CMC In The News

Prof. Jack Pitney was interviewed by The Mercury News about proposed sports betting measures for the November California ballot. The revenue from some of these initiatives could provide financial relief for the state’s homelessness and mental health programs, similar to the California Lottery helping to fund public education. But according to Pitney, voters know that the Lottery has not fixed the education system, and homelessness is a hard problem to solve, which may make passing the sports wagering measures more difficult. “I wouldn’t take this as a sure bet,” Pitney said.

Prof. Minxin Pei wrote an op-ed for Bloomberg about why China can’t afford to decouple from the United States.

Prof. Minxin Pei wrote a piece for Nepal24Hours.com about how China views the Ukraine crisis. “While China obviously stands to benefit if a Russian invasion of Ukraine forces the United States to divert strategic resources to Eastern Europe, a peaceful resolution of the crisis will likely leave it worse off,” he said.

Prof. Andrew Busch wrote a guest editorial for Penn Live Patriot-News on the question of how contentious the battle over Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s replacement will be. “One thing is almost certain to be true: No matter who is nominated by President Joe Biden, there will be no 87-9 favorable vote—the tally when Breyer was nominated by Bill Clinton in 1994,” he said.

In an interview with The Atlantic, CMC Prof. Angela Vossmeyer explained how higher Federal interest rates might affect Americans in their everyday lives. In general, “individuals seeking bank loans or lines of credit to purchase a car, remodel their home, expand their business, or even purchase retail items with credit cards will see monthly interest payments higher than what we have seen in the last two years,” Vossmeyer said. “On the other hand,” she pointed out, “with interest rates going up, Americans will have safe and meaningful outlets for saving again.”

Prof. Jack Pitney was quoted in a Daily Beast piece recognizing the Jan. 6 Committee as “a model of congressional congeniality among members with differing ideologies.” Pitney said, “This is what grown-ups look like. You have Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger who have very conservative voting records, but they understand this is different, that it’s separate from their policy differences with the Democrats. And their loyalty to country and the institution trumps loyalty to party.”

As members of the NCAA voted to ratify a new constitution, Inside Higher Education interviewed President Hiram Chodosh, who said the NCAA faces “a major question: How can we restore amateur athletics through effective measures?” He added that the changes in the constitution amounted to window dressing. “There’s no real transformative change in this document,” Chodosh said.

The New York Times interviewed Hiram Chodosh about the National Collegiate Athletic Association schools and conferences vote to adopt a new constitution, and take the first step in decentralizing.

Representing the joint Division III athletics teams from Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd and Scripps Colleges Division III athletics program, Chodosh said: “We’re just the virtual kale on the Division I burger.” He also noted that Division III carries the banner for the term student-athlete, adding, “without the rest of us, it may just start to look like a commercial enterprise.”

As the National Collegiate Athletic Association schools and conferences voted to adopt a new constitution, Hiram Chodosh was interviewed by Law360. Chodosh—representing the joint Division III athletics teams from Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd and Scripps Colleges—voiced opposition to the new constitution.

“How can we restore amateur athletics through effective rules that, one, limit the corrosive effects of money and simultaneously distribute revenue from lucrative commercial activity in principled, equitable, inclusive ways?" he said. "Instead of taking this on directly, we seem to be playing a weak form of defense. The process and the substance here are disappointing."

Prof. Jack Pitney was quoted in a CBS Los Angeles story about Gov. Newsom’s plan for universal healthcare, which he said would be paid for through the state’s general fund, and the Democrats’ proposal in the state legislature that would require a major tax increase. “This proposal could allow for a very large tax increase, and in recent elections, California voters have not been entirely positive about tax increases,” he said. “Even though they are overwhelmingly Democratic, that doesn't mean they are going to be progressive up and down the line.”

The Claremont Colleges were included in a Los Angeles Times story about California colleges extending remote instruction amid the Omicron surge. President Hiram E. Chodosh’s message to the community announcing online instruction for the first two weeks of the spring semester was quoted.

Prof. Minxin Pei published an editorial in the Taipei Times about U.S.-China relations. “In the unfolding new ‘cold war’ between the U.S. and China, the U.S.’s strategic priorities have flipped,” he wrote. “Today, U.S. security strategy is dominated by the China threat, and East Asia has replaced Europe as the principal theater of the world’s defining geopolitical contest.” Pei’s editorial explored the security consequences of this shift.

Prof. Jack Pitney was quoted by The Press Enterprise about how Southern California Republican lawmakers have voted on matters tied to the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. With polls showing most GOP voters believe the election was stolen, “Republican politicians buck this sentiment at their own peril, even if they know better,” Pitney said.

In an op-ed published in the East African Business Week News, Prof. Minxin Pei writes that the United States strategic priorities have flipped and East Asia is replacing Europe as the greatest threat to the U.S. security strategy.

At a high school competition in Seoul, Korea for students interested in data science, Prof. Jeho Park, who is director of the Murty Sunak Quantitative and Computing Lab at CMC, led a four-week course on big data analysis. In an interview with Korea JoongAng Daily, Park said, “Some of the students took on issues that graduate students would take on, and tried to visualize data on issues very relevant to our lives. We are in an age and time when students from a young age should be exposed to reading and understanding data, and I hope that this program was a step in the right direction for many participants.”