Caltech Graduate Students and Postdocs Will Vote on Unionization

Caltech Graduate Students and Postdocs Will Vote on Unionization

On November 30, 2023, Caltech grad students and postdocs filed union authorization cards with the National Labor Relations Board (NRLB). Earlier that day, around 100 grads and postdocs joined together to deliver a letter to Provost Tirrell, signed by over 500 grads and postdocs, requesting a fair union election process and that the Institute remain neutral rather than engaging in anti-union tactics.
Dear Orange

Dear Orange

What is this column about? This is the first time I’m seeing “Dear Orange” in this paper or hearing about it at all for that matter. Please tell me more.
Feel Free to Cancel Me It’s ok

Feel Free to Cancel Me It’s ok

In true Caltech fashion, the content for this article came about over midnight coffee at Red Door Café. I was sitting with a group of friends when the topic shifted to freedom of speech on campus. The atmosphere grew heavy and quiet. We were all afraid of saying the “wrong” thing. Finally, I broke the tension.
Free As In Speech, Not As In Laundry

Free As In Speech, Not As In Laundry

The laundry machines in all Caltech Undergraduate Housing have recently switched from an ID card-operated payment system to a smartphone app-based system. Previously, users of laundry machines could swipe their student card and the bill was charged to their bursar account. Bechtel Residence and Avery House have had this new system for a few years, but the decision was recently made to retrofit the existing North and South House washing machines with the WASH-Connect control panels.
Meet the Red Door Baristas - Paige

Meet the Red Door Baristas - Paige

Red Door, the campus café so inextricable from Caltech existence that it requires no introduction. As such, Red Door staff—tasked with nourishing the endless onslaught of Techers that come its way—deserve as much as anyone for their voices to be heard in The California Tech. The following interview, conducted with Assistant Manager Paige Gilli, is the inaugural entry of a new series with that very aim.
Movie review - ballad of songbirds and snakes

Movie review - ballad of songbirds and snakes

Introduction: In the dystopian world of Panem, where each choice defines destinies and the division between good and evil is blurred more often than not, “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” dives into the core conflicts present in the entire Hunger Games franchise.
New Couches

New Couches

The most fundamental tenet of a Caltech undergraduate education is training students to collaborate effectively in order to solve the most difficult problems in science and math today. And yet, the sanctity of every common lounge space in every undergraduate house, the home of collaboration, is at risk due to a recent renovation effort by the Housing Office.
Pasadena News Column

Pasadena News Column

Come enjoy the true holiday spirit at one of the oldest Christmas light displays in a tradition going back over a hundred years. The all-volunteer group bedazzles nearly a mile of the street with lights lining all the trees in a beautiful display of community. Be sure to come to the Lighting Ceremony and Winter Festival on December 9 at the Altadena Public Library.
Question the Quail

Question the Quail

Q: “I’m stumped on what to get for my significant other who seems to have everything. Any unique gift ideas that show thoughtfulness?”
The Honor Code is Falling Apart – We are the Solution.

The Honor Code is Falling Apart – We are the Solution.

Caltech Faculty members have begun reevaluating the relevance of the Honor Code in their classrooms because they are losing faith in the ability of the student body to fulfill their responsibilities to the Honor Code. Students are worried about the state of the Honor Code because they think they are the only ones following it, believing faculty and administrative offices on campus are not held accountable for honor code violations.
Unleash Your Inner Prankster with Caltech's Official Prank Club!

Unleash Your Inner Prankster with Caltech's Official Prank Club!

WHY JOIN US? Dive into a world where cunningness knows no bounds! The Caltech Prank Club is your ticket to a community of masterminds who transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. Our pranks are legendary, and our laughter is contagious. From harmless hijinks to mind-bending setups, we redefine the meaning of fun!
Vice President of Student Affairs Addresses Controversy Over Discontinuing Rotation Events

Vice President of Student Affairs Addresses Controversy Over Discontinuing Rotation Events

There has been a lot of buzz about the vague spectre of “admin” banning undergraduate house events, both during and outside Rotation this year. In continuing this discussion between tradition and inclusivity, the Tech interviewed Dr. Kevin Gilmartin, Vice President for Student Affairs, to get his perspective on the matter. Our conversation focused on two specific issues: Blacker Hovse’s Potato Cannon, and Ricketts Hovse’s Rotation Dinner Skits.
Write For the Tech.

Write For the Tech.

If you are a friend, an enemy, or even a vague acquaintance of mine, you have likely heard me tell you to write for the Tech. And yet my research has shown the vast majority of you have never written for the tech! What utter disgrace, frankly I’m disappointed. So in an effort to convince more of you to write for the tech I have written a very comprehensive guide about how to write for the tech.
Caltech orange needs a hint of green

Caltech orange needs a hint of green

Arriving at this institution from Denmark many tropes of the American, and indeed the Californian life seemed confirmed. Breakfasts of waffles, sweltering temperatures and affable attitudes. However, there’s one aspect that has struck me more than any other - the complete disregard for environmental concerns.
Caltech's Course on 'The Biomechanics of Organismal Design': Where Engineering Meets Biology

Caltech's Course on 'The Biomechanics of Organismal Design': Where Engineering Meets Biology

At Caltech, a distinctive biology course introduces a new way students approach the life sciences. “The Biomechanics of Organismal Design,” taught by Professor Michael H. Dickinson, merges the concrete principles of physics with the dynamic patterns of biology. This integration offers a new perspective to students, particularly appealing to those with interests in mechanical engineering. The course tackles intriguing questions like how penguins swim, why maple seeds spin to the ground, and the comparative strength of spider silk versus steel. While the course focuses on the organismal level, it also incorporates molecular, cellular, and tissue-level scales, painting a comprehensive picture of biological mechanics.