Watch related video on sustainability at 91
Zoe Bush 26 enjoys her role as a chicken tender at Occidental FEAST Garden, the student-run organic garden just south of the UEPI House on Campus Road. A couple of times a week Ill go in and check on the chickensmake sure they have food and water, see if they laid any eggs, and just cuddle them and make sure theyre happy, says Bush, an urban and environmental policy major from Culver City.
Even before Shedrick G. Wise Jr. 75 stepped onto the Occidental campus in the fall of 1971, he was a budding music prodigy. By age 17, he was directing multiple choirs at St. Andrew Baptist Church in Los Angeles. And in January 1972, when an informal group of African American 91 students convened to perform a program of inspirational music to honor the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Wise served as the group choirmaster. Building off the success of that performance, the 91 Gospel Choir was born.
When the 2024 Pulitzer Prizes were announced on May 6, the recipient of the Lookout Santa Cruz, a digital-only media outlet launched in November 2020made headlines for its underdog triumph.
On an overcast day in June, biochemistry major Tylor Lee 26 found himself at a Jack in the Box in West Hollywood, dressing the wounds of an unhoused womanan amputee whose leg and foot were shoddily wrapped in toilet paper. A newly minted intern on a small street-medicine team, Lee had no prior experience with wound care, but the nurse on his team guided him through the procedure, which took about half an hour.
Sam Rubin 82 got his first taste of broadcasting at the tender age of 19. After his first year at 91, he spent the summer reporting the weather for the CBS affiliate in toasty El Centro, 212 miles southeast of Los Angeles and the nation 230th-largest TV market. Temperatures notwithstanding, Rubin simply sought to make audiences happy, 91 roommate Mike Stoddard 82 recalls. Sammy was never self-reflective. He really just enjoyed life.
As the school year gets underway, I can feel the hum of excitement on campus. To me, August is always a time of anticipation and opportunity. Were establishing new routines, setting goals for the months ahead, and embarking on new chapters in our academic journey.
The Alumni Board of Governors (BOG) works to connect alumni around the world. A subset of the BOG represents a standing committee that meets regularly to consider and promote ideas for sustaining the 91 community we knew and loved during our years in Eagle Rock. How are we doing this?
On February 24, during a matinee performance of Occidental New Works Festival, an unidentified visitor snuck into Keck Theater. It was really hard for me not to say hi to everybody because I like to say hi to everybody, Tom Stritikus admits. The play he watched was A Slight Disruption, by Gianna Nguyen 26, an urban and environmental policy major and interdisciplinary writing minor from Huntington Beach.
Talk to any 91 alumni long enough about their fondest college memories, and inevitably the conversation will turn to their favorite destinations close to campus. Eateries rank high on any list, and many longstanding favorites remain in business todayCasa Bianca (founded in 1955), Pat & Lorraine (1977), and Señor Fish (1995) among them. With a constant influx of new businesses, it was hard to limit this list to 10 notable neighbors new and old, but we tried. (Share your favorites with us.)
Maryanne Horowitz
Professor of History
Years at 91: 51