The Scripps Voice

By Rachael Hamilton ‘16
Staff Writer

Since Feb. 2011, there has been a new type of social scene on the 5Cs, one that does not adhere to the stereotypical college party, instead attending to the needs of those who are uninterested in the same old alcohol, music, and crowds. That social scene is Alter Ego.

“Alter Ego was formed a few years ago when a group of friends, disgruntled and dissatisfied with the social scene on campus, decided to throw their own parties and have their own events,” the club wrote in an e-mail. “From there it bloomed, as many people on campus appreciated what we were doing and supported our continuation.”

Alter Ego is an all-female CLORG that hosts events that are the “alter ego” of a normal party one would find happening at the 5Cs on a Friday or Saturday night. That means no alcohol, an alternative social experience, and a whole new meaning for nightlife.

Their most well-known event that embodies this practice is the annual Black After-Party, which directly follows CMC’s White Party. They also threw the Childish Gambino after-party.

Alter Ego’s mission statement states, “Alter Ego Entertainment aims to build community by contributing alternatively to the social experience on campus. This organization provides educational opportunities via events that introduce different types of music, cultures, and interests of the community. Through non-alcoholic events, which are led and organized by women, Alter Ego Entertainment seeks to serve underrepresented interests on campus and provide a socially safe space for campus nightlife.”

Alter Ego’s next event is a collaboration with Pitzer’s Black Student Union. They will be DJing the 90’s Throwback Party on Dec. 8.

If you are interested in joining Alter Ego, they have meetings every week at the Scripps Student Union.

By Kehau Jai ‘16
Staff Writer

Pandora and Spotify are great ways to listen to your favorite music free online (if you can get past the advertising), but there’s nothing quite like being at a live concert. But if you don’t have a car—or even if you do—it can be difficult and expensive to get to Los Angeles to attend live music events. Fortunately, we have organizations like Scripps Live Arts.

Co-leaders Anna Petkovich (‘14) and Caitlin Sweeney (‘13) aim to bring live performances and concerts to Scripps and the 5C community free of charge. Scripps Live Arts offers a range of events, from live musical performances to poetry readings. Petkovich views this focus on drawing artistic talent to Scripps College as their “contribution to the Scripps community,” since before “students had to go off campus to go to live shows.”

Scripps Live Arts focuses on organizing live events. Anyone interested can get involved. The club provides “resources for students to bring those people they’re excited about,” says Sweeney.

Live Arts also works to give members experience in the entertainment industry through involvement in event planning. This includes learning how to book artists, obtain financing, use sound and monitoring equipment, and advertise shows.

Live Arts will have different focus each semester. This semester “we’re exclusively doing music,” says Sweeney. Petkovich noted that “folky” singer-songwriter Katie Colver will peform at the Motley Coffeehouse on Nov. 8 at 8:00 p.m.

“Post-punk surf rock” band Jaawwzz (try saying that out loud) will perform at the Student Union at 7:00 p.m. on Nov. 16.

On Dec. 8, Grass Widow, an all-female punk band will come to campus.
Besides bringing in outside artists, Scripps Live Arts also promote 5C artists:  singer-songwriter Olivia Buntaine (SCR ’15) will open for the Colver concert.

Scripps Live Arts looks and sounds as good as the events they organize. They welcome anyone who wants to foster art and performance in the community. Petkovich said, “This club is really what students make it. We’re open to anything and we hope that interested students will come to us with their ideas.”
To learn more about becoming involved with Scripps Live Arts or to learn about their events, contact scrippslivearts@gmail.com, like their page on Facebook, or attend their club meetings on Mondays at 5:30 p.m. in the Student Union.

By Stephanie Steinbrecher ’16

Staff Writer

Blowing out the candles on a cake every year has become a classic rite of passage in the US, and many probably consider it an embarrassing tradition. There are people, however, who do not even have the luxury of deciding whether their celebratory cake is chocolate or vanilla or red velvet, simply because they do not have a cake, or any treat, on their birthday at all. That was until Scripps students got involved.

Photo by Caroline Novit ’14

SWEET (Scrippsies Who Endow Edible Treats) Bakery was started in 2009 as a club aimed at baking birthday goodies to benefit children participating in Foothill Family Shelter’s after-school care program. On campus, SWEET bakers sell baked goods to the students and faculty of the Claremont colleges to subsidize the cost of these birthday treats. The family shelter has access to a fund that they use to purchase the cakes, which are often the only ones these children receive on their birthdays. Senior Mary Hershewe, current co-president, said, “We believe every child should feel special on his or her birthday. Baking treats with SWEET also offers a way for us students to chill out, de-stress, and share our love for baking delicious things.”

Although there is little direct contact between SWEET and the children their work benefits, Hershewe said that they are “hoping to collaborate more closely with the kids and the program this year.” Hershewe and Bayley Clarke ‘13, co-presidents, want to encourage other members of the Scripps community to share in their excitement for baking and helping make children’s special days special by joining their organization. They are also looking to fill leadership positions. The presidents view their work as a fun way to take a break from the grind of classes and homework. Said Hershewe, “Bayley and I love cooking and baking. We are hoping that this year we can make SWEET a little more laid back. We may pick movies to watch while
we cook, have some kind of study break hangout thing. We’re super interested in what you all want us to be making and we’re excited to try out some new ideas!”

With big aspirations to expand its direct contact with children off campus as well as its organization on campus, this is going to be an exciting year for SWEET Bakery. Contact Mary Hershewe or Bayley Clarke to get involved today: mhershew3860@scrippscollege.edu or bclarke8948@scrippscollege.edu.

By Mikayla Raymond ‘15
SAS Media Relations Chair

Hello Scripps Voice Readers! My name is Mikayla Raymond and I am this year’s SAS Media Relations Chair! It is my job to keep you all up to speed with what’s going on in SAS so that we can all participate and be aware of what’s going on in our community.

SAS training began a week before classes started, and during our numerous meetings with both the executive and programming branches, as well as Dean Lee and President Bettison-Varga, we were able to discuss (and occasionally argue about) our goals for the start of the semester and how best to implement these goals. One of our biggest goals is to increase our visibility on campus. The largest aspect of this change will be an overhaul of the SAS website. Over the summer, we began designing a more attractive, useful, and better organized website to help both SAS and the student body communicate, participate, and advertise events as well as to make necessary information for CLORGS and student leaders more readily available. The site still has a very long way to go, but we have made a lot of progress and expect to have things running soon. In conjunction, I am leading a WordPress tutorial for SAS officers so that the entire SAS team can upload important information online for your viewing pleasure. In the same publicity vein, we are currently working hard to create an enticing logo for use on the SAS Website, flyers for SAS events, and t-shirts. We are also working on building our Facebook presence so that students can engage with us easily. We are confident that these changes will begin to create a closer connection between students and SAS and help inform students about what we are currently doing on campus.

Another goal is to create a set of policies for the Student Union. We want to make the space as useful for Scripps Students as possible and are currently working out procedures for reserving the conference rooms. We also want CLORGs to have the option to reserve the entire Student Union space for community events.

Additionally, we are in the process of revamping the Hall Council system. We are reevaluating the existing structure and plan to make significant changes to create a more substantial role for these representatives on our campus and within SAS. The current structure of Hall Council is not facilitating the need for more student representation on SAS and more collaboration between SAS and Residential Life, Peer Mentors, Hall Directors, and RAs.

If you have been using your dorm kitchen, you likely noticed some new additions! Thanks to a generous gift from last year’s SAS, every dorm kitchen is now fully stocked and ready for you to use. These lovely tools include: toasters, hand mixers, vegetable peelers, can openers, pots and pans of all sizes, silverware, strainers, knives, and more. No more running over to GJW for a cupcake tin and then back to Dorsey for a spatula! Until next time, keep yourself informed by liking our Facebook page, and by looking out for signs about Hall Council and First-Year Rep elections! You can visit the SAS Facebook page here.

By Jesse Osborn ’13
Guest Writer

PHOTO COURTESY OF JESSE OSBORN. Members of the Marine Biology Club, gathered around in front of a pool on one of their first field trips.

The Scripps College Marine Biology Club is a brand new club that started this year. The club’s goal is to increase awareness about the decline of our oceans’ health while teaching and encouraging the implementation of strategies to preserve the oceans. They provide a forum for students to explore marine biology and share this interest with other Scripps students. This past semester was a fantastic start for the club, as they participated in several activities both on and off campus.

The first issue that the club investigated was the implementation of sustainable seafood in the dining halls. Sustainable seafood is seafood that is caught or farmed in ways that will maintain or increase production of the seafood without endangering or harming the environment and ecosystem from which it came.

This is an ongoing investigation as the issue has come down to the contractual agreements with the food supplier.

Also on campus, the club put on a screening of the academy award winning movie, “The Cove.” This was a very fun event and raised some questions on how politics can affect science and environmental actions.

A major part of the club is getting off campus to visit beaches, tide pools and oceans. During the fall semester, the club participated in California Coastal Clean-Up Day, picking up around 35 pounds of trash along the Long Beach coast.

Members also traveled to several aquariums including The Aquarium of the Pacific and Birch Aquarium in San Diego.

This semester they plan on doing several more aquarium trips along with trips to tide pools, snorkeling around Catalina Island and hosting several more ocean themed movie events.

Anyone interested in joining should contact Jesse Osborn at jesse.osborn@scrippscollege.edu, and look for posters about upcoming aquarium trips and movie screenings.

By Rachel Hennessey ‘13
Staff Writer

Claremont’s eclectic mixture of Neoclassical, Victo rian, Spanish and Modern influences make it exceptionally interesting from an architectural standpoint. It is only fitting that the five colleges, which contain representations of each of these styles, contribute to the preservation of the village’s unique artistic spirit. For over 20 years, the members of the Scripps Art Society have provided students from all five colleges with opportunities to explore, promote and create works of art in and around Claremont.

The Art Society has experienced great success in previous years thanks to strong student leadership and effective advertisement for the club and its events. The Society’s events and excursions have provided students with access to art shows and museum trips. For example, it co-hosted the “Wearable Arts Fashion Shows” at the Motley, for which students created apparel out of unconventional materials. Events such as this are excellent ways of reaching out to a wide array of students, and have enhanced campus-wide discussion about design, fashion, and other relevant topics. The society also has a history of encouraging students to enjoy the world-class art in Los Angeles County.  In the past, chairs have used their financial allotment to help fund the Senior Art Shows, to provide transportation for trips to galleries in L.A., and to bring artists to campus for afternoon workshops.

Sadly, the Art Society has lost stamina since its beginnings.  However, in 2009, Melinda March (‘10) decided it was time to make a change, by reopening it to students from all 5 colleges and recruiting new members.  This year, Lili Salzberg (‘12) and myself, Rachel Hennessey (‘13), aim to build off of March’s foundation, and keep the club thriving.  Lili and I have discussed our ideas for the future, which we will put into action next semester, when the club will formally recommence. We would like to bring hands-on creativity back to Scripps by implementing collaborative art projects around campus, such as enhancing the new student union or painting a mural.  Additionally, the club aims to, “raise awareness of the fine art in the area surrounding Claremont, as well as in our own community,” explained Salzberg. A trip to the Getty or LACMA and a private tour of Claremont’s own OBJCT gallery are other likely Art Society sponsored events to keep an eye out for next semester.

Whether you are an art major or are simply artistically curious, let the Art Society come to your rescue next semester when you find yourself overworked and libraried-out!  Venturing off campus for a cultural event or opting to get your hands dirty with some friends may be just what the doctor prescribed.

The first SAS BeHeard forum of the year took place on Sept. 28. Meeting at the Motley at 9 p.m., SAS co-Treasurers India Mullady (‘11) and Guadalupe de la Cruz (‘11) began by introducing SAS’s funding budget for the 2009-2010 school year. Mullady and de la Cruz reported that SAS’s budget had been cut by 6 percent. The percentage of funding set aside for each club or organization has remained the same, but the number of Scripps Clubs and Organizations has almost doubled since last year.

This increase in number of CLORGs has resulted in less funding for each one. In spite of the budget cut, SAS’s focus remains in providing quality programs and events to the 5C community—such as the Sept. 22 “I (Heart) Female Orgasm” event—while also sponsoring fun events that are low-budget. Upcoming events discussed at the forum include the SAS Book Club, to be led by a different professor every month, and the 5C Music Fest, to be held Oct. 24 at CMC.

The discussion at this month’s BeHeard forum focused around community at Scripps and SAS’s theme for this year: “What is a Scripps Student?” SAS president Anna Salem (‘10) mediated discussion on dorm community and better ways to foster a Scripps community. There has been talk of a substance-free dorm and all first-year dorms, as well as the possibility for groups of friends to move in to groups of singles in certain halls. Many students feel that an open-door community should be cultivated starting the first year at Scripps.

Because Scripps is currently in a state of flux with a new president, Salem said that now is a critical time for students to effect change and influence the direction of the school. Beth Olesen (‘10) called for more students to join her on the Strategic Planning Committee and voice student opinions on the direction of the college. A new dorm is in the works, and students have the opportunity to provide input, as well as to influence what kinds of spaces will be available to students, such as a student union or a lounge similar to Harvey Mudd’s Platt Center.

Concerns about feelings of alienation among students who have interests and majors that are not necessarily represented by the Scripps website or magazine were also voiced. About half of the Joint Science students are from Scripps, and there are more math majors in the class of 2010 than French majors. Despite the portrait that official publications paint, Scripps’ identity is not defined by the humanities. Some science majors feel they are celebrated
only when it serves the purpose of the College. Maria Luca (’10), a science major, opined that theses due on different days for different majors decreases the sense of community, celebration and accomplishment of a finished thesis as a class.

Next month’s BeHeard forum will take place on Oct. 27 at 9 p.m. at the Motley.