The Scripps Voice

By Monica Dreicter and Marian Miller ‘13
Motley Community Engagement Manager & Head Manager

Discussions about sexual violence on the 5Cs have been particularly visible this past school year, and to engage in this important dialogue in a new way, the Motley will be hosting the deans from all five Claremont colleges this March to discuss new sexual assault policies. Last September’s email from Dean Lee to Scripps students, informing us that date rape drugs were possibly being sold on Pomona’s campus, was one of the initial events that sparked such intense conversation about sexual assault on campus. In this email, students were warned not to accept drinks from people we do not know, leave a drink unattended, or drink from a container we did not open. We were reminded to contact Campus Security or RAs in case we felt in danger. Outraged by this passive response from the schools, Motley managers Marian Miller (‘13), Julia Howard (‘14), Carrie Latimer (‘14), and Katelyn Muir (‘14) started the “Talking Back” campaign which asked students to write letters to their Deans of Students, encouraging them to focus on the issue of sexual assault at the 5Cs in a more active manner. However, the Motley was not the only group addressing this issue. Scripps students and administrators formed the Sexual Assault Awareness Committee (SAARC), incorporating various groups from campus to hold events promoting a dialogue about sexual assault.

On March 1, the Motley and SAARC are teaming up to host a panel of five Deans of Students from Scripps, CMC, Harvey Mudd, Pomona, and Pitzer in order to continue the discussion about sexual assault on campus. The Deans will be asked questions about their changing sexual assault policies: catalyzers for the changes, thought processes, goals, and steps they are taking outside of this policy change. Moderated by Professor Kim Drake, this will be a time for administrators and students to join the conversation together and increase transparency on sexual assault policies, as well to challenge the campuses—students, administrators, and faculty alike—to address the problem of sexual assault in meaningful ways. There will be a time for audience questions at the end of the panel.

Please be a part of this important conversation! The panel will be held at the Motley at 2 p.m. on March 1. For more information, email community.motley@gmail.com

By Szeyin Lee ’14
Business Manager

Rebecca Lee was appointed this past summer by President Lori Bettison-Varga as Interim Dean of Students of Scripps College. My first impression of Bekki Lee was the powerful, inspiring speech she gave at the “Women of Color” Dinner, and I was grateful for the opportunity to find out more about our new Dean through the interview.

At the beginning of the interview, Lee shared the story of her mother’s , who influenced her to take on a position with an institution that focuses on women’s education. Dean Lee’s mother was told not to go to school because she was a woman. However, she decided to combat the social standard and work to gain the financial resource to pursue her degree in social work. She even told Dean Lee’s father that he could wait for her to finish her graduate degree if he truly wanted to marry her. The determination, courage, activism, and wisdom of her mother serve as inspiration to Dean Lee in becoming an advocate of women’s rights.

During the past three months of working at Scripps College, Lee was most impressed by the quality of Scripps students, who are “highly committed to learning.” All Scripps students take on the challenge of the Core Curriculum, an interdisciplinary approach to education that helps Scripps students to rapidly develop critical thinking skills. Dean Lee said she wishes she had been exposed to that type of intensive learning in her education. Lee also noticed that Scripps students are notably respectful of each other’s voices and appreciative of what Scripps has to offer.

When asked of what she thinks of Scripps College, Rebecca Lee described Scripps as  “an absolute gem” of a school, one which is at the stage of “becoming a community at leadership role as a center of research and education that emphasizes the principles of community and diversity and development of an inclusive learning community.” Rebecca Lee’s goals as Interim Dean of Students are still being shaped. “We need to find out how are we doing and position ourselves to fit students’ needs. Especially with all the changes going on (a plan to build a new residence hall, establishment of Student Union), we want to know what are you [the students] are looking for in student affairs.” She strives to balance the planning for future and the work on daily basis in the present. To accomplish her goals, Dean Lee plans on having more office hours, attending smaller gatherings, responding to different groups, and meeting with student leaders as well as first years. Dean Lee is open to listening closely to students’ thoughts and concerns.

As one of the few Asian American senior staff members of Scripps College, Dean Lee says that her Asian American identity provides her the opportunity to develop consciousness of different identities and to think about diversity more broadly. The experiences she had growing up in this country showed her the societal expectations and norms towards minorities, and helped her better communicate cross-culturally in serving other students from different backgrounds.

Dean Lee’s hobbies are taiko, cello, and tennis. Dean Lee is looking forward to meeting speaking with every Scripps student about concerns and ideas. Feel free to drop by during her office hours and say hello!

So. You’ve moved off to college in search of education, new friends and—perhaps most importantly—independence. The first two seem to be going pretty
well, but maybe you are still feeling a lack of freedom. Perhaps mom or dad calls too often? Maybe the family lives nearby and wants you to come home more? I suspect someone wants to know where your free time and money are going as well. Fear not: you are not alone. Almost every student struggles with her parent about these issues. Here are some helpful hints to making the transition from someone’s child to someone’s adult child.

First, accept that the hovering person cares about you. She or he only wants the best for you, and has focused the last 18 years or so on supporting you. Give
the person positive feedback—say “I love you” or “I miss you.” Send a nice note via snail mail (it is wonderful to get real mail!). Even an email works. Pick up
some holiday cards and send them off now and then. Halloween, Dia de los Muertos and Thanksgiving are all on the horizon. Let them know you care, too.

Second, control calls by setting a pre-established time to check in. Let the other person know how busy and complicated your life is. Decide how many times per week are good and how many is too many. Select a time or times when you can chat. In the old days, before long distance calls were cheap or free, we called Sunday after 11 p.m., when the rates went down.

How do you keep your privacy? You keep your privacy by setting the agenda for the call. I don’t mean that you should literally write out an agenda, but figure out in advance what you want to share. Make a list if it helps. Anticipate your parent’s questions, and try to address the ones you want to answer. Identify topics that are comfortable for you—how your job is going, how graduate school or work applications are looking, what you are doing in your clubs or sports
or anything else that you want to discuss. If you know there is something your parent wants to know about and you would prefer not to talk about it, figure
out what you are comfortable saying and say it.

Give your parents “road signs” in the conversation so they know what you want from them. “Mom, I just want to vent, please don’t give me any advice,” or “I really screwed up, and I know it. I need for you to just listen, not to yell, and to give me your advice.” Telling them what you need helps them meet your
needs and avoids potential conflict.

Finally, remember that this transition is as hard on your family as it is on you. And we at the Dean of Students’ office are here to help you navigate the tough conversations with the family.

Current policies on dealing with bias-related incidents have received criticism from Scripps students. A new 5C committee, to be headed by Miriam Feldblum, dean of students and vice president at Pomona College, will address such criticisms, focusing specifically on discrepancies among each college’s notification policies.

“Their charge will be to review the intercollegiate protocol and determine if any changes should be made to it and suggest revisions,” said Scripps Dean of Students Debra Wood. “They will consult with the campus communities.”  Scripps email notifications relay information on specific incidents and include contacts for aggrieved students. A number of students have expressed dissatisfaction with these emails.

“It feels like they think they’re doing their job by letting us know vaguely what’s happening, but I don’t see how that’s changing the problem or solving it,” said Jackie Wijaya (’12). “I feel like what we do isn’t enough.”

Antoinette Myers (’12), drew attention to the difficulty of deciding how much information to include in the e-mails. In her opinion, change can only be effective when it origin ates in the student body. “There’s apathy on our campus,” said Myers.

Others claim ignorance of what constitutes a bias incident, unsure of the difference between free speech and banned speech. Both the Scripps and the 5C communication protocols define bias-related incidents as “expressions of hostility against another person (or group) because of that person’s (or group’s) race, color, religion, ancestry, age, national origin, disability, gender or sexual orientation, or because the perpetrator perceives that the other person (or group) has one or more of those characteristics. …[The] term ‘bias-related incident’ is limited to conduct that violates the Scripps College Principles of
Community, one or more of the Claremont colleges’ disciplinary codes, and/or which is not protected by the First Amendment…or by analogous provisions of state law.”

In a reaction to this policy, Scripps student Adenike Idowu (‘12) asked, “What is not protected by the First Amendment? When they say ‘expressions of hostility,’ …do they mean that as far as actions are concerned or words are concerned?”

“It sounds like they’re being purposely ambiguous on what hostility is so they can protect as many people as possible,” said Hope Whitney-Monical (’11). “I don’t know if that’s problematic.”

Wood’s interpretation defines bias incidents as anonymous speech, speech unclaimed and “unwelcomed.” “If a student hung a poster [on her door]… that’s her right, unless it harasses people who walk by,” said Wood. A student crosses the line when she “vandalizes someone’s whiteboard.”

Whitney-Monical and Idowu agree that more detail should be included in Scripps’ incident reports. Doing so would lessen confusion surrounding campus policies. E-mails from other schools, “such as [from] Pomona,… will say things like ‘an openly gay student’ so you know why it’s a bias-related incident,” said Whitney-Monical. “However,” she said, “I understand protecting details to protect victims of incidents.”

Wood said that republication of discriminatory expression spreads undesirable ideas, but also firmly believes students must be kept aware of persistent prejudice. She said that public condemnation of bias-related incidents encourages “perpetrators to think more about their ideas and beliefs and contemplate changing them.” Though assured in her interpretation and practice of policy, Wood remains open to suggestions for change. “If we can do things a better way, we would appreciate any and all input.”