PITZER GARDEN HONORS REPORTER COLLEGE DEDICATES SITE TO DAVID BLOOM.

Byline: Jennifer Cho Staff Writer

CLAREMONT - There is a garden where the Pitzer College community can find healing, reflection and renewal.

Among salvia plants, Matilija poppies and great Engelmann oak trees is a place where they can gather to remember friends and loved ones who are no longer with them.

On Sunday, more than 50 alumni, students, faculty and staff enjoyed a brief respite from the rain to dedicate the memorial garden in the name of David Bloom, a 1985 Pitzer graduate and NBC News correspondent who died on April 6 while covering the war in Iraq.

``Because (David's) life was so public and successful, we were proud to point to him as a symbol of what a Pitzer alumnus can achieve,'' Pitzer College President Laura Skandera Trombley said in opening remarks at the dedication ceremony.

``Because his death was so public and poignant, it caused us to take stock and realize that the time had come to create a space where we may remember all friends of Pitzer College.''

The David Bloom Garden of Remembrance is a 1,800-square-foot patch of sage and California native flora at the edge of Pitzer's John R. Rodman Arboretum.

Arboretum manager Joe Clements, who spent two weeks organizing and creating the memorial space, said the arboretum's sage garden was chosen for its many varieties of salvias, which are known for their healing abilities.

``They are aromatic and often used for medicinal purposes,'' Clements said. ``We thought it was an appropriate theme for a remembrance garden, and I thought it was a good choice because of its high prominence on campus. It's right in front of Pitzer College.''

During Sunday morning's dedication ceremony, Pitzer College professor Jim Lehman, who taught a young David Bloom in his economics courses, reflected on his former student's fierce ambition, sense of humor and winning smile.

``There was a fundamental decency in him,'' Lehman said. ``Wherever the seed came from, he was able to let it take root and grow it, and see that it was good.''

Political studies professor Dana Ward said he would remember Bloom as an articulate debater, a good-natured individual, an unbelievably hard worker and a courageous person for coming to Pitzer as a ``Reaganite'' among a sea of campus radicals.

``He had a twinkle in his eye. ... He always had a smile ... and he had mountains of energy,'' Ward said of his former student.

Former debate coach John Wallen reflected on his first encounter with a teenage Bloom at a debate camp in the summer of 1978.

As a youngster, Bloom's idea of fun was to see what he could ``get away with.'' Later, that energy evolved into a journalistic attitude of ``get it first, get it right,'' Wallen said.

Pitzer College graduate Bernhard Voelkelt said the dedication of a memorial garden was a timely event considering the college's 40th anniversary.

``Sometimes it takes catalytic events to start the initiative,'' said Voelkelt, who graduated from Pitzer in 1979. ``What was initiated through the catalytic event of Bloom's death was the need to remember the people who are no longer here. Now, they will not be forgotten.''

The 39-year-old Bloom, who had worked for NBC News for 10 years, died of a pulmonary embolism while covering the Army's 3rd Infantry Division outside of Baghdad.