Happy Thanksgiving, Sagehen families! Tomorrow, I am expecting well over 100 students at my house for Thanksgiving dinner! This is a wonderful tradition that has grown (and grown!) since my arrival at Pomona. Peter and I look forward to this event each year and we are grateful for the opportunity to share this time and our home with our amazing Pomona students. As in past years, my oldest son, Ari, will be taking off work to help cook and prepare! This past semester has been an important and often tumultuous time at The Claremont Colleges as on campuses nationally, and I wanted to share a few thoughts with you before our holiday break on how we are continuing to support students during this period.
As you may have read in the letter from President Oxtoby last Friday, over 200 students participated in a meeting hosted by the president and the President’s Advisory Committee on Diversity. Students shared their personal stories, and the student government presented a list of demands. Beyond that, many students joined with faculty and staff in conversations, marches, and other activities to discuss events happening nationally and locally. In addition, last Friday evening, students, faculty, and staff came together for a Candlelight Vigil for Humanity hosted by the Muslim Student Association and 5C Project Nur to reflect on lives lost in Paris, Beirut, Baghdad, and elsewhere.