Occidental Magazine

September 4, 2024

Emboldened by a proactive student body, ɫ�� doubles down on its commitment to a more sustainable campus

Occidental Magazine

Occidental magazine brings you campus news, in-depth features, and profiles of exceptional alumni. For the 2024-25 academic year, the magazine will publish two print and digital issues (Fall 2024 and Spring 2025) and two digital-only issues (Summer 2024 and Winter 2025).

Features

Campaign Semester participants Cady Carr '27 and Rachel Obbard '27

Academics

Ground Game

For Campaign Semester students in battleground Pennsylvania and 13 other states, the road map to Election Day entails knocking on every door

Arts

Broadway Baby

In the third act of a career that spans stage, screen, and television, actor Loren Lester ’83 realizes a lifelong dream of performing on the Great White Way

Sustainability

Changing the Climate

Emboldened by a proactive student body, ɫ�� doubles down on its commitment to a more sustainable campus

Anthony Perkins and Jane Fonda in Tall Story, filmed at Occidental in the fall of 1959.

ɫ�� History

Trivial Pursuits II

So you still think you know ɫ��? Put your memory to the test (and your guessing cap on) with 30 new Tiger teasers

Alumni Engagement

Precious Memories

Founded by students in 1971, the Occidental Gospel Choir made music for a quarter-century—and a reunion of former members celebrates its nearly forgotten legacy

Profiles

The Morning Showman

Sam Rubin ’82 became a fixture of the entertainment journalism landscape over his 33 years with KTLA—and his unexpected death in May resonated well beyond Hollywood's red carpets

Alumni Engagement

Sustaining the Alumni Community

ɫ��'s Alumni Board of Governors is actively working to expand and promote alumni activities not just on campus, but around the world—and you're encouraged to get involved

Obituaries

Remembering Professor Tamás Lengyel

A internationally renowned scholar in the math community, a mathematical constant and a sequence of numbers were named in his honor

Los Angeles

Hats Off to Patt!

Patt Morrison ’74 shares a curated collection of books with Special Collections—and 50 years of words and wisdom in conversation with Larry Mantle

First Word

ɫ�� President Tom Stritikus at Opening Convocation on August 26, 2024.

President Stritikus

Embracing Excellence

As the ɫ�� community embarks on a new academic year, President Stritikus shares his impressions after two months on the job

From the Quad

Tylor Lee '26 interned with Healthcare in Action, which provides healthcare and social services to unhoused people.

Los Angeles

Summer in the City

A 10-week summer internship program pairs 28 ɫ�� students with 20 community partners to contribute to the work of advancing social justice in Los Angeles

Rebecca Solnit and Paul Holdengraber onstage at an ɫ�� Live! event at ɫ��

Los Angeles

An Evening of Eavesdropping

ɫ�� Live!—the College’s new conversation series featuring a world-class lineup of artists—engages audiences in dialogues about culture and society

Occidental’s women's basketball team after winning the 2024 SCIAC Postseason Tournament championship.

Athletics

Bringing the Heat

Playing through injuries, fatigue, and in front of opposing crowds, ɫ��’s ‘relentless’ women’s hoops team wins its way into the NCAA tourney

Coach Rod Lafaurie and members of the 2023 men's soccer team

Athletics

Kicking and Dreaming

From its first SCIAC championship to a berth in the Sweet 16, ɫ�� men’s soccer soared to new heights this season. But Coach Rod Lafaurie and his players are hungry for more

Athletics

Welcome to the Athletics Hall of Fame

Record-setting champions in swimming and track, a pair of dominant hoops teams, and a triple threat in basketball, softball, and volleyball earn their stripes

Writer, artist and non-binary activist ALOK at ɫ�� on Oct. 3, 2023

Arts

Worth Noting: “ɫ�� Live!” and US News

A new arts initiative brings an eclectic lineup of cultural luminaries to campus. Also: ɫ�� climbs to a 14-year high in the latest US News Best Colleges rankings

Mixed Media

More Mixed Media

Author Susan Coll '81, photographed at Politics & Prose in Washington, D.C.

Arts

Mixed Media

Susan Coll ’81’s latest comic novel, Professor Amy Lyford’s examination of the art and life of Dorothea Tanning, and more

Onward to Chicago, by Larry A. McClellan ’66

Alumni Engagement

Mixed Media

New books by Larry McClellan ’66, Professor Andrew Shtulman, Kevin Adler ’07, and Ralph Kuncl ’70

ɫ�� Talk

More ɫ�� Talk

Suke Takayuki Kubota in an undated photo.

Obituaries

ɫ��’s Samurai Grandmaster

Soke Takayuki Kubota (1934-2024) became a martial arts legend, developing his own karate style and amassing a worldwide following. And for more than 40 years, he taught his methods to the...

Spectators view the OCLAA oral history gallery in the Academic Commons in February 2024.

Academics

Voices of OCLAA

Realizing a long-standing goal of Occidental’s Latino Alumni Association, two dozen alumni share their stories with students for an oral history project

Last Page

Journalist Max Chun '19 in the offices of Lookout Santa Cruz.

Profiles

Local Heroes

When disaster struck his native Santa Cruz last year, reporter Max Chun ’19 and a small team of journalists sprang into action for their community—and pocketed a Pulitzer Prize for their work