Clara Ann Bagnoli ‘28 & Belen Yudess ‘25
Design Editor & Copy Editor
On April 4, Scripps Associated Students (SAS) Faculty & Staff relations chair Madyson Chung-Lee ʼ27 hosted a “brie-lliant” LGBTQ+ Faculty/Staff Student Mixer at the Motley to “feta-cilitate” conversation and camaraderie between queer Scripps students and staff.
When planning the event, Chung-Lee decided to partner with the Motley, Cheese Club, and Scripps’ queer affinity group Family in order to cultivate a safe and supportive space.
“I figured the Motley would be a good place to [hold the event] since it’s like the heart of campus and Cheese Club is one of the most important institutions on this campus and Family being an important affinity group,” Chung-Lee said.
Cheese Club member Raelyn Ponce ’27 stressed allyship being a driving reason for the club’s involvement in sponsoring the mixer.
“Everyone knows [cheese club] as it’s like a staple [on campus], so like why not be here to show support and be an ally,” she said.
Cheese Club more regularly serves as an informal gathering surrounding like minded cheese and charcuterie enthusiasts. Hosting one to two monthly meetings in Toll, they serve assorted Trader Joe’s snacks.
Chung-Lee explained the importance of creating opportunities for discussion amongst students, faculty, and staff since it can be challenging to find chances to socialize outside of structured time such as office hours.
“There is a gap to bridge with faculty, staff, and students,” she said. “I think that faculty and staff have been finding it harder to stay engaged with students so I’ve been trying to hold these mixers to get more people to interact with one another.”
Max Eastman, a staff member in the Career Planning and Resources office and Parent Engagement office who identifies as LGBTQ+, emphasized the impact of staff members being open with their identities.
“Especially working in a very student-facing office [it’s very important] for me to be as openly out as I can be so persons can know that I’m part of the community and that I’m a safe resource for them,” he said. “I am just very happy to be here and happy that these things exist on campus.”
An anonymous Family board member also highlighted the need for solidarity within the LGBTQ+ community on campus.
“There is not a ton of interaction between the queer side of things and faculty and it’s fun to get to know staff in non-formal, academic settings,” they said.
The board member noted that fostering these relationships and conversations among LGBTQ+ folks is critical in promoting inclusivity, especially since Scripps continues to advertise itself as solely a women’s college.
“Scripps policy on gender in admissions is pretty progressive but our status as a Women’s College and [not] using language like a Historically Women’s College is a little bit problematic,” the board member said. “A lot of other historically women’s [colleges] use the term to show that they don’t only accept people who identify strictly as women.”
On their admissions page, Scripps indicates that the college accepts applicants who either indicate their legal sex on the Common Application as female, or potential students who currently self-identify as women. There is no statement on the admissions page about applicants who identify as non-binary or transmasculine (transmasc), although there is a substantial presence of such students currently on campus.
This conversation reflects a more broad discussion on the validity of transmascs in spaces made for women and the history of gender fluidity within the lesbian community. Currently the official definition of lesbian is women who are sexually or romantically attracted exclusively to other women, or to sexual attraction or activity between women according to Oxford Dictionary.
In 2023, Johns Hopkins University sparked controversy over defining lesbian as “a non-man attracted to a non-man,” which some argued was centering men in a term meant specifically for women while others appreciated the inclusion of gender diversity. Naturally, the lesbian community is not a monolith, and only an individual themselves can truly define what they mean by the label and who that qualifies as someone they are attracted to.
Gender identity and sexuality are inherently intertwined although they do not mean the same thing. As Scripps has become an increasingly vocal and visible queer space, it would make sense for them to include gender diversity in this visibility, especially to support their students who have binary bending identities. Only with the collaboration of student and faculty voices from the community, can the college successfully address these concerns.
The event was the last faculty mixer hosted by SAS this academic year but Chung-Lee hoped that the tradition would continue in future semesters.
