The Scripps Voice

By Lauren Prince ’14
Editor-in-Chief

Interview with Lesley Bonds
Career Counselor and Student Employment Coordinator

Why did you decide to bring this program to Scripps?

Colleges and universities throughout the country celebrate the importance of the student work experience during National Student Employment Week (NSEW) each year in line with the National Student Employment Association (NSEA).  This year’s celebration will take place from April 8-12. Scripps began participating in 2010, but I am hoping to infuse new elements into the program this year.  Most notably, we are participating for the first time in the National Student Employee of the Year competition through NSEA by selecting one outstanding student employee from Scripps.

What do you hope it to accomplish?

My number one hope is that student employees feel truly appreciated for their unique contributions to the Scripps community by their supervisors, their coworkers and those they serve on a day-to-day basis. We want student employees to know that we, as an institution, simply could not operate without them.

How are students involved?

While National Student Employment Week provides a unique opportunity for faculty and staff at Scripps to recognize student employees, it is also my hope that students will recognize their peers and coworkers for helping to shape their experience. I also encourage students to use this week as an opportunity to reflect on their own employment experience here on campus. Not only do their jobs help them earn the money necessary to fund their college experiences, but they’re also earning valuable skills that will most certainly be applicable to any future career they pursue.

How many student employees does Scripps have?

We have over 600 student employment positions on campus each year. Students serve in various capacities to support the work of departments across campus and throughout the consortium. The responsibilities of our student employees are vast and the departments diverse, with students serving in academic departments, Student Affairs, the Office of Admission, Communications and Marketing, IT and more. Whether students are whipping up the perfect latte in The Motley, mentoring high school students through the Scripps College Academy, or maintaining a safe and inclusive environment in the Tiernan Field House, we are equally thankful for the many hours our student employees contribute to building the best experience for all who step foot on campus.

What should student employees expect for this week?

Student employees will receive a note of appreciation from President Bettison-Varga and supervisors will have the opportunity to recognize their students in a number of ways throughout the week. Students should be sure to drop by Scripps Tea on Wednesday, April 10 to see a Thank You Quilt that supervisors will have compiled. Departments around campus will also be competing in an Office Decoration Contest and students can vote for their favorite to help them earn a pizza party for their entire staff through CP&R’s Facebook page. Last, I hope to see everyone at a reception for the Scripps Student Employee of the Year on Friday, April 12 at 4 p.m. in Margaret Fowler Garden.

The finalists for Scripps Student Employee of the Year are Anna-Marie Wood (Office of Admission), LaThelma Armstrong (Scripps College Academy) and SuAnne Lee (Residential Life).

By Michelle No ’12

Contributing Writer

Nora Zelevansky (’99) is a self-declared slob with a penchant for chronic tardiness. At 35 years old, however, her professional portfolio reflects none of the unemployable qualities she attributes to herself. After signing a two-book contract with St. Martin’s Press, Nora published her first novel, “Semi-Charmed Life,” early this summer. The novel’s protagonist gets swept up in the life of a twenty-something socialite while ghost writing her blog.

While continuing to pen for the likes of the Los Angeles Times, Town & Country, and Elle, her short-term agenda includes an executive editorial role for a forthcoming wellness website, a second book, and a potential screen adaption of “Semi-Charmed Life.”

She returns to her alma mater on Thursday, Nov. 1 to lead a writing workshop in commemoration of the National Day on Writing.

This workshop is sponsored by the Scripps College Writing Program and the Alexa Fullerton Hampton Endowed Speaker Series. For more information about the Scripps College Gallery or the National Day of Writing Celebration, please contact Rosann Simeroth at RSimerot@scrippscollege.edu or Kimberly Drake at KDrake@scrippscollege.edu. For more information on the National Day of Writing or the National Gallery of Writing, please see http://www.gal
leryofwriting.org.

Zelevansky spoke to The Scripps Voice about directionless starts, National Novel Writing Month, and the impracticability of pleasing everyone.

Did your immediate post-graduate life resemble anything of your protagonist’s (directionless, emotionally conflicted)?
I felt a tug-of-war between the flashier world I had come from in New York and the more engaged one I had developed in college. I was confused about where I fit and I definitely, definitely wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life. And I came from a family where everyone had a very specific direction. I remember that being very difficult. [After graduating] I interned at George Clooney’s company, several film companies, and at VH1 for a hot second. I also worked in politics for a little while, at a company that ran democratic campaigns. As passionate as I am about politics, I was not very happy at that job.  I think what happened was, I really needed a creative outlet. I decided to take a personal essay class at UCLA, and it was a fantastic experience.

So how did the book happen following this beginning?
When you’re a freelance journalist, you’re at the mercy of someone else’s deadlines and needs. I decided to write a novel but wasn’t sure at all that I was cut out to write fiction. I did National Novel Writing Month—which is every Nov. actually, sign up now!—and I loved every minute of the process. And when I was done, I had a draft. When I read it, I guess I felt, “There’s something in this.”
What’s funny is, I’ve never been a structured or disciplined person. I am disorganized, I am late all the time, I am a mess. But when it comes to writing, I never have trouble sitting myself down and doing the work. It’s an escape from real life. Writing fiction is like reading. You get to immerse yourself in another world.

What has been the most challenging step of the creative process?
A lesson everyone needs to learn as an author, or any kind of creator actually, is there’s no such thing as something everybody likes. One thing that made me feel better actually is, I looked up ratings for some of my favorite classics like “Catcher in the Rye,” and they all had really low ratings.
What’s next?

To me, the great thing about writing is that there’s all these different realms in which you can do it. I am actually a huge TV junkie and I’ve always had this fantasy of writing for TV. I would also love at some point to write a book of humorous essays. Personal essays are kind of my first love. I never really thought of myself as a humor writer, but the response that almost everyone had about “Semi-Charmed Life” was that it was funny. So I think maybe I am a little bit of a humor writer.

By Kehaulani Jai ’15

Staff Writer

To begin with, let’s establish a few things: first, this is simply a comparison between a private college and a public university. I’m not making a case for or against University of California schools as opposed to private colleges. In fact, I almost went to a to UC college myself.

Photo courtesy of Pink Chutrakul ’15

Also, you the reader are the judge here. I’m just the writer, trying not to succumb to bias despite my beautiful surroundings. With these thoughts in mind I interviewed two students at the University of California, Berkeley and a Scripps student, Juliana Canas (’16).
From these students’ interviews, it becomes clear that this can’t simply be a superiority assessment of the “whose grass is greener?” sort (though if it were, our gorgeous grounds would undoubtedly take first prize). Indeed, Berkeley has its own unique character. Ian McGregor (’15) speaks of “a little creek” running through campus in addition to a few unique architectural features, drawing comparisons to East Coast universities. Likewise, to Vivian Nguyen (’16), Berkeley is “known as the poor man’s Ivy league school.” Yet Berkeley’s overall precinct contrasts starkly to the “picturesque” campus that Canas fondly describes.

“Berkeley is urban. Very urban,” says Nguyen. McGregor recasts this urbanity in a different light: “it looks like they literally squeezed [Berkeley] into Oakland . . . I would definitely not choose this campus as an eyepleaser.”

Another contrast is dining hall food. “It’s not that it’s bad,” says McGregor, “it’s that the prices at the on-campus cafés are just ridiculously high.” Nguyen doesn’t hesitate to call Berkley food “pseudo food” any more than Canas does to call Scripps food “amazing.” Additionally, when asked how difficult it is to register for classes on a scale of one to ten (ten being extremely difficult), Canas says four, Nguyen says nine and McGregor goes off on a tangent: “If you’re smart, it’s pretty easy; if you’re dumb, it isn’t.” He never gave me a number.
In the area of college preconceptions, Canas says she expected “a lot of parties” and “more boys in class” but was surprised to find Scripps “so quiet.” According to McGregor, a more immediate party culture can be had at Berkeley: “Welcome Week is the week you go to frat parties . . . you thought partying happened in high school, but coming to college…(feel free to insert your favorite hyperbolic phrase here).”
Nguyen, meanwhile, says, “A lot of people have to go to the hospital for alcohol poisoning, but it’s still fun. . . [Just] bring pepper spray [and] have common sense.” In the end, Canas says, “there’s no other college I would want to be at,” while Nguyen says, “I definitely like Berkeley so far.” Always the deep thinker, McGregor emphasizes the necessity of fitting his college’s culture, which he feels he doesn’t. Whether surrounded by fountains and gardens or protests and parties, “fitting in” ultimately depends on personal preference, finding your niche and embracing what ‘UC’ around you. Case closed.

By Tori Mirsadjadi ’12
Editor-in-Chief

The Donald A. Strauss Public Service Scholarship Foundation has announced that Berenice Villela (’12) is among the foundation’s new group of recipients. Established as a memorial to the late Don Strauss of Newport Beach, the Strauss Foundation awards up to 15 California college juniors scholarships for the amount of $10,000 annually. The scholarship funds go toward public service projects, which the students then carry out during their senior years. voice had an opportunity to talk with Berenice about her award, how she got it and what she plans to do with the funds.

Tori Mirsadjadi: What’s your project?
Berenice Villela: Under the guidance of the Family Acceptance Project (FAP), I will develop a curriculum with educational materials and online resources for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) youth and their allies, equipping youth with the language, concepts and tools to address and resolve family conflict. I will use these new materials, as well as community organizing strategies, to reach out to youth-servicing organizations such as nonprofits and universities in the San Francisco area as well as in Southern California. These publications will be complemented by family-oriented community fundraisers that will present youth with these new materials, create stronger bonds between LGBT youth and their families and raise funding and awareness for this new youth-oriented program.
TM: What motivated you to apply for the Strauss scholarship?
BV: I was reading Colorlines.com, an online magazine, as I always do, and I stumbled upon a Celebrate Love feature about FAP. Like a true Scrippsie, I dug around the FAP website to look for an email address. I sent in my resume, said, “LET ME WORK FOR YOU,” and got a call back a couple of weeks later! At that point, it was finding the money. The Strauss seemed like the perfect fit for what I wanted to do. I was nervous to be applying for an explicitly queer internship, but, again, in true Scripps fashion, made the plunge.

TM: What was the application process like?
BV: The mission of FAP is to facilitate productive relationships between parents and their LGBT children by using research-based truth regarding culturally diverse families’ ability to embrace LGBT family members. LGBT youth whose families exhibit highly-rejecting behavior were more than eight times as likely to have attempted suicide, nearly six times as likely to report high levels of depression and more than three times as likely to use illegal drugs or be at high risk for HIV and sexually transmitted diseases. With this research at hand, FAP’s work literally may mean the difference between life and death for LGBT youth.
My coming out to my parents followed a pretty predictable pattern. Very few people know that I didn’t live at home the last two weeks of high school, and it took my parents a long time to come to terms with me being queer. That was almost three years ago, but just this February my dad and
I finally talked about my being queer with words and in person. I call it my “it’s still ok you’re still like you know, how you ended up, you know what I mean?” conversation.

The Family Acceptance Project is SO close to home that I was both getting really excited about the internship as well as even more nervous to face rejection. It was nerve-racking but SO worth it, regardless of the outcome.

TM: Did being a Scripps student affect the way you approached the application process?
BV: I approached the process with confidence. That’s something Scripps has taught me, to know how to defend myself and the things I care about. Definitely. I felt empowered to shake hands (over email) with my now boss and say “I want to help make this happen.” When I first heard back from them, I was out on Jaqua Quad studying—not at all expecting an impromptu phone interview. But that’s what it was, and it was my Scripps education that let me hop up barefoot and in ripped shorts, and be able to speak passionately about the project.
TM: When did you find out that you’d been awarded the Strauss scholarship?
BV: The foundation has made it a tradition to personally call every recipient the moment they make the decision, so I got a phone call on a Saturday after doing yoga on the lawn and an info session on It Ends Here, the new self-defense CLORG Jennifer Mathai (’12) and I are starting. I was in the Motley and I’m SURE there was a remix of Florence and the Machine in the background or something ridiculous like that.

TM: How will you be using the scholarship funding?
BV: I will be using the scholarship funding for housing, travel, transportation in the city, duplication of the materials, as well as for costs associated with actually doing outreach during the summer and school year at various locations. There will also be costs for the webmaster to update the website and for a graphics team to design the publication.

TM: How had you been involved in LGBT educational outreach prior to applying for the Strauss?
BV: I haven’t really worked with queer youth, so much as I have worked in a variety of capacities in the queer community at Scripps amongst my peers. I have been the co-president of Family for two years, and I was the co-head mentor for the Queer, Questioning and Allied Mentor Program and as a staff member at the QRC. In those positions, I definitely learned to speak passionately about queer issues, so LGBT educational outreach is just the next step. I will be learning a lot, though, because it’s a whole new setting, a whole new community, and, really, a whole new population.

TM: How has this award affected your plans for your next year at Scripps (and beyond)?
BV: I am worried that I am going to fall so in love with San Francisco and the queer community there that I will derail my plans to be a teacher and instead go into community organizing and activism. Really, it’s not a fear so much as it is a new possibility. I know that I’m going to change so much because of this opportunity, and I’m just preparing to learn something new about myself and what I’m capable of doing. Really, though, I think it will just strengthen my resolve to work with youth and therefore encourage me even more to be an educator. And we all know that it just means I’ll take on even more projects!

By Tiffany Yau ‘12
Arts & Entertainment Editor

COURTESY OF SUZANNE CALKINS. "Miasma," Fall 2010, 40x30 in painting.

Suzanne Calkins (‘11) talks about her roots, her work and what it’s like to be a Scripps art major. Her senior thesis, “Vespertine,” will be on display in the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery through May 15.

Tiffany Yau: How did you become an art major? Did you know you would pursue an art major, or did you fall into it?

Suzanne Calkins: I have been consistently involved in art for as long as I can remember. But being as indecisive as I am, I was not sure when coming into Scripps if I wanted to be an art major. I was also interested in biology, psychology, philosophy, writing. Scripps ended up being a great fit for me because I could still pursue all those interests while taking art classes. After trying a little bit of everything, I realized that art really was what made me the happiest (and I still had room to take classes in other subjects). So I decided to ignore the “So what do you do with an art major?” question and officially became an art major!

TY: Can you talk about the theme of your paintings and where the subject of your works came from?

SC: In my series of drawings and paintings, I have been exploring the theme of wandering in solitude through ambiguous landscapes of darkness. I am interested in how landscapes can serve as introverted portraits of an emotional or psychological space that slips between dreams and memories. The images fluctuate between abstract and figurative forms, creating familiar scenes that are not quite grounded in reality. I named the series “Vespertine,” which is derived from the Latin word vesper, meaning evening. It is a term used to refer to something of, relating to, or occurring at night.

It is difficult to say exactly where all of this came from. I guess it’s a combination of reoccurring themes that I have been obsessed with over the past several years. They are based in traditionally “romantic” themes of isolation in beautiful (and threatening) landscapes. I became interested in Romanic landscape painting because while it is seen largely as a worn out cliche, there are plenty of contemporary artists who still borrow from this tradition.

The images themselves are mostly based off of photographs I have taken or are painted from memory. I spent the Spring of last year living in a town of 200 people in rural Ireland. My walk to and from school was a 40 minute hike through fields, over stone walls, and through a few patches of woods. There were no streetlights or anything. Quite a few times I would end up staying in my studio at school really late at night and would realize I had forgotten my flashlight. So I would use the light of my cell phone to stumble home. We’re not used to walking alone in complete darkness anymore (at least I wasn’t, having lived in the Los Angeles area my whole life). On one hand darkness is a very mundane thing, it happens every day. But on the other hand, darkness has the power to transform the most familiar places into the strange. The psychological experience of being literally in the middle of nowhere trying to find your way home in a landscape so dark is really fascinating to me.

TY: What inspires you to keep going and how do you keep yourself motivated?

SC: Painting and drawing never get boring for me. I get bogged down sometimes, but usually something as simple as good music fixes that. I always have to listen to music when I paint or draw. Everything I have made this year has a very specific soundtrack attached to it. I also obsessively collect images I come across that I like, both through my own photography and other artists. I cover all walls available to me in them. When I need inspiration I usually just look over all of them and do some sketches.

TY: Any words of advice for aspiring artists/art majors?

SC: Do it! Do not be intimidated by questions of practicality. There are so many answers to, “What do you do with an art major?” Clearly I am biased, but I think Studio Art is one of the best majors because it is so flexible. You can combine art with any subject, that’s what is so great about it.

By Tori Mirsadjadi ’12
Editor-in-Chief

Singer-songwriter and Los Angeles native Chris Pierce will perform on Bowling Green Lawn this Friday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Pierce is in the midst of a worldwide tour, and will be releasing his third studio album later this year. His next performance after Friday’s Levitt on the Lawn show will be at The Foundry in Hollywood on April 28.

Pierce has released two studio albums, 2005’s “Static Trampoline” and 2008’s “Walking on the Earth.” He also released one live album, 2006’s “Music in the Moment,” in Japan. Pierce’s song “Are You Beautiful” was featured on the soundtrack for the Oscar-winning film “Crash,” and another of his songs, “Simple Life,” was featured in one of President Barack Obama’s free ringtone downloads in 2008. His songs have also been featured in many television shows, including “North Shore,” “Army Wives,” “Phat Girlz,” “Brothers & Sisters” and HBO’s Black History campaign.

Pierce agreed to share insights about himself and his music with voice readers. Here is what he had to say!

Tori Mirsadjadi: How did you get started in music?

Chris Pierce: Making music has always been the best way I communicate.  I got started in church and community theater in Claremont.

TM: Where do you get inspiration for your music?

CP: The art of living inspires me. Human emotion inspires me.

TM: How were you contacted about coming to perform at Scripps?

CP: I was contacted by my friend Liz Hirsch, a Scripps alumna who has been a huge supporter of my music.

TM: You were “discovered” by SEAL at a 2005 living room gig—subsequently touring as the opening act during SEAL’s world tour—and have opened for B.B. King, Al Green, Colbie Caillat, Toots & The Maytals, Robert Cray and Jamie Cullum. You’ve performed alongside artists like Jack Johnson, Ben Harper and Macy Gray. You have quite the following in Japan, and the LA Times called you “one of ten homegrown artists you ought to know.” So…why come to Scripps? What was the appeal of performing on the lawn of a small women’s liberal arts college?

CP: I grew up on 11th street in Claremont so I know that lawn very well. When I heard about the opportunity to make music there I jumped on it.

TM: In what context do you think a Scripps student might have heard your music before this performance? What about your music do you think will resonate with Friday’s audience?

CP: Scripps women may have heard my music on NPR or KCRW.  They also may have heard my music on a few TV shows and films.  I sing and write from the heart and share my perspective with soulful music.  From what I know about the Scripps/Claremont community from growing up there, those elements should resonate.

TM: Does the fact that your Levitt on the Lawn concert will occur on Earth Day have any effect on how or what you will be performing?

CP: Sure. It may affect my song choices a bit.  I will definitely play my song “Walking on the Earth” and also probably do a cover of a Jimi Hendrix song called “Up from the Skies” that could have been written yesterday about the human condition.

TM: Have you done special Earth Day performances in the past?

CP: Yes, I’ve done several.  The most recent one was with Michael Franti here in Los Angeles.

TM: How do you balance striving for commercial success with maintaining your sense of artistic integrity?

CP: I remind myself often why I started making music: for the love of it.

TM: Is there anything else you want to say to our Scripps readers?

CP: It’s very special to me to make it back to Claremont to do a concert at Scripps.  I’ve been looking forward to this concert for a while now.  I hope to see you all there!

Pierce’s April 22 performance, as part of the Levitt on the Lawn concert series, is free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to bring picnic materials. Community members can purchase a meal for $8.50 and students who provide their meal cards can enjoy a free Hawaiian BBQ dinner from Malott, with dinner service starting at 4:45 p.m.

By Ann Mayhew ’13
Guest Writer

On Tuesday, April 5, acclaimed writer Aimee Bender read from her latest novel, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. Introduced by Pomona professor and author Jonathan Lethem and brought to campus by Mary Chair Endowed Chair of Writing David Treuer, Bender’s reading took students, faculty and staff into the magical world of a young girl who can taste people’s emotions through food.

Ann Mayhew (’13) caught up with the Los Angeles native on campus to discuss The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, Samuel Beckett and Bender’s advice for students interested in writing.

Ann Mayhew: You use a lot of magic realism and surrealism in your stories, yet still manage to create strong, real and very human emotions. Why would you say you are drawn to this kind of content?

Aimee Bender: I’m really glad when you say the emotions come through because I think that’s the driving force. It’s not even that I’m particularly aware of it, but there will be some emotional piece that I want to try and capture, and then it feels like I will use whatever tool I can possibly find in the fiction writer’s toolbox, which is really big! There are so many, like building a realistic world, magic, dreams and metaphor. So, I think for me, it’s taking any one of those or all of them to try and get a truthful portrayal of some kind of emotional experience. That’s the goal. As opposed to any of this being like strangeness for the sake of strangeness; it’s strangeness in the service of trying to get something honestly.

AM: In The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, your narrator is a young girl. Was there any particular reason you decided to have all of the book’s events happen to such a young protagonist?

AB: I guess I felt like, in order for her to get walloped by this new power she has, she has to be young enough that she couldn’t kind of rail against it and maybe articulate it. She just couldn’t have her words clear enough at that point. She’s kind of looking back but then she’s also kind of getting invested in the memory again. She can talk about it more clearly in the book… but if I think about that age, it just feels like it would be most overwhelming right around then.

AM: What sort of writers did you read growing up? Was there anyone especially influential?

AB: I read a lot of fairy tales, which I loved, and a lot of ‘magical land’ books. In junior high, my mom was giving me a lot of theater of the absurd writers. She gave me Beckett plays and poetry by Anne Sexton… she was good at giving me stuff that was really inventive. And even though I didn’t really understand Beckett, I also, in an eighth-grade way, could appreciate it. Like, ‘Ah, Waiting for Godot—this is a weird play.’ And I think, what she did too, is that she made Beckett not intimidating. Because later, you see how Beckett is the name that gets wielded around, this ultra-intellectual name to talk about even though Beckett’s kind of funny and strange. But, for me, it felt like, ‘Oh, but I read that in eighth grade!’ I didn’t understand it at all, but I felt entitled to read it.

AM: What sort of advice do you have for a college student interested in writing and going into other literary-related fields?

AB: The main thing I would say is a little bit of a ‘follow your nose’ thing, in that I think so much of it is also figuring out what you particularly love. Having a broad interest is so good, because that just means you’ll get exposed to a lot. And some of that stuff will just hold on to you, and that’s the stuff you should invest in more. And it’s the same about reading, too. You’re in your classes and you want to read a lot of stuff, but also you should try to just find things to read that you love. That when you’re reading it, you’re just like ‘Ah, I am so happy to be reading this right now.’ I think that reading does get overloaded with a lot of “should”s and a lot of obligation, and I think that harms reading. So, wherever the joyousness is—find that.

For more information, visit Aimee Bender’s website, http://www.flammableskirt.com.

By Ann Mayhew ‘13
Staff Writer

Liz Logelin graduated Scripps College in 2000 ready to start life with her high school sweetheart, Matt Logelin. Eight years later, 27 hours after the delivery of their daughter Madeline, tragedy struck the Logelins: Liz died from a pulmonary embolism. Devastated, Matt focused on raising his daughter and coping with his grief. He had been maintaining a blog to keep friends and family updated on the delivery process, and after the death of his wife he continued updating as a means to keep this connection and to cope with his grief.

On April 18 Logelin visited Scripps College to read and answer questions about Two Kisses for Maddy, the memoir that grew out of his blogs. The book tells of Logelin’s life with Liz, Liz’s death and the first couple of years raising Madeline. Before Monday’s reading, Ann Mayhew (’13) contacted Logelin at his Los Angeles home for a telephone interview.

Ann Mayhew: How did you make the move from a blog to a book?

Matt Logelin: That was extremely, extremely difficult. I’d had very little writing experience in the past. And so to take stories I had written about on the blog and be able to transform them in the way I had written them in the book was extremely difficult for me. I really had to go back into my mind as much I could and think of the details. I had to go back and look at the photographs and piece all of that together. I felt like I was doing research on my own life.

AM: Could you elaborate on the feeling of how Madeline got you through your grief? I imagine that, for some people in a similar situation, they would have an opposite reaction.

ML: I think you’re right; there are people who have the opposite reaction. For me, I didn’t see any other choice. Madeline was my choice. When Liz died I was just completely destroyed. I didn’t know what I was going to do. But I knew that because I had a daughter, and I had my own life, I knew that life had to continue on in some way. There had to be some way that we could continue on and try to find happiness. And the only happiness I had at the moment was Madeline.

AM: Have you ever felt odd about the fact that your blog has gotten so many strangers involved with your life?

ML: I think that, if somebody had told what was going to result from all of this—if somebody had said, ‘You’re going to write a blog and in a couple of months you’re going to have all these people reading it, and within a year you’ll be on Oprah, and then you’ll be writing a book and all that,’ I would have shut the blog down for sure.

But, it’s this important idea of community that popped up. The fear that I originally [carried] disappeared quickly because I realized that these people cared. They were reaching out in the only way they knew how. I either had to embrace it or run away from it completely, so I just embraced it. Now, some of my best friends I have in the world are people I met through the blog. It’s really incredible.

AM: How do you feel about your visit to Scripps College? Have you been back to Scripps since Liz went here?

ML: I’ve been back just once. I was there last year. Some of her friends were there for her 10-year reunion and I went with Maddy. I really, really wanted to go.

One of my first memories of going to Scripps is of Liz picking me outside [Honnold Gate]. I remember being dropped off by the Super Shuttle on Columbia Avenue at that archway. She was in Clark in the first year, and I remember that because she had a triple. And I walked through that same archway and holding Maddy’s hand, and it was a really surreal thing for me. Just 14 years before, Liz waiting for me out on the corner.

Every time I would come into town, Liz would always cut roses for me and put them in her room in a little vase. It was incredible to watch Madeline walk through the Rose Garden. Somebody cut a rose off of one of the bushes and gave it to her; I have this great photo of her just walking around with this rose. And I just thought, ‘I miss Liz so much in this moment.’ At the same time, it so nice to be there. I’m really thankful for that opportunity.

I’m doing a lot of readings, but the one I’m most excited about, the one I’m most nervous about, the one that I’m anticipating and looking forward to the most is the reading at Scripps. It’s just an incredible honor for me to be able to come back to the place where Liz went to school. Someday when I can tell Madeline about it, it’s just one of those things that I know I’m going to be thankful for the rest of my life. Nothing could be better than this. I’m just really happy that you guys are going to have me out there.

Matt Logelin’s visit to Scripps was the second in a nationwide book tour. Two Kisses for Maddy was released on April 14. Logelin has tentative plans to write a second book, about his international travels with Maddy while working on his first book.

By Lilly Estenson ’12
Guest Writer

PHOTO BY TIFFANY YAU

The Los Angeles-based group “The Wild Reeds” talks about its roots, its influences and what it’s like for its members as independent female musicians.

Lilly Estenson: How did you guys form the band?

Natalie: Kinsey was playing solo for a Christmas show and Sharon and I played back-up on one song.  We thought the harmonies sounded really rad. And then our friend Presley Perez, who now produces our albums for us, he really encouraged us to become a band. We started playing a lot of open mics around the area, like at CK’s Café, and also busking at the Pomona Art Walks and other events. And that’s how The Wild Reeds was formed!

LE: How did you come up with the band name?

Kinsey: We picked it because of this Chinese parable, whose title translates to something like “The Oak and the Reed.”  In the parable, the oak tree says to the reed, “I’m sorry God created you because in the wind you just blow over.” But then there is a huge storm and the oak tree falls over, but the reed, even though it blows in the wind, stays rooted in the ground.  It’s a metaphor about strength and how even things that seem little or weak can really be the strongest of all. I think that the metaphor of the reed really parallels our lives in general, and also [reflects on our staatus] as an all-female band. I think people underestimate us sometimes because we are all girls.

Sharon: Yeah, [the fact that we are an all-female band] was something we thought about a lot when we were picking a name. I really didn’t want the band name to be too feminine, or just scream that we are an all-girl band.

Kinsey: We didn’t want people to be turned off.

Natalie: Or on!

Kinsey: (laughs) Yes, turned off or on by just the fact that we are a band of all girls, like even before they hear our music. We want people to see us as more than a “girl band” and just to take us seriously. I think we identify as the reeds in that parable. In many ways, the view from the reeds parallels our perspective as female musicians.

LE: In what ways do you think the reeds are such a good metaphor for your experience as female musicians?

Sharon: Because I think female musicians are underestimated, especially by sound engineers at shows.

Natalie: We are definitely treated differently by sound guys before and after shows. They treat us with more respect after they see us play.

Kinsey: Before the show we’re sometimes treated like children and the sound people don’t think we know what we’re doing.

Natalie: And I mean, we’re not saying that every musician doesn’t go through this. Male musicians have this too because, let’s be honest here, sound guys have to sit through so many bad bands and so many musicians that just don’t know what they are doing. But I think especially with us, when they see three young women, they just assume we don’t know what we’re doing.

LE: Even if you want to avoid the negative connotations of the “girl band” label, do you take pride in being an all-female band—especially considering all the obstacles you have had to overcome because of this fact?

Sharon: Yes, we are definitely proud. But once again, we don’t want this fact to be the focus of what people say and hear about us. Like, we’ve thought about this before—do we need the Reeds to be only and all girls? I mean, we love playing together and aren’t looking to change up the line-up too much, but we are thinking of adding a drummer eventually and we talked about [how important it would be that this new member] also be female. We decided it was not important.

Kinsey: And what it really comes down to is, if something about us is going to stand out, we don’t want the first thing to be that we’re all girls. We’d prefer if people focused on how together we are as a unit or how equal we are as a band. There is no front person in The Wild Reeds. We all write songs and we all share vocal leads. It’s a collaboration. We wanted to make that when we are on stage people don’t see us as three solo singer-songwriters but as one band. The fact that we are so together is what makes us strong.

LE: Tell me more about your upcoming album. How is it different from your first album, the “Songs for the Morning, Afternoon, and Evening” EP?

Sharon: The new album has a few themes that are carried throughout it, and—this sounds cheesy, but—one theme is definitely coming of age. I think generally [our new album] is more edgy and our message is clearer. Our lyrics themselves are less cryptic, and also our sound is more defined. We got bluesier and bolder!

Natalie: The new album definitely has more attitude and is not as dreamy. It is still ethereal, though, and has warmth. Like, don’t worry, we still have sad songs! (laughs)

Kinsey:  Basically, we’re really proud of it and really excited to release it. We have grown way more confident as a band this year and I think it will show.

By Ashli Duncan ‘11
Op-Ed Editor

Bella Mahaya Carter (’83) is an artist, life coach, poet and author. While at Scripps she majored in dance and literature and now returns to Scripps to help students find their own creative practice for  “living your best life.” Carter will be on campus Feb. 26 through March 4 to host a number of workshops around the theme “Body Mind, Sprit: Transformational Creative practices for living your best life.”

Ashli Duncan: What does the theme “Body, Mind, Spirit: Transformational Creative Practices for Living Your Best Life” stand for?

Bella Mahaya Carter: Creative movement, journaling and guided meditations.

AD: Voice has recently been looking at issues of stress on the Scripps campus. Will any of your workshops address this issue?

BMC: Yes, all the workshops address this specifically. In the Art of Self-Nurturing workshop, students will design their own self-nurturing plan by asking questions such as “What do I need to nurture myself?” We live in a society with an out of world focus. Society tells use what to do. We need to ask ourselves, “What do I want to do?” to connect to our power.

AD: Were students pushing themselves to the point of passing out when you were at Scripps?

BMC: To a lesser extent. Now technology has made it worse, it has driven us to accomplish more. But we haven’t developed the tools to navigate it. We have gotten to a point where we are doing, doing, doing because we are convinced we’re not enough. But we are enough. If only we could understand that.

AD: What drove you to write “Secrets of my Sex?”

BMC: My dark point, which was my midlife crisis. I hadn’t achieved what I thought I would after 20 years of writing.  After 9/11 I thought, “What could I have to say that could matter?” I stopped writing and started to get sick because I stopped doing what sustained me. I started a yoga practice and began eating raw vegan. I started to get better, but something was still missing.

AD: What is the significance of your poetry?

BMC: The poems are about telling some kind of truth. They were very sexual because in my generation, good girls didn’t speak about such things. It became a way to find my voice. But now that I have found my voice and live in my power, I am no longer trying to please people.

AD: Can you talk about being a life coach?

BMC: I love trying to find “what does this person need to fly?”

I had to go though this myself, I had my own challenges. I wanted to dance for the Paul Taylor Dance Company, but a back injury changed that. I left Julliard and transferred to Scripps. I thought I was a nobody. From this I learned that the best you can do is say yes to yourself. Saying yes is like bathing, it needs to be done on a regular basis. Say yes to your dreams. We become fearful, but what you love is your path. This is something I didn’t know in college

The mistake we make is thinking that our identity is related to what we do. Who we are is much larger that what we do. The question we need to ask ourselves is, “What am I trying to prove and why do I have to prove anything at all?” It’s not so much the issue but how your respond to the issue.

There is no such thing has not being good enough. Many people believe they are unworthy of happiness and living their dream. We have more strength than we think we have.

Let me share a reoccurring dream I have. My house is bigger than I think it is and there’s a dance studio, a library as big as Denison, a cathedral, antique furniture and a treasure chest with jewels. In my dream I say, “Wow I didn’t know I had all of these.” The house is a metaphor for me. All of these treasures are in myself. I haven’t excavated them yet. It’s limitless.

AD: Anything else you want the Scripps community to know about you or the workshops?

BMC: Come with an open heart and mind.