CMC is known for its active party scene and relatively lenient alcohol policy. Although the college's social scene draws students from the other schools in the consortium and is enjoyed by many, it has also drawn criticism. A 2012 Campus Climate Task Force report published by the school described a "pervasive, 'hyper-masculine' and heteronormative ethos at CMC", adding, "while female students are valued as friends and intellectual colleagues during the day, at night and particularly on the weekends, female students reportedly feel they are objectified targets for sex or 'hook-ups.'" Since 2015, CMC and the other consortium schools have ramped up efforts to reform this culture, hiring a dedicated Title IX staff member, creating the 7c EmPOWER Center, conducting bystander training under the Teal Dot certification An abundance of substance-free social programming is available for students, notably including events planned by the College Programming Board, such as the annual Disneyland trip and on-campus arts and service events. As of fall 2019, student enrollment consisted of 1,335 degree-seeking undergraduate students. CMC students' median family income was $201,300, the second-highest in California, with 58% of students coming from the top 10% highest-earning families and 15% from the bottom 60%. The student body was roughly equally split between men and women, and 21% of students were first-generation. Ninety-five percent of freshmen returned for their second year. Students hailed from 47 US states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and 46 foreign countries, including 16% of students who identified as nonresident aliens. Most events sponsored by each school are open to students from all the Claremont Colleges, including invited speakers and performers, employment and recruiting events, and social events.
Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum The Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum annually hosts more than 100 dinner and lecture events with speakers from a range of disciplines and ideological perspectives, serving as the college's central intellectual and social hub. The Athenaeum hosts speakers four nights a week and serves daily afternoon tea in its library, featuring chocolate-covered strawberries and pastries. Afternoon tea is free to students, faculty, and staff. The Athenaeum has hosted former
President Bill Clinton, Archbishop
Desmond Tutu of South Africa, former
Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, authors
Gore Vidal and
Salman Rushdie,
cybernetics expert
Kevin Warwick, former Attorney General
Janet Reno, filmmaker
Spike Lee, environmentalist
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., former Prime Minister of Israel
Ehud Barak,
The New York Times columnist
Thomas Friedman, Supreme Court Justice
Antonin Scalia,
U2 frontman and activist
Bono,
CNN journalist
Anderson Cooper, former Deputy White House Chief of Staff
Karl Rove, former Senate Majority Leader
Tom Daschle, House Minority Leader
Kevin McCarthy,
New York Times columnist
Maureen Dowd, Harvard Professor
Danielle Allen, former Secretary of Homeland Security
Michael Chertoff, former Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, retired U.S. Army General
Stanley A. McChrystal, and former governor of
Massachusetts and U.S. senator
Mitt Romney.
Housing Student life centers on campus, with 96% of students living on campus; Claremont's dorms are divided into three regions: North Quad, Mid Quad, and South Quad. The student apartments sit on the east edge of campus are occupied primarily by seniors. All dorm rooms are attended to by housekeeping staff every week. North Quad comprises Appleby, Boswell, Green and Wohlford Halls, the campus's first dorms. In north quad, every room opens to the outdoors instead of to an interior hallway. North quad rooms are all doubles grouped into suites of four rooms that share a bathroom. CMC's Mid Quad is home to Beckett, Berger, Benson, Phillips, Crown, Marks and Claremont Halls, which feature long interior corridors, double and single rooms, large shared-bathroom facilities and all-dorm lounge areas. The tallest buildings in Claremont are "The Towers", Auen, Fawcett, and Stark Halls, which make up South Quad. Each tower has seven floors with approximately twelve students per floor. Each floor has a common area and a large shared bathroom, while there is also an all-dorm lounge area on the ground floor. Stark Hall, the newest of the South Quad dorms, is substance-free. Auen and Fawcett underwent complete interior renovations in the summer of 2008. The Student Apartments lie to the east of the college's athletic facilities and to the west of Claremont Boulevard. Each apartment is divided into four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Until recently, half the apartments were reserved for men and half for women, and apartments were allotted based on credits. In any given year, most of CMC's 260–300 seniors can live in the apartments. ASCMC is composed of an executive board and a student senate. The executive board consists of both elected and appointed positions. It is chaired by the President, and meets weekly to discuss long-term projects and endeavors. Permanent committees led by members of executive board include the events team, the diversity & inclusion committee, and the residential life committee. Additionally, each class president has a cabinet to carry out class programming. The Senate is chaired by the executive vice president of ASCMC, and is tasked with passing resolutions to influence institutional policy, funding student-led initiatives, and bringing in administrators and other college stakeholders for town hall discussions. Senate has four standing committees: administrative affairs & appropriations (AAA), environmental affairs, campus improvements, and student engagement.
Affinity Groups CMC has numerous identity-based clubs and organizations, including 1 Gen, for first generation college students), Asian Pacific American Mentors, Black Student Associations, ¡Mi Gente! (for Latino students), Sexuality and Gender Alliance, Women's Forum, and International Connect. These clubs and organizations host a variety of support programming and social events for students to participate in.
Student journalism CMC attracts many students with an interest in journalism. Its student publications include the following: •
The Student Life:
The Student Life (abbreviated
TSL) was founded in 1889. It is the oldest college paper in Southern California and the largest media organization at the Claremont Colleges, and is generally regarded as the colleges' publication of record. It prints weekly on Fridays, featuring news, opinions, lifestyle articles, and sports coverage of all five undergraduate Claremont Colleges. It is jointly funded by the 5C student governments. •
The Golden Antlers:
The Golden Antlers is a satirical and humorous campus publication founded in 2012. Although Claremont McKenna is its host, it is staffed by students from all five Claremont Colleges. •
The CMC Forum: The
Forum is the oldest CMC-specific publication on campus. It features campus news, opinions, and lifestyle articles. Although originally a newspaper, the
Forum is now solely an online news source. •
The Claremont Independent: The
Independent, founded in 1996, is a magazine of conservative and
libertarian writers that has frequently produced stories about the political culture of the Claremont Colleges that have been picked up by national conservative media outlets and drawn intense criticism from many students. It is funded entirely through private donations. ==Athletics==