Hey Scripps!

My name is Tori Sepand and I’m your Student Activities Chair. I send out your weekly “Weekend’s Here…” and “SAS Snack” emails with all of the pertinent information you need to know about what’s going on at Scripps and around the 5Cs.

As you all know, we recently moved to the Ventfull platform where you post all of your own events, see the programming you care about, and “upvote” the events you think are cool. I recently got some stats that show how great Ventfull is working at the 5Cs. There are 728 users, half of those are Scripps students (way to go, Scripps!), 202 events have been posted since school started, and the most popular event is SAS Snack with 77 upvotes. I strongly encourage to continue using the site and adding your events! Ventfull allows you to have ownership over how and when you share events with your peers. Play around with it and let me know your feedback or if I can answer any question for you.

Switching gears a bit, I wanted to mention our next BeHeard forum since I think it’s an important topic. On October 28th, the BeHeard forum will cover marginalization on campus. Marginalization and oppression occurs in varying forms on this campus and we want to hear how it might be affecting some students. As our community has discussed having an inclusive transgender policy this past month, students continued to mention that we needed to be looking at the topic from an intersectional lens. I think it’s important that we center many marginalized experiences so that SAS and the Scripps staff can better serve our student body. Join the discussion even if you don’t think you have anything to share because you might just learn something.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and please reach out if you ever have any questions about event planning, advertising, or SAS in general.

Sincerely,

Tori Sepand 

Student Representative Added to FEC Sub-committee

Anna Cechony, SAS’ faculty and staff relations chair, recognized the fact that there was a problem with communication between students and faculty members. This became most obvious to Anna last spring when issues regarding professors, class offerings, and designed major options were directed towards members of Senior Staff. Through SAS Orientation this past August, Anna became aware of the fact that all of these problems could and should be better addressed by the faculty, rather than Senior Staff.

The faculty at Scripps College are self-governed by an elected group of nine faculty members, including the Dean of Faculty known as the Faculty Executive Committee. This committee has a range of functions, including disgruntled faculty members, course offerings; self designed majors, and set the agendas for the faculty meetings. Anna became aware of the fact that FEC did not have a student representative, unlike many different committees of the college.

After a meeting with the chair of FEC, David Andrews, and another member of FEC, Kimberly Drake, Anna proposed new bylaws to FEC to include student representation on a subcommittee. The Academic Policy Sub-committee is composed of two members of the FEC with one designated as the chair and the registrar. The APS reviews changes to the curriculum and academic policy. These include new course proposals and changes to existing courses (e.g. descriptions, titles, pre-reqs), modifications to major requirements, and all other amendment to the Academic Catalog.

FEC recently approved Anna’s update to their bylaws to include a student representative on the APS. This position will now be part of the Faculty-Staff Relations Chair’s position, and SAS will soon be updating our bylaws to reflect this change.

We are excited that we were able to work with FEC to make them a more accessible, and increase student input in faculty matters. In addition, SAS is working to make FEC a more transparent governing body on campus by providing a description of FEC in the Student Union, along with a list of the 9 current FEC members.

If you have any questions or concerns about what APS will be addressing please reach out to our Faculty-Staff Relations Chair, Anna Cechony.

_______________________________________________________________________

In the September 18, 2014 edition of the Scripps Voice, the following was inaccurate:  Overcrowding Solutions and the New Dorm: Due to growing first-year crowds and last year’s complaints, President Bettison-Varga and staff are reassessing which rooms are suitable for doubles or triples. One problem lies in the fact that Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Hall (GJW) rooms cannot be converted from their original designations, due to a contract with the donor. 

Correction: President Bettison-Varga and members of her senior team have been considering the addition of a new residence hall for several years.  A new residence hall will both provide additional bed space and ensure that only those rooms built as doubles and triples are utilized as such. Information regarding the Gabrielle Jungles-Winkler Residence Hall, as well as the information provided regarding "a contract with the donor” was inaccurate.  

Trans-Inclusive Policy Discussion

• Educational Programming
• Support for a policy

SAS Rollover Money
Party Guest Pass Policy
LEED BeHeard Forum

Want to know more? Check out the meeting minutes. Remember that SAS Board meetings are open to the student body. Just email our secretary at least 48 hours in advance so we know you're coming!

Join us for a BeHeard forum on the LEED certification for the new residence hall on October 7th! During the 2012 - 2013 school year, there was concern about certification for the new residence hall. The following petition was passed to the Scripps community:

To the Board of Trustees of Scripps College:

I am writing to voice my concern about sustainability at Scripps, regarding in particular the new residence hall currently being designed. As a [student/parent/alumna] and a member of the Scripps community, I am proud of the college's current efforts to implement sustainable practices. My concern is that the new residence hall may not be LEED certified.

I understand your reservations about the extra expense of LEED certification and the flaws of LEED as a certification program. However, all cited figures have been based on an old building plan, and updated information about the actual cost of meeting LEED standards has not been forthcoming. Regardless, I believe that the benefits of LEED certification far outweigh the costs: a more sustainable building will reduce resource use and costs for decades to come, and certification will ensure that green elements of the building plans are retained throughout the construction process while demonstrating in a broadly understood manner the college's commitment to sustainability.

I am therefore petitioning the planning committee to make the new residence hall LEED certified at the Gold level. [If it is not, I pledge to withhold future contributions to Scripps in the hope that the college will recognize the importance I and other members of the Scripps community place on sustainability.] I urge you to create a LEED certification fund to which parents and alumnae can donate, and to which I will gladly contribute. I will notify my friends and my parents about this matter and urge them to take action as well.

Constructing a new residence hall is an investment in the future of Scripps College. I hope it will be one that reflects the college's values and sustainability policy: “using the best designs available that meet building-code-approved energy efficiency standards.”

Sustainability Chair Jessica Ng will be present to answer any questions and hear your thoughts. We want your input before the upcoming Board of Trustee's meeting. We look forward to continuing this conversation and hope to see  you there! Be sure to check out these other resources:

Sara's Scripps Voice article from October 2012 kicked everything off
Kara's Scripps Voice article from December 2012:
TSL article with good info from the panel
Lauren's Scripps Voice article from April 2013 where things left off
LEED website:
An article comparing the newest LEED version with previous versions, with both praise and critique
Sustainability at the 5Cs

Welcome back Scripps Associated Students! We hope your classes are off to a good start. Your SAS Board started off the year at orientation participating in QRC Ally training, diversity training, DIDA training, meeting with senior staff, and working to come up with goals for the 2014-2015 school year. The first BeHeard forum took place and we got some great feedback on other goals we can work on.

More BeHeard Forums where students can speak up about campus issues will occur throughout the semester. They are scheduled for the second Tuesday of every month at 8:30 PM. Topics may include, but are not limited to, consent culture, CP&R, mental health resources, and financial aid. BeHeard Forums are not limited to once a month and you are welcome to submit forum topics to SAS Vice President Sarah Chung. These are a great way for you and us to learn more about student opinions and concerns on campus.

One of the long-term goals we’ve discussed is how SAS and the SAS boards can work to shape and participate in conversations about creating a concrete transgender admissions policy at Scripps. SAS will hold a BeHeard Forum where you will have the opportunity to discuss this topic with us and ask questions. This BeHeard Forum will take place on September 23rd at 8:30 PM in the student union.

Some of our other goals for the year include discussing the accessibility of our campus, creating quarterly reports in order to communicate better with you all, having more meetings with senior staff, and attending SCORE events. If you are interested in knowing more about any of these or what else SAS is up to, remember that SAS meetings are open. We ask that you notify our secretary, Cherish Molezion, 48 hours ahead of time that you will attend.

If you want to talk directly with a SAS member, our contact information and office hours can be found on the SAS website. Talk to us if you have comments, concerns, or come ask us questions. We want to hear from you! For more information about what we have been up to be sure to check out our weekly meeting minutes on the SAS website and stay up to date with SAS sponsored events by liking our Facebook page. We look forward to a productive year and hearing from you!

Here’s more on being a SAS Senator from rising sophomores Rebecca Millberg and Jewels Tambone! 

“Coming into my first year at Scripps, I had never been a part of the student government at my high school and was not very interested in participating during college. However, during orientation I was inspired by the speech given by the then Scripps Associated Students (SAS) President and by other SAS members I met throughout the week. After these encounters, I decided that SAS was something I was interested in being a part of, but I didn’t want to take on too much too fast. I knew that a lot of first years were already planning on running for the one First Year Representative position, and so I decided to apply to be a hall senator instead by submitting a statement of intent to the SAS Vice President. One thing that drew me to being a hall senator was that it was the perfect way to try out SAS without taking on responsibilities that I wasn’t sure I wanted to have. Additionally, since there could be three senators from each dorm (and thus twenty-four senators total), I didn’t have to worry about running in an extremely competitive race. In fact, I ended up not having to campaign at all because only two people from my dorm, Toll Hall, decided to run!

“Once I was appointed, I got to begin meeting with the other senators and SAS members in order to learn more about SAS and plan programs for my dorm. I also got to sit on different SAS committees such as Diversity and Inclusivity, Speakers, and Sustainability. Through these experiences, I met a bunch of new people, got practice planning fun programs, and learned more about Scripps. All of this made me so interested in student government that I decided to run for a full SAS position in the spring, and thanks to all of the experience and connections I gained as a senator, I was elected as the 2014-2014 SAS Campus Activities Chair. “

-Rebecca Millberg

“Last year, I was a SAS Senator as well as part of the Large Events Committee, Speakers Committee, and Elections Committee, and this year, I am the 5C Events Chair on SAS as well as one of the two heads of the Large Events Committee. I highly recommend getting involved in SAS Senate; as a first year, you cannot be in student government so SAS Senate is a great way to still be a part of it. One thing I loved about SAS Senate was that it exposed me to both students at other schools as well as upperclassmen at Scripps, many of whom ended up being fantastic mentors to me throughout the year. Student government is a great way to have your voice heard and can lead to many interesting and important discussions. Another thing I loved about SAS Senate is that beyond planning bonding activities for your dorm, you get to be a part of several different committees, each run by a member of SAS. This year for Senate Committee, we brought in Steve Rosenfield and it was an incredible experience to be a part of his What I Be project. Also, I have always had a passion for event planning and got to experience it first hand as a part of the Large Events Committee where we planned several 5C parties and events throughout the year. My experience in this committee inspired me to run for 5C Event Chair. I would highly recommend running for SAS Senate-it was definitely one of the defining experiences of my first semester. If you have any questions about Senate or the Large Events Committee/student government in general, feel free to email me at [email protected]. Can't wait to meet you all in August!”

- Jewels Tambone

By Anna Cechony

The summer before your first year of college is stressful. It's hard to know what lies ahead and difficult to say goodbye to your life at home. Going into my first year was no different. I didn't feel like I had nearly enough information to go to college and be well prepared for it when I got there. So here are the 5 things I wish I knew before I got to school.

1. You don’t need that much stuff: Places like Bed, Bath and Beyond and Target are trying to sell you stuff. Believe me when I say that you don’t need a ton of command hooks, desk organizers and other room knick knacks. Last year I bought a lap desk at the beginning of the year even though I have never in my life used one. Unsurprisingly, when I was packing up to come home at the end of the year, I realized I hadn’t used it all year. So save your money if you aren’t sure you are going to need something, you can always get it once you’re at school, there will be plenty of free trips to Target!

2. If you haven't heard about it, no one has. By this I mean that if you haven't heard about something from Scripps that your friends at other schools have heard about, it’s okay. For example, you might not have heard about your roommate from Scripps yet, don't worry neither has anyone else. Scripps has a really great housing selection process; it just takes a little longer than it does at other schools. The class of 2017 (rising sophomores) found out about their roommates on August 7, 2013 so it may be a while yet. You also won’t sign up for classes until orientation, which is when you actually get on campus in August. Don’t worry this also is different from other schools, but no Scripps first year knows their classes already.

3. Go in with an open mind: The summer before college I watched Pitch Perfect too many times to count. Needless to say, I was terrified of having a roommate like Kimmy Jin who I didn't get along with. So when my roommate information finally did arrive, I was ecstatic. I immediately messaged them both on Facebook with the normal introductory information about me and awaited their response. When one finally did message back, all she said was "Hi I'm Sarah, I'm a Slytherin." and I burst into tears. I thought that she was going to be so weird and we weren't going to get along at all. But as the year went on we got closer and closer. If I had a migraine, she would get me water and medicine and some food if I missed a meal. If I fell asleep and my laundry was in the dryer, she would get it out and fold it for me. If I had a bad day and was going to bed sad, she would pass me some Oreos and let me talk about it. She is one of my favorite people I've met at Scripps and it was wonderful to be her roommate. So don't judge a book by its cover, and keep an open mind about all the people you are meeting.

4. Pack what you think you will wear. I did not follow this one very well when I moved to school. I thought that moving to SoCal meant it was going to be nice and sunny all the time, and that it would never get cold! Boy was I wrong. Claremont is in the desert, so while it is hot in the day, it cools down really fast at night. It’s hard to imagine packing long sleeve shirts when you look at the weather report and it says 110 degrees all week, but trust me, you are going to want some warm clothing. Also, you will have plenty of storage, but maybe not as much as you had at home. So when you are packing, pack everything you think you will need and then look and see how many things are similar to other things you packed. I promise you will not need both pairs of Ugg boots, or a ton of t shirts, but you might want an outfit to wear to a business casual event or to a party, so make sure there’s some variety.

 5. Stay Calm. No matter how much you know about Scripps before you get there, you will learn all there is to know as soon as you are actually there. Don’t get too worried about being prepared. If you’re reading this you are already in, and it will all be okay!