Georgia Bates, Scripps 鈥�23听
While the emphasis of the fair was undoubtedly on how students at the 5Cs can incorporate sustainability into our personal wellness habits and daily consumption practices, Scripps鈥檚 own Dennison Library took another route by highlighting the rich history of social culture at the college. Exploring the resources at their booth made me aware of just how much has changed over the relatively short time that Scripps has existed. In our contemporary context, we deal with global discourses and create new traditions that previous generations of students could not have imagined.听
I was fascinated by the handbook of expectations for etiquette鈥攔eportedly circa 1950鈥攖hat the Dennison staff had kindly left out for perusal. 鈥淲E DRESS FOR DINNER鈥� proclaimed rule 6, outlining the expectations for dining hall attire. I can鈥檛 honestly say that making a fashion statement at meals is a relic of Scripps鈥檚 past, but the occasional sweatpants-and-hoodie wearer in me is relieved it鈥檚 no longer a mandate. Standing there in my tennis shoes and blue jean shorts, I was surprised (and amused) to find out that such attire would have been absolutely unacceptable just a handful of decades into Scripps鈥檚 past! Navigating the complicated rules for appropriate dress in the 50s felt like it must have warranted its own GE.听听
More closely related to the fair theme of sustainability, a guide to Scripps featured at the table gave a written tour of the landscaping choices around Browning Hall, which was completed in 1929 and has been host to nearly a century of revisions and additions as Scripps had evolved and grown. Can you identify all three Browning courtyards by name and landscaping theme? If the answer is no and you鈥檙e subsequently wondering why you would ever need to know this, just think of your future career on Jeopardy. You can thank me when you make back all your tuition money after successfully naming Turtle Court, Ma帽ana Court, and the Japanese Garden. Ma帽ana is planted entirely with cactus and native Californian plants which reflect the beauty and biodiversity of our local ecosystem. The guide, published in 2002, notes the then-recent creation of the student garden on the north side of Browning, where students have now been growing their own flowers, vegetables, and herbs for the past 20 years!听
While I could have spent all day browsing the awesome materials at the Dennison table, the excited ex-history major in me was eventually outpaced by my need for one of the delicious ice cream sandwiches offered up as a prize (side note: Cool Haus鈥檚 Tahitian Horchata Sammie was the other highlight of my Friday, #notsponsored #butishouldbe). If you didn鈥檛 get a chance to check it out, I highly encourage you pay Dennison a visit and explore more of what their archives have to offer.听