September 27, 2012 by The Scripps Voice

Volume XVI, Issue Two

September 27, 2012

The Scripps Voice

Freshman Perspectives page 6

Food Poisoning page 11

he formal opening of the “AfricanAmerican Visions” exhibit occurred on Sept. 22 at Scripps College’s Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery. The exhibit features the collections of esteemed former Scripps professor Dr. Samella Lewis and celebrates the art and history of AfricanAmerican culture. An accomplished artist, writer, filmmaker, and educator, Dr. Lewis has dedicated herself to the success of young students by featuring the work of lesser known artists in her own galleries and through direct interaction with her own pupils. In honor of her accomplishments and devotion to students, a panel discussing the importance of artistic experience in liberal arts education Claude Fiddler, Dr. Samella was also held on the day of the Lewis, Bobby Bradford, opening. The featured speakers included and David Kubek Claremont Orchestra Director David Cubek, visual artist and educator Claude veloped as a result of Fiddler, and jazz musician and professor their diligent work and accomplishments Bobby Bradford. Though the discussion centered on in music. “The hardest the impact of art on students’ lives, there things,” he concluded, “are was a surprising lack of students present. often the most rewarding.” When describing what art is, FidStill, the passion and wisdom behind dler gave a rather broad definition that each speaker’s insights and anecdotes came across as valuable advice directed seemed remarkably close to a definition towards those absent college students of life. Art is not something hanging in a gallery, but rather the process of “digestpreparing to define themselves. Cubek began with a detailed analysis ing the world around us,” he said. He

continued with the point that art upsets and affects us. It’s looking forward with respect to the past. It’s the power for social and political change. Art is the development of our own minds and is therefore relevant to everyone’s lives. Instead of giving a theoretical explanation of art’s significance, Bradford told the audience a story. Jazz, although not the only form of art that does so, requires improvisational skills. In his scenario, a man preparing to play with Miles Davis at Carnegie Hall turns to Davis moments before going on and asks, “What are you going to play when you get out there on stage?”, a question that frighteningly sounds like “What are you going to do when you get out there in the real world?” Davis answers, “I don’t know yet.” Still, he goes out and begins the rehearsed part of the performance. Seconds before the improv section he asks again, “What are you going to play?” “I don’t know.” When faced with the prospect of finally having to take a chance, Davis shows no fear, only trust in n a his ability to pull n a | Ti ph otos through. Suddenly inspired by the rhythm of the drums, Davis begins to play. The “African-American Vision” exhibit stays at the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery until Oct. 14, 2012, open 1-5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. ‘1 6

of how specific music classes create the basis for artistic and human development. Through ensemble orchestras students learn to live up to their responsibilities as part of a harmonious community. Repertoire classes serve to share the transformational power of aesthetics, while peer tutoring introduces the idea of open-minded learning without the formal distinction between teacher and student. Cubek remarked on the pride his students have de-

eih

By Elizabeth Lee ‘16 Staff Writer

Inside...

African-American Visions Exhibition Opening

TEDx Claremont Colleges Comes to Garrison Theater By Kara Odum ‘15 Staff Writer

Date Rape Drugs

page 11

Sex Column page 3

his Saturday, Sept. 29, marks the return of TEDxClaremontColleges for its second annual conference. TEDx is an independently-organized event that showcases speakers with “ideas worth spreading.” The purpose of TEDx Talks is to inspire viewers to act and work toward whatever it is they are passionate about. Last year’s TEDxClaremontColleges was an evening event that featured six speakers in a smaller venue. Topics ranged from living with AIDS to revolutionizing urban farming to composing Grammy Award-winning music. This year’s event is supersized, with fifteen speakers at an all-day event to be held in Garrison Theater. Unfortunately, in order to host such a large event, attendees will be required to pay $25 per ticket. But it will be well worth the cost to listen to such amazing speakers from across the United States. The original TEDx Talks focused on technology, education, and design, but this year’s TEDxClaremontColleges has a much broader focus. Event organizer Sam Spurlin explained that speakers were chosen from all disciplines,

the only requirement being a good story to tell. Highlights this year will include Nate Damm, who walked from Delaware to the Pacific Ocean in eight months when he was 23 years old. He will talk about what he discovered along the way and how the experience affected him afterwards. Vanessa Kettering, a free spirit with a Ph.D. in Positive Developmental Psychology, will talk about building a happier and healthier life by focusing on habits and developing emotional balance. Elly Schofield, a senior at Harvey Mudd College, will speak about the importance of a solid math education and how to reformat the classroom to ensure all students have access to this important subject. More speakers are listed online at www.tedxcc.com. There are still a limited number of tickets available that can be purchased online at the TEDxClaremontColleges webpage. For more information about helping to organize next year’s event, email samspurlin@gmail.com.

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

2 •News

The Capitol Steps Bring Political Satire to Claremont By Rachael Hamilton ‘16 Staff Writer

ver 30 years ago, a group of Senate staffers quit their jobs on Capitol Hill and came together to publically display what most people do in the privacy of their own homes: make fun of the government. Now they are bringing their comedic view on the events in Washington D.C. and the people running our country to the Claremont Colleges. The Capitol Steps is a political satire comedy group that specializes in song parodies and skits poking fun at political figures, headlines, and scandals, as is summed up by their slogan, “We put the MOCK in Democracy.” In response to the current election season, they have come out with their latest album, “Take the Money and Run for President,” which focuses on the race for the White House between President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney and includes special guests Anthony Weiner, Muammar Gaddaft, Chris Christie and Sarah Palin. The Capitol Steps have perf-

a few hours,” Kuhn said. Despite the popularity of The Capitol Steps, however, there have been low ticket sales here at the Claremont Colleges; they are so low, in fact, that the venue is being moved from Bridges Auditorium to the Smith Campus Center, since Bridges seats 2400 people. Currently only 170 tickets have been sold, with many of the ticket-holders

the possibility of offense, there is no need for concern, since The Capitol Steps are an “equal opportunity insulter; they treat both sides as fairly as the other.” ormed shows all across As Kuhn described, “they look at the country, been featured the big picture, that both sides on NBC, CBS, ABC, have something to say, and they PBS, and NPR, and are doing it in a comic way that is have a repertoire of 35 not invasive…it will not change albums that has been the perspective on the election, going strong since and it is not meant to.” the Reagan adminSo, if you are a fan of “The istration. Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” “Election year “The Colbert Report,” or are just is a prime oplooking for some laughs, The portunity to Capitol Steps will be performing get people at the Smith Campus Center on laughing at Pomona’s campus Tuesday, Ocpolitics,” tober 2 at 8 p.m. s a i d Tickets cost $28, Sh a r o n with discounts for Kuhn, seniors and milipho to | the Events tary, and will be Sne ha A brah Manager at Bridgsold up until the am (PO es Auditorium, who has night of the show. ) picked up the planning of this The show is show since Neil Gerard, the foropen to the generimage | collegiate-link.net al public as well as mer director of Bridges Auditorium and Associate Dean of being those who have already students. For more information Students for Pomona College, seen the show or heard The Cap- about The Capitol Steps, check retired back in 2011. itol Steps on NPR. The reason out their website at www.cap“Around election year every- for this is unknown, but Kuhn steps.com, and for more inforthing is heated, and this will suspects that “people have had mation about upcoming events allow people, for a moment of enough of conventions, commer- and shows at Bridges Auditotime, to be ridiculous, to lighten cials, and mud slinging” to the rium, go to www.pomona.edu/ up, to see the humor in politics, point that they don’t want any- administration/bridges-auditoand to show us that not every thing to do with politics. rium/index.aspx. candidate is perfect, even for just However, if the cause is due to

The Sassy SAS Update

By Mikayla Raymond ‘15 SAS Media Relations Chair

ey Scripps Voice Readers! It’s Mikayla here again to update you on all things SAS, and I couldn’t be more excited about everything that is going on! Currently, SAS has been working hard to start this year off right, with a solid foundation to support the upcoming months, and hopefully year, here at Scripps. Currently, a lot of work is going into totally re-vamping our website infrastructure. The new SAS website will be not only a resource to students to access funding request forms, see upcoming events, and get contact information for your SAS representatives; it will be a place to really get the “dirty” of what’s going on in SAS. In an effort to increase our transparency and visibility on campus, you will be able to see our minutes from each meeting as well as budget breakdowns that really show you where your money is going. This practice will help to keep you informed of the work we’ve been doing to improve our community. In addition to being more user-friendly and having more resources and information available for students, it will also be a new hub for photos of campus and members of the community, tweets, blog posts, as well as Flickr and Facebook feeds. We are moving into the 21st century with these updates, people! It is our goal to make this site not just a place to go when you need some information, but something to peruse whilst procrastinating on that paper, just to see what’s going on! The new site will be unveiled sometime in mid-October, so stay tuned. Meanwhile, keep checking those emails and our Facebook page/Twitter feed for updates.

In other exciting news, we now have 500 Facebook fans If you don’t already “like” us, look us up under Scripps Associated Students, and please do so! This is a great way to stay informed of events, and occasionally catch a bit of off-topic witticism by yours truly. Keep in mind, Fall Elections are rapidly approaching! Statements of Intent were due Wednesday, Sept. 26 by midnight, and the election will take place photo | Tianna Sheih ‘16 October 3. As per usual, the voting will be open for 48 hours, and first years will need to opt-in (ask your older friends or peer mentor for a quick tutorial). This year, we are entirely recreating Hall Council. From now on, Hall Council is Hall Senate. Senators will be able to represent their dorms (or off-campus communities) in large-scale SAS meetings once a month! These positions will be much more involved with SAS, RAs, and the Hall Directors and housing staff than in previous years, and we believe that the changes will give our new Hall Senators, and by extension each dorm, a much larger voice in decisions that affect our students. Our first BeHeard Forum of the year will take place Tuesday, Oct. 2 at 9:00 p.m., which coincides nicely with our Tuesday night snack courtesy of Malott! The topic of discussion will be how to get money for your events, and our general budgeting processes as presented by our co-treasurers. As always, if you have any questions, contact us at beheard@scrippscollege.edu. Until next time!

September 27, 2012 • The Scripps Voice • Volume XVI • Issue Two

Opinions & Editorials •3

The Scripps Voice Editors-in-Chief Rosemary McClure & Lauren Prince Advisor Sam Haynes Design Editors Lily Comba Aidan Harley Hannah Webster Copy Editors Megan Petersen Star Schneider Alexandra Vallas Web Assistant Jane Condon Business Manager Jasmine Kusumowidagdo Photo Editor Caroline Novit Staff Writers and Columnists Lily Foss Rachael Hamilton Rachel Hennessey Stephanie Huang Kehau Jai Elizabeth Lee Hannah Long Dagny Lu Caroline Nelson Kara Odum Stephanie Steinbrecher Abby Volkmann Staff Photographers Pink Chutrakul Stephanie Huang Tianna Sheih

Comments and letters can be sent to Scripps College The Scripps Voice, 1030 Columbia Ave, Box 892, Claremont, CA, 91711. You can also email The Scripps Voice at scrippsvoice@gmail.com or visit our website at voice.scrippscollege. edu. If you want to contribute to The Scripps Voice send your articles or photos to editor.scrippsvoice@ gmail.com. The Scripps Voice is a student forum and is not responsible for the opinions expressed in it.

Pandora’s

Box

Are you positive? I willed myself to calm the fuck down. No. No. No. This cannot be happening. I could hear my heart pounding in my chest as I lay contorted on my bed. I pushed my pelvis closer to my lamp, attempting to get a good look at the mysterious bump on my labia with a hand mirror. Please be an ingrown hair! I got on my laptop and Googled “herpes” (Safesearch: off). The image results ranged from horrifying, pus-filled blisters to benign-looking rashes resembling the irritation I get in my armpits from scented deodorant. If these are all herpes, I thought, what I have is definitely herpes. I found myself making a foxhole prayer. “God, if you exist, I promise I’ll never have sex again if you make this go away.” Some 20% of the U.S. population is infected with genital herpes, and a staggering 60% is infected with oral herpes. Usually, oral herpes (cold sores) is caused by Herpes simplex virus Type 1 and genital herpes by a slightly different strain of the virus, Type 2. Still, either strain can cause outbreaks almost anywhere on your body, including (oddly) the fingers and esophagus. Yikes. This research confirmed my fears. Considering my Number, it’s certain I’ve slept with someone who has herpes. Although I use condoms consistently, my record is far from perfect: there was the meathead one-night stand with the panda tattoo, the personal trainer whose expired condoms kept breaking, and of course my evil, misogynist, boundary-crossing ex-boyfriend. Even with perfect use, condoms only reduce the risk of transmission; they don’t eliminate it. My blister-like bump went away. Maybe it was an ingrown hair after all? But a month later I was woken up in the middle of the night by an intensely itchy rash on the inside of my thigh where my legs touch. I frantically repeated my Google search and found several images resembling this itchy patch of bumps on my tender skin. I panicked again. I have the herp! We young people are in major denial when it comes to herpes. We all know someone with genital herpes, yet the stigma endures. Herpes-infected individuals are marked as the contaminated and morally inferior “other.” On the unwritten but universally acknowledged “List of STDS You Really Don’t Want,” HIV usually takes the cake, but herpes outranks gonorrhea and syphilis definitively. There are no NBA players who are open about being infected with herpes. If you have herpes, it’s official: you have fucked way too many people. Unable to see a doctor for at least another week, I waited hopefully for the rash to go away. It got worse, and itchier, and I thought about it constantly as I tried to act normal. I caught up with a friend, who also happens to be the only person I know who is relatively open about having genital herpes. She was seriously bummed: she had slept with a new dude without telling him she had herpes, and

he found out from someone else—which led to a big fight. Any other day I might have scolded her a bit myself: “You are morally obligated to disclose your STD status to all your sexual partners!” But now, faced with the prospect of being held to such a standard myself, I empathized. “I hate being burnt,” she said. With proper treatment, herpes can be reduced to a minor annoyance. I have heard of long, happy relationships in which the herpes-positive member never infects their partner. Many individuals have only one or two outbreaks their entire lives. Above all, herpes is not life-threatening, doesn’t cause cancer, and won’t make you infertile. Yet its notoriety far exceeds that of the ubiquitous HPV. Yet as I sat there with one of my closest friends, who is acutely aware of these facts and sick of being treated like a fucking leper, I still couldn’t bring myself to say the words, “I think I have herpes, too.” The shame I felt ran deep: I am a dirty slut with a bleak future, I am being punished, and I don’t deserve love. I finally went to the doctor. To my surprise, the doctor took one look at my rash and said: “That is not herpes.” “But when I Googled it—” “Don’t Google your medical symptoms. That’s eczema.” She wrote me a prescription for a steroid cream and asked if I would like to be tested just in case. I opted for the blood test plus a routine STD screen, which I was due for. I didn’t feel relieved just yet— the blood test was the only way to be sure. Knowing the facts and my sexual history, I now found it hard to believe that I didn’t have herpes. Even if that rash wasn’t an outbreak, I know I have it. I must have it. I still felt like the universe was getting even with me. As a woman, herpes was the price I would have to pay for daring to express my sexuality. I accepted my bag of free condoms and left. The following Monday, I received a call from the doctor’s office. “Your tests came back negative for Herpes Type 1 and 2, HIV, and gonorrhea.” Hooray! But she didn’t hang up. “Also, you came back positive for Chlamydia.” Hold the phone! This was not an outcome I had anticipated. Ambushed by Chlamydia! Touché, world. All sexually active individuals are at risk for herpes. Therefore, all sexually-active individuals are at risk for the shame, stigma, and difficult conversations it entails. Using protection is only half of the solution. The other half is scrutinizing my role in the slut-shaming culture that makes life hell for infected individuals. I have resolved to stop using the words “slut” and “whore” to describe other women. I dipped my pinky toe into the experience of living with herpes. And while I know herpes is not the death sentence it’s made out to be, I did not want to jump in.

September 27, 2012 •The Scripps Voice •Volume XVI • Issue Two

4 • Opinions & Editorials

I Am Scrippsie, Hear Me Roar

Am a Bad Feminist? By Lily Foss ‘13 Feminist Columnist

photo | isthisfeminist.tumblr.com

here’s this Tumblr I really love called “Is This Feminist?” The author takes stock photos of women, describes what they are doing, and asks the question, “IS THIS FEMINIST?” Spoiler alert: the answer is almost always a satirical no. For example, the caption for this picture reads, “This woman is apologizing for using an offensive word in her youth. IS THIS FEMINIST? Absolutely not. Real feminists come out of the womb quoting bell hooks [sic—look her up], and come complete with a force field that keeps them from absorbing negative cultural ideas.” And that is why I’m a bad feminist. I try to be a feminist, I really do.

I have a “This Is What a Feminist Looks Like” t-shirt that I like to wear in public spaces to see if anyone rolls their eyes at me. I’ve also been trying to work up the courage to wear my Nana Florence’s rosary ring around my neck upside-down so it makes a female symbol, except I’m worried that might be offensive to religious people. See, that’s my problem. I sometimes don’t realize that things are offensive until I’ve already said or done them. My force field is broken! Like the woman in the graphic above, I have said my fair share of accidentally offensive things. When I was a senior in high school, I

claimed that the women’s liberation movement had “done nothing for me,” since my favorite things to do were knit and bake. Obviously that was ill-informed, since I also enjoy having an opinion and a job. I’ve been trying to atone for that comment for four years. But the dumb stuff didn’t stop at age eighteen. Last year as an RA, I impulsively sent out what I thought was a cute email that I later realized took religion a little too lightly. I apologized, of course, but I’m still worried that people think I’m some anti-religious zealot. A real feminist would never say these things. A real feminist knows exactly how to approach her white/

middle-class/hetero/cis/etc. privilege without seeming condescending or patronizing. A real feminist is born knowing her place in the cycle of oppression. Right? But as I said, I’m trying. I’m trying really hard to be a good feminist. It isn’t always easy—sometimes I still say stupid, ill-informed things. But when those come to my attention, I try to learn from them. And I think that’s part of what feminism is all about: learning about yourself and your place in an unfair, messed-up society, growing from that knowledge, and then helping others to learn and grow too. We all say some offensive things sometimes. We’re only human. And while it’s important to feel remorse when you say something that hurts someone, it would be even worse to apologize without trying to understand why that person was hurt. Because feminists aren’t born, no matter how many “This Is What a Feminist Looks Like” onesies I plan to put on my future kids. Feminists are made from experience, mistakes, wisdom, and passion. THIS is what a feminist’s column looks like.

Dorm Foodie Making the Most of your Meal Plan By Hannah Long, ‘15 Food Columnist

e’re almost a month into the first semester and this means that the workload is starting to pick up. It’s becoming harder to get enough sleep and I’m sure that many of you are already starting to get tired of dining hall food. I, too, miss my mom’s home-cooked meals, organic fruits and vegetables from my local farmer’s market, and my favorite local restaurants. Foods from the dining hall do, however, offer an abundance of choice, especially here at the 5Cs. This week, I’m sharing with you some of my favorite foods from across the five campuses. I hope that this is a helpful guide for any first-years overwhelmed by all of the choices and that it may even offer inspiration for some upperclassmen that are stuck in a dining hall rut. First, of course, is Scripps’ very own Malott Commons, where the most popular item has got to be the 6 p.m. chocolate chip cookies. Warm, gooey and melty, these cookies disappear fast, so be sure to time your dinner so you’re ready for dessert at 6. My other Scripps favorites are the freshly baked bread, grilled chicken, and smoothie bar at brunch. How-

Right: Dihanna Sorrentino takes her fork to her salad during dinner at McConnell Dining Hall. Below: Phobe Maddox, Vincent Dale, and Dylan Spellpflug munch on some finger foods at Frary Dining Hall. photos | Caroline Novit ‘14

ever, I think that Malott’s fruit options – pretty much just melon, apples and bananas - can get tiring. While other fruits may make an occasional (and celebrated) appearance, if you’re craving some truly seasonal treats I suggest checking out the Claremont Farmer’s Market (Sundays 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Village). My favorite area of Collins at CMC is the appetizer and snack table, which has a great selection of hummus, grilled vegetables, sliced meats, and freshly prepared salads, perfect for a light meal. The salad bar is also well stocked with freshly sliced veggies. If you’re looking for a delicious and substantial main course, however, I suggest heading over to Mudd’s Expo line. Every night you’ll find an interesting made-to-order option. My favorites are Wednesday’s Pasta Bar and the outrageously popular Muddgolian Wok on Thursday. Dessert is also a treat at Mudd, which has a great selection of ice cream and the best soft serve at the 5Cs. I’ll admit that I rarely eat at Frank, because it’s so far away, but Pomona’s closer dining hall Frary is a great place for brunch. I especially love the wide

selection of pancakes, with options such as banana, chocolate chip and blueberry. Also keep an eye out for Frary’s unexpected, one-time-only treats such as delicious caramel apples. Finally, Pitzer’s McConnell is my favorite of the dining halls. I absolutely love the salad bar, which has the freshest veggies at the 5Cs and a variety of toppings including feta, nuts, beans, and dried fruit. Pitzer’s Grill is also a great choice if you’re looking for a burger, sandwich, or quesadilla. Everything is made to order and you can specify toppings such as

September 27, 2012 •The Scripps Voice •Volume XVI • Issue Two

special sauce, grilled onions, or your choice of cheese. Finally, be sure to try Pitzer’s must-have Taco Tuesday and AM in the PM on Thursdays, because who doesn’t love breakfast for dinner? I hope that these suggestions help you navigate the Claremont food scene or at least encourage you to eat at a dining hall you’ve never tried before. And as the year progresses, my biggest advice to avoid dining hall boredom is to try new items whenever you can and to experiment with interesting and creative food combinations.

Opinions & Editorials •5

Tree Hugger GMO: Get Monsanto Out? Abby Volkmann ‘13 Staff Writer

ast week in Malott Dining Commons I overheard students passionately discussing the evils of genetically engineered food. Subsequently I considered my own perspective on the topic. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have been scientifically engineered in order to solve issues in food production. For instance, “RoundUp Ready” crops are resistant to glyphosate, an active component of RoundUp weed killer that inhibits a necessary enzyme in plants. This enzyme was chemically “swapped out” for a glyphosate-resistant one so farmers can treat their crops with glyphosate, killing the weeds without harming the crops. Golden Rice was engineered to increase vitamin A levels in plain rice. This GMO was produced due to widespread vitamin A deficiency in Asian countries, where rice is a dietary staple. In this case, by substituting some enzymes in rice for more useful ones found in other plants, scientists were able to improve the food’s nutritional value. A final example is Bt corn crops. Scientists inserted the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) gene into corn, which acts as a stomach poison by binding to cells in the intestinal lining

of insect larva. The Bt gene causes the larva to stop eating and die. Bt crops have gotten a bad reputation as toxic, but scientific studies show it is probably safe to humans and most other organisms. Insects are unique and rely on an alkaline digestive track—by contrast, humans have acidic digestive tracts—and the protein that Bt crops expresses activates only after being exposed to alkaline conditions. According to the FDA, 94 percent of all cotton, 93 percent of soybeans, and 88 percent of corn crops planted in the United States in 2012 were genetically engineered. This biotechnology may play an integral role in meeting the future demands of our growing global population, but apples that won’t turn brown, “enviropigs” who generate more environmentally friendly manure, and “fast-growing” salmon are a bit disturbing. However, the pressing issue is not necessarily your own personal stance

photo | Sarah Bush ‘14

Editors’ Rant Rosemary McClure ‘13 Lauren Prince ‘14 Editors-in-Chief

photo | Tianna Sheih ‘16

on genetically engineered food. It’s transparency from the companies that engineer our crops. There must be better regulations on the part of the government to ensure that we are able make informed decisions about the food we choose to eat. On November 6, Californians will have the opportunity to make this happen through Proposition 37, which could also influence the rest of America, much as California’s vehicle emissions standard prompted the strengthening of the federal standard. The proposition would require the labeling of foods with genetic modifications and also prohibit the advertising of such foods as “natural”. Proposition 37 seems to have support of California’s majority, with polls showing that roughly 65 percent of Californians support the measure. Hopefully this support will be rmanifest in the voting booth. Major corporations such as Monsanto (who own both Round-Up weed killer and patents for Round-Up resistant crops) are spending exorbitant amounts of money on campaigns against Proposition 37. The labeling will likely affect the companies’ sales in a major way, and since food companies aren’t likely to label GMO food products only in California, this change could be seen nationally. We deserve the information that allows us to make informed decisions about the food we buy. Hopefully we will see positive changes toward this in the foreseeable future with Proposition 37.

September 27 2012 •The Scripps Voice • Volume XVI • Issue Two

e don’t have anything to rant about because our staff is kicking ass and it’s the beginning of the year, so we aren’t burned out from staying up till 3 a.m. every day working on the newspaper quite yet. Instead we have wisdom to share. Have you heard of this new font called Comic Sans MS? Kidding! It’s about the reusable mugs. Have you been hoarding yours because you don’t want to lose the amazing flipfloppy piece that makes the lid watertight? Good news! It’s totally detatchable! Just pull it off, trade your mug out, and pop it back on a clean one.

What would you do without us?

Features •7

6• F e a t u r e s

Scripps vs. State: Do I See What UC?

Freshman Perspective:

The Expectation vs. the Reality of Scripps Life

Kehaulani Jai ’15 Staff Writer

o begin with, let’s establish a few things: first, this is simply a comparison between a private college and a public university. I’m not making a case for or against University of California schools as opposed to private colleges. In fact, I almost went to a to UC college myself. Also, you the reader are the judge here. I’m just the writer, trying not to succumb to bias despite my beautiful surroundings. With these thoughts in mind I interviewed two students at the University of California, Berkeley and a Scripps student, Juliana Canas (’16). From these students’ interviews, it becomes clear that this can’t simply be a superiority assessment of the “whose grass is greener?” sort (though if it were, our gorgeous grounds would undoubtedly take first prize). Indeed, Berkeley has its own unique character. Ian McGregor (’15) speaks of “a little creek” running through campus in addition to a few unique architectural features, drawing com-

parisons to East Coast universities. Likewise, to Vivian Nguyen (’16), Berkeley is “known as the poor man’s Ivy league school.” Yet Berkeley’s overall precinct contrasts starkly to the “picturesque” campus that Canas fondly describes. “Berkeley is urban. Very urban,” says Nguyen. McGregor recasts this urbanity in a different light: “it looks like they literally squeezed [Berkeley] into Oakland . . . I would definitely not choose this campus as an eyepleaser.” Another contrast is dining hall food. “It’s not that it’s bad,” says McGregor, “it’s that the prices at the on-campus cafés are just ridiculously high.” Nguyen doesn’t hesi-

tate to call Berkley food “pseudo food” any more than Canas does to call Scripps food “amazing.” Additionally, when asked how difficult it is to register for classes on a scale of one to ten (ten being extremely

photo | Pink Chutrakul ‘15

difficult), Canas says four, Nguyen says nine and McGregor goes off on a tangent: “If you’re smart, it’s pretty easy; if you’re dumb, it isn’t.” He never gave me a number. In the area of college preconceptions, Canas says she expected “a lot of parties” and “more boys in

class” but was surprised to find Scripps “so quiet.” According to McGregor, a more immediate party culture can be had at Berkeley: “Welcome Week is the week you go to frat parties . . . you thought partying happened in high school, but coming to college...(feel free to insert your favorite hyperbolic phrase here).” Nguyen, meanwhile, says, “A lot of people have to go to the hospital for alcohol poisoning, but it’s still fun. . . [Just] bring pepper spray [and] have common sense.” In the end, Canas says, “there’s no other college I would want to be at,” while Nguyen says, “I definitely like Berkeley so far.” Always the deep thinker, McGregor emphasizes the necessity of fitting his college’s culture, which he feels he doesn’t. Whether surrounded by fountains and gardens or protests and parties, “fitting in” ultimately depends on personal preference, finding your niche and embracing what ‘UC’ around you. Case closed.

cripps students were in for an unexpected surprise this summer when news of an error in financial aid reporting was discovered. President Lori Bettison-Varga was forced to send out an email bearing an unpleasant realization for the Scripps community. The message, issued on June 28, stated that “average cumulative loan debt for graduating students for approximately 10 years” had been underreported by Scripps to the Common Data Set. Scripps “voluntarily provide(s) statistics for use in higher education publications,” Bettison-Varga assured students, and Scripps still strives “to meet 100 percent of documented student need.” But although this spares the school the ridicule and shame endured by Claremont-McKenna College last year following their SAT score scandal, the backlash of such an error still has repercussions. First, Scripps

was forced to conduct an external review of the issue, as well as a “forensic accounting of our student loan statistics” under the guidance of O’Melveny & Myers LLP, according to the email. Forensic accounting is a branch of accounting dealing with any anticipated legal action, as could be expected from falsification of data. Beyond these procedural measures, however, Scripps’ claims of integrity could be threatened by these kinds of oversights if they continue. Students in attendance last year at Scripps will remember an even bigger discrepancy with Scripps’ ranking in U.S. News & World Report. Scripps was ranked 29 on the list of Liberal Arts Colleges, a sixplace drop from the previous year. The first factor in this decline was an underperformance in six-year graduation rates for the freshman class entering in 2004. The other, however, was an error in reporting the number of students who graduated in 2010 in the top 10 percent

good friends with fter a long year of aptwo girls rather than plications and susjust the one so it penseful waiting periods, worked out.” the freshly minted class of Other first-years 2016 are firmly established noticed discrepancies as the youngest members between their preof the Scripps community. conceptions and realThe wealth of infority. First-year Aidan mation provided by the Harley recalls that Scripps website, admiswhat she heard about sions office, campus tours, “socioeconomic and current students, informacultural diversity” is tion sessions, and regional not actually reflected welcome receptions paint on campus. a picture of what life could “I really feel that be as a Scripps student. But there are parts of are the notions freshmen Ariana Turner ‘16 evaluates the accuracy of the admission office publication. the Scripps commuhave developed a result of photo | Stephanie Steinbrecher ‘16 nity that were played these sources of information tunately mine is really small and has down by my tour guides and the adaccurate? “I decided on Scripps after a bunk bed. I didn’t even know there missions office. My roommates and I I experienced the Discover Scripps were such small rooms at Scripps. come from different places… yet we program. No other campus comLuckily I like my roommate and she have had almost identical cultural expared, in terms of how welcoming the is good with design!” periences,” she said. community was,” said first-year Kay Housing at Scripps surprised many The Scripps website declares that James. Like many prospective stufirst-years. “After seeing and hearing, the student body is composed of “28 about the wonderful housing, the idea of being in a triple was a little disappointing,” said first-year Ariana Turner. “I was surprised that I was placed in a triple just because a girl and I requested each other as roommates… but I ended up becoming

‘‘

No other campus compared, in terms of how welcoming the community was

Trouble in Paradise: Scripps Underreports Student Debt By Alexandra Vallas ‘15 Copy Editor

By Stephanie Steinbrecher ‘16 Staff Writer

‘‘ ‘‘

dents, James’ time at Scripps greatly influenced her and put Scripps at the top of her list. Since becoming a student, only one thing has changed her incredibly positive outlook about living at Scripps. “When I was on campus I saw a few large dorm rooms. They gave me high expectations,” James recalled. “Unfor-

photo | Caroline Novit ‘14

Sarah Olsen and Phoebe Maddox share a tattered ten dollar bill and cry as they are reminded of their immense student debt.

of their high school class. The college reported that 39 percent, rather than 70 percent, of students had graduated in this margin. This also affected the selectivity rating of Scripps, dropping from the coveted “most selective” to the lower “more selective” bracket. But Scripps students can rest assured that things are coming back together as the academic year begins. This year, Scripps is back to the top 25 liberal arts colleges, tied with Macalester College at the 24

My roommates and I come from different places… we have had almost identical cultural experiences

position. The Scripps community also currently is waiting to hear the outcome of the student debt review. Bettison-Varga offered her own words of reassurance in the email to the campus, saying, “We remain fully committed to our primary mission, which is to develop the intellect and talent of our students through a high-quality education.”

September 27, 2012 •The Scripps Voice •Volume XVI • Issue Two

Scripps freshmen cram for finals. photo | Caroline Novit ’14

tunately deceived after spending my first week here… almost everyone I know [goes] party-hopping and [is] dressed for the LA fashion scene,” she said. “I didn’t see any of that in the ‘small women’s liberal arts college’ brochures or on the website… my expectations may have been a little much, but the reality is just nowhere near what I expected.” While some first-years may be surprised by residential and social life, many feel that challenging academics

‘‘

The party scene is definitely not what I thought it would be given that Claremont is such a small, quiet town

by far exceeded expectations

have “by far exceeded expectations,” says Harley. After all, the learning experience is the primary reason many students choose Scripps. Rodriguez was enthused about the Art Conservation program, while James articulated her love for the supportive faculty and resources like the CP&R office. Firstyear Bethany Ho said she decided on Scripps because of the “small studentto-faculty ratio and the opportunity to minor in music in addition to having a science major.” Every Tuesday when first-years gather in Garrison Theater for Core I lecture, we are reminded of the main reason we are all here, and that is never disappointing. The transition to college life is rarely an easy situation. However, many upperclassmen will attest to the fact that everyone gets in the rhythm of college (and Scripps) life in time. The class of 2016 has been on campus for

‘‘

percent students of color” and boasts of the resources open to students of all ethnicities, cultures, religious, and sexual orientations and identities, but 28 percent is certainly not a majority and the lack of immediate diversity is detectable among first-years. Said Harley, “I hoped that coming to college I could perhaps meet women who could open my eyes to other experiences and give me some perspective. I’m sure I still can, but it seems they are simply a lot harder to find than the admissions brochures assured me they would be.” Similarly, first-year Abigail Rodriguez was initially surprised that student life that was very different from what she gathered it would be from information provided by Scripps. “The party scene is definitely not what I thought it would be given that Claremont is such a small quiet town,” Rodriguez said. “I felt unfor-

the idea of being in a triple was a little disappointing

less than a month, and it will not take long for students to find their respective niches. When asked what she would tell her high school senior self, James responded, “I would tell her to do her best and not to stress out, because an even better time is coming.” Despite misconceptions and unfulfilled expectations, few would contest the accuracy of this expectation.

September 27, 2012 •The Scripps Voice • Volume XVI •Issue Two

8 •Features

d r o

d n i F

official photo contest Been on our Facebook page recently? Submit a photo of the coolest thing you’ve done to decorate your room. If you win, your picture will become our new Facebook cover photo! Submit to scrippsvoice@gmail.com by Wednesday, Oct. 3.

How does your dorm decor compare? Send us a photo! photo | Nicole Zwiener

High-Stitched Voice

Fashion Bloggers: Vogue or Rogue? By Stephanie Huang ‘16 Fashion Columnist

SUDOKU TIME!

hile it might be easy to envy sometimes laughable, emails with conthe lives of bloggers through tent along the lines of “You send me free digital-SLR pictures taken by doting stuff?” boyfriend-photographers, the fact that It is not easy to discern righteous many bloggers have become walking bloggers from questionable ones, which advertisements and corrupt business- is why I hope that readers will be able women is hard to deny. As a personal- to at least have a sense of when they are style blogger myself, I can only say that being manipulated. Often, readers inthere are many among us who, unfortu- vest trust in bloggers, and look to them nately, don’t blog for the right reasons. for inspiration. “The fact that readers Before we delve are very impresinto the details, sionable to what I’ll explain the their favorite bloglogistics. After a gers have to say certain threshold is a huge reason of credibility is why if a blogger is reached, and blognot dedicated to gers have built fashion and [does both a reputation not have] a true and a sizable fan passion for blogbase, they begin to ging and inspirphotos | Stephanie Huang ing readers, they acquire business offers to collaborate for sponsored items should think twice about what they and even money to feature particular are really doing,” said Sanchez. brands in their posts. While this is a Obviously, there is not a clear angreat way for bloggers to introduce their swer to alleviate this problem, but readers to new brands and get inspired luckily readers still have the power to to style new items in their closet, some support the bloggers who deserve it. tend to take advantage of this practice. 17-year-old Jennifer Wang, blogger As 18-year-old blogger Gloria San- from “Art in Our Blood,” said that if chez said, “What has been bothering we want to see change in the blogomost in the blogosphere has been the sphere and on platforms like Lookdisconnection between bloggers and book “then the change has to start their followers—it’s not a secret that with you, and what looks you hype, there are bloggers out there who are and similarly, which blogs you will blatantly blogging for the whole reason support with your readership.” of gaining sponsors.” Having worked For more reflections on fashion before at a company that sponsored by Stephanie, check out her block bloggers, I can vouch for the number “High-Stitched Voice” at of bloggers who sent incoherent, and highstitchedvoice.blogspot.com

September 27, 2012 • The Scripps Voice • Volume XVI • Issue Two

arts & entertainment • 9

Restaurant Review: Union on Yale

Keep it Reel This Week’s Netflix Fix: “Brick”

By Priya Srivats ‘13 Contributing Writer

By Caroline Nelson ‘16 Film Columnist

or those of you with Netflix Watch Instantly and a desire to explore some more obscure titles, here are some great alternatives to homework (not that the Scripps Voice in any way advocates that kind of procrastination). Fascinating and flawed, Rian Johnson’s “Brick” is a cinematic achievement, a neo-noir that effectively captures the gritty energy of the genre as opposed to recycling and glossing over its stock tropes. The film’s labyrinthine plot centers around a teenage loner named Brendan (played by the remarkable Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his determination to bring to justice those responsible for his ex-girlfriend’s murder. His quest leads him through several circles of high school hell populated by vamps, thugs, and drug dealers. Despite its kudzu-like appearances, and the general incomprehensibility of the first half of the film, the plot is smart and tightly constructed. The film was made on a shoestring budget and edited by Johnson on his computer, but this isn’t terribly obvious and when it is, it’s part of the charm. The whole thing is at its strongest visually. Both the editing and sound design are exceptional. The compositions are inspired and the camera work is superb. Even many effects that run the risk of looking amateurish only add to the interest. “Brick” is grounded by a strong lead performance. Though Gordon-Levitt might seem like an odd choice for a modern take on a Bogart tough guy, he possesses a quiet intensity that makes him interesting even when his character seems like a classic noir somnambulist. All the

ince I’ve been back in Claremont, everyone and their mother has had something to say about the Village’s newest addition, Union on Yale. Owned by the same people as the ever-popular Back Ab-

reputation for amazing pizza, so we ordered two. The Bianca Pizza boasted black truffle cheese but was too rich for me and needed something fresh like spinach to temper the flavors. The Forest Floor pizza, which is pretty much my dream due to all of the wild mushrooms, could have been incredible, but the mushrooms were charred to a crisp! Definitely disappointing, as it probably would have been the winner had been burnt. Nevertheless, the pizza crusts were perfectly thin and definitely have the most potential out of any pizzas around. Roasted Winter Vegetables with Provencal Aioli were perfectly cooked and spiced, though the accompanying aioli was simply too strong; the mustardy flavors completely overpowered the vegetables. We found its flavor improved with the addition of a bit of olive oil.

bey, Union on Yale brings a young, modern vibe to the village with the inclusion of fire pits, delicious cocktails and even a bocce ball court! I headed over with two friends, where we were greeted with a packed restaurant. We waited by the fire pit and attempted to flag down a drinks menu. My Rosemary Lemon Drop was delicious and lethal—I was definitely feeling it halfway through! Once seated we went with the restaurant’s small plate theme and ordered several items to share. Union on Yale has quickly gained a

photo | Still from “Brick”

actors give believable natural performances, most notably Emilie de Ravin as the protagonist’s doomed love and Meagan Good as a cold, controlled vamp in the same class as Barbara Stanwyck. The one disappointing piece of acting comes from Nora Zehetner, who does not convey the edge or the sense of danger necessary for her femme fatale, the appropriately named Laura. The movie is darkly bizarre, with more than a hint of David Lynch among all the Wilder, Huston, and Polanksi. But unlike Lynch, the surreal takes such a backseat to the hard-boiled that those touches often hit a wrong note. A major problem with the film is the dialogue. Johnson deliberately had his teenagers speak in the language of pulp from the ‘20s and ‘30s. Though great things have been done with elevated or heavily stylized speech, in this case, it simply doesn’t work. Writers like Chandler and Hammett have dated so badly that they sound like parodies of themselves a good deal of the time. This means that any 21st century attempt to emulate their work is doomed to fail. That is not to say that the film continued on p. 10

photos | Priya Srivats

Chicken and fish are the only meats I eat, so I did not try the rabbit, pork and beef-stuffed agnolotti (a pasta similar to ravioli). But neither of my dinner partners were impressed with this dish. I really enjoyed the special, however: black cod with tomato salsa. Cod is becoming one of my favorite types of fish. This dish was moist and flaky, and the accompaniments were well suited. Bottom line: Union on Yale did not live up to the hype for me, but it was still very good. The overpowering aioli and burnt pizza signaled that the staff are still trying to work out the kinks, which is understandable for a new restaurant. I’ll definitely be back to give Union on Yale a second chance. I will be sure to fit in a round of bocce! For more food writing by Priya, check out her blog “Boy Meets Girl Meets Food” at: boymeetsgirlmeetsfood.wordpress.com

Dishes from top to bottom: Roasted Winter Vegetables with Provencal Aioli, Forest Floor Pizza, Agnolotti, and Black Cod with Tomato Salsa.

September 27, 2012 • The Scripps Voice • Volume XVI • Issue Two

10 • arts & entertainment

In Brief: KSPC and Pomona College’s Art After Hours By Caroline Novit ‘14 Photo Editor

id you know we have a college radio station? KSPC is the local student-run station, bringing you great music from all genres as well as talk radio segments and live interviews with upcoming artists. Getting involved with KSPC is just as easy photo | Caroline Novit ‘14 as listening to it. Go to KSPC. A crowd gathers for music and art at Pomona Museum of tronicist, and trumpeter. org and click on the ‘Volunteer’ a recent Art After Hours event. Art. Art After Hours Each week brings new enlink in the ‘About’ section, or just happens every Thursday evening at 5 p.m. in tertainment to Pomona, as go to their office in the basement of Thatcher front of the Pomona Art Museum. They fea- well as a great, relaxed enHall on Pomona’s South Campus between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Volunteers don’t just get to DJ ture a mix of live entertainment, KSPC DJs, vironment where you and either! You can write for the KSPC blog, man- guest speakers, and much more! This past week your friends can spend time. You can stream KSPC age sound systems, or bring your favorite local featured the Charles Gaines Ensemble, a collection of six noted musicians including a live online at KSPC.org, band to perform on campus! KSPC also cohosts a weekly event with the saxophonist, cellist, bassist, drummer, elec- or tune in at 88.7 FM!

New Motley Mission Statement Simpler, Explicitly Feminist By Julia Hughes ‘13 Motley Community Manager

s you may have noticed, either on our website or on our walls, the Motley has undergone a bit of an ideological makeover. Our new mission statement is the center point of this pivotal change. In the Spring of 2011, the manager team decided to critically analyze the standing mission statement, which read: The Motley Coffeehouse is a non-profit, non-partisan organization collectively run by students of Scripps College since 1974. In our business practices we seek to provide quality coffee beverages and food, using products that come from sustainable and socially responsible sources whenever possible. As an organization of students, we are committed to offering our resources and space to positively impact our community. Our feminisms identify the Motley as a safe alternative space which is open and welcoming to all, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation, class, or age. We actively challenge and question our community, ourselves, and the Motley, allowing for an ongoing process of empowering change.

Collectively, the team chose to embrace the political personality of our business, combining our practices with our ethos to articulate the true character of the Motley. Through this effort we developed a direct and succinct mission, more clearly exhibiting the character of the Coffeehouse. The Motley’s revamped Mission Statement is: 1. To be socially responsible business that explores diverse feminist critiques. 2. To connect the Claremont Colleges with local and global communities by perpetuating sustainable supply chains. 3. To foster independent thinking and purposeful change. Since the creation of the new mission statement, the manager teams have focused on incorporating these significant changes into our everyday practices, from product choices to events hosted. This fall, we have chosen to focus on our investment in exploring “diverse feminist critiques” within the local and global communities with which we interact. This will be a lens through which we funnel many of our larger semester projects, providing a point of cohesion and purpose for the coming months.

Keep it Reel: “Brick” continued from p. 9

lacks some good one-liners or great scenes, but much of the dialogue would have sounded silly coming from Sam Spade to a district attorney, let alone a kid to an assistant vice principle. It also makes it jarring when the characters switch into contemporary speak every now and again (for instance, a scene where the head drug dealer asks Brendan if he likes Tolkien). The high school setting is its next greatest flaw. Not only do the characters not talk like teenagers, they don’t act like them either. None of them seem to go to class and the entire school appears to deal drugs to the point where it is deeply surprising that any of the characters can read. Also, it

seems absurdly hard for one person to locate another, as if the campus were the size of L.A. The whole thing would make a great deal more sense if everyone were in their twenties. The other issue is that the story taking place in a high school seems like a waste of the setting. “Brick” is a great mystery, but one that could easily feature a private detective rather than a kid who eats lunch alone. Noir’s main themes are alienation, paranoia, and entrapment, so, in a word, all of the things that characterize the high school experience. One of Johnson’s mistakes is not making greater use of that connection.

September 27, 2012 • The Scripps Voice • Volume XVI • Issue Two

Student Life • 11 Date-Rape Drug Scare— Is “Don’t Get Raped” Enough? Dagny Xinyue Lu, ‘15 Staff Writer

campus safety alert was announced to the Scripps Community on Sept. 14 reporting on the possible presence of date-rape drugs on the 5C campus. The notification email, sent out by the Dean of Students Rebecca Lee, stated, “credible information was received by Pomona’s Dean of Students Office that the drug often referred to as the ‘date rape drug’ is possibly being sold on (Pomona’s) campus.” “This is the first time, during my two and a half years of service at the Claremont Colleges, that campus safety has been made aware of the alleged sale or use of this substance on campus,” said Shahram Ariane, director of Campus Safety. The type of date-rape drug sold on campus is suspected to be either Rohypnol or gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), both of which are prescription-strength sleeping aids that can induce amnesia and unconsciousness. An overdose of either type of drug puts the victim at risk; they can cause respiratory depression, cardiac arrest, and coma. Several precautionary measurements were outlined in the email to ensure a safer and more enjoyable weekend. Students were urged not to ac-

photo | Stephanie Huang ‘16

cept drinks from strangers, not to leave drinks unattended, and to seek medical attention when they or their friends “seem to be more intoxicated than what the amount of alcohol consumed would warrant.” The consequential concern regarding sexual assault to which the email subtly alluded was well-perceived by the student body. A group of students who were going out the evening the email was sent claimed to have received text messages from a common friend of theirs reminding them to “be safe and don’t get raped.” “I thought the text was funny because ‘don’t get raped’ just sounded so silly. It’s not something you would normally say,” said one of the students. Another student from the group expressed her concerns upon reading the text. “When I really thought about it, it actually gave me chills, just the thought that I might even actually get raped here, that there are legitimate rapists on this campus buying drugs to take sexual advantage of people.” Such disbelief towards sexual assault on the 5C campus seems to be common among students within the Scripps community. The prevalent emotions of surprise and disappointment come from one of two places: misperception of the past or misperception of the present. Emily Hampshire (‘15), vice president of It Ends Here, believes that it comes from the former. “Yes, we live in the Claremont ‘bubble’, but these things do happen here,” said Emily. “Sexual assault and other forms of interpersonal violence occur on a spectrum. While the use of a ‘date-rape drug’ is definitely at the extreme end, there are other forms

photo | Caroline Novit ‘14

of violence on the spectrum that we must acknowledge as well.” How should we address issues of sexual assault on campus? “Efforts to address sexual assault should be many-layered and community-wide. Both parties involved in assault situations need to be informed about consent—both how to ask for it and how to give it clearly. Many problematic situations can be prevented in the first place if both parties share an understanding about the role of healthy boundaries and consent.” For more information about It Ends Here, or to further engage in the dialogue of personal safety and sexual assault please contact Emily Hampshire, Lily Foss (‘13), or Anna Marburger (‘15).

Culinary Crisis— Bacteria and Food Poisoning Stephanie Huang, ‘16 Staff Writer

n Sept. 15, around 20 to 30 students from the Claremont Colleges reported signs of possible food poisoning or gastrointestinal illness, with the majority of cases stemming from Claremont McKenna College (CMC). Although there is a rumor circulating that the students’ symptoms are the result of the stomach flu, the majority of students believe that they were subject to food poisoning. Doctors have yet to confirm what the cause of the illness was, but many students with the illness had consumed a chicken avocado sandwich at Collins for lunch the day before. Symptoms of the illness included nausea, lack of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and a sore throat. “It was the worst night of my life. I was throwing up for eight hours straight; even when I took the tiniest sip of water, it would just come right back up,” said Stephen Spencer, (CMC ‘15). Many other students showed similar symptoms, including Jason Harrington

(CMC ’16) and Richard Harris (CMC ‘16). Harris’ roommate, Camilo Vilaseca (CMC ’16), contracted the illness around two to three days after Harrington. Vilaseca said, “I think it was probably food poisoning. I vomited Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, but it could have been a stomach bug because I got it after [Harris].” Many students believe that an outbreak like this will not happen again. “I’m so confident that the Student Health Services will spend a lot of time fixing [the problem] to make sure it doesn’t happen in the future—they are very competent,” said Harris. Photo| Stephanie Huang Poultry and beef are known to be the most common sources of food poisoning, along with leafy greens. To lower risks of food poisoning, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends keeping meat cooked to the required temperature and adequately washing vegetables.

September 27, 2012 • The Scripps Voice •Volume XVI• Issue Two

12 • Student Life

A Scripps Single Life at Pomona Megan Petersen, ‘15 Copy Editor

hristie Kweon welcomes guests with an offer to have a seat on her brand new, incredibly comfortable couch. The Scripps College sophomore has ample space in her new dorm—plenty of room for all her usual furniture plus the couch and a mini fridge—because she has her own room this year. But this luxury, not available to many sophomores, didn’t come without a price. Kweon and 22 other Scripps students landed single rooms this year by leaving Scripps altogether and moving to Pomona. For several years Scripps has had problems with what many call a “housing crunch.” The College’s 2007 Strategic Plan outlines plans for expanding the student body (currently just over 950) to 1,000 by 2017. The plan states that this can only happen if the student-faculty ratio and class size remain consistent and if endowment goes up, but the plan never specifically mentions new living spaces. Though a new dormitory is rumored to be in the planning stages, more first-years are living in “forced” doubles and triples (i.e. rooms designed for one or two people, but with an extra person squeezed in there), more upperclassmen are sharing living spaces, and there are precious few suites and single rooms available, often going to juniors and seniors with lower room draw numbers. And, now, there is spillover housing

available on the third floor of Smiley Dormitory, smack in the middle of Pomona’s campus. Though the third floor of Smiley is in some ways equipped specifically for Scripps students—they have their own Scripps Residential Advisor, for example—the dorm is still much different from what many Scripps students are used to. An average-looking Pomona dormitory, Smiley might be

when asked about living at Smiley, and Yakobe said she was sometimes unable to sleep on hot nights. Despite her discomfort, this is Yakobe’s second year living at Smiley. “It has a really cool dynamic,” she said, because it feels like a bunch of students living in one big suite rather than a floor full of singles. “I’ve made lots of Pomona friends and really broadened my social group,” Yakobe said. “It really brings you out of your bubble,” Kraus added. Both emphasized the convenience of being so close to Pomona’s Smith Campus Center, which holds the Coop Fountain and hosts parties such as Pub and various events photo | Caroline Novit ‘14 throughout the year. considered a far cry from Scripps stu- “I like the proximity to 5C social life,” dents’ home campus, which Forbes Yakobe said. ranked among the most beautiful in Kweon, who lives just down the the world in 2010. Additionally, Po- hall, also says she enjoys Smiley, but mona’s housing isn’t segregated by tries not to compare living at Pomogender, which one would think might na and living at Scripps. “Obviously bother Scripps students accustomed these are two different colleges. If to their women’s-only living space. you’re going to compare, you’re goBut Maxine Yakobe (’14) and Nata- ing to have to highlight the negatives sha Kraus (’15) were both more con- more than the positives.” cerned about living on the third floor Though she has to leave the dorm of a building without air conditioning early to make the trek up to her than the dorm’s aesthetics or the gen- morning Core III class, Kweon says ders of its residents. Heat was among Smiley doesn’t inconvenience Scripps the first things Kraus mentioned students as much as people might

think. “There’s this perception at Scripps and Pomona that this is the worst dorm” or that people who live at Smiley are “trying to detach from Scripps,” which she asserts is untrue. Kweon works at the Sallie Tiernan Field House and also has three classes at Scripps this semester, and said that she finds it convenient to spend time at Scripps between commitments, studying either in the Student Union or the Denison Library, and come back to Smiley at the end of the day. Many Pomona students interviewed didn’t have an opinion about Scripps taking over their living space. Antonela Miho, a Pomona sophomore who also lives in Smiley, was open to the idea of spillover students coming to her college. If another college needs extra living space, “we have it,” she said. But do they? Other Pomona students are not so welcoming. “She doesn’t even go here”—joked one Pomona sophomore, who asked that he remain anonymous, in reference to the movie “Mean Girls.” Frustrated at being offered deferred housing last fall, this student did not receive a housing assignment until three days before move-in this August. “Why is their housing secured, while mine was in the wind?” This is the second year Pomona has set aside rooms for overflow Scripps students, and, with no new dorm in the foreseeable future, the third floor of Smiley may be Scripps territory for several more years.

Reflections on life after studying abroad Megan Petersen, ‘15 Copy Editor

hen I was a little girl, I always wanted to travel. I played with globes, and I read lots of books, dreaming of the places and people inscribed on their surfaces. I tried to imagine traveling the world, traveling through time, being a grown-up, being somewhere else, wading through

text of my childhood dreams, until I’d studied abroad in Morocco. Travelling to a country as different from America as North Africa can be was terrifying, exhilarating, beautiful, and thoroughly confusing. There’s nothing that can prepare you for it. What does a serious (and seriously broke) student do when her blonde hair tags her as either a rich tourist or a flirty Westerner? ome 9185 Monte Vista Avenue c l e w What language does a e All ar Montclair, CA 91763 deist use to negotiate proselytizing by goodintentioned Muslim - Would you like to visit a congregation that has a dance and drum friends? What does circle? an American femi- Interested in exploring Earth-Based Spirituality as well as Radical nist say when people Hospitality? keep asking her why she shakes hands like - Would you like to join a Small Group Social Justice Ministry? a man? This summer, as I Monte Vista Unitarian Universalist Congregation is where this all hapwent to the other side pens all year long! of my little globe, I kept thinking back to Check out our web site: www.montevistauu.org (click on: Encounter for a my childhood, to the calendar that lists dates and times) dreams that I had of

MVUUC

time and through the words on the pages of my books or the countries of my globe, and it was all so desperately far; adulthood and world travel were destinations beyond the scope of my eight-year-old imagination. It had never occurred to me to think of myself this way, that is, in the con-

photo | Megan Petersen

traveling, of meeting people from foreign countries, of wanting to Save The World. Every so often now I step back and think about how far I’ve come, and what little-girl-me would say if I told her what her life would be like in ten, fifteen, twenty years. You will live in California someday. You will speak German and Arabic. You will know people all over America, all over the world. Your writing will be published, and people will like it. Things will be hard. Sometimes you’ll be very scared. But someday you will find yourself doing everything you ever hoped you could do, and you will have stories to tell.The world is as big as you want it to be, and soon you will be too.

• • • Volume XVI • Issue Two September 27, 2012 • The Scripps Voice