Hi Everyone! I am Sam Clark, a junior at Scripps majoring in Psychology and double minoring in Music and Native American and Indigenous Studies. One of my favorite parts of Scripps is our long-acting traditions. In this blog post, I will cover my favorite traditions!
Matriculation/Denison Doors:
At Scripps, we have our own special collections library. The front main doors are really beautiful and ornate and are only opened twice a year. The first time is on the last day of orientation. All of the first-year students get together and line up to pass through the Denison Doors, followed by shaking hands with the President, Dean of Students, and other important people from the college. After this, the students sign their names in a book with the names of the Scripps students who have passed through these doors before them, and the students exit through the side doors. The second time they open is during graduation, the students enter through the side doors, and on their way down to Elm tree lawn for graduation, they exit through the front main doors. I love this tradition because it is so fitting for Scripps and really bookends your time at Scripps.
The First-Year Mugging
Another tradition that happens in your first year is that about a month into the semester. All the first years are invited to come to get a Scripps mug. Along with a mug, each student is given a welcome to the community letter from an Alumna. This tradition is so cute and honestly really brings together the two main communities of Scripps, current students, and alumnae. The letters are individualized and catered to each student, so it really feels like someone is talking to you and not just a generic welcome to the community.
Wednesday Afternoon Tea
Throughout the whole year in Seal Court, a main social hub on campus, on Wednesday afternoons, snacks and iced tea get set out for students and other community members of the Claremont Colleges to come to grab some food and tea. I really appreciate how a lot of the time, Wednesday tea is hosted by an office around campus or a student group on campus. For example, in the fall semester, we have a Wednesday tea that is focused on students who did summer research and showing the community the research they conducted. The Career Planning and Resources office has hosted an event to introduce students to networking; these are just a few examples.
Graffiti Wall
I have saved my favorite Scripps tradition for last! Every year the senior class nominates a design that represents what was going on in the world and with Scripps at that time to put onto the wall surrounding the rose garden. Once the design is picked, it is painted onto the wall, and each student signs their name next to it. This is my favorite tradition because I think it really brings the graduating class together but also connects all of the past graduating classes at Scripps because the best part of it is that it will never be painted over, and so the history of Scripps graduating classes is memorialized on the wall for all future Scripps students to see.
Hopefully, these traditions give you a little bit of an idea of what the Scripps community is and how we show that community. If you have other questions, please contact me at [email protected]. Good luck with your college search process!