April 12, 2012

Page 1

Volume XV, Issue Ten

April 12, 2012

The Scripps Voice Inside...

Seniors’ literary compilations are finally on display in Denison Library, marking the year with the largest number of entrants

President Bettison Varga on Life at Revelle House By Vritti Goel ‘12

While President Lori Bettison Varga is obviously seen about campus regularly, catching glimpses of her family are rarer. She attributes this to the phenomenon of living on a predominantly-female campus, a decision that set President Bettison Varga from the moment she accepted the position as President in 2009. It hasn’t been difficult to live on campus, however, she explains. Not only is the commute to work extremely short, but the president has also had a chance to intimately get to know the community she works with every day. “We don’t get bothered by much of the noise over the weekends, but we

co-Editor-in-Chief

do get people coming up and ringing our doorbell. It can get a little bothersome, especially in the middle of the night.” She bursts out laughing while retelling the story of this year’s April Fools joke played on her family, over cupcakes from Some Crust with the staff of The Scripps Voice. A group of students managed to wrestle the paper mache “Viva la Vulva” statue from the Student Union and onto the doorstep of the Revelle House, much to the horror and amusement of the entire First Family. Still, this hasn’t deterred youngest daughter Lexie from skateboarding around the campus with her friends, or middle son Will, a freshman at Chapman University, from walking fam-

ily dog Kio in the evenings. President Bettison Varga’s husband, Dr. Robert Varga, spends time at the 5Cs as a senior scholar of geology at Pomona and director of the Keck Geology Consortium, which President Bettison Varga directed from 2004 to 2007. The president’s oldest son, College of Wooster senior Matt, frequently visits home to spend time on the beautiful campus as well. However, it is Lexie who spends the most time on campus. According to Lexie, who recently celebrated her 14th birthday at Disneyland, which the family visits once a month, the beauty of the Scripps campus is her favorite aspect. She loves Scripps so much that she even has

page 3

Senior Jenna Tico alludes to the 7 stages of grief in a contemplation of thesis pages 4-5

SASsy New Friends!

Out with the Old, In with the New! We take a look at the current and future SAS governments

pages 6-7

It’s all about Food, these days. Bioagriculture and where your food comes from page 9

continued on page 2

photo by Emily Muller

Scripps Celebrates Mellon Finally New Scripps Alcohol Policy Announced Monday, Scripps College is the proud recipient of a Copy Editor grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The grant amounts to $700,000 and covers three years. The Mellon Foundation offers funds to various initiatives that span higher education, arts, conservation, communication and the environment. The foundation gives about $199.5 million in grants annually. Scripps Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty Amy Marcus-Newhall, who was responsible for the writing of the grant, described in an email that the grant awarded to Scripps will go toward “[mentoring] undergraduate student research in the arts, humanities, and social sciences for pre-thesis mentored work and more traditional research fellowships.” Thus, the grant will support the student body and help it achieve its research goals. In addition to Marcus-Newhall, Executive Director of Institutional Advancement Kristin McInnis contributed to the grant proposal, as well as a faculty advisory committee including professors Theirry Boucquey, Hao Huang, Julie Liss, Jacqueline Wernimont and Stacey Wood. This is not the first time Scripps has received a grant from the Mellon Foundation. Wrote Marcus-Newhall in an email to The Scripps Voice, “The last one we received three years ago was for our interdisciplinary Core program.” The Claremont Consortium is also acquiring funding from the Mellon Foundation for the digital humanities. The College hopes to continue to develop this relationship with the Foundation. Marcus-Newhall voiced how the Foundation helps provide “tremendous opportunities” for students and faculty alike.

By Kate Pluth ‘12

In early October, the Alcohol Task Force comprised of a small group of students and SAS representatives began meeting with Dean of Students Becky Lee and other school officials in the hopes of transforming the school’s alcohol policy to encourage students to seek help when intoxicated. Six months later, an approved medical amnesty policy has been established and is currently being implemented on a trial basis for the remainder of the spring semester. The aim of the program is to eliminate the fear of getting in trouble that holds students back from getting themselves or their friends the help they need when intoxicated. The policy will officially be announced later this week in anticipation of the next Scripps-hosted party, which is scheduled to take place Saturday night. The task force’s main goal going forward is to spread awareness to students that the new policy is in effect and clarify the details. “We can protect you from judicial college action due to intoxication,” explained Dean Lee, and the amnesty extends to students under the influence of drugs and others substances as well as alcohol. It is important for students to understand that each situation is evaluated individually and the policy does not protect against police matters outside of the college’s jurisdiction. For example, students would still be held responsible for violence or property damage that occurred while they were intoxicated. The new policy also calls for medical and health awareness follow-up with students to prevent reoccurrence. The task force is currently discussing possible options to further promote the policy. Educational presentations such as question and answer sessions, posters in dorms, and having informative representatives present at Snack are in the works.Hopefully, after the many hours the committee members have put into revamping our policy, we will see an increased number of students taking advantage of the newly established amnesty and any tragedies related to alcohol poisoning will be prevented.

By Taylor Healy ‘15 Section Head

1030 Columbia Avenue | Claremont CA 91711 | Box 892 email: scrippsvoice@gmail.com | website: voice.scrippcollege.edu


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.