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Backdoor Science explores the scientific world and updates the Occidental community on all of its happenings. Each week we will bring you engaging stories behind scientific history and current events.
Backdoor Science is Chris Discolo, Nick Thomas, Elya Shamskhou, Griffin Mead, and Franklin Maharaj.
President Jonathan Veitch and senior administrators discussed topics such as campus renovations, fundraising and diversity at the the first in a series of campus community meetings in Choi Auditorium on Tuesday. Students, staff and faculty packed the auditorium to hear from college officials on these issues and the strategic plan underlying administrative actions.
At the meeting, Vice President for Finance and Planning Amos Himmelstein announced plans to renovate the Academic Commons, the main entrance to campus and the Career Development Center. According to Himmelstein, the college has also brought an outside contractor onto campus to assess the conditions of facilities and provide a report to guide the direction of future projects.
The college has a higher fundraising goal this year than in previous years, according to Vice President for Institutional Advancement Shelby Radcliffe. These funds will support the school’s scholarship fund as well as campus renovations and improvements. Veitch also noted in his remarks that fundraising is essential to ensure that students from various backgrounds will have access to an Occidental education.
Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College Jorge Gonzales announced plans to hire eight tenure-track professors by next fall, the largest cohort of new hires in recent years. The new positions are part of an effort to improve the ratio of students-to-tenured-professors. Eight professors are also planning to retire at the end of this semester, according to Gonzalez.
Radcliffe concluded the meeting by addressing the issue of diversity among both students and faculty – an issue which was also raised later in the question and answer portion of the meeting. As part of an effort to increase diversity, the school plans to create a new minor in Africana studies and focus next year’s academic theme on “emancipation.” Senior staff will also attend training on the issue and a survey will be distributed to measure diversity on campus.
According to Gonzales, the administration intends to host two community meetings per semester to continue campus dialogue.
“We had a lot of these kind of meetings when we were at the beginning of the strategic planning process,” Gonzalez said of Tuesday’s meeting. “But we just came to realize that we haven’t done one of these since about a year ago, and we thought it was absolutely important to do this.”
The first time I went to England, it was a whirlwind trip. My stepmother had put together an ambitious itinerary in both length (double digit page number) and content. For a two week trip, the end goal was seemingly to become so well versed in British history and culture that we could become citizens. We studied monuments, deciphering their meaning and intended subject they memorialized. We climbed each of the winding staircase steps up to the top of Big Ben. We pondered each and every stone marker of the Royals who lay deceased in Westminster Abbey. We dragged our jet-lagged bodies through countless museums, our ears covered with the headphones from the heavily accented audio guides. It was an educational trip through a country with a vast and storied history.
Though we saw everything, I remembered little of it all. I strongly remember being laughed at by old English women as I fell in and out of sleepy consciousness on a double-decker bus. I remember oohing and awing over the precious, glittering stones of the Crown Jewels. I remember seeing the Rosetta Stone and giggling to myself over it being the only object in the British Museum that was under layers of bulletproof glass.
Upon returning to England, I craved to revisit some of the sites I wandered through with bleary eyes and heavy feet. Of those sites, one of the first on my list was certainly the Victoria and Albert museum. I had visited the V&A; with my family, naturally, but it had embarrassingly all blurred into my memory. This is likely because we had stuck with content of pure, classic historical value, rather than what I really wanted to see at the design-centric museum: the fashion history exhibit. Don’t get me wrong, classical textbook history fascinates me. It’s just that my passion is for fashion, which is not a subject that my dad and stepmother had on our itinerary. Luckily, this time I could set the agenda and I got to stroll happily through a lesson on fashion history.
The V&A; has everything a fashionista might want to learn about, from fabrics to designs to the biggest names in the industry. The featured exhibit was on London fashion in the 80s, aptly titled “Club to Catwalk.” It was loud and bright and vibrant, with a superb gift shop. The museum’s permanent collection is even better though, featuring looks from over 200 years of design history.
The main collection is set up like a timeline, beginning with 18th century styles. Chinoiserie period fabrics from China, India, and the Middle East hang on displays alongside carefully crafted garments, demonstrating how exotic fabrics and far away lands inspired design and changed the look of the public. The “Mantua” Gown is displayed in all its glory, making the most of the side hoop skirt design favored in the 18th century. It is bizarre looking, but held a purpose: a voluminous skirt eventuated a narrow waste, while the side hoop skirt made hips appear wide and good for child bearing. Fear not, gentlemen – extraordinary hats perched atop powdered wigs, formal brocade jackets, and silky stockings also line the walls.
Moving into the 19th century and Victorian attire, we see the emergence of even more figure conscious womenswear. Crinolines, the layers of fabric and caging beneath a dress to provide shape to a gown were evolving to become more flexible and lightweight. Corsets became a necessity and were created with great care. The museum has a particularly beautiful one on display, in vibrant red and yellow with glorious stitching, would have cinched in the waist of a young lady to an impossibly small size. Also on display are heavily bustled dresses, sumptuous velvet evening gowns, and accessories galore.
The 20th century designs are where we see fashion really evolve. The suffering involved in wearing a corset is rejected. Haute Couture, Zoot Suits, and flapper style all come to life. Vivienne Westwood, preeminent British designer and worldwide fashion icon, begins her domination of avant garde looks. France, Paris specifically, becomes the home of luxury fashion with high-quality fabrics, trimmings, and all things glamorous coming through the city. Perhaps most importantly, “Ready-to-Wear” or “prét-a-porter” clothing becomes available. If this is a term you haven’t heard before, its because unless all of your clothes are tailor made or couture, all retail clothing is ready-to-wear.
Fashion history is positively spectacular. It boggles the mind and awakens the eyes, taking in both how styles changed with history and how rapidly style has changed in the last 100 years. The details, quality, colors and embellishments tantalize viewers young and old. It appalls me that fashion isn’t taken more seriously, for it truly is an art form like no other, having to strike a balance between the whimsical world of design and the practicality of keeping one clothed. Karl Lagerfeld, the man behind Chanel, commented on this relationship, saying “We need houses as we need clothes, architecture stimulates fashion. It’s like hunger and thirst — you need them both.”
At the V&A; Museum, this fashion-phile couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. I wanted to take every item home to play infinite hours of dress up and examine each careful stitch and design. I not only love fashion for it’s playfulness and exuberance, but respect every bit of it.
For those who missed it, the Super Bowl just ended. It was easy to miss this year because there was nothing super about any of it.
The football game (which is still the main event, technically) was like watching a professional team play a bunch of children. The coin toss was a microcosm for the entire game: An old quarterback made a mistake and the Seahawks came out victorious.
Then there were the commercials, which are famous for being outlandish, crazy and often sexual. There was one, maybe two commercials worth watching. Disappointment does not even begin to describe the commercial experience this year.
The halftime show could have been the only saving grace – too bad the performer was Bruno Mars. The Red Hot Chili Peppers provided the nudity of the evening. Curious how they (wonderful, amazing band that they are) can go shirtless, but Justin Timberlake pulls off a teeny portion of Janet Jackson’s wardrobe and the whole sports world goes into a tailspin. For the last 10 years, it has been amazing to think that it is all because of one boob. Well, not the Broncos playing the worst game of football in recent memory, but the new, boring, animal-filled commercials and the lackluster halftime show.
To be fair: Timberlake did warn her that he would have her naked by the end of the song. But also to be fair: Timberlake needed something to come out of his phase as a member of a boy band, and he was the one who ripped it off, not Jackson. So, really, blaming just Jackson all these years later is unfair.
But the real question that remains is why American society, or at least the NFL, has not gotten over such an event. Scholars and academics have been researching for the past 10 years what has changed since that halftime show. And things certainly have changed in the Super Bowl. The pomp and circumstance is gone; the Super Bowl is no longer the spectacle that it once was. It is just another football game for all intents and purposes.
And there are a lot of people who were really disappointed by that aspect of this year’s Super Bowl. There was very little about which to Facebook for everyone but Seattle fans and the few brave Broncos fans who signed on after the game.
Finally, the most epic game of the football season seems to have returned to what it is meant to be: a football game. Maybe the game was horrid this year, but it’s a game of football, not a commercial stomping ground or a halftime show. So if people don’t know who is playing the actual game, then there should be nothing for them to watch.
No one is going to miss the “who’s playing?” question during the middle of the biggest sporting event of the year. So here’s to going back to the game of football and throwing out the rest of the garbage distractions.
President Jonathan Veitch announced Friday that Ruth Jones will join the Occidental staff as Title IX coordinator, ending a hiring process that started with Veitch’s Mar. 1 sexual assault update email.
According to Veitch, the role of the Title IX coordinator is to ensure compliance with Title IX, a portion of a constitutional amendment that prohibits exclusion from federally-sponsored activities based on gender.The coordinator’s responsibilities include responding to complaints of discrimination, leading a committee on sexual assault and organizing Title IX-related training and education. The hiring of such a coordinator was prompted by suggestions from Leslie Smith and Gina Gomez, attorneys hired by the school last spring to review sexual misconduct policies, and suggestions by the Occidental Sexual Assault Coalition to remove the position of Title IX coordinator from its previous position in the Student Affairs Office.
As the first permanent Title IX coordinator for Occidental, Jones will work in the President’s Office and report to the president. However, Jones is quick to assert her independence.
“I am in the president’s office but I am independent,” Jones said in an interview. “My job is to work with everyone.”
In a similar vein, Jones also emphasized the importance of working closely with students to inform her work.
“Students have to be involved in order to really have a policy and procedure that resonates with the reality of life,” Jones said.
Students will have their first chance to collaborate with Jones at a community meeting on Feb. 4 at 11:30 a.m. in Choi Auditorium. Jones plans to introduce herself and answer questions from the audience.
Jones’ initial aim is to improve transparency on the issue of sexual misconduct on campus. This change involves frank and open discussions on sensitive issues, such as implementing a zero-tolerance policy or verbal consent policy.
“One of the things I hope to contribute is to reframe the discussion, so that people can do more than just say ‘Zero tolerance – yes!’ or ‘Zero tolerance – no!’” Jones said. “No, let’s talk about what that means, let’s talk about what the objectives are going forward.”
Jones will formally begin work on campus on Feb. 24, but students can currently reach her by sending an email to ruthjones@oxy.edu.
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan held an open Twitter conversation on Monday night directed at students and their families. Using #StuVoice, students of all ages could ask questions, share opinions or comment on the cost and accessibility of higher education. The virtual conversation lasted two hours.
“Students – join me tonight at 8:30pm ET for a special #StuVoice Twitter chat about college affordability. http://go.usa.gov/ZmRA ,” Duncan (@arneduncan) tweeted that day.
Many commenters focused on college affordability; a hot topic of news as the cost of college has continued to rise in the last few years. Some commenters looked to the European Union and free education to guide their opinions on the matter.
“Did you know it would take $62.8 billion dollars to make public college tuition-free? That is only about 11% of military spending. #StuVoice,” Stephanie Rivera (@stephrrivera) tweeted.
Throughout the chat, Duncan responded with resources and other sites to visit. He also tweeted questions to direct conversation.
“Students, what is important to think about when you consider the “value” of a college? #StuVoice,” he tweeted. The secretary of education is working with President Obama to create a ranking system for colleges based on their value, and during the conversation he focused most of his questions on the college decision-making process.
Student conversation with Duncan will continue every Monday night at 8:30 EST.
Author: Sam Ovenshine & Mary Brant
In a move signaling renewed commitment to sustainability on campus, the Occidental College Bookstore has begun offering T-shirts from the Alta Gracia label, a popular sweatshop-free clothing line. The label is sold on 400 of the nation’s most well-known college campuses and is managed by Knights Apparel, the largest supplier of college logo wear in the United States.
The company pays its workers in the Dominican Republic a living wage, which allows employees to afford health care, food, education, comfortable shelter and a means to escape poverty.
Alta Gracia’s namesake is Villa Alta Gracia, a tiny village in the Dominican Republic where the company’s factory is located. The label’s website explains that the Spanish moniker represents a corporate goal. “The name means ‘High Grace’ – we hope we’re getting there,” it states.
The Worker Rights Consortium, an independent labor rights organization, has approved the practices of Alta Gracia by monitoring its Dominican factory and issuing public reports on its adherence to sweatshop-free standards.
Peter Dreier, E.P. Clapp Distinguished Professor of Politics, is a member of the consortium’s advisory board. He says, “Workers have a union and are treated with dignity.”
Because workers in the Alta Gracia factory earn more than three times the Dominican Republic’s minimum wage, employees on the factory floor are more easily able to provide food for their families, purchase children’s uniforms and textbooks, visit the doctor without financial repercussion, reside in stable cinder block homes and repay debt accrued from years earning the minimum wage.
The Student Labor Action Coalition (SLAC) at Occidental is working to promote the Alta Gracia label on campus.
Caitlin Ruppel (sophomore) heads the coalition’s interaction with the bookstore. She is confident that the Occidental student body will purchase clothing with the label this semester.
“The more Oxy students purchase the Alta Gracia label in the bookstore, the more Alta Gracia clothing the bookstore is able to order,” she said.
Currently, the bookstore offers only unisex, black short-sleeve Occidental T-shirts from the Alta Gracia brand. The price of the shirt ($15.95) is comparable to similar products from other college logo clothing brands. If the shirts prove sufficiently popular with patrons, the bookstore will expand its options and place additional orders for hoodies, sweatshirts and other varieties of T-shirts, according to Dreier.
Eventually, Dreier would like to see the Alta Gracia label spread throughout campus, especially to Oxy-themed clothing sold outside the bookstore.
Clubs, sororities, fraternities and Oxy orientation leaders frequently purchase blank T-shirts for their respective activities. If they instead chose to buy blank Alta Gracia shirts, the college could become a pioneer in promoting living wages abroad.
The addition of the brand to the bookstore’s stock provides Oxy students with the opportunity to support sweat-free labor with their dollars.
“College students and people in general should feel good about the things they buy,” Dreier said.
Dreier feels that there is no comparison between the standard of life for workers under traditional production models and the standard of life for Alta Gracia workers. “The difference is night and day,” he said.
Dreier hopes that “top-down institutional commitment” to the products will allow Oxy to “make a statement about its values.”
In order for Alta Gracia to prevail on campus, the label must be realized as a hip one. “We would like to see the Alta Gracia label become comparable to the [Nike] swoosh,” Dreier said.
Some Oxy students have already expressed interest in visiting the Alta Gracia factory in the Dominican Republic to observe the factory conditions for themselves and understand how the company operates.
Workers at the company’s factory are currently touring the nation’s colleges to explain to students what offering factory workers a living wage means on a personal level. Student promoters would like to see the tour come to Oxy in order to increase student awareness of the label and spur its sales.
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