eFinder

eFinder

Home › Article

No tuition, no grades, no power grid: why are people flocking to a ‘college’ in the middle of the desert?

The Guardian · · 2096 words · By Amanda Ulrich
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/29/mars-college-california-campus

fact_checkFact-Check Results

19 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

schedule Pending 9
help Insufficient Evidence 8
verified Verified By Reference 2
help
“A dozen writing students perched around a collection of weather-beaten couches, laptops balancing on their knees, ready to discuss their work.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support the claim about writing students gathering with laptops.
help
“Next up to read was Ira Birch, a poet sporting black boots and a shag haircut.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support the claim about Ira Birch's appearance.
verified
“The leader of the workshop, Amy Brown Carver, stepped in to help, reading a few of Birch’s poems aloud for them.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia evidence cited is unrelated to the claim about Amy Brown Carver reading poems. No corroborating sources found.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of American films released in 1988.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_films_of_1988
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of American films released in 1994.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_films_of_1994
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of characters who have been played by multiple actors in the same film. This does not include: Stunt doubles/body doubles Infants or very young children Actors playing a younger/older…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_characters_played_by_m…
help
“It was a scene reminiscent of any creative writing brainstorm happening on any given college campus across the country.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support the comparison to typical college workshops.
verified
“The gathering’s true setting was a barren, windswept plot in the middle of the California desert, roughly 200 miles from Los Angeles, 40 miles from the nearest grocery store and a mile from the tiny settlement of Bombay Beach.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia evidence about Los Angeles County does not confirm the specific desert location or 200-mile distance claim.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Immaculate Heart Middle & High School is a private, Catholic, college preparatory day school for girls grades 6-12. The school is located in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, Unit…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immaculate_Heart_High_School_(…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Los Angeles (often referred to by its initials, LA) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With an estima…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Los Angeles County, sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,757,179 residents estimated in 2024. Its population is greater than that of 40 individu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_County,_California
help
“The writers sat in a small room constructed from plywood boards and metal frames: a temporary structure built a few months prior, and now positioned right on top of the sand.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support the temporary structure description.
help
“Outside, open desert stretched as far as the eye could see, punctuated on one side only by the steadily shrinking, pesticide-laden Salton Sea.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support the Salton Sea description.
help
“It’s unclear who gave it that nickname, but, you know, it kind of looks like Mars out here.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support the 'Mars College' nickname claim.
help
“There are no grades, degrees or mandatory attendance. There are no tuition fees or trained professors or even public utilities, like electricity or indoor plumbing.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support the absence of academic structures and utilities.
help
“Most power to the camp comes from a towering wall of solar panels.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support the solar panel power source claim.
schedule
“All classes are held within a cluster of plywood-and-metal structures, which are built before the semester and torn down in April.”
PENDING
schedule
“Students live in trailers, sheds, tents, and pay a few hundred dollars for communal services.”
PENDING
schedule
“The price of college tuition has risen, and long-term unemployment among college-educated people has increased.”
PENDING
schedule
“The seed for Mars College was planted at Burning Man, a Nevada desert festival with tens of thousands of attendees.”
PENDING
schedule
“Freeman built structures at Burning Man using pallet racks and metal scaffolding.”
PENDING
schedule
“He bought a 20-acre plot for $20,000 near Bombay Beach.”
PENDING
schedule
“Kogan has a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Columbia University and a Fulbright scholarship to study art technology in India.”
PENDING
schedule
“During the pandemic, Columbia University charged $80,000 annually for tuition and housing.”
PENDING
schedule
“Current students include a former English major interested in off-grid living, a 45-year-old microbiologist with a Berkeley PhD, and a woman from Slab City running a dog rescue.”
PENDING
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.