Circuit 10

A PUBLICATION OF THE WHITMAN PIONEER

THECIRCUIT Women in Academia pg. 7

The Student Body pg. 10

Walla Walla Box Recipes pg. 20

Challenging Power on Campus pg. 33

10

S EDITOR’S LETTER

pring is without a doubt my favorite time of year. Maybe it’s just because I grew up in Salt Lake City, where you get to experience four seasons, or maybe it’s because I think that nothing good can come out of three-plus months of below freezing temperatures, but springtime is quite possibly the best time to be living.

Take a deep breath of air and what do you smell? For me, the spring signals new beginnings and a nod to the possibilities of the remainder of time left in this year.

As I set to graduate from Whitman in a few short months, I have a difficult time envisioning where I’ll find myself a year from now. Yet, I think that’s part of the beauty of spring in Walla Walla and what we’ve tried to do with The Circuit.

As an evolving staff, we have no idea what The Circuit will look like a year from now, but the excitement of what this issue can be lingers.

Ten issues ago, former Pioneer Editor-in-Chief Tricia Vanderbilt started The Circuit in hopes of allowing the staff of The Pioneer to express ourselves creatively in ways we can’t under the constraints of producing a weekly newspaper. I can proudly say that Tricia’s vision is more alive now than ever. Past pages of the The Circuit have held stories covering the wider community of Walla Walla, the history of Whitman itself and discussions regarding food. Nowadays, over at The Pioneer, you’ll notice a change to The Circuit. For the first time since spring 2012, we will be publishing this issue without a theme. When the staff of The Pioneer sat down to think about what we wanted to center this issue around, we found ourselves gravitating toward the idea of a blank slate. Much like spring is a time for new possibilities, we wanted to use this issue of The Circuit to write about the various interests we have as a staff—to use this issue as a starting point to document what widely interests the Whitman community. I believe allowing our staff the flexibility to choose their stories without the constraints of a theme ultimately results in a much stronger publication reflecting people’s interests and abilities.

In these pages you’ll find a reflection of what fascinates the staff of The Pioneer. Writer Andy Monserud and photographer Marra Clay discuss and document Whitman students’ obsession with the local Goodwill store, uncovering the stories behind beloved items such as a faux fur coat and a neon green windbreaker (page 20). Writer Anna Zheng profiles various members of the Whitman community on why they choose to be environmentally conscious, looking at why people are involved with the Divest Whitman Campaign and the local food movement. And writer Emma Dahl taps into her passion for astrophysics, reviewing Paul Bogard’s book, “The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light.”

In this issue, I hope that you’ll discover a slice of what excites Whitman students at this current moment. So please, kick back your feet, take a deep breath of spring air and enjoy.

Best, Shelly Le Editor-in-Chief editors@whitmanpioneer.com

EDITORIAL PRODUCTION Editor-in-Chief

Production Manager

Managing Editor

Production Associates

Shelly Le

Pam London

Editors

Hannah Bartman Molly Johanson Emily Lin-Jones Dylan Tull

Photography Editor Catie Bergman

Illustration Editor Luke Hampton

Web Editor Ben Schaefer

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Sean McNulty

Jess Faunt Marianne Kellogg Haley Larson Jesse Moneyhunn Abby Seethoff

Chief Copy Editor Karah Kemmerly

Copy Editors Natalie Berg Lauren Sewell Flora Sheppard

The Circuit is a publication of the Whitman Pioneer.

THE CIRCUIT

The Pioneer is an entirely student-run publication published under the auspices of the Associated Students of Whitman College. Questions and letters to the editor can be submitted to editors@ whitmanpioneer.com. All submissions must be attributed and may be edited for concision and fluency.

The Pioneer operates under the guidelines of its code of ethics, a document that is reviewed at least once per semester.

To access the complete code of ethics of The Pioneer, please visit whitmanpioneer.com/about. For information about subscriptions or advertising, please contact business@ whitmanpioneer.com.

From the top . . .

36“THE END OF NIGHT” GOODWILL LOVE 28 I N KED AT WHITMAN 23 WHY ARE YOU GREEN? 14 THE STUDENT BODY 10 WOMEN IN ACADEMIA 7

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Local Music Walla Walla musicians thrive in diverse local music scene

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n a small town like Walla Walla, it seems hard to imagine that a music community could flourish in diversity and style. This, however, is not the case. Walla Walla’s small community enhances dialogue between musicians and creates a close-knit group of creative minds supported by the local venues of wineries and town events.

“The thing about the music scene in Walla Walla is that there’s probably about 10 or 15 people that form bands,” said Whitman Music Assistant Phil Lynch, a member of Walla Walla band The Ruebens. “Those bands then go through changes, and there is this rotation of people through different bands.”

Similarly, Walla Walla citizen, manager of the car repair shop Melody Muffler and informal organizer of the Walla Walla music scene Mike “Melody Mike” Hammond watches these musical variations take shape.

“Bands quite frequently take a do-si-do. They come apart and interchange musicians and get a different flavor,” he said.

The venues for this supportive scene include Main Street Studios, Marcy’s and local wine tasting rooms, most notably Sapolil Cellars.

These sites offer two to three nights of live music for customers and provide a space for weekly open mic nights. Other places to play include Walla Walla tourist events, such as

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the Walla Walla Sweet Balloon Stampede or the Walla Walla Sidewalk Series during the summer. However, live music has not always been this available.

Local musician Robin Barrett, who is currently a part of the popular blues/ rock/classic R&B local band Coyote Kings, has been an active player in local music since 1970 and has stood witness to the fluctuating activity of live music in Walla Walla.

“Back in the ‘70s there was a lot more music on a nightly basis, and we used to play five to six nights a week.

That kind of ended in the 1980s, and in the 1990s it really died off. What really brought it back was the wine industry, and it’s really been over the last 20 years that music has gotten hot again,” he said.

The development of the wine industry has created an economic surplus and tourist attractions throughout the Walla Walla Valley, and this in turn revived the activity of the music and art scene. In the same way, the music industry is tied to the success of the wine industry.

“With the influx of the wineries you saw this real big growth in live music, and that peaked maybe a year ago,” said Lynch. “Since then it’s gone down about 50-60 percent from what it was, and I think that’s due to the economy.”

Despite this slight dip in activity, there are still wineries such as Sapol-

lil Cellars, which Barrett describes as “the live music center of Walla Walla,” that strive to commingle the musical community with the wine culture.

“The wine industry is a very exclusive culture, so a lot of times [patrons] want to be involved in something swankier, [but] our attitude has always been very inclusive. We want you to enjoy our wine and enjoy it in a culture that makes you happy, that takes you to a different place,” said Owner of Sapolil Cellars Abigail Schwerin.

This supportive attitude is shown in Scherwin’s philosophy when it comes to hiring and maintaining bands to play at Sapolil. Hosting musical acts attracts customers to her business, but Scherwin is also aware of the difficulties present for younger upand-coming musicians.

“I usually hire a musician anywhere between a month to three months in advance to come back, so they can get a following going,” she said.

Scherwin knows that she’s helping budding musicians out by offering them a steady gig. She’s also helping the local music scene by providing incentive to improve and explore one’s talents.

Contributing to the humble music culture are musical veterans like Gary Winston. Winston heads a band known as Gary Winston and the Real Deal, which has played all around the country and the world. The connec-

& Local Wine

by HANNAH BARTMAN & ADAM HEYMANN tion and communication available in a small town has allowed more veteran musicians, such as Winston, to help teach new musicians and keep the music culture alive.

“There are developing kids all over the place, so there’s new talent

always emerging because you have a talent pool that’s really giving and always supportive,” said Scherwin.

Another community group that promotes the love of music for youth is the Walla Walla Blues Society.

Founded in the early 1990s, the Wal-

la Walla Blues Society strives to keep blues music alive in the community.

One way in which they promote this goal is through their program Instruments for Kids. The program collects old instruments and provides them

“When you’re playing, and it’s sounding good and feeling good, and the crowd’s cheering you on, and you’re in the groove, in the pocket, it’s a high of it’s own.”

Whitman Music Assistant & Member of The Ruebens Phil Lynch

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to kids who would not otherwise have access to musical instruction.

The society also hosts a program called Blues in the Schools. Hammond and Lynch explain that in this program they go to local elementary schools and play samples of blues music at an assembly. This exposes kids to what Lynch describes is a “lost art form” and provides them with an art to which they otherwise might not have been exposed.

“I’m thankful that I was exposed to [the blues] because it’s meant a lot to me, and it’s been a key element in my life,” said Lynch. “It’s like a lot of art. You throw it out there, and to 90 percent it won’t matter, but to 10 percent it will, and I want to search out and pursue [that 10 percent].”

Given the venues and the general society of musicians who are involved in the live music scene, blues, rock, jazz and similar genres seem to compose the norm. There are, of course, exceptions to this, and various outliers are contained in the mix.

“I think what’s interesting about Walla Walla is there’s a different culture for every kind of music experience you want to have,” said Scherwin.

According to Lynch, this diversity does not bring along with it a lack of musical talent. This talent is especially noticeable here at Whitman College.

“What is interesting is that some of the musicians you have here in Walla Walla and here at Whitman are as good as in places like New Orleans,” said Lynch. “But the thing is, the best musicians are here at Whitman, and that’s a fact.”

Hammond also notes that many of the musicians in town are not professional musicians and must support themselves at a regular day job. Their motivation, according to Hammond, is the love of music.

“When you’re playing, and it’s sounding good and feeling good, and the crowd’s cheering you on, and you’re in the groove in the pocket, it’s a high of its own,” said Lynch.

“The music spreads itself.”

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6 | THECIRCUIT

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WHITMAN WOMEN

in Academia

By Josephine Adamski and Helen Angell

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n the 2013-2014 academic year, 45 percent of the Whitman faculty are female, but women make up only 36 percent of Whitman’s tenured professors. The first female professor to achieve tenure was an astronomy professor in 1972. The number of female tenured professors has grown steadily since the ‘70s but has stagnated at 36 percent for the last three years. Fifty-nine percent of current tenure-track faculty at Whitman are women.

Being a woman in academia is no longer an unusual feat. But female-identified professors are still a minority at Whitman. The Pioneer spoke to three female professors at Whitman about their experiences in academia.

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Assistant Professor of Rhetoric Heather Hayes talked about the differences between male and female professors that she has observed within her work sphere.

P: Why do you think it is important for women to support women?

HH: I think that anyone who faces a power differential—in this case, women—you need a network of other women, particularly who are more senior than you and more junior than you to have conversations. I haven’t personally experienced harassment, but looking back, there have been some things in my career that have just been weird. Now compared to some stories women have, that’s nothing. But if we don’t have conversations about [harassment], it becomes harder to navigate. This could be as simple as asking other

women how to dress for a certain presentation.

P: How do you see that play out in the classroom?

HH: For example, I’m teaching two classes right now. Weapons of the State, a topic that would be traditionally thought of as more masculine, and a hip hop class.

My Weapons of the State class is 85 percent male and my hip hop class is 85 percent female. Now that just could be by chance, but the dynamics of those classes are different. Watching the fewer women in the weapons class, and watching them when they speak— it’s different. What they face is very different in the class with all men. It’s challenging when you are a women, and you feel like there are not as many other women in a professional or academic setting.

Assistant Professor of Biology Leena Knight spoke to the importance of mentorship and how belonging to a minority group influenced her. Her father is from Ahmedabad and her mother is from Surat, both of which are large cities in the state of Gujarat in western India.

P: How do you feel about your experiences that lead you here, specifically your family dynamic?

LK: My mother really set a unique example for us. She was the breadwinner of the family. Both my parents were adamant we should have some security and dependence and a wherewithal so we could depend on ourselves. That being said, they did struggle to raise their children as independent. They still wanted us to have an arranged marriage and be traditional. We can’t commit to the tradition of the male as breadwinner and the female as some sort of subordinate. It was hard for us to figure out for ourselves what we wanted—they had such contradictory hopes for us. But they always wanted us to succeed.

P: Can you speak to your mentorship during what you mentioned was an instrumental undergraduate research experience?

LK: I owe a lot of to my mentor, [Robert Malchow at the University of Illinois at Chicago,] who equally supported everybody. [To] everyone

who had interest and committed themselves to the lab, he equally committed himself. He trained me in some of the most difficult techniques in neuroscience and not once ever doubted my ability. I don’t think early on I was very conscious of gender or even race playing a role in my ability to succeed or to not. I’ve become more aware of my gender and ethnicity.

P: What eventually triggered that awareness of your identity?

LK: Well, certainly representation.

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How many of those students were not white? Questions like that become more compelling when there are obvious differences to the answers.

When you’re in it, you can’t see it— it’s not until you’re at a place that you can reflect when you realize that it could have a much bigger impact than you thought.

P: So do you think these things ended up hindering your success or experiences in any way?

LK: In the sciences we have had implements that are trying to create a balance and to support women and minorities in the sciences. That’s not a hinder, that’s a support. But ... your presence is constantly questioned.

P: How did you end up perceiving yourself as you went higher and higher in your education?

LK: I have never checked minority status—I have never checked that box. But it doesn’t matter if you are being perceived as a minority person; there is a silent set of prejudices. Those worked against me. People saw me as being there not because I deserved to, but because I was satisfying the “I’m not white” check box. It didn’t matter that I had all those exceptional experiences and was published and already had done amazing research and such. You are working against all those preconceived notions.

Associate Professor of Sociology Helen Kim discussed how her experience as a Whitman professor has been influenced by gender.

P: How do you feel your role as a professor has been gendered?

HK: Women are asked to do more service-oriented roles and play a more hands-on student advisory role and that takes up a lot time. I underestimated how people would want my time. Students tend to go to female faculty in an expectation that they will be there for them all the time, and that the interactions will be different.

P: So like a motherly figure.

HK: Yes ... and those expectations aren’t there for men. That bleeds into the classroom in terms of how female faculty act compared to male faculty. So I try to do things in a way where I’m more comfortable saying no.

P: How do you feel like you have experienced this difference? Has it placed you at a disadvantage?

HK: I’ve experienced this with the birth of my kids, going back to work, going back to teaching and telling students that their papers will get back later than usual because, well, I just had a baby. Most students have been very under-

standing, but there are, especially with the birth of my first child, comments from students, such as “She is using having a baby as an excuse.” Those are not nice. And those comments are tied to gender.

P: How do those things play out in the faculty, as a whole?

HK: Within the faculty there are ways in which—and there is data [on this topic]—once women get tenure, their service commitments tend to go up compared to men. So we ask, do [women] say “yes” more, are they asked to do more? And men tend to do proportionally less after tenure, and they have more time to devote to research and teaching and other commitments. That I haven’t experienced personally, but others have. Then there are cases where men are challenging women’s legitimacy [as professors] because they are women. There are female faculty members who exist where that is a very sad fact of their departmental life.

P: What accomplishments have you achieved that you are proud of?

HK: I think that my answer is gendered, but I think my family, my marriage and my two kids. Professionally, the best thing that happens to me as a college professor is when someone leaves Whitman and comes back to you. It’s really wonderful when students return to you, and you can continue your relationship in a different way, but you can talk about the positive impacts that you have had on them ... my accomplishments are really about the relationships you have created with people.

P: Is that also gendered?

HK: I think so, yes.

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The Student Body Photography by Marra Clay

W

hitman is active—this isn’t a secret. With my fresh first-year perspective, I still meander around campus, jaw dropped in awe of both the

Emma Altman: Sophomore “I dance because it allows me to use my body to tell a story ... You can’t just do the steps and hope you’ve conveyed your emotion to the audience. You have to think about how every fiber in your body can move and work together to present a unified and clear picture, image or emotion. It’s really powerful when you come offstage and you feel so empty because you’ve left all your emotional capability there.”

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physical and intellectual talents of my peers. From the soccer player who is a potter in her free time to the BBMB major who has a passion for singing, the students at Whitman College both take on many activities and fully submerge themselves in those, flirting with being involved to the point

their activities define them as people. Trying to branch out of my first-year bubble, I worked with students of a variety of disciplines, asking them how they felt they were connected to what they do. Using a photo editing program, I then overlaid photos that represent their activities, showing the connectivity between the Whitman College student body and the passion that stands behind their actions.

Riley Mehring: First-year “I am generally inspired by a picture that I see, and then my take on it generally includes a lot more color than is there naturally ... When I paint, I feel like I am going away from preconceptions.�

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Nic Win: Junior “Why do [I] swim? Because it’s like a drug and I love the competitive yet eccentric culture that surrounds the sport. My intensity, focus and immaturity are all derived from [swimming].”

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Godwin Peck: First-year “I started climbing because it’s a physical and mental challenge — it’s a puzzle and also a strenuous physical activity. Although I just started, I’ve gotten a lot stronger and more technical, and it’s kind of addicting now. The more I see myself improve, the more fun it is because there are more opportunities.”

Jack Bynum: First-year “For my ultra endurance adventures, my body is the capacity to carry my soul out into the woods. It’s the thing that shows me pain and allows my mind to get over pain. Feet are, for me, the most basic of walking barefoot through woods, serving as the sixth sense that allows me to feel what’s under me more intimately.”

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WHY ARE YOU

by ANNA ZHENG

GREEN Whitman community members reflect on how environmentalism touches their lives

Roger Edens, Bon Appétit general manager

B

on Appétit has long endorsed sustainability and environmentally friendly choices in food service at Whitman College. For the company, supporting the local economy by purchasing food from smallto medium-sized farmers around the area has many benefits.

According to Bon Appétit general manager Roger Edens, who has worked for the company since 1992, the transportation of food affects the climate in the environment. A few years ago, the company decided to eliminate food service trays in the dining halls to promote smaller portion sizes, while also conserving water.

“Food contributes a huge amount to climate change, so the opportunity to reduce that is a great thing,” said Edens. “[Bon Appétit does] various things, [such as] trying to keep portion sizes in check [to] eliminate [food] waste.”

When purchasing food, Bon Appétit considers transportation and its affect on the environment. Bon Appétit’s decision to purchase seafood only frozen at sea is both the more sustainable and healthier option—the quality of the food tends to be fresher.

“Any time you put anything on a plane, carbon is coming out every-

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where,” said Edens.

“As a company, we decided we’re not going to do that [for seafood].”

Bon Appétit’s ability to make these “green” choices comes down to its philosophy of partaking in socially and environmentally responsible practices.

“We do try to buy as much as we can within 150 miles, and that’s what our definition of what local is as compared to 300-500 miles,” said Edens.

Edens said that Bon Appétit tries to buy as much as it can from small- to medium-sized farms as a way to contribute to the local economy. Bon Appétit has been working with a group of local wheat farmers for the past 10 years who practice the no-till technique, a farming technique that doesn’t disturb the soil.

Students also found ways to contribute to Bon Appétit’s goals. Student Agriculture at Whitman (SAW),

which was founded in 2010, supplies some of the microgreens seasonally available in the dining hall salad bars.

“SAW is a success story when it comes to student initiatives,” said Edens. “We buy everything they produce, and we buy it at the same price it would cost us from any where else.”

Margo Heffron, first-year

N?

People often refer to firstyear Margo Heffron as the “greenest” person in her section, and she is known for nagging her section mates about running water, showering for too long or not turning off the lights. Heffron grew up in a family that encouraged “green” habits. Being surrounded by numerous composting and recycling institutions in Seattle has also influenced her attitude toward sustainability.

Heffron views consciousness of everyday actions as a step toward being “green”—the little actions help make the bigger picture. Despite her own personal drive to live sustainably, she acknowledges that modern civilization depends a lot on harmful habits. “[We can] change our habits and be conscious of what our habits do to our environment,” said Heffron.

“We can change [our actions] slightly to be less harmful to the environment, so like composting or recycling instead of throwing all your trash into a landfill. Switch [to an]

Susie Krikava, sophomore Silence. Complete silence filled sophomore Susie Krikava’s ears as the crisp air chilled her lungs. Being surrounded by trees that reached up toward the sky, seeing the view from the top of mountains, hearing her own breath in the peaceful quiet: all of it was beautiful to her. Krikava’s adventures in northern Minnesota with the YMCA were what first sparked her appreciation for the outdoors.

“That was the first time in my life that I really appreciated the beauty of nature and what this earth has to offer besides just buildings, flashy designer clothes or cars,” said Krikava. “[There were] lakes, mountains [and]

alternative.”

Having grown up in a city that advocates ecofriendliness, she feels Walla Walla’s lack of green institutions is concerning. According to Heffron, if there are no opportunities for a person to choose to partake in something “green,” he or she will never do it.

“The habits that we have are not sustainable right now,” said Heffron. “Being green doesn’t take that much effort if we can get these systems and institutions in place, like composting and recycling. If the bins are there, people will do it.

If they aren’t, you can’t do anything to work on the problem.”

Heffron’s involvement with the student-run group Campus Climate Challenge brought many opportunities for her to advocate her beliefs. She organized the environmental justice workshop in the Power and Privilege Symposium. Though she didn’t know much about the issue at first, that did not stop her from pursuing further research on a phenomenon that has become increasingly prevalent in the United States.

“All this toxic waste was being dumped into lower economic neighborhoods,” said Heffron. “It wasn’t just the socioeconomic status [involved, but] it [also involved] race.”

Her research included learning about water rights and addressing the question of who has access to water as it becomes an even scarcer resource in some parts of the world.

“It’s the white, privileged people who will get the remaining fresh water,” said Heffron.

Although Heffron understands the importance of educating individual people about the significance of being “green,” she sometimes sees it as a tedious and endless cycle. She views bigger issues, such as the divestment movement on campus, as more important.

“I actually hate telling people what to do,” said Heffron. “It’s so insignificant that I don’t have to think about [my habits] to do it, so why can’t other [people] think about this and just do the thing that’s right? They were raised a different way. I don’t think that’s where my effort needs to be. It needs to be in bigger issues, like divestment.”

the beauty of silence in the natural habitat that was way before paved roads and highways and buildings.”

Krikava described how her outdoor experience opened her eyes to harmful habits. While she recognizes modern society’s dependence on natural resources, she also touts the importance of living on less in a society that encourages living in abundance.

“I think we are able to live on an amount that is less than what we do live on, but it’s so hard to say that because people want more or people don’t realize that,” said Krikava.

Being “green,” according to Krikava, is being aware of how many resources you use in everyday life. As a participant of the Green Leaders program on campus, she advocates envi-

ronmentally friendly habits.

“It’s a big domino effect,” said Krikava. “If you turn one light on, [there are] a whole different set of reactions that happen that we don’t realize [and] we take for granted.”

Awareness and consciousness of one’s actions are also important steps in trying to live more sustainably. But to Krikava, being “green” means leading a “less is better” lifestyle.

“It’s overloaded [to live with so much stuff],” said Krikava. “I need one of this and one of that, and I’m a lot happier with less stuff than with more. I appreciate that I have more because I have less [stuff].”

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Audrey Vaughan, junior In high school, junior Audrey Vaughan participated in many discussions about social justice. When she reached college, she learned more about complex environmental issues through environmental studies classes at Whitman. According to Vaughan, consideration of one’s impact on other people and on the environment is one step toward being “green.” For her personally, that means thinking about the environmental impacts of everything she does. Vaughan emphasizes the codependent existence of each individual in this system.

Tim Parker, assistant professor of biology As an assistant professor of biology at Whitman, Tim Parker is able to incorporate his environmental sensibilities directly into his career. His love for nature and desire to protect environmental systems from modern development were what originally inspired him to pursue a career in biology. And while his biology and bio-diversity courses may not be explicitly connected to environmental conservation, he noted that there is a strong connection between understanding how nature works and conservation, a key aspect of being “green.”

A major goal of Parker’s environmental studies course is to introduce students to various environmental issues that span a vast range of disciplines from the sciences to the humanities.

“It’s the belief that environmental issues are some of the most important issues facing people today,” said Parker. “People live and work in environmental contexts.”

Parker broadly defines environmental contexts as all of our sur-

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“I think the crux of being green, ecofriendly [or] sustainable is that you’re thinking about how your actions affect others and [acknowledging] how we all exist together in a system,” said Vaughan. “We need to take care of the system and of each other in order to have our system function.”

Vaughan’s awareness of this interconnected system between humans and the environment sparked her interest in pursuing the intersection between mathematics and environmentalism. She recently started to look at the financial and economic pro-environmental arguments. By researching how many fossil fuel reserves certain companies have in the ground versus the value of their stock prices, she analyzes the effects of these fossil fuel reserves on the climate.

“I’m trying to bring statistics and environmentalism interests together and [am looking] at how we can use data and science to make it [more] understandable and approachable to the general public,” said Vaughan. “[I’m] walking that fine line.”

As a participant in the divestment movement on campus, she states it’s a new way of looking at climate change. By looking at the foundation of the current society and changing the culture behind fossil fuels, this movement questions the idea of fossil fuels and promotes the use of renewables.

“Divestment is a cool [and] new way of looking at climate change,” said Vaughan. “It challenges that idea and looks toward how we can base our system off of renewables in a world. ”

roundings: the air, the offices people work in and the entire planet. He uses the phrase “human condition” to describe the interaction between humans and the environment, an important aspect of being conscious of one’s own actions.

“There’s a sensibility that has a relatively long history in our country and in the world that personal responsibility for your actions is really important,” said Parker. “If there’s a problem with the environment that is caused by human interactions, you should look at your own actions.”

Parker tries to minimize his environmental impact by riding his bike, but does not see individual behavior being as effective as governmental involvement to induce environmental change.

“Being ‘green’ [in the individual sense] falls short of the kind of institutional changes that are actually needed to [for example] reduce carbon dioxide emis-

sions,” said Parker. “Political action is probably going to have to happen to effect environmental change.”

Despite his views on individual “green” actions, he also sees their benefits, as they may lead to increased political awareness of environmental issues.

“There are so many unknowns in terms of how humans will go forward to deal with this issue, and it will actually impact human society,” said Parker. “I have a really hard time to know what the right course of action is, [but] I feel like it’s really valuable for me to get students to think about these issues.”

Reviews Reviews

Photos by Catie Bergman

April Fools Day Issue 1996

Humor

Through the Archives

by Molly Johanson

J

ust as The Pioneer has undergone many a transformation since its inception in 1896, so has its humor. From odd one-liners and random articles on the front page to dedicated April Fool’s Day issues and weekly humor sections, The Pio has come a long way in terms of making Whitman College students chuckle.

I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time in the archives, located in the basement of Penrose Library, last fall for a research paper about Whitman’s history. As I was pouring through copies of The Pio from the 1910s and ‘20s, I was constantly surprised by how funny they

all were. A big bulk of it was the sheer novelty that comes with reading things from the past, but mostly I was laughing at what (I hope?) was intended to be humorous.

What is most striking about the humor of past Whitman students is how true it all still rings today. Given that humor is one of the mainstays of dealing with everyday life, it seems that struggles of average liberal arts students haven’t changed much in the past hundred years.

So here is a sampling of articles and comics that range from the silly, the accurate and the oddly morbid (when it comes to early April Fool’s issues anyway).

THECIRCUIT | 17 December 10, 1992

Clockwise from below: Dec. 4, 1926 (on a page where the claimed missing letters are in fact there); Dec. 10, 1992; May 1897; Nov. 2, 1992; April Fool’s Day Issue 1981

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Clockwise from left: March 27, 1952; Oct. 22, 1992; Jan. 21, 1927 (I especially love the depiction of the news office); November 1896; Feburary 28, 1930 (Sometimes I was unclear if articles were meant to be humorous or not, but this dating profile for a new campus matching service—on the front page no less— caught my eye).

THECIRCUIT | 19

Two summers ago, I really got to know the food in Walla Walla. I tried several great restaurants and made weekly trips to the farmers’ market with my then-housemate, and the two of us shared a Made in Walla Walla Box from the local Daily Market Coop. We received milk, bread, eggs, salad and new produce every week, and we had the chance to try out several tasty new recipes. This collection of springtime dishes was inspired by some of my favorites.

Apple-Blueberry Cobbler (makes about six servings) A cobbler is a great dessert because you can make it with almost any type of fruit. Getting the MWWB meant being able to try out a new dessert fruit combination every week.

Filling Ingredients: 2 braeburn apples 1 cup blueberries a squeeze of lemon juice 1/2 tsp flour 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/4 cup sugar Topping Ingredients: 1 cup flour 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 Tbsp baking powder 1 Tbsp sugar 1/2 cup milk 3 Tbsp butter or margarine Instructions: 1. Peel and chop apples. Add fruit to a quart-sized baking pan.

2. Add lemon juice, cinnamon, sugar and flour to pan. Mix with fruit.

3. In a separate bowl, combine topping ingredients into a dough. (It should look like biscuit dough.)

4. Form dough into biscuits using hands, then drop onto fruit filling in pan.

5. Bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Enjoy!

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s e p i c e R g Sprin mmerly e K h a r a K by

Almond-Kale Quesadillas Quesadillas are really easy to make, so I like using them as a vehicle to experiment with new flavor combinations. These quesadillas also tasted great with chard instead of kale and pine nuts instead of almonds.

Ingredients: 2 whole wheat tortillas 2 Tbsp goat cheese or goat cheese spread handful almonds several leaves of kale margarine Instructions: 1. Spread goat cheese on one side of each tortilla.

2. Add almonds and kale and squish the tortillas together.

3. Spread margarine on both sides of the quesadilla and cook in a medium-high pan, flipping the tortilla halfway through cooking to brown both sides.

Spring Risotto Risotto has a bit of a reputation. Watching episodes of “Master Chef” and “Chopped” has given me the impression that risotto is a tricky recipe to master, so I was a little hesitant to try to make my own. Fortunately, this recipe was a success. I hope you enjoy it on a rainy spring day.

Ingredients: 8 oz. arborio rice 4 cups vegetable stock 2 carrots, peeled and chopped 1/2 cup peas 1/2 Tbsp butter 1/2 onion 3 cloves garlic 1 cup parmesan cheese salt pepper Instructions: 1. Chop onion and garlic. Add them to a pot with butter and saute until onion is translucent.

2. Add the rice and carrots to the pot and saute for a few minutes.

3. Add 1 cup of vegetable stock to the pot. Stir occasionally.

4. After rice has mostly absorbed the first cup, stir in another cup of stock. Stir in peas after approximately 15 minutes of cooking.

5. After rice has absorbed the second cup of stock, stir in a third. Repeat with the fourth cup.

6. After risotto is thick and creamy, add parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

THECIRCUIT | 21

Kale Chips I was somewhat skeptical about kale when we first took it out of our MWWB, but after trying this recipe, I was hooked. These are like potato chips—it can be difficult to stop eating them.

Ingredients: 1/2 bundle kale 1 Tbsp olive oil salt pepper garlic salt Instructions: 1. Pull off kale leaves from the bundle and place on a cookie sheet.

2. Pour olive oil over kale. Mix leaves so they are all covered.

3. Add seasonings.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Blueberry-Lemon Scones Scones are one of my favorite breakfast foods. They don’t take long to make, and they taste delicious with jam. Feel free to try out different kinds of berries in these scones as well.

Ingredients: 3 cups flour 2 Tbsp baking powder 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 salt 1 Tbsp vanilla 1/2 cup butter or margarine 1 1/4 cups milk 2 cups berries 1/4 cup lemon juice 1 tsp lemon zest

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Ingredients: 1. Mix dry ingredients together.

2. Add wet ingredients and mix.

3. Form dough into triangular shapes.

(I do this with my hands, but you could use cookie cutters if you are particular about your scones.)

4. Bake 18-22 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Enjoy!

I N K

Text by SARAH CORNETT THECIRCUIT | 23 Photos by ALYSSA GOARD

B

uddhist symbols hidden in white ink. A professor’s passion inscribed on his inner arm. An ancient symbol of symmetry and harmony. The Whitman community—the faculty, staff and students that live and work in the pursuit of intellectual and emotional growth—express themselves in creative and diverse ways. One of these ways is body art, specifically tattoos.

Though tattoos hold a personal and unique meaning for their owner, they are, for the most part, permanent and represent what oftentimes is an intentional reminder, memory or interest. In a survey sent out to the students listserv completed by 37 students with tattoos, 80 percent said their piece depicted a design or shape important to them. Second to that, with 24 percent, was a quote or passage inscribed in ink. When asked why they chose to get a tattoo, nearly all students who completed the survey said they classify it as a lasting reminder of a memory or influential experience.

We’ve chosen to highlight a few members of the broader Whitman community—one professor, two students and a Bon Appétit staff member—and their tattoos.

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Some tattoo-bearers have a different philosophy when it comes to visibility. Jewett Dining Hall Supervisor Laura Palachuk has close to 30 tattoos (she isn’t sure exactly), and many are visible on her forearms outside of her uniform shirt. Her father, a Bon Appétit cook who currently works in Prentiss, had tattoos “before they were cool,” she said, and he did her first one.

“He’d done a bunch on himself, and it took me a while to talk him into it,” she said.

Palachuk was 17 when she got her first tattoo, a turtle on her hip.

Since then, most of her tattoos have come from friends who are artists. They all contain a variety of meanings and significances.

“Some of them are remind-

ers, notes to self. Others are just pretty, like the flowers.”

Palachuk’s most visible tattoos are vines of flowers on her arms, accompanied by phonetic spellings of words that are particularly meaningful to her, including “truth” and “serenity.”

She says that tattoos are never a worthy cause for judgment. As someone who has spent most of her career working in commercial restaurants and kitchens, she said that environment is relatively accepting of body art.

“I’ve found that whether or not a person has a tattoo isn’t an indication of what kind of person they are,” she said. “I’m lucky enough in the food service industry that it’s more tolerant than a lot of places.”

THECIRCUIT | 25

“It means living a life that is in harmony with material posessions and spirituality.”

Madeleine Kemme ‘16

Sophomore Madeleine Kemme got her tattoo last fall at home in Colorado. It’s what she calls a “chalice well” symbol, and she learned about it during a particularly meaningful experience at a summer camp.

“It means living a life that is in harmony with material possessions and spirituality,” she said.

“It’s an embodiment of the good in myself and the difficulty that I’ve

Senior Molly Johanson also got her tattoos relatively recently. After studying abroad in Thailand her junior year, she decided to get a tattoo of a Buddhist protective symbol she saw often during her semester. She chose white ink because it’s usually the way the symbol is represented and also to add subtlety to her pieces. She has one more that she got in January of a phrase in Thai.

“It’s a quote: ‘Understanding is an emotion.’ I like to joke that it’s my humanities major tattoo,” she said.

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gone through.”

Her placement on her shoulder was strategic. While tattoos seem to be generally more present in our generation than in the past, certain career fields regard visible tattoos as unprofessional.

“I want to have a professional life after college, so I wanted it to be in a place where I could show it off when I need to but not so that it’s too visible.”

“It’s a quote: ‘Understanding is an emotion.’”

Molly Johanson, ‘14

Professors, too, have often embraced tattoos. Professor of Geology and soon-to-be Interim Provost and Dean of the Faculty Pat Spencer has two: one of a bonsai tree on his forearm and another of the state fish of Hawaii on his back. He got both with his daughters. The fish tattoo was his first tattoo.

“I talked myself into getting it with my daughters in Hawaii.

Ultimately, it was kind of a dare,” he said.

His bonsai tree is more recent—he got it almost two years ago.

“My kids were in town and it was Father’s Day. We all got tattoos,” he said. The tree is significant to him, as it represents a serious hobby, he said.

“It reminds me to be patient and go slow.”

“It reminds me to be patient and go slow.”

Pat Spencer

Professor of Geology

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THECIRCUIT | 27

Whitm and Goo T

he thrift shop down the road from campus, Goodwill, sells Whitman College students hundreds of items each year. Goodwill Industries is a nonprofit organization that works to give disadvantaged people the skills required to succeed in the modern labor market. But the name is best known to Whitman students as a

28 | THECIRCUIT

thrift store that sells donated clothing and other consumer goods to fund that mission, making it a great place to find a Halloween costume or just to browse an eclectic assortment of trinkets, cookware, decorations and often-questionable electronics. We took a look at why Whitman students love Goodwill by asking them about their favorite Alder Avenue finds.

an dwill:

A LOVE STORY

by ANDY MONSERUD

“I got a lot of weird looks, but people are just jealous.”

Aidan McCormick ‘17

THECIRCUIT | 29

AIDAN MCCORMICK First-year Aidan McCormick, an occasional Goodwill shopper, got both of his most prized Goodwill possessions for costume purposes. His pledge father gave him a bathrobe made for a child for father-son night at his fraternity. He also spent $5 on a green jacket for last fall’s first-year ‘80s dance. Rather than having an assort-

30 | THECIRCUIT

ment of one-trick ponies, McCormick reuses his costumes in his day-to-day life—even the ridiculous ones.

“I frequently wear [the robe] around Anderson,” said McCormick.

“I’ve gone to a couple meals in this, just because it’s so damn comfy and outragewous.”

McCormick is unfazed by the attention he gets from wearing costumes out of context.

“I get a lot of weird looks, but people are just jealous,” he said.

The jacket gets a little more use than the robe in the outside world.

“I saw it sticking out of the jacket rack, and I was really surprised that no one had picked it up,” said McCormick. “This thing is great.”

McCormick has since developed a strong attachment to the neon green windbreaker.

“If I’m having a bad day, I’ll just wear the jacket, and it makes everything feel better,” he said. “If I’m having a really good day, it just makes it even better—I wear it on exam days for good luck.”

McCormick isn’t a regular shopper at Goodwill, but he counts himself a fan.

“I don’t go that often,” he said, “but I always find something.”

“If I’m having a bad day, I’ll just wear the jacket, and it makes everything better.”

Aidan McCormick ‘17

RYAN WALLIS & MATEO SEGER My interview with sophomore roommates Ryan Wallis and Mateo Seger began with Wallis throwing pillows.

“This is Goodwill, and this is Goodwill, and this is Goodwill,” he chanted, pillows flying across the room in a swarm.

Wallis and Seger consider themselves Goodwill veterans. Their wide assortment of Goodwill finds represents two years of living together, and the collection of pillows alone fills a corner of their room on the fourth floor of North Hall.

“Last year we would go once every two or three weeks,” said Seger.

“Every time we would go, we would buy a pillow,” said Wallis. “We would often go with something small ADVERTISEMENT

“There’s college acceptance letters at Goodwill, and we though ‘oh, hell yeah, we can go to college now.’”

Mateo Seger ‘16

in mind, and usually get that thing, but then come out with one or two other things.”

One such accident is now the pair’s proudest Goodwill purchase.

They pooled $50 for a couch from Goodwill in the first semester of last year.

“We carried it, just the two of us, from Goodwill back to Lyman, and up the stairs,” said Wallis. “We had to turn it on its side and unscrew the feet … to get it through the door.”

The effort turned out to be worth it, and the couch moved with them to North this year.

“It’s gotten a lot of use,” said Seger. “That couch has been excellent.”

It seems as though practically everything in Wallis’s and Seger’s room comes

melissa mcfadden photography Portrait & Wedding Photography www.melissamcfadden.com tel: 509.301.8646 | info@melissamcfadden.com

from Goodwill. A box full of costumes sits in the corner. Among the many items in it are a purple shoulder-padded jacket from Wallis’s first-year ‘80s dance costume and two dresses, one denim and one a dark pink.

“I’ve gotten a suprising amount of use out of [the pink] dress,” said Wallis as he attempted to put it on. “I wore it to Rocky [Horror] Picture Show and to a dodgeball game last year.”

In addition to goofy costumes, Seger and Wallis own plenty of practical Goodwill items. Their spinning desk chairs both came from Goodwill, as did most of their other furniture.

“Most of my clothing is from Goodwill or some other thrift store,” said Wallis.

The pair even joke that Goodwill got them into college.

“There’s college acceptance letters at Goodwill, and we thought ‘oh, hell yeah, we can go to college now,’” said Seger.

This year, they’ve spent less time at Goodwill than they did last year, and Wallis hasn’t found a reason to stop by at all. With their room fully furnished and a supply of costumes to fit any theme, the Goodwill bug lies dormant.

“North is too far from Goodwill,” said Wallis with a chuckle.

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MARGO HEFFRON First-year Margo Heffron has Goodwill fever. She goes about once a month and usually finds something good.

“It’s kind of the only place I shop here,” she said. “Even in Seattle, I would go to Goodwill first and foremost before anywhere else … I hate malls.”

She’s particularly proud of a denim jacket with multicolored patches and a sweater she found on the same day.

“I … walked into Goodwill, not knowing what I was going to buy, as always, and it was dead center. Both of them were in the front rack,” said Heffron.

“It’s awesome,” she said of the jacket. “It’s my party jacket.”

These flashy items aren’t the only gems in Heffron’s collection, though. Much of her dayto-day wardrobe comes

32 | THECIRCUIT

from Goodwill.

“I have these jeans that I wear all the time from Goodwill,” she said.

“I usually get a lot of good jeans there.”

She acknowledges some difficulties with thrift store shopping, but takes pride in her ability to make it work.

“Goodwill is kind of a place where you don’t really know what you’re going to get,” she said.

“Sometimes there’s just not much there, but you also have to be kind of creative with your style … you can’t be too picky when you’re shopping.”

And sometimes, while sifting through clothes and thinking about how to alter them, she finds a diamond in the rough.

“I think the best find I ever got were brand-new Birkenstocks in my size for seven dollars,” said Heffron. “I was so damn happy that day.”

First-year Kyle Courtois bought his beloved faux fur coat as a costume. The coat comprised part of his Halloween imitation of rapper Macklemore in the video for hisw song “Thrift Shop.”

“It looked real cool, and I needed to get a Halloween costume,” Courtois said of his decision to buy the coat.

The coat reminds Courtois of the rumor that Macklemore bought the original coat featured in the video at a thrift store in Walla Walla.

“I think it’s cool that I also got a fur coat there,” he said. “I feel like we have something in common now.”

Before coming to Whitman, Courtois didn’t shop

at Goodwill much at all, since his hometown of Cashmere, Wash., didn’t have one. He shopped for clothes in department stores and online instead.

At Whitman, Courtois shops at Goodwill about once a month, usually with the express purpose of finding a costume for a party, like the “hipster” costume he got for Sigma Chi’s high school stereotypes function: a pair of glasses, a green beanie and a bright red scarf.

He still wears the coat around his section, and he has a lot of pride in his purchase.

“It’s pretty snazzy,” he said. “It was $20, actually, which is a lot for Goodwill, but it was worth it.”

KYLE COURTOIS

Challenging Power on Campus:

I

by Lachlan Johnson

n 1857, Frederick Douglas was quoted as saying, “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” There are many serious issues facing the world, and those in power have shown little initiative in addressing them. It is increasingly clear that issues such as global warming,

A Pioneer Staff Member’s Thoughts on Divestment and the Anti-Racism Movement

inequality and racism will require strong popular movements for progress to be made.

As a reporter for The Pioneer over the past two years, I’ve had the opportunity to observe the struggles of both the divestment and anti-racism movements on campus.

During that time, the movements have experienced varying degrees of success. Even though both movements are far from over, so far the anti-racism activists are making progress while the divestment movement is struggling. Because effective activism is needed to address racism, global warming and inequality, it is important to examine why one movement has succeeded in creating institutional change while the other has failed. The answer lies in the clarity of their message, their willingness to cause controversy and their means for approaching power on campus.

These are my thoughts and opinions as an observer and documenter of these movements.

Once Upon a Time...

The most important thing a movement has is its narrative: the story of its values, goals and opponents. A clear narrative can bring in supporters and create the perception of momentum and influence, which are helpful when negotiating power structures, such as the Whitman administration and Board of Trustees, while a muddled narrative fosters confusion and makes it easier for the movement to be dismissed.

From the first time I spoke with them, anti-racism activists had a strong sense of what they wanted the narrative of their movement to be. Though the rally that kicked off the movement was strongly associated with a conflict generated by an argument online, activists consistently emphasized that they were out to address institutional issues, and any single incident was merely a symptom of the wider problem on campus. The need for change was urgent, personal and compelling and based in the moral right to safety, equality and respect for all students. What’s more, their immediate goals were condensed into three demands, which were posted for all to see in their letter to the Board of Trustees.

Divestment activists, on the other hand, had a much vaguer mes

THECIRCUIT | 33

sage. While the goal of divestment is to prompt the college to withdraw all funds from fossil fuel companies in order to signal that they have lost legitimacy, thereby creating political will for serious reform beyond college campuses, it took several months for the movement to articulate this.

Many students (including some activists within the movement) were under the false impression that divestment was meant to cause companies to go bankrupt. While activists quickly recognized this confusion and worked to correct it, administrators capitalized on the mistake in their eventual rejection of divestment’s goals by pointing out that divestment would not directly affect companies’ finances.

In addition to needing a clearer narrative, the divestment movement would do well to learn from the anti-racism movement’s emphasis on moral urgency. Divestment’s discussion of global warming primarily focused on parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, a technique borrowed from the national divestment movement’s leader, Bill McKibben. This fall, more than 6,000 people were killed, and 3.9 million were forced from their homes by Typhoon Haiyan. While activists at Whitman have remained fixed on climate threats and the carbon meter, real people are dying. Divestment activists are right to be cautious about referring to people in distant countries in a way that may generalize or dehumanize them, but it is possible to connect the very real, very human ongoing disaster caused by fossil fuels. Activists may feel uncomfortable bringing emotional and ethical arguments to the forefront, but if the choice is between feeling comfortable and being effective, we need activists who choose the latter.

34 | THECIRCUIT

Whitman Isn’t a Democracy “Conversation” and “dialogue” are nearly always hauled out as the answer whenever conflict crops up on campus, and both divestment and anti-racism began their campaigns with this approach. However, while the divestment movement’s dialogue focused on persuading everyone on campus to agree with divestment and to have the college divest out of genuine moral decency, anti-racism activists focused on rallying the support of those who would easily agree with them and then using this influence to maneuver politically within the administration and create institutional change.

If Whitman’s policies were determined by popularity among the community, the divestment movement’s approach to conversations may have been effective. However, in reality, decisions are made by a small group of people who are not only not elected but spend most of their time away from campus and know nothing about students’ general sentiment.

(If they did, our tuition wouldn’t be headed for $60,000 a year.)

The anti-racism movement was able to gain traction because it posed a threat to Whitman’s marketing itself as a diverse liberal arts college, thereby forcing the administration to take action to protect Whitman’s image. While it would be difficult for divestment activists to take the same approach, since climate change does not yet affect students on campus to the same extent as racism, some form of realpolitik will be needed to affect change.

In a way, Whitman is a miniature version of the larger world. Global warming is a problem because those in power make decisions based pri-

marily on finances and capitalist efficiency. Ethics play a peripheral role and are often manipulated to justify economic decisions after the fact.

If we can’t force the college’s trustees to step away from making decisions based on short-term profit, how can we expect to change governments and corporations? To affect real change, activists need to realize that change needs to be a demand, not a dialogue.

Radical Measures If divestment is truly part of the solution for global warming, then everything must be done to make it happen. Personally, I don’t believe the change needed to save the planet can be brought about by demonstrations of political will or dialogue within existing economic and political structures, which is why I do not support divestment. However, if divestment advocates truly believe their strategy will work, then the movement’s success should be their sole goal. Activists cannot be effective if their primary concern is remaining popular among administrators, or even the student body as a whole. The antiracism movement has shown it is possible to make some people profoundly uncomfortable and still succeed through the intelligent use of power, and divestment should look to their example.

The Whitman community is never going to be able to form a consensus about divestment, and those in charge of managing the endowment are never going to be convinced to divest from fossil fuels out of the goodness of their hearts. If one is not handed change, one must take it, as the anti-racism movement has.

For the divestment movement, now is the time to rally their supporters, strengthen their base and prepare for a serious conflict aimed at making divestment a political necessity for the college.

PRE-FINALS PROCRASTINATION: MOVIES

A

by Nathan Fisher

fter a (hopefully) adventurous spring break, it will be prime time to buckle down as spring semester ends and finals loom. This means the books really need to be cracked open, but those still in denial and in need for continued procrastination will welcome the spring crop of movies Hollywood is offering up. The pickings, while numerous, seem to be limited to the comedy and superhero/ fantasy genres. Here’s a quick peek at what’s on my study-break list as the semester winds down.

ris, Sarah Silverman, Amanda Seyfried and Liam Neeson. Set in the late 1800s on the western frontier, McFarlane plays a man who simply wants to avoid dying when he starts wanting to impress a girl (Theron) by taking on the bad guy (Neeson). Sophomoric humor will be the perfect stress release, and foul-mouthed jokes will lighten spirits.

Superhero/Fantasy: There must be a lot of money in superhero movies because the rest of the semester leading up to graduation is filled with big budget movies with bigger,

another shot on the big screen and “Breaking Bad” chemistry-teacherturned-meth-cooker Bryan Cranston sheds a few tears in the trailer. Maybe last summer’s “Pacific Rim” gave me hope that there actually can be a quality humans versus monsters movie, so I cautiously hope that “Godzilla” can be an entertaining terror on the world.

Rounding out the superhero genre is “X- Men: Days of Future Past” (May 23). Rumor of the “X-Men” follow-up came with the jaw-dropping teaser in the credits of last summer’s “The Wol-

Comedy: Two comedies stand out as worthy low-brow finds: “Neighbors” (May 9) and “A Million Ways to Die in the West” (May 30). “Neighbors” follows a charming couple, played by Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen, who are acclimating to parenthood when a fraternity house moves in next door. Zac Efron stars as the king of the frat boys. The snippets in the movie’s trailer seems similar to the humor and pranks of Rogen’s other films, such as “Superbad,” “Pineapple Express” and “This is the End,” which, of course, amuse me. Another movie with similar debauchery and crude humor is Seth McFarlane’s “A Million Ways to Die in the West.”

McFarlane stars, writes and directs this “western” with the assistance of hottie Charlize Theron, Neil Patrick Har-

out-of-this-world heroes and monsters. Looking like he has had a round of steroids, Captain America returns in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (April 4) and faces off against a new crop of enemies in true Marvel sequel form. I am really interested in seeing what Robert Redford, the Sundance kid, can bring to the dark side of the Marvel Universe. The next superhero sequel is “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” (May 2). I may not know much Spiderman trivia, but Peter Parker seems to have his hands full of villains. Actor big names like Paul Giamatti, Jamie Foxx and Chris Cooper are reportedly sporting the evil capes.

I don’t know much about the next scifi reboot, “Godzilla” (May 16), aside from the fact the famous monster gets

verine,” which showed Magneto (Ian McKellen) and Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) reprising their roles. The newest “X-Men” movie brings together the characters from the original X-Men movies, and the X-men from the prequel “X-Men: First Class.” In some sort of weird time bending, the old and new will meet. This mash-up is difficult to wrap my brain around, and the trailer does little to clarify, but I still highly anticipate seeing all of my favorite characters on screen together again.

Though the above list is just a sampling of the movies coming out before graduation, they will all be available in Walla Walla to divert our attention from finals. Here’s to finishing the semester with big laughs, big budgets, big villains and even bigger heroes!

THECIRCUIT | 35

AUTHOR SEEKS NATURAL DARKNESS, INSPIRATIONS

by EMMA DAHL

A

s an astrophysics major who, during the evening hours, can reliably be found observing the cosmos from the roof of the science building, I am no stranger to the unwelcome invasion of light pollution.

Here in Walla Walla, the western sky is particularly obscured by the glaring orange spotlights from the state penitentiary. When tennis practice runs late, the newly installed tennis court lights (which are brighter and more numerous than the old ones) make observation impossible, and sometimes latenight astronomy lab sessions have to be cut short.

While light pollution is a considerable nuisance to observational astronomers, brightly lit nights have a slew of other negative side effects that Paul Bogard explores in his book “The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light.” Bogard makes a case for darkness by bringing to light the numerous problems of excessive electric lighting and how it affects the human psyche, human physiology and even the ecology of the natural environment.

The setup of the chapters is rather unique. Instead of starting at chapter one and chronologically proceeding from there, Bogard begins with chapter nine and descends to chapter one. The reason behind this apparent gimmick is the author’s intention to mirror a scale of artificial brightness as created by amateur astronomer John Bortle. The scale works by defining a bright innercity night sky where virtually no stars can be seen as a nine. It then descends in darkness until reaching one, which is a perfectly dark site with no light pollution whatsoever.

It’s no surprise that Bogard starts off chapter nine in Las Vegas, arguably the brightest city on Earth, and slowly moves into darker locations in each chapter, eventually ending up in a desert two hours outside Reno, where the ribbon of the Milky Way stretches out before him in unblemished detail. Bogard spends the first few chapters describing time spent in

36 | THECIRCUIT

London or Paris, strolling the streets at night and yearning for the age when cities were lit by dimmer oil lamps instead of blinding electric light, and he spends a good deal of time dispelling the myth that more light means more safety. Bogard describes how being exposed to bright light after the sun sets can harm a slew of aspects of human health, the most prominent of which is sleep deprivation and circadian sleep cycle disruption. He also discusses the ecological effects of light and human activity on nocturnal animals, such as the flocking of moths to bright lights where they become easy pickings for bats and other animals higher up on the food chain.

But apart from the important physical problems of excessive lighting, I think the most important part of this book is when Bogard examines the spiritual, emotional and mental connection people have with the night and with real darkness. At one point, Bogard visits Cacho Canyon, a national historical park in New Mexico, where one park ranger describes the night sky as the most direct link with ancient Native American culture. “It’s the same sky it was a thousand years ago … you don’t know what century you’re in,” she says. As an astronomy student, I can say with confidence that the feeling of awe and wonder that comes with being able to see the plane of the Milky Way Galaxy spread out across the sky above you is not overrated. I think, and Bogard agrees, that know-

ing darkness and knowing the untainted night sky is something that is fundamental to being human.

Something primordial and deep inside all of us that is often washed out by streetlights and motion-activated porch lights and big lit-up neon advertisements.

While it’s worth noting that Bogard’s writing style is somewhat unremarkable, it’s still readable and not at all boring, and the topic that Bogard analyzes is interesting and important.

It’s something that isn’t talked about much outside of observational astronomy circles, and I think the message he tries to send is worth listening to and spreading to a wider audience.

Bogard has a mission in “The End of Night.” He wants to remind readers of the value of darkness and the consequences of light pollution. He wants to tell those of us who might not know that the nocturnal world and the brilliant unmarked night sky are not to be forgotten and blanked out from the human consciousness. It is something we have a right to, something we need to cherish and something we need to reclaim.

Where’s the human spray!?

THECIRCUIT | 37

CROSSWORD

By Natalie Berg

Across

Down

1. Tallest building on campus 2. _____ Duckum 3. Residence hall named for a professor 5. Popular first-year course selection 6. Japanese house 7. Recently reclaimed Prentiss Hall section 10. Former “Health Center” 11. Tennis Center namesake 12. Two unrelated professors share this name 13. Outdoorsy major 14. Douglas’s house 15. Frisbee team 16. Whitman pastime 17. Whitman’s plans require this 18. Because he wrote the Whitman hymn, they named a building after him 19. These Prentiss residents are on top 20. Sirens of _____ 21. “Two-____!”

22. Prentiss specialty 23. Initiation ritual 24. Whitman’s wife 25. “Studly” a capella group 27. Former fraternity house 28. Cultural _________

1. Director of Encounters 2. Counseling Center friend 3. Student leadership organization 4. Director of the Asian Studies department 5. Founder of the college (first name) 6. Deciduous larch tree 7. A in GAC 8. Founder of the college (last name) 9. Whitman brochure buzzword 11. Styx’s sculptor 12. Whitman’s plans require this 14. Encounters writer and breakfast food 15. Recently deceased professor and sculptor 17. Co-ed a capella group 18. G in GAC 19. Everyone’s favorite Encounters text 20. This professor is an alum 21. “Place of the rye grass” 22. Unique and daunting major 23. Abyss, trench, shaft (also a Jewett section) 26. Future Oscar winners’ major 28. Popular on-campus job

38 | THECIRCUIT

WHAT SPRING COLOR ARE YOU? 1. What show would you most like to watch? a. a National Geographic documentary b. “Cake Boss” c. “Frasier” d. “All in the Family” 2. What’s your dream vacation in the United States? a. a trip to the Oregon Coast b. Miami, Fla. c. Alaska d. Cape Cod, Mass.

3. Out of the following, which song would you prefer to hear most? a. Bon Iver, “Skinny Love” b. Ke$ha and Pitbull, “Timber” c. Macklemore, “Can’t Hold Us” d. Don MacLean, “American Pie” 4. What is the first thing you do when you get up in the morning? a. take five deep breaths b. some jumping jacks c. roll over and look endearingly at your kayak d. turn off your actual alarm clock 5. What is your favorite snack food? a. Andes mints b. nacho cheese Doritos c. coffee and a pastry d. jam and toast

CREDITS Front and back cover: Photo byAnnabelle Marcovici Pg. 2: Photo of Shelly Le by Annabelle Marcovici Pg. 3: Photo of Heather Hayes by Annabelle Marcovici, photo of arm by Marra Clay, photo of nest by Annabelle Marcovici, photo of Goodwill coats by Marra Clay, photo of Madeline Kemme’s tattoo by Alyssa Goard, illustration by Lya Hernandez Pg. 4, 6: Photos by Tanner Bowersox Pg. 7-9: Photos by Annabelle Marcovici

By Elena Aragon

Mostly A’s: Mint Green You are a fairly laid-back person, often enjoying the relaxing parts of life. Your go-to soothing activity is reading, meditating or knitting. You feel a deep connection to bodies of water, as you find the sight and smell key to maintaining your peace of mind. Though some people find you distasteful, your true friends love you deep down for your calm and collected sense of self.

Mostly B’s: Key Lime Green The life of the party, your mood is generally fun and vibrant.

Never afraid to outdo yourself, you have been known as the wild child among your friends. You enjoy sunshine and get moody when subjected to a string of rainy days in a row.

Mostly C’s: Evergreen You’re from Washington, aren’t you? Even if you aren’t a Pacific Northwest native, you sure embody the feel-good, laid-back vibe of this region. Easygoing and always down for an adventure, you thrive when you have unlimited opportunities to go outside. Though a fairly upbeat person, sometimes you fall into mood swings for weeks at a time that affect your close friends, like rain clouds.

Mostly D’s: Olive Green Something of a traditionalist, you often wonder if you would have been better off born in another era. You appreciate a good chat over the phone, are known to write sentimental letters and are often the last of your friends to download apps like Snapchat. A sucker for well-designed ancient architecture, you are respected but criticized for being overly serious at times.

Pg. 14, 16: Photos by Annabelle Marcovici Pg. 17-19: Photos contributed by the Whitman College Archives Pg. 20-22: Photos by Annabelle Marcovici Pg. 23-27: Photos by Alyssa Goard Pg. 28-32: Photos by Marra Clay Pg. 33: Illustration by MaryAnne Bowen Pg. 35: Illustration by Asa Mease Pg. 36: Illustration by Lya Hernandez Pg. 37: Comics by MaryAnne Bowen, Sophie Cooper-Ellis, Lya Hernandez, Asa Mease, Lya Hernandez and Eddy Vazquez Pg. 39: Photo by Allie Felt

THECIRCUIT | 39