After a year of discussions regarding the future of decorations at Scripps College’s Motley Coffeehouse, a new policy is currently being finalized by the Scripps administration, according to Motley co-head Laila Hannum SC ’26.
Hannum said the policy contains language dictating that anything posing a “legal risk” to the college will not be allowed on the walls of The Motley. When approved, the decorations policy will be the first of its kind at the coffeehouse.
“We found out that there wasn’t really a choice of whether or not to accept the policy, like we had to accept the policy to move forward,” Hannum said. “But I will say, there has been substantial work that has been put in over the past year into editing this policy.”
“We found out that there wasn’t really a choice of whether or not to accept the policy, like we had to accept the policy to move forward,” Motley co-head Laila Hannum SC ’26 said.
On Oct. 31, The Motley held a meeting open to all staff and three administrative representatives — Interim Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Stacey Miller, IDEA Initiative co-chair Denise Nelson Nash and IDEA graduate fellow Francesca Simmons — to clarify the policy.
According to Hannum, the administration did not specify what constitutes a “legal risk,” but many conversations in the Oct. 31 meeting centered around flags. The Scripps administration shut down the coffeehouse last fall following The Motley’s refusal to remove a Palestinian flag. The Motley reopened without decorations in Nov. 2024 after a month-long closure, and again with blank walls this fall while decoration negotiations continued.
“They did say that the Palestinian flag would be a legal risk,” Hannum said. “They said that the pride flag could be, but I believe the words they used were that ‘they would back us on it.’ And then when [we] asked about the trans flag, they said they ‘would have to get back to us on that.’”
Hannum has been at the forefront of negotiations with the Scripps administration, and runs The Motley’s Policy Writing Committee alongside two other managers. The committee meets bi-weekly and consists of 13 baristas and managers.
Hannum said she believes 13 versions of the decorations policy were negotiated back and forth between Motley staff and Scripps administration last year. This fall, the committee has not been able to make substantial changes to the decoration policy because “that was not necessarily an option this semester.”
Instead, Hannum said the committee had to ask themselves, “how do we want to move forward, given that these are the edits administration has told us we have to make?”
In an all-staff poll, Motley baristas voted against implementing a free speech wall, which, according to Hannum, was something initially proposed by the administration.
Hannum also spoke to the balance of voices represented in the most recent version of the decorations policy.
“I’d say 30% Motley language, 70% administrative language,” Hannum said. “And that is because of the fact that they [administration] think The Motley is a legal risk, and this policy, in their eyes, seeks to protect them.”
Zoe Isabelle SC ’29, new barista and member of the policy writing committee, said that joining the negotiation efforts was a personal decision.
“I came into Scripps and I started working at The Motley with an interest already in everything that was happening with The [Motley’s] shutdown and opening up again,” she said.
The policy writing committee’s main goal, according to Isabelle, was to preserve aspects of The Motley’s mission statement.
“That was a very central part of the conversation the entire time … how are we going to negotiate this policy in a way that feels true to what The Motley has always been?” Isabelle said. “I would say that everyone, including myself, has had a voice, and I think has been part of decisions that hopefully accommodate the needs and desires of as many people as possible.”
Even with blank walls, Hannum said The Motley is continuing to uphold its mission by hosting events, student groups, the “liberation library” and “the way our baristas carry themselves on the day-to-day.”
Without articulating specifics, Hannum said the 5C community can anticipate physical changes in The Motley once the decorations policy is passed.
“I will say that our team is talking about what we want decorations to look like once the policy is approved,” Hannum said.
While decorations were a focal point at the Oct. 31 meeting, Hannum said the administrative representatives brought up the possibility of restrictions extending to the events held at The Motley.
“There were conversations about the Trump administration and the way that that affects eyes being on Scripps College in terms of the OCR complaint,” Hannum said.
Scripps College is currently under investigation for antisemitism by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, and Hannum said the administration is aware that “increased eyes are on The Motley in terms of events.”
The Scripps administration declined to interview with TSL regarding this issue.
“Dr. Sha and Dr. Miller don’t have additional comments, but appreciate your interest and remain committed to working with students to foster welcoming spaces across campus,” Scripps Senior Communications Manager Emily Peters wrote in an email on the administration’s behalf.
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