Julia Parsa ’26
Staff Writer
On Sept. 24, Scripps students received news via email that their senior trip to Las Vegas had been rejected. Students had taken a Google poll to choose their trip location, with about 50% of the senior class voting for Las Vegas. Yet, the administration stated in the email that “such an excursion does not align with Scripps ideals.” The rejection confused and enraged a majority of seniors.
Each year the Scripps senior class has several options to choose from for their senior trip destination. This year there were four options: Santa Barbara, Huntington Beach, Palm Springs, and Las Vegas. It was detailed that the Las Vegas trip would most likely have been coordinated in conjunction with the senior classes of Pomona College and Claremont McKenna College.
Many seniors were drawn to this idea because of the opportunity to spend time with their friends from other campuses. One anonymous senior said, “I love that I would have the option to hang out with all of my friends across the 5Cs instead of just my class. The consortium creates these friendships across campuses and having a final trip would be a great send off.” When seniors received news of the rejection of Las Vegas, they were quick to voice their opinions via anonymous comments of protest on a Google document.
The document showcased only disdain for the Scripps administration. Students raised questions like, “what ARE the values of Scripps admin?” Some even called out the rejection as “hypocritical and sexist” and accused the administration of lacking faith in their students as grown adults.
“The administration has said they believe a trip to Las Vegas does not align with Scripps values. Las Vegas is a city like any other,” one senior wrote in the document. “I would hope the administration has enough faith in this senior class to believe us capable of acting appropriately and in a way which honors Scripps, no matter where we are.”
On Oct. 23, the senior class received a follow up email from class presidents Ishi Gupta ’23 and Elaine Yang ’23 that declared that the senior class will be going to Santa Barbara for their senior trip and addressed the Las Vegas trip controversy. The email stated, “after considering all costs, accessibility factors, and certain requirements, we have decided not to pursue Vegas,” and revealed that admin had expressed being open to approving Las Vegas, but revealed a list of reasons unrelated to their complaints that would hinder the senior trip and future graduation activities. These included an increased cost per person in comparison to other destinations, putting future constraints on the senior class event budget, the need for senior chaperones, exhaustive time constraints, and the possibility of other 5C senior classes changing destinations as well.
“We know this news might be really disappointing for some, but we tried our best to hear everyone’s opinions and consider all the possibilities in pursuing Vegas,” the co-presidents wrote to conclude the follow-up email. “We sincerely apologize for anyone who was looking forward to Vegas, but we wanted to be as transparent and honest with you all about the logistics of the senior trip.”
Despite this disappointment, some students also were glad to not go to Las Vegas, as they were concerned about the accessibility of the trip. “In all honesty, I’m kind of glad we’re not going to Vegas,” said an anonymous senior via text, “it is super inaccessible for people with sensory issues or mobility issues and it feels really ableist that those people were not thought about when they initially made the proposal to Scripps.”
Image Source: WNG.org
