Words By Iza Harris PZ ’26 and Outback Staff

Graphic By Evie Burrows-White PZ ’26

On a cloudy Thursday, music echoed through the central Pitzer locale, the mounds, and resonated through the heart of Pitzer’s campus. The event was a celebration of the natural cycle of life and death. Students gathered to recognize these campus icons one last time — and what better way to honor our fallen friends than with three college aged pals DJing on its grave? 

On Jan. 20, an Italian Stone Pine tree on one of the Pitzer mounds fell down during a bout of strong winds that blew through the larger Los Angeles region, damaging the side of Broad Hall. 10 days later, Pitzer students received an email from Facilities & Campus Services, notifying the college community that three more pine trees would be removed over the weekend of Feb. 1.

In their email, Pitzer Facilities explained the safety concerns the trees pose to the Pitzer community.

“The Stone Pine trees are not native to Southern California, are over 50 years old, and have shallow root systems and top-heavy foliage — all of which present serious safety concerns,” the email read. 

The email emphasized Pitzer’s commitment to developing a sustainable ecosystem on campus. 

“We understand the value of these trees to our community, and as part of our commitment to sustainability, native trees will be planted as replacements. The Sustainability Committee has been informed and will provide input on the replacement trees,” it read. 

On Jan. 23, the original tree was completely removed from the premises and in its honor, Max Plush PZ ’25, also known as DJ PLOTZ along with Weston Crewe CM ’25 and Colin Scanlon collectively known as DJ Chiquita Banana, hosted a memorial on The Mounds with a live DJ set to celebrate its life and long-standing presence as part of Pitzer’s landscape.

The DJs felt that the late tree would appreciate this event, that the spirit of the tree would be uplifted by the community. After the hour-long set, Scanlon made a dark joke about its success. 

“I hope more trees will fall as an excuse for more events like these,” he said sarcastically.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Scanlon’s accidental prophecy was unfolding. Later that night, Pitzer students’ learned they would be tragically losing three more trees. 

On Jan. 31, the day before the set removal of the other two pines, Helen Chirigos PZ ’25 sent a Student Talk with the subject, “A toast to the trees.”

“With deep sadness I propose that the Pitzer community joins together to make a toast to our beloved Pitzer pines on the eve of their demise,” she wrote in the email. 

That evening, over 30 Pitzer students, mostly seniors, gathered to make speeches appreciating the trees. Multiple students climbed the soon to be fallen trees, relishing in the glory of their bark while they still had the chance. Students stood in a circle with their arms around each other and sang, “What a Wonderful World.”

Aside from lamentation it inspired, the loss of these trees also displaced an integral part of Pitzer’s campus — the slackline. Two of the trees that needed to be cut down held up a slackline, which you could often see students attempting to cross at different hours of the day. 

Diego Tamayo PZ ’25, funeral attendee, shared his thoughts on how the loss of the slackline could affect campus life. 

“I think that having that slackline not be present, it definitely is a vacancy, one that I’ve noted every single day,” Tamayo shared. “Looking up towards the clock tower it just doesn’t feel the same.”

Despite this absence of slackline, Stryder Rodenberg PZ ’25 expressed his enthusiasm for the future of Pitzer’s mounds and the opportunity to plant native plants with stronger root systems in their place. 

“I’m really excited that they’re gonna plant a new native tree that will be more weather resistant and drought tolerant moving forward,” Rodenberg said. 

Honoring the memory of the pine trees, Tamayo described his hopes that Pitzer students can engage with nature on campus.

“In the longer term, honoring the trees is creating a connection with the outside, and that’s by respecting, visiting, and being one with the outside spaces,” Tamayo said.