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America prides itself on the rule of law. But what happens when those in power cling to the letter of the law at the expense of its spirit? Legal literalism is an approach to law that adheres to the exact words of a text, and it is becoming a tool that threatens democracy and personal freedom. As Bill Watson, an assistant...
The weekend of Feb. 28 to March 2 was quite eventful, to say the least. Having freshly jumped off the stage from an incredibly joyous Apollo Night, I was immediately onto my next activity of choice, or self-inflicted punishment, however you choose to interpret it. I spent March 1 and 2 partaking in the AMC Best Picture Showcase. Since 2007 (though...
Jonah Hasegawa (sophomore) said he started playing the guitar when he was 12 years old and is completely self-taught. “My dad had this guitar," Hasegawa said. "It was lying around, and I guess I just decided to start playing it. I knew a little bit of theory, so I asked my dad to show me some things. I had piano...
Bill Morrison, 2025 Oscar nominee, visited Occidental March 6 for a screening of his 2017 documentary “Dawson City: Frozen in Time.” The film tells the story of the birth, golden age and decline of Dawson City, a northern Canadian town which exploded in population for a brief time during the Klondike gold rush, only to quickly fade into obscurity...
The Diplomacy & World Affairs (DWA) department at Occidental has organized United Nations Week for at least two decades, Laura Hebert said via email. Hebert is a professor of Diplomacy & World Affairs and the chair of the William and Elizabeth United Nations Program (Kahane UN Program) advisory committee. She was responsible for coordinating planning for the week, which took place March 3–6. “The intention...
"Anora" won Best Picture at the Oscars. And Best Actress. And Best Directing. And Best Screenplay. And Best Editing. Believe me, I've read enough think pieces, Film Twitter complaints and watched enough video essays to know that not everyone wanted Sean Baker's film to win so many awards this season. One of my first opinions for The Occidental was that I...
It might not be an exaggeration to say that the past 50 or so days have been one of the most eventful stretches in American history. Since the inauguration of Donald Trump Jan. 20, there has been no shortage of drama in Washington. From enacting some of the most brutal tariffs since World War II to humiliating fellow world leaders on national television,...
Occidental offered employee training in Jan. on protocol for immigration enforcement action on campus in the wake of a barrage of immigration policies espoused in President Donald Trump's executive orders in the last few months, including an expansion of who is targeted for deportation, according to a March 6 email from Occidental's President Tom Stritikus. The protocol states that “all personnel who become aware...
Collage Coffee, between Eagle Rock and Highland Park on York Boulevard, is recognizable by its turquoise, Mexico City-style tiles and two doors that are always open. Collage Coffee opened in 2017 by Kevin Hockin. Collage's current manager, Michael Szerszunowicz, roasted beans for Hockin before the COVID-19 pandemic when he co-owned a coffee shop, Bicycle Coffee, in Little Tokyo. After he...
Dr. Michael Méndez, assistant professor of environmental policy and planning at the University of California, Irvine and former Pinchot Faculty Fellow at the Yale School of the Environment, spoke at Occidental March 6 about how wildfires and other climate disasters have worsened existing inequalities for undocumented Latino and Indigenous migrants in California. Méndez said his passion for environmental justice, particularly...