By Kelli Shapiro '00
A Typically Atypical Day
"I walk through the light rain to work, thinking that this is an odd day for a photo essay on Pomona College."
This bemused quote from David Tanenbaum, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, perfectly evokes the irony of the morning of November 8, 1999. If Pomona were an East Coast liberal arts college, the rain would probably be an ordinary autumn occurrence. This, however, was Southern California, and these were the first raindrops to touch the campus since the previous spring. The supposedly typical day had turned out not to be, and the rain seemed to be on everyone's mind, showing up repeatedly in the detailed journals kept by 50 or so faculty and students that day.
Heading off to her 9 a.m. Literature of the American South course, Ariane Balizet '00 noted that "everyone seems either excessively prepared or decidedly unprepared. On my way to class I pass an equal proportion of figures shrouded in brand-new, brightly-colored, multi-pocketed rain jackets and brave souls letting the rain soak through their simple T-shirts and shorts. Everyone seems confused and disgruntled, as though they had expected the cancellation of classes on account of the weather."
Of course, no classes were canceled, but many carefully planned schedules were thrown off. Margaret Hunter '00, for instance, was preparing for that night's rehearsal performance of the opera Dido and Aeneas, which she was producing. After awakening at 7:40 and noticing the rain, she wrote bitterly, "Of course! The first day it's rained in Claremont in six months, and it's the day I have to move two harpsichords, a divan and four chairs across campus." She soon called the Music department: "Is there a protocol for moving harpsichords in the rain?" (After checking the forecast on the Internet, she wisely waited until late afternoon, when the rain had dissipated, before attempting the exhausting move.)
Anna Motschenbacher '03, however, shared the feelings of many other Pomona students when she said, "Today has made me realize that I miss weather, or weather variation, as the case may be. And snow. The Alaskan in me can't help but wonder why it is that the calendar says November, and yet there is no snow on the ground. I suppose it's for the best, though. If it were 20 degrees and snowing, I wouldn't be able to roll out of bed 15 minutes before class and make it on time."
Indeed, despite the rain, many people did just that. For a large percentage of Pomona students, the day began only slightly earlier than did class. "8:20 a.m. It seems as if the alarm goes off earlier and earlier each day, and today is one of my sleep-in days too," wrote Kim Bui '00. "Real breakfast or more sleep? Sleep. It's a struggle to get out of bed and get to my 9 o'clock class--weight training. So, I stumble out of bed at 5 minutes till 9:00, brush my teeth, put on some sneakers and run to class."
A number of the student writers' days actually did not begin in the morning at all. For them, Monday morning was simply a continuation of Sunday night, with a few hours of sleep--beginning at perhaps 3:00 a.m.--in between. At 12:17 a.m., for example, David Roth '00 began his journal with, "Things are pretty ragged as Monday starts. I just got off the phone with my girlfriend. It was an awful, manic, disjointed conversation, at least on my end. Several factors have conspired to make me pretty much impossible to talk to right now: a huge amount of work, the fact that the sole human contact I've had over the last two hours has been with the author of a book of conspiracy theory... ." By 1:48 a.m., Roth was taking a short break by writing an e-mail to a friend in Connecticut. Nearly an hour later, since he was finally "kind of caught up... on e-mail," he prepared for bed--noting that "based on the music coming from under doors, I am one of three people awake just in this hallway."
As Chris Olsen '03 pointed out, though, students living in dorms sometimes have little choice in the matter. "At 8:45," he reported, "I wake up to a muffled holler: 'Get on the Chemistry bus!' The people in my sponsor group who have "Chem" are leaving together to go take a test. I can sleep for another half-hour still. But now I'm awake. That has been a big adjustment--getting used to noise at all hours of the night and day. But I shouldn't complain--I make the noise some of the time," he ruefully admitted.
Into the Fray
No matter when or how Pomona students are awakened, the general consensus seems to be that once they are up, there is little time for rest or even pause for the remainder of the day. For instance, after Jenny Shih '00 spent her morning planning for an admission interview at New York University Medical School ("so amazingly stressful, not so much the interview itself but all the preparation: scheduling, traveling, arranging to make up exams back at Pomona"), she found that her 10 o'clock psychology senior seminar had been canceled. "We're supposed to spend the extra time working on our literature reviews for our senior theses," she explained. "However, with all the work from other classes, I can't even spare the time for that; I have to study for an exam right now."
While Shih began diligently reviewing material for her upcoming exam, the people who had recently gotten on what Olsen sleepily understood to be "the Chemistry bus" finally finished their own exam. Marcus Lee '03 declared in relief, "Walking out of a test... wow. I love getting out of tests because I can be so much more relaxed. I think Chem is such a bonding thing. Ha ha, get it? Chemistry and bonding? Anyway, studying for chem has definitely made me work in groups. We all struggle through together. No casualties yet!" he joked.
Although the majority of students have classes in the morning, for those who do not, the options are varied. Like Shih, many spend the extra hours studying, while others catch up on much-needed rest. Some, though, had intentionally planned an afternoon-only course schedule, so that they could work in the morning--at an on-campus job, or an internship, or simply as a volunteer. Jesse Zaritt '00, for example, held a semi-weekly volunteer position at the First Street Art Gallery in Claremont from 9:30 a.m. to noon. "I help teach art to developmentally disabled adults," he explained. "The work that is created and displayed at First Street always inspires me. I have learned that despite often severe physical, mental and linguistic barriers, people are still able to express themselves visually." Through his experiences at the gallery, Zaritt was able to view life with a new perspective. "I feel grateful for the control I am able to exert over my own life and for the incredible opportunities that have come my way."
Zaritt's desire to assist those less fortunate than himself is found in many students. Bui, a member of the Community Affairs Committee, commented, "I have seen lots of students go out of their way to reach out to the community. It's one of the things I love about Pomona." In fact, at noon that day, an introductory, informational volunteer meeting for Mortar Board's College Applications Workshop (a program in which Pomona students travel to area high schools to help seniors with their applications) drew what Bui called "a good-sized crowd."
The majority of Pomona students, though, were probably concentrating on eating lunch at that time. Most of the journal-keeping students noted that lunch was one of their favorite times of the day, a time for relaxing and socializing with friends--a break many felt they badly needed. Even then, however, some felt obligated to bring their work with them, or else to hurry through in order to return to work more quickly. Ariane Balizet's lunch is typical: "I go to the dining hall with the intention of running in and out to give me more time to finish the reading assignment for my 2:45 Medieval London class. Instead, I sit there with my friends for over an hour."
After lunch, most people went straight back to class. Dru Hilty '02 went to Statistics, complaining amiably, "I had planned on never setting foot in a math or science building, but my plan was foiled by the dreaded Stats PAC requirement. So here I am, waiting for the Minitab program to load." (She included in her journal a comic drawing of the professor, Don Bentley, saying "Stats is fun, kids! Minitab is cool!") David Roth, in the same class, added, "It's kind of a nice liberal arts college image today: a bunch of vaguely scruffy history, English, art and philosophy majors sitting around a computer lab, putting numbers into a computer and watching the screens fill with digits."
Although Bentley and many other professors taught in the afternoon, some held office hours for students' questions, or used the time to catch up on work or lesson-planning. Assistant Professor of Psychology Nicole Weekes spent it working on case-study hand-outs for her afternoon class, The Biological Basis of Psychopathology. "I always try to add something new and different to the pre-assigned readings," she noted. Assistant Professor of Russian Kevin Platt met with two students from the Russian Across the Curriculum section of his Adultery in Russian Literature course. Russian Across the Curriculum, he explained, "is a teaching initiative by which students with some Russian language ability enrolled in a Russia-related course may enroll in an additional half-course where they can apply their language skills." That day, Platt and the students worked on grammar exercises and a short reading from Tolstoy.
Meanwhile, Andrea Chung '00 stopped in to see Bill Banks, Professor of Psychology. Banks had brought his three dogs to the office with him (since he didn't want to have them out all day in the rain and couldn't leave them in the house unattended), and he and Chung talked about dogs for a while. Banks also invited Chung to have brunch at his new house the next weekend. In her journal, Chung expressed the idea that the accessibility and friendliness of the faculty is "one of the great things" about Pomona. "You can always drop by a professor's office and have a nice chat about almost anything," she said.
Of Stress and Fun
Even though they try to always make time for their students, Pomona professors are frequently under just as much stress as the people they teach. John Seery's hectic schedule is a case in point: "After lunch, I'm greeted at school with a 400-page manuscript in my mailbox, a review project I agreed to take on some time ago for Duke University Press," wrote the associate professor of politics. "But it slipped my mind, and another task will just add to the time pressure for this month. I must also write a proposal for a new theory person in the department, to be submitted to the Curriculum Committee; must submit the budget for Media Studies; I've got a backlog of requests for letters of recommendation, all of which are due next week; and so on. Also, the Politics Department senior oral exam deadline is this week, so students are rushing around trying to make special appointments with me. Who said life as a professor would be contemplative and solitary?" he asked wryly. "I feel more like a CEO managing a mid-size company, albeit without secretarial help."
Obviously, the amounts of stress pressing down on both professors and students creates a great need for fun, and at Pomona there is an almost endless variety from which to choose. Zaritt, for instance, relayed the idea that dancing--even as part of a class--could be a freeing element within the confines of school life. When dancing, "I am able to focus completely on dance," he said, "on my body and its movement. No other class gives me the opportunity to be so physically and mentally committed that all other concerns are forgotten." Other journal-keeping students tried to rid themselves of their cares by window-shopping or participating in the café scene in the picturesque Claremont Village, by playing sports (such as Ultimate Frisbee, with the team practicing diligently despite the rain and the resultant mud), or by heading back to nature--as Zach Miller '02 and Justin Collmann '02 did, traveling to nearby Mt. Baldy to look at a creek with kayaking potential. Said Miller, "one of the best parts about living in Claremont is that I can always escape to the mountains or the coast to bike or paddle after a stressful day." Still others relaxed by listened to music--particularly MP3s (the sending of which Olsen called "a Pomona subculture"), or, in one case, the first-ever CD from the five-college singing group, Claremont Shades. "The CDs came in on Monday," group member Jalin Hsu '00 wrote, "but I was reluctant to listen to it until today. Although I know the music inside and out, I just let myself enjoy it. People have to stop themselves occasionally and just enjoy their own accomplishments. That is what makes us happy--and doing something other than what we should be doing also makes us happy at certain times. My Mondays are always my most hectic days, and I am usually mega-stressed. But today, I decided to indulge myself rather than having a heart attack over homework."
Another relaxing event for many is dinner, which like lunch is generally viewed as a communal experience. "Dinner is definitely one of my favorite times of the day," wrote Matthew Moore '00, who felt that "it's essential in this busy atmosphere to set aside everything else and enjoy a meal with good friends." As Balizet humorously observed, students often "spend the first 15 minutes complaining about how much work they have to do, and the next 45 doing absolutely nothing."
Pomona After Hours
After dinner, students usually head back to work--reading, writing papers, or perhaps sitting in meetings or an evening class. Seery, for instance, spent Monday from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. teaching a senior seminar (Contemporary Politics and Theory), regarding which he confessed, "The seniors practically teach themselves. And often, I feel privileged just to preside over the conversation. Preside isn't the right word--listen or witness would be more like it. Serious students, amazing, really--an all-star lineup. Once in a while a debate will get a little testy, but eventually these seniors sort things out by and among themselves." After class, Seery headed home and found out that in his three-hour absence, his baby had used "her own toilet for the first time, on her own"--an event which "seems hugely triumphant to proud, first-time parents."
While Seery presided over the debate in Contemporary Politics and Theory, Assistant Professor Bryan Penprase's Archeo-Astronomy and World Cosmology course was holding a different kind of academic session. Explained Shelley Kunasek '01, Penprase "organizes bonfires at the Wash (Sontag Greek Theatre) from time to time to tell star stories of ancient civilizations." Kunasek and several other students decided to gather beforehand and paint their faces like ancient warriors. "We thoroughly enjoyed showing off our 'war paint,' then settling down to read the creation stories. Reading aloud around a campfire and cooking s'mores sure beats locking myself in my room to do the reading," she said happily.
Other Pomona students were also spending the evening reading aloud, although not for a class. That night, rehearsals for the opera Dido and Aeneas and the theater performance of Guys and Dolls were taking place. Nat Goldberg '02, who was on the stage makeup and wig crews for Guys and Dolls, insisted that the play would be "amazing, absolutely amazing"--while melodramatically contending, after six solid hours of rehearsal, that "it's going to suck out my will to live." Similarly, Patrick McMahon '00, a theatre major who played the role of "classic pretty-boy" gambler Sky Masterson in the show, focused on the time commitment involved. "I often joke that I live chained up in the basement of Seaver Theatre and that the faculty only let me out for rehearsal and throw me raw meat at mealtime."
Unlike McMahon, a number of the students who take advantage of Pomona's performance opportunities aren't theatre or music majors. Yilin Hsu '00, who sang one of the principle parts in Dido and Aeneas, was walking back to her dorm after rehearsal, singing as she walked, when a student she knew inquired about her singing. "I explained that I'm singing something for an opera that a senior voice major is putting on next week," she said, "and he was literally marveling at the idea of someone he knew being in an opera. He asks if I'm a music major, and I say I'm a neuroscience major. He was shocked."
While numerous students spent their time in classes or rehearsals, some simply did their homework--often while listening to the popular KSPC call-in show Monday Night Live. (That Monday, the show was actually "Monday Night Love," where callers could ask for advice or comment on relationship issues.) Additionally that night, a group of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship students met for their weekly North Campus Bible Study, while both the mentors in the Asian American Mentor Program and the dorm Resident Advisors gathered for their own meetings. A few other people worked as student callers, requesting donations from alumni. Zach Street '00, an English major who wrote his entire journal as a series of haiku poems, had this to say:
"I just called you guys
Asking alumni for cash
Thanks for your support."
According to fellow caller Anna Motschenbacher '03, "tonight was a really slow night, in that virtually nobody I called was home." Still, she said, "I did have a couple of interesting conversations with the alumni I managed to reach. I love the stories folks have to tell of their adventures and misadventures at Pomona."
Those adventures and misadventures, Motschenbacher implied, are what help make a student's time at Pomona memorable. Jalin Hsu ended her journal with a rumination on the personal satisfaction that comes from one's daily accomplishments, strenuous as they may seem at the time. "It's 11:15 p.m. I don't think I have anything else scheduled--surprise. It just seems like there should be something else to do--isn't there? If I'm not running around from one place to another, I get imbalances. No, just kidding. But it is such a great feeling to have gotten a lot of things done, and when you are finally done with them--ahhh-- 'Let's go to Disneyland!' Actually, I'd rather just sleep."
Kelli Shapiro is a senior American Studies major at Pomona College.
