Scripps College Logo

Close

About Scripps
At a Glance
  • Assessment and Institutional Research
  • Annual Financial Reports
  • WASC Reaffirmation Process
History
  • College Timeline
  • History of the Presidency
  • Scripps College Traditions
Initiatives
  • Centennial (Strategic) Plan
  • Diversity
  • Sustainability
  • Centennial Celebration
Our Campus
  • Scripps Merchandise
Administration
  • President
  • Board of Trustees
  • Senior Leadership
Claremont Colleges
Admission & Aid
Apply
  • First-Year Applicants
  • Transfer Applicants
  • QuestBridge Applicants
  • International Applicants
  • Homeschool Applicants
  • Veteran Applicants
Dates and Deadlines
Financial Aid
Visit
Why Scripps College
  • Scripps College Facts
  • FAQs
Contact Us
Academic Experience
Faculty
Majors & Minors
Academic Resources
  • Clark Humanities Museum
  • Department of Natural Sciences
  • European Union Center
  • Humanities Institute
  • Intercollegiate Feminist Center
  • Library
  • Registrar
  • Scripps College Press
  • Williamson Gallery
Post-Bacc Program
Research
Study Abroad
Life & Community
New Students
Creating Community
Leadership Center
Residential Vibrancy
Student Services
Contact Us
CARE@SCRIPPS
Career Planning & Resources
Title IX
  • Inside Scripps
  • Alums
  • Families
  • Careers
  • Giving
  • Events
  • Directory
Scripps Logo
  • Inside Scripps
  • Alums
  • Families
  • Careers
  • |
  • Giving
  • Events
  • Directory
  • About Scripps
    • At a Glance
      • Assessment and Institutional Research
      • Annual Financial Reports
      • WASC Reaffirmation Process
    • History
      • College Timeline
      • History of the Presidency
      • Scripps College Traditions
    • Initiatives
      • Centennial (Strategic) Plan
      • Diversity
      • Sustainability
      • Centennial Celebration
    • Our Campus
      • Scripps Merchandise
    • Administration
      • President
      • Board of Trustees
      • Senior Leadership
    • Claremont Colleges
  • Admission & Aid
    • Apply
      • First-Year Applicants
      • Transfer Applicants
      • QuestBridge Applicants
      • International Applicants
      • Homeschool Applicants
      • Veteran Applicants
    • Dates and Deadlines
    • Financial Aid
    • Visit
    • Why Scripps College
      • Scripps College Facts
      • FAQs
    • Contact Us
  • Academic Experience
    • Faculty
    • Majors & Minors
    • Academic Resources
      • Clark Humanities Museum
      • Department of Natural Sciences
      • European Union Center
      • Humanities Institute
      • Intercollegiate Feminist Center
      • Library
      • Registrar
      • Scripps College Press
      • Williamson Gallery
    • Post-Bacc Program
    • Research
    • Study Abroad
  • Life & Community
    • New Students
    • Creating Community
    • Leadership Center
    • Residential Vibrancy
  • Student Services
    • Contact Us
    • CARE@SCRIPPS
    • Career Planning & Resources
    • Title IX
Close
Search Scripps College
Scripps College News Feature Stories Laspa Action Grants: Maya Espiritu ’16

Close

Section Menu

  • Home
  • Student Life
  • Faculty Scholarship
  • Alum Newsmakers
  • Scripps In the News
  • Campus Updates

November 25, 2015

Laspa Action Grants: Maya Espiritu ’16

  • Feature Stories

The Laspa Action Grants were established to provide opportunities for students to transform knowledge, passion, and ideas into action; demonstrate creative and effective problem solving; create partnership(s) in the public or private sector; and produce outcomes that make a positive impact.

Students partnered with faculty advisors to submit grant proposals, and the Laspa Center for Leadership steering committee, composed of students, faculty, staff, alumnae, and trustees, narrowed down the submissions to six finalists, and chose two grant recipients. Ultimately, all six proposals were funded through the generosity of trustees, staff, and friends of the College.

Documenting the Ongoing Effects of Agent Orange

By Julianne Fu ’16

Maya Espiritu '16 volunteering with children

More than 40 years after the fall of Saigon, the tragic consequences of war are still all too apparent in Vietnam. Maya Espiritu ’16 used her Laspa Action Grant this past summer to document the ongoing effects of Agent Orange, as well as other chemical weapons used during the Vietnam War, on today’s children in Vietnam. In collaboration with University of California, Irvine’s Southeast Asian Archive, Espiritu traveled to the Southeast Asian country, where she produced a series of photographs of the children she encountered there. Through her project, she hopes to bring public awareness to the lasting, drastic effects of chemical warfare on this youngest generation of Vietnamese.

“More explosives were dropped on Vietnam, a country two-thirds the size of California, than in all of World War II. Yet post-1975 discussions of the Vietnam War in the United States often skip over this devastating history. My research was set against this forgetting of the Vietnamese people,” says Espiritu.

Tumors, birth defects, rashes, and cancer are just a few of the health issues that have been caused by the release of between 72 and 100 million liters of toxic chemicals during the Vietnam War. A mere 85 grams of dioxin, a key component in Agent Orange, can kill a population of eight million. During the war, the U.S. sprayed 170 kilograms of dioxin over the mountains, plains, crops, forests, and water sources of Vietnam, affecting 3,851 communes and approximately 4.8 million citizens.

As part of her project, Espiritu conducted historical research at the War Remnants Museum in Saigon. She also volunteered at the Tu Du Peace Village, a rehabilitation center for orphaned children whose lives have been drastically impacted by the lasting effects of Agent Orange in the environment. There, she spent time with the children, reading, drawing, and playing sports, as well as assisting those with physical handicaps.

“While the children I met were not directly exposed to Agent Orange, they have been exposed to it either through tainted water sources or their afflicted parents,” explains Espiritu.

“Many of those exposed to Agent Orange have suffered from severe health issues such as liver cancer, liver metabolism disorder, cleft palate, club foot, muscle malformations, developmental disabilities, neural tube defects, and paralysis. For many of these children, living independently will most likely never be an option.”

Espiritu plans to use her research and photographs to present her interpretation of the children’s lives in the village via a digital archive or exhibition in collaboration with the Southeast Asian Archive. She wants to demonstrate how Agent Orange and other chemical weapons continue to affect the lives of children in Vietnam, but she hopes to highlight how these youths’ spirits thrive in spite of the challenges they face.

Tags

  • Laspa Center for Leadership
  • Newsroom
About Scripps Visit Campus Request Info
Scripps college logo
1030 Columbia Avenue
Claremont, CA 91711
(909) 621-8000
  • Campus Map
  • Virtual Tour
  • Diversity
  • Centennial Plan
  • Employment
  • Scripps Merchandise
  • Emergency
  • Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA)
  • Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF)

The Claremont Colleges.

© Scripps College | Accessibility | Nondiscrimination Statement | Privacy