The SAS Bimonthly

As you all know, we recently moved to the Ventfull platform where you may post all of your own events, see the programming you care about and “upvote” the events you think are cool. I recently got some statistics that show how well Ventfull is working at the 5Cs. There are 728 users — half of whom 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 you all to continue using the site and adding your events!

Read More

Pivotal meeting for LEED certification for new residence hall to be held

By Jessica Ng '15
SAS Sustainability Chair

The Oct. 10 Board of Trustees meeting signals a turning point for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification of the new Scripps residence hall. Higher sustainability standards and certification will become increasingly difficult after the meeting if the Buildings and Grounds Committee advances construction plans and the Finance Committee approves a budget without those considerations. Scripps has the opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to sustainability through both construction and certification of the residence hall. However, the Board has been hesitant about LEED certification in past discussions, and student support will be crucial — though by no means a guarantee — to build and certify beyond the basic level of sustainability.
LEED is a green certification system with four tiers: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum, in ascending order. Despite criticism of its methods and effects, LEED remains a widely recognized marker of sustainable building; each of the other 5Cs has at least one LEED Silver or above certified building, and several California cities require new buildings to be built to Gold standards. As of fall 2012, the Board of Trustees planned to satisfy LEED Silver requirements comparable to California building code standards but did not plan to pursue certification.
Campus-wide discussion of LEED peaked two years ago and has since subsided as other issues occupied the attention of both students and the Board. In Oct. 2012, 91 percent of 230 student respondents to a SAS survey agreed or strongly agreed that “achieving LEED Silver, Gold, or Platinum certification for the new residence hall should be a priority for Scripps College.”
Nevertheless, the Board of Trustees did not commit to LEED certification at any level, nor did they commit to LEED Gold standards or above.
In response, students petitioned the Board to build to Gold standards, and SAS organized a panel in December with administrators, architects, and sustainability specialists. President Lori Bettison-Varga and former Treasurer Joanne Coville cited funding as the primary barrier to higher standards and certification. Through spring 2013, a student group sought to establish an endowment for sustainable building which could support higher LEED standards and certification. This effort ended over summer 2013 when contact with the Office of Institutional Advancement broke off.
At the time of the petition and panel, the building was estimated to cost $15 million; building and certifying to LEED Gold standards would add an estimated $0.5 million, and Platinum would add about $1.5 million. LEED specialists at the panel, however, contested these numbers, suggesting that actual costs would be significantly less. The planned building capacity has since been reduced, and members of the Sustainability Committee are acquiring updated information about building features and costs.As your Sustainability Chair, I am excited to reopen the conversation about LEED and to push for sustainability in the new residence hall. I urge you to learn about LEED at Scripps, starting with resources on the SAS website (sas.scrippscollege.edu); to contact your Board of Trustees representatives listed on the SAS website; and to join the discussion at a SAS BeHeard Forum on Tuesday, October 7 at 8:30 PM in the Student Union.

SAS Bimonthly

By Anna Cechony ‘17 & Jewels Tambone ‘17
Faculty/Staff Relations & 5C Events Chair

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 her last spring when issues regarding professors, class offerings and self-designed major options were directed towards members of the 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 the Senior Staff.
The faculty at Scripps College is 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, Professor David Andrews, and a member of FEC, Professor 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 its bylaws to reflect this change.
We are excited that we were able to work with FEC to make them 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 nine 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 at .


SAS Correction, BeHeard forum, Issue One

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.

The SAS Biweekly

By Alison Kibe ‘15
SAS Media Relations Chair

Welcome back, Scripps Associated Students! We hope your classes are off to a good start. Your SAS Board started off the year at Orientation by participating in Queer Resource Center (QRC) Ally training; diversity training; Disability, Illness, and Difference Alliance (DIDA) training, as well as by meeting with senior staff and by working to come up with goals for the 2014-15 school year. The first BeHeard forum took place, and we got some great feedback on other goals we can work on.

More BeHeard Forums in which 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 p.m. Topics may include, but are not limited to, consent culture, Career Planning & Resources, mental health resources and financial aid. BeHeard Forums are not limited to once a month, however, and you are welcome to submit forum topics to SAS Vice President Sarah Chung (). These are great ways for you and us to learn more about students’ opinions and concerns on campus.

One of the long-term goals we have 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 p.m. 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 if you choose to attend, notify our secretary, Cherish Molezion (CMolezio9528@scr), 48 hours ahead of time.

If you want to talk directly with a SAS member, our contact information and office hours can be found on the SAS website (sas.scrippscollege.edu). Talk to us if you have comments, concerns or 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!