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. (more…)

“We can see it benefiting the students more than hurting them,” said Dean Maraña.

The philosophy behind W.O.A. has always been to provide a bonding experience for students before on-campus orientation begins. There is fear among critics of expanding the W.O.A. program a mandatory would detract from the intimate bonding of the original concept.

“I’m a traditional W.O.A. guy…we’re going to have to be creative if we want to create the same experience,” said Assistant Dean of Students Jim Nauls.

In its tenth year, about 140 students participated in W.O.A.—nearly 50 % of the class of 2011. In order to make the program available to everyone there would have to be several logistical changes in the program to keep the essence and purpose of W.O.A.

For example, Pomona, which has had an orientation adventure similar to W.O.A. provided to all students for several years now, makes concessions to please students less inclined to the outdoors. To that end, Pomona provides the option of a more urban experience trip in Los Angeles.

CMC would likely adopt a program similar to Pomona’s as an alternative to the usual camping and backpacking trips. Jim Nauls and Dean Maraña recognize that it will be a challenge to develop an urban program while also replicating the bonding that they feel can only occur while in a small group in the wilderness.

“If we can make the experience that you guys had [this past year] available for everyone, we’ll do it…it’s going to be challenging though,” said Mr. Nauls when speaking of this past year’s program and the possibility of a mandatory one.

There would be other scheduling issues associated with the expansion of W.O.A. A decision has not yet been made on the participation of fall athletes who are in the midst of their pre-season by the time W.O.A. begins. However, Dean Maraña hopes that something can be worked out.

W.O.A. would have to be moved back a couple days from its usual starting date around August 23rd or 24th in order to compensate for move in day that usually occurs after W.O.A. when the students who did not go on a trip come to campus with their families. This movement of start times could conflict with placement exams for foreign languages or other disciplines.

Despite the need for a few tweaks to an expanded W.O.A. program, Dean Maraña is optimistic that it will be possible in the coming years. “If funding comes through, we’ll make it work.”

History of the Tortugas

The “Tortugas of Prado Dam” were last active at CMC in 1970. The name “Tortugas of Prado Dam” stems from the legend that the original Tortugas would float from Prado Dam on a raft, all the while enjoying a special “Tortuga” drink. A hard copy of the recipe dates to 1952 and bears the name Mike Brown, one of the men believed to be a founder, written on it.

According to Jerry Cadagan, a Tortuga Alumni from the class of 1960, in the early ’60s “the school coerced the club to change it’s name to Mara Togas.”

The original Tortugas were an exclusive social club founded in 1953. Mr. Cadagan, who was vehement that I address him as Jerry, said they were “absolute hell-raisers.” Jerry is quick to note that “Tortugateers” were also commonly Dean’s List students and have maintained a strong bind since graduation, leading to several reunions, financial contributions to the school, and a scholarship fund established in 2005.

The Tortugas Return

The current Tortugas began as a barbeque club in the fall of 2006 but evolved into a social club entitled the Saturday Night Stags that adopted the name Tortugas after John Faranda mentioned the name to Kyle Ragins. “We contacted [the old Tortugas] and they were pumped to help us start it up again…so we renamed ourselves the Tortugas,” explained Caldwell. The alumni, led by Jerry Cadagan, provided a short history of the Tortugas and their traditions for the current Tortugateers so they could have an idea of what the group once was. Several current Tortugateers have also been invited to the upcoming reunion on April 26^th.

The original revitalization of the club was sparked when the DAC and SAC sent out an email last year to the student body about the party scene. Several students felt the party scene was lacking; the email addressed those issues and asked for help from the students who could throw their own parties, according to Caldwell.

Membership

Membership is by invitation only, and members go through an initiation. Currently the Tortugas have about 40 members, all male students at CMC. Brian Fuerst, a Vice President of the Tortugas, was recently elected Social Affairs Chair of the ASCMC. What some see as a conflict of interest, the Tortugas see as an advantage– the leadership of the Tortugas say they work with the SAC and school administration. The Tortugas also have all four north quad dorm presidents and Yohei Nakijima, former SAC, as members of the Tortugas.

Though their numbers are growing, the Tortugas have been low key and are trying to gather more money from members. Dues are $60 per semester, but not all members are paying. The money goes toward parties, says Caldwell, some of which are exclusive; some are open to all. According to Caldwell, Tortuga parties have been tame and sparse this year compared to where the organization hopes to go in the coming semesters.

While the Tortugas have been fairly quiet this year, hopes are big for next semester. After Caldwell concluded the interview, he immediately began to explain where he sees the Tortugas going next year. Caldwell turned to his roommate at the time, Skipp Stillwell, and said, “Just talking about it gets me so excited– next fall I want to do even bigger things.”

“Now, students must scour for quarters and drag their laundry to a machine that is sometimes far away and is often inconvenient, in use, or broken,” says Markos. “This program will allow for a centralized laundry facility that students may use at their convenience.” The centralized laundry facility will be located in the basement of McKenna Auditorium.

In an interview today, Markos explained the details of the program. Basically, the program will be provided at a rate about the same as what students would pay to do their own laundry in the dorm machines. This pricing is possible via the economies of scale the school hopes to achieve by having at least 1000 students use the service, which will be compulsory. The price, which has yet to be disclosed, will be included as part of a student fee and will be heavily subsidized by the school in its first year.

Due to the size of loads expected from students, each residence hall will be given a day of the week on which they are allowed to submit their laundry. A “dumpster-like enclosure” will be placed outside that dorm on the day the laundry is being collected for students to drop their laundry bags, says Markos.

While some students are worried the program will contribute to CMC’s reputation as “Club Med College,” a place where students don’t work very hard, others hail the decision as revolutionary and expect other schools to follow suit.

Michael Chang ‘11 is ecstatic about the initiative and believes it will be a positive aspect of the school. “Anything that gives me more time to study and frees up extra time is fine by me. I’d rather be spending that time relaxing and playing Super Smash Brawl than doing laundry!”

Of course, the plan is not without its critics.

Katie Morehart ‘10 believes the plan may actually increase emissions rather than help the environment. “CMC students need a chance to inspect this plan and give feedback to the administration before rash decisions are made. CMC won the 5C Energy Challenge because we care about the environment and are willing to make sacrifices.” Morehart also emphasizes the importance of oversight by independent committees at CMC.

According to Markos, the plan may initially have its critics, but hopes students will find it convenient and helpful in the end. “We are not only helping students here, we are adding a service that will boost our standing as a school that provides for its students, reduce stress on campus, and stand by our commitment to reduce emissions.”

(April Fools)

Despite the loan-free financial aid, CMC expects to have a similar yield of students accepting admission, due in part to the more level playing field among elite schools that are now offering loan-free financial aid.  The quality of the students is “a little better,” according to Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Richard Vos.  Median SAT scores went up slightly to 710 for both reading and math scores.  Writing scores are not counted until CMC can study the effects of the scores in current classes.

“At its annual retreat this week in Newport Beach, Claremont McKenna College’s Board of Trustees opted to replace student loans with scholarship grants, joining a small group of elite colleges who can afford to do so. Current students returning to CMC in the Fall will have grants in place of loans, and all packages will henceforth be strictly scholarship and grant money.”

Basically, current loans must still be paid off, but in the future, all aid packages will include no loans, just grants. It sounds like this includes current students, starting in the fall.

As for the source of funding, Wilner writes, “The money will come from an endowed fund set up a number of years ago for the purpose of providing interest-free loans.”

This follows a trend of other top liberal arts colleges and universities that have adopted increasingly generous financial aid policies in recent years.

UPDATE:

CMC Public Affairs posted a news release on cmc.edu today.