The Scripps Voice

By Peri Tenenbaum ’13
Staff Writer

On Nov. 2, California voters voted against Proposition 19, which would have legalized marijuana for recreational use.  Despite the loss, proponents of the act still claim a victory as they have now opened a nation wide debate on possible benefits of marijuana legalization.

Those who favored Prop 19 were dependent on both the youth turnout and the moderate voters.  While the youth turnout appeared not to be nearly as strong as they hoped, it seemed that the moderate voters were simply not persuaded by the concept of legalization.

The main hitting points of the proposition were economic: the taxation of recreational marijuana would greatly increase the tax income for California as a state and hopefully lower the state deficit. Proponents also believed it would allow law enforcement to reallocate funds to more serious crimes, and also help eliminate the marijuana black market, which appears similar to the gangs that formed during prohibition.

For those that opposed Prop 19, the argument followed the same tracks that the government has been using since 1937, when marijuana was first banned.  In particular, the concept of driving was high was a strong point for those that opposed legalization.  There was also concern on the ability to maintain businesses and employee drug use to the standards of the Federal Workplace Act, which requires a drug-free workplace, which would potentially lead to a loss in federal funding.

The concept of legalization drew attention from all over the world as foreign officials became interested in the act. Most importantly, it drew attention from Mexico.  Mexico is the largest supplier of California’s marijuana, and as such, legalization could have greatly altered the drug war landscape within Mexico.  Mexico’s drug war is extremely costly and deadly, but legalization has never been considered since it is an extremely lucrative and powerful section of the Mexican life.  However, if the United States began to legalize, and California in particular, then the drug cartels would lose their main consumer and much of their profits, which many Mexicans believe would help to end the violence that surrounds Mexican drug wars.

Even for those within the United States, many believe that legalization of pot promoted an end to the drug cartels within California and ending violence on the home front.  Many gangs and drug cartels within California make the majority of their money from marijuana, due to its ubiquitous nature. Humboldt County, a major marijuana producer, has stated that the resort town feels more ‘Wild-Wild West’, with planes taking off, loud parties, and even late night gunfire. Former U.S. Attorney John McKay has also come out in favor of marijuana drug reform.  For McKay, law enforcement officials simply do not have the funding or the body power to successfully control marijuana usage around the country, and indeed, marijuana is the main income to violent drug cartels within the United States.

The proponents of Prop 19 maintain that this has been a positive step despite the almost double-digit loss.  The serious press that marijuana legalization has received has made it a nation wide discussion and moved it into the realm of serious politics.  Legalization supporters are already looking ahead to the 2012 election, where they have plans to place measures on ballots in Washington, Oregon, Colorado and, once again, California.

By SAS President India Mullady (‘11)

Halloween is past, and Thanksgiving break is soon approaching. This is crunch time for students and for SAS. We plan our final events for the semester, make major pushes with the administration and try to balance SAS while being a student. Here are a few things going on the semester you should know about. First of all, the food committee was formed, giving students the opportunity to provide input and receive transparency about the Malott Commons. We hosted a BeHeard forum on the subject and sent out a survey to the student body. We will present the survey results in the near future, and thank you to all who participated. Secondly, we opened the student union. You know this, but I want to reiterate that this is your space, so please use it and let us know if there is more we can do to make it more homey or more colorful. It is open 24/7—all you need is your swipe card. And last but not least: hall draw. Think it is stressful? Is there a way we can change the process? Have you heard of a different system? Is there an opportunity to increase community? Our next BeHeard forum will focus on hall draw, but in the meantime feel free to share any thoughts or opinions on the matter. We want to make it better for future students.

In the next few months, look forward to Eurotrash, the Holiday dinner in Malott, snack nights aplenty and so much more from SAS. Don’t forget to apply for funding from FAC (you can find forms in the student union) if you have an event, idea, or project you would like funded. Also, don’t forget to turn in a form with your reimbursements for your CLORG before the rush of December. You want your check before break, don’t you? Then you have to give our treasurers some lead time!

Since it is the season of giving, don’t be afraid to give our faculty and staff some shout-outs for all the tremendous work they have been doing. They are definitely the backbone that supports us. Let them know and give them a hug, thumbs up or smile. Everyone, including professors, administration, grounds, maintenance, career counselors, the registrar, senior staff and more deserve to know what outstanding contributions they are making to our time here.

Switching gears, please enjoy your last month or so of the fall semester. Don’t forget to support a friend in need by editing a Core paper, lab report or thesis draft. Lest I use the quote, “We’re all in this together,” it’s true and I feel certain that any and all help and support is appreciated.

Fired by NPR, Hired by Fox News

By Nikki Broderick’14
Staff Writer

On Oct. 20, National Public Radio fired Juan Williams after he commented on The O’Reilly Factor that “when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.” But that’s not all Juan Williams said. He also warned viewers not to generalize stereotypes and that demonizing an entire religion or group of people because of its extremists and that the small minority should not influence public policy. NPR, who has employed Williams for 10 years, immediately fired him over a telephone call. The very next day, Fox News reportedly offered Williams a three-year, $2 million dollar contract.

NPR stated that it fired Juan Williams because he crossed the line between a news analyst and a political commentator, and because his comments were “inconsistent with [NPR’s] editorial standards and practices.” Which leaves one wondering: would Williams have been fired if he had made his comments on a network other than Fox News, one whose image so greatly contradicts National Public Radio’s?

NPR claims to serve the entire country and its political views, but has a certain liberal air associated with it. Fox News, owned by Republican billionaire Rupert Murdoch, has a history of hiring commentators and analysts based on their popularity at the moment: Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee and Christine O’Donnell, for example. Fox News has right-wing bias—Murdoch recently donated $1 million to the Republican Party. Had Williams made his comment on a news network that wasn’t so publicly associated as conservative, his opinion might not have warranted so much attention. But because he spoke about such a hot issue on Fox News, everyone noticed. NPR’s instant firing and comment that he needs to see a psychiatrist probably didn’t help either.

The hiring of Juan Williams has now boosted Fox News’ image by hiring a liberal voice. NPR and other news networks don’t realize what happens when they bring Fox News back into the conversation. Every time another news network criticizes Fox News, guess what happens? Ratings boost, and more people start to watch.

But what about NPR’s other reason for firing Juan Williams? The line between analyst and commentator is very thin, and easy to cross if switching back and forth between analyzing on NPR and asked to make appearances on Fox News, although it had been something he had been doing successfully for some time. Apparently, this instance gave NPR a reason to fire him. I’m not saying that NPR handled the situation as well as it could have. After working with NPR for 10 years, Williams deserved more than a phone call regarding his termination.

But Williams should have drawn the line. If his message was to not stereotype and encourage religious tolerance, why did he mention that he gets nervous around those dressed in “Muslim garb”? Williams, and other news commentators, need to recognize that giving their sometimes controversial opinions along with a good message distracts views and only allows them to focus on the sensational. If someone really wants to give their opinion, they should be a commentator, not an analyst.

By Vritti Goel ‘12
Co-Editor-in-Chief

The Founder’s Room at Pitzer was filled with students, faculty and staff of the 5C’s, along with members of the outside community, on Nov. 3, to hear from the Consul General of Azerbaijan, Elin Suleymanov, about his relatively unknown country Suleymanov’s first experience with America came during an exchange program in the early 1990s, when he attended the University of Toledo. It was here, he said, “that I got to know America. I found it fascinating, the goodness of people in the Midwest, the openness.”

After working with data analysts researching his home region with the Open Media Research Institute in Prague, Suleymanov worked with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Azerbaijan for a year in Karabakh, the region at the center of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict (a cease-fire signed into effect in 1994, after the twoyear war, has yet to be lifted). His experience in the region, he asserted, “was the most dramatic. I spent a year with the refugee communities. Let me tell you, it is a human tragedy of epic proportions and makes you begin to appreciate your conditions. I cannot forget how strong and amazing these people are, how much spirit they have even though they have lost almost everything. It made me proud of my country. I joined the diplomatic services because these were the people I wanted to represent.”

After his year-long work, Suleymanov attended the prestigious Fletcher School of Tufts University and became the first Azerbaijani to graduate from their graduate school of international affairs. He was a part of the Azerbaijani embassy to the United States when he moved to Los Angeles in 2005 as the first ever Consul General of Azerbaijan.

“Much of what the consulate does is the usual—visas, legal documents, etc,” said Suleymanov. What is more important, according to him, is the political outreach, as well as “raising the flag of Azerbaijan and telling people about this country that exists [because] most people do not know that it exists.” The Azerbaijani consulate works with people and companies across the 13-state district that encompass their jurisdiction and brings the culture of Azerbaijan into Azerbaijani languages classes at UCLA, for example. The consulate also reaches out to American universities and visits campuses to discuss the politics and culture of Azerbaijan, like he did at the 5C’s.

Suleymanov’s talk included an introduction of Azerbaijan as a political and social force in the world—its distinctions include being the first parliamentary republic with a predominantly Muslim population, and being one of the first countries to initiate universal suffrage (Azerbaijan granted everyone the right to vote in 1918, two years before the United States). He spoke mostly, however, about Azerbaijan’s role as a source for energy and its central role in Eurasia. The United States government was also a major topic of discussion for Mr. Suleymanov—he was openly critical of the need for the United States to have an international presence, to commit fully and comprehensively to helping the region become stable, safe, and integrated.

“The more polarized the world is,” Mr. Suleymanov stated, “the more difficult it is to solve problems.” He alluded to this when he stated that those with access to education should encourage the rest of the community to learn more about countries like Azerbaijan and encourage the United States to stay very much present in the international scene, especially as it is a major world leader.

He reminded the audience that, “there is no excuse to not know anymore. You [students in America] have an added advantage because most of the world speaks English, so there is no language barrier to deal with.”

In addition to stressing the importance of Azerbaijan’s role in the world and the need for the United States to focus a little more on the Eurasian region, Mr. Suleymanov also answered questions about Turkey- Azerbaijan relations and the state of problems in Azerbaijan, along with comments on the European Union.

He was brought to Scripps by the European Union Center, the first such center in California and the only one of its kind in Southern California. The European Union regularly hosts international and diplomatic speakers who discuss topics relating to European issues. Students can find opportunities to conduct research about the Union and other European issues through the Center.

On Wednesday, Nov. 10, the Belgian Consul General to the United States will speak at Scripps in the Hampton Room to deliver the State of the European Union Address on behalf of the President of the European Union. For more information, visit www.eucenter.scrippscollege.edu.

Azerbaijani Facts

Language: Azerbaijani, Russian, Armenian

Currency: Azerbaijani manat

Primary Religions: Muslim, Russian Orthodox, Armenian Orthdox, Judaism

Border Countries: Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Iran

Population: 8,388,000

Anna Pickrell ’14
Sports & Activities Editor

This month’s midterm elections saw enough controversial candidates, statements and propositions to make one wonder just where democracy is headed. From Christine O’Donnell’s Constitution confusion to Carl Paladino’s attack on homosexuality and California’s attempt to legalize marijuana, we’ve all had our fair share of political “what’s going on?!” moments, no matter which side of the spectrum we support. Right on par with these extremist examples of what American politics have given us to work with, as anyone who believes in global warming as a realistic threat to our existence will have it, was California’s Proposition 23, which failed with a 61.4 to 38.6% vote.

The intention of Proposition 23 (dubbed “the California Jobs Initiative” by supporters and “the Dirty Energy Proposition” by opponents) was a long-term suspension of California Assembly Bill (AB) 32 (California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006) until the state’s unemployment rate saw a drop from 12 percent to 5.5 percent for four consecutive quarters. AB 32 requires the state board to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions levels in 1990 to be achieved by 2020 in the most “technologically feasible and cost-effective” manner. The law defines greenhouse gases as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), and is planned to begin cutting emissions in 2012. This timetable will now continue without interruption from Prop 23.

The state unemployment rate was at a low 4.8 percent when AB 32 was passed in 2006.

Those in favor of Prop 23 argued that our current economic instability cannot afford the jobs slashed by AB 32 and that this proposition was merely a prioritization of the state’s biggest issues.

“Proposition 23 is a common sense approach to protecting jobs, preserving environmental protections and holding the line on costs for California’s struggling families,” says the primary Yes on 23 website, a self-proclaimed coalition of taxpayers, employers, food producers and energy, transportation and forestry companies.

The website maintains that Proposition 23 would have saved over 1.1 million jobs and dodged billions of dollars in high energy costs.

Furthermore, Texas oil tycoons—most notably Tesoro and Valero—were in full support of the proposition, arguing that it would have saved money. These companies allegedly paid off individual economists and research institutes to support the proposition and, prior to elections, revealed the truth behind their seven-digit donations to Proposition 23’s campaign.

Those against the proposition argued back claiming that jobs lost to AB 32 “will be replaced by electric car manufacturers, solar energy firms, waste-to-energy companies and other elements of the growing green-energy sector of the economy,” says Ventura County Star’s Timm Herdt of the views of The Westly Group, a clean-energy focused venture capital firm.

“After the law was passed in 2006, clean energy venture capital investment began pouring into our state at an unprecedented rate. In 2007 nearly $1.8 billion were invested in California clean tech companies – almost a 50 percent increase over the year before. While 2009 was a year of depressed investment – California still led the nation with $2.1 billion in clean tech venture capital investments…To delay or suspend AB 32 will eliminate thousands of jobs in California. Venture capital investment will leave the state and emerging businesses will close their doors,” said Steve Westly, former California State Controller and Managing Partner of The Westly Group, in an op-ed to the Huffington Post.

In the end we can all breathe a big sigh of relief not only because Prop 23 didn’t pass, but also because it didn’t fool us. With an extreme majority of voters proving their ability to see right through the intimidating dominance of Valero and Tesoro and the few loyal followers that they managed to claim, it is now evident where California voters’ priorities reside on the topic of global warming. The only concern left here is that Prop 23 made it this far in the first place, for as we have seen in the past, one failure with voters by no means signifies the death of any piece of radical legislature.

By KC Mautner ’12 & Abby Volkmann ’13
Co-Editor-in-Chief & Photo Editor

At the SAS BeHeard Forum on Oct. 26, the Food Committee addressed sustainability, vegetarian dining, costs and the environmental impact of Scripps’ dining hall, Malott Commons. SAS President India Mullady (’11) introduced the Forum, first covering general SAS issues. Mullady noted that the Student Union is open to all students, though SAS is still working on taking care of a few remaining challenges, including supplying printer paper and fixing the television, which is currently out of service. There are plans for the Scripps administration to assess the Student Union at the end of the semester, to ensure that resources have been and continue to be utilized judiciously.

The Food Committee, led by Representatives Nora Bright (’11), Catherine Schetina (‘14) and Morgan Mayer-Jochimsen (’13), then began the discussion on the specifics of Malott Commons and food at Scripps. Bright and Mayer-Jochimsen first opened the discussion by speaking about food transparency—in other words, where the food comes from and what exactly goes into it. They noted the limited vegan and organic fare at Malott.

Students had proposed instituting a day in which Malott would only serve sustainable or locally grown fare. While this idea has received considerable support, the only way to attain the funds necessary for such a day would be foregoing meat products in the dining hall that day. The student representatives emphasized that having sustainable/local fare is dependent on cutting down on other parts of Malott’s budget—students have to decide what they are willing to sacrifice. For example, one proposal was foregoing eggs, and using the money saved to implement a raw food bar. However, this proposal would signify the end of Scripps’ famous cookies, which use eggs as a key ingredient. Differences in tastes among students also are a factor in trying to decide what food to have and what food to forego.

A student at the Forum noted that Malott doesn’t cater specifically to Scripps students, but rather to 5C students more generally. She gave Scripps’ steak night as a prime example, which often draws more students from the other 5C’s than Scripps students. Malott—as do the dining halls from the other 5C’s—gets paid from the other colleges when their students eat here, so it automatically has an incentive to cater to students from the other 5C’s. However, another student at the Forum noted that many Scripps students also enjoy steak night, so to characterize it as a solely profit-earning venture aimed at students from the other colleges is not necessarily correct.

Toward the end of the Forum, students voiced their opinions regarding what they would like to see more of in Malott, including more varieties of bread, natural peanut butter, whole grain pasta, vegan desserts and steamed vegetables, rather than ones cooked with oil. At the end of the Forum, Mullady reiterated the importance of remembering that, although there will inevitably be complaints about the dining hall, the staff at Malott continues to work hard, and Malott’s new executive chef, Brandon Barousse, is creating sustainability initiatives and making more products from scratch. If students have concerns about food at Malott, their best bet is to tell the kitchen staff what they do like, so the staff can then use those cooking techniques and recipes to make other food items. The next SAS BeHeard Forum will be held on Tuesday Nov. 30 at the Motley. Students who attend and participate will receive a free Motley drink.

SODEXO and the Dining Halls

By Cait Powell ’14 & Hannah Shoenhard ‘14
Staff Writers

Where do we get our food? Scripps students eat at Malott Commons every day, yet many of us never even think of where our food is manufactured or how it arrives on our plates. Most of us are completely unaware of the presence on our campus of one of France’s largest international conglomerates, Sodexo. Sodexo is responsible for the management of our dining services on campus; as a food industry “middle-man,” they are the intermediary between Scripps and the companies responsible for the direct manufacturing of food, such as General Mills and Coca-Cola.

Sodexo made almost $550 million in profits in the last fiscal year, and the company employs 380,000 people globally. It specializes in procuring food for institutions such as schools, government organizations, private-sector company cafeterias, nursing homes, prisons and hospitals, as well as institutions of higher education across the world.

Scripps uses the greater purchasing power of Sodexo and its status as a multinational corporation to purchase brand-name food at cheaper prices and without the hassle that would accompany purchasing food itself. Dining hall workers are Scripps’ employees, but the management staff works for Sodexo. The dining halls at Pomona and Harvey Mudd are also serviced by Sodexo, but those at Pitzer and Claremont McKenna are serviced by rival company Bon Appetit.

Recent controversy has arisen around certain aspects of Sodexo’s management decisions across the country. Allegations of racial discrimination, insufficient health care and unlawful firing have plagued the company at various colleges across the United States, including Clark University, Denison University and Ohio State University. In Claremont, about 10 years ago, students and workers from Scripps and Pomona joined to protest Sodexo’s treatment of the workers. Both colleges ultimately transferred all workers’ employment contracts to the college payroll, leaving Sodexo in a managerial capacity only. In New York, Sodexo has been sued for $20 million by the state over accusations that Sodexo had been pocketing “kick-backs;” that is, the money that food providers give Sodexo as an incentive to purchase their brand. For example, if Sodexo purchased cereal from General Mills, General Mills would refund Sodexo part of the purchase price. From there, Sodexo is required by New York state law to pass the savings on to the publicly funded institutions to which it supplies the General Mills cereal. However, in the case of the State University of New York and secondary public school systems, as well as several other state institutions, Sodexo did not turn the money over to the public schools or itemize the kickbacks. The case was not heard in court, but was brought to settlement.

James Manifold, Scripps Treasurer and Vice President of Business Affairs who is responsible for approving the dining hall’s budget each year, did not have in-depth knowledge of the New York Sodexo lawsuit. He said that he was “not aware” if companies were giving kickbacks to have their products placed in Malott.

The current average price of a meal at Scripps, assuming that a student on the 16 meal plan is eating all their allotted meals and using all their Flex money, is $10.57. The price rises as the student skips meals or leaves Flex dollars unused. While it must be stressed that there is currently no evidence that Scripps is being defrauded as the state of New York was, we believe our association with the company bears careful consideration.

Madrid, Spain: All it took was a 450-year-old tree to produce the “aha” moment

By Shailini Pandya’12
Guest Writer

It happened. But not exactly where you would expect it to happen. I wasn’t gazing upon one of the “seven wonders of the world” or watching the first bull take a fall in a bullfight. I was… staring at a tree.

Most students have an “aha” realization sometime during their first couple days on the study abroad adventure. It’s that pivotal moment when they comprehend, after hours of breathing plane air and attempting to trump the foreign language barrier, that they aren’t in Kansas anymore, or Claremont in our case. For me, it was in front of a 450-year-old tree.

I spent my first week of studying abroad in Madrid, a place Hemingway accurately named the capital of the world, outside of the borders of Madrid. The Hamilton College program took our group of 39 students to a province in the northwestern part of Spain, Galicia, for a week-long orientation. In the midst of touring Santigo de Compostela and the beautiful island of A Toxa, we had the opportunity to visit a privately owned winery. Upon arrival, the one English phrase we were blessed with was the following: “This is not a wine factory.” It was true. It was a wine paradise with enough rows of grapes to overwhelm even the most dedicated Welch’s Grape Juice child actor. To the right of the grand paseo stood that tree of mine. Around that 450-year-old tree grew a family’s 250-year-old passion. It was at that moment that I realized that this tree, more than twice as old as the U.S. Constitution, made me feel extremely small. I did not feel insignificant, but rather enlightened by the depth of history that I stood amongst. It was a rejuvenation of the senses.

My study abroad experience has continued to rejuvenate my senses (specifically my taste buds) with the help of churros con chocolate from the Chocolateria across the street, macaroons from Ladurée in Paris and some crisp apple strudel from Austria. No matter how prepared I thought I would be for this opportunity, there is no way for me to have been mentally and physically ready for the drastic change in lifestyle that awaited me. Madrid has forced me out of my small town mental state and contaminated me with the beauty of Spanish culture. I say contaminated only because the effect of living abroad and learning to communicate in a completely new manner is not something I will ever be able to separate myself from.

Each place has its own allure, but it is Spain that leaves me more inspired and rejuvenated than ever before. With fewer than two months until I pass through customs in the U.S. once again, I can’t imagine a world without country hopping each weekend.

How I managed to live this long without studying abroad will always be a mystery. Galicia was witness to my first “aha” moment, but each morning I wake up with a greater tolerance and appreciation for rich food  and history.

By Madden Rowell ’11
Guest Writer

Every evening after dinner in the six Claremont dining halls, trays of food remain untouched by students. Until last spring, this food was thrown out as dishes were washed, chairs pushed in and the dining hall prepared for another raucous day of belly-filling. Tammy Zhu (PO ’10) identified this source of extra food and was determined to create a connection between the excess and the hungry people of the Inland Empire. Through a Strauss grant, Zhu started the Food Rescue program at Pomona and worked to expand it to the other Claremont Colleges.

Today, all 5C’s participate in the program, either contributing leftovers or, in the case of Pitzer, donating fruit. Interestingly, Pitzer does not produce leftovers as do the other dining halls, but they have generously agreed to donate a box of fruit every week to help augment the meals provided at the shelter. Since Pomona started its program first, it operates separately, donating to a different shelter than do the other colleges.

Around 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, student volunteers from Mudd, CMC and Scripps bring heaping trays of whatever delectable food we recently feasted on over to Scripps where a student volunteer drives the left-overs to Pomona Valley Christian Feeding Ministry (PVCFM) in Pomona. There, the student is greeted by a shelter volunteer who opens up the kitchen and helps them store the food for the next day’s meal. The volunteer grabs the reusable containers from the previous day and brings them back to campus where the dining halls graciously wash them and fill them up the next day for the cycle to continue.

Food Rescue transports an average of ten large food trays everyday, helping to feed the 60-100 people that rely on PVCFM for daily meals. Food Rescue has helped to greatly reduce the financial burden on the shelter by donating food, as well as minimizing the prep time that fell on church volunteers to prepare a meal for so many mouths. Food Rescue also ensures that the meals at PVCFM are healthy, adding meat and vegetables to the diets of many who would otherwise go without these staples.

Food Rescue has served as an easy and effective way for 5C students to get involved in the community outside of campus by fighting hunger in the Inland Empire. The program also promotes sustainability at the 5C’s by significantly reducing dining hall waste.

By Catherine Schetina ‘14
Guest Writer

The 5C student-run nonprofit organization Cultivating Dreams is hoping to win a $25,000 grant that would not only change the future of the club, but would improve the lives of hundreds of incarcerated women in California.

Cultivating Dreams founded and currently runs an organic garden in California Institute for Women—CIW—a women’s prison in Corona. In addition to weekly trips to work in the garden with the incarcerated women, the group provides educational workshops on a wide variety of topics that translate the lessons of the garden into skills that the women can use when they are released from prison. Not only does working in the garden provide the women with productive and enjoyable exercise, it also gives them access to fresh, healthy, organic produce that they would not be able to eat otherwise.

The women who work in the garden see this unique opportunity as invaluable. In fact, when asked why they participated in the garden project, one woman responded that the work “gave [her] some enjoyment in an otherwise bleak environment.” Another woman said the garden gives her “peace, hope [and] serenity,” while a third explained that gardening has “brought back memories of [her] childhood and makes [her] want to do better [when she is released]”.  In a time where budget shortages are forcing many rehabilitation and training programs out of prisons, Cultivating Dreams remains, making life in prison more bearable for the women of CIW and preparing them to reenter society.

However, in order to allow this essential program to continue running, the group needs funding. Cultivating Dreams managed to secure a spot in the highly competitive grant competition, Pepsi Refresh, for the chance to win $25,000, which would provide much needed funds. In order to win the grant, Cultivating Dreams is asking every student on campus, as well as anyone else who wants to take ten seconds to help this worthy organization, to vote everyday on www.refresheverything.com. Community members of Scripps and the rest of the Claremont Colleges can show their support for the club by voting once a day all throughout November for Cultivating Dreams on the Pepsi website.

By taking a few seconds each day to vote, you can help change the lives of incarcerated women. Voting for Cultivating Dreams will ensure that the women of CIW have a group concerned about their education, recreation and personal well-being for years to come.