The Scripps Voice

By Claire Wilson ’13
Staff Writer

The U.S. government’s attempts at democracy promotion and nation-building in Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq have failed. Despite striking out three times, the United States continues to play its ballgame in Libya. Just over a month ago the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1973, imposing a no-fly zone in Libya with strong support from the United States. With this support, the United States has committed to another ambiguous mission that lacks transparency and an exit strategy.

The United States has a selective response to the intervention and labeling of humanitarian crises. The massacre in Rwanda and Burundi in 1994 prompted the international community to reconsider its policy on humanitarian intervention and establish the doctrine of “Responsibility to Protect.” However, there have been other recognizable humanitarian crises in countries that deserve U.S. attention. The United States has failed to acknowledge the violent conflicts in Darfur and Ivory Coast and has not responded to the governments of Yemen, Bahrain or Syria for using force against their protesting citizens in the recent uprisings in the Arab world. Though Qaddafi’s actions against Libyans are alarming, the justification that the United States is intervening in Libya for “humanitarian concern” is false. The severity of circumstances in Libya did not provide the impetus for a decision to intervene. There were political motives.

One of the lessons that the United States has learned from intervening in Afghanistan has been that tribal divisions can lead to a civil war beyond U.S. capacity to solve. Though the United States government may believe it is supporting an organic democratic revolution, many are skeptical of U.S. involvement in what may be a long term civil war.  Anti-Qaddafi forces and their international supporters are united in the negative agenda: to get rid of Qaddafi. However, there is serious division in the positive agenda: to rebuild a post-Qaddafi Libya. The Libyan people, like those in Afghanistan, are not a homogeneous group. The United States may be supporting a democratic movement on the surface, but the current Libyan interim council is not a unified representation of the Libyan people. Before 1951, there was no Libya, but rather three Ottoman provinces: Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and Fezza. These ethnic divisions are still a factor, and Afghanistan should have taught U.S. policymakers that this will be a serious obstacle to a functional democracy.

In Afghanistan, the United States also learned that responding to conflicts with overpowering military force has the backlash of exacerbating Islamic extremism in the Middle East. As was seen in Afghanistan and Iraq, U.S. air-strikes intended to attack the enemy more often than not have “friendly fire,” and end up taking out innocent victims of the conflict. Already, there have been multiple claims that NATO air-strikes are killing civilians in Libya, exacerbating anti-American sentiments in the region.

Qaddafi is a dictator who has pocketed billions of dollars at the expense of an entire nation. To punish political opposition, Qaddafi has hanged citizens in public squares and dragged bodies in the streets. Today, Qaddafi’s violent responses to political protesters have escalated full force, as he orders the firing of air strikes and the releasing of tear gas on Libyan civilians. Global response to the daily sufferings of Libyans recognizes that it is a humanitarian crisis. Can military intervention cure the nauseating condition of Libya, though? Given the precedence of previous involvement in the region, the prognosis looks bleak. U.S. efforts to supply a remedy, it seems, can only deepen the infection.

By Sydney Sherman ‘14
Contributing Writer

PHOTO COURTESY OF TELEGRAPH.CO.UK

On May 1, the New York Times headline “Osama bin Laden is Dead” spanned across my computer screen. I was overwhelmed with feelings of nationalistic pride and relief. As I scanned through both patriotic and vengeful Facebook statuses about Bin Laden, I couldn’t help but smile. We finally killed the face of terrorism.

But are my feelings of joy over a man’s death justified?

While analyzing this question, I thought back to 9/11, the day Bin Laden led al-Qaeda in attacking the World Trade Center. As an American, my life changed on that critical day in history. President Bush declared the War on Terror. The United States has been fighting this war—which does not have a clear end goal—for over 10 years. After 9/11, the United States strengthened its security measures and created the Transportation Security Administration. Within the U.S. population, unjust prejudices developed against Muslims and people of Middle Eastern descent. Since that day, hostility and fear of future attack has become a part of our everyday lives.

So yes, my feelings of patriotism and relief are justified. Bin Laden orchestrated the deaths of over 3,000 people on 9/11 and has declared it the Muslim’s duty to “kill Americans wherever they are found.” This man is a mass murderer of Americans, whose killings have included innocent Muslims. He wants to attack the United States’ core beliefs of democracy, free trade and free speech. Upon Bin Laden’s death, our residual, pent-up feelings of fear and anxiety from 9/11 were expressed as joy and liberation. By killing Bin Laden, the United States has shattered the symbol of terrorism.

But that’s just it: we killed a symbol. Any feeling of relief is either false or temporary. This does not mean the war is over, nor that al Qaeda has been defeated. As President Obama said in the announcement of Bin Laden’s death as the successful result of a U.S. intelligence operation: “his death does not mark the end of our effort. There is no doubt that al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must and we will remain vigilant at home and abroad.”

Though there was an initial sense of relief and pride, the United States will remain at war. Since we have destroyed a terrorist leader, we have to be prepared for retaliation attack. Yes, we’ve killed the number one on our most wanted list. Now it’s time to find number two.

By Nikki Broderick ‘14
Staff Writer

You may have seen the tables outside Malott Commons: students, led by Emily Jovais (’13) and her classmates, are petitioning for Meatless Monday. Jovais is leading a campaign to reduce consumption of meat by getting it to be served in the dining halls only six days of the week. Cutting out meat for one day in order to have higher quality, more sustainably produced meat and animal products overall was part of a discussion which began in a Scripps classroom.

After reading numerous articles for Professor Auerbach’s Political Economy of Food class, Jovais said, “I was confronted by the plethora of social, environmental and political impacts of the factory farming system.” Jovais then worked with another of her classes—Core II: Roar of the Lion—to create a petition and gauge Scripps students’ interest in effecting the change of getting higher-quality meat products by reducing the quantity.

Meatless Monday is not unique to Scripps College. The campaign to reduce meat consumption began during World War I, with President Hoover calling for “Meatless Monday” and “Wheatless Wednesday” to conserve food staples for the war effort. The movement made a return during World War II, when Presidents Roosevelt and Truman both used the campaign to help feed a Europe devastated and torn apart by war. In 2003, over 20 schools of Public Health, including the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School, revived the movement in order to reduce the saturated fat in students’ diets.

Today, over 50 universities participate in the Meatless Monday campaign. In addition to reducing meat consumption for individual health benefits, the Meatless Monday movement seeks to have a positive environmental impact. The meat industry generates an estimated one-fifth of man-made greenhouse gas emissions. The Meatless Monday campaign combats two of our nation’s greatest problems: obesity and unsustainability.

Jovais met with the Sustainability Committee and two representatives from Sodexo in order to discuss the possibility of a Meatless Monday. In order to offer more sustainable meat in the dining hall and stay within budget, taking meat off of the menu would be necessary one day a week. Sodexo would be willing to accommodate a Meatless Monday menu if there is demonstrated student support for such an idea. Jovais and fellow students from her Political Economy of Food and Core II class created a petition and urged students to sign for their cause.

It seems like the Scripps student body and the other 4Cs are behind the idea: the petition for Meatless Monday garnered over 400 signatures within one week. Armed with its petition responses, Jovais’s group will meet with Sodexo and the dining hall to discuss the option of beginning the program in the fall. Implementing Meatless Monday may mean only cutting meat out of dinner, or eliminating meat from both lunch and dinner.

There may be disagreement over how to implement it, or whether Meatless Monday is a good plan at all; the movement certainly sparks discussion. Jovais said that there are plans for a Motley-based outlet for a discussion of Meatless Monday in the near future. “This coalition is open to student feedback,” Jovais said. “We do not want impose this change on the students without their input.”

To learn more, please visit http://www.meatlessmonday.com

By Alle Hsu ’11
Guest Writer

I wouldn’t recommend that any future Scrippsie try what I did this year. But, in retrospect, it was challenging, inspiring and a very rewarding experience for me. I might not recommend the experience, but I also wouldn’t do anything differently.

I double majored in Asian Studies and Media Studies. My Asian Studies thesis was over one hundred pages, a comparative study about women in China in the 1920s and today. For my Media Studies project I produced a film entitled “Women: Cultural Revolution to Capitalist Revolution.” I love all my advisors and readers. They were wonderful and made the experience rich and enlightening.

There were a few interesting elements with both my written thesis and film. My written thesis included a primary research source: my great grandfather’s master’s degree thesis from Columbia University. Written in 1921, his thesis was about women in China in the 1920s. The thesis was fascinating because it was from and about the 1920s: a pivotal period in women’s emancipation in China. My thesis research gave me an opportunity to learn about my great grandfather, one of the most famous poets from China.

My film about women from urban China involved interviewing over 20 women and men in Shanghai about the status and role of women. It was an extraordinary experience to be able to conduct these interviews. They covered a wide range of topics, including family, marriage, relationships, careers, job opportunities and discrimination. Women spoke openly about what issues they face in China today. My film only featured about eight women, but after graduation I hope to produce a film that also includes the other women. I would like to be able to go deeper into the issues women face in China. The women included with my interviews lived through significant periods of China’s history, from pre-Cultural Revolution to the current Capitalist Revolution.

What made my research such an enriching experience was that it covered many different disciplines: Asian history, women rights, Chinese culture and practices, Chinese and English literary history and sociology were all involved. And then there were the aspects of media studies, such as filmmaking and editing.

As if this wasn’t enough, I was also co-captain of the Athenas tennis team. I loved being part of the team and will cherish my friendships with teammates, but CMS sports are demanding. Especially on top of thesis. (On a side note: come out this Friday to watch the seniors play our final home match against Chapman! And root for the Athenas at the NCAA Championships later this month.)

Quick conversations with Scripps seniors as they prepare to say their goodbyes to Scripps and embark on new journeys

Hannah Pickar, 21
Orinda, California

Major: Psychology.

Thesis topic: “Eating Attitudes, Body Image Dissatisfaction and Health-Related Concerns in

Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.”

Plans after graduation: Working for the Danish Institute of Study Abroad program in Copenhagen, Denmark for 13 months. I studied abroad there Spring 2010, and the program hires former students to be the program assistant! I’m pumped!

What are you going to miss most about Scripps? Ridiculously beautiful sunsets, warm cookies at 6 p.m., texting my friends “Meet at The Corner in 5 minutes for lunch/dinner,” the most supportive, engaging professors in the world, late night trips to Yogurtland, a cappella concerts, a community of women I trust and love, chocolate chip challah, stumbling upon random courtyards.

What are you going to miss least about college? Lack of public transportation. I always want to go do cool things but never have a way to get there!

Feelings about graduation: No, no, no. Don’t make me leave!

Most important thing you learned in college: “If you have a preference, voice it. If you have a question, ask it. If you want to cry, bawl. If you need help, raise your hand and jump up and down!” – Kristin Armstrong.

Kaye Sklar, 22
Portland, Oregon

Major: Philosophy.

Thesis topic: Political Theory, specifically, examining when secession is justified in accordance

with liberalism.

Plans after graduation: I will be undertaking a Fulbright research project in Slovenia.

Favorite memory of your time at Scripps: Too hard to choose! I would have to say doing Tarot late at night before Blues dancing with my friends last year, while drinking champagne. That would definitely be up there in the “best moments” category.

What will you miss most about Scripps? I will miss my friends who are currently Juniors and studying abroad, who I will never be able to hang out with in the same way again.

What will you miss least about being in college? The food. By far the food. I know lots of people think that it’s great, but I’m looking forward to cooking for myself after graduation!

Feelings about graduation: In denial.

Most important thing you learned in college: Boundaries  are there to be pushed!

How it feels to be a third-year senior: Glorious. I’m very sad to be leaving some of my best friends who are juniors, but overall, I’m pleased with my choice. Thankfully I don’t have to go to the “real world” right away since I’m doing Fulbright, and I’m ready to be around people who aren’t just ages 18-22. Also, I took a gap year before coming to Scripps, so it has been four years since I graduated from high school. It feels like it’s time to go.

Lindsey Cook, 21
Concord, California

Major: Theatre with an emphasis in Dramaturgy.

Thesis Topic: That’s a complicated question… I worked on Pomona’s Marat/Sade last semester as production dramaturg and assistant director for my senior project, something all theatre majors have to do. This work framed my written thesis, “Weaving the Dramaturgical Tapestry: Definitions, Histories, and Personal Reflections,” an exploration of dramaturgy in history, practice, theory, and my own experience.

Plans for after graduation: Not sure yet! But I’ll be going back to the Bay Area and pursuing a career in the theatre. Hopefully I’ll be able to direct some shows in the future… I’d like to support/produce low cost, high quality, locally relevant theatre. It should be an adventure!

What is your favorite memory of your time at Scripps? I don’t know if I have one favorite

moment… taking a few hours to explore all the dorm basements with a friend? Jumping in every fountain at Scripps in one day? Realizing I was a feminist in my American Women Poets class? No! It was definitely the Queer-Faith ally training I helped plan and lead with Family and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. I learned so much, saw so much growth within two groups I support but that don’t always get along, and made some AMAZING friends. So powerful.

What you are going to miss most about Scripps? The people. I have been so challenged, inspired, blessed, and nurtured by the professors, staff, and classmates I have had at Scripps and the 5Cs.

What are you going to miss least about college? Loud parties and thin walls.

Feelings about graduation: I can’t wait! I always get emotional at ceremonies like graduations, but at the same time I love that feeling of just being in the moment: celebrating all the accomplishments, all- nighters, core classes, friends made and lost, my first F, and my most triumphant A!

Most important thing you learned in college: I learned what it means to be authentic. I came to college with a lot of walls up, and by the grace of God and my friends, I have learned how to start breaking down those walls and be really proud of who I am, without all the bells and whistles (and with them too!). That sounds cliché, but it’s totally true.

Lia Seth, 22
Palo Alto, California

Major: Politics & International Relations

Thesis topic: The title is “Undercounted: A Study of the United States Census in ‘Hard to Count’ Areas Along the Gulf Coast.” The short version is basically that due to two main factors (a racial/ethnic and therefore a cultural divide and general distrust of anything related to the government), there is a differential undercount along the Gulf Coast, which means that minority groups are being undercounted more than others. My thesis talks about the political implications of this trend. That’s all REALLY simplified, though. Feel free to ask me more specific questions about this; I could talk about it forever.

Plans for after graduation: I’m still waiting to hear back from some places, but I want to get into some kind of business/management training program in San Francisco.

What is your favorite memory of your time at Scripps? I really just have to pick one? It’s all the spontaneous moments put together: Calling a friend on a lazy Friday early in our first semester and having a day-long photoshoot that would become tradition for us. Working on thesis in a browsing room and suddenly getting a craving for fruit salad…then driving to Von’s in the middle of the night to buy some. Grabbing a late night snack at Jay’s Place after a party and talking to random people. Blowing bubbles on the quad during finals week after being done. The random late-night chats that happen when I leave my door open and people stop by. It’s all of that together.

What you are going to miss most about Scripps? I recognize that I will more than likely never be in a situation where I live in the same building as all my friends and seeing them is as easy as wandering down the hall barefoot.

What are you going to miss least about college? Honestly? The “men,” if we can call them that (we can’t).

Feelings about graduation: It’s a really awkward situation because everyone’s families are here but all the seniors just want to spend as much time as possible with their friends before we’re all separated.

Most important thing you learned in college: Before college, I didn’t have a lot of self-confidence. I don’t know what triggered it, but sometime in the last 4 years I’ve reached the point where I look at myself in the mirror and see a beautiful, intelligent woman. I don’t see the little flaws anymore because I know they don’t matter.

By Alissa Fang ‘12
Staff Writer

PHOTO COURTESY OF TINAFIVEASH.COM

You’ve probably seen them around the 5Cs: those technicolor posters headed by the words “Hey, hetero!” These brightly colored signs aim aggressive messages directly at heterosexuals. Confrontational statements emblazon seemingly innocent photos. They’re ironically subversive: one poster features an apparently Caucasian hetero-normative family on a picnic. The image seems harmless enough, but Mom and Dad are smirking at the viewer as the caption declares: “Hey, hetero! When they say family they mean you!”

This series of six posters is the product of a public art project by Australian artist Deborah Kelly and photographer Tina Fiveash. The posters have been steadily gaining publicity since their production in 2001, appearing in 30 different public advertising spaces in Sydney including billboards, magazines, newspapers, bus ads, art galleries and on the web. After they won the major arts award of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival in 2001, the two artists began to spread their campaign internationally, presenting the posters in Berlin in 2002. Hey, hetero! aims to draw awareness to the privileges that heterosexuals may take for granted. Some of the heterosexual privileges addressed in the posters are marriage, child-rearing, and public displays of affection. The artists purposefully mock the style of mainstream advertisements and encourage public discussion about heterosexuality and the hetero-normative’s impact on the queer community.

For this year’s “Gaypril,” Harvey Mudd College’s student-run People Respecting Individuals’ Sexualities (PRISM) decided to distribute these Hey, hetero! posters, plastering them in dorms, in front of dining halls and classrooms throughout all the colleges. In bringing these posters to Claremont, PRISM has urged students to participate in debates and responses, creating a blog whose address was included on the posters in their Hey, hetero! campaign at Claremont—and a debate is what they got. The posters garnered controversial discourse on this blog not only from Claremont students but also from people at nearby colleges and graduate schools as well as 5C alumni. There was a wide range of feedback; people wrote e-mails to PRISM and posted on the blog with comments of anger, hurt, confusion and satisfaction.

Some people—straight and queer alike—expressed extreme disappointment with the posters, while others articulated a more positive reaction. A self-identified transgender and bisexual student expressed anger that the posters would actually drive allies away from the queer community, saying that the hostility of the messages makes heterosexual people feel guilty about being straight. A Mudd junior also commented with distress, accusing PRISM of having “a gay-bashing double agent as your distributor.”

On the flip-side, many individuals showed appreciation for the campaign. A straight alumnus expressed her enjoyment at being challenged by the posters. She wrote, “I think these are great call-outs of heterosexual privilege. I wish that people would use these as basis for a rational and enlightening conversation instead of a basis for just getting offended.” A separate discussion was sparked within the Hey hetero! thread which questioned the depiction and use of whiteness in the art. One Pomona student voiced her displeasure at the lack of people of color in the photographs.

In order to address those who were offended by the Hey, hetero! campaign, PRISM said that there could be supplemental posters that would further explain the content of the images, but this has not been confirmed.

To read more comments/reactions to the Hey, hetero! posters, go to www.heyhetero.blogspot.com.

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 Rosemary McClure’13
Staff Writer

About a month ago, The Student Life published an article called “Date Rape Drug Experiences Go Unnoticed on Claremont Campuses.” The article, written by Pitzer student Leslie Canter, recounted the experiences of several 5C students who believed they had been drugged without their consent at parties on campus. In one case, the victim even took the case to court. The defendants, three boys from CMC, were acquitted.

Backlash against Canter’s article was both vicious and incredulous. CMC students felt that their student body was under attack. They accused Canter’s article of being biased, poorly researched and generally inaccurate. One commenter chastised Canter for implying that ecstasy would ever be surreptitiously administered to party attendees because “I can’t for the life of me figure out how ecstasy could be used as a date-rape drug.” As though because ecstasy is “fun” there is nothing morally questionable about slipping it into a someone’s drink (you’re welcome!). One comment cited the higher number of reported sexual assaults at Pomona than at CMC as proof that Canter’s alleged bias was unfounded.

But Canter was not trying to allege whether these specific instances were true or false. Rather, she raised questions about how campus culture discourages students from making such reports in the first place. Factors cited as discouraging reporting included: fear of disciplinary action, lack of peer support and avenues to talk about date rape and sexual assault, the fact that these subjects are treated as jokes, the default assumption that victims of date rape and drugging in fact just drank too much and the widespread belief that “that stuff doesn’t happen here.”

Canter’s concerns, it seems, were right on target. I am amazed at how many students managed to overlook the point of her article. “Their [sic] is … [no] proof that anything untoward (other than perhaps excessive drinking) has occurred,” reads one defensive comment left by a CMC student. Another asks, “Why don’t CMC girls report such incidents if it’s happening?” And the sarcastic, “Of COURSE it was roofies that caused these freshmen to black out, no doubt about it.”

I am not here to prove that this stuff happens on campus. I already know it does. I hear about these stories one by one—“which is also how they happen,” as Andrea Dworkin would say. It is clear that campus culture does not foster an environment in which victims feel comfortable reporting incidents involving date rape or drugging. It is also clear that men on campus are ignorant to the extensive precautions against sexual assault women must take every time they go out.

Women are expected to tone down their style of dress, to go to the bathroom in pairs and to leave the party together so that they can walk back to their dorms in a group. But when they fail to wholly conform to this unrealistic standard of personal safety (e.g., by dressing immodestly, flirting or drinking), they are blamed for attracting assault. In such cases, women are not only thought to be lying, but they are humiliated and publicly shamed for being opportunistic man-saboteurs. This is not a burden the men on campus are forced to bear.

I want to know one thing: why is it that we teach “don’t get raped” rather than “don’t rape”? While Scripps freshmen sit in Garrison Theater learning how to SLAPGRABTWISTPULL, are CMC students learning how to NOTRAPEWOMEN? When are we going to teach “ask first”—“yes means yes” rather than “no means no”? Do students on the 5Cs even have a decent understanding of what constitutes sexual assault? When are we going to start seeing sexist comments as “bias-related incidents”? When are we going to start teaching our students to identify comments and actions that perpetuate a sexist environment? Why is sexism such a joke here?

If the antics this weekend at Mr. Stag are any indication of the 5C student body’s attitude toward women, I fear we have a long way to go before we will see these questions answered. The fact is, a turtleneck is not going to keep me from getting raped. Only a rapist can prevent rape. And to suggest that a man can’t tell when a woman doesn’t want to sleep with him (“How was he supposed to know? Did you see how she was dressed?”) is to assert that men have neither a moral compass nor authority over their own behavior.

So I will end with a call to all men on campus: start asking first. And not just in the bedroom. Ask if I want to dance! Ask if you can kiss me! Ask if you can walk me home! High heels do not imply consent! We know that the vast majority of y’all are not rapists. A lot of you are pretty nice guys. Why don’t we get rid of the ambiguity? A little “May I?” goes a long way.

By Antoinette Myers ‘12
SAS President Elect

Hello Scripps! What an honor it is to be writing to you from my desk as the new SAS President Elect for the upcoming 2011-2012 school year. When I first arrived at Scripps, I would not have guessed that I would be in such an important position on campus. But, alas, I am here for only one reason: to be the best facilitator of discussion that I can be. As a first generation, working class student and only the third Black woman to be elected as SAS President, I am truly honored and humbled to serve my community here at Scripps.

The biggest key word that we all are so used to hearing is COMMUNITY. But what should our Scripps community look like? While we may not ultimately have the same vision of what our community should be, I hope that as a student body we can begin to have more grounded conversations on race, gender and class. In “The Art of Conversation,” President Bettison-Varga urged us to feel comfortable calling her Lori. This request was part of a blog post in which she made herself extremely vulnerable, in a way that I have not seen of an administrator before. With that gesture, I believe she wants us to begin allowing ourselves to be open with each other, in hopes that we can truly build a collective unlike any other college campus.

I believe that becoming this sort of open community is truly possible, considering just how small our population is. What I want to see is a larger unified community outside of specific friend circles and dorm hallways. When I see another Scripps student that I may not know, I should feel comfortable approaching her and starting a conversation. I find that the most rewarding conversations of my day come from random encounters with Scripps students. Students with whom I have never had in class, students I don’t live near. Even if I cannot strike up a deep, philosophical conversation, the least I can do is say hello.

In my thoughts for next year, I often wonder if there are reasons why Scripps students feel their voices are not being heard. From my own personal experience, I find that being forthright and honest about what I would like to see happen at Scripps is the most productive method of discussion about our campus. I have noticed that in our community we have a lot of uncertainty about what we can do, who we can talk to and what kind of processes we have to go through to get things done. I hope to eradicate confusion and miscommunication about what can be done on our campus by sending out a fact about Scripps with every one of my SAS updates. For example, did you know that the Student Union is painted a color called Scripps White? Did you also know that students can file a formal, confidential complaint against a staff member at the Human Resources office in Vita Nova?

In the coming year, I look forward to having more open and honest conversations about who we are as a collective student body and community, what we want our image to be and what we want our campus to look like. We are the most powerful voices, and I think it is time that we truly begin to use them. I am sending you all best wishes for the end of the semester and my warmest congratulations to the graduating class of 2011!

Next year, I hope to be a person that you feel comfortable approaching during your time here on campus. Whether I have my long braids or my afro, I am sure that you will always see me running around. Do not ever be afraid to stop me and ask questions, or just say hello.

By Anna Petkovich ‘14
Features Editor

COURTESY OF WWW.FUBAR-THEMOVIE.COM

Where to begin with “Fubar: Balls to the Wall”? A true cinematic gem. Fun for the whole family. Uproariously funny, and not at all sleazy. Graced with extremely attractive male leads.

Okay, so all of the above statements are false. Are you wondering what sort of film, what potential plot line, could provoke such inaccurate hyperbole? The film opens with a raging house party at the home of Dean and Terry (a house which they are getting evicted from). They’re celebrating Dean’s five-year anniversary of being cancer free (testicular cancer, to be specific, hence the film’s lovely title). Beer is flowing late into the night, eventually provoking a drunken demolition of Terry and Dean’s soon-to-be-ex-house. Chainsaws are drawn through walls, sledgehammers bring down cabinets and Dean, who is tripping exceptionally hard on some LSD, sets the house on fire. This summary of the film’s opening scene should also include the fact that Terry and Dean are probably in their late 30s or so, have chest-length hair, goatees and the mouths of sailors. Needless to say, I was skeptical.

Broke and homeless after their epic rager, Terry and Dean set off to find work in the great Canadian north. There they find lucrative oil pipeline jobs, comfort in the local strip club and, for Terry, love. He begins a romance with Trish, a waitress from the strip club. However, the relationship is incompatible with Dean and Terry’s hard-partying lifestyle. Their lifestyle soon proves to be a deal-breaker for the duo, especially when Terry discovers Dean has slept with Trish while he was passed out in a hot tub.

The remainder of the films documents Dean and Terry’s respective troubles with finances, an unexpected recurrence of cancer and Dean’s attempts to forge a relationship with his daughter.

I would hate to give away the ending to a film that keeps you on the edge of your seat, so it’s lucky “Fubar: Balls to the Wall”  isn’t one of such films. Friendship triumphs during the Christmas holidays, when Dean’s daughter comes to visit, Trish and Terry get married and they all go sledding! Whoops, spoiler alert.

Now for the actual reviewing. The film is presented in “mockumentary” style, which I rather enjoyed. It gave it a Christopher Guest/ “Best in Show” feel. I liked the brief interviews with Dean’s baby mama (“Trixie”) and other characters. However, I felt “Fubar: Balls to the Wall”  didn’t take full advantage of this device. The interviews weren’t consistent enough.

This is just one small complaint, though, about a film I overall found quite…comical. It’s definitely worth watching once (I might give it another shot actually!), but I would have to suggest you take a cue from Dean and Terry and grab a brewsky before hand. It might add a nice touch. And hey, you’d be able to relate a little more considering you’re most likely not a 30-something job-less Canadian man with a questionable number of testicles.

This movie left me with what is actually a rather sweet lesson: it doesn’t matter how much beer you like to drink, how long your hair is, how many testicles you possess or if your favorite pastimes are going to strip clubs and just generally fucking shit up, you can still have a good heart. We have a preconceived notion that nice, warm-hearted people only look or act a certain way. Just because someone has tattoos or likes rock ‘n’ roll and smoking weed doesn’t mean he doesn’t love his family and friends as much as the next person. When “Fubar: Balls to the Wall”  began, I made a lot of judgments. In ways, I was right – the film had its trashier moments. But also, I was wrong. It turned out to be kind of heart-warming, a tale of friendship triumphing over illness, infidelity and being broke. You can’t judge a book by its cover, a person by his tattoos, and definitely not Fubar: Balls to the Wall by its title.