One of the things I really like about the Claremont Colleges is their passion for building community, not only within the individual colleges but across campuses. One way they do that is by throwing school-sponsored parties and get-togethers each year to help students bond and have fun! Each college will host and fund events where students can jam out to music, support their favorite bands/DJs, and dance with other 5C students.
Harm-Reduction
Something I appreciate is the harm-reductionist mentality and policies that the colleges have surrounding parties and alcohol. They understand that some students will be drinking and the best way to keep people safe is to reduce high-risk behaviors, like drinking on an empty stomach and binge-drinking. Most of the colleges have AlcoholEdu which is an informational presentation at the beginning of first-year which gives statistics and advice on how to make sure your college experience goes smoothly and safely. Most parties have Campus Security there to help individuals stay hydrated and make sure the events don’t get too out of hand. There are also student advocates with glow in the dark wristbands who are also available to assist anybody at the events.
The schools also tend to schedule other, more laid back events on the same nights as parties to make sure every type of student is able to have fun on the weekends. For example, at Scripps, the Tiernan Field House holds many different events like Destress Thursdays and Bob Ross Paint Nights where everyone is able to mingle with other students in a much calmer and introvert-friendly setting. Students are able to fill their weekends and make their place at the Claremont Colleges no matter what type of environment they like.
Popular Events/Parties
One of the popular events at Scripps is a party called Eurobash, near the beginning of November, which is an event that is meant to bring the bustling European club scene to the Scripps parking garage. The garage is emptied and decked out in all sorts of lights and decorations as well as having a DJ playing awesome house/EDM music. They also order pizza for the event and have a bunch of water bottles for everybody, which emphasizes those ideals of keeping everyone fed, hydrated, and safe. In a similar vein, Pitzer throws their annual Kohoutek Music & Arts Festival, where students meet at the Pitzer Mounds to enjoy the lineup of sensational musical artists and food vendors.
Pomona has many culturally-themed parties like Desi Beats and Calypso which are hosted by the South Asian Student Association and the Pan-African Student Association, respectively. Pirate Party at Claremont Mckenna and Paint Party at Harvey Mudd both have fun activities that students can take part in. In Pirate Party, big inflatable water slides are set up all around the CMC field for students to enjoy and in Paint Party, as the name implies, students wear white shirts and throw (eye-safe) paint around at each other. There are also fancier events like Monte Carlo at Claremont Mckenna and Yule Ball at Pomona where students are able to wear more formal dresses and suits to dance the night away.
There is an event for every student at the 5Cs and it’s great that we’re able to take a break from our rigorous classes to enjoy our short time on these great campuses. We grow closer from it and each school is able to have friendly competition with each other to have the best event of the year. If you have any questions about more events at the 5Cs or at Scripps, feel free to email me at [email protected].