Around the horn: Baseball’s new approach drives success

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April 4, 2026

The baseball team is off to a hot start in 2026, sporting a 17-8 overall record and 5-4 SCIAC record as of March 28. According to the Oxy Athletics website, the team also received votes in a recent American Baseball Coaches Association poll. It was Occidental baseball’s first appearance in the poll since 2019, which was also the last full season the team finished with a winning record.

Assistant coach Cameron McMullen said the team’s culture and approach has changed dramatically this season.

“When teams come and play Occidental now, they know it’s not going to be an easy series,” McMullen said. “We’re going into a really important stretch of our schedule, and I think what I’ve really enjoyed about this group is they’ve been really connected to what goes into the process of winning, rather than just winning itself.”

Outfielder Tyler Kubo (junior) has a batting average of .419, an on-base percentage of .550 and a slugging percentage of .930. Kubo said team chemistry is at an all time high.

“On the field [and] off the field the guys are family, and when you’re playing with your brothers, it makes the game a lot easier [and] a lot more fun,” Kubo said. “Obviously, you play a lot better when you’re having fun.”

Pitcher Aidan Alfers (junior) leads the team in wins and strikeouts over eight games started. Alfers said the team chemistry and connection is the best it’s ever been.

“[Occidental baseball] is definitely the most connected group I’ve been a part of in college,” Alfers said. “Everyone has recognized that and been able to elevate their leadership.”

Kubo said it’s easier to play well when you’re not trying to do too much.

“I’ve always put hard expectations on myself […] success doesn’t come often, and when it does, you really have to earn it,” Kubo said. “The biggest way I’ve been able to overcome those expectations is [by] doing the opposite. Not caring less, but not being so caught up in the results. One thing I was telling a teammate of mine was, ‘I could go for 4-for-4 in a game [or] I could go 0-4 in a game, and we’re all eating at the same dinner table after.’”

Kubo said in the past he had been too focused on mechanical issues instead of his approach.

“Every game, I was trying something new […] but when you’re in season and you’re in a game, you can’t be worried about all this outside stuff,” Kubo said. “It really has to be simplified. If you have all these things going through your mind, like, ‘Oh, my arm needs to be this way, or my stride needs to be like this,’ the ball’s already past you.”

Coming from a unique coaching background, McMullen said he’s challenged the hitters he works with by offering them different perspectives.

“I consider myself a hitting coach, not a swing coach,” McMullen said. “It’s a very slippery slope when you connect overly-analytical students with a very skill-specific task [like] the swing […] that can be a combustible combination at times. What I prefer to do is try and think about how to teach these guys how to hit so that they can make good decisions.”

McMullen said the work is far from over at this point in the season.

“This is the first time a lot of our players are playing meaningful baseball at this point in the year — maybe ever since they’ve been at Occidental,” McMullen said. “The reality is playing meaningful baseball is different. There’s pressure [and] there’s consequence […] but I think this group has shown every ability to be able to connect all these pieces and understand what goes into playing postseason baseball.”

McMullen said he believes the team is on a good trajectory for continued success.

“If we just continue to prioritize the right things and we continue to perform and execute the way that we have, then we control our own fate,” McMullen said.

According to Alfers, maturity has been a big focus for the pitching staff.

“When you get on that mound, you’re facing really good hitters in our conference,” Alfers said. “I really try [not] to focus on the batter […] it’s more just me versus myself and making sure I can do everything in my control to throw the pitch that’s called in the right location. It’s [about] carrying confidence with you.”

Alfers said Diego Ramirez, the team’s new mental skills coach, has helped him focus more in competition.

“[Ramirez] has really helped us [with] how to breathe up there on the mound, how to lower your heart rate [and] how to have positive self talk,” Alfers said.

Pitcher Malcolm Munnich (junior) is sporting a 2.89 ERA across eight appearances, and said he has settled into a regular bullpen role this season. According to Munnich, the players all share a deep bond that transcends the diamond.

“Our coach was saying the other day that he’s heard the word ‘love’ more than he’s ever heard it before on a team,” Munnich said. “[Players say], ‘I love you, man. I love you, dude.’ These guys are more than just my teammates.”

Munnich said the team has high aspirations, and that they’re approaching the rest of the season one step at a time.

“We want to be a playoff team,” Munnich said. “We want to be in these conversations. On the back of our [warm up shirts], we all have a [logo] that says ‘WIN,’ [which stands for] ‘What’s Important Now.’ [We’re] focusing on taking care of business in the moment.”

Contact Angus Kapstein Parkhill at parkhill@oxy.edu

Softball goes 3-1 during Hawaii spring trip

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Angus Kapstein Parkhill

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April 4, 2026

Occidental softball travelled to O’ahu, Hawaii March 9–13, winning three games and losing one. The final four games were cancelled due to rain. The three wins were the first victories of the 2026 season for softball, marking a turnaround for the team.

Pitcher Jacynda Lindsay* (first year) said the shift was sparked by the change of scenery.

“[In] the first game against Dickinson, our coach said, ‘Take a deep breath and look out at the ocean, look at the waves and then look at your feet, because this is where we are right now,” Lindsay said. “‘Ground yourself. Play the game.’ And [then] we won.”

Lindsay said one of the difference makers was the team’s unity and mental clarity.

“We were playing less scared in Hawaii,” Lindsay said. “We were playing with more confidence. We were having more fun. I’ve gotten to know these girls so much more than I did before, and we’re finally able to understand each other in our playing styles and just as people in general.”

Pitcher Lehua Acoba (first year) said the trip helped build team chemistry, especially for the younger players.

“We have a really young team, and some of our starters are freshmen,” Acoba said. “I think everyone was trying to figure out how to work together, but then the trip brought us really close.”

Acoba, an O’ahu native, said it was a relief playing on her home turf.

“I felt a lot more comfortable playing at home, especially because we were playing at fields that I played at a lot in high school, so it felt familiar,” Acoba said. “It felt nice because all my friends [and] family were there to see me play at a collegiate level […] it was nice to have my team in my home state.”

Catcher Molly Houtkooper (junior) said the energy felt different when playing in Hawaii.

“[Before], we weren’t making it through full games with the same intensity that we started the game at,” Houtkooper said. “What changed is [that] the away trip takes a little bit of the pressure off. We’re there to play softball but also to have fun.”

Houtkooper said securing a statement victory in the first game against Dickinson was crucial for getting the ball rolling.

“We’ve been waiting for [a win] and all the pieces have been falling into place,” Houtkooper said. “We all went out there really wanting to win, and wanting to not only feel the win but feel successful in general. Being able to come out of the first game and run rule the other team was a super great feeling.”

Lindsay said softball is looking to capitalize on their recent success and carry that momentum into the rest of the season.

“We are going to win a series,” Lindsay said. “We’ve taken a lot of losses this season but that only makes [us] hungry. You only want that win more and more, and you put in more work […] everyone is ready to level up.”

Lindsay said she has big expectations for herself to perform well for the team, and focuses on putting in consistent effort.

“There’s obviously the expectation that you want to play perfectly, but there’s also the realization that you can never be perfect,” Lindsay said. “I expect myself to put 110 percent into every play and every pitch even before I get to the locker room — just being locked in and ready for the game, every step of the way, regardless of if I’m on the field or not.”

Houtkooper said she holds herself to a high standard as well.

“My goal is always just to put the ball in play and make the plays that need to be made,” Houtkooper said. “As far as what I expect from myself, it’s not necessarily perfection, but as close to it as I can get in a game of failure.”

Houtkooper said the team’s past losses don’t reflect poorly on their future.

“We have expectations in terms of how we perform, not necessarily in terms of the outcome,” Houtkooper said. “Even when we have those closer games and we come out on the losing end, those games can still be productive. The expectation is that everyone puts in as much energy and effort as they can on that given day. The results will come when they need to come.”

Lindsay said she’s happy to be representing softball on campus.

“I’m walking around in my softball uniform all day,” Lindsay said. “I feel proud to walk around with that Oxy softball shirt on, repping for the team.”

*Jacynda Lindsay is a photographer and illustrator at The Occidental.

Contact Angus Kapstein Parkhill at parkhill@oxy.edu

Oxy Athletics boosts productivity with FanWord AI

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Chloe Kummerer

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April 4, 2026

Occidental’s athletics department started utilizing FanWord AI, a leading storytelling AI company, to help recap games and write player bios Aug. 18, 2025.

Director of communications Joe Perrino said the software helps the athletics department prepare for upcoming games, as well as recap away games or weekend games that previously would have fallen through the cracks. According to Perrino, FanWord AI has been extremely helpful, saving him hours of work and allowing him to focus on other areas of importance for the department.

“It helps us sort data and [get] recaps out in a much quicker manner,” Perrino said. “It actually gives me some data – it says that it’s created 192 recaps, 127 player bios and saved 134 hours.”

Perrino said the time FanWord AI has saved him has allowed him to take on more projects of his own.

“I now have time to do this series on the website that highlights things from the previous week, and looks forward to the next week,” Perrino said.

Shanda Ness, director of athletics, said via email that FanWord AI has lightened Perrino’s workload.

“FanWord AI allows [Perrino] to be more efficient with [his] time,” Ness said. “One of the main benefits of FanWord is having the ability to generate game recaps and athletic stories in real time. This has been appreciated by athletics staff, student-athletes and fans.”

Though the service has been well received, Perrino said the department’s implementation of FanWord AI involved some obstacles. According to Perrino, there were discrepancies in FanWord’s earlier work due to the company’s beta-testing features, which interfered with the quality of game write-ups. Perrino said these errors required more work on his part to correct and humanize.

“I like to write in a very specific way,” Perrino said. “I wrote for my college newspaper […] so I’m particular about those things. I [changed] some words that I prefer to use.”

Perrino said there were sport-to-sport discrepancies in the quality of the work, which he said could be related to how much background information FanWord AI has about each sport. Perrino said FanWord has more information about sports that were first introduced to the AI.

“It writes differently for different sports,” Perrino said. “It writes basketball a little better than it would write soccer [….] I think [FanWord’s writing on] some of their older sports are a bit more advanced than the newer sports that they’ve been working on.”

Baseball head coach Luke Wetmore said some of the write-ups FanWord had completed earlier in the school year had something off about their character that didn’t quite fit into the world of baseball.

“I [was] reading a write-up, and it wasn’t written […] in the context of baseball,” Wetmore said. “It’s so glaringly obvious as someone who’s been around the game for 30 plus years.”

Since then, Wetmore said the initial quirks of the system have been worked out, and FanWord content has been able to substantially help the department.

“I haven’t noticed [discrepancies] in the most recent write-ups,” Wetmore said. “It sounds like Joe has been able to make the write-ups read the way [they] should for our individual sports. It’s a very useful tool to supplement the human aspect of the game [….] the things behind the numbers, behind the data.”

Contact Chloe Kummerer at kummerer@oxy.edu

Hot Corner: Professional sports don’t value players as people

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Mac Ribner and Benjamin Petteruti

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April 4, 2026

Content warning: This article discusses suicide.

MLB – Ben Petteruti

One hundred sixty two games is a grind. No matter how well baseball players take care of their bodies, injuries are almost inevitable. Players age and become injury-prone. Young stars need to adjust to the physical toll of being on the field every day. MLB’s best players have invested millions into physical recovery. But what about the mental side of the game?

Being on the diamond and chasing stardom can be a dream come true, but it can also be the loneliest place in the world. Every error is criticized. Every misplay written about extensively. Endless people are in your ear telling you what you’ve done wrong and what to fix. The opinions pile up and turn into attacks. Fans get angrier and angrier. In the age of sports gambling, all of these negatives increase exponentially.

Mental health has long been taboo in MLB. Players speaking up about anything related to mental health had been virtually unheard of until the story of Daniel Bard. Baseball culture is the main culprit. Often seen as hypermasculine and problematic, each MLB clubhouse across the league has its own tight-knit squad — and with it their own unwritten rules. Problems of anxiety, depression and other mental health issues often don’t qualify as acceptable topics for discussion in the locker room. Vulnerability too often comes at a price. MLB players being honest about what they’re dealing with can cost them their job. But there’s only so many ways to “rub some dirt on it” before the wheels fall off.

What has long been a sport that emphasizes toughness and “the strong silent type” is slowly working to change its historically problematic approach to dealing with player mental health issues. Players like Bard, Justin Duchscherer, Trevor May, Sean Doolittle and others have come forward to discuss their struggles with mental health. For some, they dealt with depression and anxiety silently for years, without getting the proper help they deserved. Some were able to push through the pain as players so often do, until the pressure became too much to bear. Some spent time on the Injured List with anxiety, something that brought further scrutiny from around the league. Critics argued these players were using their struggles with anxiety as excuses for why their performance on the field wasn’t what it used to be.

Baseball players are bred to deal with pressure. To put up with endless jeering from fans. To answer questions from the media when things go wrong on the field. What’s harder for fans to see is that players are still people when the jersey comes off. Players spend their whole lives preparing to make themselves the best they can be when they’re penciled onto a lineup card. Unfortunately, problems come when the pressure becomes too great, and players can’t get comfortable with their own identities and deal with mental health issues off the field. Over the course of MLB’s history, the list of player deaths by suicide (even with many going unreported) is tragically long.

Baseball, a sport that’s been popular in America since the 1850s, has only seen meaningful change on this subject within the last five years. Initiatives like the Mental Health and Wellness Program from the MLBPA and MLB’s “MLB Together” have emerged as useful resources for both major and minor league players. Several teams have hired mental health professionals or psychiatrists to aid their teams. All these things point towards positive change, but how soon will that change come?

As young Red Sox fans, we’ve been captivated by the story of Jarren Duran. After playing at Long Beach State, Duran was drafted in the 7th round by the Sox in 2018. He wasn’t a highly touted “blue chip” prospect, but he was expected to contribute to the team by late 2021.

Duran received major playing time starting in 2022, but his introduction to Boston was anything but smooth. On July 22, Duran lost a ball in the lights in center field, leading to an inside the park homer. The Blue Jays blew out the Sox. Duran was relentlessly lambasted by the media. Threats crossed the line with mentions that Duran should take his own life.

Duran has always been an open book during interviews with the media. He knows he’s his own worst enemy — he can’t ever seem to shake the mistakes he makes on the field. He’s always struggled with being overly critical of himself and his own performance. After the pressure mounted in 2022, things reached a breaking point.

Duran revealed in a Netflix documentary that he made a failed attempt on his own life during the 2022 season. He took it as a sign, saying, “I might have to be here for a reason.” Now, each game he wears wrists bands with “[****] ’em” and “Still Alive” on either arm as a constant reminder of the struggles he’s overcome. After the documentary aired last year, a Boston area teen suicide prevention hotline received a noticeable spike in usage. Duran knew he was lucky and chose to be vulnerable. Now, he may be doing for others what he couldn’t do for himself.

Despite these positive impacts, Duran is a complicated character who has made many mistakes. In the midst of a monster 2024 season, Duran was heard saying a homophobic slur to a fan at Fenway during an August game. Duran, who was in line to play in all 162 games that season, was suspended for two games by the Red Sox and his pay was given to PFLAG. Interestingly, Duran chose to wear his branded “[****] ‘em” T-shirt when speaking to the media afterwards, which sparked more criticism from writers and fans. Duran could surely stand to grow up. He has been caught in the crossfire of a personal mental health struggle and a need to exercise some more humility and responsibility for his actions.

Unfortunately, fans were inspired for all the wrong reasons following Duran’s suspension. His jersey sales quickly skyrocketed, and fans seemed further emboldened to use homophobic slurs and anti-gay rhetoric on team instagram posts.

Struggles continued during the 2025 season, when a Guardians fan yelled at Duran that “he should have killed himself when he had the chance,” according to Red Sox announcer Will Middlebrooks. Duran tried to force his way towards the fan in the stands, but was restrained by teammates and umpires. The fan was escorted out by security, and it’s unclear whether or not the fan has received a lifetime ban.

Knowingly or not, Duran put a target on his back by opening up. It’s up to him to prove that he can be cool-headed enough to deal with things in a respectful manner. Duran says he’s focused on baseball moving forward, but we know he continues to keep a mental health–related journal. If he’s really dedicated to the cause, he should continue speaking out — without inspiring praise at the cost of hate.

NFL – Mac Ribner

In week nine of the 2025 NFL season, Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland helped the special teams unit block a punt against the Arizona Cardinals, securing the ball in the end zone for a rare special teams touchdown. It was quite the impressive play for Kneeland — and football fans hoped it would be one of many for a player labeled as a potential breakout star at age 24.

Three days later, Kneeland was dead.

Kneeland was found in the early hours of Nov. 6 by police, who confirmed his death by way of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Just prior to his death, he had sent farewell texts to his family and friends. By the time those messages had been reported to authorities, it’s likely that Kneeland had already passed away.

The following week, the Cowboys paid tribute to Kneeland with players donning t-shirts bearing his likeness, along with helmet decals sporting his number 94. As Kneeland’s jersey sat behind the bench, the Cowboys thrashed the Las Vegas Raiders in a victory many hoped would be a sweet ending to a tremendously bitter snapshot of football history.

Despite this tribute, Kneeland’s tragedy would only be followed by more heartbreak. Just three months later, another NFL player — Rondale Moore of the Minnesota Vikings — was found dead in his garage at 25 years old. Police investigation revealed Moore’s life ended in a manner eerily similar to Kneeland’s — by way of his own bullet.

While Kneeland had expressed feelings of depression prior to his death, Moore seemingly suffered in silence. After constant knee injuries derailed what looked to be a promising football career, Moore had essentially fallen off the NFL community’s radar. It’s not surprising to see athletes flame out young — especially at a demanding position like wide receiver — but the sheer speed with which Moore’s career deteriorated was an anomaly even amongst his peers.

The nature of Moore’s physical health is likely to have played a role in his mental tribulations as well. When athletes face career-altering injuries, the road to recovery is inextricably intertwined between body and mind.

After tearing his achilles tendon in the prime of his career, Celtics forward Jayson Tatum was forthright regarding the mental agony involved in his rehab process. It’s easy for people to imagine the highlights of athletic life, but most childhood daydreams don’t involve crutch-assisted showers or mornings spent in tears.

Moore didn’t command the superstar status that is seemingly necessary to warrant media focus on his recovery, but it’s hard to imagine that he didn’t feel a similar anguish. What little coverage Moore received was mostly dedicated to deeming his career a failure, despite him still being young enough to live with his parents.

The ugly truth of the matter is that for every extensively-chronicled injury recovery in sports, there are many that are completely unexplored — unless such coverage is in the interest of scrutiny or schadenfreude. It’s not realistic to expect intense documentation for every such instance, but it’s worth questioning why sympathy is apparently only reserved for superstars.

While the general sporting world largely offered routine condolences for Kneeland and Moore in the wake of their deaths, some athletes have attempted to provide new solutions to what has been described as a mental health crisis in sports.

A.J. Green, a former NFL wide receiver and teammate of Rondale Moore, proposed making mental health consultation a mandatory aspect of injury rehab. Speaking from the perspective of a longtime NFL veteran, Green stated that mental health concerns in sports are primarily viewed as a detriment to a player’s potential career earnings — and thus as something to be concealed. Green said this standard incentivizes players to lie about their mental health — a trend that he believes will continue until the league implements practices to reverse it.

Green’s theory also points to one of the most harrowing aspects of these deaths — they’re merely the latest in a series of tragedies to befall football players. Legendary linebacker Junior Seau committed suicide in 2012, just four years after his retirement. LSU football’s neglect of an injury to team captain Greg Brooks Jr. led to him suffering irreparable brain damage. The ongoing crisis of CTE has claimed the careers — and lives — of multiple football players.

These issues are not new, and they certainly aren’t isolated, despite what the NFL would lead you to believe. The football community is facing an ongoing player mental health emergency, and this recent string of deaths is yet another reminder of the desperate need for change. Those involved in football’s executive world would be wise to heed the words of players like Green before more lives are needlessly lost in service of the gridiron.

Contact Mac Ribner at ribner@oxy.edu and Ben Petteruti at petteruti@oxy.edu

Opinion: NBA must go beyond canceling ‘Magic City Monday’

By

Samhita Krishnan

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April 4, 2026

When the Atlanta Hawks announced “Magic City Monday,” it initially felt like just another themed game night. The promotion promised lemon pepper wings, exclusive merchandise and a halftime performance from T.I., all in tribute to one of Atlanta’s most well-known institutions. Then the backlash began.

San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet publicly called for the event’s cancellation, arguing that celebrating a strip club made the league “complicit in the potential objectification and mistreatment of women.” Within weeks, the National Basketball Association (NBA) stepped in and canceled the promotion, citing concerns from across the league.

The story moved quickly. It sparked debate, generated headlines and then disappeared just as fast. But the question it raised did not.

I grew up watching men’s basketball, and even as a kid, something felt off. The players on the court were celebrated, their names on jerseys, their stats debated at school. The women on the sidelines wore different uniforms for different reasons. I remember asking my mom why the women weren’t playing. She didn’t have a great answer. Looking back, that silence said more than any explanation could have.

Long before “Magic City Monday,” women were already part of the NBA’s product. Every game features a dance team. Every performance is choreographed, costumed and built into the entertainment of the night. The format is so familiar that it rarely registers as noteworthy, which is exactly what makes the reaction to Magic City feel different. The concern was not about the presence of sexualized performance. It was about acknowledging it.

At a typical NBA game, dancers perform in coordinated routines while male athletes command the court and the salaries. The structure is not subtle, but the league rarely frames it as controversial. Instead, it presents it as tradition, entertainment and part of the overall experience. League officials do not issue statements on objectification, nor do they call for reform. But when the same dynamic becomes explicit through a strip club collaboration, the response shifts immediately. The distinction is less about what is happening and more about how visible the league allows it to be.

Philosopher Martha Nussbaum describes objectification as reducing a person to what they provide for others, treating them as instruments rather than as agents. From this perspective, the issue is not simply whether sexualized performance exists. The issue is who controls it, who benefits from it and whose labor the public chooses to overlook. Kornet’s statement reflects this tension. His call to protect “daughters, wives, sisters, mothers” frames women through their relationships to men, a language that often appears in conversations about protection. Although the sentiment may be well-intentioned, it shifts the focus away from women as workers with agency and toward women as people whose value derives from someone else.

At the same time, the women already working within professional sports entertainment remain largely absent from the conversation. The conditions they face are not new. Reports over the past decade have documented low wages, strict appearance standards and limited labor protections in cheer and dance programs. Lawsuits, including one filed by Houston Texans cheerleaders in 2018, have described systems of surveillance and control that extend far beyond performance. Those realities have not generated the same level of urgency. Instead, outrage appears most forcefully when the association becomes too explicit, when the boundary between “respectable entertainment” and adult labor becomes harder to maintain.

Even then, the workers themselves often get excluded from the discussion. In the case of Magic City, several dancers expressed support for the collaboration and described their work as performance, even art. Their perspectives circulated far less widely than the criticism. The debate, in other words, did not center on these women.

Supporters of the NBA’s decision might argue that the league has a responsibility to maintain a family-friendly environment and to avoid explicitly associating itself with adult entertainment. From that perspective, canceling the promotion was not about denying existing dynamics, but about setting reasonable boundaries for what the league chooses to endorse publicly. Professional sports operate as mass entertainment, and preserving a broadly accessible image is part of that role. That argument carries weight. Leagues do have to consider audiences, sponsors and public perception. Not every form of cultural expression translates seamlessly into a stadium setting.

However, that distinction becomes less convincing when the underlying dynamics remain unchanged. If the concern were truly about objectification, it would extend to the structures already embedded within the game-day experience. Drawing the line only when the association becomes explicit suggests that the issue is not the dynamic itself, but its visibility. It is tempting to interpret the NBA’s decision as a protective measure, a clear line drawn in defense of women. However, the line is selective. The league did not dismantle its dance teams, nor did it address working conditions. It canceled a promotion. That distinction matters.

Professional sports rely on carefully managed images. Certain forms of performance are acceptable as long as they remain contained, stylized and familiar. Others, even when they closely resemble what already exists, are treated as crossing a line. In this case, the league is not protecting women as much as it is protecting its own image. That image depends on a careful balance. The spectacle can include stylized versions of femininity, but only within limits. It must remain suggestive without becoming explicit, and visible without being acknowledged too directly. “Magic City Monday” disrupted that balance by making something explicit that usually remains implicit. When that happened, the league did not reevaluate the system. It restored the boundary.

The promotion was canceled, but the underlying structure remained unchanged. What appeared to be a stand against objectification ultimately aimed to manage how that objectification was perceived. The league did not remove the dynamic; it simply reinforced the conditions under which it remains acceptable.

Contact Samhita Krishnan at krishnan@oxy.edu

Opinion: The Phantom of our Orchestras

By

Levi Lee

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April 4, 2026

“The Phantom of the Opera” is one of the most recognizable musicals ever, if I may be so bold. When asked to think about it, what do you see? The half-mask? A rose? Maybe the iconic chandelier? A variety of images may come to mind. Now, what do you hear? There is an almost ubiquitous answer. How could it be anything other than the chromatic scale of the musical’s opening motif? Instantly recognizable, the chromatic scale, performed at the beginning of every showing, is one of the highlights of a live performance of this musical. But what if I told you that if you were to see “The Phantom of the Opera” live today, those iconic scales would likely be a recording?

Since the show’s first run, the original 27-member orchestra has been cut multiple times as a result of budget, spacing and various other factors. The current American tour orchestra sits at half of its previous force, with 14 musicians. This is not a problem unique to “The Phantom of the Opera”; lots of musicals use keyboards and recordings to pad out the soundtrack. After all, how audible is the difference anyway? Well, that’s not really the underlying issue. Yes, sound quality is hugely important in live performances, especially in music-centered productions like musical theatre, operas or ballets. But the shrinking of “The Phantom of the Opera’s” orchestra is indicative of a larger systemic issue with Broadway, musical theatre and the performing arts as a whole.

Actor Timothee Chalamet recently stated, “I don’t want to be working in ballet, or opera, or things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive, even though like no one cares about this anymore.’” As someone with no strong feelings or thoughts towards Chalamet, his comment made me reflect on the state of our public arts today. His comment ignited an online firestorm about the role these forms of media played in shaping the modern theatre and cinema scene. Despite being a fan of the opera and the ballet, I couldn’t help but agree with his sentiment to an extent. Even in online discussions, Gen Z does seem to accept that these arts are in decline. As a generation, we seem less inclined to continue supporting the opera or the ballet. Yet, this decline may not be completely intentional.

Earlier this week, my friends and I were looking forward to seeing the musical “Hadestown” at the Cerritos Centrer in Riverside. While shopping for tickets, we realized that we had effectively been priced out of seeing the show. Good visibility seats (e.g., stalls or second balcony) often cost anywhere from $135 to $360. Now, I’m sure some of you are jumping out of your seats to remind me that pricing is proportional to a good view, and that if I wanted cheaper seats, I should be willing to sacrifice something. I won’t disagree with that point of view, but I do believe the arts should be accessible to everyone. As a college student, I’m lucky to occasionally get access to student discounts or free tickets for the LA Philharmonic and other local events. For others who don’t have access to these benefits, attending live theatre is costly.

Since the pandemic, our generation’s spending habits have changed. Culturally, our generation has been raised to consider frugality and practicality in our spending. Simply put, to engage in these types of arts frequently, you have to have enough money.

Of course, there are other reasons for a decline in attendance. Danny Feldman, an artistic director at Pasadena Playhouse, said in an interview with the LA Times, “The passive arts experience is less interesting to [Gen Z]. The trend is that they’re makers, content creators.” But is that really the case? According to a recent study published on Playbill, over 67% of Millennials and Gen Z are “Broadway curious.” The article acknowledges that the most common reason for hesitating to purchase tickets is pricing, yet notes that 83% of respondents want to use the theatre as a space to disconnect from the internet.

Ultimately, the issue seems to boil down to finances. Producers cut down the orchestra or the cast to save money, and people can’t attend because the tickets are out of their price range. The result? High ticket prices draw audiences to older shows they already know, where they can guarantee a satisfactory experience, dooming new shows to increasingly precarious openings.

As old-fashioned as it sounds, I think patronage should make a comeback. No, not patronage in the traditional sense, where patrons have extra control over productions or management, but something adjacent. Millionaires and billionaires sit on their dollars, and use this money to wage war, exploit workers and police our bodies. My solution? A millionaire tax that funds and subsidizes the arts for the general public. They shouldn’t know which exact production their funds go to, to limit interference over thematic disagreements, but maybe allow some privileges, like nicer seating or free tickets every once in a while, to keep them incentivized.

I’ve always thought the arts are the soul of humanity; to be cut off from them or limited by finances is a shame. Artists and audiences alike want to be a part of these vibrant experiences. Why should we let money stop us from having the communities we’ve been yearning for? Maybe recordings will continue to replace orchestras, but those recordings can’t recreate the music’s soul. Operas and musicals like “The Phantom of the Opera” have been driving forces behind my motivation and sparking creative ideas for years. In their performances, actors, musicians and crew remind us to push boundaries and continue appreciating the arts around us. I hope the passion we each carry for music, dance and the performing arts drives their continued adaptation and survival.

Contact Levi Lee at leev@oxy.edu

Opinion: ‘I don’t know’ is a perfect post-grad answer

By

Martina Long

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April 4, 2026

Although there are still two months until many of my classmates and I graduate, the infamous six-word question “What are you doing after college?” has begun to circulate and has us all sweating.

It is a question that seems simple on the surface, almost polite in conversation. But for many of us, it forces us out of the present, out of celebrating everything we’ve already accomplished and into a future we are expected to have perfectly planned. Six words that immediately seem to invalidate the four years of hard work we are so close to completing.

Society constantly pushes us to think ahead, optimize and plan. In this modern world, it feels impossible not to. There’s this quiet but persistent feeling that we are always behind. If we pause for a second, we will fall too far behind to ever catch up. A feeling that taking a break means risking our dreams entirely.

I’ve felt that pressure in very real ways: staying up late applying to countless jobs or building five-year plans that feel more like survival strategies than aspirations, only to wake up more anxious than I was the night before.

And then there’s the conflicting advice. Every “mentor” seems to offer some version of reassurance — “you’ll find your way” — while also reminding you to stay ahead and keep moving. It’s meant to be helpful, but it often leaves many of us with more anxiety about when we will find that path.

What makes this question feel even heavier right now is the reality of the job market. A friend recently told me she had to interview four separate times for a bagger position at her local grocery store. Four interviews for a job that not long ago would have been considered entry-level and accessible for those without a degree. Stories like this aren’t rare anymore.

The New York Times highlights how many recent graduates are struggling even to get a foot in the door. One graduate applied to over 200 jobs and received only four interviews. The search became so discouraging that she began seeing a therapist to manage the stress. She emphasized just how hopeless the process felt, joking that starting her own company might be easier than getting hired.

There is also the looming fear that artificial intelligence will reshape entire industries, alongside a growing trend in which even lower-level positions now require advanced degrees. Jobs that were once stepping stones are becoming increasingly out of reach, as more qualified candidates compete for fewer opportunities.

The impact is showing. Research spanning 17 years found more than one-third of graduate students are at risk of anxiety distress, with severe anxiety on the rise. These aren’t isolated feelings; they are part of a broader mental health reality tied to academic and professional uncertainty.

So when someone asks, “What are you doing after college?” it’s not just a question about future plans, it’s one shaped by economic instability and rising expectations.

The problem isn’t the lack of an answer. Maybe it’s the expectation that there should be a thought–out or linear response.

If anything, we need to start reframing what we consider success. Not having a “perfect” job lined up does not erase years of hard work and growth. Taking an unconventional path, whether that’s a temporary job, a gap period or exploring different fields, is not falling behind. Looking for a dream job, especially in today’s market, is a job in itself, so we need to expand our understanding of what progress looks like.

Not everything meaningful has to be tied to long-term employment. Finding hobbies, building communities and creating routines that ground us are just as important. They remind us that our value as humans is not solely defined by our productivity, which this country constantly prioritizes.

This mindset might be hard to adopt given the pressure we face from the world around us, and at times, from our very own families. This is all advice I’m still learning to take on myself, as a perpetual over-thinker and deeply ingrained overachiever.

The next time someone asks me what I’m doing after I graduate, I want to feel less pressure to perform and more freedom to be honest.

Saying “Actually, I have no idea” should be enough.

Contact Martina Long at mlong2@oxy.edu

Opinion: We need to stop villainizing fat people

By

Emma Williams

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April 4, 2026

Content warning: this article discusses eating disorders and disordered behavior.

My FYS (First Year Seminar), “Fatness,” gets the widest array of reactions when I tell people I am taking it, usually with jokes about what the course covers. But I simply explain to them, yes, this class is about fat people and how discrimination against fat people can be very harmful. As I told my friend about this, she told me that while that might be true, she couldn’t support fat people because they are unhealthy.

Her response stopped me in my tracks. This sort of thinking plays into a larger notion of how we have moralized people’s bodies, labeling people healthy and unhealthy. Saying all fat people are unhealthy is an untrue stereotype that depicts fat people as morally bad. Recent studies have concluded that 80% of a person’s weight is genetic. In Audrey Gordon’s book “What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat,” Gordon writes about a nurse’s surprise when she realized Gordon’s blood pressure was at a normal range, indicating she was healthy.

There is a growing health issue in the U.S., but it isn’t weight-related; it has to do with processed foods. Conflating these two issues of health and fat people allows others to make rude comments about fatness disguised as concern. Gordon writes about how the advice and hurtful comments directed at her were disguised as concern for her health.

Social media perpetuates the idea that being thin should be our ultimate goal. On TikTok, people make videos saying, “Might be getting cancer but at least I’ll be skinny!” or, “The only thing consistent in my life is the desire to be skinny.” It doesn’t take long online to find advice on weight loss, presented as something everyone should want to do. According to a study done by Yale, women of all ages report levels of body dissatisfaction, with half saying they would give up a year of their life to be thinner. In that same study, 15 to 30% also said they would rather walk away from marriages, give up the possibility of having children, be depressed or be an alcoholic rather than be fat.

People spend so much time moralizing about body size and making fat people the villain. Take Disney villains, for example. According to a study of Disney characters, of the 124 identified fat Disney characters, 70% depicted one or more negative stereotypes about fat people. This trend relates to a bigger trope in media related to fat people. Many negative stereotypes around fat people include both women and men being viewed as less sexually attractive, dumb and overeaters. It’s no wonder that all these negative stereotypes associated with fat people have convinced others to associate fatness with bad traits.

This idea about morality’s connection to thinness means that we are unable to have empathy for fat people. When people view fat people as morally wrong, it creates a separation between fat and thin people, who refuse to feel any empathy or understanding for the discrimination fat people face. Many fat people will receive medical discrimination, and medical professionals will tell them that to stop an ear infection, they should lose weight, two completely unrelated things. Gordon explains how some airlines, such as Southwest, require fat people to buy two seats or will not let them on the plane. As Gordon discusses in her book, fat women, when sexually assaulted, will often get told that they should be grateful because fat people are unattractive.

The effort to be thin takes so much from us. So many of my friends have come to me and had numerous conversations about our bodies and weight. One friend even said she wishes she could just be thinner; if she had the money, she would take Ozempic in a heartbeat. One friend has been fighting an eating disorder. While in recovery, this desire to be thin still controls so much of her and has even shut down some of her empathy when I attempted to explain the discrimination fat people face.

I think so many other people, including myself in the past, did believe that being thin makes you morally superior. But what my fatness class has taught me the most is that now, I can’t help but see discrimination against fat people in so many aspects of my life. I even see it here at Occidental. According to a study done at Occidental in 2022, 42% of fat students report experiencing at least one instance of discrimination based on body size. I hear it in everyday conversations, and I think a school with so many people who care about social justice issues is overlooking a critical one, and how it intersects with so many other issues. My fatness class has taught me not to view bodies in terms of good or bad, but instead just as people.

Contact Emma Williams at ewilliams4@oxy.edu

The Occidental newsroom wins five state awards, including best newspaper website

By

The Occidental

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April 4, 2026

The Occidental newsroom won five 2025 California College Media Awards this March, including Best Newspaper website in the state for colleges under 15,000 students. The award is for work done in the 2025 calendar year. Occidental’s awards are for the category of colleges under 15,000 students.

The Occidental Editor-in-Chief Nora Youngelson (senior) said, “I am incredibly proud of the team of talented journalists who work on this paper, and it is an honor to receive recognition for our work.”

James Miller (senior) and Emma Cho ’25 won first place for Best Feature Story for their Feb. 5, 2025 article, “‘Did we just lose everything we’ve invested all our lives into’: Occidental community grapples with Eaton Fire.” Miller and Cho interviewed faculty, staff and a student who were affected by the Jan. 7, 2025 fires.

Jacob Whitney ’25 won second place for Best Breaking News for his May 8, 2025 article, “Oxy SJP protest and confrontation with security at Stritikus’s inauguration expose strong divides across campus communities.” Whitney’s coverage of the event also won an honorable mention in the national Associated Collegiate Press contest October 2025.

Francine Ghazarian (junior) won third place for Best Non-Breaking News Story for her Nov. 12, 2025 article, “Occidental ranked 151st out of 257 colleges for free speech climate.”

Anthony Cordova (first year) won Third Place for Best Sports Photograph for his Nov. 8, 2025 photo of celebrating Occidental soccer teammates in the article, “Men’s soccer wins SCIAC, women’s team makes playoffs for first time in four years.”

“The CCM Awards are a reflection of the time and energy that our team dedicates to the newsroom every single week. Now more than ever, student journalism is crucial not only to our college campus but to all the communities that we are taking part in,” Youngelson said.

To contact The Occidental staff, email theoccidental@oxy.edu.

Maciel’s Plant-Based Butcher Shop ranked best sandwich in California

By

Amelia Darling

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April 4, 2026

Maciel’s Plant-Based Butcher Shop, a vegan restaurant co-owned by husband and wife Joe Egender and Maciel Bañales Luna, was featured in an Only In Your State ranking of “The 50 Best Sandwich Shops Across the U.S.,” coming in at No. 1 in California and No. 5 nationwide. The restaurant, located at 5933 York Blvd., is known for its plant-based meats and cheeses made in-house, according to the restaurant’s website.

According to Senior Editor of Only In Your State, Marisa Roman, the publication wanted to highlight Maciel’s Plant-Based Butcher for thinking outside the box.

“Being a ‘plant-based butcher and deli’ is so wildly cool,” Roman said via email. “They’re stepping outside the mold of what we’ve, as a culture, always known delis and butcher shops to be.”

Roman said selecting Maciel’s was not a challenge, as the shop is doing something really special.

“Creating a vegan sandwich that’s truly craveable [is] rare, and it’s absolutely worth sharing with our audience,” Roman said via email.

Egender said neither he nor Bañnales Luna currently eat meat, but he grew up eating a lot of it in Kansas City.

“I think there‘s a misconception that vegans and vegetarians don’t like meat, […] but I think a lot of people love the taste of meat; it’s delicious and humans have been eating it for a long time,” Egender said.

According to Egender, Bañnales Luna, who has both a master’s and PhD in nutrition, cares deeply about the environment, animal rights and food.

“For a long time, vegans and vegetarians had one or two options in the grocery store that weren’t necessarily very delicious,” Egender said. “[Bañnales Luna] thought, ‘Why can’t there be really good, delicious plant-based meats that are healthy for you and […] come close to looking, tasting, smelling like, real meat?’”

According to Egender, their meats are mostly legume-based with seitan added for extra protein. Egender said figuring out the techniques for making their meats was a challenge.

“Some of them were steamed, some were cooked, some were in the oven,” Egender said. “We have someone that comes overnight, kind of like a bakery, and makes the meats.”

Egender said Bañales Luna started making meat at home when they were living in New York. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

“COVID changed everybody. It made everybody go: ‘Am I looking at my life the way I want to be looking at my life?’” Egender said. “People made bigger decisions around COVID, and that’s certainly what we did.”

Egender said the couple decided to open their shop in LA because, after previously living in the city and knowing people in its restaurant scene, they had a strong foundation here. Egender said they also wanted to be closer to Mexico.

“Maciel is from Mexico, so we’re closer to her family. There’s also some Mexican elements to influence [our food],” Egender said. “We thought that it made a little bit more sense in Los Angeles.”

According to Roman, Only In Your State looked for restaurants paying respect to their heritage when creating its ranking.

“When it came to naming the best restaurants, we looked beyond buzz,” Roman said via email. “We also considered accessibility, inclusivity, affordability, hours and overall value — while giving extra credit to spots that balance creativity and innovation with respect for their culinary roots.”

Egender said initially, the idea was to sell plant-based meats, but they wanted to escape the small bubble of vegetarian and vegan customers. Now, Egender said customers can get hooked on the sandwiches and come back to buy just the plant-based meat products. According to Egender, customers sometimes come in skeptical, but once they try a sandwich, they return for the plant-based turkey or bacon.

“We needed to make sandwiches so people could come and experience the meats and then come back and start buying [the other products],” Egender said.

Returning customer Crystal Newcomer said she keeps coming back because the food is really good and she strives to support local businesses.

“We get something different every time,” Newcomer said. “The food is fantastic […], and we’re big fans of the restaurant.”

When new customers walk into the shop, Egender said they do not always know it is a vegan sandwich shop. Egender said they try to be conservative with branding, sticking to classic names for their sandwiches like ‘Reuben,’ ‘Philly Cheese Steak’ and ‘Fried Chicken Sandwich.’

“The twist is that it’s vegan,” Egender said.

Contact Amelia Darling at adarling@oxy.edu

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