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LOYOLAN
EST. 1921
A rejected applicant goes Women's basketball
on a salty social media improves game from
spree. Yikes.
Page 17
VOLUME 95
previous season.
Page 18
ISSUE 23
Thomas Poon named as next provost
Lauren Holmes | Loyolan
Thomas Poon will be succeeding Joseph Hellige on June 1 with President Synder's support.
Thomas Poon, professor of
chemistry and acknowledged
scientist, to succeed Hellige.
Tor Marom
Editor-in-Chief
@LALoyolan
On Thursday, March 9, LMU President
Snyder announced Thomas Poon to
be the successor of Joseph Hellige as
executive vice president and provost.
The provost’s responsibilities involve
leading the academic and student affairs
divisions, which encompass athletics,
enrollment management and educational
and creative activities.
Confidence in our new provost appears
high. “He is an esteemed scholar,
distinguished educator, and a proven
academic leader who has a track record
for inspiring innovation, social justice,
and global imagination,” LMU President
Timothy Law Snyder said. Poon is a
professor of chemistry and served at
Pitzer College as interim president, acting
president and senior associate dean of
faculty. Poon currently holds tenured
positions at Pitzer, Claremont McKenna
College and Scripps College.
Poon is an acknowledged scientist,
having received National Science
Foundation grants for S-STEM
research as well as other topics. As an
administrator at Pitzer, Poon also led
innovative initiatives surrounding study
abroad programs and more. “Provost
Poon believes in experiential learning
opportunities and has advocated for study
abroad and community service programs,”
Snyder added, “As an alumnus of Fairfield,
a sibling Jesuit university, he shares our
values and models the benefits of a Jesuit
education for which we all strive.”
President Snyder also holds high
esteem for Poon’s creative teaching style.
“Interestingly, Provost Poon composes
and performs song parodies to welcome
new students in his chemistry classes and
to engage community members at events.
We will be sure to utilize those skills!”
Snyder himself is a bit of a campus celebrity
for his musical exploits, namely the song
“ Uncle Wiggly” which many students have
accessed on his Soundcloud.
“I am honored to join LMU as I am
inspired by its mission and values — an
institution that educates with purpose and
seeks transformative social change,” Poon
said for an article on the LMU Newsroom
website. Snyder is confident that Poon is
well prepared to be a symbol of leadership
on the Bluff. “[Poon’s] experience at
Pitzer, Scripps, and Claremont McKenna
highlights his commitment to developing
transformative academic communities of
intellectual rigor and inclusivity.”
“[Poon] has consistently put concern
for students at the center of his decision¬
making, and I am confident that his energy
and collaborative style will accelerate
LMU’s momentum as an institution with
global, creative impact,” Snyder said.
Poon will succeed Provost Hellige on
June 1.
annual
MEChA de
high school
MEChA provides students with
an opportunity to pursue higher
education through conference.
LMU to hold
conference on
Isabella Murillo
Asst. News Editor
@LALoyolan
On Saturday, March 17, MEChA will
be holding their Annual Raza High
School Conference for local high
school students on LMU’s campus.
MEChA, which stands for Movimiento
Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlan,
organizes their yearly conference to give
opportunities and guidance to local high
school students.
“This conference really aims to let
marginalized students, particularly
those of color, know that college is a
very real possibility. It also provides
them that space to see that students who
look like them are currently attending
college. Many of those students
attending may not get these resources at
their schools, so we want to ensure that
they have access to these resources,”
Chris Reynoso, a junior psychology
Chicano/a studies major and External
Chair and Vice President of MECha,
said.
MEChA de LMU was founded in
1968 with two very specific goals in
mind: First, MEChA was to become
organically tied to the everyday social
and political life of the Mexican
American communities with the
aim of empowering and developing
those communities. Second: MEChA
was to become a permanent, well-
organized power block for the purpose
of redirecting university attention and
resources to the needs of Mexican-
American students, educators and
communities.
“MEChA branches from the Chicano
movement when college students
sought their active role in the movement
[...] to empower themselves and their
communities through things like high
school conferences to emphasize
community outreach and the founding
of an ethnic studies department.”
Sofia Hernandez, a senior theology,
Chicano/a studies and Spanish major
Internal Chair of MEChA, said.
With these goals in mind, MEChA
started holding its Annual High School
Conference. This conference will be the
20th annual and will have the theme “ [La
Lucha Sigue!” (“The Fight Continues!”)
The all- day event will include a
keynote speaker, college mentors and
several workshops related to social
issues, culture, college preparedness,
entertainment and more.
The keynote speaker this year is Dr.
Alma Itze Flores. According to MEChA
de LMU’s website, Flores was a first -
generation college student and daughter
of immigrant parents from Guadalajara,
Jalisco, Mexico. She earned her B.A. in
Sociology from UCLA and her M.A. in
Education from the University of Texas,
campus
Austin. Recently she received her Ph.D.
in Education with a concentration in
Race and Ethnic Studies from UCLA.
Her research interests include the
educational experiences of Mexicana/
Chicana first -generation college
See MEChA | Page 3
via MEChA
MEChA will be hosting a conference for high school students to provide support and guidance.
