory over the University of Puget Sound Loggers in Tacoma on Saturday. Five of those touchdowns came off the right arm of quarterback Bryan Scott (junior), who also completed 33 of 45 passes for 421 yards. This performance builds on his outstanding 2014 season, in which he...

When Occidental quarterbacks coach Darnell Arceneaux and quarterback Bryan Scott (junior) both arrived at Occidental two years ago, neither could predict that their eventual bond would be a major factor in the Tigers' back-to-back winning records. But by the completion of their first season, the partnership was already paying off. Scott was named 2013 second-team All-SCIAC selection and the 2013...

The NFL officially kicked off the regular season Thursday night as the world champion New England Patriots and superstar quarterback Tom Brady defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-21 in Foxborough, Mass. Brady had an impressive night, completing 25 passes on 32 attempts for 288 yards and four touchdowns. However, the Pro Bowl caliber performance did not come without controversy. For the...

Through the opening games of the season, the Occidental men's soccer team (5-0-1 overall; 2-0-1 SCIAC) has been putting goals away early and often. Before halftime of Saturday's game against Pomona-Pitzer, the Tigers were already up 2-0 and, despite giving up a late goal, secured a 2-1 victory. Head coach Rod Lafaurie believes in the philosophy of “90 for 90.”...

In the southwest corner of the New Zealand’s south island lies Fiordland. It’s the southernmost nob of the Southern Alps, a waterlogged region of mountains and coast that’s been gouged by glaciers, uplifted by crashing tectonic plates, and invaded by ocean water that’s transformed 14 steep valleys into fjords. Three out of the five Great Walks on the South Island...

Today, it is the South Island that attracts most of New Zealand's wide-eyed adventure enthusiasts. It hosts the best bungee jumping, skiing and hiking. All well and good. But the true heart of New Zealand, as a country and a people, beats from the North Island. I just returned from a 10 day excursion during which I ventured from Wellington...

By the time this entry is published, I'll most likely be on a ferry headed toward Wellington — New Zealand's capital—and, all due respect to Auckland, the most vibrant and enticing city for my mid-semester break (not spring break, I have to keep reminding myself). The break has provided me with my first chance for extended travel in New Zealand...

It was like I imagined the rolling green hills of the English countryside, just after dawn. Skies cold patchy blue behind a marine layer, rising sun back-lighting the clouds. Our geology mobile, a retro-looking white and blue touring bus from the 90’s, cruised the Catlin coast’s blustery cliffs on the Southern Scenic Route, the region’s only road. To our left,...