Amy Jayasuriya ’26, Carah Allen ’26, Ishita Jayadev ’26
Editor-in-Chief, Webmaster, Editor-in-Chief
After over a year with an unfilled SCORE director role, Scripps College hired Alesha Knox as the new Assistant Dean and Director of SCORE on June 18. Knox’s presence brought extended hours to SCORE, new events, and increased student workers, leading to overall renewed student interaction and interest in the space. Even with the renewed engagement, some CLORG leaders expressed tension over Knox’s proposed ideas, including renovations to and reallocations of the SCORE office space among the CLORGs.
Last year, Nick Daily, a consultant focusing on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training, served as a part-time consultant for SCORE and helped with student support and programming after Elba Mandujano and Marissiko Wheaton, the former Assistant Director and Director of SCORE, left their roles within weeks of each other in the Spring 2024 semester. During this time, there was extensive student discourse over the space as students thought about where they wanted the future of SCORE to go.
However, Knox reached out to students including Gabby Boles ’26, SCORE assistant office lead, over the summer to ensure that changes to SCORE aligned with their vision.
“I’ve loved how, since [Knox] started, students have begun to truly utilize the SCORE space again,” Boles said. “It feels so much more lively with all the additional student workers, extended hours, and the community!”
Obehe Akpengbe ’28, a co-head of Watu Weusi and current SCORE intern, added to this. “Seeing people laugh and hang out with others in this space is so nice, and I just want to see that continue.”
In the first month of being hired, Knox sought student input by relaunching the CLORG Council, which allowed CLORG leaders to meet with Knox to collaborate, share resources, and provide updates to one another. Along with a summer meeting, the CLORG Council has met once a month, in both August and September.
For the first meeting on July 16, Knox invited leaders from a majority of SCORE affinity CLORGs to discuss changes to the physical space of SCORE, including transforming the office space into more communal areas, such as a creative room, meeting spaces, and a shared pantry.
The current configuration of SCORE includes office spaces for AASU (Asian American Student Union), Café con Leche, Watu Weusi, and Family. The rest of the SCORE CLORGs, including Blend, Questbridge, and Scripps International Community (SIC), only have lockers available for storage.
Some CLORGs expressed concern about losing their office space, since the four CLORGs have had this physical space since SCORE was relocated to its current location in 2008. For those with lockers, however, a communal storage space would be an increase in physical space allotted to the CLORG.
However, other CLORGs, such as Watu Weusi, who have had office space in SCORE since 2008, have been more amenable to Knox’s proposed changes.
“My initial thought was, ‘Oh, we’re not gonna have an office anymore,’ and that was a little bit concerning at first. But then, [Knox] talked about how we’re combining our resources as clubs,” Akpengbe said.
Akpengbe did not associate the SCORE changes with an erasure of Watu Weusi, but rather a chance for the voices of the CLORG’s membership to be amplified within SCORE. Still, other CLORGs felt tension regarding losing their office space.
“Now that things are happening, I don’t think people want to take account for the fact that [SCORE] is better and the process doesn’t just happen overnight,” Akpengbe said. “I think that’s the frustration that’s carrying on from last year.”
Watu moved out of their office on Aug. 25. Family moved out of their office at the beginning of September. On Oct. 1, Café con Leche moved its things into the AASU office. However, as of Oct. 2, AASU has not moved out of their office.
“We hope we can work with Alesha to uphold SCORE’s student-run legacy and protect the only space dedicated to marginalized students,” said Kayla Mar ’27 and Kate King ’27, two AASU co-heads, in a combined statement to The Scripps Voice. “We believe that eliminating CLORG offices diminishes student autonomy by subjecting student organizing to administrative approval.”
Both students emphasized SCORE’s roots as a site of political struggle and student organizing. In the early 2000s, students founded SCORE as a temporary programming board with the original name, Students of Color Organizing Revolutions Everywhere. Mar and King foregrounded how students built resistance into the very foundation of SCORE as a space.
The SCORE revamp comes at a time of increased pressure to shut down DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs at college campuses across the country. Trump recently signed an executive order mandating that colleges receiving federal funding must end all DEI programs. Otherwise, they risk losing funding. At the 5Cs, the Equal Protection Project named the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship in a lawsuit because of its emphasis on uplifting underrepresented minority groups in academia.
Despite national disruption in DEI spaces and ongoing conversations on the future of SCORE, Boles hoped it would remain focused on the students.
“My hope for SCORE’s future is that it remains a student-centered space, specifically focused on existing as a resource for marginalized students,” Boles said. “I hope that SCORE is always able to continue to progress and evolve, while retaining its original identity.”
Knox has made repeated efforts to center student voices at SCORE.
“My priority is to rebuild clear systems, reliable support, and strong partnerships across campus,” said Knox in a statement to The Scripps Voice. “This means reestablishing trust, setting boundaries, and ensuring SCORE is a place where students feel seen, resourced, and celebrated. I am the facilitator of the space, not the focus; students are moving us forward.”
Since her hiring, Knox has worked to implement other changes throughout SCORE to benefit the desires of students, including increased access to SCORE and more student workers.
SCORE is now open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., allowing students to visit, work, and enjoy the space past the previous 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. working hours.
In addition to extended hours, Knox has more than doubled the number of student workers at SCORE.
“When I was a first-year (2022), there were 12-13 student interns … then when I was hired at SCORE sophomore year (2023), those positions were cut down to six,” Boles said.
In Fall 2024, SCORE did not hire any interns, only two office assistants. Two interns were hired in Spring 2024. This semester, there are currently 30 student workers at SCORE, including 10 interns and 20 office assistants.
“Now that Alesha has started, there are so many student workers … and the intern program feels much more collaborative, and there are so many more opportunities for student involvement in the space,” said Boles. “I think the biggest change is the increased control students now have over the changes in SCORE, as well as the autonomy the student interns have.”
While some CLORG leaders expressed satisfaction with Knox’s changes, they continue to advocate for changes to ensure the future of SCORE and to benefit their own affinity CLORGs.
Currently, SCORE CLORG expenses are paid by the delegated SAS CLORG budgets, with no outside help from SCORE.
“It would be great if we could have SCORE cover simple snacks, drinks, and even occasional catering,” Akpengbe said. “It might be a big ask but I think it would be so helpful considering our CLORG doesn’t receive a huge budget.”
Lu Nimmo ’26, a co-head of Blend, Family, and Café Con Leche, said she hoped more students beyond CLORG leaders would have swipe access to the physical space of SCORE, a change she felt optimistic about. Boles, who is also a co-head of Family and Blend, held similar hopes that SCORE would broaden the reach and impact of their CLORGs.
“My biggest want in terms of support from SCORE for the CLORGs I’m a part of is help in making sure the CLORGs reach is wider than just within SCORE,” said Boles. “I think it’s really important that affinity spaces have impact and influence outside of just the SCORE office.
CLORG leaders hope students will continue to make their issues heard.
“I think SCORE’s future is dependent on the people who utilize the space,” Nimmo said. “On the administration’s end, I hope the involvement and dedication in bettering SCORE continues. As for students, I foresee the space thriving given they vocalize their concerns, hopes, and visions for the space. If willing to engage in self-advocacy, the persistence of students will shape the space into what we envision.”
Photo Courtesy of France Walton ’26
