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Scripps College’s decision to once again place student-athletes in off-campus housing for its winter training camps is a recent example of a lack of college support for student-athletes. Unless they include us in problem-solving conversations, keep us transparent, and start listening to us, the already declining number of Claremont-Mad-Scripps student-athletes There is a danger of reducing
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Scripps policy regarding accommodation for winter training camps for CMS athletes was consistent with that of Claremont McKenna College and Harvey Mudd College, all of whom stayed on campus . Student-athletes participating in winter sports such as swimming and diving, basketball, track, and water polo can train for several hours a day and prioritize rest and recovery time on par with their CMC and Mud teammates. I was.
But after the pandemic, Scripps has placed student-athletes in an off-campus oasis for its 2021 winter training camp. My 53 teammates were able to prioritize refueling and physical rest, but had to drive through Claremont Village to get home. We stayed there for a few hours between team members cooking, eating together and playing games together.
Team bonding is half the point of training camp. We missed it last year. Now, Oasis says that over the last two years he has been placed in a COVID-19 isolation facility, for a total of 20 days, with one of her team her members locked up in her room in a small studio with another student. provokes a different and disturbing response.
To prevent this from happening again and to advocate for an experience equivalent to that received by CMC and Mudd’s teammates, Scripps CMS swimmers and divers proactively sent an email to the Director of Residential Life and Student Affairs on November 17. I got in touch. Concerned that living in an oasis would undermine our ability to train, I closed the email by asking if living on campus as it was pre-pandemic was an option. The next day, I received a message that looked like an automated reply. It has been reviewed and is expected to be addressed in the near future. ”
Two weeks have passed. Then an Outlook notification popped up with the following sentence: yes! I knew I had a chance to stay on campus if I reached out in moderation. I read further that “Winter Housing is located in Oasis, one of the off-campus locations.” I felt ignored, unheard, and unworthy. Scripps decided we didn’t deserve a reply. Other than mentioning the 5C campus-wide blackout, there was no response as to why they placed us in Oasis this year.However, the outage was from January 2nd to January 4th. Limited to They are forced to stay off campus from December 28th until he January 12th. Scripps also has a backup generator that is used. Dec. 2, according to an email sent to faculty and staff. Harvey Mudd and he have the same blackouts as CMC, so why can’t Scripps keep us safe?
This lack of transparency became a theme in Scripps management during our interactions with Scripps. President Keane, when I met him during his office hours, he had no idea of the situation. Three of his Scripps Deans and ResLife then chatted with us via email, apparently not reading our questions enough, and claiming they had answered them in previous emails .
A timely response acknowledging our email with an empathetic “no”, explaining their rationale and offering to help us in other ways shows genuine support from Scripps. The closest we’ve received to sympathy is: However, I hope the above solution will be demonstrated [sic] It is our desire to support your success during training camp within the options available,” said Dr. Sha Bradley. Empathy should be: “We understand the difficulties this decision will pose for training, but we would like to meet with you to discuss the resources we can provide.”
Including us in the problem resolution process would have also shown support. CMS Athletic Director Erica Jasper provided her CMS van for transportation and she contacted Scripps Dean Sha Bradley on our behalf. Jasper encouraged Bradley to contact us early on. Dean Bradley didn’t. Instead, she sent an email starting with a list of six people she had been in contact with since she first received our concerns. It was a performance trait rather than a sign of effort.
We recognize that “safe housing” essentials are provided during winter training. A noise machine for roofs, water, electricity, Wi-Fi and now the sound of train horns blaring late at night. But our concerns are effectively invalidated when the Scripps administration shows no understanding of the difficulties life off campus poses. Training Spending his camp at Oasis is a challenge that only Scripps athletes have to deal with.
Negative treatment from the Scripps administration threatens to further reduce Scripps’ participation in the CMS team. In 2016-2017, CMS had 71 of his Scripps students on its roster. The number of student-athletes this season he has 51, down 28%. There are other factors, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, but whatever the exact cause, Scripps hasn’t done enough to strengthen its student and athlete community as it has in the past.
I am one of many Scripps Winter Student Athletes who feel Scripps is unheard of, underappreciated and unsupported. I’m not sure; President Keane’s desire to support her student-athletes seemed genuine in all her other interactions I had with her. She hosted a Halloween gathering for us at her house. But to truly support us, Scripps must listen to student-athletes and take their concerns seriously. Otherwise, we risk losing more representatives of women’s sports than ever before. This goes without saying how important it is for a women’s liberal arts college.
Scripps Feature article highlighted Scripps CMS’ experience with Scripps athletes in 2017, stating, “The connection they form with their teammates is one of the most important things they’ve learned from their college experience.” This applies to me as well, but my friendship with my teammates has nothing to do with the support Scripps received from his college.
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