On the eve of Commencement in May, a select group of guests gathered at the Wallis Annenberg President’s House for a concert celebrating the music of Curb Records founder and chairman Mike Curb.

The calendar says July 31, but it’s mid-August hot (temperature: mid-90s; humidity: likewise) as Barack Obama ’83 steps from his RV in small, union-friendly Ottawa, Ill., about 80 miles southwest of Chicago. The hot dogs and corn on the grill go untasted as the boyishly handsome politician—fresh from his career-making speech at the Democratic National Convention—slowly moves through the parking-lot crowd of 350, which reluctantly parts to allow him to reach the stage where two-term U.S. Senator Dick Durbin awaits.

Bryan Scott ’17 may have never played football at Oxy were it not for Brett Kassel, who would become his future roommate. Newly hired football coach Doug Semones had ventured to the West Torrance Lions Club All-Star Football Game at Mira Costa High School in South Bay to recruit Kassel as a long snapper for the Tigers—which he did. But Scott, who had to wait until his senior year of high school to start his first varsity game, was making a pretty good showing himself.

Of the countless social gatherings he organized over his lifetime, Larry Layne ’71 may be best remembered for his legendary opening day outings to Dodger Stadium—a ritual that was born during his time at Oxy sitting in the cheap seats at Chavez Ravine with his rugby buddies. In decades to follow, the guest list grew to encompass hundreds of acquaintances from every facet of his life: athletes, artists, politicians, and more.

As a bright-eyed Occidental sophomore in 2002, I enrolled in Professor Derek Shearer’s Politics 231 course covering the foreign policy of the Clinton presidency because I heard Shearer brought interesting guest speakers to class. On the first day of class, Shearer handed out the syllabus and told us the first speaker would be Bill Clinton himself—little over a year removed from leaving the White House.

Above photo, from left: Assistant professors Alaa Abdelfattah (economics), Tiffany Wheatland-Disu (Black studies), Madeline Wander ’08 (urban and environmental policy), Joel Walsh (computer science), Margaret Gaida (history), and Kai Yui Samuel Chan (politics).

Be well-versed in current events. Dress professionally. Learn how spreadsheets work. These were among the practical tips shared by students from Occidental’s fall 2025 cohort of the Kahane U.N. Program as they advised incoming participants during a candid panel discussion about their semester working with United Nations agencies in New York City.

In the summer of 1960, Omar Paxson ’48, Sally Norton, and John Ingle ’50 launched a repertory theater company on the Occidental College campus. It was a leap of faith on a Depression-era budget, fueled by their belief in the transformative power of live theater and conviction that hard work could accomplish anything. As Omar’s daughter and Sally’s son, we grew up in that world— two shy, awkward kids who found a friendly place to fit in among quirky and creative people.

Laura Paxson: In 1963, my mother [Helen Paxson ’52] played the Green Woman in Peer Gynt. She wore this long brown wig and my gosh, I loved that wig. I wore it around the house—it was as long as I was. They finally took it away from me because they were pulling three-foot hairs out of my baby brother’s mouth.

The Magic of Oxy

What a great article on Tammy Bird ’84 and her incredible dedication on behalf of her South L.A.-area high school students (“Catalyzing the Public Good,” Fall 2025). I can’t tell you how grateful I am to you in telling her story in the magazine. As I’m sure you are aware, it was the 1992 Rodney King incident and resulting neighborhood riots that brought Mike Hoover ’65 into the story.