Members of the Occidental Class of 2028.
Origin Stories
Before arriving at Occidental, these eight members of the Class of ’28 (and a transfer student from the Class of ’27) discovered their superpowers in the classroom, in their communities, in competition, and in service to their...

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 one digital-only issue (Summer 2024).

Emily Jo Wharry '20
Many special senior moments have been upended by COVID-19—and a traditional Commencement will have to wait. But the Class of 2020 has made memories that no virus can destroy
Jack Kemp Stadium, Oxy Athletics
The SCIAC spring sports season ended abruptly—and these senior student-athletes will miss their Oxy families almost as much as the thrill of victory
President Jonathan Veitch and his senior leadership team
When the pandemic turned the College’s operations upside down in March, President Veitch had to throw out the script for his final days in office—but he and his team responded with...
Oxy Squirrels
From the biology department shipping PPE to hospitals to Oxy Arts making art kits to students in Highland Park, here are nine snapshots of the Oxy family coming together in a time of need
President Jonathan Veitch
Stay Close—Your Alma Mater Needs You
De Mandel Aquatics Center
Alumni feedback on the Winter magazine, the new pool, and Oxy's next president. Also: How did we put this issue together?
Dan Fineman, Adelaida Lopez, Linda Lasater
Professors Dan Fineman, Adelaida Lopez, and Linda Lasater had a lasting impact outside the classroom—just ask their students
Joshua Medina, Moore Lab
Joshua Medina ’19 has developed a new technique for documenting the colors of bird plumage in 3-D
After We Leave, Aleem Hossain
Assistant professor Aleem Hossain realized a dream when his first feature film was released theatrically in February—just before cinemas suddenly closed
Humbug! Wendy Jean Katz
From New York City's "penny" papers to feminist manifestos for the revolution: new books and music by Oxy authors
Alumni Seal Honorees Occidental College
With plans for Alumni Reunion Weekend on ice, this year’s Alumni Seal recipients reflect on their Oxy experience and their daily routine in “the new normal”
President Silas Evans in 1918
The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918–19 claimed the lives of more than 675,000 Americans and shut down the College for seven weeks—but it could have been even worse for Oxy
Day For Oxy
How the inaugural Day For Oxy shattered all expectations—and established "a new tradition for the College"
April Banks, Oxy Arts
With a rich menu of contemporary programming, the College’s Oxy Arts initiative nourishes socially conscious dialogue between the campus and community
Dan Springer DocuSign
At the height of his career in 2014, Dan Springer ’85 stepped away from the daily grind to raise his two sons. Then a dream job with DocuSign lured him back to the office—and personally and...

Features

Life After Fire illustration for Occidental magazine, Spring 2025
Life After Fire
The Eaton and Palisades fires in January took their toll on members of the Occidental family, including students, alumni, faculty, and administrators. With a long rebuilding process ahead...
Eddie Gorton ’01, Paul “PK” Kim ’98, and David Murphy ’02
Sitting Down With the Stand-ups
Paul “PK” Kim ’98, Eddie Gorton ’01, and David Murphy ’02 trace their comic odysseys from talent shows and laundromats to Thorne Hall and the Laugh Factory
Professor William D. Ward at his desk in the Hall of Letters on Occidental’s Highland Park campus.
Unseen Occidental
From 1898 to 1914, Occidental College called Highland Park home—and a treasure trove of photos from the 1910s offers a glimpse of campus life before the move to Eagle Rock
Filmmaker Angelina Lee '22
Farm to Film
Combining her interest in sustainability with her prowess behind the camera, Angelina Lee ’22 harvests a new documentary around permaculture
Ben Dalgetty ’10 in the Office of the Mayor in Seattle.
Campaign Trails
Campaign Semester can be a gateway to a career in politics, advocacy work, or even elected office, as seven seasoned campaigners will attest

First Word

From the Quad

New tenure-track faculty at Occidental College, 2024-25.
All Paths Lead to Oxy
Hailing from China, India, Mexico, and all over the United States, Occidental’s newest cohort of tenure-track faculty embraces the liberal arts in Los Angeles
Chris Kim, the Choi Family Director of Instrumental Music, conducts the Occidental Symphony in a performance of Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature.”
The Sounds of Branca
A concert for the ages celebrates the generations-spanning clientele of music attorney John Branca ’72 and the launch of the John Branca Institute for Music
Members of the Pacific Crossings “Dream Team”: From left, Nakatsuka, Gilder Lehrman program coordinator Leah Baer, administrative assistant Thea Wilson ’24, and Hong.
Teachable Moments
Associate Professor Jane Hong and a “dream team” of educators bring 150 years of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander history into focus

Mixed Media

Carole MacNeil ’84 with her mom, Eleanor, in 2019.
Mixed Media
New books by Carole MacNeil ’84, Jessica C. Harris ’08, Jessica Keith ’00, Marsha de la O ’74, and the latest documentary short by César Martínez Barba ’17
Author Susan Coll '81, photographed at Politics & Prose in Washington, D.C.
Mixed Media
Susan Coll ’81’s latest comic novel, Professor Amy Lyford’s examination of the art and life of Dorothea Tanning, and more

Oxy Talk

Administrative Law Judge Brian Gee ’87
Judgment Calls
Separated by 2,700 miles, National Labor Relations Board administrative law judges Brian Gee ’87 and Ira Sandron ’71 find common ground in Oxy
As program director of Research Corporation for Science Advance- ment’s RCSA Fellows Initiative, Spain will support postdocs in physics, astronomy, and chemistry as they transition into their faculty careers.
To Chemistry and Beyond
After 28 years in the classroom and mentoring 74 students in her lab at Oxy, Professor Eileen Spain pivots to prepare future generations of faculty in the physical sciences

Last Page

Professor Emeritus Eric Newhall '67, author of Always Resisting
Resistance Remembered
Professor Emeritus Eric Newhall ’67 recounts the fallout from his decision to oppose the Vietnam War in a memoir more than 50 years in the making
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