Commentary: Donald Trump is now ‘47’. Why Pomona College alumni want the number back

My favorite baseball cap is emblazoned with the number 47 on it.

But it’s not what you think.

Long before Donald Trump launched his bid to return to the White House to become the nation’s 47th president, the number 47 held special meaning for me and my fellow Pomona College graduates and current students.

The number 47 is considered sacred for anyone who calls themselves a Sagehen. (Yes, that’s our college mascot. Don’t laugh.)
The number 47 has eerily appeared repeatedly in the 137-year history of this private liberal arts college, located in the tranquil, tree-shaded town of Claremont.

Examples? Exits on the 10 and 210 freeways to get to Pomona College are both number 47. The organ at the college’s music auditorium has 47 pipes in the top row. There were 47 enrolled students at the time of the first graduating class in 1894. The largest dorm on campus, officially known as Florence Carrier Blaisdell and Della Mullock Mudd Hall, has 47 characters in the title and was completed in 1947. The dorm’s staircase contains 47 balusters.

I’m sure there are others examples — maybe 47 of them — that I’m forgetting.

The number has become so closely tied to the school that the on-campus store sells hats, T-shirts, shot glasses and even baby socks adorned with 47. Incoming freshmen learn of the school’s special number during orientation sessions.

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That’s why it feels more than upsetting to see crowds at Trump’s rallies waving signs with the number 47 on them. The online Trump store — along with Amazon.com — are also peddling baseball caps, just like mine, with the number 47 stitched to the front. Trump himself can often be seen wearing a MAGA hat with the numbers 45-47 on the side. His campaign platform was called Agenda 47.

It feels like Trump and his followers have appropriated my favorite number.

And I’m not alone.

Pomona College alumni have created a Facebook page — the 47 Society — dedicated to displaying examples of the number as it pops up in everyday life — on a restaurant bill, an airline boarding pass and football scores. A recent topic of discussion among members of the 47 Society was the election of Trump.

“Well, this is the worst thing to happen to our beloved number, possibly ever,� one graduate wrote on the page.

Hugo Martín, the author of this article, with his beloved “47� cap.

(Courtesy of Hugo Martín)

Another alumnus wrote that he scraped off a 47 sticker from his car rear window. “I don’t want anyone thinking I voted for him.�

An alumnus from the class of 1996 messaged me to say that she had been thinking about getting a “47� tattoo but has had second thoughts since Trump’s election. “Maybe after time passes I will,� she said. “But not anytime soon.�

Terril Jones, a graduate of the class of 1980 and a former member of the Pomona College Alumni Assn., said he worries that wearing his 47 hat in public might be seen as a political statement instead of a show of affection for his alma mater.

“It’s a number dear to Sagehens who have long considered it their own,� he said. “I definitely feel that the Trump campaign has co-opted it in a way that makes it difficult for all people who love 47 to display it.�

I also worry that my beloved 47 hat will be misinterpreted. But my love for Pomona College won’t let me toss it as others have done.

Jones said he feels the same way.

“My hope is that this will die down after four years, if not earlier, and the number 47 won’t be associated with any particular politicians,� he said.