Louisa Chiriboga ’29
Copy Editor
On Saturday Oct. 18, the Motley Coffeehouse was bustling with students eating cupcakes, playing trivia, and listening to a unique rendition of “Hamilton” as part of Ellen Browning Scripps’s birthday party.
Organized by Ella Strong Denison Library Summer 2025 interns Nicole Teh ’27 and Jannat Verma ’27, Denison Library and the Motley jointly hosted a birthday celebration for Scripps’s founder. “Nicole and Jannat spent several months [over the summer] working with [EBS-related] materials and were so excited to share what they learned with the rest of the [Scripps] community,” said Denison Library’s Administrative Assistant Mikayla Bubhe.
EBS was born on Oct. 18, 1836, in London, England. In 1856, she attended Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois — one of the few colleges to accept women at the time — where she studied science and mathematics. Along with co-founding the E.W. Scripps Newspaper Company with her brother, Edward Willis Scripps, EBS used the majority of her wealth for philanthropy in Southern California, funding the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, Scripps Research, Scripps Health, and, most notably, Scripps College itself. In 1926, she founded the historically women’s institution, one of the first of its kind on the West Coast, to provide women with an intellectual haven that valued both academic rigor and personal growth.
For EBS’s birthday, the Motley offered two themed drinks for attendees to choose from. The first option was the La Jolla drink, in honor of her philanthropy in the Southern Californian city. The La Jolla was a blueberry matcha with sea salt cold foam and a Biscoff cookie crumble. The second special beverage was called the James Mogg Scripps drink, a London fog with rose syrup named for EBS’s father, who inspired her career in journalism. Alongside the special drinks menu, the Motley and Denison offered cupcakes for students to indulge in during the celebration.
However, the highlight of the afternoon was the spirited trivia, moderated by Teh and Verma, which had multiple teams of four competing for free Motley drink cards and Smiski toys.
The trivia questions provided information on EBS’s life, such as her education at Knox College, where she received an unofficial certificate since women were largely excluded from higher education, and her appreciation for journalism due to her family’s involvement in the field. The trivia questions were also an interactive way to offer students insight into EBS’ motivations behind creating a historically women’s college. “I was happy that people came to trivia because we put a lot of thought into those questions and it included information we wanted to share with Scripps students,” Teh said.
A fan favorite trivia round of the afternoon was when teams had to determine whether a quotation should be attributed to EBS or another figure. One of the questions that generated the most laughter asked whether it was EBS or Canadian rapper Drake who said, “Say that you a lesbian, girl me too.”
After trivia, party attendees were treated to a performance of “Ellen Browning Scripps” to the tune of “Alexander Hamilton” from “Hamilton” by 5C a cappella group The 9th Street Hooligans.
“I knew when it was proposed that a lot of Scrippsies would like it,” said Venice Harrison ’29. “I was really excited to perform it. I knew it would be received well, but I was not expecting the Motley to be that packed.”
Clever lyrical substitutions like “In La Jolla, you can be a new woman” and “Ellen’s in the ocean now / See if you can spot her / Just another British immigrant comin’ up from the bottom” added to the cheerful, engaged atmosphere in the Motley that afternoon.
The celebration of Scripps’ founder connected students through fun cultural references, shared pride at its identity as a historically women’s college, and an understanding of EBS’ and Scripps’ larger, societal significance. “The paramount obligation of a college is to develop in its students the ability to think clearly and independently, and the ability to live confidently, courageously, and hopefully,” EBS wrote in 1926, according to a 2008 feature story posted on Scripps’ website.
“It was so exciting to see [Teh and Verma] carry forward their summer internship into something much, much more,” Buhbe said. “The event’s success was a [combination] of communal scaffolding and student passion.”
While easy to take for granted now, EBS was a revolutionary figure of her time, providing opportunities for those typically marginalized from academic spaces. “When we think of college founders, we often think of someone far away and distant, but [EBS] was a real person who did a lot of important things for women and people in general,” Harrison said. “She struggled, but she still held herself to a standard of doing good … I am really happy she is our founder.”
The gathering was a reminder of the enduring impact of a woman who envisioned an environment where students could explore, learn, and lead. Nearly two centuries later, EBS’s legacy continues to inspire.
Photo Courtesy of Louisa Chiriboga ’29
