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Pomona bans 15+ Scripps students without warning over Carnegie Hall protest
By Frances Walton '26 Editor-in-Chief
Since Oct. 15, Pomona College has banned 15+ Scripps College students, citing their “presence during the events inside Carnegie Hall” following the Oct. 7 walkout for divestment in solidarity with Palestine. The ban letters, signed by Pomona College President G. Gabrielle Starr and emailed by Dean of Students Avis Hinkson, came as a shock to three banned Scripps students interviewed by The Scripps Voice, all of whom requested anonymity due to the uncertainty of further disciplinary sanctions.
“This campus ban prohibits you from entering any and all property of Pomona College … for any reason, 24 hours each day, and will be in effect for the remainder of the 2024-2025 academic year,” the email stated. “This prohibits you from participating in classes or any other activities in person.”
The ban letters leaked to TSV did not provide evidence of the students’ presence in Carnegie Hall nor detailed reasoning for the ban beyond their presence inside the building. Starr and Hinkson did not respond to TSV's interview request.
“The most far-reaching violation of the individuals thus sanctioned by the College was their involvement in the takeover of a building, the forced end of classes and the disruption of our academic mission,” Starr wrote in an Oct. 23 email to Pomona community members. “This takeover created an environment that was fundamentally dangerous, restricting entrance and exit for Carnegie, and even leading to students leaving the building by the windows.”
The banned students interviewed felt that their presence inside Carnegie Hall was not egregiously disruptive, given that no member of the classes inside the building appeared visibly upset while leaving.
One banned student said the protest organizers “said that it wasn't an occupation of the building, like we were just there.”
A Scripps student who witnessed the building takeover from outside said that the people in Carnegie Hall could leave, and all three banned students agreed they were never locked in the building.
“I saw multiple students leave their classes through the main entrance, and they were not blocked at all,” the student said. “They were completely
free to leave and no one was talking to them, there was no issue at all. So there's this crazy narrative that's being spun that kids had to climb out of windows. They chose to do that.”
All three of the banned students remember being filmed at some point during the protest. The banned students speculated that Pomona College identified them based on videos from other students, professors, or news organizations.
“These people kept barging in [Carnegie] and trying to shove past people to record us,” a banned student said.
Given the reasoning for their bans, some found this speculated method of identification to be inappropriate and hypocritical.
“[Pomona] was like, ‘oh, your behavior was disrespectful, and people were afraid,’ a banned student said. “And, I put in my letter that people were afraid of me as a person of color — imagine how I felt right when people were coming in shoving cameras in my face. Hello, I wouldn't do that to anyone. I think that's a crazy violation of someone's personal space, even if this was somebody that I vehemently disagreed with.”
Two of the three students remembered being filmed inside Carnegie. They felt that if Pomona College based their bans on presence inside the building, Pomona should hold the people recording to the same stan-
dards.
“Then [one recording student] submitted them to the Claremont newspaper, fully knowing that people would get doxxed, that their educations would be ruined, and she's glad for it, and nothing will be taken against her,” the student witness said. “Like, damn, she was there too … She disrupted the building more. She was pushing past people. Not a single physical or like verbal confrontation was started by one of the protesters. Not a single one.”
The banned students took advantage of the option to appeal the ban given in the ban letter — some were quickly met with rejection.
“I received the ban notice last Tuesday, the last day of fall break right when I got back to Claremont,” a banned student said. “I immediately started working on an appeal letter. I sent that off Thursday afternoon, and then I found out on Friday night that it was rejected.”
Pomona College upheld the three students’ bans after their requests for appeal. In their letters, all three students detailed their peaceful involvement and emphasized that they were unaware of the vandalism.
“A large portion of my appeal letter was genuinely explaining my side of the story,” one banned student said. “I have no idea what evidence they have against me, and I know that folks have reached out and asked for
[it] and they won't give it. … I honestly didn't know that [vandalism] occurred until I left. To me, that should have been evidence enough to appeal the ban … The response was that just by being there, I should be held responsible for what someone else did.”
Hinkson found the students in violation of The Claremont Colleges Demonstration Policy, which states, “If an officer or designee of an affected college or The Claremont Colleges Services informs individuals in a given area that their collective actions are judged non-peaceful or disruptive and that they should disperse, individuals remaining may be charged on their home campus with a violation of this policy.”
However, the banned students said they left Carnegie Hall before or immediately after 2:32 p.m. when Campus Safety emailed Scripps students requiring all occupants to leave. All three affirmed that no Campus Safety officer or school official told them to disperse until receiving the email.
“I have literal evidence that I was back in my dorm by 1:00 p.m.,” a banned student said. “It's frustrating, and I understand that I made that choice, but it's a disproportionate response.”
At the request of Scripps Associated Students President Melina Durre
on page 4
Quiet But Not Silenced: Denison staff speak on increased security
The Core of the Core Kerfuffle: The Core Restructuring Committee Names a New Director
The Post Keckxit Era: Student Experience in Newly Formed Science Departments
Frances Walton ’26 • The Scripps Voice
The Art of Nature: A Guide to Butterflies in Claremont Continued
Quiet But Not Silenced: Denison staff speaks on increased security
Copy Editor and Copy Editor Intern
On Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 9:08 a.m., Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty Mary Hatcher-Skeers emailed the Scripps student body about new entry protocols for Denison Library. The email read: “Effective immediately, visitors to Denison will be required to present and swipe a Claremont Colleges identification card and allow inspection of bags before entry. Only study materials such as computers, electronic devices, books, paper, or notebooks, and writing instruments will be allowed into Denison. Campus safety [sic] officers will implement the new entry protocols until further notice.”
In her email, Hatcher-Skeers cited a study-in planned for Oct. 17 as part of the rationale for the updated entry protocols. “Student organizations have publicized a planned ‘study-in’ at Denison Library this week. All students at the Claremont Colleges are welcome to study in Denison Library. However, to protect against the escalation that has recently occurred, new entry protocols will be implemented at Denison.”
The new security measures were implemented in the wake of administrative crackdowns after students took over Carnegie Hall at Pomona College on Oct. 7. As of this article’s writing, Pomona has suspended 10 students and banned numerous students from Pomona Campus in relation to the protest without due process.
Hatcher-Skeers justified the decision to restrict access to the library in the context of the takeover in her email. “The escalation observed during recent campus protests violates [the Scripps College’s Principles of Community] and has provoked fear and concerns about protestors assuming control of College spaces,” she wrote.
A Denison student staff member who chose to remain anonymous was confounded by this concern.
“The actual action itself was just people coming to study, maybe wearing a keffiyeh and having a little sign of support for Palestine and the divestment of military institutions that are funding the genocide,” they said. “This peaceful form of protest obeys all the protocols that the library has and could have been the first direct protest for the sake of a free Palestine at Scripps College. To see that administration’s first interaction with that is to immediately shut it down basically communicates that this is not allowed here and that the administration can take away spaces from students at the end of the day.”
Denison student staff were notably not informed of the new security mea-
sures before the email. “At 9:25 a.m., student staff working the opening shift found Campus Security [sic] stationed outside of the library’s front gates and emergency exit, which was not communicated in the email to the student body,” Denison student staff said via a statement emailed to Scripps students by Scripps Associated Students. “Campus Security was monitoring student access, searching backpacks, confiscating water bottles, and prohibiting use of Denison’s outdoor courtyard. It was only then communicated to student staff that external Scripps administration decided to limit access within Denison. Student patrons could not access over half of the Library, including the bathroom.”
The anonymous Denison employee commented on the ramifications of the increased surveillance surrounding the library. “We’re always talking about having the space be as successful as possible, for students to come in and study, use materials, and engage,” they said. “The police presence of camp sec is the antithesis of everything that we work towards.”
Despite the added security, a studyin at Denison Library organized by Stu- dents for Justice for Palestine (SJP) occurred on Oct. 21 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
SJP explained that a study-in felt appropriate to administrative reactions towards pro-Palestinian organizing at Scripps and the 5Cs and the greater reality occurring in Palestine.
“We chose to host a study-in to show principled solidarity with Palestine during the ongoing genocide in Gaza and to show that shutting down a café will not eliminate pro-Palestine organizing at these colleges,” SJP said in a statement to The Scripps Voice. “While we study here in Claremont, every single university in Gaza has been destroyed. The IOF is committing scholasticide; they destroy schools, penalize students for standing up against apartheid and genocide, and wipe accounts of Palestinian resistance from history. While the Claremont Colleges have increased their crackdown on student speech, it will never be acceptable to stand here and dwell on the repression enacted by our administrations while we maintain an unquantifiable privilege in being here at all.”
Since Campus Safety has been stationed outside of Denison, library staff have seen fewer patrons pass through their doors. “We have seen a decrease in student visits to Denison from all of the campuses, but we only have three days’ worth of data at this time,” said Jennifer Martinez-Wormser ’95, Director and Sally Preston Swan Librarian for the Ella Strong Denison Library.
The Denison student employee cited how these statistics inadvertently re-
when it comes to student organizing for Palestine. “The Claremont Colleges are trying to replicate this idea of a panoptic surveilled state where they’re trying to communicate this sense of we are watching,” they said. “Denison is just another side of that; it’s communicating where you study and eat ... I think it really speaks to the Palestine exception with the colleges.”
Denison staff believe it is imperative to archive and keep track of student statements, like those of Denison and The Motley, to preserve institutional memory regarding the current atmosphere at Scripps.
“As those charged with maintaining and growing the Scripps College Archives, Denison Library staff takes very seriously its role in preserving our collective Scripps history, including recent current events,” Martinez-Wormser said. “It is critical that we work together with not just students but also with faculty and staff to document both the seemingly routine and more dramatic events that happen on campus”.
The Denison student employee added that through archival work, Denison is cementing their legacy in the political discourse surrounding Palestine at Scripps. “A library and an archive is not apolitical — and no matter what Scripps administration will try to force down, an archive can never be apolitical,” they said. “I think what [our letter] communicates into the future and into our archive is ... staff workers do not represent the institution’s decisions ... and that staff workers are constantly trying to make changes, even if they are small.”
vealed the administration’s lack of understanding regarding the importance of Denison within the Scripps community. “They had no idea of how many people come in a week,” they said. “I want to say approximately one-third of the usual people who come in daily have come in and we gave those numbers to administration, and they said, ‘That’s great,’ and we had to tell them that’s only a small percentage of what we usually get.”
This is not the first time the administration has acted contrary to the will of the library staff. The administration’s decision to add security stands in opposition to their decision to forgo increased Campus Security assistance following a break-in at the library during the 2024 spring semester. “[Martinez-Wormser] had asked for funding and more institutional support when this happened, to which administration said, ‘Do you really need to have night shifts? Do you really need to have weekend shifts? And basically said, ‘you’re on your own with this,’ which is why student workers’ hours have been cut,” the student worker said.
The Denison student staff member specified that this statement is not calling for increased surveillance around Denison, but contextualizes the administration’s narrative of recent events surrounding student protests. “We bring it up because it speaks to the fact that the administration’s claim that this was done in support of the students is blatantly false,” they said. “There was an incident of potential harm and destruction of property and the institution offered little to no support.”
The decision to reduce the hours available to Denison student workers last semester are part of an ongoing pattern of administrative actions that negatively impact student employees, especially those on work-study.
“These current working conditions [are unfair], especially for work-study students, and for BIPOC, low-income, undocumented students, fill in the blank,” the anonymous student Denison staff said.
Although Denison student staff remain employed, the additional presence of Campus Safety has been a cause of anxiety and frustration for many Denison employees. The Denison student worker pointed out these tactics force a certain expectation upon Scripps students. “There’s this narrative that the ladies need to behave, the ladies need to listen to authority,” they said. “At the same we recognize that there is a silencing that’s going on ... our own peers are being banned from campuses, suspended, and being provided no evidence.”
They continued, explaining how the events surrounding Denison and The Motley are subsets of a wider issue surrounding The Claremont Colleges
Although Denison staff is unsure how long the current provisions will be in place, they hope that Scripps students, especially student employees, continue to keep their heads held high and hold administration accountable for their treatment of student workers.
“I hope that this leads to a greater discussion specifically on Scripps’ campus about what we as student workers will tolerate from administration and that as student workers, we have power collectively,” the student said. “A discussion of Palestine [is] inevitable as the Scripps administration [attempts to] prevent open dialogue and movement for free Palestine [that will continue] until they divest and boycott all attributing institutions to the wars and genocide in Palestine, Lebanon, Sudan, and Congo.”
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By Belén Yudess ’25 and Charlotte Korer ’27
Frances Walton ’26 • The Scripps Voice
Inevitably Institutionalized or Autonomously Student Run?: Reflections on SCORE’s Past, Present, and Future
By Ishita Jayadev ’26 Copy Editor
After former SCORE (Scripps Communities of Resources and Empowerment) director Marissiko
Wheaton-Greer and assistant director Elba Mandujano left their positions within weeks of each other last semester, SCORE has remained, for the most part, quiet and underutilized. However, the uncertainty of this transition period has offered students and administration the time to reflect on SCORE’s history and think about what they want for the future of this space.
Lauren Mar ‘24, one of the current co-heads of the Asian American Sponsor Program (AASP) and someone who has worked in and around SCORE for the past three years, talked about how her perspective on SCORE’s future has changed within the past few weeks.
“Honestly, I was kind of optimistic about SCORE before,” she said. “But now knowing everything [that has happened] with the Motley and Denison, it feels like the attention on SCORE is increasing and it feels like it’s one of the last few student spaces that admin is going to try to wrestle control over again.”
Unease around SCORE has heightened recently due to unprecedented surveillance around Scripps and the 5Cs, including Motley’s indefinite closure and the increase in campus safety and private security presence around Denison Library.
“I’m a senior and I have never seen the campuses this way,” Mar said. “I feel like I’m fairly well versed in campus history and I honestly haven’t heard of anything to the scale of this, where there’s such a concentrated and collaborative effort to police students. To me, it feels like a power struggle right now between students and admin over the future of SCORE.”
After Wheaton-Greer and Mandujano left Scripps last semester, Nick Daily, a consultant focusing on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training, was hired to consolidate student opinions about SCORE and create a plan for its future. They were also hired this semester to work as a part-time consultant.
“My hope is that the incoming assistant dean and director feel they’re coming into a space that has structure, but is also flexible enough to respond to their vision for what SCORE can be,” Daily said via email.
Daily reflected on student demands from his previous collaboration with SCORE and explained how they were already trying to instate some student feedback.
“During my spring 2024 consultation, students were very vocal about their desire to have 24-hour swipe access to the SCORE living room,” he said. “We have restored the process to request 24-hour access and have informed affinity CLORGs.”
An Oct. 9 email from Dr. Sha Bradley to the broader Scripps community shared a form for SCORE swipe
access, and a QR code is posted outside the SCORE living room.
Following years of cutbacks, including a drastic decrease of intern staff from 12 students to 6 in 2024, the SCORE intern program and much of its student-run programming have been fully shut down this semester.
Daily described his vision for SCORE programming during his tenure this semester. “The programming at SCORE will be built on its foundational principles as a center that focuses on marginalized communities and building intersectional solidarity,” they said. “I’m working with students, faculty members, Scripps campus partners, and 7C resources to bring relevant and timely programming to students.”
All current SCORE programming is either run by Daily or Becky Kyles, the international student advisor hired last semester, which raises the question of whether SCORE functions as a student-run space.
Mar expanded on the constant tension between the student and administration presence at SCORE, given that the director and assistant director’s offices are in the building, facing the living room.
“I have my AdBoard [Asian American Advisory Board Student Coordinator] office hours there, because it’s supposed to be a safe space for students from across 5Cs to come and talk to me,” she said. “But I literally sit parallel to Nick Daily [in Wheaton-Greer’s old office] and I just don’t know how comfortable students would be to enter that space. Like knowing there’s just constant admin presence there.”
Mar hosted an event in her sophomore year that she felt exemplified this understanding. “[The event] took place in the evening and it was about the history of AASU and AASP, and I brought in two alums to speak,” she said. “I remember Elba [Mandujano] got boba for the event and then she left for the hour that the event was going on, which I actually did appreciate a lot because I think she recognized too that we were talking about things that I think as admin, she shouldn’t be privy to.”
She also emphasized how much more comfortable SCORE was without any administrative presence.
“When she left I felt comfortable in the SCORE space, I think for the first time working there,” Mar said. “Because it was just alums and students being in community together and openly discussing the histories of these organizations. And the past activism [that created them].”
Daily explained that he has heard similar student feedback and is considering strengthening SCORE as a physical space. “I’ve heard from one student that there are unpleasant and/or underutilized attributes in the SCORE when it comes to studying or hanging out for extended periods,” they said. “One thing I hope everyone can do is imagine what SCORE could be in every way—physically, missionally, interpersonally, inter/intragroup,
and more.”
“I think admin has one idea about what SCORE is supposed to be,” Mar said. “They view it as being a space provided by admin for students, which kind of justifies admin presence there. Whereas I think students want SCORE to be more like the Motley in which ideally there would be no admin interference and it’s a space for students [run] by students.”
Unbeknownst to many students, SCORE’s history has consistently centered on student activism. A 2001 student-led teach-in called “Whose Voice, Whose Vision?” was created for leaders of women of color affinity CLORGs to express their frustrations with the Multicultural Resource Center that existed at the time, eventually leading to SCORE’s formation.
While the history of SCORE needs to be better publicized to the general student body, Mar emphasized how she was only aware of the SCORE acronym being changed by the administration from word of mouth. “I remember hearing from Scripps alums that the original name was Students of Color Organizing Revolutions Everywhere,” Mar said. “But when I was doing my SCORE orientation when I was working there, they were going through the history and they were like, oh, SCORE was founded in 2003. They didn’t mention anything about the original name. So the only thing I know about that name is through word of mouth from alums.”
From what she remembered from talking to alums, the acronym change felt to her like student activists “had this small victory, and then it was quickly taken away and then further institutionalized.”
“I feel like I’m making a point to tell people that it used to be called Students of Color Organizing Revolutions Everywhere,” Mar said. “Just to keep that like oral legacy alive even if admin says otherwise.”
Daily shared that he is aware and committed to honoring student voices and history regarding the SCORE acronym. “My goal is to ensure that the name/acronym matches the program’s mission and vision,” they said. “Whatever the name or acronym is— students at Scripps have said they would like to keep the name because it honors the history—we should make sure we don’t lose its meaning and focus.”
Despite these assertions of SCORE’s radical roots, Mar still felt a disconnect between the current SCORE space and what it is advertised as.
“I feel like they mentioned SCORE on the admissions tour, and it sounds great on paper,” she said. “I don’t remember exactly how they sell it … but somehow I interpreted it as a place for students of color to feel safe and feel comfortable in. Then, as a freshman, I felt racialized in a way I’d never felt before [at a predominantly white institution]. So I was kind of turning to these spaces for community and validation of my experience, and I also just like to
meet more people of color.”
However, she realized SCORE wasn’t what she thought it was after working as a liaison between SCORE and the Asian American Resource Center at Pomona, a position that disappeared two years ago when she wasn’t rehired.
“Elba [Manudjano] was like, oh, we wanna make sure this is a safe space for all students,” she said. “I remember Elba [Mandujano] always told us, when you’re hosting events, make sure you put on the flier that this is for everyone. Don’t use exclusive language. So even if your event is for primarily APIDA students, like mine was, I couldn’t say that on the flier. And like I get you don’t [want to] exclude people. [But] it was that language of all students which discounts students who are, you know, people of color or marginalized in some way, which is like what I thought SCORE was supposed to be. It’s like, well why is it here then if it’s for everyone, what purpose does it serve?”
Mar reflected on what the current iteration of SCORE has looked like for student-driven communication and collaboration. “It’s been nice to have this freedom over the space,” she said. “If we needed to meet last minute, SCORE was available. It’s been nice and accessible in a way that it hasn’t been in the past few years. It’s really funny because we communicate with each other [other affinity CLORGs] through an Instagram group chat. And that’s how we have been reserving the space.”
She emphasized how freeing this process has been. “I think that ideally, SCORE in the future would look something more like that where that communication over the space is a little bit more informal and less institutionalized,” she said. “I don’t think you have to go through admin to reserve the space. I think that’s very counterintuitive to the idea of an open-access space.”
When asked whether she thought SCORE would ever truly be a studentrun space due to its institutionalization, Mar replied, “I think there’s always a chance for it to become less institutionalized. I think, looking at the Motley, for example, and the way that they’re able to employ students on their own, have their own sense of leadership and also their own sense of community, even their own way of reserving space and giving out funding. I think that’s definitely something that SCORE can aspire to. I mean I don’t know how practically that would shake out. But I think that a student-run model is totally possible.”
“I think it would be nice for the affinity groups to somehow, if not take ownership of SCORE then to break free from it completely,” Mar said. “I think that this kind of liminal situation going on is not sustainable and I think it’s gotta be all or nothing. Either being completely student-run [under SCORE] or severing ties from SCORE.”
The Core of the Core Restructuring Kerfuffle
By Ishita Jayadev ’26 and Belén Yudess ’25
Copy Editors
On Sept. 17, it was determined that psychology professor Jennifer Groscup would serve as the Core director for the restructured 2025-2027 Core cycle. In addition to Groscup, assistant professor of music, YouYoung Kang, was named the assistant director. The Core restructuring committee, led by current Core director Corey Tazarra, granted these appointments.
In the Spring of 2022, the Core restructuring committee was established to address issues with the curriculum that students and faculty had previously identified, mainly concerning Core I. The committee consisted of 14 representatives, including previous Core faculty and staff, along with student representatives. The student subcommittee was led by writing professor Adam Novy.
Following the removal of Writing 160 from the curriculum in 2019, Core has consisted of a three-semester program composed of Core I, Core II, and Core III, with a new overarching theme every three years. This current Core cycle, entitled Crossroads, will serve as the final Core cycle structured in this state.
The decision to restructure Core came at the behest of numerous members of the Scripps community who believed the highly publicized program needed to provide the interdisciplinary and community-based experiences promised by Scripps College.
“A signature program like Core periodically undergoes a restructuring process, so part of the answer as to why we restructured Core is simply because it was time – time to think about how well the program was serving our students,” Professor Groscup said via email. “We also knew that both students and faculty were at least partly dissatisfied with their experiences in the Program. Many had serious concerns about students having very negative experiences, particularly in Core I.”
Current Core director and history professor Corey Tazzara also pinpointed Core I as the root of the problem for many students and faculty. “Core I suffered from several problems: a perennial lack of coherence, weak
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’25, CARE@Scripps sent an email to all banned Scripps students “to offer support in brainstorming and preparing appeal letters, including discussing individual circumstances and how students can best present their perspectives in the appeal process,” according to an email to TSV from Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Dr. Sha Bradley and Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty Dr. Mary Hatcher-Skeers, sent through the Office of Marketing and Communications.
Some banned students felt frustrated by the Scripps administration’s lack of advocacy for their students.
“Scripps was offering us help with our appeals, despite the fact that all the appeals are going to be rejected unless there’s evidence that you weren’t in the building,” a banned student said. “Like, okay, what’s the point? You know?”
Beyond help with appeals, students have yet to receive more information from Scripps about the possibility of disciplinary meetings or details about Scripps College administration’s role in the ban letters.
“There’s still potential for disciplinary action from Scripps itself, but they’re not giving us a timeline or what that would look like,” a banned student said. “The only thing that I’ve heard [through the grapevine] is that it’ll probably be less severe than Pomona, but that’s so scary to just
faculty interest in the program, and (most of all) requiring faculty to teach outside their expertise, sometimes far outside their expertise,” Tazzara said via email. “With some material, this lack of expertise was merely unfortunate; with other material, such as that having to do with race, gender, or class, the results were sometimes disastrous. Scripps students deserve better than having their first course at college be taught by amateurs.”
This sentiment was shared by Laila Hannum ’26 regarding her Core II and III experiences, as she believed her professors in these courses did not seem equipped to discuss matters of race and sexuality integral to the class. “As a historically women’s college and in an inherently political space, the way that we have professors teaching about certain political topics is extremely problematic,” she said.
Hannum detailed a specific incident from her Core II class, Art and Activism, that made her feel uncomfortable as a queer student in the space. “I don’t know that [my professor] ever had to facilitate class discussion and that led to discussions in class that made me uncomfortable,” she said. “My identity as a queer student was not really protected in that class, which is kind of surprising because Scripps is supposed to be this amazing queer space.”
Hannum continued, “They definitely need professors who are trained in Socratic seminars, who are trained in having uncomfortable conversations and how to navigate these conversations and how to navigate when your students say [inappropriate] things in class.”
Groscup explained how the Restructuring Committee aimed to resolve some of these issues based on community input. “The ultimate goal of the Restructuring Committee was to generate a proposal for a new Core based on student and faculty opinions about what Core should look like in the future,” she said. “That proposal worked its way through the curriculum development process last year, and the resulting final version of the new Core Program was approved by the full faculty in May.”
After two years of deliberations, the committee decided to change the program’s fundamental structure and academic approach.
“The Core Program starting in the
Fall 2025 semester will be a two-course sequence. There will not be a course like the current Core I where the content is the same for the entire first-year class. All Core sections will be taught on different topics determined by the faculty teaching each section,” Groscup said. “In the fall, all students in Core will have a common summer reading and will attend a common invited speaker event, so they will do some things all together. Individual sections of Core in the fall will also be collaborating with each other on some common content or activities. The spring semester will end with a celebratory event presenting [class-driven] projects, like a megaamplified Core III Tea.”
Regarding the decision to lessen Core to a two-semester series, Tazzara touched upon how the Core Steering Committee, who worked tangentially with the Core Restructuring Committee, supported this update to the program.
“Speaking for Core Steering, our central goal was to eliminate the longstanding problems with Core 1, as well as to bring the Core program down to two semesters – on the premise that the extensive GE requirements already do an excellent job of introducing students to the crucial intellectual problems,” he said.
Groscup emphasized the value of the Core program in providing students a holistic liberal arts education, “[Core] serves as one of the signature bookends to a Scripps education, the other being senior thesis,” she said. “It aligns with the Scripps academic mission by ideally providing a space for academic community, exposure to multiple disciplines, and providing academic experiences that serve as the foundation for any major.”
Scripps writing tutor Tess Frazer ’26 shared this sentiment, recognizing the value of this approach while also highlighting the importance of making the Core goals transparent to students, especially in regard to writing.
“I think there’s a lot to be said for Core in that it exposes students to all of the disciplines and allows students to dip their toes in, but with that said, I think that oftentimes students get frustrated because they can’t see the bigger picture and the way that Core is [currently] presented can create what we like to call structural writer’s block,” she said. “They’re frustrated
Banned Students
be sitting here, waiting to hear from Scripps, and also having to be responsible for advocating for myself to my professor at Pomona. Who knows what their viewpoints are on anything, and it feels like no one really knows what’s going on.”
Another banned student shared a desire for more clarity.
“I just want the school to be honest with me,” the banned student said.
“If I’m going to go through a conduct process, I’m okay with that. I’m owning up to the fact that I chose to go inside that building, but if I’m going to face consequences for it, and they kind of know what’s going to happen, because [Scripps students got banned] happened last spring, I would like someone to just tell me.”
Bradley could not confirm to TSV about the possibility of disciplinary action for banned Scripps students.
A student who attended a meeting with a separate staff member from the Dean of Students office felt disappointed in the amount of information given to them.
The interviewed students had varied levels of academic participation at Pomona College, but they all felt frustrated at Scripps College’s lack of communication regarding their academic and disciplinary futures.
“Individual students will experience different academic challenges,” Bradley and Hatcher-Skeers wrote in the Marketing and Communications email. “We encourage students to reach out to the Dean of Faculty Of-
with the assignment because they don’t understand the purpose of the assignment, and therefore they have a hard time doing it. I think if we could frame Core as an opportunity to get exposure to a bunch of different subjects and explore your voice as a writer, students would have a more positive experience.”
For this past cycle, Core has been surmised to consist of three major writing assignments: a brief summary, a lens paper, and an analysis essay. Core is meant to introduce first-years to different styles of college-level writing and support them as they gain a greater understanding of the writing process. Although it is unclear how writing will be integrated into this new cycle, Frazer hopes there will be more opportunities for students to share their personal narratives to form a greater connection to their writing.
“I’ve heard little bits and pieces about what Writing 50 was, and that it had a little bit more flexibility in topics and students were able to establish themself in their writing,” Frazer said. “I think one of the big differences between high school and college writing is that high school writing is very formulaic, whereas in college writing you have an opportunity to express your voice, your argument and your perspective, and do it in a more creative way with more liberties taken. Often the best writing is deeply personal, when you can understand and see the writer’s thoughts and their personhood in what they produce.”
As the restructured Core undergoes development for the Class of 2028, Tazzara reflects on his tenure as Director and how his experience has informed his perspective on the future of Core.
“My biggest takeaway is that everybody loves Core in theory, whereas in practice, many students as well as faculty have grave doubts about its utility,” he said. “I would wish for the future either to see the entire elimination of Core (which seems to me based on an outdated model of education) or the development of a Core program that in some sense everyone can be committed to. Hopefully, we will begin to see that emerge with the work that Core Restructuring has done and during the tenure of Professor Groscup as the inaugural director of the new program.”
fice to discuss their specific circumstances.”
Regarding classes, Starr wrote that banned students could make arrangements with their Pomona professors, at their “sole discretion,” to continue coursework virtually during the ban.
With the upheld bans, the banned Scripps students enrolled in classes at Pomona College communicated with their professors and experienced varied levels of modification to their classes, with some taking classes on Zoom.
“That’s crazy that you’re now paying $90,000 to do your classes online, and your home college doesn’t even care enough to advocate that they shouldn’t have to do that,” a banned student said.
Bradley said that Pomona conducted the investigations and subsequent bans and that Scripps College was not involved.
“It would be inappropriate of Scripps to comment on Pomona’s [conduct policies],” Bradley and Hatcher-Skeers said in the Marketing and Communications email.
The banned students felt that Scripps should have advocated for them, especially in communication with Pomona.
“I don’t understand why their stance should be anything but: we want to protect our students who are remorseful and weren’t even involved in [vandalism],” a banned student said.
To all three students, the bans felt more like an intimidation tactic directed towards student protesters and organizers for divestment in Palestine rather than proportionate punishment for their involvement.
“We shouldn’t be punished for exercising our First Amendment rights,” a banned student said. “And punished so harshly. If this was a minor [punishment], I’d be like, ‘Okay, fuck you, but I can get past this,’ but it’s like, there’s no way to to get past it … It goes beyond students, but it’s so clear they don’t care about what’s happening in Palestine. This also is not gonna make life easier for professors, anybody.”
The student protesters felt misunderstood and that writing a ban appeal that Pomona College would accept was impossible.
“When given the chance to stand up for ourselves and clarify our role in the day, we’re told to reflect and that whatever we said wasn’t good enough,” a banned student said. “So, what could I possibly say that would be good enough? Except to completely denounce why I was there or what I actually care about.”
“I don’t understand why they have completely given up on their student population and the opinions of their student population, and wanting us to have any sense of community,” the student witness said. “Like, it sucks. I feel like I’m gonna graduate feeling shameful of the school that I went to.”
The Post Keckxit Era: Student Experience in Newly Formed Science Departments
By Juliette Des Rosiers ’26 and Belén Yudess ’25 Editor-In-Chief and Copy Editor
Scripps and Pitzer promised their students a sparkling new science building and Claremont McKenna promised students a trailblazing new pedagogy in response to the dissolution of the W. M. Keck Science Department this fall. While Scripps and Pitzer coasted into their new building, CMC stuttered slightly with the delay in the construction of their new Robert Day Sciences Center.
The Department of Natural Sciences (DNS) is the reimagined joint science program for Pitzer and Scripps following CMC's departure from Keck. CMC has moved its sciences into the Kravis Department of Integrated Sciences (KDIS). CMC students who majored at Keck before the 2024-2025 academic school year will remain at Keck and continue to receive priority to Keck classes, while incoming STEM students in the CMC Class of 2028 are the first to major in Integrated Sciences.
KDIS will not offer traditional introductory science classes; instead, it will require first-years to take their general education “Codes of Life” course and integrated science courses, the latter of which will not be available until next fall. Alternatively, CMC students would have to enroll in traditional introductory courses at Pomona, Harvey Mudd, or the Department of Natural Sciences, most opting for the latter. This reality has been especially concerning for pre-med students who require these courses for their post-graduate studies.
“They don't have Intro Chem, they don't have Intro Bio, all of that has to be taken through the Department of Natural Sciences, so the students who are pre-med, or have more of a hard sciences focus, have to PERM into these classes that they don't have priority in,” a CMC junior, who chose to remain anonymous to protect their academic relationships, said. “As a premed person, those are my people, and I want them to have all the opportunities in the world. And I also don't want CMC to be a place where it's like, ‘Oh if you're pre-med, don't go there.’”
The student explained that even though the CMC faculty advertises the program to pre-health students, they don’t feel the program goals reflected their needs.
“They keep saying, ‘med schools are super, super excited about this program, and they can't wait for the
graduating class,’” an anonymous CMC first-year said. “Okay, but I don't know how valid that is.”
“I feel like even if it's going be great in two years, and it very much could be, right now, I'm worried about the freshmen that came in thinking that it was going to be this awesome program that was ready for them, and then it's not,” the anonymous junior said. “I think there's a lot of undertones of promoting prestige over students' futures.”
The KDIS website states that the new curriculum “is especially appropriate for students interested in careers in the health professions, scientific research, entrepreneurship and innovation, consulting, and policy.” However, students hesitated to agree when asked.
“I think it's definitely setting up students for success in industry and business and even biotech,” the anonymous junior said. “The computational stuff is going to be really helpful in terms of statistical analysis and data sets. But at the end of the day you need hard sciences. They are trailblazing, truly, because it's not as much about the science, but it's about the fact that they have science in the context of other things. So I think that's helpful in that realm, but it's not conducive to science-based graduate schools.”
CMC first-years weren’t aware that the college required them to major in Integrated Sciences until after they had committed to CMC. Multiple students explained that they applied under a traditional science major, and CMC forced them to change it.
“I applied under a biochemistry major, and they just threw me under Integrated Sciences,” the anonymous CMC first-year said. “I didn't even click Integrated Sciences [on my application], I put biochemistry, and ... over the summer, when I was going through my orientation checklist ... it said that my current major was Integrated Sciences.”
In response to the surprise change in their major plan, some CMC first-years have looked into majoring off-campus in the sciences or dual majoring in social science. Despite the KDIS website advertising these options, the CMC Registrar and KDIS faculty have pushed back on the requests, much to the dismay of their students.
“I'm a bit disappointed that they closed off the opportunity of getting a specialized [traditional] major,” a second anonymous first-year said. “I know some [students] that really do appreciate that coding aspect, so they will be remaining within Integrated
Science, which is great for them. But for me, I would like to major off-campus with a concentration in neuroscience and science management, which is not yet [a possibility for CMC students], and which is not offered here anymore.”
When asked if they felt KDIS was open to feedback during this transitional year, students expressed that faculty were open, but there were still barriers to students asking for help.“Professor Ron [is] actually really sweet; I love him, and he encourages any questions, but I feel like people don't even know what to ask,” a third CMC first-year said.
When asked for an interview, CMC faculty referred The Scripps Voice to the CMC Office of Strategic Communications. The Office then directed TSV to the KDIS website, which a CMC first-year called “vague.”
It is not to say, however, that science academics are suffering at KDIS. Students expressed their appreciation for their faculty and interest in the general education Codes of Life class, as well as new upper-division courses.
“I will say the faculty are great,” an anonymous first-year said. “They're very supportive, they're experts in their field, and I trust them as professors.”
The student also complimented how the Codes of Life class is structured. “They really do give you that handson experience,” they said. “They walk you through it in a simple way you can understand. A lot of the people within these classes have not had prior coding experiences, so when they're exposed to them, it's actually really nice.”
Across 9th Street at DNS, there have been fewer changes to the academics, but Ulysses Sofia, Dean of Science at DNS, explained how Scripps and Pitzer are taking advantage of the department’s name and building change to welcome a new era of sciences.
“This is the perfect time for us to look at ourselves and say, ‘Okay, are we doing what we want to do?’” Sofia said. “If the answer is yes, that's fantastic. If the answer is no, this is the perfect time to say, ‘hey, we'd rather teach a little more in this direction. We'd rather do our intro courses this way. Or we'd rather have more labs at the upper level,’ or whatever it is, now is just a really right time to do that, because of these material changes in our department.”
A DNS staff member echoed this sentiment when talking about the departure of CMC. “We have our reinvigorated program and faculty, and so I don't feel a sense of loss at this
moment,” he said. “I'm very optimistic and hopeful and excited more so than I have been at any other point.”
Additionally, students have much to look forward to from DNS, with CMC’s exit opening space for smaller, more personal classes, expansive lab space in The Nucleus, and new faculty hires. The new Nucleus building almost doubles the physical space for the sciences at Scripps and Pitzer. The expansion allows more full-time faculty to fill research labs. Sofia reflected on what that promises for student experiences.
“When we lose approximately a third of our enrollments from CMC and we gain more tenure-line faculty, that right away means more course options for students and more research opportunities for students,” he said.
Ultimately, Sofia explained that DNS is only looking to expand its interdisciplinary lens through CMC’s departure and that students will continue to reap benefits from the department’s mission.
“Pitzer and Scripps have missions that are similar to each other, and those two missions are different from what CMC’s mission is, so it actually makes it easier for us to connect with our home colleges,” he said.
Speaking specifically to Scripps students, Sofia was excited by the opportunity for increased Scripps enrollment and engagement at DNS.
“63 percent of our tenure line faculty are female, so we live and demonstrate something I think is fundamentally obviously important to Scripps, which is that women can and should be leaders in male dominated fields, and we are a great example of a place where that's happening,” he said.
Members of DNS shared how they feel confident that their academics have been and will continue to be integrated and interdisciplinary, building programs that students can apply to many fields.
“A lot of science works at the boundaries between disciplines and that's where our faculty and our students have been working,” the DNS staff member said.
“Students go on to graduate school in the sciences,” Sofia said. “Students go into industry. Students go into med school, vet school, nursing school, any of the health sciences. People go into education and want to teach K through 12 in the sciences. We prepare our students, I feel, for any of those opportunities. We consider ourselves a very traditional, sort of broad department, and you have many avenues to pursue once you come out with a degree from our department.”
SAS Launches Student-Centered MAYA App
By Ainsley Harris ’26 Staff Writer
Fall 2024 has marked the beginning of a new form of communication for SAS and CLORGS on Scripps campus – the MAYA app. SAS introduced the MAYA app (acronym for Me And You Always) to increase event visibility and participation on campus.
Long before the MAYA app was implemented, SAS recognized a problem at Scripps: the lack of student turnout at Scripps events. Even before stepping into her role as the Vice President of Student Activities, Simran Sethi ’26 understood that Scripps’s on-campus events and activities were severely under-attended and had a bad reputation to boot.
“At events that SAS hosts, or Tiernen hosts, or OSE there is a lack of attendance. My freshman year and sophomore year, I had to go to other schools to have fun. I had to go to my friends at CMC or Harvey Mudd, and Scripps was dead. This is a small school, but there's still over a thousand kids. Like, what's going on?” Sethi said. Sethi reflected on her own experiences on campus and diagnosed the problem – Scripps events just get lost in the constant clutter of students’
inboxes and no one checks Engage.
“We get so many emails, right? In all those emails, you lose the emails of the fun events, right? Even within the SAS email, there's so much information. Chances of someone actually reading through the whole thing is low,” Sethi said.
Upon her election as Vice President of Student Activities, Sethi dedicated herself to finding the solution to the Scripps’ event attendance problem. She decided this summer to create an app that would highlight and spread awareness for Scripps events to be implemented Fall 2024.
However, over the summer, a startup company contacted Sethi in the hopes of launching their community app, MAYA, at Scripps. Instead of learning to code all summer, Sethi was able to work with their interface and personalize it for Scripps-specific needs.
The MAYA app has five Scrippsspecific pages: Events, Groups, Announcements, News, and Resources. Under the Events tab, CLORGS and other groups can post their events with relevant location, date, time, and details, directly to the student body. CLORGS can also create groups in the Groups tab and create chats with just their members. The Announcements tab allows live alerts
to be sent out to all students to remind them of upcoming events. News shares The Scripps Voice articles directly with the student body. Finally, the Resources tab provides links to various campus resource pages. From one page, students can place a work order, check their Claremont Cash, or set up their Papercut Printer.
“It's very personalized to Scripps,” Sethi said. “I was like these are our Scripps colors. This is our SAS logo. All these features that we've added, I added them based off of what my experiences at Scripps are. We are very open to feedback. There's new updates getting rolled out almost every week”
Since the implementation of the MAYA app on campus this fall, SAS has seen a significant rise in student engagement on campus. The Brat Rave was the first official test of its effectiveness.
“All the freshmen were here. Brat Rave was a huge success. That was the first weekend, and one of SAS’s goals this year is the first weekend [where] we set the bar,” Sethi said.
Part of the previous failure of oncampus events was the lackluster precedent of Scripps parties. With this successful party to kick off the year, thanks in part to MAYA, future Scripps events should expect a
higher attendance. The MAYA app also promises events run by fellow students, which students are often more incentivized to attend over those hosted by administrative offices.
“It's not that we're doing stuff that admin doesn't know about. It's just when students know that a[nother] student is running it, they're more likely to engage with it. It definitely feels more genuine,” said Sethi.
The MAYA app is still in its early stages at Scripps. There are currently over 400 Scripps students on the MAYA app, many of them freshmen. As the MAYA app continues to stake its claim at Scripps, Sethi foresees its increasing relevance.
“It’s gaining traction and we’re seeing more students on it,” Sethi said. “There’s the dorms, right now everyone uses GroupMe. Next year that's a matter of fully changing over to Maya. They could all be really centralized. That's the point. We want everything on one platform.”
Within the 5Cs, the MAYA app is only live at Scripps and requires an @ scrippscollege.edu to access. However, Sethi predicts that, as the MAYA app gains relevance, the other 5C student governments will incorporate it into their campus life. Then, both Scripps and 5C events will be centralized in one, user-friendly interface.
The Art of Nature: A Guide to Butterflies in Claremont
By Angela Zhang ’28 Staff Writer
Occupied with my bustling agendas for the first two weeks of the semester, I never truly had a chance to observe the butterflies on campus closely. There were simply two kinds of butterflies on my mind back then: the yellow ones and the orange ones. This is until one noon when I meticulously observed the butterflies resting on the bushes beside
outward from their center, ranging from long to short. Additionally, as a swallowtail butterfly, it also has its iconic tails painted in yellow and black stripes. Thanks to these simple but graceful stripes and their large figure, the western Tiger Swallowtail is easily identifiable while standing around the entrance of Malott.
Anise Swallowtail
Another butterfly species from the genus Papilio that is very similar to the Western Tiger Swallowtail Papilio ), which I spotted near entrance of the
Monarch butterfly Orange butterflies are, if
dotted with infrequent silver spots in the middle, and thin black strips only at the edge. Moreover, Gulf
the entrance of Student Health Services. Their entire body is covered in vibrant orange as if they are mes
leges Library. If you look from afar, it is almost
completely different species. Situated in a garden-like environment with a diverse array of flowers, Scripps’s campus is home to various species of butterflies. Undoubtedly, their colorful wings are one of the most graceful arts of nature around us, so let’s take a closer look at the different butterfly species found on campus and how exactly to distinguish one from the other. Next time, when you pass one of these tiny neighbors of ours, you’ll be able to call out their names with confidence!
Western Tiger Swallowtail
The Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus) was the first butterfly I spotted during this fall semester. It is a large swallowtail butter- fly
tinguish them, as they both have very similar wings, predominantly in bright yellow, black patterns on top, dark blue dots at the end, and that iconic pair of swallow tails. Even more so, the distribution of the Anise Swallowtail resembles the Western Tiger Swallowtail’s, as both mainly reside in Western North America. What makes the Anise Swallowtails special though, are their delicate and dense black patterns that dominate most of their wings’ surface, spreading in multiple directions. The part of the wing close to their body is also black, blending some of these black lines in, like a gradient spreading from the center of their body. What an elegant design of nature to make two distinctly beautiful species out of the same
Fritillary has its entire domen in bright orange, casting a special sense of unity and continuity when appreciating beauty. Similarly to Monarch butterflies, their beauty is also a warning. The Gulf Fritillary secretes odorous chemicals in response to predator exposure.
to distinguish the Gulf Fritillary from Monarch butterflies. From a distance, their wingspan is smaller than Monarch’s, and up close, the patterns are oppositely oriented. While Monarch butterflies have their black stripes at the center of the wing, and white dots at the end, it is quite the opposite for Gulf Fritillary. Their wings, primarily in orange-yellow, are
enjoy sunbathing too!), the extreme temperature swings can be fatal to them, leading to dehydration or slowed metabolism. Although revitalization of the group may take a while, it is also most certain that our neighbors will return in the coming October weeks. When they return, be sure to look out for their natural glamor and grace.
Angela Zhang ’28 • The Scripps Voice
The Student Union Gets a Makeover
By Leah Gorence ’28 Staff Writer
In the Student Union above Mallot, there’s hardly any of the space’s white walls visible. Massive posters of artists like Chappell Roan and Kali Uchis adorn the walls, joined by posters for movies like The Rocky Horror Picture Show and student-made paintings or collages, such as a drawing a student made of one of the turtles from Seal Court.
All the new decor is part of an effort from Scripps Associated Students (SAS), to revamp the Student Union. SAS has been working tirelessly to make it a warmer, more inviting place.
Kimai McPhee, the Student Organizations Co-Commisioner, shared SAS’s goals for the Student Union revamp, what they hope the space will mean to students, and how they have chosen to make the space.
“One of the things that we talked about a lot regarding the Student Union is wanting it to make it feel like a community space”, McPhee said, and you can feel that as you walk into the space. There are many squashy chairs and the room has a soft, warm light from the various lamps and twinkle lights. The emphasis on beauty and comfort in the space was very deliberate by McPhee and Sky Caldwell, the SAS Community Building Co-Chair, who helped spearhead the project. The revamp is also coming at a time when Scripps students feel very acutely the value of community spaces.
McPhee highlights the importance of the Student Union as a place that is “completely SAS owned. Faculty can’t come up here unless they’re invited, and that’s really special...It’s a completely student-curated space”. It also has 24-hour swipe card access,
so it’s always available to students even when other buildings close for the night.
She said that the goal of the revamp is to “make it feel more like a community space and make it feel like a place where people feel like they can be at home and just really enjoy. We also wanted to make sure that it exudes ‘Scripps’ as well.”
The value of having another community space on campus is that it gives students a third space, outside of where they live and work, to exist. The space encourages students to study, to gather, and to relax. McPhee emphasizes the new or improved amenities in the Student Union that some students may not know about, such as a ping pong table, computers, and a locker available for clubs to use
as storage. The Student Union is also home to a free closet and the Nobody Fails at Scripps pantry. Nobody Fails at Scripps is a mutual aid group on campus, and students can leave food or supplies for students who may need them. McPhee says SAS is also looking into getting board games and potentially a CD player.
The most striking thing about the revamped Student Union is the expanse of student art. SAS invited all Scripps students to Student Union makeover nights and encouraged student artists to add to the space. McPhee says, “One thing we want to emphasize are these beautiful student murals”. More than just decoration, the student art in the Student Union is also a celebration of Scripps students. As McPhee says, “I think so
many Scrippsies are such talented artists and have a lot of creativity regardless of whether it is drawings or paintings or collages”.
The SAS leaders behind the revamp of the Student Union want to extend that to paying homage to past students with the creation of a collage featuring photos of past Scripps students from the Denison Library archives. The collage, which is in the process of being made by Annika Lindberg, would be a celebration of the women who have come before us, to honor Scripps’ history as a historically women’s college. McPhee says that SAS wanted to “really emphasize that it’s the students that make this place special and to not only represent us as we are now but also the history of Scripps”.
The revival of the Student Union has coincided with the loss of a beloved and vital community space on campus: the Motley Coffeehouse. Many students have felt a loss of connection and community following the sudden and forced closing of the Motley. McPhee, a former barista at the Motley, says “We never could have anticipated the Motley closing”. Although the Student Union could never replace the Motley, it is still incredibly positive to have places where Scripps students can still go. “Even though it’s not the same and doesn’t function the same way, it still gives that feeling of connection and community. And hopefully, in the future, it will be able to work in conjunction with the Motley”.
The revamp has been largely considered a success by SAS and other Scripps students. When asked if there has been an uptick in student use of the space, McPhee said, “Definitely”. Reflecting on the use of the space since the revamp, one moment sticks out. McPhee said, “Some prospective 1st year students came and visited, and they came up [to the Student Union] and they’re like, ‘this is the coolest place on campus.’”
Frances Walton ’26 • The Scripps Voice
Frances Walton ’26 • The Scripps Voice
Safety and Support: Students Question Adequacy of Campus “Safety”
By Ishita Jayadev ‘26 and Amy Jayasuriya ‘26
Copy Editors
Campus Safety currently occupies a nebulous position at The Claremont Colleges as an entity purported to promote the “safety and well-being of students.”
Instead, Campus Safety has raised concerns due to their association with the police and inadequate response to health crises.
Specific concerns about Campus Safety’s association with the police have only become amplified within the past year due to the heightened repression of pro-Palestinian student protests at the 5Cs, including the arrest of 19 students on April 5 at Pomona College. More recently, Scripps College stationed Campus Safety and private security around The Motley immediately after its indefinite closure from Oct. 5-7 and both inside and outside Denison Library since Oct. 16.
All interviews conducted for this article were held before Oct. 5. The Scripps Voice interviewed a former Scripps student, Ellis O’Brien, who had dealt with Campus Safety multiple times, and a current Scripps Residential Coordinator (RC), who requested to remain anonymous due to concerns regarding administrative retaliation, to understand and interrogate Campus Safety’s current roles and responsibilities at The Claremont Colleges.
Campus Catch-all
When asked how the Campus Life team communicated about Campus Safety to student Residential Life staff, the RC said they were told to advertise them as a student safety resource. “They are supposed to be our sort of catch-all in the case of an emergency or to transfer us to an alternative person like the Admin on Call [formerly Dean on Call],” they said.
They clarified that all RCs and community coordinators (CCs) have two meetings with Campus Safety as part of their training before the semester begins. “We have a session where we meet with a couple of the Campus Safety officers and we’re able to ask them questions about what their jurisdiction is, how they see their role working with us, and what they’re supposed to do on campus.”
“In my previous year,” they continued, “We talked to them about changing their uniforms, because that was a big point of contention. Students don’t feel safe seeing Campus Safety on campus because they looked like police officers, which is very triggering for many individuals. So they talked about how they heard that feedback, and changed their uniform, and changed their badges to be purple so that they [are not] associated with the police.”
Despite this, the Campus Safety website publicizes its working relationship with the Claremont Police Department. This relationship was demonstrated on April 5 when Campus Safety actively assisted in the detainment of student protesters prior to their arrests.
The RC elaborated further on how they thought Campus Safety was given jurisdiction over too many aspects of student life.
“I think it’s difficult for one organization to be responsible for the health and safety and security of five institutions that all have different policies,” they said. “And so I think that they’re overstretched in what they are expected to report to. And I wish that there was some sort of institutional structure that prioritized mental health and students’ well being that was separate from safety and security.”
Mental Health and Campus Safety
O’Brien detailed their own traumatic experiences with Campus Safety, specifically when they needed mental health support. They talked about how a concerned friend back home had called Scripps after realizing O’Brien was depressed, resulting in multiple Campus Safety officers coming to their room the next night after they had just gotten out of the shower and eventually taking them to a psychiatric hospital without prior notice.
“I was basically standing in my towel and they were like, ‘is this you? We got a report saying that there was a student here that needed help,’” O’Brien said. “And I was like, um, yeah, that’s my name. And they’re like, well we need to talk to you. And I was like, okay, can I have a couple seconds?”
They elaborated on how Campus Safety told their roommates to exit the room, leaving them alone inside. “I was literally shaking like I was so anxious because I was just freaked out,” they said. “[It was] just scary to see, basically police outside of my dorm, looking for [me].”
They continued to recount how Campus Safety questioned them, saying, “It felt super intrusive. It was super scary. I didn’t really wanna trust them that much, but I knew that my friend [back home] knew about what I was going through, so I kind of had to go along with it.”
O’Brien emphasized that this situation could’ve been handled more sensitively. “It would’ve been way better if it was like a counselor or something that was there, or someone a little bit more friendly,” they said. “Because camp sec had no idea how to deal with something like this, and if they were trained, they weren’t trained well because I don’t think they had the compassion to deal with this.”
O’Brien also talked about how Campus Safety misled them into believing that they would be taken to a medical hospital and instead drove them to a psychiatric hospital with no prior warning or preparation.
“I trusted them. And I was a new student. I was a freshman. I had never dealt with camp sec before. I never had any interactions with them, personally at least,” they said. “So I mean, I’m not usually trusting the police, but I was like, okay, maybe they’re different from the police. Because they’re campus security, you know?”
They emphasized how this made them unprepared to be taken to a psychiatric hospital for almost a week. “I literally had nothing,” they said. “I had my pajamas on and my coat ‘cause they said it was cold outside. And they were like, that’s all you need. Maybe your phone, and any medicine that you’ll need. So I took that.”
O’Brien elaborated on their
experience being driven to the psychiatric hospital. “They showed up in an actual cop car,” O’Brien said. “Like a cage and everything in the back. I don’t know what it’s called, but there was a screen and I felt like a criminal. And I was there for mental health reasons. I already felt like a bad person, you know? … I was already in such a bad situation. And then I just felt so much worse after that.”
They stressed that the handling of this situation was inappropriate. “I didn’t need to be put in a cop car and policed, like [I was being] taken to prison — not that anyone does,” they said. “But this was a super different situation. I wasn’t being aggressive. I was a scared kid. I was 18.”
O’Brien also talked about their experience calling Campus Safety after a head injury without realizing what other options were available to them. “[Campus Safety] were like, you have to be in the ambulance,” O’Brien said. “And I was like, okay, I can’t afford an ambulance. But they didn’t really care about that.”
They elaborated on how they wished Campus Safety had outlined alternatives other than being taken to the hospital in an ambulance. “I wish they had maybe asked like, Hey, do you have a friend that can drive you,” they said. “But no, it was just like, we’re taking you in an ambulance. And it wasn’t like I was knocked out or anything like that. I get like in certain situations you need an ambulance, but in this one I didn’t really need one.”
They noted an additional consequence of the experience:, “I had to pay for everything out of pocket. And I did end up going into debt. It was a really hard time ‘cause I was already struggling with the financial situation at Scripps anyways.”
Alternatives to Campus Safety
When asked how they envision less damaging health support, O’Brien compared it to when they got COVID-19 at the beginning of their first year. “When I had COVID, it was a very similar situation where you had to basically get picked up and shipped to a place,” they said. “And there was a screen and everything ‘cause you obviously didn’t wanna get anyone sick, but it was an actual person that wasn’t campus security, and who knew how to deal with the situation.”
They emphasized, “It was
Frances Walton ‘26 • The Scripps Voice specialized. I had time to prepare … And I think they could have had something like that [during my mental health crisis], like a specific person to deal with these situations.”
They offered numerous other solutions that would’ve felt safer for them. “There could have been so many other ways to go about it,” O’Brien said. “I mean, all of them would’ve been scary, but at least I would’ve felt more comforted. Maybe someone could understand what I was going through and make me feel like I wasn’t crazy or needed to be locked up or something like that ‘cause that’s kind of what it felt like to me.”
They also elaborated on how isolating the whole situation was for them. “I felt like I was the only person that had ever gone through that,” they said. “And then I talked to the Dean of Students and she was like, no, this happens all the time. And I was like, it would’ve been nice to know because they made it feel like I was the only person.”
O’Brien echoed the RC’s earlier thoughts on Campus Safety handling too many aspects of student life.
“I think that there should be more specialized people for different situations,” they said. “If it’s like a mental health crisis, there should be specific people that take care of mental health crises. If it’s a general health crisis, there should be specific people taking care of that, that are trained in those specific areas. I think camp sec is given way too much power.”
On Oct. 21, when asked if they had any additional thoughts given the recently changed environment at Scripps, the RC gave a statement: “It is clear the administration is scared of the student body. They are treating students entering Denison like they are armed criminals — an approach that is both inexplicable and unjustified. Such actions not only undermine the trust that should exist between students and the administration but also create an atmosphere of fear. I have talked to many students who feel scared to be on campus with increased security presence. They feel like they are constantly being watched and policed at their home.”
Aerial Photography: Human or Nonhuman Eye?
By Emily Mito ’28 Staff Writer
Throughout history, balloons, pigeons, airplanes, and later drones have been equipped with cameras for aerial photography.
Since the first aerial image was taken in the late nineteenth century, human society has become obsessed with the “non-human eye” in the sky.
The Instrumental Image—Aerial Photography as Problem and Possibility is on view at the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College from Aug. 15 to Jan. 5.
The exhibition explored different problems and possibilities of aerial photography.
Solveig Nelson, the museum’s newly admitted curator, started working on the exhibition over the summer prior to her arrival in Claremont.
When grappling with the abundant photo collections of the Benton Museum, Nelson first encountered the wartime images, which are essential to the history of aerial photography.
The exhibition is named after Allan Sekula’s landmark essay, in which the author criticized the use of aerial photography during World War I as a tool to aestheticize violence and thus minimize the human cost of aerial attacks.
The first image of the exhibition, a photograph taken from the airplane of Italian poet Gabriele D’Annunzio in 1919, shows a city rained with thousands of propaganda newspapers. Nelson said in an interview with The Scripps Voice that the image invites viewers to “the contemplation of aerial view as an abstract object and dissonance with an inability to see the violence.”
By looking down at the cityscape in a museum exhibition, visitors inevitably put themselves in a certain hierarchical relationship to the lives below.
The show continued to explore the aerial images of the Second World War.
Looking at the images like the Reconnaissance picture of the Nazi airfield and the total area devastated by the atomic bomb strike on Hiroshima Nelson said that: “On the appearance, it is an abstract landscape, but then if you interpret why it was taken and what those little dots are, you realize that there is an inner layer of tragedy.”
The use of aerial photography as a mode of surveillance was persistent during the 1960s, especially
to document marginalized African American communities.
In Civil Rights demonstrators march through Springfield, Massachusetts, the aerial perspective seems to distance the viewer from the scene before them. The angle that looks down on the crowd of human figures creates a significant power dynamic between the protesters, the photographer, and, by extension, the viewer.
On the other hand, the exhibition also casts light on artists who practiced alternative ways of using aerial photography.
Roy DeCarava captured intimate scenes of Harlem from above in the 1950s. Instead of applying the orthodox aerial photography styles that show people as a minimized collective, DeCarava’s works focuses on individual narratives as the subjects. The individuals “hold emotional weight,” according to Nelson.
LaToya Ruby Frazier even extends the possibility of aerial photography being used not to undermine but to empower the subject. In 2013, Frazier photographed African American communities in Memphis, Baltimore, and Chicago. In an interview with The
Atlantic, Frazier explained how she used aerial perspective to help people in the communities see what surrounds them physically and historically.
Aerial photography also plays a significant role in the conversation of environmental justice.
William Garnett’s Lakewood Housing Project, 1950, is especially intriguing as it shows two conflicting intentions around suburban development.
The seven aerial photos showing the process of housing construction were taken by Garnett as part of a commission project. The developers turned them into portfolios to showcase their achievements.
To some people, the geometric patterns of thousands of identical houses lined up perfectly appear to be aesthetically pleasing. To others, the extreme artificiality seems odd and disturbing.
Contrary to the developers’ intention, Garnett tried to show the disastrous environmental impacts of artificial development.
“This series of images shows how construction is paired with destruction,” Nelson said. “They make us wonder what was there before they bulldozed
everything to start the construction.”
By showing diverse uses of aerial photography throughout its history, The Instrumental Image—Aerial Photography as Problem and Possibility challenges our most fundamental view of aerial photography as a non-human eye. Although the images are physically taken by non-human media and from a super-human perspective in the air, a human gaze always controls the lens.
Sometimes, the gaze is colonial, suppressive, and egoistic, but other times, it can be revealing and empowering.
Social media and news coverage constantly expose people to aerial images, and if not literal images, the concept of looking down on the world from above. The images can be used for different purposes, such as providing a broader context of an incident or objectifying the human figures on the ground and distancing them from the viewers.
The exhibition encourages visitors to be critical of unconsciously consuming aerial images and intentional about internalized aerial sight. Make sure to visit while it’s still here this semester!
Get Fit at Scripps: A Review of Tiernan’s Fitness Classes
By Audrey Granger ’28 Staff Writer
It’s a Wednesday afternoon, and you’ve just finished your last class of the day. The hours ahead are open, yet somehow feel overwhelming with all the possibilities. Should you head back to your dorm? Catch up on some reading? Or maybe, just maybe, this is the perfect moment to slip into your comfiest sneakers and head to the gym. The Sallie Tiernan Field House (TFH) offers a wide range of fitness classes through the FitScripps program that cater to every fitness level. Whether you’re an experienced athlete, an aspiring beginner, or just looking to try something new, the variety of classes — including drop-in yoga, meditation, Zumba, Pilates, and more — promises something for everyone. If you haven’t yet explored the fitness options Tiernan has to offer, here are some personal recommendations to help you get started.
Zumba is a high-energy, dance- based fitness class that blends Latininspired moves with cardio, making for an incredibly fun and inclusive workout. The class runs on Wednesdays from 5-6 p.m. and Thursdays from 6-7 p.m.. Each session starts with a warm-up before transitioning into a mix of dance styles and music, including early 2000s hits,
salsa, cumbia, and even Bollywood. “My favorite part of the class is the Bollywood dance where I feel pure joy spinning and clapping,” said Ava Neal ’28.
The instructor keeps the choreography fresh by introducing new dances weekly, so there’s always something new and different to look forward to. Zumba is beginner-friendly enough that anyone can jump in, regardless of experience. It not only makes working out feel fun but also offers great fitness benefits, improving aerobic fitness, coordination, and balance. It’s an excellent option for anyone looking to sweat and move to fun music!
Another fantastic choice is Pilates. The FitScripps program offers mat Pilates classes on Wednesdays from 4-5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10-11 p.m. at Tiernan. Though both classes follow a similar structure, each instructor brings a unique energy to the sessions. Stella Ruebel ’28 explains that the Wednesday class is “more of a slow burn, focused on strength training,” while the Saturday session feels “faster, like ballet exercises.”
Each class incorporates about 50 repetitive exercises, such as the Hundred, bicycles, single-leg kicks, and a variety of planks, offering a full-body workout that’s low-impact but intense. With music in the background and supportive instructors
guiding you, Pilates will have your muscles working hard. It’s beginnerfriendly, so anyone can join, even if it’s your first time. You’ll want to bring comfy socks as the class is shoeless, and Tiernan provides mats. Whether you’re looking to tone your core or improve your posture, Pilates is an excellent choice for strengthening your body in a low-impact way.
Out of all the classes at FitScripps, kickboxing might be one of the most unique. Kickboxing is a full-contact martial art that combines boxing with techniques like punching, kicking, and knee strikes. It’s practiced for self-defense, fitness, and even competition, and its stand-up fighting style means there’s no ground combat involved.
Many gyms offer cardio kickboxing classes, which combine martial arts moves with calisthenics and whole-body exercises. Dedicated fitness kickboxing facilities often incorporate bag work, timed intervals, and high-intensity rounds to build strength and endurance. At Scripps, the kickboxing class follows a similar format, meeting on Thursdays from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Though it may seem daunting, this class is a great way to re-energize after a long week, with dynamic exercises that leave you feeling strong and alert.
Yoga is arguably the most popular class in the FitScripps program. Ses-
sions are available on Wednesdays from 3-4 p.m., Thursdays from 4:305:30 p.m., and Saturdays from 9-10 a.m. Each class begins with breath awareness and a gentle warm-up, followed by a sequence of postures that build strength and flexibility. These include a mix of standing, floor, and chair work and often incorporate yoga blocks to enhance the poses.
Ava L. ’28 shared her love for the class, noting that “the instructor weaves in mind-heart-body connectivity,” making the experience holistic. Every session wraps up with a guided meditation, leaving participants feeling centered and relaxed. The class flows smoothly from start to finish, making it a perfect way to unwind while improving flexibility and strength.
While this article highlights just four of the classes offered through FitScripps, there are plenty more — meditation, group cycling, and HIIT, to name a few. Access to workout classes is a resource every student should take advantage of. Not only do they improve physical fitness, but the mental clarity and revitalization they provide are invaluable. I highly encourage anyone, regardless of experience, to try these classes. Bring a friend, and before long, these sessions may become a regular part of your routine — something you’ll look forward to each week.
Emily Mito ’28 • The Scripps Voice
By Leah Gorence ’28 Staff Writer
With the election less than two weeks away, voting is a critical conversation happening around the country. But from talking to acquaintances and overhearing conversations around campus, I’ve heard several people express that they weren’t going to vote. This is baffling to me. To me, it is a privilege to live in a democracy. Voting is the most important way to participate in the governance of this country. Although our democracy is flawed, it is still important to exercise your right to vote.
It’s also important to keep in mind the unique position that we have as college students. Gen Z is the most racially and ethnically diverse generation in the U.S., so a lack of votes from young people also means that people of color are less likely to have their perspectives taken into account. If you don’t use your voice, there is always someone happy to speak for you. The Center for Information and Research on
Vote, Just Vote
Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University found that in the 2020 election, there was an 8 percent increase in voter turnout compared to 2016, with young people contributing a larger percentage of overall votes in the election. If youth voter turnout remains strong, we can hope to see politicians paying more attention to young people as a political force.
There are many reasons people do not want to vote, from a dislike of the candidates or an apathy towards the voting system in the United States. In this article, I aim to respond to some anti-voting sentiments that I’ve heard around The Claremont Colleges and offer a different perspective. As the election looms around the corner, it’s time to consider what is important to us and what we are willing to fight to protect.
“I don’t want to vote because they both suck” - It is totally valid to dislike both of the presidential candidates. Within a two-party system, it can feel like you are stuck choosing between two candidates you don’t
like. But even if you feel that both the candidates are deficient, you still should weigh the candidates and decide the lesser of two evils. Boycotting an election isn’t an option – at the end of the day, one of those two candidates will likely win.
Your vote on other races and propositions matters just as much as the presidential election. In light of the looming climate crisis, we don’t have four years to lose. A New York Times analysis of studies done by Harvard Law School and Columbia Law School found that when Donald Trump was president, he rolled back more than 100 policies aimed at protecting the environment. Issues like affordable housing, climate change, abortion, healthcare, and gun control are on the line. Voter turnout matters and is a reflection of what is important to people.
“I’m not going to vote because it doesn’t matter - California isn’t a swing state anyway” - You’re right. Your vote in the presidential election doesn’t have as much sway as it would if you lived in a swing state.
But propositions on new laws, judges, and local races on your ballot are very important. For example, in California, Proposition 36, also known as The Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act, will increase penalties for certain theft and drug offenses if passed.
“I’m not voting because neither of the candidates support Palestine” - This is very controversial, and my goal is to respect everyone’s perspective. But I will say that in regard to Palestine, not voting as a form of protest doesn’t serve anybody well. There are other ways to protest that more powerfully amplify your voice. Withholding your vote just leaves out your perspective on pressing domestic issues and your thoughts on how taxpayer money should be spent.
So vote! Just vote. Check your voter registration status, decide how and when you will vote, and research what will be on your ballot. Then get out and let your voice be heard. Casting a vote sends a message for change and hope.
I Live In Fear: As a SoCal Resident Anxiously Awaiting the "Big One"
By Anna Odell ’27 Social Media Manager
At 3:53 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6, I was peacefully enjoying my slumber after a long but fun night out when a strange yet familiar sensation suddenly yanked me from my REM sleep. My confusion lasted only a millisecond before I realized what had awoken me: an earthquake.
As a lifelong California resident, I've experienced many earthquakes, most of which I did not even notice, let alone care about. But the moment an earthquake hits above 4.0 on the Richter scale, my internal alarm goes on high alert. So, as you can imagine, being woken up for the first time in years by the ground shaking — causing my bed to sway and my precious Sonny Angels to topple off my desk — left me panicked.
All natural disasters are frightening. I, for one, know I wouldn't last a day in a state that experiences tornadoes as their signature disaster. Even though I've experienced dozens, earthquakes will always take the cake for me. Hurricanes, tornadoes, and even fires, to some extent, can be predicted or at least prepared for. With earthquakes, you really get no warning. If one happens, you'd better have good selfpreservation skills because it's really every man for himself.
For out-of-state students, feeling an earthquake for the first time — no matter the size — can be jarring or confusing.
"I honestly didn’t know what to expect, but also, when I experienced my first earthquake, I didn’t even realize it was happening until it was over,” Adriana Apana PO '27 said. “It was so quick that I didn’t even know if what I felt was an earthquake until I saw other people going around being like 'omg, did you feel that?’"
Chloe Heath '27 added about the brevity of these natural disasters. "I've only felt an earthquake once before, and it was so small that I didn’t even really know it was happening in the moment,” Heath said. “I felt a little bit of a shake, but I thought my friend had accidentally kicked my chair. This recent earthquake was noticeable, though and woke me up. It felt completely different than anything else I've ever felt before which did freak me out."
For Californians, earthquakes are hardly unfamiliar. Dozens hit our state every day, most of which go unfelt. To prepare us, schools have students perform earthquake drills every year from kindergarten through 12th grade, just in case a big one strikes while high school students are dozing off in pre-calc.
While most quakes are inconsequential, one ominous scientific speculation looms over us: the "Big One." According to experts, California is long overdue for a 7.8+ magnitude event that could cause billions of dollars in damage. Although our infrastructure is designed to handle many earthquakes, one of this magnitude would be devastating. My Sonny Angels wouldn't just fall off my desk; they'd likely be flattened if the ceiling caved in.
Now, I am an openly very anxious person, but I’m sure many of my peers share this fear. Every time a quake is strong enough to remind me of the inevitability of a 7.8+ earthquake, I feel that familiar sense of dread — especially knowing that every whole number increase on the Richter scale means the quake is 10 times more severe. So, you can imagine how much worse my anxiety got knowing that the Oct. 6 quake was about 40 times less intense than the Big One. And to make matters worse, scientists predict this major quake will
happen before 2030.
"It's scary to think about how a catastrophic earthquake could happen at any moment,” Heath said. “Until moving here I had never had to think or worry about it but now I sometimes remember the possibility that the San Andreas Fault could rupture. It's terrifying to think about the death and damage something like that would cause.”
I can’t speak for everyone, but this knowledge is terrifying for me. For those of us in-state students who are occasionally gripped by fear, it’s often easier to ignore the inevitability of the Big One or live in denial that it will ever happen.
“To be honest, I don’t think the Big One is coming anytime soon — at
least, I hope not,” Chloe Choi ’27 shared. “I’d imagine it would only be considered a ‘big one’ if it’s at least a 7.5. They didn’t even count the 2019 earthquakes as a Big One. I guess I’m afraid, but it’s hard to imagine, so not really. Hopefully, I’ll be out of the country!”
Choi is certainly braver than I am, and while she seemed relatively unfazed by our recent quake, we both share a fear of a substantial earthquake. I sure hope I’m out of the country, too!
I strongly urge all California residents to protect our peace and simply live in denial. And to all of my out-of-state friends, please take me home with you!
Cartoon: An Alternative Meaning to KSPC
Lydia Jung ’25 • The Scripps Voice
Emotional Support Peanut Noodles
By Lydia Jung ‘25 Staff Writer
This pasta recipe is a variation on a vegan mushroom stroganoff recipe by From My Bowl but with less mushrooms, added vegetables, and an attempt at a cheese-like rather than cream-like coating. The acronym may be ESPN, but it doesn’t take an athlete to make. If you’re anything like me, this simple combination of pasta and produce will become a go-to lunch or dinner when you need something hearty and wholesome. You can eat it warm if it’s cold or cold if it’s warm and it’s gotten me through some tough times at both temperatures.
Ingredients
- Approx. 3.5 cups of water
- Approx. 3 cups of pasta (I prefer using macaroni, fusilli, or penne, but I’ve done it with angel hair as well)
- 1 carrot
- ½-1 whole oz can of chickpeas, according to taste
- Spinach or mushrooms as desired (I recommend around 4 average-sized white mushrooms, two or three handfuls of spinach)
- Approx. ⅓-½ cup peanut butter
(can be replaced with a nutfree butter or other nut butter if desired, but peanut butter has my personal preferred texture)
- Copious sprinkling of nutritional yeast
- Garlic powder, pepper, and other seasonings as desired
- A quarter onion or more to taste (optional)
- 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced (optional) Supplies
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Stirring spoon
- Spatula or regular metal spoon for extracting peanut butter
- Optional microwave-safe containers for expediting the water heating
Instructions
1. Wash and slice the carrots, mushrooms, and other produce.
2. Add the water to the pot with some garlic powder and pepper if desired. You can speed up the heating by microwaving the water for about 2.5 minutes or heating it in a kettle.
3. While pre-heating the water, you can saute some onions in the bottom of the pot on medium or high heat.
Once the onions are translucent, turn off the heat and add the water. Mix the onions around in the water so they don’t stick. Around this time, take your peanut butter jar out of the fridge if it’s been refrigerated so the peanut butter is more malleable once you add it.
4. Wait for the pot to make threatening noises, shake, and release steam out of both sides of the lid, indicating that it has reached a boil.
5. Add the pasta to the water. Water should cover the pasta by around an inch or so.
6. Add in your vegetables, mushrooms, and desired quantity of beans. Stir for about a minute after turning the heat down to medium. Cover and turn on a timer for about 15 minutes or about 5 more minutes than the pasta cook time on the pasta bag (whichever is longer) because this is a no-drain recipe with a lower foodto-water ratio. Keep stirring every few minutes to make sure that you don’t get pasta sticking to the bottom of the pot.
7. Test to see if the pasta is soft enough for you. If not, stir and wait another minute. Turn off the heat and continue to step 8 when it is soft enough.
8. Extract ⅓ cup of peanut butter or thereabouts from your jar with a spoon or spatula and use that doohickey to stir peanut butter around the pot so all the pasta is evenly coated in it.
9. Pour a large heaping (around ¼-½ a cup, depending on your preference) of nutritional yeast over the peanut-butter-pilled pasta and mix around the pot similarly.
10. Add salt, pepper, and other seasonings to taste and serve once the pasta has reached room temperature (moving it out of the pot into a non-cold container will help it cool faster). Once it is cool enough to eat, you can serve.
The End of an Era: Witching Hour Wackiness
By Belén Yudess ’25
Copy Editor
As my personal hero and favorite English major Jack Skellington once said, “There are few that can deny.. at what I do I am the best, for my powers are renowned far and wide.” And of course, that quote is in reference to SAS’s ability to spook up the Student Union into a monster-vous place to chat and chill; it is in no way related to my inability to brew a batch
of semi-silly puns. But alas, inspired by the spirits of the Witching Hour (I’ve been a frequent partaker as of late) and my terror-ifically funny friends, I have scrounged up a few painfully petrifying puns from a wild, wacky place within my soul (The Nucleus basement).
What couple’s costume did the PitzerScripps duo decide upon for CMC’s Halloween party?
The Nucleus and the Artist Formerly Known as Keck. What event did the residents of Sleepy
Hollow put on at Mudd, inspired by Topless at Tiernan? Headless at Hoch. What did the CMC man dress up as for the Scripps Halloween party?
The Hub-sand. Which spooky Scripps attraction were students anxiously awaiting the return of?
The Haunted Mot-sion (#motlove4ever). Why did Pomona have to call the Ghostbusters?
Because there were too many ban-
shees.
Ghouls and gays (you all know how they love Halloween), these last four years have passed us by like a camp sec golf cart at 3 a.m.: un-phantomably fast. It has been the greatest treat tricking you all into believing I am partly punny. As I wish this spooky column adieu to you, and you, and you, I witch you all the scary best and look forward to haunting your sense of pity humor from beyond the postgrad grave!
22 Questions You Never Cared About But Need to Know the Answers To
By Belén Yudess ’25 Copy Editor
Dear reader, just like President Marcus-Newhall’s contentious tenure as Scripps president, we are soooo back. After countless failed attempts, I was finally able to commune with the spirit of my beloved co-writer, Aviva Maxon ’24, from beyond the post-grad grave.
For those of you who were #motrotting too hard last semester and missed “the most influential advice column for the silly geese of our generation,” according to previous TSV interim president Ellen Hu ’24, Maxon has bestowed upon me her blessing to offer a new round of invaluable insight on things you didn’t ask!
1. What’s the one thing you wish you knew at age 19?
Putting metal in the microwave is apparently a giant no-no. Shout out to my junior year suitemate, who taught me that lesson at the ripe age of 20 after watching, in horror, as I put my Nutella (pronounced new-tilla) jar with the metal foil in the Routt microwave. You know what they say, though: You never know until you try!
2. Besides your phone or wallet, what are a couple of must-have handbag items?
A portable charger with eight ports. An expired vintage pack of cinnamon gum. Four copies of either The Catcher in the Rye or David Bowie’s memoir. A reusable “Captain Kirk <3 Spock 4 ever” mug. An avocado.
3. If you were not a writer, what would you be doing?
Confronting my emotions instead of repressing them through overly dramatic poetry. Or, I’d be a blobrista at the Blobfish Cafe.
4. What’s something you can’t do?
The missing word in this question is “yet”! Just because you can not do something now does not mean you can’t learn to do it at some point in the future! It’s all about the mindset. But, if we’re being so honest, can’t do subtlety; not a subtle person in the slightest. And I suppose there are many other things I can’t do: whistle, snap my fingers, or follow a schedule (shout out to every incredibly kind and understanding person I have been late to meet; you all are so appreciated).
5. Where was the best vacation you’ve ever taken?
Froutt. #Frouttfamilyforever
6. What’s one city you’ve always dreamed of traveling to?
Pitzer College’s Hotel Motel Holiday Inn. It seems like a city in and of itself.
7. What’s something you always travel with?
My sense of humor and devotion to whimsy. And my emotional support Screaming Goat.
8. Favorite food?
Red pepper hummus with a spoon. Chomp chomp!
9. Favorite dessert?
Mudd apples with the right vibe. Have you not been vibe-checking your apples?! Heinous behavior.
10. Favorite snack?
Strawberry tops. My friends told me to eat more green foods; oh boy, were they right! Sometimes, it’s better just to cut the red stuff off. It distracts from the grassy delight of the stems.
11. What’s a movie that made you cry? Twilight . Not from sadness, though, but absolute entertainment. I can’t help but crack up at the thought of Taylor Lautner in his green suit for his wolf CGI. The fact that Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattison ever got through a serious take is astounding. That alone should have earned them an EGOT, imo.
12. What’s your favorite movie of the last ten years?
Okay, this one is real, folks, so listen up! If you haven’t seen The Normal Heart, you should. It’s a beautiful yet heart-breaking story highlighting the turbulent impact of AIDS on the gay community. But also…Matt Bomer in a turtleneck.
13. What’s the one talent you wish you had?
Emotional maturity. But also, it would be cool if I could talk to possums. So maybe the latter one should be the priority. Who needs to have a healthy relationship with their feelings? If constant obsession is good enough for Maya Hawke in Do Revenge, it’s good enough for me!
14. What’s your favorite exercise? Whatever they do at Casual Swim Club. They sound kind of cool and kind of casual (not Chappell Roan’s version). Maybe you should, like, check out their practices on Sundays from 2
p.m. to 3 p.m. at Tiernan. But that’s just hearsay. Don’t believe me. I’m just a non-biased stranger who totally is not part of that club…
15. What’s your favorite band?
Julie and The Phantoms. #bringthemback.
16. What’s the cutest thing on planet earth?
She’s not a thing but a person, and I think she is just one of the cutest, sweetest human beings! Anne Friedman ’25 :) AND also, our EditorIn-Chiefs this year, total cutie-pies!
17. What do you usually eat for dinner?
Egg in some shape or form.
18. What do you usually eat for lunch?
Whatever fruit I can weasel out of the Malott salad bar before getting consumed by the mob of CMC men.
19. What do you usually eat for breakfast?
Whatever said singular CMC man asked for in his Malott smoothie. It’s usually green and fruity (but in a straight way).
20. What’s your favorite thing in the world?
Breaking into my friend’s rooms (with consent, of course).
21. What’s your favorite color?
Green. If you’re a Scrippsie and your favorite color is not green, the squirrels will heckle you. I don’t make the rules.
22. What color clothing do you wear the most? Snoopy.
Lydia Jung ‘25 • The Scripps Voice
Horror-scopes for Costume Inspiration
By Elisa Laloudakis ’26 Staff Writer
Aries
(March 21 – April 19)
In a night of tricks and treats, bravely welcome the tricks as you lead your friends through a haunted house, or even host one: ghastly makeup, terrifying props, ghoulish decor- don’t forget the fog machine. Be the little old [person] who was not afraid of anything- you are not afraid of that silly little shirt! Hold firm to your wicker basket and march on through the haunted woods with your chin up and eyes forward- it’s showtime! Embrace the fear, or rather, your dauntlessness and leadership in spite of it
Costume Idea: Rosa Diaz from Brooklyn 99, especially if your dark past includes competitive gymnastics.
Taurus
(April 20 – May 20)
This fall, with crisp autumn air, the crunch of maple leaves underfoot, and the winded warmth of the fireplace, allow nostalgia to be your guide. Spend an afternoon trick-or-treating around campus, carve pumpkins with a close friend, and roast the seeds in the cleanest dorm oven. Sip a pumpkin spice latte or a mug of hot chocolate topped with whipped cream, curl up on the couch, and watch The Nightmare Before Christmas, Hocus Pocus, or The Rocky Horror Picture Show (maybe even see it live!). Settle into bed under a soft blanket, possibly surrounded by candy wrappers. Whatever you choose to do, nostalgia is your friend this fall season!
Costume Idea: Clawdeen Wolf from Monster High. Words of wisdom: “be yourself, be unique, and be a monster!”
Gemini (May 21- June 20)
It’s not just a bunch of hocus-pocus. Halloween parties and events around the 5Cs can introduce you to new friends, whether a spandex Spider-Man, Glinda the Good Witch, or all four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In the afternoon, paddle some Halloween-themed pickleballs with CMS or challenge someone to “strike out” bowling pumpkins with MCAPS. Under the waning crescent, dance where “they’ve got electric lights on strings and there’s a smile on everyone” and join the supernatural fun!
Costume Idea: Timmy Turner from Fairly OddParents, but stay close to a Wanda and a Cosmos so people know who you are!
Cancer (June 21 – July 22)
To the introverts and the socially selective, this Halloween party season may be overwhelming. The music’s thumping, the crowd is jeering, and it is all too loud. You see ghoulish cupcakes and the somewhat disappointing pile of pretzels across the way, an escape to snacking silence. Except, oh no, someone approaches — a friend? An acquaintance? They’re very nice, but you don’t have the energy to determine whether you should give a wave or a conversation starter. Cancer, this is a reminder to take needed breathers. Step away into the stillness of the Margaret Fowler Garden and inhale the tranquility.
Costume Idea: Silvermist from Tinker Bell. Perhaps take inspiration from this fairy and relax by water-skating or watching the flow of a stream.
Leo
(July 23 – August 22)
You’re proud of your Halloween costume, but with midterms on the rise, you may not have time for the multitude of Halloween parties. So share with the class!
Seize the day as Tina from Bob’s Burgers, Edna Mode from The Incredibles, or as Napoleon Dynamite from Napoleon Dynamite . Maybe hats and sunglasses are classroom taboos, but what about a morph suit? 2010s aside, embrace the present day as you, or well, not entirely you, but as who you choose to be!
Costume Idea: Embrace Leo bravery as Merida, “with flaming locks of auburn [sort of] hair [...] and eyes of emerald green [blue].”
Virgo
(August 23 – September 22)
This is your year to DIY your costume. Your Virgo ability to perfect the details will serve you well with each sequin you stitch. The Makerspace of the Hive will offer a collaborative working space with sewing machines, wood workshops, and 3-D printers. Resin and foam, feathers and beads, you have the vision and the skill to make something truly unique, and this year, it’s all about the transformation. If nothing else, “you have to believe [you] are magic” and are capable of adding a touch of magic when crafting each enchanting accessory.
Costume Idea: Black cloak, black horns, black wings: Maleficent.
trip
By Anne Friedman ’25 Staff Writer
you take a trip down memory lane a long winding road that’s bittersweet both sad and beautiful photos of little you a little human so full of joy and happiness you still are the same but less naive
Libra
(September 23 –October 22)
Light as a feather, stiff as a board, lighten up the night with a slumber party! Which friend has the plushest rug and the most available floor space for watching cheesy horror movies and Ouija board seances? Maybe make your DIY Ouija board, either with paper and pen or with the help of a savvy friend with the laser cutters at the Makerspace. Then turn off the lights, turn on your sink, and spin three times while saying B.M, B.M, B.M. Using the acronym may make the experience less scary… Costume Idea: Historians inspired by the works of Sappho would call them “such great friends”: Jennifer Check and Anita “Needy” Lesnicki from Jennifer’s Body.
Scorpio
(December 22 –January 21)
Brooding… brooding… and some more brooding. The cup doth not “runneth over” this month. Actually, it doth runneth all over the floor. So Scorpio, refill your goblet and take to your throne- the massage chair in the Wellness Room at Tiernan. Plug that bad boy in, recline in the faux leather embrace, and hit that heater button. Recharge yourself. So please, Scorpio, take it easy; actually, I’ll do you one better and say, “Take it sleazy… I’ll say this to you, my friend, with all the love in my heart and all the wisdom of the universe.”
Costume Idea: Jade from Victorious, with the choice of green, purple-blonde, or blue hair extensions to boot. Oh, and boots.
Sagittarius
(November 22 –December 21)
To be the pumpkin king, you must first enter a costume contest. You’ve got the looks, the pizazz, the je ne sais quoi that will make you a strong contender in a costume lineup. Your natural charisma and confidence are eerily evident this Halloween season- whether you’re strutting across a stage or simply bringing your prize-winning ensemble to a friend’s party. Go big, go bold, and embrace your adventurous spirit, mon cher! Costume Idea: Pops from Regular Show — make it a jolly good show, if nothing else!
Capricorn
(December 22 – January 19)
“Still is sitting, still is sitting” when studying for midterms, so why would Professor XYZ schedule an exam the morning after Halloween? Wake up, class, study, eat, study, sleep, wake up… it doesn’t end. While studying is important, so is having a little fun. Take a little self-indulgent quiz, and no, not the “Am I gay?” one because you already took it, and you know the answer. Instead, learn what type of panini you are based on your makeup habits, or design a wedding itinerary to tell you which Spirit Halloween Costume you embody. Costume Idea: Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride. I’m just asking, but “You don’t, by any chance, happen to have six fingers on your right hand?”
Aquarius
(January 20 – February 18)
This fall season, create crafty gifts for your loved ones. Carve a pumpkin sentinel to guard a friend’s dorm door, build a Trader Joe’s Halloween gingerbread house to delight your suitemates, or bake a pie with a buttery bronzed crust and delectable filling where “the strawberries taste like strawberries, and the snozzberries taste like snozzberries.” Welcome any budding creative interests, as these will bloom with the nourishment of your attentive care. Costume idea: Sandy Cheeks from SpongeBob SquarePants with both the Southern accent and the underwater space suit.
Pisces
(February 19 – March 20)
You love your friends so strongly that it scares you, so for this Halloween, treat them! So you “sweet-talkin,’ sugarcoated, Candyman,” woman, both, or neitherleave the porch lights on and hand out some candy. Remember to be a friend to yourself as well, and save a piece (at least) for yourself. Become that one family at the top of your neighborhood’s hill who gives full-sized candy bars, except only in spirit, as full-size candy bars aren’t wallet-friendly to most college students. Trader Joe’s also has some great gluten-free options. Costume idea: Wear a Remy headband and hot glue a piece of candy in his hands. Then, hand out candy in a chef’s hat. Voila!
La Valse Perdu
By Rebecca Allen ’25 Staff Writer
I want to be perfect for you so I can forget.
you’ve seen the world you’ve read the horrors you carry more weight of the brokenness from people’s actions from all the hurt and pain from all the conflicts but in the little child all you see is a wide smile that reaches her eyes energy spouting from all sides curiosity for all new adventures love for everyone those photos are a timepiece a reminder of the joy you once felt and still can
I dream the Hollywood dream, of backwards signs and misplaced billboards. of floating driftwood and hills stacked with homes. There used to be fruit trees here and now it’s all grease-stained parking lots and yet still there is still the dream.
In this parking lot here it becomes real to me, with the scoop of the curved edge of parking meters and the towering palms.
The dream is never looking down and losing your balance. It is losing your center. Because really, there is only its absence.
They say there are explanations, but none of them reveal exactly why looking to the future sometimes feels so grim.
In every sweeping generalization, I search for it, for you, for some semblance of an understanding to help me piece together the phenomena that is our life en masse, as experienced by a global generation. And when the answers evade me, it feels like looking at the stars and hoping they will predict your future.
People like to worry about what’s wrong with a generation. Do you ever notice that, that’s there’s always something going wrong?
Nothing is ever right.
We’ve heard this song before though, and the future is just as it was decades ago.