As co-5C event chairs of Scripps’ Associated Students (SAS), Alex Hamilton SC ’25 and Sarah Paper SC ’25 are on a mission to throw the event of the spring: Scripps Block Party.
In her second year as a co-chair, Hamilton has envisioned and executed Scripps College’s recent parties with the goal of subverting expectations of what a Scripps party looks like.
Last year Hamilton, orchestrated “Road to Apocalypse,” a Mad Max-themed party she described as “off-brand” from what people expect from a Scripps event.
Most recently, Paper coordinated “Tomorrowland,” Scripps’ first darty (daytime party) in years and c0-c00rdinated “Enchanted Forest” with Hamilton, a dreamy and eclectic formal dance held in Balch Auditorium.
“As we think and plan and design an event, I’m … trying to think about how that will contribute to the overall Scripps nightlife reputation,” Hamilton said.
Paper commented on Scripps’ reputation in comparison to the other colleges.
“Especially among students, a lot of people say it’s pretty boring compared to the other 5Cs,” Paper said.
When Hamilton left to study abroad last semester, Paper stepped up as co-event chair. The junior duo envision their party planning process as a way to bring 5C students together and bolster Scripps’ overall social scene.
SAS has faced much scrutiny for lack of safety measures in the aftermath of Scripps’ infamous 2022 Halloween Party stampede. Colloquially known to some students as “January Scripps,” a play on the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the SAS Halloween party devolved into chaos as a horde of students trampled the metal fencing and began taking fire extinguishers off the walls.
The wristbands distributed for the party were easily replicable and distributed several days before the event, which many students took advantage of.
“People were printing fake wristbands out, mass production style, distributing them in batches at the Hub,” Hamilton described.
When these fake wristbands began popping up on Halloween night, Campus Safety quickly caught on and began carefully examining each guest’s wristband as they entered. Tensions rose when guests became frustrated at the ensuing lengthy check-in process, leading to the storming of the fence.
Shortly after the eve of January Scripps, the then-SAS event chair, Trinity Walker SC ’24, stepped down from her position.
Hamilton underwent an unconventional hiring process to take on the vacant position. Instead of the traditional voting process, she interviewed with SAS directly and began her role mid-semester.
“That event is very, very much something I always go back to,” Hamilton said.
To plan fresh, lively events hosted by Scripps for all 5C campuses, Hamilton and Paper have to be creative and resourceful to plan an event that is exciting for students while still complying with administrative regulations and budget limitations.
“With the given regulations for anyone on campus, it’s really hard here for students to host events themselves,” Hamilton said. “They’re not allowed to throw a party with their friends in dorm rooms or courtyards if there are alcoholic beverages involved … We’re trying, in hosting our events, to provide that space, that amenity, on Scripps campus for the whole of the 5C community.”
The process of turning their vision for the block party into reality hasn’t been easy.
Contrary to popular assumption, Scripps is not a dry campus — a campus where alcohol consumption is prohibited. Scripps’ alcohol policy, however, is more stringent than that of Claremont McKenna and Harvey Mudd Colleges, which are both wet campuses and Pomona College, which is a partially wet campus.
Scripps’ policy restricts the use of SAS funding to procure alcohol for any events and prohibits students from serving alcohol in all scenarios, except for legal adults in small, private group settings.
To provide alcohol at their upcoming event, Hamilton and Paper planned two fundraisers in the preceding weeks: A Valentine’s Day event selling treats with little notes and a post-Wedding Party late-night snack where they sold Raising Cane’s to hungry partygoers.
When considering vendor options, Hamilton and Paper considered not only the price of alcohol but also the fixed costs of hiring a bartender and purchasing drinking cups and other paraphernalia. As a result, the pair prioritized affordable local restaurants in their search.
Initially, Hamilton and Paper’s goal was to find a local vendor to offer bartending service at a discounted rate in exchange for publicity from 5C students. After many rejected offers, they decided to collaborate with a Claremont Village staple: Walter’s Restaurant.
Walter’s is a storied Claremont eatery with many student-friendly amenities: bottomless brunch on the weekends, Thursday to Sunday happy hour with drinks and $3-5 appetizers and a nightlife scene that regularly runs until 2 a.m.
SAS’ partnership with Walter’s is mutually beneficial and is an opportunity for students to interact with local businesses.
“[Walter’s] took a bit of a decline in the amount of students and customers from 5C campuses because of [the pandemic],” Hamilton said. “After that, they’ve been doing everything they can to boost their reputation with students.”
In addition to alcoholic beverages catered by Walter’s, the Scripps Block Party has a host of fun amenities lined up.
Savage Tacos, a Black-owned Gourmet Food Truck service, will provide tacos free of charge to the first 75 attendees.
As for ambiance, popular campus DJs Chelsea Luo CM ’25 and Icey Cheng CM ’26, who DJed for events such as Club Claremont and the Desi Rave, will be running the show.
Co-event chairs Hamilton and Paper are excited to welcome the 5C community to the SAS Block Party on April 19 from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misattributed the “Tomorrowland” and “Enchanted Forest” parties to Alex Hamilton SC ’25; “Tomorrowland” was coordinated by Sarah Paper SC ’25 and “Enchanted Forest” was co-coordinated by Hamilton and Paper. TSL regrets this error.
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