We promise there will be more than just college rankings on The Forum soon enough…  there just isn’t much news to report right now.  There are new solar-powered trash compactors all over campus and the new dorm is beautiful, but who cares…  For now, it’s important to teach freshmen about the CMC/Pomona rivalry and beat down the idea of college rankings like a dead horse.

Below are rankings for the 5Cs for 2008-2009 and some criteria U.S.

Although the Fall 2008 Athenaeum schedule has not been finalized, former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd will be coming to CMC this semester.  Karl Rove is slated to speak September 15 as a Res Publica Speaker; Maureen Dowd will speak November 17 as a President’s Office Speaker, according to information posted on the Athenaeum website.

Living up to its reputation, the Athenaeum is bringing us two very ideologically opposed speakers.  In a recent column of Dowd’s, she criticizes Rove’s tactics:

“Actually, that sounds more like W.

Forbes Magazine has just released their very own “America’s Best Colleges” list.  Claremont McKenna College is #40, Pomona is #20, and Harvey Mudd is #52.  Somehow Scripps and Pitzer didn’t make it on the list (but check out what colleges did).  The methodology is listed along with the rankings:

1. Listing of Alumni in the 2008 Who’s Who in America (25%)

2. Student Evaluations of Professors from Ratemyprofessors.com (25%)

3. Four- Year Graduation Rates (16 2/3%)

4.

Some of you may have noticed a slight site redesign, along with an advertisement for Amazon.com on the right side of this page.  Although we normally wouldn’t cheapen the Forum by posting advertising, Amazon.com is offering us roughly 6% commission on each purchase made after someone clicks on that ad… money that goes straight to ASCMC activities like TNCs, club funding, and student life activities.  It applies to anything at Amazon: used books, new books, blenders, refrigerators, etc.

Apply here

In our never-ending quest to create a revitalized Forum and attract CMC’s most talented writers and students, ASCMC is introducing a new kind of journalist to the CMC campus: the Forum Fellow.

Writing at least one high-quality blog entry a week, you can make up to $250 a semester, with further opportunities for end-of-semester pay bonuses.

ASCMC is currently accepting applications for at least four Fellows, and more positions may open as the year goes on:

Campus Analyst (2 positions available)
Cover CMC stories and provide in-depth features, interviews, and news analysis.

Everyone loves rankings, especially Pam Gann.  Stay tuned for US News Rankings in late August!  What would our lives mean without these things?

Claremont McKenna College
Rank List
#15      Best Campus Food
#2        Best Career/Job Placement Services
#11      Dorms Like Palaces
#4        Happiest Students
#13      Lots of Beer
#18      Lots of Race/Class Interaction
#11      Most Politically Active Students
#11      Most Accessible Professors
#5        School Runs Like Butter
#10      Students Happy with Financial Aid
#15      Best Classroom Experience
#5        Best Quality of Life

Why are we on the race/class interaction list?  See our humble neighbors below…  (couldn’t ask for more appropriate from Scripps or Pitzer)

Google Street View (however fuzzy) has come to Claremont.

Information Technology Services will be updating a site with pictures of the new Ryal Lab in Phillips Hall all summer.

Kravis Center: sketches, drawings, and models online at Rafael Vinoly Architects

Assorted pictures here.

Ross Boomer ‘09 will be Editor-in-Chief of The Forum for AY 2008-2009. He can be reached at rboomer09 @ cmc.edu.

Watch the animation, taken from cmc.edu, edited, and uploaded to Youtube, here.

Claremont McKenna students will soon see major changes in student computing on campus. The first change will be a 24 hour, 21 workstation computer lab on the north side of Phillips Hall.

Ryal Poppa ‘57 (last name pronounced “Poppy”), has offered to pay for the new lab. According to a CMC Alumni Association Newsletter, “Ryal Poppa ’57 surprised fellow alumni, faculty, and staff during reunion weekend when he announced his pledge of $250,000 to help create a new computer lab.”

“He was at alumni weekend chatting with some students who mentioned that there wasn’t enough lab space. He wanted to do something about that, so he decided to give funding for a lab,” says Dr. Cynthia Humes, Chief Technology Officer.