The Catalyst

The Catalyst The independent student newspaper of Colorado College, published weekly in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The Catalyst is a weekly newspaper, produced and managed exclusively by the students of The Colorado College. Published for the benefit of the college community and the surrounding local area, The Catalyst aims to bring general interest and academic-oeriented news, ideas and opinions into greater collective view-to act as a catalyst for informed debate. The newspaper is published under the auspices of Cutler Publications, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, independent of The Colorado College.

OPINION: All Party, No Culture“Colorado College doesn’t have a large or complex party culture. As I have seen and experi...
12/12/2025

OPINION: All Party, No Culture

“Colorado College doesn’t have a large or complex party culture. As I have seen and experienced firsthand, the ‘party culture’ here is very cliquey and hostile to those they don’t see as ‘normal.’
…

I’ve never really taken these seriously; I always chalked it up to the alcohol making them honest. Despite these comments, and despite the fact that I don’t like to drink or smoke, I loved going out last year. I don’t think I’ve ever made a bad impression on anyone and felt I matched people’s energy fairly well.”

📲 Link in bio for full story
✍️ Story by Grant Loui ‘28
🎨 Callie Dickman ‘28

A&E: SOCC Amplifies the EDM Scene on Campus“Corben Cameron ’28, the events manager for SOCC, was the force behind the ev...
12/12/2025

A&E: SOCC Amplifies the EDM Scene on Campus

“Corben Cameron ’28, the events manager for SOCC, was the force behind the event and has been planning it since the beginning of the year. Cameron was deeply passionate about this project.

“I wanted to bring something new,” he said. “We’ve never done an EDM event before. We’ve done live music shows and similar events, but I thought people would really enjoy this.”

📲 Link in bio for full story
✍️ Story by Allison Garcia ‘29
📸 Allison Garcia ‘29

FEATURES: Burgerthought: Pizza Burger“As much as it hurts to admit, the pizza burger worked. It lived squarely within th...
12/12/2025

FEATURES: Burgerthought: Pizza Burger

“As much as it hurts to admit, the pizza burger worked. It lived squarely within the formal constraints of the hamburger, but it tasted a lot like pizza.

I’m still not ready for the beef/pepperoni love affair, but if the next round charts a simpler course (perhaps with a dusting of cornmeal?), consider my napkin in my lap.”

📲 Link in bio for full story
✍️ Story by Asa Gartrell ‘26
📸 Asa Gartrell ‘26

SPORTS: Esports Teams are Now Part of the Athletics Department“Chad Schonewill, Director of Frontline Solutions and Supp...
12/12/2025

SPORTS: Esports Teams are Now Part of the Athletics Department

“Chad Schonewill, Director of Frontline Solutions and Support at ITS, has been involved in mentoring the esports teams since their inception. In an interview with The Catalyst, Schonewill expressed his hopes for the new restructuring and emphasized that ITS continues to provide the Athletics department with the necessary support and guidance in managing the Esports lab and its teams.”

📲 Link in bio for full story
✍️ Story by Polina Panasenko ‘28
📸 Colorado College Archives

NEWS: 2025’s Biggest News in Review“President Whitaker announced multiple changes to rebuild the school’s reputation and...
12/12/2025

NEWS: 2025’s Biggest News in Review

“President Whitaker announced multiple changes to rebuild the school’s reputation and national presence, including re-entering the U.S. News & World Report rankings. In downtown Colorado Springs, Colo., citizens and students came together throughout the year to protest the Trump administration and its policies.

“2025’s Biggest News in Review,” as determined by Co Editor-in-Chief Lilly Asano and News Editor Sydney McGarr, represents the top stories each month that have impacted CC students over the past 12 months.”

📲 Link in bio for full story
✍️ Story by Sydney McGarr ‘27 and Lilly Asano ‘27
📸 Colorado College Archives

NEWS: Sense of Place: Regional Trips Connect the CC Community to Greater Colorado“On Friday, Dec. 5, Colorado College st...
12/12/2025

NEWS: Sense of Place: Regional Trips Connect the CC Community to Greater Colorado

“On Friday, Dec. 5, Colorado College students, faculty and staff had the opportunity to hear Indigenous star stories and explore the night sky on an overnight trip to the Baca satellite campus. An International Dark Sky Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park is situated at the foothills of the snowcapped Sangre de Cristo mountain range and offers a spectacular night of storytelling and stargazing.

Dec. 6 marked the third trip organized by the Office of Institutional Equity and Belonging (IEB) as a part of the Sense of Place initiative. Created as a part of CC’s commitment to antiracism, Sense of Place programming aims to connect students, faculty and staff to the greater Colorado region and its complex colonial history.”

📲 Link in bio for full story
✍️ Story by Polina Panasenko ‘28
📸 Nora Johnson ‘28

2025 Catalyst WRAPPED! 💥🗞️ In 23 editions, we published 404 Stories covering local, campus, and national news. We are so...
12/11/2025

2025 Catalyst WRAPPED! 💥🗞️

In 23 editions, we published 404 Stories covering local, campus, and national news.

We are so grateful for .frantz and our talented co-editor in chiefs for their leadership and commitment to advancing student journalism.

Extra special shoutout to our editorial staff, our writers, photographers, illustrators and special content teams for their contributions this year.

Keep up the great work!!

Passionate about longform storytelling, campus characters and human interest stories? Lead our features section and over...
12/05/2025

Passionate about longform storytelling, campus characters and human interest stories?

Lead our features section and oversee stories from weekly columns to hard-hitting real on campus stories. Editors decide the direction of their section, provide support for writers and help cultivate community within the Catalyst.

Apply by December 17th! Link to application in bio.

Interested in the Arts on campus? The Arts and Entertainment editor covers everything from campus bands to dance worksho...
12/05/2025

Interested in the Arts on campus?

The Arts and Entertainment editor covers everything from campus bands to dance workshop to culture stories. This section is colorful, lighthearted and deeply connected to campus events and organizations. Editors decide the direction of their section, provide support for writers and help cultivate community within the Catalyst.

Apply by December 17th! Link to application in bio.

OPINION: Insurance Lingo: Corporate Language To Save Your Life“The second pressing issue is the intentionally dense, tec...
12/05/2025

OPINION: Insurance Lingo: Corporate Language To Save Your Life

“The second pressing issue is the intentionally dense, technical language and jargon that insurance companies use. Maintaining obfuscation between the plain physical truth and the maze of language needed to address it is extremely profitable for hospitals and insurers alike. When policies are written in impenetrable prose, people are less likely to understand what is covered, how to appeal decisions or when they are being denied care.

That confusion keeps customers passive and prevents them from challenging a system built around protecting corporate risk rather than patient well-being. It also successfully hides the real harm, masking how routine it is for insurers to delay treatment, deny claims and push people into medical debt.”

📲 Link in bio for full story
✍️ Story by Stecy Mwachia ‘26
📸 Kirstin Varallo ‘26

FEATURES: Roccynomics: How to Save Money as a Broke College Student“For students navigating Colorado College’s Block Pla...
12/05/2025

FEATURES: Roccynomics: How to Save Money as a Broke College Student

“For students navigating Colorado College’s Block Plan and the steep coffee prices on campus, this pressure often intensifies.

Every three and a half weeks, students face a full course’s worth of material, a final exam and the accelerated fatigue that accompanies the system.

This often means students are juggling grocery bills, meal planning, and budgeting decisions at the exact same time they are studying for a midterm every week, writing a final paper, or preparing for a presentation. Daunting, depressing and stressful financial worries do not wait for the semester’s end, they appear every block.”

📲 Link in bio for full story
✍️ Story by Grace Bean ‘26
🎨 Callie Dickman ‘28

A&E: Reflections on Humans in the Loop — Panel Discussion“As part of their visiting series in film and culture, the Film...
12/05/2025

A&E: Reflections on Humans in the Loop — Panel Discussion

“As part of their visiting series in film and culture, the Film and Media Studies department at Colorado College hosted a screening of Humans in the Loop on Wednesday, Nov. 19. The screening was followed by a panel of CC faculty from across academic disciplines discussing the main focus of the film, artificial intelligence and family.”

📲 Link in bio for full story
✍️ Story by Allison Garcia ‘29
📸 Allison Garcia ‘29

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