The Circuit: Graduation Edition by Whitman College Wire

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y fellow seniors and I are about to let go of one of the main things that has defined us over the past several years: Soon, we will no longer be Whitman students. This definition and all that accompanies it for each of us is slowly shifting into the past tense. I suspect, however, that a lot of what we have picked up over the past four years has simply become a part of who we are, regardless of where we are. For me, my time at Whitman is synonymous with The Pio and The Circuit. If a fortune teller had told me, four years ago, that during my senior year I would be the editor-in-chief of these two publications, I would have asked for my money back. So many things that have happened over the past four years would be almost unimaginable to that girl sitting on a stool waiting to have her picture taken in the Reid Ballroom on the first day of orientation—and obviously, I’m not the only senior who could say this. Whitman, I’ve noticed, has a tendency to inspire students to act on their harebrained impulses and to follow the trail of those thoughts that begin with “Maybe I could . . .” The results are often impressive, and they usually make for a good story. Now it’s time to say goodbye to the place that I love and that I begrudge, to the publication that pushed me beyond the farthest reaches of what I thought I was capable of and to the people who made me so proud to say I was their editor. It has been an honor and a privilege and a joy to call the Pio office my home and those who work here my family. Thank you, Whitman, for the inspiration and the courage. And thank you for reading, Patricia Vanderbilt Editor-in-Chief

or the seniors of The Pioneer, this is a parting of the ways. By the time this copy of The Circuit crosses the newsstands, we’ll have already toasted our last issue of the paper. For myself, Editor-in-Chief Patricia Vanderbilt, Managing Editor Cara Lowry and many others, saying goodbye to The Pio means turning over something we love to people we trust. For the new and returning editors and staffers, our departure will precipitate new challenges and new triumphs. In this issue, we surveyed the seniors about what they’ll miss most about Whitman (page 25). For many of us on staff, this paper tops the list. It feels all the more poignant to leave behind our friends and co-workers at this exciting time of growth and transition. I feel more than a little jealous of the staffers who’ll get to work with and learn from these phenomenal people. As Camp Whitman disbands for the last time, I’ll be thinking of my Pioneer compatriots: their passion, verve and affection for each other. I’ll be wishing we could have more time together. And I’ll be hoping to someday work with people half as astonishing. If you’re one of the few remaining Whitties with spare time, won’t you consider joining us? Ted Hendershot Production Manager

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‘‘ ‘‘

IN THIS ISSUE

పట ్టణం ల ో ఒక వ వి 4

Across all levels of professorships, female faculty at Whitman consistently earn less than their male colleagues. What accounts for this difference?

SENIOR PROFILES 20

Favorite memory: Dressing up as Pac-Man and running through the library during finals week screaming for dear life....

A R E WH I T T I E S 34 EMP LO YAB L E ? Editor-in-Chief

THE CIRCUIT

Patricia Vanderbilt

Editors

Libby Arnosti Alex Brott Cari Cortez Alyssa Fairbanks Karah Kemmerly Kelsey Kennedy Cara Lowry

Web

Josh Goodman Sara Rasmussen

Photography Editor Production Manager Ethan Parrish

Ted Hendershot

Illustration Editor

Production Associates

Binta Loos-Diallo

Chief Copy Editor Jean Marie Dreyer

Copy Editors Aleida Fernandez Marisa Ikert

Sean McNulty Madison Munn Molly Olmsted Cara Patten Allison Work

Graphic Design Katie Berfield

The Circuit is a publication of the Whitman Pioneer. 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.

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IN TRANSLATION I

by MOLLY EMMETT

The (Mi)Stakes of Communication Across the Language Barrier

n the United States and even internationally, English is the most widely spoken language. Because of the prevalence of the English language, many people speak only English, or they speak the language in addition to other languages. However, due to the use of idiomatic expressions in every dialect, it is often hard to translate certain phrases from one language to another. Frequently, some of the meaning or the value of the speech is lost in translation. “With any language, [the original

phrase] loses some of its power when you translate it,” said sophomore Sharon Kiche. At Whitman, there are many students, like Kiche, who speak one or more languages in addition to English. To illustrate the issue of English translation for many different languages, idiomatic and colloquial phrases were collected from Whitman students. The results of translation, using online tools powered by Google and Bing, show how muddled the meaning often becomes because of cul-

tural as well as technological barriers. Another, more welcome, result of the difficulties of translation is humor. French House Native Speaker Lise Dubois admitted that sometimes she translates French idiomatic expressions into English literally, usually with a confused response. “I’ll see if the idea or concept behind the expression . . . still shows through despite the language barrier,” said Dubois.” Many times it doesn’t work, but just seeing people’s reactions is worth the try!”

Language: Chinese (Hong Kong) Language: Portuguese (Brazilian) Expression: 嗆 Expression: Manda brasa or Manda ver Literal Translation: “Choke” Literal Translation: “Send grill” or “Send to see.” Idiomatic Meaning: Slang referring to the reaction of disgust Idiomatic Meaning: Used to encourage someone to act, to and wanting to choke herself that a girl has to seeing sexy or “get on” or “bring it on” or “go boldly.” pretentiously handsome faces made by guys in person or in Submitted by: Maikor Pereira Azuaje, ’14 pictures. Submitted by: Ann Chen ‘14 Language: Telugu (South India) Expression: పట్టణం లో ఒక వివాహ సంతోషిస్తున్నాము అన్ని కుక్కలు పొందుతాడు (Oorilo pelli aithe kukalanni hadavidi.) Language: Swahili (Kenya) Literal Translation: “A wedding in the town gets all the dogs excited.” Expression: Unajifanya asali ulIdiomatic Meaning: More or less applicable to gossip, basically asking why people are ambwe na nani? interested in things happening in other people’s lives which do not concern them. Literal Translation: “You think you Submitted by: Mehera Nori, ’12 are honey to be licked by whom?” Language: Chinese (Simplified) Idiomatic Meaning: Said to a “fly” Expression: 不太激动人心 Language: Spanish person who thinks that the whole Literal Translation: “Not in my field Expression: No me tomes el pelo. world revolves around them; adequately.” Literal Translation: “I do not take “Don’t expect me to kiss the Idiomatic Meaning: “So boring” the hair.” ground you walk on.” or “Not exciting.” Said about Idiomatic Meaning: “Don’t pull my Submitted by: Laetitiah Magara, ’14 someone who did not match up to the leg” or “Don’t tease me.” and Sharon Kiche, ’14 expectation others had of him or her. Submitted by: Jessica Matresse, ’12 Submitted by: Yajun “Draco” Liu, ’15 Submitted by: Lise Dubois, French Native Speaker Language: French Expression: Literal Translation: Idiomatic Meaning: Oh la vache! “Oh the cow!” An expression of surprise or shock; “Wow!” Les murs ont des oreilles. “The walls have ears.” “Be careful, someone might be listening.” Avoir la gueule de bois. “To have a wooden face.” To be hungover. Avoir le compas dans l’oeil. “To have the compass in the eye.” To have an eye for drawing or doing something precise. Trou du cul. “Hole of ass” Asshole; a milder kind of childish insult. Vendre la peau de l’ours avant “To sell the skin of the bear before The act of jumping to conclusions, being sure of de l’avoir tué. killing it.” something before it’s actually certain.

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Photo Essay

KWCW and the

PEN

Radio waves carry a signal of hope for incarcerated listeners at the Washington State Penitentiary

by CAITLIN HARDEE

nsconced behind the soundboard in the cozy KWCW studio, it’s easy for a college DJ to imagine that nobody is actually listening. Few Whitties own radio sets, and while friends and family might be persuaded to tune into the webstream on occasion, the studio phones rarely light up. For good reason—KWCW’s largest listener constituency doesn’t have easy access to telephones. But the often-forgotten listeners over at the Washington State Penitentiary do have access to the postal service, and sometimes initiate snail-

mail correspondence with the DJs of their favorite shows. This trend has been explored in past years entirely through the eyes of KWCW programmers, but now for the first time, The Circuit spoke to inmates directly on the role of the station in their lives. “I’ve been here at W.S.P. for going on seven years and know firsthand the support and dedication the inmates in all custody levels have for KWCW, as well as that which KWCW has for us,” wrote Erik Dickson. Inmates chimed in on their favorite programs in the current schedule.

THECIRCUIT | 5

KWCW and the Pen

“Y’all have helped me so much just by having all the great shows over the years . . . a big reason I started listening to KWCW was the diversity in musical genres that are represented there. A few of my favorite shows are ‘Slovakian Textiles,’ ‘Chappy Hour,’ ‘Sparkle Motion’ and ‘Musitronics.’ I used to listen to ‘Shadow in the Night,’” said Christopher Olsen. Pablo Marquez, who wryly referred to himself and other inmates as KWCW’s “captive audience,” also discussed his desire to connect through music and art to the outside world “beyond the razor wire.”

Letters are a way of forging contact with the outside world, since calling the station directly is not possible for inmates. “In the past I used to listen to your station a lot. Even now I still get my inner demons off by the nuclear-brutal guitars of heavy metal music from that seductive cesspool I love called ‘The Morgue.’ It sucks that their show only lasts an hour. I really see them having a promising future. They deserve more air-time . . . it [wasn’t] till I heard them that I realized that my mistress’s name was metal!” wrote Marquez. “But that’s just my take on ‘The Morgue.’ I love all kinds of music. I’m very open-minded on what I listen to. I also listen to Chicano-Rap (hell, I even write it and flow it!), R&B, oldies, classic rock and that new popstuff you hear on the radio. I love listening to talk shows that are funny, hearing talk shows that are controversial—that deal with real-life topics with passionate people who believe in their views.” KWCW community programmer Patrick Keenan, also known as “Ziggy Sawdust” and formerly a co-host of “The Morgue,” described his varied correspondence with inmates. “When I was a regular cast member on ‘The Morgue,’ I was included in six years worth of letters,” said Keenan. “Since I started ‘The Art Of Metal’ on my own, I’ve had six different inmates write me over the past two and a half years; some only once but the rest multiple times, having known me from ‘The Morgue,’ with one John Anderson who writes almost weekly and actually does influence some of my programming.” Letters are a way, albeit time-consuming, of forging contact with the outside world, since calling the station directly is generally not possible for inmates. One inmate reminisced over a time when contact was easier. “Back in ’97 when I started my time here at Walla Walla Pen, we use to listen to the Saturday rapp nights and record the latest cutts . . . they use to accept our collect calls to give shoutoutts and requests [sic],” wrote Bennie Shell. Keenan elaborated further on the inmate correspondence he receives for his show. “Overall, the letters are as different as the inmates themselves,” said Keenan. “Sometimes they’re only a paragraph or two, sometimes six pages long. They let me know why they enjoy the show, what they like and have criticisms of some of

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the things I do . . . I had what I called ‘Story Time’ for a while and read chapters from the ‘Politically Correct Bedtime Stories’ for something fun to do. I got a letter from an Alex Rogers who said at one point in his letter, ‘ . . . about that story time bit, what’s up with that? We ain’t kids. We dont really need story time, we need your bad ass music.’ And it’s good for the show too, because it makes it more real for everybody when I read their letters and actually interact with them as people while I’m on air answering their questions or just catering to their requests and sometimes, demands. Mostly the letters are full of respect and praise for what I do and express that what I do makes their lives more tolerable, giving them something they miss and enjoy.” Beyond the benefit of his programming for inmates, Keenan spoke on his particular appreciation for his inmate audience. “I’ve since misplaced the letter, so I can’t remember who it was from, but one inmate wrote that he stood holding his radio for five hours to get reception to listen—that’s pretty humbling. But I’ve received artwork, photos, poems . . . it’s like we’re all friends and family and for me, although when I’m doing my show I’m being heard all across the country and all over the world, and have fans in six different countries, it’s the inmates who give me the best feedback,” said Keenan. Keenan’s experience with inmates’ diverse affinity for the fine arts was mirrored in the correspondence received by The Circuit. Many inmates identified a love for a broad range of creative activities. Marquez, in addition to writing rap, also draws, writes short stories, song lyrics, poetry and slogans, and creates “mini macrame,” which he defined as “small, very detailed, very time-consuming string art out of knotted string.” Another inmate, Chad Gardner, spoke at length on his interest in music and poetry. “I enjoy writing poetry because it’s a way for me to express my feelings,” wrote Gardner. “Here at Walla Walla Penitentiary there’s a lot of negativity. I’m a real believer in positive progression in one’s life.” Even with a strong positive attitude, the stress and isolation of prison can take a harsh toll on prisoners, rendering connections to the outside world, however tenuous, more precious than ever. “I have been incarcerated for 10 years but have been here at Washington State Penitentiary West Complex since October of 2010,” said Gardner. “I enjoy listening to music because it sets your mind free from this dark and lonely place . . . For myself, the radio has a big role in my daily life here at the Walla Walla penitentiary. When I wake up in the morning I listen to the radio to start my day off on a positive note. While I’m sleeping the radio is playing. The radio is a way for me to escape all the negativity of prison and the loneliness that comes with doing time. Behind these walls it’s so easy to be forgotten by society.” Any students interested in contacting inmates at the Washington State Penitentiary can find more information at www.writeaprisoner.com

As darkness falls on solemn walls Shadows fill the mind Silhouetting loneliness That comes with doing time If only I could take it back The reckless acts performed Tears of sorrow that fill my heart Have long since brought reform But as for now I need a friend Kind words to feel the soul One who looks beyond the faults And helps to make me whole Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sorry for the things I did When young it was the trend Older now I understand Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m desperate for a friend Chad Gardner THECIRCUIT | 7

OVER THE PAST DECADE, the number of female faculty at Whitman has increased substantially. Women make up 60 percent of the student body, and the importance of gender equality is a topic brought up in classes across departments. On paper, the college seems to be an ideal place to be female. Yet across all levels of professorships, according to data Whitman self-reports to the Chronicle of Higher Education, female faculty at Whitman consistently earn less than their male colleagues. What accounts for this difference? There’s a short, two-part answer to this question. Part one is that it’s complicated. And part two is that no one really knows.

TIPPING THE SCALES

by Rachel Alexander

n the surface, there are a number of simple factors that would seem to explain the male-female faculty pay gap. Female professors have often been hired more recently, so they have generally had fewer years to get promoted and receive raises than their male colleagues. In addition, a majority of the faculty are male in all of the science departments, with the exception of biology. Science professors often start out with slightly higher salaries than professors in other divisions, so part of the gap in averages across genders could be explained by this discrepancy. The compensation disparity is clearly related to gender, but much of this can apparently be explained by the fact that our older faculty, who are at the most senior rank and are paid more than those at more junior ranks, are predominantly male,” said Provost and Dean of Faculty Timothy Kaufman-Osborn.

THE SERVICE GAP Many female professors feel gendered expectations affect the amount of time they are able to spend on research and teaching. “Students tend to expect women faculty to be more nurturing, so they come to women faculty with needs,” said Associate Professor of Religion Melissa Wilcox.

8 | THECIRCUIT

This type of informal mentoring is considered to be “service” by the college, and the female faculty I spoke to all believed that the service burden falls more heavily on them, as well as on faculty of color and queer faculty. “I think service tends to be undervalued, and service is done quite differently by men and by women, and by faculty of color or gay faculty, because students will come and talk to us about things that they won’t come and talk to male faculty about,” said Associate Professor of History Julie Charlip. Several professors said that they have had female students come into their offices to talk about being sexually assaulted or dealing with other traumatic incidents. Charlip said that students often come to her with academic needs that they won’t speak to male professors about. “I guarantee that many male faculty don’t have students sitting weeping in their offices telling them about the various problems going on in their lives and how that’s affecting their ability to get their work done,” she said. “I tried to have this discussion with a male colleague who said, ‘Just send them over to the counseling center,’ but it’s not necessarily that kind of issue; it’s that the student needs to explain a current situation and needs academic advice about how to juggle what’s going on.”

Pay Gap In addition to this informal mentoring, female faculty said that they are often expected to perform other kinds of service as well, including serving on committees and attending college events. No one I spoke to particularly minded doing this work, but all felt that it took time away from other pursuits. “Every time a woman faculty member is asked to sit with a student who’s going through a crisis, to be present at a presidential dinner, to serve on a search committee as the diversity outside search committee member, that’s taking time away from her research and that’s taking time away from her teaching,” said Wilcox. Whitman’s system for both merit raises and receiving tenure relies on a three-part evaluation. The most important factor for professors is teaching, followed by publication. Service work is considered, but only as the least important factor. One female professor I spoke to, who didn’t want to use her name because she doesn’t yet have tenure, said that Whitman doesn’t actually value service in the way it claims to. This, in turn, affects the raises many female professors receive. “The things that attract attention for merit-based raises tend to be high-profile,” she said. “[Service is] the kind of work that’s hard to make visible in the review process we have.” This hierarchy puts female professors in an uncomfortable position. Few wanted to do less of the mentoring work that they do, and many enjoyed the fact that students looked at them as a resource. Several faculty believed that better institutional support for gender issues, as well as race and sexuality, would help lighten the burden on female faculty, faculty of color and queer faculty. For example, many other colleges have a designated women’s center or queer center to provide advice and resources for students dealing with these issues. Kaufman-Osborn said that the issue of gendered service expectations has yet to be studied at Whitman, though he would not be surprised if a discrepancy exists. “I don’t know for a fact that faculty of color and [women] do more service work than white men,” he said. “If the claim is true, it’s cause for concern.” Wilcox felt that institutional changes were the only way to make a significant step towards solving this problem. “One thing that it might look like is placing a higher value on these unrecognized forms of service, placing a higher value on service in general, but also, to the extent possible, protecting women faculty from constantly being asked to do this type of service, not constantly asking them to be on search committees,” she said. Still, Charlip felt that mentoring students was a part of her job that was unlikely to go away any time soon. “Women are seen as more willing to be an ear. I don’t see that changing and I don’t see how you institutionally change that,” she said.

MATERNITY AND CHALLENGES Service is only one of several institutional factors that can prevent women from being promoted and receiving raises as quickly as their male counterparts. Maternity was also cited as a concern, though taking time off to raise a child has gotten better since Whitman introduced a new maternity policy at the

“Every time a woman faculty member is asked to sit with a student who’s going through a crisis, that’s taking away time from her research and her teaching.” Melissa Wilcox, Associate Professor of Religion

beginning of this year. Prior to the introduction of this policy, Whitman’s family leave policy mandated a 25 percent pay cut for taking a twocourse load reduction—a situation that made raising a child as the primary wage-earner in the household difficult for many female faculty. Currently, maternity leave is granted under a short-term disability policy, which allows for up to six months of leave at full pay. “By adding that policy, we have made it financially easier for women to take longer periods of leave from the institution with higher levels of compensation,” said Kaufman-Osborn. Faculty also have the option of delaying tenure review for up to two years for a variety of reasons. Kaufman-Osborn said this option is most commonly taken by mothers in order to care for their children. This is helpful for women who choose to have children, but is also another factor contributing to the wage gap, since a delay in receiving tenure means a delay in wage increases. Charlip pointed out that these challenges have much to do with the shifting role of women in academia and, to a broader extent, American society. Expectations about realistic work loads for professors have largely been built around the model of a heterosexual couple raising children, with the man acting as primary wage-earner while the woman stays home to cook, clean and raise the kids. “That doesn’t exist anymore. It doesn’t exist for male faculty either,” said Charlip. Now, male professors are more likely to participate actively in child-rearing, and female professors are more likely to be primary wage-earners while trying to raise children. These facts make the expectation to engage in good teaching, regular academic publication, service work and household duties problematic for many professors, particularly women. While equitable leave policies can help bridge this gap, challenges inevitably remain. Kaufman-Osborn said that while the new policy has been beneficial, it’s not perfect. “These are important steps,” he said, adding that the college will continue to work at addressing this issue.

INSTITUTIONAL PROBLEMS Many female faculty I spoke to felt that the wage gap numbers were symptomatic of larger institutional problems related to gender. The fact that Whitman’s higher-level administration positions, including President, Provost and Dean of Faculty, and Dean of Students are all filled by men was a source of concern. Kaufman-Osborn agreed that this is a problem. “As a matter of symbolism, I think it is a problem,” he said. “By symbolism, I don’t mean to dismiss the importance. I take

THECIRCUIT | 9

Pay Gap symbolism very seriously.” For example, he said many female students would be able to look to women in leadership positions as role models. For example, he said many female students would be able to look to women in leadership positions as role models. Three of the female professors I spoke to felt that having high-level female administrators has a more tangible value. Prior to Kaufman-Osborn becoming Provost, the college had a female Provost, Lori Bettison-Varga. One female professor said that Bettison-Varga was more active about combating institutional sexism. “I don’t think that we’ve done very well under the current administration,” she said. “The previous provost actively mentored women. She understood gender problems and she was willing to take them seriously,” she said. Another female professor agreed. She cited the fact that 11 of the college’s 15 trustees are male, as are 18 of 25 endowed professor chairs. “The college is not doing very much to turn that around,” she said. “They could make a better effort.” Nobody felt that the current Provost or any other members of the administration are actively or conscious sexist or discriminatory against women, and many pointed out that Whitman is better on gender issues than many other institutions. Still, they said that there’s value in having women in higher-level positions, because they are more likely to understand the issues female faculty face and work to address them.

“The previous provost actively mentored women. She understood gender problems and she was willing to take them seriously.” Anonymous female Whitman professor

One example of this is entrenched cultural norms that may prevent women from negotiating for higher salaries. Most pay increases for faculty, whether for merit or cost-of-living, are based on percentages of their base salary. This means that a woman coming in to Whitman who negotiates a lower salary than a male peer will see ramifications throughout her career. Associate Professor of History Lynn Sharp said that when she came to Whitman, she was told explicitly by her department head to negotiate for a higher salary. “Had he not told me that, I never would have had the guts to negotiate,” she said. Additionally, Whitman’s merit pay increases are based largely off of a yearly self-evaluation in which faculty are asked to list all of the work they’ve done during the previous year. Wilcox believes that this model disadvantages women, who are often socialized to be more modest than their male peers. “You really have to be able to say, ‘Look at how cool I am,

WHITMAN WAGE GAP From 2008-2012 full female professors at Whitman earned an average of 5.5% less than their male colleagues. This represents a

$5,700* DIFFERENCE Or the equivalent of 1,900 lattes.

( at $3/each )

2008-2012

$840* $1080* AVERAGE AVERAGE PAY GAP

PAY GAP

ASSISTANT PROFESSORS

ASSOCIATE PROFESSORS *ANNUAL, PER PERSON.

Statistics from the Chronicle of Higher Education, compiled by Rachel Alexander.

10 | THECIRCUIT

Pay Gap you should keep me and you should pay me well.’ Women are not trained to do that,” she said. Charlip agreed, and felt that mentoring of junior faculty would help improve this discrepancy. “Despite any reluctance people might have to [advocate for themselves], you sort of have to get over that,” she said.

WHITMAN’S RESPONSE Kaufman-Osborn stressed that the college takes gender issues seriously and is working to investigate them and improve policies. He has been asked to look into the pay gap by the Compensation Committee, and says he should have results by the end of the summer. “If one controls for age and/or academic rank, are there compensation disparities that appear to be correlated with gender? That is something I simply don’t know at this point,” he said. Several professors said that a lack of discussion about this issue has been problematic in and of itself, and are hopeful that the investigation might create more dialogue. They also stressed that a gender pay gap is only a symptom of these larger problems female professors often face. “Part of the problem is that the other problems are less concrete,” said one professor who asked to remain anonymous. Kaufman-Osborn agreed, and said that it’s important to consider the more subtle ways in which gender might affect

Whitman’s culture. “National studies of university and college faculty tend to support the idea that women find the pressures of balancing home and work more significant than do their male colleagues. In some institutions, faculty have described a “chilly climate for women” and perceive that women are more likely than their male colleagues to feel a need to demonstrate their expertise and competence,” he said. He added that Whitman needs to seriously address these issues in order to continue to attract and retain female faculty. “This is a conversation that I have begun to have with several members of the faculty in addition to administrative staff, and we are now determining the best way to address these kinds of questions,” he said. Sharp said that it’s important to keep the pay gap in perspective, recognizing that while it is a serious issue, Whitman’s female faculty enjoy more privileges than many other women in the world. “This is a good job that we have here,” she said. “I don’t think you should ignore injustices, but we have an awful lot of privileges in our jobs here.” Ultimately, Charlip looks at the issue through the lens of history. “We live in a sexist society. It’s gotten better but we’re constantly reminded of the ways it hasn’t gotten better. I’m a historian. I believe change comes, but frequently it comes more slowly than one would like.”

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

The Circuit guide to

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Reininger Winery 5858 W Hwy. 12 Walla Walla, WA 99362 (509) 522-1994

Open daily 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (last tasting of the day starts at 4:30 p.m.)

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Open daily 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Amavi Cellars 3796 Peppers Bridge Rd. Walla Walla, WA 99362 (509) 525-3541

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Long Shadow Wineries 1604 Frenchtown Rd. Walla Walla, WA 99362 (509) 526-0905

Grantwood Winery 2428 Heritage Rd. Walla Walla, WA 99362 (509) 529-5872

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Northstar Winery 1736 Larson Rd. Walla Walla, WA 99362 (509) 525-6100 Mon-Sat 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sun 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Three Rivers Winery 5641 Old Hwy. 12 Walla Walla, WA 99362 (509) 526-9463

Fri-Sat 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sun-Thurs 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tacos: Fri & Sat noon-7 p.m.

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Pepper Bridge Winery 1704 J.B. George Rd. Walla Walla, WA 99362 (509) 525-6502

Woodward Canyon Winery 11920 W Hwy. 12 Lowden, WA 99360 509-525-4129

Waterbrook Winery 10518 W Hwy. 12 Walla Walla, WA 99362 (509) 522-1262

Dusted Valley Vinters 1248 Old Milton Hwy. Walla Walla, WA 99362 (509)-525-1337 Sat-Sun noon-5 p.m.

Waters Winery 1825 J.B. George Rd. Walla Walla, WA 99362 (509) 525-1590 Thurs-Mon 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

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Buty Winery 535 E Cessna Ave. Walla Walla, WA 99362 (509) 527-0901 Mon-Sat 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Thurs-Mon 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Zerba Cellars 85530 Hwy. 11 Milton-Freewater, OR 97862 (541)-938-9463 Open daily 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Tero 6 W Rose St. Walla Walla, WA 99362 (541) 203-0020 Sun-Thurs 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Sweet Valley Wines 12 N 2nd Ave. Walla Walla, WA 99362 (509)-526-0002 Fri-Sat 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Trio Vinters 102 S 2nd Ave. Walla Walla, WA 99362 (509) 529-8746 Thurs-Sun 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Sapolil Cellars 15 E Main St. Walla Walla, WA 99362 (509) 520-5258

Tamarack Cellars 700 C St. Walla Walla, WA 99362 (509) 526-3533

Open daily 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Dinner 4 p.m.-8 p.m.

Thurs-Fri noon-4 p.m. Sat-Sun 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Rotie Cellars 31 E Main St. Suite 216 Walla Walla, WA 99362 (253) 312-5991 Thurs-Sun 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

K-Vinters/ Charles Smith Wines 820 Mill Creek Rd. Walla Walla, WA 99362 (509) 526-5230 Fri noon-5 p.m. Sat 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

THECIRCUIT | 13

SENIORPROFILES

arely do Whitman students get the chance to hear about the innovative projects and newsworthy accomplishments of classmates beyond their immediate friend group. The Pioneer sat down with several graduating seniorsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;with a diverse range of academic passions and other interests around campusâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; to discuss both their time at Whitman and their plans for the future. David Michaels and Katie Tackman give us a glimpse into their athletic careers on varsity teams; Carrie Sloane, Jack MacNichol and Zoe Ballering provide insight into their artistic endeavors from the Music Building to Harper Joy. Gaea Campe, Grace Davis and Zach Schierl give us insight into their thesis research; and finally, Adam Delgado, Meghan Bill and Jimmy Kaplan share their postWhitman career plans that will send them across the globe.

14 | THECIRCUIT

Interviews by PETER CLARK, SHELLY LE, SYLVIE LUITEN and LIBBY ARNOSTI

STUDENTATHLETES

DAVID MICHAELS

Varsity Basketball “Training for me is ya know, getting up at 6 a.m., working out, lifting with our assistant coach, Coach Garnett. We get up [and] lift, I go to classes, come back, get up shots for 45 minutes or an hour. Then I meet back with him and get in an hour and a half of ball handling, shots off the dribble, post moves, various things. Depending on the day, either get up more shots or go to open gyms.” — “It’s been a crazy road. Lot of ups and downs. Lot of failure, probably one of the hardest times to go through is failing at something that you think you like. It was a tough start here at Whitman; we weren’t good. We didn’t have any direction, we kinda just threw things together. To see us come together as a team and bring in guys who play hard and compete hard everyday has been something really special; changing the culture here is something I’ll never forget. It’s all thanks to Coach Bridge and Coach Airy who have been there from the start and have guided me into the man that I am today.” — “The experience at the Portsmouth Invitational was amazing, and something that I will never forget. I was able to compete against the best college seniors in the country, and was able to prove to everyone that I belong there.” — “The whole tournament was great because we were able to showcase our skills in front of countless agents, scouts and various teams from around the world. I had a great time playing with my teammates as well; we played well as a group, especially not having met each other before then. I personally felt that I did not play up to my potential, but my teammates played well and fueled us to a third place finish.”

KATIE TACKMAN

Varsity Swimming “I just fell in love with the team right away. It was really fun to have this group of people that’s just this huge family that you get to be a part of.” — “Well, when you’re the one that knows the ropes, it’s definitely a shift because you look at things differently. They call me “Mama Tackman” on the team. I really embrace that role of welcoming in the new freshmen, getting everyone in line of what we’re doing and what we’re about. I had that on my high school team, but I know a lot of other swimmers didn’t have that on their high school or club team, so it became really important to me, and then to assume a leadership role was something pretty special and something that I took very seriously.” — “I’m enjoying the break, but I am also way into cross training. I’m excited I decided to do swimming because how many times do you get to say you were a part of a collegiate team? Having that opportunity to compete, it’s pretty amazing. I put a lot of my other interests on the back burner because you only get to do this once.” — “I want to take some time off before I pursue grad school and other types of higher education. I also want to hopefully teach English as a second language in a Spanish-speaking country; I definitely want to keep building my fluency in Spanish and to keep traveling. And I am really interested in social entomology and how groups of people interact with insects; particularly in the Western World insects have a really negative stigma. I want to figure out how we get beyond that because they are such an important part of the ecosystem.”

THECIRCUIT | 15

THESISRESEARCH

GAEA CAMPE

Environmental Humanities Sustaining Linguistic Diversity: An Ecological Imperative “My thesis examines the interconnections between biodiversity and linguistic diversity and builds the argument that preserving the world’s endangered indigenous languages is an ecological imperative. Indigenous languages have been spoken in the same bio-regions for thousands of years and have accrued knowledge of those ecosystems that’s often beyond the scope and specificity of scientific literature.” — “[I also] argue that each language articulates the world in a different way. Because of that a multiplicity of languages means multiple ways of approaching environmental problems. Preserving language diversity contributes to the creativity and adaptive potential of environmental solutions.” — “I looked specifically at the Umatilla reservation, at how they’re using a program through the Department of Natural Resources called First Foods to integrate and adapt cultural knowledge into their resource management strategies.” — “There are roughly 7,000 languages spoken today and over half of them are not being taught to children, so I really wanted my thesis to look into how can we create adaptive, innovative solutions that empower native communities.”

GRACE DAVIS

Sociology A Good Mom Could Be Anybody: The Use of Prison Nurseries in Increasing Parenting and Community Reintegration Success for Inmate Mothers “My thesis was a case-study of the Residential Parenting Program, which is the prison nursery at Washington Correction Center for Women in Gig Harbor.” — “When women get pregnant in prison they generally give birth and then their children are removed from them and placed in the care of a family member or foster care.” — “Prison nursery programs are a solution to this problem—nonviolent offenders can keep their children with them in the prison and raise them as long as their sentence is shorter than 30 months postpartum.” — “I did interviews with women in the program and also administrative staff, correctional officers and the director of the program. I also did interviews with women who were released from the program and were successfully living in the community.” — “What I found was that these women had very little pro-social support. What they really needed was more transitional programs that gave them emotional and physical support.” — “My eventual plan is, I want to go to graduate school for public health, specifically infant or maternal health.”

ZACH SCHIERL

Astronomy & Geology Origin and Morphology of Sinuous Channels on Ascraeus Mons and the Surrounding Plains, Mars. “[My research] is a collaborative effort. I started working on this project last summer with a research internship at Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania.” — “[In my thesis] we looked at a number of channels on one of the largest volcanoes on Mars, Ascraeus Mons and we tried to figure out if these channels are formed by flowing water or by lava.” — “These channels look really similar to river channels here on Earth. If you look at satellite images of the earth, you see the branching dendritic drainage patters that’s typical of terrestrial rivers. So it’s natural to assume that these things we see were, in fact, rivers.” — “We’ve determined pretty definitively that the channels have turned into lava tubes where the surface of the lava has cooled. Over time, this tube has collapsed . . . and these channels flow directly into one of these lava tubes, which implies that the whole thing is volcanic in origin.”

16 | THECIRCUIT

FUTUREPLANS JIMMY KAPLAN

“I’ll be working at a museum in Wyoming that is pretty much on several dig sites, and things that they dig up go right into the museum. Basically I’ll be digging for bones and cleaning bones after they’re excavated. The museum also has a ‘dig for a day’ program where people and families can sign up to dig, so I’ll be supervising patrons and helping them dig whenever that happens.” — “It’s a fun job for the summer but I’m from the city, my first geology class was actually at Whitman, and I think I may want to do graduate studies in engineering in the future and follow that path.”

MEGHAN BILL

“[My plans are] still being formed. I wrote my thesis on museums in the local area because I’m really interested in museum studies and museum education, so I’m searching for opportunities there. But, I have an internship this summer with the Smithsonian Association, which is the educational arm of the Smithsonian Institution. I’m going to be working with them all summer and organizing conferences, events and speakers at the various museums.” — “In two years I’m hoping to go to graduate school for museum studies. It’s really hard to find entry-level jobs with museums right out of college so I’ll probably get a master’s in museum studies within the next year or two.” — “I’ve been working pretty closely with museums in the local area. I got to work with the director of the Fort Walla Walla museum, talking about the exhibits and what they want to do there, and the Tamastslikt cultural center in Pendleton and then the Whitman mission.” — “A lot of race and ethnic studies have social justice underpinnings to them and the museum exhibits that I’ve been most moved by have looked at civil rights movement. The [issue] I’m most passionate about [is] striving for equality. I think it would be great to have a feminist museum, but what feminism looks like today.”

ADAM DELGADO

“I actually accepted [a job offer] in August of 2011, so I’ve had it for some time. I sat for a round of first-round interviews at a super day at Columbia Business School in August. One of the firms that I interviewed with was Bussell and Hamilton, a public sector consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. I was offered a position as a consultant for their health services so it’s basically solving problems, saving money and delivering results. So I would be hired as a consultant to go onto sites, the largest federal health agencies, and look at their programs and how they can improve. It should be an interesting way to start a career, completely not what I was expecting, but when I look at . . . other things I’ve done on campus it kind of aligns with that.” — “Since I’ve come to Whitman I’ve been involved with Club Latino, First Generation Working Class and the Black Student Union. I’m also the student representative to the diversity committee, which is one of the committees with the Board of Trustees. I’ve held that position since sophomore year so I’ve seen how institutions work with issues of diversity; it’s given me a perspective of a how to frame an issue and address topics that trustees aren’t familiar with.”

THECIRCUIT | 17

CREATIVEPURSUITS CARRIE SLOANE

Music & Studio Art “I originally applied to a pretty well-known arts school for undergrad, but I decided I didn’t want to go there because I was like ‘but what about music?’ I am minoring in [visual arts], and I’ve taken a lot of classes in it. I think that Whitman’s really unique in that you can really do both.” — “In my ear training class sophomore year, our last assignment was to write music for, and act and sing in, an operetta. My group did ours about swine flu, and it was really melodramatic and ridiculous and funny. I wrote an aria that I sang, and I don’t really sing, so that was actually really scary.” — “I’m really excited about something I’m playing in right now—my piano teacher Kristin Vining is actually also a composer, and she’s written some music for a modern dance show. It’s less rigid than traditional classic music. There’s one piece where I just improvise the whole time, which is just really fun.” — “I’ve been looking more into careers that are related to visual art. I applied to some internships this summer, in concept art—so that’s coming up with concepts and illustrating them for video games or movies. I think that would be really cool.”

JACK MACNICHOL

Costume Design “I didn’t know how to sew until I came here. I was just an eager freshman . . . they hired me because they needed extra people. One of the things that I really love about Harper Joy is how it’s so possible for you to get really deeply involved.” — “Last year I did a show called Kind Ness, which was seven actors playing 15 characters, and there were 38 costumes and 60 changes. It had some gorillas in it, and so I spent a lot of time online shopping for gorilla suits. It became this very elaborate production.” — “I have no intention of becoming a professional costume designer. It’s clear to me that I can serve the arts much better as an advocate than an artist. This summer I’m working as a fellow for the Oregon Bus Project—it’s a political boot camp, basically, to train political operatives. So that’s where I’m kind of going back to for now, but we’ll see what happens.” — “In a lot of ways, theatre keeps me sane. I think that there is a part of me that is incredibly hands-on. It’s made being a politics major for me at Whitman hard because our department is very political-theory focused. Theatre is sort of my creative outlet.”

ZOE BALLERING

Creative Writing “I probably am, unfortunately, flowery. I’m trying to tone that down. I draw my inspiration from the absurd. I like to search for real [but] absurd stories—right now I’m stuck in absurd Wisconsin 1930s stories. I think that the world is already pretty ridiculous, so I don’t think I have to make stuff up.” — “[During] my sophomore year I lived in the writing house; I was scared of everyone. So I went with my roommate and we went to [Bennington] lake and we played in the mud. And I have never been so filthy. I feel like it probably improved my skin—or, like, made it worse and made me radioactive or something.” — “My friends would probably say that I am funny and neurotic in ways that they think are not reasonable. Like, I like to start things at exactly 9, or 9:30. My roommate always wants to go to bed at, like 12:27, but that’s just ridiculous [laughs].” — “I have somehow ended up working with children a lot. So I’m hoping to do Americorps and work in a school somewhere . . . I might end up just staying in Walla Walla for the next year. I like Walla Walla. It gets a lot of flack, but it’s a really interesting place.”

18 | THECIRCUIT

Senior Profiles

Watson Fellow

ZACH DUFFY

by TALIA RUDEE

here are fellowships for those interested in environmental policy, human rights, leadership, service and countless others, including a fellowship for those who want to travel the world and study a topic of their choosing. Whitman students have seen remarkable success in their fellowship and grant pursuits in recent years, and 2012 is no exception. Director of Fellowships and Grants Keith Raether has guided many students down the time-intensive road of fellowship applications, and a large number emerged successful at the end of the long process. Raether, along with his assistant, Donna Jones, works closely with Whitman students each year during the entire application for a fellowship, scholarship or grant. “It’s a very busy process for us,” said Raether. In recent years, Raether has seen an increase in Whitman’s applicants and recipients of many nationally acclaimed and extremely competitive fellowships and grants. “Students want a year in the world with all this complexity and beauty and imperfection to experience,” said Raether. In particular, Whitman has regularly produced at

least one Watson fellow each year. The Watson Fellowship is one of the most competitive fellowships, with 40 total recipients in the entire country out of approximately 725 applicants initially. The fellowship is a one-year grant for an independent study outside of the country, offered to only 40 U.S. institutions and nominated college seniors. This year, Zach Duffy was the one student granted the Watson fellowship of the four students nominated at Whitman. “The Watson is a fellowship that is about the fellow before it is about the project,” said Raether. “It is an opportunity for the fellow to learn about a ‘personal obsession.’” Duffy’s project is titled “Recovering A Lost Generation: How Nations Help Unemployed Youth Into the Workforce.” His independent travel and study will be in Japan, China, Thailand, Singapore, Switzerland, Germany and the United Kingdom over the course of one year. Duffy’s interest for studying youth unemployment began by learning about his own family’s history. His grandfather never graduated from high school and worked as a suit salesman for the rest of his life. His dad came from a working-class family in Detroit, persevered through school and graduated from college, then worked up to gaining a job in the senate and was very successful. “When I look at people from my own family it means a lot to me to realize what it takes for people to have the American Dream,” said Duffy. The Watson resonated with Duffy due to his recent experiences in college as well. “It’s a very personal project because it is relating to many issues that Whitman students (and all college students) are facing now,” he said. With the economy in its current state, a college degree may not guarantee employment for many people and these are issues of recent concern to Duffy’s friends and peers. Duffy worked at the National Labor Union the summer after his sophomore year. The people around him demonstrated their own passion for the issue and were truly excited to work every day, inspiring Duffy to engage in further investigation of this pertinent issue. The yearlong expedition for the Watson requires that the fellows be out of the country by Aug. 1. They cannot return to the United States for an entire year. For the most part, Duffy plans to try out couchsurfing.org to find places to stay, since he must work his way through the world independently. According to the Watson Fellowship website, “Fellows must create, execute and evaluate their own projects . . . fellows are their own advisers.” The largest challenge for Duffy will be conducting his research through interviews. He is going to many countries where he does not speak the native language and is hoping to find English-speaking people; otherwise he may have to communicate with hand gestures. Any way he does it, Duffy will gain the travel experience of a lifetime to learn about an issue very personal to him. Although Duffy is the only recipient at Whitman, Sam Alden did qualify as a Watson alternate Fellow with his proposal, “Drawing from Life: Comics as a Personal Medium,” traveling to Japan, Belgium and Brazil, and the two other nominees were also very competitive candidates. “I don’t feel like I’m more qualified than any of the other candidates,” said Duffy. “I wish they could all go.”

THECIRCUIT | 19

CLASS OF

2012

The class of 2012 will don their robes and cross the commencement stage on Sunday, May 20, 2012. Graduation season brings memories of the past four years and a question mark-shaped future into the minds of Whitman’s seniors. For The Circuit’s Graduation Edition, we wanted to partake in the nostalgia and speculation that characterize these final Whitman days. In our senior survey, we asked the class of 2012 this question: What’s in your future? Here are their responses, printed with each senior’s name and major(s). The subsequent pages are a collection of responses about graduates’ time at Whitman.

20 | THECIRCUIT

John Abercrombie

Mazie Ashe

Aurora Bowers

David Canedo-Sanchez

Laura Coulson

“Graduate school at Western Kentucky University for Religious Studies. Hopefully some time abroad in East Asia.”

“Running around and finding the fun.”

“Tornado-riding and/or hamburgling. Alternatively, focusing on the objectification of men and/or pop-bluegrass pornography.”

“Apply to graduate school and take the CFA Level I exam this December.”

“Traveling to India to continue my documentation of Tricia Vanderbilt’s every movement and keep the blog updated.”

Religion

Tyler Abery Philosophy

Roshan Adhikari Economics-Mathematics

“I am going to work for a financial institution for a couple years.”

Erick Aguayo Economics

“Working in business management at Hertz Car Rental for the summer and then pursuing a career in the banking industry.”

Ana Aguilar Spanish

“I plan to take a year off before committing myself to a master’s program in counseling. In the mean time, I hope to work as a para-educator at Blue Ridge elementary school.”

Aaron Aguilar Ramirez History, Spanish

“Northwestern University, Spanish and Portuguese Ph.D. program.”

Sam Alden Studio Art

“Parents’ basement/career as a professional cartoonist (activities are not mutually exclusive).”

Geology

Alyssa Bader Anthropology

“Graduate studies in physical anthropology at Southern Illinois University.”

Kelsie Baher Sociology

“Next fall, I’m going to Goldsmiths University of London to study a course called ‘Brands, Communication, and Culture’ in the Media & Communications department.”

Zoë Ballering English

“Purple root vegetables.”

Michael Barker Psychology

“A one-way ticket to New Zealand. Next five years? Who knows?”

Ryan Barrett Psychology

Jasper Bash Biology

“Medical School.”

Emily Basham Politics

“Lots of walking and reading.”

Politics

Brendan Boyer Biology

“Research focused on arthropods. Eventually grad school.”

Grant Bradley English

“First, M.A. program in publishing and writing at Emerson College. Second, working with cutting edge digital media to expand the avenues of human expression. Third, all-powerful worldwide media mogul.”

Alyssa Breetwor Sociology

“I am working as a nutrition specialist and personal trainer at Wellspring obesity camp in La Jolla, Calif. this summer.”

Sociology-Environmental Studies “Summer job at coral reef non-profit, then travel, internships, etc.”

JP Alvarez Psychology

“Playing professional basketball in Ecuador and graduate school.”

Natalie Anaya

Environmental Humanities “Working as an instructor for an environmental education summer program and getting my doula certification to help assist in home births.”

Torey Anderson Biology

“Physical therapy school.”

Corinne Andriola Economics “Actuary.”

Mark Arand

Music (Theory/Composition), Psychology

Amanda Arriola Economics-Mathematics

“This summer I will be working with Issaquah’s Parks and Recreation as a camp director. After that, I will use my liberal arts degree to figure out what I should do with the rest of my life.”

Justin Artis Sociology

“Finding a job.”

“I am spending the summer in Lincoln, Neb. as a part of a summer program in math. In the fall I will be attending the University of Colorado at Boulder, where I plan on earning my Ph.D. in mathematics.”

Jackson Bellaimey

Race & Ethnic Studies, Spanish “Teaching in D.C. for the summer and teaching Spanish in the fall (either through TFA or a private school).”

Chris Bendix Philosophy

“Summer: Coaching swimming. Next year: Hopefully assistant coaching at the college level. Five years?”

Meghan Bill

Race & Ethnic Studies “Summer: Internship with The Smithsonian in D.C. organizing conferences, speakers and educational events. Next year: Hopefully more internships with museums. Five years: Grad school in museum studies/education.”

BBMB

“I’ll be teaching English in Thailand for a year and then hopefully grad school.”

Stefanie Brown Anthropology

Geology

“Duck farming.”

Alyson Brozovich History

“I am applying to be a foreign service officer with the State Department.”

Malea Castellanos Psychology

“Occupational therapy school!”

Rhetoric & Media Studies

Biology

“Next year: Finding a job in a research lab or a clinic. Eventually: Med school or grad school.”

Yon Choi

Race & Ethnic Studies

“Grad school or an Alternative Teacher Certification program.”

Kirk Crosland

Asian Studies, Economics “Looking for work in New York after graduation.”

Haley Cushing Politics

Politics

“Music and human rights! As of now, I only know two things: I will be a drama counselor at Willowbrook Arts Camp this summer and then I’m off to Shantou, China to teach English for a year.”

“Graduated in December 2011. Ran away to Ecuador where I volunteered on farms and traveled. Spring and summer brings more farming and more traveling. Beyond summer, life.”

Grace Davis Sociology

“Korea this summer, graduate school at Georgia Tech after.”

Deirdre Clarke

Sophie Davis

Chemistry

Geology-Environmental Studies “Peace Corps environmental education volunteer in Sub-Saharan Africa.”

Kaitlin Cloud

Chemistry-Environmental Studies

Minnie Cluff

Alethea K. Buchal

Hannah Daly

“Next year I’ll be working through AmeriCorps with the Native American Youth and Family Center of Portland, before hopefully heading to graduate school for public health.”

“Working in the medical industry, and in a few years, going to medical school to become a doctor.”

Theatre

“I’m going to be with my family, the bestest people in the whole wide world. Maybe after that, I’ll consider doing the whole ‘make your own family’ thing.”

Biology

“Interning at various clinics throughout Oregon and California, adventuring and (hopefully) attending medical school to study rural health with an emphasis in public health.”

Seth Dawson Philosophy, Politics

“Senator Maria Cantwell’s reelection campaign, then hopefully to her D.C. office!”

Katie DeCramer Politics

“Elementary education.”

Emily Coba

Adam Delgado

Biology

Politics

Biology-Environmental Studies

“I’d like to settle down and start a family soon. I know a lot of Whitties marry each other, but I’m still looking for that special person!”

“I will be staying in Walla Walla for a year to work and start looking into graduate schools to focus on marine ecology.”

Joe Cohen

“In August 2011, I accepted an offer as a consultant in the public sector health business of Booz Allen Hamilton. One day, I envision continuing my work within the government and nonprofit sectors to expand equal access to healthcare and education.”

Shannon Buckham

Paul Butler Psychology

“Graduate school in acupuncture and oriental medicine, to get my master’s and then my doctorate.”

Gabe Cahn Politics

“Full-time work at Boeing in Seattle.”

“Happiness?”

Adriel Borshansky

Lindsay Cameron

“I’m working at the lobbying firm I interned with in D.C. last summer. Hopefully I’ll come back to Whitman for some Dabbles in Bloom concerts!”

“Asia exploration, Grand Canyon rafting, fishing in Bristol Bay and probably permaculture.”

Chemistry

“I will be exploring entrepreneurial possibilities in Idaho and California.”

BBMB

Jacob Bruckner

Economics

Monica Boshart

English

“I hope to work as a kayak instructor this summer and boat the Grand Canyon next March. Other than that things are pretty up in the air.”

Skyler Bissell

Religion

Scott Cassidy

Robert Crenshaw

Taylor Chock

Anne Bauer

Mathematics

“Joining the circus to see if I have a future career as a lion tamer.”

“Taking time off before attending graduate school for architecture.”

Lauren Brougham

“This summer I will be returning to a day camp for kids with disabiilties as a lead counselor. Then I hope to work in the social services sector before going to graduate school to get a Master of Arts in Teaching.”

Maggie Allen

Race & Ethnic Studies

Art History & Visual Culture Studies

Spanish

Elliot Broze

Allison Beemer

Vanessa Casey

Ryan Creal

“Whitman in China: Teaching at a Chinese university for a year.”

Biology

“Cat ranching.”

“Gap year followed by law school.”

“Some time off, then pursuing a Master of Architecture.”

“Animals.”

Adam Bronstein

Sociology

History

Studio Art

“AmeriCorps NCCC.”

Bennett Baucom History

Sarah Canepa

Chemistry

Cindy Chen

“Going abroad to Korea to teach English for a year. After that, it’s a mystery.”

Mary Allain

Economics

Geology

Gaea Campe

Environmental Humanities “Moving to Portland.”

History

Elana Congress Philosophy

“I’m moving to Charlotte, N.C. to teach middle school science! I will receive an alternate teaching certification through TEACH Charlotte, enabling me to teach eager 11 to 13 year olds in August. Come visit!”

Christina Delicata Rhetoric & Media Studies

“This summer I will either be working as a P.A. on an independent feature film or moving to a farm to help create a web video series.”

Senior Survey Fanny Domijan Spanish

“I’m taking a big Euro-trip late in the summer, then moving to the Portland area where I will hopefully find some kind of job/internship that lets me use my Spanish skills. In the future I’ll think of something to go to grad school for.”

Pam Donohue Anthropology

Rimmy Doowa

Economics-Environmental Studies “Going back to Thailand to finish recording and launch music with a label from UK. On the road to be an artist! Maybe? Fun stuff.”

Kelly Douglas English, Studio Art

“Working with a community arts organization for the next year and applying to graduate programs.”

Emily Doyle Chemistry

“I’m moving to New Zealand for about a year where I will continue to wonder if I should go to graduate school.”

Erin Drake Philosophy

“Undecided.”

Lexie Drechsel Economics

“More school.”

Jean Marie Dreyer Classics

“Networking for summer and long-term job prospects. Future possibilities include: Interning at a law office, working for a non-profit in Seattle, attending law school, pursuing a Master of Arts in Teaching and traveling.”

Meg Du Bray Anthropology

“Hopefully going to grad school in environmental anthropology in the fall of 2013. Looking for a job in the mean time!”

Stefan DuBois Classics

“Helping a high school coach start a community tennis program in my hometown this summer, and then spending the 2012-2013 school year in Spain teaching English.”

Zach Duffy Politics

“Watson Fellowship studying how NGOs abroad are helping unemployed young people into the workforce. Volunteering for the Obama campaign before I leave.”

Clara Easter

Environmental Humanities “Taking a year off and working to make money for grad school.”

Anna Ekstrom English

“Teaching middle or high school students.”

David DeVine

Zachary Ellenbogen

Annie Cooper

“Graduate school in statistics.”

“Making movies.”

“Work, then grad school.”

Matt Dittrich

Ben Elstrott

Biology

Emily Cornelius Spanish

“Headed to Europe for a bit with my parents then trying to figure out if I will be in Portland for the summer or working wheat harvest out on the ranch.”

Economics, Applied Mathematics

Politics

“I’ve accepted a position with Bain & Company at the London office starting this fall. This summer, I’m managing the reelection campaign for James C. Moeller, mentoring for the Children’s Cancer Association, and chopping a lot of wood.”

Philosophy, Rhetoric & Media Studies

Chemistry

Sebastian Elstrott Biology

“Taking the year off to work in an emergency room, take a few classes and apply to medical school.”

THECIRCUIT | 21

Senior Survey Sam Epstein

Kayla Foster

Gretchen Grimm

“Teaching saxophone at Whitman College.”

“Teaching English for a year in Germany as a Fulbright Fellow.”

“Belt.”

Nina Estep

Jo French

“I will be selling my body to science for the next year as a lab/clinic minion before grad school. If all else fails, I run away to join a zoo.”

“TRAVEL!! I am going to Bolivia in the fall, and I hope to travel around South America wwoofing. If I get the job, I will also work at a women’s university in Bangladesh. After that I will cultivate random skills like goat raising and glass blowing.”

Music (Jazz)

Biology

Laura Euller French

“Canoeing with teens this summer, teaching English to French teens in Grenoble, France next fall.”

Grace Evans Spanish

German Studies

Politics

Kelsey Fritts Anthropology

“In the next few months I will be moving to New Zealand! I am planning on taking a year off and traveling. I eventually go back to school, most likely for sports medicine.”

“Attempt to become an employed member of society. I love working with kids and will eventually probably be a teacher.”

Miriam Garber

Polly Evans

“I am moving to China in July to teach English at a university for two years.”

Natural & Mathematical Sciences “Next year I will complete my B.S. in Civil Engineering at Columbia University. After that I hope to get a job in the engineering industry, designing large scale projects.”

Thomas Everett Philosophy, Politics

“Contemplating a quiet retirement in Western Washington.”

Alyssa Fairbanks History

“Ultimately I plan on going to law school for civil rights/immigration law. Then hopefully working for an organization that promotes civil rights and religious tolerance.”

Hayley Falk History

“Going back to the future.”

Jennifer Farley BBMB

“Time will tell.”

Yonas Fikak Politics

Asian Studies

Lea Gariando Economics

Krista Garrett Geology

“This summer I will be working as a geology intern with SoundEarth Strategies.”

Chandini Gaur

Economics-Mathematics

David Hancock Spanish

“Summer: Work. Next year: Study culinary arts at Walla Walla Community College.”

Michael Hanley

Politics-Environmental Studies “Leading rich people on jeep and canoe tours in Alaska. Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. Spending some time away from academia.”

Emily Hanscam Anthropology, History

“Archaeology in Jordan and Romania, back home to Alaska to work for at least a year, maybe to Malawi to teach secondary school, then grad school in international studies.”

Matt Hanson Chemistry-Geology

“Half a year of climbing and skii bumming then a Ph.D. program in geochemistry.”

Billy Harbour

Michail Georgiev Theatre

“The power of hindsight.”

Mackenzie Gerringer Biology, German Studies

“This summer, I’ll be stage-managing for an opera company in Italy. In the fall, I’m headed to Germany for an English Teaching Assistantship with a Fulbright Grant.”

English

Elizabeth Fleming

Politics

Ruby Glaser Psychology

“Not sure. Hopefully staying in Walla Walla to work next year.”

Alex Folkerth

Mark Glasionov

“Work and music.”

“Academics, internships and music.”

Biology

German Studies

“I’m moving back to Berlin for a summer media program, and hopefully staying there to work and live long-term!”

Price Hardman Mathematics

“I’ve taken a job in Seattle at a shipping company doing logistics work while completing two professional certificate programs at UW in Ruby development and database management.”

Michael Harrison Geology

“Work. Maybe more school.”

“School of Pharmacy at the University of Washington for the next four years.”

Brynne Haug History

“Curating museums, nannying babies and writing novels.”

Christa Heavey Mathematics-Physics

“Graduate school.”

“This summer, I will be in Portland doing something summery. Next year, my plans are currently open. I’m likely moving to New York. Wherever I am, I hope to be making theatre.”

John-Henry Heckendorn

Josh Goodman

“Campaign manager for a state senate race in Anchorage, Alaska.”

“Athletic training internship with the Seattle Storm.”

22 | THECIRCUIT

Theatre

Psychology

“Ph.D. program for Counseling, Clinical and School Psychology with an emphasis in Counseling Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.”

Economics, Politics

Kayla Hegedus Physics

“Graduate school for one year.”

BBMB

History

Christine Kiely

Environmental Humanities “Geoducking and waitressing.”

Gene Kim

“Work in a lab then apply for graduate school in immunology.”

History

Brady Klopfer

Robin Helms “Field biology.”

“I will be teaching science for the next two years with Teach for America. If time permits, I’d like to go on a road-trip through the Southwest after my summer training.”

“Pursuing a career in film acting in Los Angeles, before returning home to Gualala, Calif. in five to 10 years to live/ pursue a career as an author.”

Hayley Hemphill

Eri Imahori

“After spending the summer serving asparagus tempura and Kobe burgers to Lake Tahoe’s in crowd, I plan on relocating Picton, NZ to become a dolphin trainer.”

“Grad school.”

Biology

Psychology

Ted Hendershot Rhetoric & Media Studies

“Heading back to Portland and hunting down design gigs.”

Max Henkels

Politics-Environmental Studies

Noah Henry-Darwish Psychology

Stephanie Herbst “Hopefully finding a job.”

Sunithi Hindagolla Sociology

Omar Ihmoda

Psychology

Sofia Infante BBMB

Hannah Jacob Biology

“Nursing school.”

English

Art History & Visual Culture Studies, English “I’ve secured an apprenticship with Batman, during which time I plan to take a day job in museum work.”

Conor Holton-Burke BBMB

“Tennis.”

Lauren Hopson Psychology

“Working part-time and taking classes so I can apply to an M.S. nursing degree program.”

Staten Hudson English

“I will be frantically searching for a job somewhere in the financial industry.”

Jan Hudson Sociology

“Officer Candidate School for the U.S. Navy.”

Psychology

“I have been accepted as a Teach For America 2012 corps member a to teach at a charter school in Dallas, TX. I then plan to stay for a few years, while completing my master’s in educational leadership. I will eventually pursue a Ph.D. in educational leadership.”

Caroline Koehler Politics

Philosophy

Sam Kollar

Madeline Jacobson

Brett Konen

English

Sociology, Politics

“Working for College Forward, an AmeriCorps organization that provides free tutoring and college prep assistance for lower-income high school students.”

“Adventures.”

Haya Jamali Chemistry

Kelly Jensen

Philip Hofius

Autumn Knutson

“New Zealand for a year and then grad school.”

Rachel Hoar “Eventually the Foreign Service, but for now I’m going to teach abroad to gain work experience and become fluent in a few languages.”

Environmental Humanities

“Politics stuff.”

Geology

“Graduate school at Yale University staring next year.”

Classics

Psychology

David Jacobson

“Adventures.”

Amanda Holberg

BBMB

Mathematics

“I have a 10-week internship with NASA this summer! I’ll be teaching teachers the astronomy they need to know in order to teach after-school astronomy programs at their schools, among other fun things.”

Amy Hasson

History

Caitlin Goldie

Sociology

Physics-Astronomy

“Georgetown Law, Class of 2015.”

Carolyn Hart

Bryant Fong

Anna Forge

Allison Humble

“I’m planning on interning at a magazine or publishing house while getting my TEFL certification and working as a chef in a Pan-Asian-TexMex-French-fry truck.”

“In the fall, I am attending Stanford University to earn a Master of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering.”

“City Year, Detroit.”

Alexe Helmke

Politics-Environmental Studies

“Who knows?”

“Applying to law school to pursue intellectual property law.”

Sociology, Spanish

English

Caitlin Hardee

Economics, Rhetoric & Media Studies

Amy Gipsman

Marisol Fonzeca

“Women’s basketball assistant coach.”

Jeff Gayle

“Leading canoe trips in the Boundary Waters in the summer and teaching environmental education in the fall!”

Chemistry

Thomas Helmers

“This summer I’m working at Camp Dogwood in Virginia, and this fall I’ll be studying and teaching math at Cal Poly to get my master’s.”

“Exploring.”

Kyla Flaten

Rhetoric & Media Studies

“Environmental/ Water Resources consulting with a firm in D.C., then a job back out west. Possibly an M.A. in Water Resource Policy and Management, an M.B.A. or both.”

Jenn Keyes

“I have a job doing genetics research next year at the University of Alaska, during which time I’m going to apply to medical school.”

“This summer, I’ll be working at The Painted Turtle, a non-profit summer camp for children with serious medical conditions.”

“I’ll be working for the Walla Walla Symphony as its Operations and Education Coordinator for one or two years and will probably apply to grad school at some point.”

Politics-Environmental Studies

Mollee Huisinga

Race & Ethnic Studies

Biology

Michaela Gianotti

Music (Theory/Composition)

Mackenzie Hales

Julian Helmer

“Living.”

“Summer: Undecided (Fellowship with Washington BUS Fellowship? Internship in D.C.? Whitman Conference and Events?) Starting in August: City Year AmeriCorps.”

Sociology-Environmental Studies

Mathematics

BBMB

“Medical school.”

Ian Kretzler Anthropology

“Graduate school at the University of Washington.”

Paul Kruss History

Katherine Ku Neurobiology

Emily Johnson

“Peace Corps and more school.”

“Bicycling across the country this summer. Not sure what after that!”

Spanish

Chemistry-Geology

Hannah Johnson Race & Ethnic Studies

Molly Johnson Religion

“Heading home to work as a waitress until I come up with a new plan!”

Hannah Joseph

Biology-Environmental Studies “I will be teaching English with Princeton in Asia for the next year.”

Erin Kanzig

Sociology-Environmental Studies “Probably AmeriCorps. And being awesome.”

Jimmy Kaplan

Zoë Kunkel-Patterson “I am hoping to spend the summer in Walla Walla drinking beer, getting tan, watching baseball and eating good food. But I might get a nanny job in Menlo Park for two-month old twins. After that I will be heading to grad school for a master’s in education. ”

Wing Lok Lam Mathematics-Physics “Sitting in traffic.”

Thomas Launer Biology

“Not sure.”

Diana Lay History

“Teach for America for the next two years and then who knows!”

Geology

Linh Le

“Working on a survey project in Antarctica for the next six months and then applying to graduate school!”

“More school and work. More eating and sleeping. Pediatrician.”

BBMB

Kelsey Kennedy

Mitchell Lee

English

Chemistry

“I will be joining City Year (an AmeriCorps program) in Seattle starting this August.”

“Not really sure. Work or travel next year and then graduate school applications.”

Katie Lei

Sam Lundberg

Abbey McGrath

Amina Mohamed

Mehera Nori

“Working for the WCOP this summer. Rafting the Grand Canyon next March. Backpacking the Pacific Crest Trail next spring/summer. Not sure after that.”

“Equal parts sleep, work and leisure.”

“This summer I’m leading the trip to Thailand with GlobeMed to work with the Burmese Women’s Union. Next year I’m working in Walla Walla’s middle schools. Then I’m going to nursing school on a nurse practitioner track! ”

“I plan on attending business school in two to three years.”

“I’m moving to Shanghai in the fall. I have a job?! How did that even happen.”

French

Hannah Leigh

Sociology-Environmental Studies “This summer I’ll be a trail guide in Alaska.”

Noah Lerner Religion

“Teaching elementary special education with Teach For America.”

Sara Levy English

“I plan to teach English in Spain while fostering 10 saint bernards at my lucrative miniature horse farm, and then starting my own nonprofit dedicated to spreading dinosaur poetry to the developing world.”

Hannah Lewis Biology

“I will be researching at the Tulane National Primate Research Center for the summer.”

Amy Liechty Spanish

“Teaching backcountry skills at an all-girls camp just north of Burlington, Vt. followed by a year in Walla Walla working for a local architect and hopefully a master’s in architecture or urban planning.”

Matt Liedtke

Mathematics, Economics “Project coordinator with the Sonoma County Economic Development Board.”

Katie Lien BBMB

“Graduate school at UC Berkeley!”

Bailey Lininger

Environmental Humanities

Julianne Linn

History

Ryan Lutz Psychology “Teaching.”

Erik Lyon Economics

“Summer: Full-time paid internship with the Mono Lake Committee, a non-profit environmental group focused on stewardship of the lake and public education. Fall: Technical manager on Semester in the West.”

Chris Machesney Economics

“The brief list that follows will all enviably be in my future: Pirates, mega yachts, vacation homes, helicopters, wall street domination, pioneering new medicines, solving butter crises, pies and George Forman grills.”

Jack MacNichol Politics, Theatre

“This summer I will be working as a PolitiCorps Fellow with the Oregon Bus Project. After that my plan is murkier, but will certainly include following my bliss while remaining gainfully employed.”

Addison Magness

Biology

Adam McKibben

Art History & Visual Culture Studies, History “Coaching collegiate debate, law school.”

Matt McMillan Psychology

“High school football coach, possibly graduate school, a career in sports psychology, a loving wife.”

David Michaels Psychology

“This summer I will be training to go play professional basketball. Next fall I will be somewhere in Europe playing professional basketball.”

Adam Michel Politics

Maggie Massey

“I will work for planned parenthood eventually!”

“Semester in the West field manager.”

Rhya Milici

Psychology

Tessa Matson

“My future plan is to become a physician’s assistant, but I will probably take a little time off from school to explore and travel.”

“Working as a research assistant for a neuropsychology lab.”

Psychology

Allie Lodine

Ruth Mattmiller

Sociology

Theatre

“Adventures.”

“Getting married 5/27; starting graduate school for counseling psychology.”

Sociology

“This summer I’ll be traveling with two other students to Thailand to work with GlobeMed’s partner organization for eight weeks. After that, who knows!”

Robin Miller

Economics, Mathematics

“Zoos, Europe, food trucks, law school?”

Alice Minor

Binta Loos-Diallo

Doyle McCarthy

Cara Lowry French

“This summer I’ll be pouring wine in the Walla Faces tasting room. Starting in October I’ll be an English teaching assistant at the primary school level in Toulouse, France.”

Sylvie Luiten

Politics-Environmental Studies

Politics

Biology

“Chastity Belt and ethnobotany.”

“I’m headed to Denmark! This summer I’ll be working for Humanity In Action and then going to graduate school in the Global Refugee Studies masters program at Aalborg University in Copenhagen.”

Evelina Miropolsky Psychology

Neketa McDonald

Olivia Mitchell

“Summer: Working at a preschool in Seattle, maybe part-time barista or non-profit interning. Next year: Hopefully working as an au pair in Paris. Five years from now: Being a licensed clinical social worker!”

Art History & Visual Culture Studies

“Fifty year plan: Small business owner, three kids, investor in commercial real estate, open a gym, mayor of Edmonds, grandchildren, die happy.”

“Road trip to art exhibits across the land and enjoy foodie adventures.”

Ben McGinn

Biology, Philosophy

“Searching for a job in Switzerland.”

Lydia Lund

Politics

“I’m participating in the Whitman in China Teaching Program, so next year I’ll be at the Northwestern Polytechnic Institute in Xi’an, China. After that, I hope to be able to head back to the U.S.-Mexico border and volunteer with No More Deaths.”

English

Politics-Environmental Studies “Life, work and hopefully some Ultimate Frisbee, too.”

Matt Morganroth Economics

“Working in finance/insurance.”

Shannon Morrissey Sociology

Psychology

“I will be working in college admissions or at a college readiness program.”

Nanyonjo Mukungu Politics

“Empowering women and eliminating racism!”

James Muldoon Biology

“Teach for America.”

Abby Neel

Psychology

Politics-Environmental Studies, Studio Art

Lauren McCullough

Biology

Katie Miller

“Engineering Internship in Walla Walla followed by graduate school in engineering or physics.”

Religion

Hiram Moran

MaryBeth Murray

Hayley Mauck

“I am heading back to Portland. One of my sisters and I plan to transform the Senegalese children’s stories my dad used to tell us into children’s books. I’m hoping that taking time off will help me decide if I want to pursue an M.F.A. or look into alternative medicine.”

“Graduate School at the University of Michigan.”

“Discoveries Day Camp—Creative drama instructor at Woodland Park Zoo. In five years I want to have my own elementary school classroom and someday, be a principal.”

Physics

Studio Art

Chemistry

Theatre

“This summer: Business Process Analysis internship at Longview Fibre in Western Washington. I would love to go to graduate school eventually.”

Matt Logan

Andrew Molina

Hannah Moskat

Cameron Michels

“I will be pursuing my M.A. in Spanish Linguistics and Latin American Literature.”

“Trekking and interning in Nepal.”

“Publishing? Copy editing? Doing the blurbs on the back of cereal boxes? TUNE IN NEXT TIME TO FIND OUT.”

English

“I intend to become a culinary journalist. Hopefully the editor of Sunset Magazine by the time I’m 30.”

Spanish

Sociology-Environmental Studies

Nick Michal

“Try to make money.”

Jessica Matresse

Olivia Molden

“Carlson Hotels—Loyalty Marketing (full-time employment).”

Politics

Sociology-Environmental Studies

Politics

Kyle Moen

“This fall I will be attending law school. After that I expect to be wrapped up in adventures as I find them or, perhaps even better, as they find me.”

Spanish

“Graduate school for education, then teaching.”

Politics

Nathan Neff-Mallon Chemistry

“Ph.D. Program in Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.”

Politics, Spanish

Laura Numata Economics

“Definitely a dog. And many good books.”

Colleen O’Bannon

Politics-Environmental Studies “Finding a yob.”

Becca O’Connor Race & Ethnic Studies

“Get money and travel!”

Hanne Ohaus English

“In the near future I’ll be teaching kids to cook with fire and dressing up in all manner of costumes. After that, it’s a toss up between cake decorating, surrogate motherhood and traveling the world as a trapeze artist.”

Alegria Olmedo

Senior Survey Mary Patzel Anthropology

“Chasing pipe dreams.”

Arielle Paulson Politics

Monica Paulson BBMB

“Work for a year or two before applying to medical school.”

Alex Pearson English

“Sleep.”

Brian Percival Economics

“Pursuing a master’s in professional accountancy.”

Jenele Peterson Biology

“Begin Jedi training.”

“Playing basketball overseas and then going to physical therapy graduate school at Washington University in St. Louis.”

Lindsay Olson

Kira Peterson

Pschology

Chemistry

“Summer: Working at Interlochen Arts Camp. Fall: Interning at an organization in Portland that works with kids who are on the autism spectrum. 2013: Teaching English in South America.

“Snow and horses.”

Environmental Humanities

Peter Olson Psychology

“Attending medical school for the next four years. Then working as a physician afterwards.”

Megan Oost Studio Art

Mallory Peterson English

“I hope to intern at Seattle Magazine and, from there on, work my way into the publications industry. I have been considering teaching English abroad in Spain as well, but that would only be for a year or so.”

Kel Peyton BBMB, English

“Next year I am going to Virginia Commonwealth University as a special student in a post post-baccalaureate program in ceramics.”

“Probably research for the first few weeks of the summer, then volunteering and hopefully a job in the medical field until I manage to get into medical school.”

Nathan Ord

Phuong Pham

“Working on a commercial crabbing boat, slaying dragons, going into some sort of medical research, catching the ‘great white buffalo,’ generally winning.”

“Internship at Nordstrom/ Nordstrom Corp.”

Charlie O’Rourke

Chemistry

BBMB

Economics

Donna Phan

Theatre

“Going to grad school... indefinitely.”

Nina Neff-Mallon

“I will be working at Camp Dudley in Westport, N.Y. over the summer and then I will, hopefully, move to New York City and try my hand at acting.”

Kate Potter

“This summer, I’m having a baby! For the coming year I’m going to be enjoying being a mom and working on my grad school application to the University of Wisconsin.”

Emma O’RourkePowell

Theo Pratt

Jacob Nelson

“Home for the summer; Coro Fellows Program alternate.”

History, Philosophy

Psychology

Michael Nelson

Politics

Peter Osseward BBMB, Philosophy

Religion

“Research Tech position in Seattle. Neuroscience grad school eventually.”

“I plan to move to China to become a panda bear love guru... I will be there as long as it takes.”

David Otten

Alyssa Nevell Psychology

Ellie Newell English

“Hopefully midwifery school!”

Khoa Nguyen Biology-Geology

“Lifeguarding on the lakefront, Peace Corps, Veterinary medical school.”

Theatre

“Employment, in some shape or form.”

Lena Page Economics

“I need a job—please email me with offers! pagelm@whitman.edu”

Geology, Religion

Psychology

“This summer I’ll be working as the rentals manager at Friday Harbor Marine, next year I’ll be working at some TBD job in Bellingham. In five years hopefully I’ll be a published fiction writer.”

Peter Qualtere-Burcher Music (Jazz)

“Berlin, a handful of weddings and the monastic profession of dish-washing.”

Katie Radosevic

Biology-Environmental Studies “In my future I see many red wigglers and many goats helping me to pursue social and environmental justice.”

Evan Randall Religion

Morgan Patton

“Medical school, in perpetuity.”

“This summer I’m working for Snohomish County Elections in the voter registration division, and then probably moving to New York to pursue acting.”

Politics

Theatre

Sara Rasmussen “Pigfarts, Pigfarts, here I come! Pigfarts, Pigfarts, yum yum yum!”

THECIRCUIT | 23

Senior Survey Angela Raso Chemistry

“Moving to the Midwest for grad school, where the Mexican food is wrapped up in Doritos, but at least the corn is fresh.”

Ruben Raychaudhuri Biology

Zachary Schierl Geology-Astronomy

“Summer: Park Ranger, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Fall: Graduate school, Western Washington University.”

Lizzy Schiller Psychology

Daria Reaven Politics

“Camp counselor in upstate New York, Arabic program in Tunisia, move to NYC to work for Narativ, Inc., a storytelling workshop organization run by Columbia University, while I figure out what to study in grad school.”

Elizabeth Reetz History

“Teach for America in Hawaii for the next two years! Starting a week after graduation.”

Julia Schneider Studio Art

“This fall I’ll begin a two-year Master of Social Work Program with a concentration in Children and Families at the University of Washington in Seattle.”

Heather Smith Sociology

“This summer I have a retail sales internship with Nordstrom in Seattle. I hope to advance on a retail management track with Nordstrom after completing the internship.”

Kristie Smith Ryan Smith BBMB

“Getting more involved in healthcare and applying to medical school.”

Seth Smith

Biology-Environmental Studies

Sam Schonfeld Astronomy, Physics

Siri Smith

Emily Rhoades

“Graduate school in Astronomy in the fall.”

“China.”

“Bumpy rhoades in Europe.”

Amelia Righi

Art History & Visual Culture Studies, Gender Studies “Grand life adventures that involve dear friends, good wine and bringing down the patriarchy.”

Michael Rogers Religion

“Inner City Missions work is in my future.”

Madeline Schutt Biology

Charlotte Scott Spanish

“This summer I’ll be working in the Northwest. I’m waiting to hear back about a teaching program in Spain; hopefully that is where I’ll be next year. After a year or two of that, I plan on heading to graduate school.”

Kyle Scott

Economics

Claire Snyder

Biology-Environmental Studies “Going to New Zealand to become a full-time hobbit.”

Megan Snyder BBMB

“Why do people keep asking me that?”

Katelyn Sorensen

“Life, learning, love.”

“2012-2013 Assistant coach for the Whitman women’s tennis team and then who knows?”

Ted Sengpaseuth

Nick Souby

“Research, kayaking, med school.”

Margaret RossMartin Politics “idk.”

Matt Rowett Asian Studies

“Going to Kunming on the Whitman in China program.”

Barratt Rudolph Geology

Andrew Ryan English

“Probs going to be a barista in Portland for a while and then write a best seller.”

Gregory Safranek Biology

“Happiness.”

Freddy Sanchez

French

Economics

“Graduate program in international affairs at George Washington University.”

“Teaching English in Kunming with the Whitman in China program.”

Julia Shapiro Psychology

“Chastity Belt.”

Brandon Shaw Economics

Fritz Siegert BBMB, Philosophy

“Idaho... Maybe Africa... Hopefully some good beer and friends along the way.”

Hannah Sieracki Biology

“My life goal is to have a sandwich named after me at a diner somewhere in the world.”

Madeline Singer Biology

“Parkinson disease research at the University of Utah.”

Simerun Singh Politics

Natural and Mathematical Sciences

“Believing in change I can believe in.”

“Next year will be my last year at Columbia where I am completing the 3-2 Engineering Combined Plan. Eventually I will pursue a master’s degree. On a personal note, I am getting married next summer and I am very excited about it!”

Maia Singhal

Courtney Sanford

Sociology

“A summer Japanese program.”

Drake Skaggs Politics

Psychology

Michael Schier Physics

“I have an entry-level engineering job lined up to fill the gap year between now and graduate school in mechanical engineering.”

24 | THECIRCUIT

Carrie Sloane Music (Performance)

“Dream future: Creating art in a film or games setting and also playing the cello in a band. This summer? Depends on some very competitive internships I applied for, so I’m not sure yet.”

English

Christina Tamaru Asian Studies

“Teaching high school Japanese next year (hopefully)!”

Natalie Tamburello

Catherine StallwoodValverde BBMB “Prepare an art portfolio to help me qualify for a landscape architecture program.”

Devin Stone

Economics-Environmental Studies “I’ll be doing market research on the energy industry for an internship with a firm called Energy Acuity.”

Nathan Stone Biology

“Working for the Forest Service.”

Stephen Stradley Politics

“For the next two years, I will be doing Teach for America as a middle school math or science teacher.”

Alexander Strong Philosophy

“Law school at the University of Washington starting next fall.”

Chapman Strong Sociology

“Doin’ my thang.”

Tim Strother Philosophy

Michelle Sutherland Biology

“Occupational therapy.”

Carissa Wagner

History

“Teach for America, teaching secondary math.”

“Grad school in urban planning.”

Julia Warren Chemistry

Libby Watkins Politics “Living life, experiencing the real world, adventuring, doing awesome things, etc., then law school.”

Trisha Way

“M.Phil. in Education at the University of Cambridge, after that who knows! But most likely a career in education reform and policy.”

“Move to New York and pursue further education in order to achieve a career in fashion design museum curation.”

Jordan Thomas Chemistry-Geology

“Greenland, loitering, grad school.”

Eric Tolleson

History

Charlie Weems Politics “Chest hair.”

History

Rachel Williams Sociology

“This summer I will be moving to the Bay Area.”

Jenny Willis English

“That’s a good question.”

Arielle Wilson Biology

“Medical school to become a family practice doctor.”

Lyndsey Wilson

Race & Ethnic Studies, Sociology “Working for a non-profit in direct service to runaway youth, then graduate school for a M.A. in human rights.”

Margaret Wilson-Moses

English

Dylan Wenzlau

“No idea.”

Natural and Mathematical Sciences

Rachel Tougher

“The singularity.”

“This summer I will be at home in Eugene, then I am off to Guadeloupe to teach English for a year.”

Eric Werner

Sarah Wolf

Sociology

“Finding a job, developing a career. M.B.A. in the very far future.”

Politics

Kirsten Vaculik Economics-Mathematics

“More school, hopefully a career in business or economics.”

Roxy Valdez

Race & Ethnic Studies “Gettin’ paid.”

Patricia Vanderbilt English

“Fulbright in India.”

Surabhi Veenapani Psychology

“A professional dancer and/or music executive running the entertainment industry.”

Biology

Bradley West Geology “Working for Exxon Mobile, spilling horrendous quantities of oil to create jobs for the rest of you environmentally conscious Whitman students, and then retiring with my trophy wife to a secluded beach to enjoy the world’s few remaining marine mammals.”

French

Chemistry-Geology

Kiley Wolff Studio Art

Rose Woodbury English

“Seven Hills Winery.”

Anthony Woods

Claire Westcott

Anthropology

Psychology

Sarah Wright

“EMT school this summer, physicians assistant school eventually.”

Gabrielle Westcott History “Lots of grad school. Eventually I’ll be a history professor at a small liberal arts college. At least, that’s the plan.”

Brenton Weyi

Theatre

“This summer and next year I will be living in Walla Walla working at South Fork Grill. After that I will be moving to Seattle to try to start working professionally in theatre, or do something else, who knows.”

Rebecca Young Sociology

David Veith

History, Philosophy “Riding on the wind.”

“I’m getting my M.S.W. at the UPenn School of Social Policy and Practice this fall.”

“For the next year I’m continuing leukemia research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. I will also be applying to medical school. Later I plan to live in Colombia to practice my Spanish and to reconnect with that part of my heritage.”

Jessi Whalen

Aaron Zalman

Genevieve Venable

Biology

Politics

“Volunteering with Young Women— Empowered, a non-profit in Western Washington that fosters leadership skills in immigrant and refugee girls in the area.”

Murugu Venkat

Anthropology

History

“Working at a summer camp in Vermont, leading a service trip to Cuba and traveling around the East Coast.”

“Eventually getting my master’s in teaching, hopefully traveling a bit before.”

Stefan Wheat

Alexander Zendeh

Biology “Vertebrate conservation work or a career in medicine.”

Alec White Chemistry

Economics

“Policy debate coach for Whitman College.”

Hailun Zhou

Economics , Psychology

“Just got a job.”

“Graduate school in chemistry at UC Berkeley.”

“I am spending the next two years at Columbia University for a master’s degree.”

Amanda Villaseñor

Paris White

Dorian Zimmerman

Economics, Physics

Studio Art

Philosophy

Amelia von Wolffersdorff

Aly Whitt

“Working and traveling and doing as much as possible before applying to grad school.”

Tim Wilder

English

Art History & Visual Culture Studies

Matt Sweeney

Ian Williams

Music (History)

Psychology

“CHASTITY BELT.”

Emily Rolston

Chemistry

Dujie Tahat

Annie Truscott

Philosophy

Aaron Rosenbaum

“Spending the summer in the Northern Cascades working for the Forest Service doing entomology research. I then plan on globetrotting.”

Psychology

“Adventuring, working, finding my niche. Starting in Australia, we will see what happens after that.”

Anthropology

Sociology-Environmental Studies

Psychology

“Teach for America.”

Biology

Katie Tackman

Philosophy

Environmental Humanities

“Working at Fishtrap, a writer’s conference, briefly, then unknown.”

Nicole Zok English

“Hopefully an organic farm. Possibly several.”

What will you miss about Whitman? Knowing a little too much information about everyone

Jewett breakfast

sunsets

The never-ending project funding sources All the do-gooders

BonApp whipped cream No rules

Taste of Sicily and brunch. The ability to take random classes that have nothing to do with my future goals

Curly fries The switch-up of the gender of the bathrooms between the 2nd and 3rd floors of the library. Can someone tell me why they did that?

Walking around campus, feeling like I am somebody to everybody, and having everyone be somebody to me.

Tanning on

Ankeny

in my bikini

The granola-eating, mason jar-toting fools walking around in Birkenstocks all year while bragging about how close they came to living in a tent this semester.

friends library.

Pick-up soccer Casual law enforcement

Walking to class and trying not to step on ducks or squirrels.

The soul-crushing problem sets

24-hour I’m serious! I’m going to have to start going to libraries before 5 p.m.!

proximity

Outings in the wheat fields

The sauna

professors

The ducks—and the people. I’ll miss the people too.

People Search

Seeing the first daffodils bloom overnight. Sounds corny, but yeah. Beer and nudity

I definitely won’t miss the dating scene, that’s for sure.

The physical plant guys, namely Bob Biles

Spontaneous conversations with people during late nights in the library Being able to walk home safely after a particularly intense bout of insobriety

Everything!

Recognizing everyone. Even if by face and not by name.

community The extensive amounts of themed parties. What am I going to do with all my costume items?

The fireplace in the Quiet Room The Pioneer

Impromptu concerts in the library after a late night of studying Whitman is my Disneyland, I’m going to miss being in the happiest place on Earth.

THECIRCUIT | 25

Senior Survey

What was your most memorable class at Whitman? Race and Ethnic Studies Senior Seminar Alberto Galindo Organic Chemistry Mark Juhasz When the weather was nice we would have recitation outside and draw mechanisms in chalk on the sidewalk. Wittgenstein Mitch Clearfield Politics of the U.S.-Mexico Border Aaron Bobrow-Strain State of the State for Washington Latinos Paul Apostolidis Chemistry of Art Deb Simon Pollination Biology Heidi Dobson Probability and Statistics James Cotts Sociology of Crime, Law and Punishment George Bridges Politics of Food, Agriculture and Society Aaron Bobrow-Strain

English 110 Margo Scribner I believe I wrote an ode to carrots. (Anti-)Colonial Literature Gaurav Majumdar Freedom of Speech and the First Amendment Bob Withycombe El/La Problema Alberto Galindo Herpetology Kate Jackson Geology of the Pacific Northwest Pat Spencer French Literature Sarah Hurlburt Performance Ensemble Jessica Cerullo. We went to the penitentiary and interacted with inmates there through the medium of theater. Coaching Soccer Mike Washington History of Rock and Roll Keith Farrington

Any regrets? • Should have gone TKE earlier • Could have studied more • Not going abroad • Freshman year • Staying in a serious relationship for the majority of my Whitman career • I only regret not being able to triple major • Unprotected sex • In the words of Bilbo Baggins, “I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like.” • I wish I had gone to office hours more often • I will probably regret taking this survey when I should have been working on a paper • No regrets, but maybe lessons learned

Book Arts Mare Blocker Environmental Thinking Tom Davis Education in the Matrix John Kitchens Public Art Matt Reynolds Whitman in the Wallowas Don Snow and Delbert Hutchison Social Psychology Visiting Professor She asked if we wanted tests or papers, and we said no. She agreed. We watched a lot of YouTube videos. Medical Anthropology Jason Pribilsky Sinhala, Mahayana Buddhism Jonathan Walters Core/Encounters with.... Theresa DiPasquale, Craig Gunsul, Julia Ireland, Patrick Frierson, Timothy Kaufman-Osbourne, Mitch Clearfield, Dale Cosper ADVERTISEMENT

Congrats to the Future Entrepreneurs of Whitman for winning the 2012 PNWER Competition!

WIC thanks all donors to the William Allen-Boeing Student Investment Endowment

26 | THECIRCUIT

Shanglun Wang, Mariah R Billey, Wilbur Martin, Chelsea Darlington, Spencer Corwin, Isabel Zarate, Elliott Crane, Signe Burke, Prof. Lee W. Sanning Not pictured: Murugappan Venkat, Thanh Huynh, Prof. Pete Parcells

Senior Survey

What’s on your Whitman bucket list? • Go barefoot for three full days and forage for my food on campus • Ride Styx! • Read the quiet room challenge book • Look out on campus from the Memorial clock tower • Climb more buildings on campus • Get to the top of the Science building • Achieve an A in a Whitman class • Play naked Twister after beer mile • Go wine tasting in Walla Walla and learn more about winemaking before I leave this region • Skip around Ankeny once • Watch the sunset and the sunrise in the same night • Drunk library picnic • Eat at all the Mexican restaurants in town

• Wine and dine with at least one professor • Drive to the top of Pike’s Peak and look out over Walla Walla • Take photos of all of the beautiful places on campus, especially of the weeping Japanese maple at the entrance to Marcus House • Sit in the fountain in front of Hunter • Swim at Palouse Falls • Beer Mile • Take a trip to Cheese Louise (a cheese tasting shop in the TriCities) • Read a random book from the library just because it looks interesting and not because I have to for a class • Leave with my mental and emotional health not completely broken • Stargaze in the wheat fields

• Become a vegetarian for a week • Go in Beta • Get naked in Narnia • Create a Whitman bucket list • Actually go to a frat party • Breakfast trifecta weekend (Clarette’s/Maple Counter/Bacon and Eggs) • Check out that rock climbing wall one of these days • Have President Bridges know my name • Clarette’s Challenge • Find a bunch of other thirdwave feminists on campus and have a conversation • Meet and spend time with a lot of people I never got the chance to • Set off fireworks on Ankeny without getting yelled at by security • Watch more Walla Walla sunsets from my roof

Seniors’ favorite memories • Beta Theta Pi getting a standing ovation at Choral Contest ‘11 • The ridiculousness of playing in the Sweet’s Ultimate annual Angels vs Devils game • Dressing up as Pac-man and running through the library during finals week screaming for dear life as my friend in a ghost costume chased me • Making a video to the song “I’m on a boat!” in the fountain outside Hunter • Being in a suspended bathtub onstage in HJT’s “Hello Failure” • Mooning the webcams in Reid • Sending Fritz Siegert a secret valentine • Eating mustard and cheese sandwiches during a freak hailstorm at Harris Park • Walking down the middle of Main Street with a friend my freshman year at two in the morning, snow piling up on the ground and continuing to fall while watching the town put up the Christmas lights all around us • Pinging • Beating Whitworth in basketball during our White Out game • Dancing to “Little Bit” by Lykke Li in the quiet room at 5 a.m. on the day my thesis was due • Falling in love

Floating down the Walla Walla river on inflatable pool toys • Singing “Wagon Wheel” four times in one night on the Snake River in Hells Canyon and not thinking it was corny • Walking into a body-painting party 10 minutes before beer mile and being stripped naked and painted head-to-toe by the people there • Getting pied in the face on my birthday freshman year • All-nighters in the library. I actually `really enjoyed them • Spending time with my friends out on Ankeny in the sun, and putting off the work we should have been doing for good times in the present • Election night my freshman year when Obama won and it felt like the entire school marched in downtown Walla Walla • Going to D1 Nationals with the Sweets • Sneaking into the science building to watch “Lord of the Rings” in Gaiser • Giving planetarium shows to kids—and the glitter filled thank- you notes that come after them • Touring around campus via rollerblades while flying a kite • Losing my virginity

The process of falling in love with German until I had utterly abandoned any intention of majoring in biology. The realization that I was free to do, and should do, the things in life I truly love • One day, a friend and I snuck into the clock tower • Going on a moonlight paddle with the OP—the moon was out shining, the bats were out flying and my happy heart was out smiling • Spontaneous drunken midnight ice sledding on bin lids in the amphitheater • Cliff jumping with my pals during Camp Whitman • The Chemistree that our department puts up each year near Christmas time on the third floor of the science building • I still remember the three boys I danced with at the freshmen orientation salsa night • Playing Humans vs Zombies and feeling the intense sense of camaraderie when you meet a few fellow humans cautiously trekking across campus at night, exchange knowing nods, and silently form up to guard each other until it is safe to break off again to head home • Beer miles!

THECIRCUIT | 27

PROFILE:

DAVID SCHMITZ

Interview by ALYSSA FAIRBANKS and KELSEY KENNEDY

The labels that have been assigned to current college-aged youth are endless, from the multitaskers and echo boomers, to the “Yes-We-Can” generation. The Pioneer sat down with Professor and Robert Allen Skotheim Chair of History David Schmitz to place a discussion of generational labels in its historical context. As soon-to-be graduates, the question looms: What defines our generation? What momentous occasions have changed the way we understand our world and what causes will we champion in the future? Professor Schmitz offers his perspective and advice. Pio: Do you think that applying generational labels is even a useful historical tool? Schmitz: We use labels like this as ways to help us manage massive amounts of information and give it some coherence. Generations can be shaped by experiences that they have in common, be it a Pearl Harbor or the Vietnam War or 9/11, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that all people respond to that the same way. So I think when we talk about generations, it’s more useful to talk about things that might shape or give commonality, that all have to respond to . . . then search for the commonality that comes out of that. Certainly this is a generation that’s coming of age in an era focused on advances in technology, social media [and] cell phones. That information is so readily accessible, so people are having a different experience than the generation I was in. And that changes expectations. Pio: Looking at the youth activism that is often the defining characteristic of the 1960s, how is activism part of youth culture today? Schmitz: I think you see concerns with issues of rights and access that are somewhat similar. That is, we live in a time now where the disparities of wealth, which we talk about through the concept of the one

28 | THECIRCUIT

percent or Occupy Wall Street, are starting to gain traction and people’s attention. And what does that mean to have a society where people are dividing in that way. What’s the impact that we’re seeing on social policy? I think some of those concerns you can find parallels for in the 1960s, immigration being another example of rights as an issue. Pio: How do you see youth activism being played out at Whitman? Schmitz: There is certainly a culture of concern. These can range from immigration rights and education, to larger national issues. Environmentalism is an example of that type of concern. Injustices abroad, we see concerns about those, and those issues come up in a variety of ways. And we see the type of things students chose to study as a reflection of that. But when we say activism do we see a lot of rallies and public displays of this; [people] trying to mobilize? With the ability to connect outside of here so instantaneously, some of the activism takes place electronically. This maybe mitigates some people feeling like they need to pull larger groups together in public ways here. I do think there is a sense, that is hard to pick up, but the trends are starting to show a renewed sense of idealism among students. There is less cynicism; they just think that these issues are solvable and doable. Pio: You mentioned the need to make significant structural changes. Are there moments in history that can provide us an example of this?

Schmitz: I think that if you took sort of the nature of youth culture protest in the mid 1950s—challenges to conformity that makes you feel pretty good, but you don’t really change things—versus say challenging Jim Crow. Going to a rock-and-roll venue that was integrated was a step, but then you retreat back from that. But people took a more substantive effort to actually make change, so it’s not abnormal to show up at venues that are integrated. I think that would be a type of moment in the 1950s and early 1960s where that took hold. Pio: What would be your advice as we leave college for finding purpose and direction for our generation? Schmitz: When you’re going to take on new sorts of responsibilities and obligations, be they work or further schooling or family how do you construct that world, your world and how do you engage with the wider world? I think that first and foremost you build on what you’ve learned here, which is to be lifelong learners, thinkers [and] engaged people. And to understand that you [were] given something that is quite valuable, which was the opportunity to spend this time learning, thinking, developing. You find meaningful ways to use that in your community and larger society. If that becomes central to how you want to define the meaning in your life, you’ll find the ways without knowing what they are right now.

Columns & Profiles

HOW IS A

WHITMAN EDUCATION LIKE FIELD ECOLOGY? by SOPHIE DAVIS ’12

ldo Leopold, considered the father of the national forest wilderness system, whose book, “The Sand County Almanac,” and other essays have inspired generations of conservationists and naturalists, once wrote, “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community.” His literary works are steeped in prose that reconciles the modern scientific episteme and moral propriety. He warns against the impulse embedded within scientific inquiry to dissect, scrutinize and abstract elements of the natural world, neglecting their greater ecological context. The danger with this outlook is that ecosystems become closed systems compiled of interchangeable parts that can be manipulated, cultivated and fragmented. Living organisms are viewed in situ and become static units that can be known without being understood. To resist this tendency, to know a thing not as a discrete, quantifiable entity, but as a collection of processes assembled within a body, interacting in time and space, with landscape and biota, this is the work of a naturalist. Early naturalists were collectors of specimens and purveyors of nomenclature. But the occupation has evolved and now addresses the histories, biological laws and symbioses that govern the natural world. The contemporary naturalist views the world through a lens that magnifies subtle connections and emphasizes the moral imperative to defend the beautiful chaos of an ecosystem. As a citizen, the modern naturalist is an individual who carves a place between nature and human society, an emissary for community and a political activist who carries the moral indignation that so often accompanies social progress. Above all, he or she relies on empirical study and firsthand encounters to

take apart the pieces of a puzzle and then know why, and not just how, they fit back together. But what does this have to do with the event that we are commemorating? And what does this have to do with Whitman College? Everything, I would argue. For it is precisely this challenge, to view the world through the field lens of a naturalist, that our liberal arts education has uniquely prepared each of us to confront. We have been taught how to tease apart convoluted and contentious issues while buoying our analysis with a liberal base of knowledge. Our education at Whitman has been a study of ecosystems—political, economic, social, aesthetic and scientific in nature. Indeed, the word “ecology” derives from the Greek root “oikos,” meaning “household” or “place to live.” As the term suggests, over the past four years, we have been instructed on how to study the place where we live; we have learned how to identify, among others, the philosophy and sociology behind integrity, the politics and economics behind stability, and the art and theatrics behind the beauty of the human community. In the words of one of Aldo Leopold’s successors, Barry Lopez, “perhaps the issue is not whether one has the authority to claim to be a naturalist, but whether those who see themselves as naturalists believe they have

the authority to help shape the world.” My hope for each of us seniors is this: that we will carry with us our liberal arts education and develop the insight to acknowledge the limitations and fallibility of human action; the wisdom to put compassion and charity on equal footing with power; but above all, the ambition to muddy our hands with the dirt of our household—the clutter of our human communities—to remove the wedge that intolerance and self-righteousness create and form a space between ethics, civics and social progress.

THECIRCUIT | 29

Columns & Profiles

THE PRACTICAL SIDE OF ACADEMIA?

That old adage about the journey being as valuable as the destination will always hold a certain weight. The problem is that

we don’t know how to

embark.

30 | THECIRCUIT

Searching for “real world” experience in a liberal arts education

ew of us come to a small liberal arts college in rural Washington with a set career path in mind and seeking vocational training. We come here for what Whitman sells (and what it delivers). We learn to think critically, to be active participants in our classes, in our extracurricular activities, in our social interactions, and we pride ourselves for it. But this doesn’t mean we aren’t anxious about finding our place in the “real world.” What I’ve learned over the last few years is that real world experience often has to be sought elsewhere—and actively. Whitman isn’t going to hand us a career path and the required skills as a package deal on a silver platter, and I’m not necessarily saying that it should. That old adage about the journey being as valuable as the destination will always hold a certain weight. The problem is that we don’t know how to embark. Now more than ever, life beyond Whitman and preparedness for the real world are hot topics around campus. Almost every candidate for the ASWC Executive Council positions this spring ran on a platform promising to develop more experiential learning options, foster stronger connections between current students and alumni, or establish a graduate school liaison. We’ve written columns calling for such changes, solicited responses and detailed the experiences of recent Whitman alumni in this same issue of The Circuit. To me, this dialogue reflects a fundamental disconnect between student initiative and Whitman’s guidance. The Student Engagement Center has always offered valuable programs like résumé workshops and alumni networking receptions, and is making efforts to become more accessible and helpful to students. While many students (myself included) often fail to take advantage of these opportunities, the truth is that many of the SEC’s services are best suited to those of us who

by CARA LOWRY ’12 already have a solid sense of direction. Herein lies the conundrum: Whitman students, by virtue of being liberal arts students, are overwhelmingly and necessarily directionless. Snagging that coveted job or internship demands a certain degree of purpose and finality, things that we’re encouraged to put aside in favor of change, inquiry and exploration. I’ve recently begun my summer job hunt, and after four years in Olin (and three years on the editorial staff of The Pio) the only things I feel somewhat capable of doing are writing, editing or teaching (the last of which I’ll be doing come October). While these paths definitely interest me, I’ve begun to think their allure is due in large part to the fact that I’ve been good at school for as long as I can remember; academia has become my comfort zone. While pursuing a Ph.D. in French literature is thus quite attractive, I might want to be a high-level manager or a CEO, work in PR or marketing, or start my own business. But how am I supposed to begin to know if I want to do these things? And even if I did know, I’d feel lost about where and how to start, especially when it seems like employers are less likely to take a risk on an intelligent, critically thinking novice than a seasoned candidate who has actual experience. The untethered exploration Whitman offers us is priceless; it pushes us to think, grow and engage. As a result, we are hardworking and innovative and we vigorously pursue our goals—once we know what they are. Somehow, Whitman needs to strike a complicated balance between abstract academic investigation and concrete career guidance. It needs to cultivate a middle ground, an accessible starting point that encourages us to maintain our lack of direction while at the same time positively and purposefully harnessing it into something more realistic and tangible.

WE CREATE THE WORLD WE LIVE IN by ALICE MINOR ’12

e’ve tried to climb Styx or observed someone fail to do so. Thrown or been hit by a frisbee. Attempted the Quiet Room challenge or watched Sam Alden’s legendary YouTube triumph. Been to or at least seen profile pictures of the ‘80s dance. Oh yeah, and we “pinged.” I’m a politics major. That means I now officially have a degree in exposing hierarchies, deconstructing problematic discourses and positioning my subjectivity. (Look! I learned Big Words!) So of course I have issues with Whitman. I’ve spent a good chunk of time complaining about the impact of this organization, bemoaning the weakness of that department or critiquing the lack of student interest in these issues. Along the way, however, I’ve increasingly grown to appreciate the many avenues for action open to me here. On March 1, The Pio published junior Rachel Alexander’s article about sexual violence at Whitman. On March 3, I decided I wanted to make a magazine to further address the issue. A month-and-a-half later we went to press with “Break Ground.” This isn’t just a shameless plug for the magazine. Many of you could echo your stories of putting thought to action at Whitman, be it starting a club, organizing a conference or pulling together the best flag football team Whitman has yet to see. In our various ways we’ve benefited from the support and communities in place at Whitman. I used to view Whitman as a stat-

ic institution: a place students occupied rather than a place we create. We have helped to make this place we’ve briefly called home what it has been to us. The tiny student body and campus, invested professors and ASWC dollars make Whitman a cocoon of sorts. Of course it takes work and the de-

sire to act—but it is ludicrously possible to start a new campus group or publication in a matter of weeks. This energy doesn’t end at Whitman. I want for us all to ADVERTISEMENT take this sense of possibility and community with us. I’ll miss having a dozen shoulders to cry on within walking distance when I feel adrift. Fondly remember the we will cater your wedding. professors who care enough to be my advocate. The ludicrous amount of investment placed in the coveted blue 509-522-9991 Sunday 10-3:30 shirts. The way we collectivea place to eat Monday-Saturday 10-7:30 ly lose our minds with excite-

Someday,

Columns & Profiles

We have helped to make this place we’ve briefly called home what it has been to us.

ment and shock any time the weather does something out of the ordinary (but that hail was insane—and so was the lightning). The way leaves in the walkway outside of Olin make the tiniest of tornadoes. The lovely friends who organize “mock weddings” and dedicate entire parties to a Talking Heads album. There have been opportunities here that really are unique to a small, tightknit academic community. We’ll miss so many pieces of Whitman and each other, but it doesn’t end here. Whitman showed me how possible it is to act, to get involved. When we go out in the coming days, months, years—we’ll still be making the world we live in.

THECIRCUIT | 31

Guest Comic

For the Price of a Thank You , Mare Blocker , lecturer of art