Volume XXXIII Issue 8 - 7 March 2025

Imminent Removal of 240 House Raises Housing Concerns for the 2025-26 School Year

By Charlotte Korer ’27 and Belén Yudess ’25

Copy Editors

240 House, located on 10th street near Steele Hall, will not be offered as a housing option for the 2025-2026 school year. According to an email from the Office of Residential Life on Feb. 25, 240 House “will remain off-line indefinitely.”

Via a statement to The Scripps Voice, Josh Reeder, Executive Director of Facilities Management and Auxiliary Operations, expanded on this update. “The 240 House is being removed in order to construct Scripps College’s new dance building, which is currently in the footprint of 240 House,” he said. “Replacement beds are being pursued to offset the loss of beds, which will be in place for students for fall semester 2025.”

Following this news, current 240 House residents expressed dismay over this decision.

“I was in complete disbelief, I had no idea this was in the plans for the future of Scripps housing, and I was really devastated when I found out,” said Maia Gutmann ’27, a former 240 House resident. “[To live in 240 House] was a fun experience and unique from the other housing options available.”

Sylvie Cromer ’26, a current resident, agreed with this sentiment and shared how 240 House has created a positive environment that promotes residential autonomy.

“We hosted a small party here a few days ago and I was saying how there aren't very many spaces on Scripps where you can host a party,” said Cromer. “The environment and the way it's a little removed from dorms [builds the community of the house] so it's just too bad that we would lose that.”

240 House, which can host up to 12 students, was added back to the list of available housing in the fall of 2023 after previously being used as a Covid-19 testing center during the 2021-2022 school year. Since its revival on the housing portal, 240 House has remained a popular residential spot for mainly upperclassmen who enjoy its structure and location.

“You get all the benefits of living in a house,” said Sajni Sheth-Voss ’26, another current resident. “And I think it's the most fun I've ever had in Scripps housing. Especially as a junior, you get to choose and we're living with all of our closest friends, so it's kind of

IN THIS ISSUE

A Recap of the Banned Students’ Disciplinary Process

like the best of both worlds.”

Although not a resident, Sky Caldwell ’26 commented on their frustration regarding what the absence of 240 House signifies for housing draw as a whole. “I was furious when I heard,” they said. “I remember getting here freshman year and hearing about the [previous year’s] housing crisis. And the fact that Scripps continues to over enroll and not lend that care towards the students they have and the students that will be incoming but instead [are] focused on numbers and getting the money from that tuition.”

The inclusion of 240 House during room draw came after the 2022 Scripps housing crisis in which a large portion of the class of 2025, who were rising sophomores at the time, were forced off campus to either the Claremont Collegiate Apartments (CCA) or apartments in College Park that Scripps had rented to offset the lack of on-campus options.

With this history in mind, many students were confused why Scripps would decrease its housing prospects. “I feel like instead of a plaza or an academic building, Scripps already doesn't have that much housing, and I feel like this is a gem of student housing,” said Sheth-Voss. “This and the 709 House are Scripps specific, unique things. And then to tear them down and then not put housing [seems counterproductive].”

Sheth-Voss elaborated that the

seeming lack of communication between Res Life and other on-campus offices also contributes to the stress surrounding housing.

“There's not a lot of connection between Res Life and the study abroad office so those branches of admin cause a lot of problems. Especially for housing,” she said. “When we [Sheth-Voss and Cromer] were coming back from abroad, we couldn't pick a roommate group, and [Res Life] didn’t know which juniors are abroad because they weren't able to connect with the study abroad office to see who was gone.”

Caldwell noted the additional struggle they faced navigating the housing process with accommodations this semester. “They're now requiring new letters for all students with housing accommodations, which they've never done in the past,” they said. “[I wasn’t able to] choose [my] top three buildings for housing accommodations anymore either ... whereas students who don't need housing accommodations get to choose what dorm building they're going to live in.”

Assistant Director of Res Life, Danielle Turner, addressed these concerns and assured students that if they turn in their housing applications on time, they will be guaranteed Scripps-sponsored housing.

“For the 2025–26 academic year, the process for current students has not changed, and those who

and Positivity

meet housing deadlines and eligibility requirements will receive Scrippssponsored housing,” she said in a statement to TSV.

Turner also clarified where students can find resources regarding different components of room draw. “Since November, Residential Life has been sharing important details through information sessions (recorded and posted in the Housing Portal), roommate mixers, memos and newsletters sent to student emails (also viewable in the Housing Portal), Instagram posts, the Inside Scripps Residential Life website, and the Residential Life email signature, which has links to all recorded sessions and memos.”

Turner advised students who have questions to reach out to Reslife either via email (reslife@scrippscollege.edu) or in person in their office, which is located next to the Scripps Communities of Resources and Empowerment (SCORE) office.

“We strongly recommend that students read their emails to note important housing deadlines and processes, make sure their technology is functional, and become familiar with the Housing Portal and the Residential Life website,” she said. “The Campus Life office can help students troubleshoot tech issues and can tailor guidance to students’ individual questions.”

Marina Shishkina '25 Reflects on Her Ukrainian Heritage and Pride

Eating Disorder Awareness Week Focuses on Support

Madeline Hertle ’27 • The Scripps Voice

Arts, Crafts, and Community: an Overview of the Club Potluck

Deemed Dangerous and Destructive: A Recap of the Banned Students’ Disciplinary Process

By Amy Jayasuriya ’26 and Ishita Jayadev ’26 Editors-in-Chief

OnOct. 15, Kate King ’26 received

a letter from Pomona President Gabi Starr and Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Avis Hinkson stating that she was “banned and designated persona non grata from Pomona College.” She quickly realized she was one of over 15 Scripps students who were banned from Pomona due to their alleged involvement in a divestment protest at Carnegie Hall on Oct. 7, 2024.

In the five months since this letter was issued, King and other banned students have navigated a frustrating and confusing process of figuring out how to proceed with classes they were attending at Pomona, attempting to appeal their bans, going through a disciplinary process at Scripps, and eventually receiving their final sanctions from Pomona’s administration.

The Scripps Voice spoke to King about this process, as well as three other students who requested to remain anonymous due to safety concerns. At the time of publication, all four of them have received their final sanctions stating that they will remain banned for the rest of the 2024-2025 academic year.

Like King, the three anonymous students received their first ban letters on Oct. 15, eight days after the building takeover at Carnegie Hall.

King talked about her shock and confusion at receiving the first letter which stated that students would be banned from Pomona College for the 2024-2025 academic year and unable to participate in classes or activities in person at Pomona.

“I was literally sitting on the couch with my mom, waiting to drive back to school. And then I got [the] email which had this super dramatic letter where they were like, ‘you are banned and designated persona non grata [from Pomona College],’” she said.

She specified that the email did not give any information or evidence about her alleged participation in the protest. While students were given five business days to appeal this initial ban, King emphasized her and other students’ confusion about what would happen next.

Three days after King appealed her initial ban, Hinkson responded to her appeal with a “vague, copy paste” response reiterating that she was banned for the rest of the school year.

One of the anonymous students, a Scripps junior, also talked about their experience submitting an appeal, where they discussed how the ban would negatively affect them academically as well as personally.

“I mentioned that I would only be able to attend two classes now, which would be pretty detrimental to my education,” they said. “I [also] discussed things like my mental health and some pre-existing health issues and how those affected the situation as well as other family things.”

In response to their specific concerns regarding the ban, Hinkson wrote back: “You mentioned the high value that you placed on education, but your participation in the building

takeover did not demonstrate a respect for the value others place on their education and work. Even if you were not directly responsible for the vandalism of the building, your conduct was negligent.”

In the initial Oct. 15 ban notice, Starr told banned students enrolled in Pomona classes that, “you may make arrangements with faculty to continue coursework in other modalities (e.g., via Zoom), at the sole discretion of the faculty member, while your ban is under review.”

Two of the students interviewed continued to complete coursework for their respective Pomona classes asynchronously for a month after receiving their initial ban notice. However, on Nov. 1, Starr released an FAQ that announced that banned students would be administratively withdrawn from their Pomona classes and unable to enroll in Pomona classes in the Spring 2025 semester.

The banned students only received direct communication ten days after this FAQ was released on Nov. 11, where Hinkson identified specific times where each student had connected to the Wi-Fi inside Carnegie through their “unique emails and passwords.”

In the leaked communication, Hinkson also stated that students had to send their final appeals within three business days which would determine whether their ban from Pomona remained. This included “prohibition from continuing any Pomona courses in which you are enrolled in the Fall 2024 semester, and the inability to enroll in Pomona College courses in the future, regardless of modality or location.”

King explained the stress associated with such a fast appeal turnaround. “Three business days was crazy,” she said. “I was losing my mind trying to figure out who to ask to help me with appealing, because it was our last opportunity to appeal before it would stand for the rest of the year.”

Despite being told that she would receive a response in three business days, King had to send a follow up email in order to get a response from Pomona’s administration. On Nov.

25 she was informed that she was banned for the rest of the academic year and couldn’t register for classes at Pomona for the fall 2025 semester until the first day of classes.

King did add that there were many students whose appeals were successful and were allowed to take classes at Pomona during the Spring 2025 semester but explained that this was probably because they expressed more remorse than she had in her appeals.

“[That] doesn’t bother me,” she said. “I knew that was the risk that I was taking on by choosing to be a little bit more aggressive in my appeal letter.”

The third banned student who requested to remain anonymous, on the other hand, did not go through this appeal process due to a family emergency. However, they still ended up with the same sanctions as King.

Both of the other anonymous students remained banned as well, however, they were granted a modification that allowed them to register and attend a Pomona class during the spring 2025 semester.

Despite this allowance, one of them emphasized the emotional toll the appeal process had taken on them, specifically citing the lack of consistent messaging from the colleges about their ability to continue their Pomona classes.

“Throughout this whole thing I felt defeated and it definitely caused me to rethink the value of my education and why I’m here and what I hope to get out of my time here,” they said. “It was pretty gutting to go through and not be able to do anything about it. Being told that I couldn’t go to class or the thought of being a part-time student definitely loomed over me because then I would lose my financial aid, which would mean I would have to literally drop out of school.”

Scripps ended up enrolling banned students who were administratively withdrawn from their Pomona classes in independent studies, allowing them to receive credit and a letter grade for each class.

King explained that she was also informed in a letter from Hinkson that her ability to physically go on Po-

mona’s campus for the 2025-2026 academic year was contingent on her going through a disciplinary process at Scripps.

“It’s [only] once they have been assured that you’re no longer a threat to the campus communities [that they’ll lift the ban], so it’s still kind of up to the colleges whether they think that I’m dangerous or not,” she said.

Each of the banned students were contacted by the Interim Special Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs, Deborrah Hebert, who set up a time to meet for an administrative hearing. After this, students were asked if they wanted to proceed with the administrative hearing or go through a further judicial board process.

Continued on page 3

TSV Editorial Staff 2024-2025

Ishita Jayadev ’26 Editor-in-Chief

Amy Jayasuriya ’26 Editor-in-Chief

Juliette Des Rosiers ’26 Editor-in-Chief

Frances Walton ’26 Editor-in-Chief

Belén Yudess ’25 Copy Editor

Charlotte Korer ’27

Copy Editor

Clara Ann Bagnoli ’28

Design Editor

Hannah Fawley ’27

Head Design Editor

Nawal Hassan ’27

Design Editor

Anna Grez ’27

Design Editor

Carah Allen ’26

Webmaster

Leah Gorence ’28

Social Media Manager

Photo Courtesy of Claremont Undercurrents

Passion Takes Flight in Bird-Themed Student Curated Exhibit

By Ellen Wang ’25 Editor-in-Chief

On Feb. 21, Olive Gaetz ’25 gave a walkthrough of their bird-themed exhibition, Signs from Above, in Denison Library. As the exhibition curator, Gaetz discussed the cultural significance of the exhibition’s multimedia artwork and texts from around the world.

While the eagle has symbolized courage and strength in countries like the United States and Japan, Gaetz described how exhibition items highlighted differences in cultural representations of birds as well. Owls are associated with misfortune and death in India and Mexico, in comparison to Native American portrayals of the birds as wise.

“I think it’s really exciting, both to focus on different specific species of birds, but also how they have been historically perceived and represented across different cultures,” Emma Rosenberg ’25 said.

The exhibition featured items from Denison and the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery’s collections as well as Gaetz’s own avian artwork. Separate display cases focused on five categories of birds — eagles, hummingbirds, owls, seabirds, and quails.

“I love that a lot of it is local birds,” Gaetz said. “I think it really strengthens that for the audience — they can go outside right now and find those birds. Especially for thinking about conservation and awareness, it’s really important to be able to have a little bit more of that interaction.”

The exhibition can be traced to the convergence of Gaetz’s personal in-

Continued from page 2

During the hearings, Hebert went over a list of seven questions with each student and a faculty advisor. Students were allowed to step outside of Hebert’s office if needed to go over the questions. The anonymous Scripps junior described not realizing that her meeting with Hebert was the extent of her disciplinary process at Scripps.

“They framed [the meeting] to us as an opportunity to discuss the conduct and hearing procedures,” she said. “So [I thought it was] kind of like an introduction to what that process will look like. But then they followed up [after the meeting] and said we want to be sure you still want to proceed with this as your administrative hearing, so we could choose between an administrative or a judicial hearing, [and] we all ended up doing [administrative hearings] without realizing it.”

King described how the hearing itself went. “I pulled up with a faculty member because I was kind of scared and [Hebert] basically pulled out a stack of papers that was all of the communications between me and Pomona that they had sent over,” she said. “She had a little paper with everyone on the list who was a Scripps student who got banned from Pomona, and then there was a little column where [it had] the specific timestamps that they identified people being connected to the network.”

She expressed being surprised that the only evidence they had on students was the timestamps.

“I was like, surely they got pictures

terest and her time as the summer 2023 Wilson Arts Administration Intern at the Williamson Gallery, where she was encouraged to explore the collections.

“I’ve always loved birds,” Gaetz said. “It was really fascinating to see representations of birds in so many different forms, 3D and 2D, from so many different eras, from local Scripps to South America and China. It immediately inspired me to draw connections with my own enjoyment and interpretations of them.”

Gaetz elaborated on the curatorial process of thinking through how items fit together and complemented each other within a broader nar-

rative on top of logistical considerations.

“It took two years because lots of avenues closed, and we had to find another avenue, another opportunity of where to put it, do we have access to items, is this our story to tell,” Gaetz said.

Gaetz drew on Denison’s rich collection of bird-related items, including Birds of California, a decade-long comprehensive book project created with funding from Ellen Browning Scripps.

“I really encourage people to come and look at some of Denison’s archives, especially ones related to the area,” Gaetz said. “There’s also a lot

Banned Students

of some people but they really didn’t have anything.”

After the hearing, the anonymous Scripps junior received communication from Hebert that said, “they were confident in my ability to peacefully and productively engage in the campus community in conformity with the Pomona College student code.”

King described the aftermath of the disciplinary hearings. “After that, it kind of just fizzled out, like we didn’t really hear anything else from Pomona and Scripps kind of washed their hands of all of us.”

However, King emphasized how much the ban affected her day-to-day life at the 5Cs.

“Some of the clubs that I have leadership positions in are based mostly at Pomona, even if they are 5C clubs,” she said. “So, I kind of had to be like, hey, I can’t really do that because I don’t want to get the cops called on me. They were very explicit about that. They were like, if we see you on campus, then we’re gonna call campus safety and then we’re gonna call the cops and then they’re gonna arrest you.”

“You can drive on the public city roads, just not on any of the Pomona owned streets,” she said. “So they were sending around a map so that we could figure out, like, what streets we were allowed to be on. [Which is] crazy.”

The anonymous Scripps senior also touched on how the ban has affected her ability to access areas around Pomona.

“There was this one day where me and [another banned student] wanted to go to the village and since [we] were banned and terrified, we had to take the most roundabout way to get to the village,” she said. “Coming back up, we had to walk this insane way, and go through this random neighborhood and CMC. It actually took us like an hour to get back. I was just like, I can’t believe this.”

The anonymous Scripps junior also described how emotionally taxing it was to have to tell their parents about the ban while they were visiting them for a weekend.

“My mom texted me and her mind jumped to saying your life is ruined,” they said. “[She said] you’re gonna be blacklisted from every single job ever. And you’re gonna be a part-time student and you’re gonna have to come home and whatever. I was thinking all those things myself and I was feeling bad about myself anyways. But it definitely was tough to think about the fact that my parents support me attending school here and I was jeopardizing that.”

Despite the ban’s physical and emotional toll on Scripps students, many of the banned students emphasized how they felt supported by other students and faculty during this difficult time.

“People offered their houses for us to meet in, professors offered their spaces to have conversations with banned students and suspended students,” one anonymous student said. “It was really powerful to see how

of student work from interns that have done research.”

Margalit Monroe, the Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Curator of Academic Programs and Collections at the Williamson Gallery and mentor to Gaetz, echoed the sentiment in regards to the gallery’s collections.

“They’re available for research; they’re available for so many different applications,” Monroe said. “Our collection is in service to students, and I’m just so excited that Olive persevered, and we were able to realize this.”

The exhibition will be on display until March 7, complete with free bird stickers created by Gaetz.

much more supportive we were of each other versus the response we were getting from the administration.”

In contrast, they felt like they had little to no support from Scripps administration, since Scripps didn’t reach out to banned students until it came time for their disciplinary processes with Hebert.

King stated that this lack of support felt unsurprising given Scripps administration’s actions for most of the fall 2024 semester, including their closure of the Motley over a Palestinian flag hung on the wall and stationing of private security around Seal Court and Denison Library.

“Scripps admin has a long history of choosing not to support students of color and marginalized students, so I personally didn’t feel supported [during this process], but I think that’s also kind of par for the course as a student of color at Scripps,” King said.

She ended by emphasizing how Pomona’s actions in the past year have worked to normalize strict repression measures at the other Claremont Colleges.

“If you walk around campus, things feel different,” King said. “People don’t act the same because they don’t feel safe to express themselves in the same way. Because it’s been made so abundantly clear that if you don’t fall in line with the rhetoric that the college considers acceptable, they’ll do whatever they need to do to make sure that they quash it completely, even if it means that you have to graduate later, or that your life is turned upside down.”

Ellen Wang ’25 • The Scripps Voice

Immigration Lawyer Hosts “Know Your Rights” Training for Undocumented Students and Allies

By Claremont Undercurrents

On the evening of Feb. 4, deportation defense lawyer Russell M. Jauregui presented a “Know Your Rights” training for undocumented community members and allies from the Claremont Colleges. The training covered changes in immigration policies, differences between immigration agencies and what to do when encountering immigration agencies. The training comes in light of a new wave of ICE arrests and undocumented immigrant detention policies in the United States

Jauregui, a lawyer with San Bernardino Communities Service Center, introduced himself as a deportation defense lawyer with a specialized focus in representing undocumented youth and unaccompanied minors. The San Bernardino Communities Service Center, SBCSC, is a non-profit that serves low-income Inland Empire communities with legal services and advocacy projects.

Jauregui opened the training by covering major changes in immigration policy since the recent inauguration of President Trump. Since his first day in office, President Trump reinstated 27 immigration-related policies to militarize the southern border and expedite the process of arresting and deporting undocumented immigrants. The move comes as a part of a national and bipartisan attack on immigrant communities, with formerPresident Biden deporting the largest number of undocumented immigrants in the past decade.

Jauregui emphasized the use of media attention on recent deportations as a scare tactic for immigrant communities. On Feb. 17, the Department of Homeland Security announced an advertisement campaign warning undocumented communities to leave the country or else be “hunted down and deported.”

The organizers of the training requested that the space and organizations that hosted the training remain anonymous due to safety concerns.

How to recognize an immigration vehicle:

Jauregui showed visual differences between different government vehicles that tend to be mistaken for ICE vehicles. ICE vehicles are not labeled to indicate their department of origin. Unlike the police, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Border Patrol, ICE cars are usually black or white with tinted windows and do not have license plates.

How to tell the difference between different immigration officers:

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): ICE agents wear plain clothing with thick vests branded with “Police” on the front and “ICE” on the back. The lettering for “Police” is larger than that of “ICE,” which is placed underneath the former.

People commonly confuse ICE agents for police officers, which can determine the outcome of ICE encounters. For example, people may give consent to an agent they believe to be a police officer, mistakenly allowing them to enter their property.

Jauregui also warned that ICE agents dress in plain clothing and might wear vests with inconsistent messaging to confuse undocumented immigrants.

CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION (CBP) : CBP agents wear plain shirts with badges. They are more clearly identifiable than ICE agents because of their labeled badges.

Judicial vs administrative warrants: What kind does ICE need to conduct a search, and what warrants are invalid?

Judicial: Judicial warrants are legitimate warrants signed by a judge. Jauregui emphasized that knowing the difference between a judicial and administrative warrant can be critical to protecting undocumented communities, as ICE often presents false information to undocumented immigrants. If ICE presents a judicial warrant, they are allowed to detain the person being targeted. If ICE presents a judicial warrant, they are also allowed to enter the premises, i.e. an undocumented person’s house or workplace. A judicial warrant must be issued by a court and include:

• A specified address to be searched

A specified timeframe in which the search will take place

• A particular person and place to be searched

The exact things to be seized

A signature from a judge or magistrate

Administrative: Administrative warrants are issued by ICE officers or the Department of Homeland Security instead of a judge. According to Jauregui, neither of these warrants are sufficient for ICE to use to enter a home with. An undocumented person has the right to refuse entry to an ICE or DHS agent if they are handed an administrative warrant. The use of an administrative warrant is commonly referred to as a ruse— a strategy in which ICE attempts to lure people out of their homes.

Administrative warrants include:

A signature from an ICE agent or immigration judge. These warrants

may be issued by anyone who isn’t a neutral magistrate or judge.

Administrative warrants are not judicial search warrants. They can be used to detain a person who is properly named but are not sufficient to enter a premise, such as an undocumented person’s house.

How to interact with immigration officers:

ICE agents target public spaces, which allows them to conduct operations without warrants permitting them to do so. If they encounter agents in public, undocumented people can:

Ask if they are free to leave. If they are told they can’t, they should comply and give their name

• Express the right to speak to a lawyer (invoking the sixth amendment)

• Plead the fifth—stay quiet, don’t answer questions or sign any documents

When ICE asks where they were born, where they are from or where their parents were born, they still have the right to remain silent. In order to start a deportation case, the government must prove what country the person is from, ie “alienage”. If someone is undocumented, they should not walk around with a passport or any other “proof of alienage.”

Jauregui noted that even if precautions are taken, ICE may still arrest and detain individuals. However, communities can keep each other safe through invoking their rights and giving as little information as possible.

Another critical factor to understand is the difference between detention and arrest. Jauregui states that with reasonable suspicion, law enforcement agencies can detain someone for a short period of time. Arrests are made when a law enforcement agency has probable cause to believe that a person has violated the law. However, reasonable suspicion is not enough to constitute an arrest.

Interactions with ICE on private property are dependent on different

locations. If ICE shows up at someone’s door, an undocumented person has the right to refuse entry and ask for a search warrant. If ICE does gain entry, the same precautions should be taken as in a public setting. In southern California, ICE must have a search warrant to enter the yard around a house.

In workplaces, Jauregui says any preparedness for an inspection depends on the employer. ICE cannot enter workplaces that are designated as “private”, i.e. through a “authorized persons only” sign outside the workplace.

What happens during an expedited removal:

Jauregi emphasized the process of expedited removal as another key change in the Trump administration’s immigration policy. In the case of an expedited removal, an undocumented person could be arrested and never see a judge in an immigration court. Instead, the new Trump administration has announced plans to use expedited removal for undocumented folks who have been in the country for less than two years consecutively.

Jauregi advised undocumented folks who have been in the country for longer than two years consecutively to carry documentation to prove that they have been in the United States for at least two years. For folks who have been in the country for a shorter period of time, Jauregi warned that foreign identification documents, such as a foreign passport, could be used against an undocumented person.

What happens during a raid:

In early January, Border Patrol rounded up over 78 farmworkers in Kern County, California outside a Home Depot. Jauregui described border patrol raids to be fast moving and usually conducted by Border Patrol instead of ICE. Raids commonly occur in public spaces, including stores, markets, parking lots, parks, and any other place where ICE or Border Patrol deems that people without documentation status might gather.

Photo Courtesy of Claremont Undercurrents

Eating Disorder Awareness Week Focuses on Support and Positivity

By Clara Ann Bagnoli ’28 Design Editor

“My body is awesome,” “My size is the least interesting thing about me,” and “obliterate diet culture” are just a few examples of the empowering messages students wrote on the scales outside of Malott. Once they were decorated, then the real fun — smashing them — could begin. Some students were more hesitant than others to begin but once the metal baseball bat hit the old fashioned metal scale, there was an overwhelming feeling of relief and

freedom in the air.

From Feb. 24-28, the Claremont Colleges celebrated Eating Disorder Awareness Week through daily events centered around body positivity and support. The events were sponsored by the 7C’s Eating Disorder Task Force Team, which was started five years ago with representatives from various departments all aiming to support students with eating disorders and friends of those affected.

Other events during the week included: Affirmation Station, a talk on relative energy deficiency in sport,

how to support a friend with an eating disorder, body compassion button making, empowering bracelet making, and a body positivity tea party.

The Scripps Assistant Director of Health and Wellness, Mayra Mendoza, who is also a member of the task force and the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), held the week’s final event, the Southern Smash on Friday, Feb. 28.

One of the Southern Smash’s highlights was the scale smashing, which was held during the Wellness Fair. Tiernan Peer Health Educator of Diet Culture and Body Image Miriam Akmechen ’26 helped at the fair. Akmechen emphasized that the event boomed in popularity compared to last year.“It’s not even twelve yet and we’ve had a lot of people stop by because scales and the idea of weight as determining healthiness is very ingrained in our social consciousness” Akmechen said. “A lot of people have very heavy feelings relating to scales and it’s a very cathartic release to be able to smash a scale.”

Phoebe Baker ‘28 was one of the many students that participated in the smashing. “It was really fun to physically smash something and I felt super empowered,” Baker said.

Disordered eating and diagnosed eating conditions can affect anyone but statistically speaking, women and college students have a predisposition to a variety of eating disorders. Research has found that the median age for an onset of bulimia, anorexia, and binge eating is ages 18-22s. This, along with the stress of school work, social obligations, change in routine, substance use, and the stigma behind

gaining weight in college or the so-called “freshman fifteen” are all factors that put students at higher risk.

It is also hard to ignore the gendered aspect of eating disorders. The role of media in enforcing western beauty standards makes the desire to fit in a specific, usually smaller, body type unmanageable.

“As a historically women's college, a lot of our students have had challenges [with eating disorders] in the past, but we are such a supportive community [and] we aim to create a healthy dialogue about these issues and make sure that everyone knows the resources they have available and how to support their friends” Akmechen said.

For anyone struggling with an eating disorder at Scripps, there are many on-campus resources available to students. If a student is struggling to meet their nutritional needs, Scripps has their own registered dietitian Whitney Tawney, who works with health education outreach and can be met with through referral from Monsour. Additionally, the Claremont McKenna peer health educators work with students on the topic of body image.

Outside of the consortium, the NEDA website has links to help fund treatment in local areas, specific screenings, and other helpful information.

After a smashing week of affirming body positivity remember to always be sensitive to what others are going through and remember that all bodies are beautiful. “Ideal beauty standards can kick rocks,” Mendoza said.

Rubbing Out the Stigma on Masturbation

By Ellen Wang ’25 Editor-in-Chief

5 0 people attended “Destigmatizing Masturbation,” a Tiernan Field House Wellness Monday Event and guided discussion, on March 3.

TFH Peer Health Educator for Healthy Relationships and Sexual Health, Belén Padilla ’25, facilitated the event cosponsored by Scripps Advocates (where she is Co-President), The Queer Resource Center (where she is a Student Associate and Leadership and Engagement in Gender and Sexuality Coordinator), and the Intercollegiate Feminist Center.

“Belén brings great energy, a sense of humor that when you talk about masturbation and selfpleasure, you kind of have to have,” A.D. Jaime CGU ’25, QRC Queer and Questioning Mentorship Program Graduate Assistant Head Mentor, said. “In society either you have to talk about it in shame or it has to be very clinical, instead of something that silly humans do.”

Opportunities for partner and open discussion was interspersed with a presentation covering health benefits of, laws against, and guilt

seminars continue because this stigma around masturbation is not going to go away overnight,” Jaime said. “People have to know that it's actually good for you.”

Padilla has led a number of popular events surrounding sexual health across their roles on campus.

“I also facilitated ‘Oral Skills for Vulvas’ last [Scripps Advocates Sex Week.]” Padilla said. “We had 140 people come to The Motley, and there were more people that were waiting to be let in. I think people really like these events, and also it's a topic I'm interested in.”

The first iteration of this event also drew a crowd, with 75 people

packing the Tiernan Wellness Room last semester. Outside of receiving feedback about switching to a larger venue in Vita Nova, Padilla mentioned attendees requesting a demonstration.

“I wouldn’t personally do that, but I found YouTube videos which do the job,” Padilla said. “Also, they wanted tips. So I put tips. I really wanted to be more gender inclusive as well … but I felt it would have been a longer event.”

Padilla reflected on further areas for improvement within the restrictions posed by her job. They noted Scripps’s policy of only admitting students assigned female at birth as an issue that influenced what she was allowed to include in her “Scripps-focused” programming.

“Because of my job description, I have to have it more centered on women — which was one of the criticisms I got, that it was very cis women-centered, which I recognize, and I'll talk about it with my boss to see if that's something that can be changed for the future,” Padilla said.

Attendee Chi Adi PZ ’26 discussed the layered difficulties of gender inclusive programming at Scripps.

“Often, gender non conforming and trans experiences are put at the margins,” Adi said. “At the same time, I don't put the kind of

responsibility on one individual to do that, because there seems to be a broader cultural thing at Scripps … In order to truly design a gender inclusive talk on masturbation, you have to have a talk with six other people, higher ups, who then have to give you permission.”

Adi pointed to the frequency of falling into rhetorical pitfalls of reductive ideologies when talking about sexual pleasure as symptomatic of a lack of spaces for unpacking gender issues on campus.

“I think it's very common for cis women to define themselves in opposition to men, so a lot of the conversations seem to be framed like, ‘we masturbate because we're taking power back from men,’” Adi said. “My identity isn't all about men. Like, it just feels good … It's really essentialist, and it often becomes transphobic.”

Adi observed that college students’ discussion of sex is either nonexistent, or overexaggerated in reaction to the culture of silence. She posed a more neutral approach to the topic as a healthy medium.

“You can pull away from a whole ‘fight the power’ type of narrative, and instead talk about it in a ‘What is this as a human experience’ way,” Adi said. “I think in that sense, it actually ends up becoming more of an inclusive conversation.”

Clara Ann Bagnoli ’28 • The Scripps Voice

Clara Ann Bagnoli ’28 • The Scripps Voice

Arts, Crafts, and Community: an Overview of the CLORG Potluck

By Ishita Jayadev ’26 and Clara Ann Bagnoli ’28 Editor-in-Chief and Design Editor

On Feb. 26, around 30 people lounged around the Grove house during a meeting for Potluck, the 5C arts, crafts, and writing club. The students chatted amongst themselves as they cut, glued, and crafted with paper, magazines, and various stamps and stickers. The room was inviting as soft music filtered through the chitchat, and the space felt both cozy and communal, reflecting the club’s recent change in location from the Browning recreation room to the Grove House at Pitzer.

Three of the four co-presidents, Alyssa Hernandez ‘27, Theresa Provasnik ‘27, and Ella Piersma ‘27 recently celebrated the release of their Fall ‘24 zine “Bittersweet” and chatted to The Scripps Voice about how the club started, their roles within it, and the details behind the new issue during the weekly club meeting.

Provasnik began by talking about how the club started. She said that Lena Farley PO‘25, who is currently transitioning out of her leadership role as her graduation approaches, started Potluck during the spring 2023 semester.

“She started it as a way to create community in the arts outside of art classes, because she was not an art major, but wanted to do arts. And it’s really [hard to] do art unless you’re in art classes,

and you can’t get into art classes unless you’re an art major. So [it was] a way to create a space [for art] outside competitive academic classes,” Provasnik said.

When Farley studied abroad last spring, Provasnik took over as president. Despite this shift in leadership and attendance as more underclassmen joined, both Provasnik and Hernandez agreed the vibe of the club environment remained the same.

Hernandez spoke about her own experience joining the club and how she decided to take on a leadership role.

“For me, I joined first as a member last year, and started by submitting my own pieces, but as of this year, I took on more of a leadership role because … Lena created this as a place for community, and a lot of my closest friends are in it. So I feel like coming to the club isn’t necessarily business for me. It’s just about being with my friends and hanging out,” Hernandez said.

For both Provasnik and Hernandez, taking on a leadership role at Potluck has included small tasks like making Instagram posts as well as developing longer term goals of creating open lines of communication with people.

“Right now, we are working to create a stronger club. It’s easy to have supplies and be like, oh, you can come and craft, but creating more of a community with longevity, we’re definitely thinking a lot about trying to create something

that is not only meaningful to us, but meaningful to other people [so that] people feel attached and they want it to keep going,” Provasnik said.

Hernandez added, “We want people to not just come for one day, but for several and build [community].”

All three co-presidents ex -

pressed excitement about their recent publication, “Bittersweet,” and reflected on the creation of the zine which included photos, scans of artwork, and text submissions from students across the 5Cs. The co-presidents compiled and arranged all the submissions

Continued on page 7

Photo courtesy of Potluck

Photo courtesy of Alyssa Hernandez ’27

using resources like Canva and printed the zine through Pomona’s duplicating office.

“This [publication] was especially cool because we collaborated with the Hive and with my class [Art 181: Ecofeminism and Ecoart with Nancy Macko]. We did a lot of collaging in that class. And I was like, oh, it’d be cool if we could get pages in for the class as well. And so I kind of forced everyone to give me their collages and we put a dedication in. And so if you were part of that class, like, come get your copy,” Hernandez said, laughing.

She elaborated on how the Hive creativity grant, which she had applied for at the beginning of the fall semester, was a huge help for the board as it allowed them to fund all of the printing and material costs of making the zine.

Hernandez talked about two of

her own submissions that made it into the zine, highlighting the brown monochrome features of one of them as well as the childhood nostalgia of the pink bunny collage.

“This collage is all very monochrome tones. When I think of bittersweet, I think of brown.” she said, of the first collage. “I didn’t make this thinking I would submit it to Bittersweet, but I ended up doing it because I felt like the vibe was very similar. I made this in my Ecofeminist and Ecoart class as well. I feel like the vibe and the energy of the collage [is very] oldtowny, [with] lots of writing and different drawings that I’ve taken from the resource materials.”

For her second collage, she talked about both the process of making it as well as its theme, which reflects on certain bittersweet aspects of her childhood.

“As far as the bunny, it was a drawing that I had made and then vinyl cut. So I sold prints of the bunny as well. But I like the way it’s drawn, and the [idea of the] bunny at a tea party, I feel like it’s very bittersweet. And the message I went with also feels very bittersweet in that I feel like when I was growing up, my mom wanted me to be very princessy, like very girly girl, and that wasn’t who I was at all. So it’s kind of like an homage to my sister and my mom,” she said about her second piece.

The front cover of the zine was an exciting collaboration between the co-presidents and different members of the club.

“When we landed on Bittersweet [as the theme for the zine], we all thought of the idea of a dollhouse as something [that’s] very nostalgic. So we wanted [the cover] to be collaborative this time and incorporate more of our members. The cover is a potluck,” Piersma said, reflecting on the name of the club.

“So we had people volunteer to draw a room. And we have any medium, so this is visual art, color pencil. This is 3D modeling. This is a diorama,” she said, pointing out different rooms of the dollhouse.

The co-presidents also advertised their presence at the People’s Fund market on Feb. 29 at the Motley and Seal Court, where they sold copies of “Bittersweet.” All funds went to monetarily support-

ing people building power through mutual aid in Sudan, Gaza, and Eastern Congo.

Hernandez said that donating the sales of their zines to People’s fund had been a tradition Farley started and one that the transitioning board wanted to continue.

As for the future of Potluck, the co-presidents smiled while revealing the theme of the next issue: birds.

“If you pick up [a physical copy of] Bittersweet, you’ll notice that there’s a flyer somewhere hidden, just for [the next theme] birds. Usually when we do things, we let our general audience pick. But I feel like, for this issue, there was a lot of backing with the birds. And since it’s Lena’s last semester, it’s kind of an homage to them as well, and we wanted them to be able to have the opportunity to kind of say goodbye in a very bittersweet way with the birds,” Hernandez said, amid laughter over the unintentional pun.

The co-presidents advertised their meeting times, Wednesdays from 8:30-9:45 p.m. at the Grove House and asked people to submit to their next zine as well as join in on club meetings.

“Come to our club meetings. New supplies coming if you join,” Hernandez joked while Provasnik made sure to add, “The community will always be here. Above the supplies.”

Continued from page 6

Photo courtesy of Tarika Modi ’27

Photo courtesy of Jenna Morais ’28

Photo courtesy of Alyssa Hernandez ’27

Coming Home: Marina Shishkina ’25 Reflects on Her Ukrainian Heritage and Pride

By Belén Yudess ’25

Copy Editor

Since Feb. 24, 2022, Ukrainian students at the 5C’s have demonstrated the power of collective memory and the formidable nature of an indestructible spirit.

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country, Ukrainian students have banded together to mourn, memorialize, and mobilize against the erasure of their culture, language, and home. Over the years, the Ukrainian Student Group has organized student panels, speaker series, conferences, and vigils to keep the student body informed and in-community with those impacted by the war.

On Feb. 24, the Ukrainian Club, led by Marina Shishkina ’25 and Ivan Dudiak HMC ’26, hosted a vigil to commemorate three years since the beginning of the war, which also featured a talk by Shishkina who shared a moving narrative about her experiences during the war and her connection to Ukraine.

“When I was 16, chasing the American dream, my mom and I moved to New York City so I could attend art school, pursue my passion, and ultimately end up at Scripps College,” said Shishkina in her opening statement. “Then COVID hit, and I had made a decision that changed really everything. I had decided to return to Ukraine (...) I decided to return to the place I was born, but had never truly known.”

Shishkina reflected on her participation in a startup called Shadows following her return to Ukraine. The startup aimed to educate and raise awareness on Ukrainian traditions and customs. It was through this project that Shishkina developed a deeper appreciation for the Ukrainian language and its symbol as an act of resistance.

“Language is political; like many in Kyiv, I had grown up speaking Russian, a lasting imprint of imperial control that has suppressed Ukrainian language and culture for centuries,” she said. “Today, speaking Ukrainian is more than just communication. It is an active protest. It is about breaking free from the erasure of Ukrainian theater, literature, tradition, poetry.”

Shishkina has continued this legacy during her time in Claremont, most notably through her curation of RAW, which was a mobile exhibit during the summer of 2022 that highlighted Ukrainian artists and ran through Shishkina’s non-profit Ukraine on the West Coast.

Although this project has successfully amplified the voices and creativity of Ukrainian folks throughout several communities, Shishkina points out that the true impacts of the war on Ukrainians is an all-encompassing force that cannot be truly depicted or conceived.

“War is not just something I have gotten to witness firsthand, it is something that has shaped the way I act, think, feel, and navigate the world,” she said. “War lingers in the

mind, it lingers in the ‘where are you from’ questions – such a simple question asked in classrooms, parties, and conversations – but for me, it comes with pause, heaviness, and responsibility. A responsibility to those who can’t advocate for Ukraine internationally, to my friends and family who have gone missing, been injured, or passed away. It is a duty I cannot escape living and breathing in Claremont.”

Shishkina shifted to recapping her past summer spent living in Ukraine and volunteering with various aid programs throughout Kyiv. These daily tasks included construction work, cleaning debris from affected areas, organizing teams, translating, and offering emotional and physical support to community members. All the while, operating amidst 16 hour power outages, limited electrical resources, ongoing missile attacks, and harsh environmental conditions.

Although each day presented inconceivable challenges, there is one memory in particular that Shishkina recounts as, “one of the most harrowing experiences,” of her summer.

“On July 8 the Children’s Hospital, Ukraine’s largest pediatric hospital, was targeted,” she said. “At least 42 civilians, including five children, died and over 90 injured. Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion, at least 736 medical facilities in Ukraine have been damaged or destroyed. That same day, multiple residential buildings were also hit. My friend lost his home. The attack that day prompted widespread evacuation for about 32,000 residents.”

Following this attack, Shishkina immediately rallied with her community in Ukraine and abroad to raise $2,500. This initiative speaks to Shishkina’s wholehearted embodiment of what she dubs ‘Ukrainian qualities.’

“My friends always tell me, Marina,

if you say you’ll get something done, I have not a single doubt you will, and I always smile because I know that isn’t really my quality, it’s a Ukrainian quality,” she said. “It is who we are, relentless and resilient. Ukrainians don’t just endure, they rebuild, adapt, and fight. For centuries, the world overlooked our fight, and still we didn’t break then and we don’t break now. I know no other nation so dedicated to rebuilding and reshaping its future.”

As Ukraine continues to tirelessly fight for its sovereignty and push back against Russian forces, Shishkina noted how the war is not limited to the battlefield but is largely determined by global politics.

“Every small move made in a boardroom has great consequences on the ground; that is why the past two weeks, specifically, the reckless rhetoric from Trump’s office cannot be ignored,” she said. “In forty eight hours, Trump and his team have shattered America’s standing in negotiations with Russia, endangering Ukraine and Europe.”

On Feb. 12, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced during a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting that Ukraine’s bid for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership and the expectation that Ukrainian land be returned to its pre-2014 borders were unrealistic.

“This already was a very tough pill to swallow for many Ukrainians,” said Shishkina.

Informed by Ukrainian journalist, Anastasiia Lapatina’s, perspective on Hegseth’s statement, Shishkina pointed out that, “just like that, in one speech, Hegseth seemed to give away much of American leverage, spreading panic around Ukraine and the rest of Europe, as well as rewarding the Kremlin with a huge win.”

Shishkina further explained how Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskzy’s, reaction to this news honed in on the drastic

implications of the Donald Trump administration’s collaboration with Russian president, Vladimir Putin, regarding forthcoming negotiations about the future of Ukraine.

“In an interview hours before the Trump-Putin call, Zelensky told the economists, imagine that Hitler was not destroyed, imagine that after everything he did to the Jews, people said, okay, let’s look for a compromise,” she said. “No one understands what war is until it comes to your home (...) The fate of Ukraine is not just about one nation, it is an international fight for sovereignty and human rights. Seeking compromise with an aggressor does not bring peace. It invites forgiveness without justice, allowing atrocities of war to be repeated. War is ongoing, evolving, and changing every minute. New developments shape the front line, perception, action, international response, and therefore, the lives of my people.”

Although thinking about the current socio-political status surrounding Ukraine and other U.S foreign relations may be unsettling, Shishkina voices the need to remain cognizant of these events in order to help shape a more equitable and liberated future.

“It is important for me to share the story of Ukraine because it is not just about Ukraine,” she said. “It reflects the reality of many people living through war, tragedy, and ongoing struggle. Surrounding Claremont, there are communities that also need attention from 5C students. My fight is with Ukraine because it is where I am from, it is where my heart is. What matters most is recognizing that change begins with awareness of your local community. That kind of responsibility is the foundation of the leadership I hope to see more of around me. Ultimately, it is the key to justice, equality, and reform in today’s political world.”

Belén Yudess ’25 • The Scripps Voice

To Go or Not to Go: Attendance Policies Should Give Students the Right to Choose

By Hannah Fawley ’27 Head Design Editor

When I was deep in the throes of my senior year of high school, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things on my plate, I remember telling myself that college was going to be different: I would be able to make my own schedule and not adhere to someone else’s. Needless to say, I felt disillusioned when I came to college, and almost every class I took had a stricter attendance policy than my high school.

In some cases, having a strict attendance policy is warranted. As a dance major, attendance is the only thing we get a grade for. For those classes, where the learning chiefly happens in the classroom, being in the classroom should be a requirement. However, this isn’t true for most classes at the 5Cs.

This past fall, I took Intro to Chemistry which followed a flipped classroom model, allowing us to learn all of our content outside of class. Our “homework” was watching pre-recorded lecture videos and class time was dedicated to doing worksheets and activities. Because of the nature of the class, it did not have an attendance policy which was something that I really appreciated.

The students who wanted more practice applying the concepts that made up our graded assignments and exams, could attend class and ask questions. The students who didn’t could choose to reallocate their time amongst their other responsibilities and still have time to learn all of the material outside of class.

Despite this class having a unique structure, many other classes still involve a lot of learning outside of the classroom. I have taken many classes where textbook reading is assigned as homework, and the professor lectures about the most salient topics during class. A student can succeed in the class with just one or the other, so why are both required?

Even being required to attend seminar-based classes sometimes feels overkill, as some require students to write discussion posts and respond to classmates for homework, outside of class. What is the point of going to class if the seminar was essentially already conducted beforehand?

To be clear, I am not arguing that students should not go to class — I am pretty positive I went to every one of my chemistry classes despite the lack of required attendance. I am arguing that students should be able to choose whether or not going to class is, for lack of a better phrase, worth

their time. The students who don’t go to class either feel comfortable enough with the material or are willing to risk it, which, I think, is their prerogative.

For many people, college is their first major test of independence. It is often their first time without parents or guardians to hold them accountable and they are able to choose how to spend their time. If they choose not to go to class, never learn the material, and thus do poorly, they will learn to suffer the consequences of their actions. College is where young people learn how to be functional, responsible adults, and an F on their transcript is a pretty powerful lesson.

Additionally, college students have a lot on their plates. Between classes, homework, extracurriculars, and jobs, there is little time for true rest, especially if they want any time to have fun and be social. The stereotype of the sleep-deprived and caffeineaddicted college student didn’t form out of thin air: we are known for spreading ourselves thin and not prioritizing our health.

I believe students should be able to miss class when they are sad, tired, or unmotivated, and sometimes that happens more frequently than professors’ one or two “free” absence policies permit. Also, because “free”

absences are limited, taking one can become a source of even more stress. I try to figure out when I can allow myself to take one: I can’t if it is “too early” in the semester or if I don’t have a “good enough” reason. I worry that I will have an emergency later in the semester but won’t have a “free” absence to spare.

Say a student allows themself to prioritize rest, and their “free” absences have been used up. If an emergency then does arise, I’d like to think that professors will be accommodating, but having to worry about attendance and “calling out” of class during an emergency is too much to ask and, frankly, infantilizing at this age and stage in our education. Both exhaustion and lethargy are legitimate reasons for taking a break and treating them as if they aren’t is harmful. We can’t pretend that functioning through these feelings can be resolved in a mere two days.

Embracing a more flexible attendance policy would eliminate stress without minimizing an incentive to attend and do well in class. Students should be trusted to prioritize their time well and within their limits. Our education is important, but not at the cost of our mental health or love for learning.

A Love That Can Never Be Silenced

By Belén Yudess ’25 Copy Editor

The first poem I ever wrote was about my dead paternal grandmother. Using a classic abab rhyme scheme, I relied heavily on floral imagery to portray the intensity of my grandmother’s beauty and resilience. At least that is the message my fouryear-old self hoped to convey to our extended family and friends as I read my poem at her memorial service. So many people were impressed by my ability to write at such a young age. They made it seem as though what I had done was something special, an action to be applauded. But even then, writing was as natural and familiar as breathing; it was the greatest love my grandmother gave me.

My Grandma Reba was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) when I was three. I remember my grandmother’s physical decay, her transition from the cane and grabber to the electric wheelchair we would race on the sidewalk. I remember her smile, sweeter than the 7-11 slurpees my dad and I would bring her everyday after Pre-K. The one thing that I don’t remember is the sound of my grandmother’s voice.

My dad likes to tell me I remind him of his mom: we both never shut up. But the version of her that I remember

is silent. She was stripped of her vocal abilities just as I was beginning to fall in love with language. As my capacity to speak in complete sentences and hold tangible conversations improved, she became limited to one-word iterations on a good day until even that was gone. That is when she introduced me to the art of writing. My grandmother and I would spend our time writing notes to each other. We wrote stories about flowers and butterflies, combining our imaginative powers to create new worlds free from the confines of her dank hospice room. She was patient as I learned the intricacies of noun-verb sentence structures and watched wide-eyed as I discovered the connections and discrepancies between how words sounded versus how they were spelled. Writing was freedom; freedom from the communicative limitations imposed on my grandmother by her disease, and freedom from reality itself as I familiarized myself with the infinite fantasies I could bring to life on the page.

My grandmother passed away sixteen years ago, but she continues to live in the heart of every piece I have written. And beyond that, I see her spirit reflected in every smile born from the kindness of compassion and the joy of a passion fulfilled. My Grandma Reba was an overly-

involved, overly-enthusiastic, and overly-dressed (she could never be found without ruby red nails and a matching set of jewelry) individual who dedicated her life to love; a love of her community, her family, and the possibility of a world that shared her same zest for being alive. One of my grandmother’s favorite artists was Frank Sinatra and I think that is fitting because nobody embodied Sinatra’s classic hit “My Way” like she did. No matter how many “blows” she took, she persevered with a heart brimming

with laughter and arms ready to welcome you home. She’s been on my mind a lot lately as I reflect upon the person I hope to be each day.

People sometimes comment on my tendency to hold multiple commitments at once, but the truth is, that is part of how I follow my grandmother’s guidance. Every article I write, student I tutor, resident I laugh alongside as we make lunch in the kitchen is my attempt to pick up my pen and write about a young woman that would make her proud.

Hotel Ugly

By Rebecca Allen ’25 Staff Writer

I put on my finest silver, And turquoise earrings hang from my ears

And my hair is loose and long And I’ll meet you down on the lawn, Out in the sun, With clumps of people eating on the ground. It’s finally warm and it smells like honey and smoke.

And there’s medical histories to talk about

And our own histories, trips to Mexico City and Sculpture homework— A series of white plaster stacking bowls Each in the shape of a small hand.

The Winter Fashion Edit: Spring’s Awakening & Seasonally Confused

By Paige Rosenthal ’28 Staff Writer

Following the end of February and the start of March, we are closing on the winter season and entering the excitement of spring. This has been reflected in the fashion world and the 5C community, who are funneling their joy through style. Let’s talk latewinter and early-spring fashion 2025 trends expressed in magazines like Vogue and around campus!

A common word heard on the internet and within the fashion industry in the past few months has been “bohochic.” This style remains freespirited and fashionable, taking roots within the 60’s and 70’s hippie-bohemian style. Brands like Isabel Marant are guiding this movement showcasing the importance of studded details, suede, embroidery, tassels, metallics, and loose silhouettes. Blouses with puffy sleeves and linens are a huge staple, along with everything crochet — bags, skirts, tops, and sweaters.

On a different note, “Fishermen Core” has also been a topic of conversation. This Fisher vibe emulates a cozier feel, with wool chunky knit sweaters and linen (often striped) pants. There are notes of blue, reds, and whites, adding a Cape Cod “coastal grandpa” spirit, with fun-colored beanies and moccasins to top the look off.

A trend I’ve been loving is a good monochrome, such as white-on-white or all-black looks, allowing jewelry and accessories to star. A slight twist on this style is showcased on campus commonly with denim-on-denim, known as the Canadian tuxedo, a true 5C staple for going out or classic day-to-day wear.

Patterns and textures add the utmost importance to any outfit.

Polka dots are “classy” again — seen on the runway

and in brands like Miu Miu and Reformation. Similarly, stripes are back and here to stay: horizontal, vertical, or a combination of both! The gingham pattern is one of my favorite designs, adding a southern-belle feel to any outfit.

While the fad of bows is fading, the enactment of buttons is coming in full force. I’m talking chunky, metallic, and tiny multi-colored buttons – on sweaters, down the sleeves of shirts, bags, and phone cases.

While crochet and lace won’t ever fade, sequins and embroidery are making their marks in fashion worldwide.

The resurgence of the warming sun means skirts and dresses are back in style around campus. The summer dress is back to play with this boho tinge, inspiring longer, flowy dresses. This loose silhouette also follows the category of mini dresses as well, emulating a milkmaid, babydoll style. On the contrary, tight straight-neck mini dresses are also evident across many funky-inspired patterns.

Across the 5C’s, mini skirts have also been spotlighted — denim skirts paired with western belts, ruffled and bubble skirts coupled with preppy sweaters, and pleated skirts that offer an office-style twist to an otherwise simpler look. While pencil skirts are and have been highly active on the runway, Scripps students — in particular — remain wearing their uniformed maxi skirt, styled with hints of silk, lace, or a combination of both.

Last season, the it-color was red: deep burgundy and bright cherry reds. This season, alternatively has proven to be the season of blue – particularly navy blue and light blue, though cobalt blue remains a staple in my wardrobe.

Color is proving a huge benefit to the fashion industry,

offering an experimental and playful side to the forefront. Colored tights and socks have been aiding this idea. Along with this, juxtaposition is a huge word this season –wearing things that wouldn’t quite fit together: colors like blue and red, orange and pink, and styles like sporty with preppy are coming into play –such as sporty Adidas shorts with a knit cardigan or wool sweater.

What’s better than an accessory to complete an outfit? Last season we saw the rise of the belt and now we know they’re here to stay. I’m talking stupidly skinny-colored belts that add a pop, and fat statement belts layered on top of skirts. Hoops earrings remain a staple, while bangles and cuffs are coming back. We are also learning to play with our jewelry more — mixing metals, wearing chunkier pieces, and putting large pendants on necklaces.

As for bags, at the 5Cs, the classic “backpack” looks more like an oversized leather bag. Chunky totes flourish here, with embellishments such as pockets and metal details adding a spice.

The decoration and personalizing of bags is one recent trend I’ve learned to love –adding trinkets, chains, bandanas, beads, and keychains that add a touch of personality.

When the warmer days get chilly and the sun sets, it’s important to have a trusty jacket. Fitted jackets are storming the runaways and trickling around campus. Whether denim, suede, leather, or cargo – these jackets provide flattering silhouettes to every outfit. Sweaters remain a trustworthy partner, when one is too lazy to throw on a coat. On campus, these sweaters and cardigans showcase funky patterns and colors to provide a sense of silliness and personality in outfits. Off-the-shoulder

sweaters and tops remain in, with the introduction of the less familiar sister style, boatneck. In terms of tops –lace, silk, floral, blouses, and babydoll styles are on top following the flowy, prairie, boho-chic silhouette.

Footwear will always prove an extra step up in any outfit. The boot, particularly the Frye and other dupes have remained strong in influence amongst the 5C community. However this season, we’re seeing boots of all kinds – cowboy, motorcycle, timberlands. Many on the runway urge the comeback of the rainboot, however, our Southern California climate doesn’t seem to match this new claim.

However, flats are here in every way –mesh, square-toe, vibrant colors, or suede – you name it!

If you want to take it a step further, the alwayscontroversial Tabi shoe serves as a bold statement, taking flats to another level, one toe at a time. The loafer is a classic shoe of the community, fitting a preppy style – however, a clog/mule is a shoe not often seen around that I believe should come back. Doc Martens, particularly low tops (and some) platformed, have remained true, and are now being worn in sandal form. In the past seasons, we’ve seen the Adidas Sambas storm the world. This season, I predict colorful sneakers to take over the stores. Brands like Puma, Onitsuka Tigers, Alohas, and Solomons prove new and funky, adding sharpness to any outfit.

While I could talk about fashion forever, we have reached the end of my rant here. I employ you to use Pinterest, follow new creators on Instagram, and find influence from the people within our community. Remember to have fun, experiment with what makes you happy, and revisit this article whenever you need creative inspiration!

97th Academy Award Nominations, Predictions, and Results

By Belén Yudess ’25 and Clara Ann Bagnoli ’28

Copy Editor and Design Editor

This year, The Academy whisked us away through an array of decades, to lands far far away, and Hungary. Although this year’s Oscars were not infused with the same Kenergy as the 2024 ceremony, they delivered impressive amounts of controversy and TikTok trends.

The 97th Oscars were held on March 2 and hosted by comedian and late-night host Conan O’Brien in the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. Here are our hopes and dreams for the winners and the (sometimes stunning) realities for this year’s stars!

Best Picture prediction: Wicked

Although I am defying reality with this prediction, as Wicked will most likely not be as popular compared to the other nominees, I really do wish they would dance their way to success. As a glass-closeted theatre kid, it would be remiss for me not to tip my (pointy) hat towards the outlandishly talented vocal abilities of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the captivating performances by quintuple-threat (stage-actor, onscreen actor, dancer, singer, gay) Johnathan Bailey, and the overall striking cinematography throughout the film.

Wicked is just the next of a whole line of movie adaptations of successful musicals (can we give it up for Lin Manuel Miranda on that one), but I truly believe this decision was for the better. Erivo and Grande’s homoerotic yearning glances made it clear that there was a lot of trust (and space) held between them, especially during Glinda’s moments of vulnerability and Elphaba’s tragic yet triumphant realization of her villainization and the freedom it provided.

Although this point has prompted discourse since the movie’s release, Wicked also does a good job of introducing how quickly hate towards difference can spread through communities and the dangers of believing dominant narratives without question. As Wicked appeals to a very wide audience, many of whom are young viewers at the crux of beginning to grasp racism, xenophobia, and bigotry as a whole, it is vital that films expose these realities rather than tone them down for the sake of palatability.

Ultimately, Wicked was a superb showing of the magic behind the curtain of musical theatre and a rare example of excellent casting in an adaptation!

Reality: Anora

Best Actor prediction : Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown

A Complete Unknown is a Bob Dylan biopic yet it does not follow the genre’s usual telling of a musician’s childhood and beginnings as an artist since Dylan has never been forthcoming with such information, as explained in the film with his false references to growing up in the circus. Instead, the movie introduces audiences to a 22 year old Dylan living in New York City and trying to break into the folk scene.

Chalamet prepared for this role for over the course of five years by learning to play guitar and sing, and working with dialect coaches to perfect the famous Bob-like rasp. Thank goodness for this preparation as the soundtrack for the movie, completely sung by Chalamet himself, was made available to listeners. As a special treat for fans, a video of the actor in his Dune II costume playing the guitar was shared in an interview with Stephen Colbert.

Chalamet did not exactly allow us

to enter into the musician’s mind but did an excellent job portraying the frustration and angst that comes with pushing musical boundaries. The uncanny resemblance Chalamet has to his role, a skinny, sometimes awkward artist with dark brown curls, also did not hurt the portrayal.

Reality : Adrian Brody in The Brutalist

Best Actress prediction : Demi Moore as Elisabeth Sparkle in The Substance

To make an easy prediction, Demi Moore has already swept award seasons with her receival of a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) award and a Golden Globe for her leading role as Elisabeth Sparkle in The Substance These are Moore’s first awards for her acting career and as she said in her Golden Globes speech, she made the decision to take on this movie after almost quitting acting entirely. Moore has had a long and prominent career starting with her breakout role in “Ghost” in 1990.

Moore gave an astounding portrayal of frustration with aging and an urgent need for control over one’s beauty. Her character reflects the societal position she occupies as an aging celebrity. However, Sparkle deals with her vexation with the media’s thirst for young blood through a black market injection that creates a younger body double of herself. The film borders on science fiction but serves as an appropriate commentary on the lengths women are forced to go to for reaching the beauty standard.

Reality: Mikey Madison in Anora

Best Actor in a Supporting Role prediction: Ed Norton as Pete Seegar in A Complete Unknown Norton brings some experience to the category this year. He has no Oscar wins thus far, but does have four prior Oscar nominations under

his belt. The Fight Club actor has been in the business for over 30 years and brings a certain stability to Chalamet’s greenness.

Pete Seager is not only the sweet, advice-giving, banjo-playing dad in A Complete Unknown, but also a fierce anti-mccarthyist and activist for the labor movement. In the film he serves to represent what folk music was at the time of the 1963 Newport Folk Festival, pleading with Dylan to keep from introducing electric guitar to the genre.

Reality : Kieran Culkin in A Real Pain

Best Supporting Actress prediction : Zoë Saldaña as Rita Mora Castro in Emilia Perez Viewers may be used to seeing actress Zoë Saldaña in a blue or green paint for her sci-fi roles of Gamora and Neyriti in Guardians of the Galaxy and Avatar respectively. This awards season, Saldaña was the glue that kept the rocky movie of Emilia Perez together. On top of being an awkward combination of musical, drama, and crime stories, the film has received many criticisms for being a misrepresentation of transgender and Mexican communities. For example, Saldaña’s character goes to Switzerland to inquire about gender-affirming surgeries for her client and sings “La Vaginoplastia,” a wildly musicalized conversation about such surgeries.

In this role, the actress steps into the spotlight, sometimes literally, and takes audiences into the life of an overworked public defender in Mexico. She has already received a Golden Globe, BAFTA and SAG award for the role and is highly favored for the Oscar. Saldaña learned how to rap for the role and did a stellar job riffing off the lyrics to the Oscar-nominated soundtrack. Reality: Zoë Saldaña

Friendship and Foreplay: the New Scripps Greeting Proposal

By Clara Ann Bagnoli ’28 Design Editor

After a long day of classes, there is only one place I can go to settle my mind and know that I will find at least one of my many close friends: Seal Court. I walk my Doc Martens-clad feet over Jaqua, down the steps, and past the first few tables of the poor Scripps students who actually have homework. Finally, I spot my target, the beautiful icon I am honored to call my best friend. Her honey blonde locks are gently flowing in the breeze and her outfit is perfect: thrifted baggy jeans that hug her body just right and a cropped baby tee with a phrase only someone with 20-plus hours of screen time a day could understand. But do not fret, despite my adoration, we are just friends, platonic soulmates who met in our NSPO group a mere six months ago.

She sees me and we lock matching hazel orbs. I take three steps and begin to float over into those outstretched arms. Our bodies mesh together and become intertwined like two puzzle pieces creating a masterpiece. We stay like this for at least 100 seconds of pure bliss; she is wearing Glossier

perfume and I can almost taste it on her skin.

A public display of affection (PDA) like this happens about every four seconds at Scripps College. To a Scrippsie, it is the traditional greeting of our people. This tradition begins on move-in day when extroverts try to assert their superiority and social dominance but then continues to create a harmonious homosocial ecosystem that thrives off physical touch and open intimacy.

In retrospect, our touchiness makes perfect sense to me. As a person who has been openly queer for most of my teenage years, I have always been overly, or maybe appropriately, cautious to not make my straight female friends uncomfortable with any unwanted touch. Especially with the lingering stereotypical assumption that as the only out person in the friend group, I must be in love with at least one of my attractive peers.

Straight girls can make out with each other when drunk and it’s “haha omg so funny” but if I put my arm around someone while walking, it’s seen as making a move … tale as old as time.

Alas, coming to Scripps College,

aka lesbos island has turned this internalized homophobia on its head. Here, I can hold hands with my close friends, tell a girl how cute I think their outfit is, and even give someone a forehead kiss goodbye and finally have it perceived as normal and even, nice. But let us as a community take this normalization of touch to the next level. There is a common misconception that a platonic relationship is the opposite of a romantic relationship. A platonic relationship can therefore be intimate and affectionate but not sexual . Romantic refers to strong emotional connections, deep feelings of affection, and a desire to spend time together and build a life together. Where is the third option? Not all friendships are non-sexual and not all romantic relationships are sexual. I came to college for my degree, but equally as important, I chose this place to explore my sexuality. We are so blessed to be surrounded by literal 10s across the board so is it wrong for me to want to kiss them all? Is friendship not just extended foreplay with nothing following?

Or could there be something more private following the PDA? Not to say I am endorsing ethical non-

monogamy or anything, do what you are comfortable with when it comes to your partners, but when it comes to your friends, why not take a note from me in third grade and practice kissing with your bestie?

Next time you see a friend come out of their dorm, instead of going for the normal elongated hug, I offer you a few suggestions to help strengthen your relationship and spark some dopamine! An old-fashioned French kiss with a bit of tongue sucking to keep things playful perhaps? Or why don’t you try braiding her hair into a crown because, after all, she is your queen? Or if she’s being granola that day and wearing her Chacos, interlock your toes and walk together to lunch.

These are just a few things that have benefited my own relationships but of course, everything is based on personal experience and trial runs.

In all sincerity, I must conclude by highlighting that consent is key to any relationship even if it is non-physical. Therefore, make sure all yeses are freely given, enthusiastic, and always reversible.

Have a great time exploring friendship, you freaks!

Oh! The Places You’ll Go! Part II

By Frances Walton ’26, Juliette Des Rosiers ‘26, and Elita Kutateli ‘26 Editors-in-Chief and Head Design Editor

Dear Frances and Elita,

Kia ora! I hope you are doing well! I loved hearing about all your weekend trips and can definitely relate to relishing in a good public transportation system.

The irony about my second week in New Zealand was that it was my turn to get sick! And unfortunately, this coincided with my first week of classes! I spent a day repeating mantras of “You can stay upright” or “Don’t you dare cough” before I accepted my presence was not benefitting anyone and decided to stay home to rest. In the midst of that rest I did have a complete meltdown about this maybe being the wrong place for me (or me being wrong for this place?) because transitions are hard! But I called my parents, cried, and eventually felt better.

I have since recovered and am now back to having fun. My birthday was this past week, and although celebrating it without my friends from Scripps felt strange, it was so exciting to be turning 21 in a new city! My flatmates surprised me with a cake and I joined my friends for a night on the town. We went to a food market for dinner followed by going to live band karaoke, which was so much fun.

This past weekend a Scripps friend studying abroad in a different Kiwi city came to visit me! I loved showing off my new home and we explored some hikes in the area. We cooled off afterward by going for a swim in the ocean, and I felt so appreciative of the beauty of island life.

I can’t wait to hear what the past

few weeks had in store for you! What do you feel is the biggest difference between your life abroad and life at Scripps? What has brought you comfort when you were tired/sick/ homesick? For me, it has been tea and chocolate :)

Miss you, Juliette

Dear Elita and Juliette, I miss you guys so much!! This might be a short correspondence because I have mainly spent these past two weeks recovering from my bronchitis(?!?!).

I started feeling better just in time for Carnaval season. I visited Lisbon with my Scripps friends, Hana and Audrey, this past weekend to visit a Fullerton College study abroad group. We got to spend time with my mom and some friends who participated in the program. A big highlight was the flea market we went to on Saturday, where I found spiral-y earrings for five euros. I’m still experiencing some college culture shock at Syracuse, so being around friends from Scripps and my hometown was refreshing. I am surprised with how much I miss Scripps and the comfort of our lives back home.

That being said, I absolutely love the city of Madrid, and I keep finding more things it has to offer, especially in the food department. Two highlights are TKO Tacos, which had a killer quesadilla de cochinita, and La Fresaría, where I had slightly overpriced strawberries and Nutella.

Returning to Madrid this week has been very stressful with how long I’ve been sick, but I just completed my first midterm in Spanish! Juliette, I hope your birthday was wonderful. Elita, I’m so curious to hear about DC. Sending love, Frances

Dear Juliette and Frances, I am so happy to hear you both are admiring the beauty of your cities and finding your footing in a foreign place amidst homesickness. I am so sad to not have been able to celebrate Juliette’s 21st in-person, but I am sure our senior-year will make up for it.

Since coming to DC, I have experienced a steep learning curve — understanding the nitty gritty of US politics as a philosophy major has made my head turn. Luckily, the place I have been interning at, and my professors have helped greatly. Now, I watch C-SPAN everyday and regularly go to the Hill for briefings or hearings, I am officially acting like a typical CMCer on the Washington Program. Consider me influenced.

The thing I worried about the most has turned out to be great — my roommates (and sharing a fridge with three others). I was worried I would feel isolated and not find genuine connections, especially on such a small CMC program. Nevertheless, I have found myself laughing and hanging out with my roommates and other friends from the program every night, which is something I am very grateful for.

The city itself is quite beautiful and has a lot to offer, you just have to know where to look for it. The first few weeks I was here, I definitely had a hard time exploring outside of the Smithsonian Museums and nearby cafes. Now, I like to frequent a pho restaurant down the street from me on weeknights with friends, go to the MLK library for afternoon studying, and go out to a variety of EDM shows on the weekends.

For me, the biggest difference has definitely been how much alone time I feel like I have here. It feels like I have a legitimate separation between work, class, and friends. At Scripps, it is all melded together (which is not necessarily a bad thing) but definitely makes it harder to keep things organized. It has been nice to be away from Claremont for a little while even though I miss it everyday. I would love to hear about the best live music you have heard while abroad and the best meal you have had! Do you feel like your guys’ self care routines have changed from Scripps to abroad? And if yes, how so?

Miss you dearly, Elita

An Invitation to Share Your Story, Perspective, and Values

Everyone has a story to share. What’s yours? This is an opportunity to share your perspective, add to your portfolio, and be part of a project that promotes intentional living and connection. Select submissions will be featured in The Scripps Voice and the upcoming Perspectives Project book.

The Perspectives Project began in 2021 when the first prompt was featured in The New York Times.

There were hundreds of heartfelt submissions from people around the world. This led me to create a book and website sharing these unique perspectives.

I am working on new editions of the book and am partnering with schools around the world to include students’ voices. The goal of the project is to inspire reflection, celebrate diverse perspectives, and create a sense of connection within and across

communities. All profits from the book are donated to the American Red Cross.

Reflect and share your perspective on one of the following:

What are your guiding values, and how do they influence your life? What experiences have led you to this? What is your guiding philosophy or the personal code you live by? How does it shape your life? Share a moment or experience that deeply

impacted you. What insights and values did you gain from it?

What life lessons have you learned from others? How have they impacted you?

Writing can be a few words to a page long. Email submissions to projecthumanperspectives@gmail. com.

Katia Kriakova SC ’28

Frances Walton ’26 • The Scripps Voice