THE POWER OF place
T H E P O W E R O F P LA C E
The liberal arts in Los Angeles Location matters. It doesn’t define your college education, but it informs it. Occidental’s place in Los Angeles will extend the scope of your opportunities far beyond the College’s borders. Place is not narrowly defined at Occidental. Our historic setting is tucked between the evolving, eclectic neighborhoods of Eagle Rock and Highland Park. The picturesque campus defies the stereotype of an urban college, yet we are undeniably in a city. Our location serves as a springboard for putting theory into practice and ideas into perspective. An Oxy liberal arts education has no geographic boundaries. You might find yourself diving into the Pacific for marine research, interning at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, living in New York as a Kahane U.N. Program participant, or studying abroad in Ghana. Oxy also inspires community. Uncommonly inclusive and consciously collaborative, our students forge close-knit relationships and embrace differences, even if their conversations are sometimes challenging. They develop the skills to live in an increasingly diverse world and to succeed in a global economy. Occidental is not just in Los Angeles. It’s of Los Angeles, Southern California, and beyond.
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A land of magical improvisation. — A UTHOR CAREY MCWILLIAMS’ DESCRIPTION OF LOS ANGELES
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Place. Location. Context.
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Engage & Experience
We Are Here The Place: Academic Quad Top 10 Spots Not to Miss at Oxy
The Place: Thorne Hall The First-Year Experience Through Our Eyes
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Social Sciences
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Sciences
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Building a Community
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Arts
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Humanities
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Finding Your Place
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Going Places
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Last Hurrah
The Place: Global Forum Spotlight: Social Science Majors Comps: The Final Frontier
The Place: Solar Array Spotlight: Science Majors Learning In Depth: Research
The Place: Tiger Cooler 10 Clubs & Activities at Oxy Community Engagement & Social Justice
The Place: Keck Theater Spotlight: Arts Majors Express Yourself
The Place: The Academic Commons Spotlight: Humanities Majors Participatory Learning
The Place: Johnson Student Center Residence Life Athletics: This Is Our Turf Top 10 Things to Do in the Neighborhood
The Place: Hameetman Career Center Career Opportunities Global Imprint
The Place: Remsen Bird Hillside Theater Notes & Notables
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P LA C E . LO C AT I O N . C O N T E X T.
Downtown
LOS ANGELES
The Ocean
8 miles from Oxy
23 miles from Oxy
Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)
Hollywood
7 miles from Oxy
Dodger Stadium
9 miles from Oxy
5 miles from Oxy
Disneyland
34 miles from Oxy
York Blvd.
HIGHLAND PARK A vibrant mix of old and new, “L.A.’s Coolest Street” is teeming with eclectic eateries, art galleries, and vintage shops—all just a short walk from campus.
Highland Park Metro Station
Solar Array
2.5 miles from Oxy
see pg. 20
Hiking & Skiing San Gabriel Mountains
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Hameetman Career Center see pg. 52
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Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Santa Monica Pier
25 miles from Oxy
23 miles from Oxy
Griffith Park 8 miles from Oxy
The city’s largest urban park offers dozens of hiking trails, the L.A. Zoo, and the world-famous Griffith Observatory.
Academic Quad see pg. 4
Kemp Stadium
Colorado Blvd.
see pg. 48
Thorne Hall
EAGLE ROCK A mile away from campus, you’ll find an array of restaurants, accommodations, coffee houses, and shopping (including an Oxy student staple: Target).
see pg. 8
Keck Theater see pg. 32
Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR)
F EAST Garden
13 miles from Oxy
see pg. 29
Hillside Theater see pg. 58
Old Pasadena & Caltech 5 miles from campus
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The Place
ACADEMIC
QUAD etween the Academic Commons and the Johnson Student Center, you’ll find our version of the ubiquitous campus quad. Century-old oak trees provide shade for study, conversation, contemplation … and an excuse to satisfy one’s tree-climbing whimsy. Clubs “Quad sit,” setting up their tables, selling tickets to campus events, and advertising opportunities. Food trucks are invited for special events, which have included our annual Relay for Life, Fall Concert, and student art installations.
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THE LIST AHMANSON READING ROOM
Described by one student as “a comfortable oasis for people in search of peaceful places to study,” this Academic Commons space is coveted by undergrads for its spacious communal tables, natural sunlight, and scholarly atmosphere. (It’s also known as the “Quiet Room.”)
GILMAN FOUNTAIN
Oxy’s most photographed landmark has been featured in countless TV shows and films (most notably Star Trek III: The Search for Spock). It’s also the site of one of the College’s longest-standing traditions (hint: It involves birthdays and getting wet).
THE GREEN BEAN Our student-run coffee lounge features fair-trade coffee and sustainably sourced, uncommonly delicious pastries from a favorite bakery in neighboring Highland Park. It hosts student artwork, open-mic nights, political and sports broadcasts, and the occasional Saturday morning cartoon marathon.
MOUNT FIJI The highest spot on campus, Mount Fiji offers stunning panoramic views of Los Angeles and the surrounding area. Gaze at a glorious sunset and take in the architectural splendor of Oxy’s hillside solar array.
AGC PLAZA At the heart of campus, AGC Plaza is home to Oxy’s two oldest academic buildings and to the College’s administrative center. On Feb. 18, 1981, the steps of the plaza served as the podium for the first political speech by an Oxy sophomore named Barack Obama.
BIRD STUDIO This recital hall is home to intimate musical performances by Oxy community members and guest artists, from Music on a Friday Afternoon (a weekly showcase of student music), to our Occidental Faculty Woodwind Quartet, to an array of visiting musicians.
MOORE ZOOLOGY LAB Among the world’s largest research natural history collections, Moore Lab contains more than 60,000 bird and mammal specimens, including an unparalleled collection of Mexican bird species. Students are busy at work in the lab sequencing DNA or doing independent research.
THE PENDULUM
RUSH GYMNASIUM Rush Gym rocks as host to Oxy’s men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball teams, as well as other campuswide events. Fans sport their orange and black as they cheer on the Tigers. The gym is named for Frank “Speedy” Rush, a track star from the Class of 1909.
Located in the lobby of the Hameetman Science Center, this hypnotic pendulum is a replica of a physics experiment originally conducted by Léon Foucault to demonstrate the Earth’s rotation. It’s one of two such pendulums in L.A.—the other is at Griffith Observatory.
BRANCA PATIO
Adjacent to the Green Bean Coffee Lounge, this outdoor dining area is a favorite study spot and hangout year round. It’s also convenient to the Marketplace, where you’ll take many a meal.
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ENGAGE & EXPERIENCE
The Place
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his is where your academic journey begins, trooping into the College’s iconic building to the thump of taiko drums. Beyond Thorne Hall’s elegant facade, however, is a vibrant performance space that has been home to a dizzying array of events, including soaring organ recitals, the transformative oratory of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., dramatic performances by national touring companies, and generations of student-run activities, from Dance Production and Glee Club to TEDx and theater.
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ENGAGE & EXPERIENCE
THE FIRST-YEAR EXPERIENCE
ENGAGE L.A. OxyEngage is a preOrientation program that introduces incoming students to the vibrant city of Los Angeles. Over two days, upper-class facilitators lead trips to experience culture, film, food, nature, social justice, the urban environment, and much more! You will make fast friends, get to know your surrounding area, and find some stunning places you will want to return to time and time again.
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GETTING TO THE CORE Oxy’s Core Program demands that all students sharpen their writing skills and take first-year Cultural Studies Program seminars along with a healthy variety of courses across academic disciplines. You’ll broaden your global literacy and ignite the sort of critical thought that defines an Oxy liberal arts education. Whether in a lab, screening room, classroom, or professor’s office, you’ll develop a more nuanced understanding of different cultures and critically consider the big questions that affect us all.
FIRST-YEAR CULTURAL STUDIES SEMINARS Fall Writing Seminars Explore human culture from a variety of disciplinary and cultural perspectives. These writing-intensive courses are limited to 16 students. Faculty across all disciplines teach the courses and choose the topics based on their intellectual pursuits. Recent seminars include: • Equality as a Social Ideal • Music and Migration • Nature Writing and the Environment • Science and You
Spring Research Seminars Choose from interdisciplinary classes that emphasize global perspectives and stress the writing of scholarly research papers. A few examples: • • • •
D etective Fiction: Investigating Our Modern World H ip & Cool: A Study of Distinction and Exclusion Memory and Technology: From the “Mystic Writing-Pad” to Digital Bits We Could Be Heroes: Hero Narratives From the Ancient Past to Contemporary Times
CALIFORNIA IMMIGRATION SEMESTER Join 31 other students and three faculty members in an integrated set of courses, fieldwork, and field trips built around the immigrant communities of Los Angeles. The city will be your laboratory as you investigate the intersections among immigration, education, youth, literature, and popular culture. The California Immigration Semester fulfills the first-year Cultural Studies Program requirement and comprises all of your coursework for the fall term. All that’s required to enroll is a passion for learning and an enthusiasm for social inquiry.
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THROUGH Who better to introduce you to Oxy than the people who live and learn on our campus? That’s why we frequently ask students and faculty to take over our @OccidentalCollege Instagram account.
1. P ROFESSOR BANAI’s Diplomacy and War class is always a fun time. (Aaron Gottesman, a politics major and history minor from Potomac, MD) 2. I’m a part of the #MooreLabofZoology research group; THE MOORE LAB houses the largest collection of Mexican birds; here’s some North American bird eggs collected from 1870 to 1910. #museumscience #eggcollection #eggcellent #deadbirdsofinstagram (Ella Fornari, a biology and media arts & culture double major from Brooklyn, NY) 3. C ome get a temporary veggie tattoo at the FEAST GARDEN table! #eatrealfood #TaterTats @oxy.feast. garden (Skye Harnsberger, a biology major from Swarthmore, PA) 4. Y o! Members of Occidental’s GLEE CLUB visit Rocky in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, part of their winter break tour. @oxycadence @oxyaccidentals @oxygleeclub
5. C heck out Ximena Santiago (an art history & visual arts and sociology double major from Santa Barbara, CA) and Greg Capra (a mathematics major from San Rafael, CA) in the BEEKEEPING CLUB @alpha_oxy @pkpoccidental 6. A dmission Fellows Kevin Liu (a politics major from Mercer Island, WA) and Julius DiLorenzo (a politics major from Chicago, IL) are already tired after a morning of interviews. 7. R ewind a few hours and this is all my gear that I will be using today at the meet. I may not be racing due to injury, but I do get to take pictures of the meet! (Jeremy Bloom, an art history & visual arts major and economics minor from Highland Park, IL) 8. L ate night snack to finish off the day! Thanks for all the Oxy shout-outs! Good night! (Reed Foster, a cognitive science major from Salem, OR) 9. A my Weinstein, Rachel Goodman, and Dyoni Isom perform in Out at Sea by Slawomir Mrozek, directed by Jamie Angell, at TAYLOR POOL. The audience was invited to watch the play from the pool itself, with inner tubes provided. #H2OxyTheater
Follow along with #OxyThroughMyEyes, or tag your photos on a campus visit so we can see Oxy from your perspective.
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The Place
GLOBAL FORUM he Global Forum is Oxy’s marketplace of ideas, images, and information about matters of international importance. A two-story-high, LED-lit media wall of sculpted glass with 10 embedded interactive screens that displays a constantly shifting array of student and faculty research and coursework, the Global Forum is the public space for the display of digital reports from Oxy students studying overseas and for projects that extend discussion beyond the classroom.
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SOCIAL SCIENCES
Adjunct professor Mark Vallianatos talks with students in his urban & environmental policy class, Transportation and Living Streets, prior to a field trip to Highland Park.
ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
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SPOTLIGHT MAJORS
SOCIAL SCIENCE OFFERINGS
Urban & Environmental Policy
AMERICAN STUDIES
The urban & environmental policy (UEP) major is a unique combination of classroom learning and hands-on experience in the fields of public affairs and civic action, enhanced through its connection with the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute (UEPI). Students learn the skills of social science and public policy analysis with special emphasis on applying those skills in the real world through internships in government agencies, political campaigns, grassroots community and environmental organizations, public interest groups, social service agencies, labor unions, health organizations, food justice groups, and other settings. The goal of Occidental’s UEP program is not simply to produce policy experts, but to educate students to think and to act critically in the realm of public affairs. It trains the next generation of change agents and future leaders how to think critically and creatively and to act effectively to solve problems and improve society. ArroyoFest, an event spearheaded by an Oxy professor, community members, and environmental groups, closed the city’s Arroyo Seco Parkway to cars for a single day and helped Angelenos imagine the possibility of alternative transportation and freeways free of congestion and pollution. Rechristened CicLAvia and expanded to highlight iconic L.A. neighborhoods, the event regularly draws more than 100,000 participants now.
Economics Economics is the study of decision- and policy-making in the context of a world constrained by scarcity. Oxy provides students with an understanding of how decisions are linked to incentives and how policies can help align individual incentives with social objectives, including an efficient use and equitable distribution of the world’s resources. Econ majors graduate with the rigorous theoretical and empirical tools of the profession to better analyze and guide the decision-making of individuals, the conduct of businesses and nonprofit enterprises, and the policies of governments and international organizations.
DIPLOMACY & WORLD AFFAIRS ECONOMICS EDUCATION* HISTORY LATINO/A & LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES POLITICS PUBLIC HEALTH SOCIOLOGY URBAN & ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY INDEPENDENT PATTERN OF STUDY *minor only
Students regularly intern, either during the school year or during the summer, at places such as: • BCBG Max Azria Group • Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) • DineEquity • ID Public Relations • IDS Real Estate Group • Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation
• Marshall & Stevens • Miramax • New York Life Insurance • Northwestern Mutual • Payden & Rygel • Resolution Economics • Warner Music Group
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enior Comprehensive Projects, aka “comps,” reflect Oxy’s educational philosophy of learning deeply and independently. Comps are final-year projects, fieldwork, theses, exams, presentations, or creative works required of each student. Each discipline defines its comps expectations differently, and they all challenge and inspire students in unexpected ways. Many of our students draw senior comps inspiration from their multicultural surroundings in Los Angeles as well as research and exploration abroad.
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Substrate Thinning Induced Voltage Loss in Triple Junction Solar Cells
COMPS EXAMPLES She Has Connections There: How Geography and Truancy Shaped the Female Slave Network for Runaway Slave Women in the Inner Banks
WILL BERGMAN, Albuquerque, NM Major: Physics Adviser: Daniel Derkacs, scientist at SolAero Technologies
L.A. River Alive ELLA FORNARI Brooklyn, NY Majors: Biology and media arts & culture Adviser: Ari Lee Laskin, assistant professor of art history & visual arts I wanted to do a film project that utilized my experience with microscopy and interest in microorganisms. I wanted to highlight that even the most forgotten of spaces, like the L.A. River, have their own ecology. In doing so, I learned a lot about the river’s planktonic diversity—I was particularly excited about all the amoebas I found and was able to film under the microscope. My media arts comps project gave me the freedom to really explore any topic and form of media expression I wished. This freedom allowed me to really take charge and do a project that was meaningful to me. This was really the first time I was formally able to combine my majors. Now that I’ve completed my undergraduate studies at Oxy, I’ll be working toward a master of science degree in biological photography and imaging as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Nottingham in the U.K. Occidental is one of the nation’s leading producer of Fulbrights, so I’m honored to continue that tradition.
I have always been interested in space, and my project stemmed from an internship that I had with a solar cell-manufacturing company that makes solar arrays for space-based applications. Additionally, I am interested in renewable energy, and this research on solar cells sat right at the intersection of these fields. Comps was an exceptionally good experience for me personally because I was able to continue doing research for a company that I interned with over the summer before my senior year. After a three-month internship, I felt that I had completed a lot of tasks, but that I hadn’t yet fully understood the scientific theory behind the research I performed. Continuing this research throughout my senior year has allowed me to solidify these concepts and connect them with the physics curriculum covered at Oxy. On a less technical note, I learned a lot about how research and development works at a private company. I wasn’t anticipating the amount of resources (both material and capital) that we were allowed to experiment with.
Violence Against Women Legislation in the Anglophone Caribbean SOPHIE VON BERGEN Portland, OR Major: Politics Adviser: Jennifer Piscopo, assistant professor of politics As a sophomore, I took Professor Piscopo’s course on gender and politics in the developing world, and after the course ended, she asked me if I would be interested in being a research assistant on a policy brief on women’s representation in Latin America and the Caribbean. That was published in the book Women, Policy, and Political Leadership: Regional Perspectives in Today’s World. After completing that project, Professor Piscopo and I presented a paper on our research at the European Conference on Politics and Gender. For my comps, I wanted to build off our research on gender policies in the Caribbean. My comps experience certainly allowed me to pursue a topic that I was interested in, but did not have the opportunity to write about in depth in my classes. I had a lot of support and feedback from my peers as well as Professor Piscopo, who served as my adviser, and I was able to produce a paper that I am proud of and consider to be the capstone of my time here.
LILA GYORY History major
Happily Ever After: A Content Analysis of Heteronormativity in Romantic Comedies VICTORIA HASENFUSS Sociology major
Undocumented and Unafraid: A Study of National Identity and Undocumented Student Resistance TESS LANGSETH - DEPAOLIS Critical theory & social justice major
Sports and Politics in American Society in the 1960s: Athletics as a Source for Social Change SPENCER LEVY American studies major
Hybridity as Social Disruption: Redefining Femininity in Women Surrealists’ Art CHRISTINA HOBBS Art history & visual arts major
The Sunnier Side: Solar & Renewable Energy Expansion at Occidental College CHLOE WOODRUFF Urban & environmental policy major
Music Therapy as Treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorder KYLEENE JOHNSON Music major
Pathways to Youth Inclusion: Political Education, Economic Continuity, and the Struggle to Activate Tunisia’s Youth Post-Revolution KEITH JONES Greenville, SC Major: Diplomacy & world affairs Adviser: Lan Chu, associate professor of diplomacy & world affairs My comps topic is one that I’ve been working on in various forms since the summer after my sophomore year. After doing an independent study on Tunisia’s 2011 revolution, I began looking at that country’s post-revolutionary transition to democracy. Thanks in part to a Richter research grant, I was fortunate to conduct two additional research projects in Tunisia in 2015, and that fieldwork became my senior comps. The most surprising thing I learned is how difficult it can be to sift through data! You think it’s going to be pretty simple after you’ve come back from the field, but one of the toughest parts is just going through everything you have and trying to organize it. It’s a really amazing process, and the center of my academic experience at Oxy. I look forward to putting my skills to work now as a research aide for the city of San Francisco.
The Effects of Protein Supplements on Hypertrophy and Metabolism DAVID YETENIKYAN Kinesiology major
Exploring the Cognitive Experience of Beauty Through Visual Art CAMILLA FOLGER Cognitive science major
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The Place
SOLAR
ARRAY ne of the newest landmarks on the Oxy campus has generated a lot of enthusiasm—and clean, renewable energy—since its construction in 2013. Combining science, engineering, and art, Oxy’s 1-megawatt, ground-mounted solar array generates 12.6 percent of the College’s annual electricity. It’s the liberal arts approach to green energy, and the most visible manifestation of Oxy’s commitment to sustainability.
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ANTON MOLINA, a chemistry and physics double major from Daly City, CA, worked in a biomaterials lab at Germany’s University of Bayreuth as a Fulbright Scholar.
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SCIENCE OFFERINGS
Cognitive Science
BIOCHEMISTRY
As an interdisciplinary field, Oxy’s cognitive science program draws on the fields of neuroscience, psychology, biology, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science to address the nature of consciousness, the interaction of mind and matter, and the relationship between thought and language. Courses address longstanding questions about the nature of thought, intelligence, perception, emotion, and other aspects of our mental life. Armed with a six-year, $600,000 grant from the James S. McDonnell Foundation, associate professor of psychology Andrew Shtulman will examine how our intuitive ideas about natural phenomena are affected by actual scientific facts. (For example, more people endorse creationist explanations of biological adaptation—such as why giraffes have long necks—than natural ones.) Shtulman’s grant will support up to 25 Oxy students interested in pursuing grant-related research during the College’s summer research program.
BIOLOGY Emphases: Cell & Molecular Biology Environmental Science Marine Biology
COGNITIVE SCIENCE COMPUTER SCIENCE* CHEMISTRY
Marine Biology
ENGINEERING
As one of only a handful of liberal arts colleges located near a coastal environment, Oxy’s marine biology program offers students unusual access to hands-on experiences. Oxy’s wealth and depth of faculty expertise, undergraduate research opportunities, and proximity to the Pacific Ocean give the College an edge in nurturing future ocean scientists. Our marine program is part of the Southern California Marine Institute, a consortium of 12 local colleges and universities committed to researching, monitoring, and increasing public awareness about the marine environment.
3-2 Combined Degree Programs with Caltech & Columbia University
“Oxy helped me channel my passion for marine biology, something I’ve always possessed, and show me the multitude of ways I can spend the rest of my life doing the thing I love most—interacting with the ocean.” MIRANDA ROETHLER, a biology major from Portland, OR, is a research technician with the Vantuna Research Group, which has been monitoring and researching the marine environment of Southern and Baja California since 1966.
GEOLOGY Emphasis: Environmental Science
KINESIOLOGY MATHEMATICS NEUROSCIENCE* PHYSICS PSYCHOLOGY PUBLIC HEALTH* INDEPENDENT PATTERN OF STUDY *minor only
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hallmark of the Oxy experience is the chance for our students to engage in research, often at the levels typically reserved for graduate students. Whether initiated by a student’s curiosity beyond a topic in class or whether driven by faculty-led initiatives and expertise, Oxy students are encouraged to do research on campus, in Los Angeles, and around the world. Through funding from faculty and the Undergraduate Research Center (URC), opportunities for students present themselves year round; however, each summer an average of 120 students receive funding and participate in our Summer Undergraduate Research program.
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Inifresi and the Pledge of Allegiance: Postcolonial Mimicry and Hybridity in Guamanian Political Rhetoric KRISTIN OBERIANO Barrigada, Guam Majors: American studies and history Adviser: Xiao-huang Yin, professor of American studies
110,000 Seashells as a Scientific Resource: An Assessment of the Depth and Geospatial Data in the Cosman Shell Collection COLLIN MOSTOUFI Claremont, CA Major: Geology Adviser: Joseph Schulz, associate professor of biology Under Professor Schulz’s guidance, I have worked to curate and organize the Dieter Cosman Shell Collection— one of the world’s premier collections of gastropods, from large snail species to microscopic specimens— and specifically to collect location, date, and depth information of eight major groups of Hawaiian marine gastropods. In doing so, I have gained a better insight into what it means to work in a biology lab as a career. One reason I chose Occidental was to have access to research experience as an undergraduate so that I could begin to further develop those skills before graduate school or internships.
In order to gain an understanding of the movements for Chamorro selfdetermination on Guam in light of American imperialism in the Pacific, I investigated how a hybrid GuamanianAmerican identity and culture arose from these movements. Research enriched my Oxy experience by providing another avenue to explore what matters to me as a student. The ability to engage at an in-depth level of historical research early in my academic career has undoubtedly contributed to my love for history and American studies. Summer research was a way for me to conduct a selfstudy of topics and areas outside the regular academic year.
The Liberal Arts on Ice: Stories, Photos, and Lessons From a Summer Field Season With the Juneau Icefield Research Program DONOVAN DENNIS Geology major Understanding Musical Complexity: Is Aesthetic Preference Increased When Musical Complexity is Compatible With Working Memory Abilities? ROUNAK MAITI Mumbai, India Major: Cognitive science Adviser: Aleksandra Sherman, assistant professor of cognitive science I wanted to see if individuals’ working memory would be indicative of their preferred levels of complexity in music. In other words, would someone’s performance on working memory tasks be correlated with the level of complexity in their favorite music? I learned to scientifically parse music, and understand what listening to music might mean for different subjective experiences. My research has taught me a lot in terms of scientific methodology—how to conduct an experiment and analyze data in interesting ways. Working with Professor Sherman has been insightful, and we hope to continue collecting data beyond my senior project and ultimately publish a paper.
[title of show]*: An in-depth analysis and performance of the musical by Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell DECLAN MEAGHER, Baltimore, MD Major: Theater Advisers: John Bouchard and Susan Gratch, professors of theater It was my aim in putting on this musical to combine elements of theatrical design, directing, choreography, and musical training and direction. Another aim was to set an example for more student theater, but to also show the merits of having more musical theater on campus. I developed my organizational skills, my creative skills (acting, directing, dancing, and singing), and my problem-solving skills through this endeavor. This project was a culmination of my work here at Oxy. I have worked my whole life to be a theater artist, seeking to entertain and cultivate a creative environment wherever I am. *Yes, that’s really the show’s title! Go figure.
Analyzing Chaotic Plasma Particle Motion KAYLA CURRIER Physics and mathematics double major State Democratization of the Presentation of Interwar Experience in American Museums WILLIAM STUPP Comparative studies in literature & culture major Take a Walk in Someone Else’s Shoes: Empathy’s Role in the Simulation and Prediction of Others’ Actions JULIA HAMILTON Cognitive science major Alternative Media Circulation in Cuba: Alternative Paquetes and the Reappropriation of El Paquete Semanal CÉSAR MARTINEZ Art history & visual arts major An Examination of the Effects of Diet on Vitamin A Deficiency and Infant Mortality ASHLEY ANDREOU & ALEX URRY Biochemistry majors
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The Place
TIGER COOLER he Cooler is a full-service espresso bar and cafe serving food and drink into the late night. Its open space serves plenty of other functions, from a casual gathering place to a site that hosts waltz and polka dances, comedy nights, open mic talent nights, and the annual “Boo Bash� Halloween celebration.
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THE LIST BEEKEEPERS In addition to caring for our oncampus hives, Oxy’s beekeepers host speakers whose areas of expertise range from bee biology to diminishing bee populations across the world to the impact of bee activity on daily life.
CULTURAL CLUBS
BLYTH FUND Offering a unique opportunity for handson endowment management, Oxy’s Blyth Fund is a premier six-figure, studentmanaged investment portfolio designed to broaden interest in finance among our most promising students. Oxy’s fund is wholly student managed. The 14-person board, elected each spring, studies the stock market and maintains a portfolio. They are free to buy low and sell high as they see fit.
GREEK LIFE
KOXY
Philanthropy and service are hallmarks of Oxy’s eight fraternities and sororities. Each supports its own beneficiary agency, and they unite to help other service events on campus. Twenty percent of Oxy students are involved in Greek life.
Born as an offshoot of the College’s speech department in the post-war 1940s, Oxy’s studentrun radio station has broadcast online since 2000, expanding its reach around the globe. With free-form programming as well as concerts on campus, KOXY creates an opportunity to coalesce around music, art, and ideas.
HIP HOP CLUB This is the place on campus for fans of hip hop to get together and share what they love about the music and culture. Meeting weekly in the MLK Lounge, members have album discussions, listening parties, and film screenings, and trade freestyles over beats.
More than a dozen cultural organizations on campus celebrate the diversity of our student body. Current groups include Armenian Students Association, Asian Pacific Americans for Liberation, Black Student Alliance, Caribbean Student Organization, Chinese Culture Club, I Ka Poli O Hawai‘i, Japanese Cultural Organization, Korean-American Student Association, La Raza Coalition, Nia Akoma, Persian Students Association, Pilipino United Students Organization, SABOR, and South Asian Students Association.
THE FANG Reviving a cultural staple of campus life dating back to the 1940s—Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam ’62 cut his satirical teeth as editor—The Fang is Oxy’s alternative literary/arts publication for students, sparing no one with its “vitriolic content, subversive humor, bile, and adenoidal ramblings.”
OXY HIKING CLUB
FEAST GARDEN Oxy’s Food, Energy, and Sustainability Team is dedicated to enjoying, studying, and discussing the connection between food and the environment. Students manage and harvest an organic garden located just below the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute.
Oxy’s outdoorsiest group sponsors nearby hikes, from the trails at Griffith Park to the San Gabriel Mountains—and they’ve got hiking gear available for anyone who needs it.
PEER HEALTH EXCHANGE A branch of the national organization, PHE gets Oxy students directly engaged with the L.A. community by teaching ninth-grade health classes at local schools that don’t have funding for health curriculum.
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Los Angeles is a diverse cultural landscape. Oxy’s students, faculty, and staff are front and center in addressing social justice issues, learning from and with community partners, and connecting what happens in classes with current issues in the community. We define community to be local, national, and global, and we engage through curricular and co-curricular research, projects, and activities. Community engagement efforts are coordinated by the Office for Community Engagement, the Center for Community Based Learning, and the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute.
URBAN & ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY INSTITUTE
SOCIAL JUSTICE AND THE CITY Opportunities to be immersed in the community and social issues exist before you step into a classroom. New students can opt for a preOrientation program which aims to introduce new students to the needs of surrounding communities through intentional partnerships with campus departments and local nonprofits.The trip includes neighborhood excursions, community service projects, and other activities through which students can become more familiar with Los Angeles in all its richness. You might learn about and participate in the restoration of wetlands, repurpose old classroom furniture into raised garden beds at a middle school, or understand healthy food access barriers by helping to implement a survey in an inner-city grocery store.
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COMMUNITY BASED LEARNING Community engagement at Oxy is integrated into the curriculum. Community-connected classes include field or internship projects that meet learning objectives through visits to community organizations or schools, neighborhoods, museums, libraries, and other places outside of the College. One example is the team-taught colloquium class Living Los Angeles, which strives to provide students with an interdisciplinary understanding of the complex city of Los Angeles. After learning about cultural and political histories of particular neighborhoods (Boyle Heights, Highland Park, Little Tokyo, and South Los Angeles), students participate in community-based research projects with a community-based organization that is focused on a current policy issue.
The Urban & Environmental Policy Institute (UEPI) is a research, policy, and advocacy organization committed to bringing about social change and a more just, livable, and green society. UEPI engages students, faculty, and staff at its home on Oxy’s campus and connects Oxy with its community partners in Los Angeles and beyond. UEPI has over a dozen local, statewide, and national programs that employ strategies of research, organizing, coalition-building, education, advocacy, and policy toward a just and livable society. Current UEPI programs fall under the five interrelated areas of built environment, food, global trade, health, and transportation.
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MLK DAY OF SERVICE The MLK Day of Service attracts upwards of 400 participants each year. In honor of Dr. King’s spirit of service and peace, the aim of the MLK Day of Service is to engage Oxy students, staff, faculty, and alumni in community-based projects that range from canvassing, gardening, and food harvesting to library sorting, and food distribution at more than 20 community partners in Los Angeles. The community partners speak very highly of Oxy students and they are appreciative of the service project collaborations. Similarly, students are provided with the opportunity to become familiar with important community-based work, and some even decide to return as volunteers or interns.
“ Why we cherish Oxy so much is because we value social justice, because we value engagement, because we value the ideas of equality.” ELLA TURENNE, Assistant Dean for Community Engagement
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The Place
KECK
THEATER ome to Occidental’s theater department, Keck Theater features four professionally directed productions each year. It also hosts the New Play Festival, showcasing original student-written plays in which professional directors and actors collaborate with the student playwrights. Keck’s state-of-the-art, professional-quality stage includes adjustable Lambda platforms allowing various configurations for a total of 412 seats. The facility was the first of its kind in the United States. Productions from recent seasons include Measure for Measure, Three Sisters, and The Drowsy Chaperone.
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Students in professor Allison de Fren’s class, Exploring Virtual Reality, transform the AGC and Johnson-Fowler Hall area through projection mapping.
ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
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OXYARTS engages the campus in a contemporary art dialogue via the College’s Weingart Gallery, campuswide art projects, and work developed by artists-in-residence. Through OxyArts, Occidental aims to serve as an anchor for the Eagle Rock/Highland Park art scene, actively participate in Los Angeles’ art community, and cultivate a deeper understanding and appreciation of contemporary art throughout the College community.
ARTS OFFERINGS ART HISTORY MEDIA ARTS & CULTURE MUSIC STUDIO ART
MUSIC ON A FRIDAY AFTERNOON provides a showcase for music performances by talented Oxy student artists in a casual setting. Whether or not you’re a music major, anyone is welcome to perform. It’s a great way to start the weekend.
“When you’re practicing music there has to be a purpose or a place for you to show what you’ve got. MOFA offers a stage for you to show everybody what you’re good at.” MAYA MEI, a diplomacy & world affairs major from Shenzhen, China
THEATER INDEPENDENT PATTERN OF STUDY
Oxy’s NEW PLAY FESTIVAL stages original works by current students, directed by guest artists (frequently alumni of the theater department) and performed by students and professionals alike. Many of the festival’s alumni playwrights are currently enjoying serious writing careers in entertainment, including Angela Kang ’98 (“The Walking Dead”), Erik Patterson ’00 (“R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour”), and Joe Chandler ’01 (“American Dad”).
Assistant professor of music Adam Schoenberg was named among the top 10 most-performed living classical composers in the United States in a national survey of 89 orchestras published by the Baltimore Symphony. Composers such as Thomas Newman (Finding Nemo, Skyfall) and Nathan Barr (“True Blood,” “The Americans”) have visited his class (Introduction to the Orchestra).
“ I don’t think I’d be where I am today if I hadn’t gone to Occidental. They teach you to work hard.” C AITRIN ROGERS ’04 (art history & visual arts), Academy Award-winning producer of the 2013 documentary 20 Feet From Stardom
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LET’S DANCE Dance Production, aka Dance Pro, is our most popular campus event. Although the actual production takes place in March, planning is a year-round endeavor. Each fall the student executive board for Dance Pro holds auditions for choreographers, who subsequently hold auditions for dancers. You don’t have to have any experience, and each student who auditions is guaranteed a spot in at least one number. More than 200 students regularly participate in this dance phenomenon to a sold-out Thorne Hall. Not only does Dance Pro feature a wide variety of dancing abilities, past shows have featured styles from across the spectrum—K Pop, Bollywood, bellydancing, Polynesian... you name it.
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ance Production is representative of our community’s egalitarian impulse and eclectic student body. Our students aren’t cookie-cutter: They come from different backgrounds and places and have different interests, but they come together to live and learn from each other. Our campus has a reputation of openness and collaboration, not cross-student competition. This distinct sense of community is both organic and by design. The Oxy spirit is rooted in inspiration: students, faculty, and staff sharing their passions and forging lifelong relationships. Learn more about a handful of campus traditions that typify our spirit.
GLEE CLUB
THE OCCIDENTAL WEEKLY The official, independent student publication of Occidental since 1893, The Occidental Weekly covers the College community and surrounding neighborhood. In 2015, The Weekly was awarded the nation’s top prize for online college journalism at schools with 5,000 students or less in the Associated Collegiate Press’ annual competition.
“Just have fun! That’s what Dance Pro’s about: fun and community.” CHOREOGRAPHER LEAH NOMKIN, an English and Spanish studies major from Phoenix, AZ
Since 1906, the Occidental Glee Club has played a central role in the life of the College, drawing musicians of the highest caliber and giving voice to our Oxy spirit. The Glee Club’s reputation for excellence has also carried the banners of Occidental far into the musical world, through national and international tours and recordings. The Occidental Glee Club is dedicated to superb music-making and to fostering ties that unite generations of singers.
APOLLO NIGHT
SPRINGFEST
During Black History Month, a piece of New York thrives at Oxy on Apollo Night. The Black Student Alliance sponsors a talent show modeled after Harlem’s iconic original amateur night at the Apollo Theater. One of Oxy’s most attended events, Apollo Night fills Thorne Hall with an enthusiastic audience eager to watch Oxy students— vocalists, dancers, musicians, poets, comedians—show their wares.
An extravaganza of food, fun, and live music, SpringFest is a daylong event sponsored by Oxy’s Student Programming Board. Each year, they bring in a popular musical act to perform for the community in our Greek Bowl. Over the past few years, Oxy has played host to artists such Tinashe, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Common, and Snoop Dogg. Pre-concert activities include a rock-climbing wall, a bouncy house, a henna tattoo station, an obstacle course, and a selection of food trucks. Renowned trucks such as Coolhaus Ice Cream Sandwiches, Kogi Korean BBQ Truck, the Grilled Cheese Truck, Crepe’n Around, and G3 Truck: Good Greek Grub are just a few of the tasty options that have parked on campus to feed the hungry masses.
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uilding on the concept of the library as a place where knowledge is created and stored, the Academic Commons helps integrate spaces, resources, tools, and support for teaching, learning, and studying at the College. Students can talk freely on the main floor, making it an ideal setting for group work and study sessions.
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Oxy attracts many renowned speakers to campus each year. One recent visitor, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Díaz, discussed the complexities and heartbreak of race and identity in America with a capacity crowd at Thorne Hall. For two hours, the Dominican-American writer mixed readings of his works with thoughtful, often self-deprecatory answers to questions from the audience. Inevitably, many of the questions related to his craft and asked for advice. “When this civilization ends, all that’s going to be left is porn, cat videos, and writer advice,” he replied. “If I have to add to this apocalypse of advice, all I can say is what every writer already knows: My only advice is to read.”
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SPOTLIGHT MAJORS
HUMANITIES OFFERINGS
Critical Theory & Social Justice
CHINESE STUDIES
“Critical” refers to various bodies of theory and method—Marxism, psychoanalysis, the Frankfurt School, deconstruction, critical race studies, queer theory, feminist theory, postcolonial theory, and intersectionality—that question the assumptions that underlie social identities. “Social justice” refers to an extrajuridical concept of fairness that is focused on exposing and ending social inequalities. The aim of the critical theory & social justice department is to promote understanding of how categories such as race, gender, sexual orientation, and nationality help people recognize and combat some injustices and hinder them from recognizing and combating others.
“I chose Oxy because I knew that I wanted to major in CTSJ, but there were so many opportunities here for students beyond just really cool classes. Every year there is a group of fabulous women who put on The Vagina Monologues for the entire school. It’s hosted in Thorne Hall—the biggest auditorium on campus—and it’s a really empowering event that produces a lot of really good conversation, a lot of emotions, and opportunity for solidarity work.” MISCHA DIBAT TISTE Bucks County, PA
Group Language Looking to lead in a complex world, contribute to solving transnational problems, compete in the global workforce, and thrive in intercultural situations? Oxy offers the group language major in any combination of Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, and linguistics. Students planning a group language major are encouraged to participate in Occidental’s international off-campus study program. Over two-thirds of our students pursue Oxy’s various routes to global citizenship, from traditional study abroad to research, internships, and fellowships abroad.
CLASSICAL STUDIES* COMPARATIVE STUDIES IN LITERATURE & CULTURE CRITICAL THEORY & SOCIAL JUSTICE
Emphases: Critical Race Studies Feminist & Queer Studies Postcolonial Theory
EAST ASIAN STUDIES ENGLISH FRENCH STUDIES GERMAN STUDIES* GROUP LANGUAGE INTERDISCIPLINARY WRITING* JAPANESE STUDIES LINGUISTICS* PHILOSOPHY RELIGIOUS STUDIES RUSSIAN STUDIES* SPANISH STUDIES INDEPENDENT PATTERN OF STUDY *minor only
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PARTICIPATORY
LEARNING earning and knowing are rooted in doing. Oxy faculty and students take this to heart. They seek ways to link theory to practice, to provide real-world applications to the ideas and notions discussed in classes. At Oxy, “classrooms” are not narrowly defined as desks and chairs; they may be downtown Los Angeles, an open body of water, an interactive digital setting, or some distant country. What they have in common is the capacity to empower students to think and act, to lead and collaborate, in an array of settings. This philosophy is prevalent across the curriculum and in studentled initiatives.
CAMPAIGN SEMESTER A recent addition to the Oxy curriculum, Campaign Semester offers a full semester’s worth of academic credit to students for working on key presidential, Senate, House, or gubernatorial campaigns in swing states. Participation involves a wide range of activities, including voter registration and turnout, volunteer coordination, and media relations. After November elections, students return to campus for an intensive seminar with politics professors. Oxy students cover the nation (literally) by working on campaigns from Honolulu to Boston.
“ The campaign was absolutely incredible. I’ve always been one to believe that to be an engaged citizen, voting is not enough. And since I didn’t have a Super PAC of my own to buy the election, working in the field seemed like a great option. I will admit that at times the job was exhausting, but in the end it paid off!” ampaign Semester participant NICK DODANI, a politics major from C Scottsdale, AZ, pictured with fellow Oxy student ESTRELLA LUCERO, a politics major from Albuquerque, NM, and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren on the campaign trail.
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“Writing a TEDx talk is a very personal, raw experience, and I’ve had to ask myself some very difficult questions in the process. I think I’ve become more humble, more brave, and more self-critical than I was before.” —
TEDx @ OXY
EMILY LINEBARGER, an economics and diplomacy & world affairs double major from Tahlequah, OK
Global development and sustainability issues were the focus of Occidental’s second TEDx conference, a daylong student-run event held on campus. Twelve student leaders representing a variety of majors—including American studies, art history & visual arts, critical theory & social justice, diplomacy & world affairs, economics, and mathematics—worked with three professors in the diplomacy & world affairs department to create a dialogue on one of the most pressing issues of our time.
OXYPRENEURSHIP Empower yourself. That’s the message of Oxypreneurship, a network of students and business leaders dedicated to pursuing their startup ideas or passions. From problem-solving exercises to weeklong academic workshops, Oxypreneurship events expose participants to the foundations of business. The results are long-lasting and will help you build hard and soft skills that are key to developing any successful venture.
“ After participating in this program, I realized that entrepreneurship is more than just a way to start a company, but rather an entire way of thinking.” M ICHELE GEE, an undeclared major from San Francisco, CA
BIO 370: TROPICAL ECOLOGY At the end of the regular academic semester, 16 Oxy students enrolled in Biology 370 and their faculty instructors engaged in three weeks of field study by traveling to Costa Rica and Panama to interact directly with the tropical terrestrial and marine ecosystems they had studied in class. Throughout their stay at the La Selva Biological Station and other sites, they conducted scientific research related to the questions they had grappled with on campus: Why are the tropics so diverse? How is this diversity maintained? How are different land uses having an impact on tropical people and communities? How will global climate change affect communities and species richness? While students can ponder these issues anywhere, there’s no substitute for examining them directly in the field. With its study-abroad component, Biology 370 is just one example of a new course structure emerging on campus (others have been offered in art history, music, and religious studies).
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The Place
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he heart of campus social life is the JSC—home to the Marketplace (the main dining hall), the Green Bean Coffee Lounge, student government offices, the bookstore, the mailroom, and the Office of Student Life. It now includes the recently renovated Rose Hills Student Activities Center featuring the Bengal Room, a 1,200-square-foot multipurpose programming space for performances and social gatherings. There’s also a Community in Action Suite that will spearhead the College’s relationship with the city of Los Angeles, adjacent to the student-run radio station, KOXY.
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STEWART- CLELAND HALL Stewie Hall is one of four first-year residence halls, all of which offer DirecTV in the lounge, a computer lab, and laundry facilities. Incoming students typically live in doubles and triples, fostering relationships with roommates that last well beyond the first year. All students live in College housing for their first three years, and there are many themed housing options catering to specialized interests.
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GLOBAL DIVERSITY FLOOR Located in Newcomb Hall, students living on this floor will build friendships with like-minded students, as well as those from other cultures and countries; immerse themselves in an environment that helps contribute to international understanding; and participate in programs, outings, service projects, and lectures that broaden global interests and knowledge.
NORRIS HALL Norris Hall allows students to live together in groups of six to 16 during the roomdraw process, in themed communities of their creation. Recent examples include Fair Trade Awareness & Promotion, Global Perspectives Through Foreign Films, Appreciation & Conservation of Marine Environments, Big Kids Helping Kids, Gender Equality, and Promoting Mental Health Through the Arts.
BERKUS HALL Occidental’s newest, largest, and most popular residence hall includes interior courtyards, a fitness center, meeting and classroom space, an underground parking garage, and a late-night coffee cart during the academic year.
PAULEY MULTICULTURAL HALL
FOOD JUSTICE HOUSE The Food Justice House creates a community within Occidental that fosters the development of sustainable food practices and instills awareness of the possibility of an environmentally conscious and socially aware lifestyle outside of a campus setting.
Pauley is a space in which students may openly discuss their differences and pluralistic identities with neighbors of different identities and backgrounds. By no means is Multicultural Hall intended to be an exclusive community, but rather an institution open to all who wish to engage in dialogue, serving as a living and evolving embodiment of the four cornerstones of Occidental’s mission statement: excellence, equity, community, and service.
QUEER HOUSE Located at 1480 Campus Road, the Queer Themed Living Community aims to create a space for queer, LGBT+, non-heterosexual, and non-cisgender students to explore their identity, foster intragroup solidarity, and create intentional programming for the Oxy community. Any individual who does not align with hegemonic and normative sexual and gender identities is welcome to live here.
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ore students participate in athletics than in any other campus activity. From the turf and track (Kemp Stadium) to the diamonds (Bell and Anderson fields), from the pitches (soccer fields) to the hardwood (Rush Gym) and the water (Taylor Pool), more than 600 Oxy student-athletes engage in the sweatiest of the liberal arts: intercollegiate competition through NCAA Division III varsity sports and club sports. Nearly half of all Oxy students participate in intramurals and wellness programs. Go Tigers!
Oxy fields 21 varsity teams as a member of NCAA Division III and the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC). MEN’S VARSITY SPORTS INCLUDE: Baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, and water polo. WOMEN’S VARSITY SPORTS INCLUDE: Basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, volleyball, and water polo.
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This is our
CLUB SPORTS INCLUDE: Cheerleading, dance team, men’s lacrosse, men’s & women’s rugby, and men’s & women’s ultimate. INTRAMURAL SPORTS INCLUDE: 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 basketball, flag football, 5-on-5 soccer, doubles volleyball, and Wiffle ball. WELLNESS AND FITNESS CLASSES INCLUDE: Cardio tennis, circuit training, karate, spin, strength training, yoga, and Zumba.
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EAT @ FIG AND YORK Food trucks can often be found around Oxy. Each Tuesday night brings a lineup of different vendors to this Highland Park location—from classic taco trucks to Korean BBQ, there’s never a shortage of options.
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THE LIST SCOOPS ON YORK
THE EAGLE ROCK
Offering a refreshing twist on traditional ice cream (made on the premises), Scoops serves up a rotating array of fun daily flavors such as Brown Bread, Banana Oreo, Lavender Goat Cheese Honey, Olive Oil Mascarpone, and Chocolate Almond.
The diverse, quirky, livable neighborhood in which Oxy is located is named after the local rock formation that resembles an eagle in flight. According to historian Eric Warren ’69, the name dates back to the 1880s, just before Oxy’s founding.
SECOND SATURDAY GALLERY NIGHT
(Image courtesy of local artist Andrew Covell)
A hidden gem with beautiful views of downtown L.A., this popular local park offers plenty of trail paths to choose from and a small lake at the top of the hill.
On the second Saturday of each month, art galleries and shops in Northeast L.A. (including Highland Park and Eagle Rock) open their doors for a free art walk. Many artists and nonprofit organizations, including the York Blvd. OxyArts space, feature selfguided tours and artist meet-and-greets.
EAGLE ROCK FARMERS MARKET
CACAO MEXICATESSEN CaCao “has a fairly open mind on what might go into a taco,” Los Angeles Times critic Jonathan Gold wrote in his list of 101 Best Restaurants in L.A. “They make carnitas out of duck, for one thing, neatly splitting the difference between the classic Mexican preparation and French duck confit, and sometimes they make chicharrones out of duck cracklings just to mess with your mind.”
Farm-fresh produce and specialty food vendors (great empanadas!) combine with local artists, musicians, dancers, and the occasional magician or Elvis impersonator on Friday evenings at the Eagle Rock Farmers Market.
LAKO BOXING CLUB & TRAINING STUDIO
PERMANENT RECORDS One of five highly regarded record shops in Highland Park, and part of the reason why the L.A .Times calls the neighborhood “dense with genre-spanning musical creativity.”
SPITZ Spitz is the endeavor of two Oxy alumni, one of whom fell in love with döner kebabs while studying abroad and vowed to bring the deliciousness back to L.A. Spitz is a campus favorite for its tasty kebabs, wraps, salads, falafel, and fries.
ERNEST E. DEBS REGIONAL PARK
Looking for a good way to break a sweat or de-stress? LAKO’s owners and staff are committed to making it the best gym in Los Angeles, with a fun atmosphere and friendly instructors.
ZWEET CAFE Zweet is a great study spot, café, and coffee boutique just two blocks from campus. When you need to get away—but not too far away— life can be Zweet, indeed!
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The Place
HA MEETMAN
CAREER CENTER
t’s never too soon to start thinking about life after Oxy. With that in mind, the College’s Hameetman Career Center provides individual attention to students and alumni, helping to connect classroom learning to postgraduate opportunities. From individual career counseling to job-shadowing programs and internships both in Los Angeles and around the country, Oxy’s expert advisers help clarify academic and professional goals and develop strategies to achieve them. The Center is a modern space where students can access advising in three key areas (career services, national and international fellowships, and pre-health advising) all in one central location. By the time you graduate, you’ll be ready to take on any challenge.
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CAREER
OPPORTUNITIES On their way to internships, graduate school, careers, and fellowships, students frequent the Hameetman Career Center for advising and preparation. First-year students typically drop in with general questions and then progress into the Sophomore Success Program which provides individual career counseling. Then they can participate in the hugely popular Walk in My Shoes Away program, which places students in job-shadowing experiences around the country. Students also utilize Occidental staff and resources to apply for summer internships in Los Angeles and other cities.
I N T E R N L. A. S I T E:
LOS ANGELES ZOO
“All around me, giggling children are running from window to window while zookeepers speak into portable microphones explaining the significance of the chimpanzees’ grooming patterns in relation to social hierarchy. This scenario was what a typical day at work looked like through my eyes as an observational research intern at the Los Angeles Zoo. From the hard and transferable skills I obtained to the professional relationships I built, this position has supplied me with useful tools that can be used both in academia and the workforce. As a cognitive science major, I am fascinated by human behavior and would like to investigate how certain factors influence people’s decision-making; therefore, I am now pursuing a career in market research and strategy.” HALEY LEW, San Francisco, CA
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One Year After Graduation:
STUDENT INDEPENDENT RESEARCH INTERNSHIPS (SIRI) PROGRAM AT
NASA’S JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
Gregory Capra, Mill Valley, CA, led a robotics team that is researching and prototyping a robot that will communicate with robots on the surface of the moon, Mercury, and Mars. Lillian Hochman, Boston, MA hopes to one day become a biomedical engineer, but started her career at JPL by programming and developing a new form of PERL script to help NASA take higher-definition photographs of Earth from the International Space Station. Alex Kuefler, Flagstaff, AZ, worked with intelligent computer vision and parallel processing. “I appreciate how much I can bring my creativity to bear on the projects I’m implementing.” Jeffrey Yoshida, Ventura, CA, programmed and edited code for the Sally Ride EarthKAM in an effort to improve the image-processing speed of the outerspace camera. “The experience has been memorable so far, and has given me the opportunity to connect with many brilliant scientists and engineers. It’s been great learning about what it takes to make it in the science world.” Duncan Brown, Sebastopol, CA, worked in the office of Planetary Protection to protect the Earth’s biosphere from extraterrestrial contamination. Heidi Aronson, Los Altos, CA, tested the effects of space environmental conditions on bacteria. “I hope to contribute to a project that will help us understand more about how bacterial life is affected by extraterrestrial environments.”
BANK OF AMERICA GOOGLE KAISER PERMANENTE L.A. UNIFIED SCHOOLS MICROSOFT MORGAN STANLEY NASA/JPL NORTHROP GRUMMAN SOCAL EDISON U.S. DEPT. OF STATE
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THE AMERICAS Buenos Aires, Argentina Cochabamba, Bolivia Belém, Brazil Fortaleza, Brazil Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Salvador da Bahia, Brazil São Paulo, Brazil Arica, Chile Valparaiso, Chile Havana, Cuba Monteverde, Costa Rica San Jose, Costa Rica
EUROPE
Vienna, Austria Brussels, Belgium Prague, Czech Republic Copenhagen, Denmark Montpellier, France Nantes, France Paris, France Berlin, Germany Freiburg, Germany Athens, Greece Budapest, Hungary Reykjavik, Iceland Dublin, Ireland Ferrara, Italy Milan, Italy Rome, Italy Amsterdam, Netherlands
Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Galapagos, Ecuador Quito, Ecuador Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles Managua, Nicaragua Panamá, Panama Cuzco, Peru New York, NY Washington, DC
Warsaw, Poland Moscow, Russia St. Petersburg, Russia Belgrade, Serbia Barcelona, Spain Granada, Spain Madrid, Spain Salamanca, Spain Uppsala, Sweden Geneva, Switzerland Istanbul, Turkey Belfast, United Kingdom Brighton, United Kingdom Bristol, United Kingdom Cambridge, United Kingdom London, United Kingdom Norwich, United Kingdom
AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST Gaborone, Botswana Yaounde, Cameroon Legon, Ghana Antananarivo, Madagascar Fort Dauphin, Madagascar Rabat, Morocco Kigali, Rwanda Dakar, Senegal
s the world figuratively shrinks, Oxy’s imprint across the world expands. Our extensive study abroad and research programs foster intensive crosscultural learning and collaboration through language and cultural immersion, independent fieldwork, and community-based learning projects. Three-quarters of our students pursue Oxy’s multiple routes to global citizenship across all seven continents through traditional study abroad, research, internships, and fellowships. Students come to Oxy from all over the world, each contributing their unique perspective to our ongoing conversation. And the city of Los Angeles is its own international enclave with 130 different languages spoken within the city limits.
ASIA
Beijing, China Hong Kong, China Kunming, China Nanjing, China Shanghai, China Hyderabad, India Jaipur, India New Delhi, India Bedulu, Indonesia Nagoya, Japan
OCEANIA
Byron Bay, Australia Melbourne, Australia Townsville, Australia
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Cape Town, South Africa Durban, South Africa Mookgophong, South Africa Arusha, Tanzania Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Zanzibar, Tanzania Kampala, Uganda
Tokyo, Japan Amman, Jordan Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Kathmandu, Nepal Seoul, South Korea Taipei, Taiwan Khon Kaen, Thailand Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Dunedin, New Zealand Apia, Samoa
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THE JOHN PARKE YOUNG INITIATIVE ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
THE KAHANE UNITED NATIONS PROGRAM Every year, up to 16 highly qualified students receive an in-depth education on our 21st-century global community by directly participating in it. The Kahane U.N. Program, under the guidance of seasoned staff—including former U.N. personnel—is one of the few programs of its kind for undergraduates. During the fall semester, when the General Assembly is in session, students head to New York City, where they take two courses in international issues and an independent study seminar, all while interning full time at a U.N.-related agency.
The Kahane United Nations Program was definitely the highlight of my Oxy experience. As an intern with the U.K. Mission to the United Nations, I got to shadow the U.K. ambassador for a day, and he let me sit in on a closed-door meeting with the Ukrainian foreign minister. He made me feel like more of a colleague and less of an intern. He even introduced me to the Ukrainian foreign minister as his colleague, and I got to shake his hand! Since the Kahane Program was one of the main reasons I wanted to come to Oxy, it felt incredible knowing that I did it, and I loved every challenging minute of it. CALLI OBERN, a Kahane U.N. participant from Madison, WI
The John Parke Young Initiative on the Global Economy supports the study of the global political economy and global affairs practice. The fund provides grants for independent research projects developed by students under faculty supervision. In addition to the John Parke Young Chair in Global Political Economy, the endowment funds programs and research promoting national or international economic, social, financial, or political policies of general public and social benefit.
THE RICHTER TRUST The Richter Trust funds student summer research virtually anywhere in the world and across all disciplines. Students develop projects of scholarly merit that promote cross-cultural engagement. The students present their projects to the Occidental community at the Research Abroad Conference held once each fall semester.
R E C E N T R I C H T E R P ROJ E CT S: THE DEADLIEST CATCH: INVESTIGATING THE CARCINOGENIC LIVER FLUKE IN NORTHEASTERN THAILAND Emily Ong, Federal Way, WA Biochemistry major
R E C E N T J O H N PA R K E YO U N G P ROJ E CT S B Y D I P LO M ACY & WO R L D A F F A I R S M A J O R S: INTERNSHIP WITH USAID IN THE PHILIPPINES Ian Hutchcroft, Madison, WI HIJOS AS A PROTAGONIST OF JUSTICE: A CASE STUDY OF ARGENTINA Natasha Anderson, Castro Valley, CA COMMUNITIES FOR DEMOCRACY, WARSAW, POLAND Tiffany Odeka, New York, NY EXPLORING A MULTIDIMENSIONAL ENVIRONMENT INDEX: THE CASE OF COSTA RICA Danny Tobin, Orinda, CA
COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH IN NICARAGUA’S HEALTH SECTOR Brad Kawano, Castro Valley, CA Philosophy major BILINGUALISM’S EFFECT ON MORALITY IN BARCELONA (Spain) Alyssa Sanchez, Fountain Valley, CA Spanish studies and cognitive science major SNAPPING SHRIMP SOUND PRODUCTION AND CORAL REEF BIOACOUSTICS (British Virgin Islands) Morgan Bennett-Smith, Penryn, CA Biology major SUPPOTE I KUTTURA’TA: JOHNNY SABLAN AND CHAMORRO ARTS RENAISSANCE (Guam) Micah Garrido, Key Biscayne, FL Cognitive science major
Johnny Sablan
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LA S T H U R R A H
The Place
REMSEN
BIRD
ore commonly known as the Greek Bowl, this outdoor amphitheater hosts Commencement every May. Imagine it—just you, your classmates, and 3,500 of your closest family and friends. SpringFest, Oxy’s largest annual concert, also draws a sold-out crowd. And for more than 20 summers, the Occidental Children’s Theater has woven its wacky adaptations of folk stories and fairytales here.
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LA S T H U R R A H
Occidental was founded in 1887 under the leadership of the Presbyterian Church in neighboring Boyle Heights. The College (which has been secular since 1910) moved to its Eagle Rock home in 1914. Our College motto, “Occidens Proximus Orienti,” translates as “The West is nearest the East.”
OCC I D E N TA L H A S A LWAY S B E E N CO E D U CAT I O N A L.
Our campus reach is galactic. Trekkies feel at home here.
in a nutshell
The Gilman fountain is frequently referred to as the “STAR TREK” FOUNTAIN because it was featured in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock as a feature on the planet Vulcan.
T HE BENGAL BUS is a student-run service that provides transportation off campus. Destinations include the cultural (museums), the practical (Trader Joe’s and Target), and the purely fun (SoCal beaches and Old Pasadena).
The renowned architect MYRON HUNT designed the campus and its original buildings. He also designed the Rose Bowl, the Huntington Library, and the original Caltech campus.
IO TRIUMPHE! is a cheer that 1907 Oxy graduate Frank Beal brought from his hometown of Albion, MI, to Occidental as a sophomore. Soon thereafter, it was required learning for first-years. (“Io” is pronounced “Yo!”) The whole cheer is actually gibberish.
In the last decade, almost 200 Oxy students have been invited to present at the NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH.
In recognition of exemplary community service, Oxy has appeared on the PRESIDENT’S HIGHER EDUCATION COMMUNITY SERVICE HONOR ROLL five times since the national recognition program was launched in 2006.
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Speaking of presidents, BARACK OBAMA enrolled at Occidental in 1979. Barry, as he was known then, is recalled by veteran faculty as “serious, thoughtful, and intelligent.” In an article in the Los Angeles Times, President Obama notes his “fond memories” of Oxy, where he found the professors “diverse and inspiring.”
come from
Oxy is home to some sociable (and well-fed) squirrels, including “Chubby,” who lives on the Office of Admission patio.
including an option for a self-designed course of study
demonstrated financial aid met
Oxy alumni who have played in the NFL
domestic students of color
filmed on campus recently (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Arrested Development, Glee, King of the Nerds, NCIS, Parenthood, Switched at Birth, Ray Donovan, and The Vampire Diaries)
in the nation according to The Daily Meal
(according to architectural firm StructureHub)
Oxy is a special place—no other liberal arts college, or really any other college in general, can be compared to us. Nowhere else will you find students applying the lofty principles of Rousseau to water access rights in Southern California during their spin class. Or rushing from a day at the beach to Carmen at the L.A. Opera. Or using economic theory to analyze mac-and-cheese bite consumption at the Cooler. DONOVAN DENNIS, Great Falls, MT
1600 Campus Road Los Angeles, CA 90041-3314 oxy.edu