Whitman College Pioneer - Fall 2009 Issue 12

Review: French Fries!

Pioneer Guide to Alaska and Alaskans

A&E , page g 10

The politics of Keystone: Not ‘always smooth’ NEWS, page 3

A&E , page 9

HUMOR , page 6

WHITMAN COLLEGE Walla Walla, WA Volume CXXV / Issue 12 whitmanpioneer.com D , 

CAFE ’66 robbed during break

UPDATE:

Crash victims improve

bby LEA NEGRIN Staff Reporter S Two hundred and twenty-five Tw do dollars were stolen from the cash register of Café ‘66 in ca Reid on Sunday, Nov. 29, the Re last las day of Thanksgiving break, while wh the building was mostly empty. em Police have identified a man who they plan to contact in w connection with the theft, but c could not otherwise comment c on the ongoing investigation.

No arrests have been made.

Although Café ‘66 has a liveA streaming Web cam, it does not stre record footage, according to reco

Jacobs, in a coma but improving, flies to her home state of New Mexico today, while a wheelchairbound Radosevic awaits her return to Whitman next month.

by JOSH GOODMAN Associate News Editor

N

Lindy Jacobs Jacobs suffered internal bleeding ding in her brain and remains in a Cognitive Level III coma as of Tuesday. sday At this level, she can be awake, follow simple instructions and may recognize family and friends. Jacobs is also now breathing on her own after two weeks of requiring assistance. She is scheduled to fly to New Mexico today to continue her recovery at a hospital about 100 miles from her home.

While Jacobs’ brain injuries are traumatic, her mother, Elaine Jacobs, hopes her brain will adapt.

“She will never be the same person that she was, but because she is young and her brain is still developing, she has a good chance to make new pathways and emerge as a new person that we will have to get to know,” Elaine Jacobs said in an e-mail.

Elaine Jacobs characterized her daughter’s recovery as “slowly improving” and hopes that Lindy will be able to return to Whitman. If Lindy returns, it will not be until next school year at earliest.

Elaine Jacobs remains optimistic.

“I’m betting on her inner spark surviving with her and hope to simply rediscover it in her in a new way,” she said. “It is an unknown path and we are just beginning the walk but we hope it will bring its own rewards.”

Katie Radosevic Radosevic, who sustained a broken pelvis, returned to her Arizona home on Thanksgiving Day and, thanks to a faster-than-expected CR A SH, page 3

OA N

E

W Wineries, police p praise Delta Gamma’s A Anchor Drive service

SL

early a month later, first-year year Lindy Jacobs and sophophomores Katie Radosevic and Maggie aggie Allen are pushing forward in their recoveries from a car crash on Nov. 6. The crash occurred when n an SUV driven by Allen was hit by a semi-truck when Allen attempted to make a U-turn on Hwy. 730 near I-84. The students had been on their way to PowerShift West, an environmental conference in Eugene, Ore. Sophomore Khoa Nguyen, the fourth victim, suffered a concuscussion and has recovered from m his injuries.

Chief Technology Officer Keiko Pitter.

Prior to the theft, which occurred about 11:40 a.m., Bon Appétit employee Fanny Rays placed money into the register and closed it to help set up for lunch. Shortly afterward, a man dressed in camouflage broke into the machine and took the cash.

Senior Joe Gustav, a Reid building manager, was working at the information desk at the time. He informed security, café Assistant Manager Aaron Davis and the police of the theft.

“There have been thefts in THEFT, page 2

Graduate school grief:

by ERIC NICKESONMENDHEIM ME Staff Reporter Sta Than anks to Anchor Drive, a chauffeur service offered by the Delta Gamma women’s fraternity, wineGam tasters at this weekend’s Barrel taste Tasting event can drink without Tast being a danger on the road. Inbein stead, a designated DG will be stead available to drive them to and avail from local wineries.

“It’s our main philanthropy source,” said senior Grace Emery, who directs the service. “We act as designated drivers for people.

We’ll pick them up from their hotels, restaurants, wherever.”

Anchor Drive began five years ago and has since expanded. This year, the service is offered yearround, not just during the biggest wine events of the year, such as Barrel Tasting Weekend from Dec. 4 to 6 and Spring Release in May.

WHITMAN OFFERS LIMITED SUPPORT TO SENIORS Seniors applying to graduate schools and juniors beginning to consider their options have discovered that Whitman provides limited support for students trying to determine which school has the research focus and personality to be a fit, or whether to go at all.

“I don’t even know why you’d go to grad school but I know you have to go to grad school,” said junior environmental studies-

politics major Ari Frink.

Student Engagement Center Director Susan Buchanan acknowledges that finding a match is crucial to success in graduate school.

“Even if you get into Harvard, if they don’t have the focus you want it won’t be a good experience,” she said.

According to its Web site, the Student ADVISING, page 2

COLORED

We barely even have to advertise. Wine makers even ask us for our business card.

Grace Emery, ‘10

“It’s grown a lot,” said Emery.

“A lot of people contact us now, we barely even have to advertise.

Wine makers even ask us for our business card.”

Anyone can reserve a DG driver in advance. Many DG members sign up, making it one of DG’s most popular community service options.

“It’s so much fun,” said senior Claire Stimson. “People are really chatty and fun; there was one guy last week who kept going on about how much he loved it. Sometimes people will even bring us snacks ANCHOR , page 2

GLASS NOT TRASH

Students unaware of Walla Walla’s glass recycling policy

by RACHEL ALEXANDER Staff Reporter A close look at Jewett Hall’s glass recycling bins demonstrates the amount of confusion on campus over what types of glass can be recycled in Walla Walla. About a third of Jewett’s bins warn that only clear glass can be recycled, a third say all types of glass are fine and a rest lack any kind of direction whatsoever.

The confusion extends to offcampus student housing as well.

Senior Nathan Adams, who lives in an apartment on E. Main St. with four other seniors, said his house puts colored glass containers in the garbage.

“We’ve mostly just thrown

brown glass away under the assumption that it’s not recyclable,” Adams said.

This year, however, Walla Walla revised its recycling program to allow residents to recycle any type of glass in Walla Walla, but not in their curbside recycling bins. Instead, glass must be brought to one of five special yellow containers located around town. “[The collection bins] are the only way that we can provide a glass recycling program,” said Rick Dudgeon, the city’s sanitation supervisor. He added that the city’s shift to accepting colored glass was not very well publicized.

Walla Walla resident Jade Fenton leaves glass recycling out every

week with her other recyclables, and says that it’s usually thrown in the trash.

“Sometime they pick it up. Maybe an eighth of the time,” she said.

According to the city’s Sustainability Coordinator, Melissa Warner, Walla Walla began managing recycling in May 2007. Prior to that, the Walla Walla Recycling Company oversaw curbside recycling collection and was able to collect and sort glass.

Marty Gehrke, who runs the Walla Walla Recycling Company, said that sorting glass at the curbside can be difficult and cause excessive wear to machinery, which makes it expensive. He added that, GL A SS, page 3

VON HAFFTEN

FEATURED:

Sarah Palin visits Liberal arts in focus Tri-Cities pages 4-5

The Pioneer catches up with the former Alaska

•

Distribution requirements reveal new interests

•

Encounters: First-years, professors reflect on

governor and vice presidential candidate’s book tour during a stop in Richland.

changes to Core curriculum •

Columnist Alex Potter speaks with devoted fans and Palin herself.

COURTESY OF ALEX POTTER

Left: Sarah Palin supporters line up for a book signing Sunday, Nov. 29. Some arrived as early as 24 hours in advance for the chance to meet the “Going Rogue” author.

Question of student involvement in academic policy decisions sparks debate

•

Graduation requirements by the credits: regional liberal arts colleges compared

NEWS

2

Victorian Christmas lights up Kirkman

December 3, 2009D

by LEA NEGRIN Staff Reporter Last weekend volunteers met to light up the Kirkman House Museum with traditional decorations for its annual Victorian Christmas Jubilee.

“It’s really a great way to get people thrilled about Christmas and is the kick off to the holiday season in Walla Walla,” said Greer Buchanan, assistant director of the museum.

Complete with a clanking steam radiator and a handsome staircase, the Victorian Era home proudly wears its Christmas garlands.

Aside from decorations the house is preparing for live bands, carol singing led by City Council Member Barbara Clark and homemade treats. Community volunteers who had attended the event previously all commented on the desserts; especially a peanut brittle that is supposed to the best.

“That’s the rumor anyway,” said Buchanan who, although born and raised in Walla Walla, will be attending Victorian Christmas for the first time.

Fred and Sally Kearsley were active helpers in preparing for the Christmas party. Mrs. Kearsley, the current president of the Kirkman House board of directors, was a ready decorator while Mr. Kearsley prepared himself to play a Santa Claus garbed in green, not red.

“We’re not placing an age limit on Saint Nicholas,” said Buchanan.

June McKenzie and her son David McKenzie, recent arrivals to Walla Walla, helped set up the tree.

“I have a good friend who always volunteers for the Kirkman House and she told us about the event,” said June McKenzie. “It’s a beautiful place to be doing something like this in.”

The Kirkman House, located on 214 N. Colville St., was built in the 1880s.

It was donated to Whitman College in 1919 where it served as a dorm for first-year boys. After that, it was as an apartment building for the Walla Walla community but soon fell into disrepair. The building was to be torn down but is currently being restored due to the formation of a Historical Architecture Development Corporation.

“I had the kids scrubbing on their hands and knees,” said Beverly Filla, a volunteer for the house. In the past year and a half, she brought in Whitman students to scrub the floors and bring back its original shine.

Though Victorian Christmas is a popular event, many are unaware of it.

“You’d be amazed how many Walla Wallans don’t know about this place,” she said.

With all the efforts of the many volunteers and the continuously praised board members, the event is readying itself to bring new attendees this year.

Victorian Christmas will be held this Saturday, Dec. 5, from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Apply to The Pioneer! visit whitmanpioneer. com to find deadlines and applications IN THIS ISSUE: News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5 Humor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8 A&E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-10 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-12

CORRECTIONS TO ISSUE 11: “Stolen laptops returned after students spot thief in library” on page 1 should have included the fact that the robbery suspect surrendered a stolen laptop prior to being issued a citation by police.

Alternative gifts range in price from $2 to $10 and are available for purchase at Reid through Friday, Dec. 4.

Gift market aids humanitarian causes

by LEA NEGRIN Staff Reporter Tomorrow, Dec. 4, will be the last day of the Alternative Gifts Market where shoppers can purchase gifts that help the global or local community, such as a tree to reforest the Dominican Republic or a pair of chicks for a Bolivian family’s garden. The market has been running in Reid Campus Center during lunch hour since Nov. 16 with the aid of volunteers.

Rather than receiving an item, shoppers are given a card with an explanation of the cause to give to whomever they choose to dedicate their gift.

“I think it’s a really good idea and reduces the idea of consumerism,” said sophomore Dorian Zimmerman, who

volunteered at the market’s booth.

Senior Graham Toben bought a gift that helps bring water to a school in India.

“I honestly think it’s a spectacular idea. With Whitman being so globally active it’s definitely a great way to give a boon by reaching out,” he said.

Toben chose this gift because several years ago he helped build houses in the Himalayas and witnessed the poverty there.

Similarly, senior Katie Higgins and junior Tumisang Mothei, both volunteers, each had personal reasons for choosing the gifts that they purchased.

“I’ve had personal encounters with people who have been orphans,” said Mothei, who purchased a day of school

tuition for a Kenyan child. “I’ll be doing something life-changing for an individual fettered by a lack of opportunity. It’s small but what if 364 more people buy a day of tuition?”

Higgins chose three personal gifts for family members. One, a day of food and care for an abandoned Chinese elder, was for her parents due to their interest in the culture as well as their having seen the poverty there.

The gifts that are available are coordinated through Alternative Gifts International. Every year a cause from the Walla Walla community and the Whitman community is added to the list. This year’s local causes are Helpline’s STEP Women’s shelter and, for the Whitman Community, a meal for a Whittie on a Spring Break Service

Trip.

Last year, the gifts raised about $1,000. Although volunteers have noticed a genuine interest in the market from the student body, Higgins pointed out that many students do not carry cash with them to Reid, which has been a small obstacle. Nevertheless, students have been purchasing the gifts.

The purchases all have the potential to start “a chain of positive events,” said Mothei. By buying a kit for a Guatemalan mother and infant, one more opportunity is available to an individual who may one day have the ability to pass on his or her fortune.

“Rather than buying someone more stuff, you are actually doing something with your money,” said Zimmerman.

ADVISING: ASWC to appraise options  page 1

JOHNSON

ANCHOR: Professors,

alumni request rides  page 1 while we wait in the car.”

Police say Anchor Drive helps reduce local drunk driving, and gave the program a D.U.I. task force award two years ago.

“I think [Anchor Drive] helps a lot,” said Walla Walla Police Officer Kim Bennett, who noted that drunk driving is a problem in Walla Walla. “Society has become a lot more responsible in the use of a designated driver. It’s great to see that sort of thing initiated in the college community.”

Local wine makers also greatly appreciate Anchor Drive, according to Stimson.

“A lot of wine makers commented that they’re really glad we’re there,” she said. “I think the roads are definitely safer than they’ve been in the past. People don’t realize that after a day of wine tasting they can’t really drive safely.”

Anchor Drive has already generated about $800 this semester, a boost in profits from years prior considering that Barrel Tasting, which Emery called the biggest weekend for the program, is yet to come.

The service usually makes about $2,000 collectively.

The proceeds annually benefit Service for Sight, Delta Gamma’s national philanthropy. Service for Sight has contributed some of the money to building audible crosswalks on Main Street in Walla Walla.

Though most users of Anchor Drive aren’t students, Emery welcomed students to take advantage of the program.

“Most people who use the service are Whitman professors or alumni,” she said.

“But students can use it, too.”

To request Anchor Drive services, visit www.deltagamma.org.

Engagement Center offers “graduate school exploration.” The links on its Web site and the books available in the center advise students on the graduate school application process, from the admission essay to entrance exams.

Yet Buchanan admits that the center’s resources are of limited help to students trying to determine which school will be a good fit.

“It doesn’t tell you anything,” she said of the Princeton Review’s Gourman Report of Graduate Programs, a book that ranks graduate schools by academic program.

The center often directs students to contact professors in their area of interest.

“Faculty are actually the best resources we have for good information,” Buchanan said. She also recommends using the center to locate alumni who have completed the degree a student wants to study.

Senior Jordan Clark, chair of ASWC’s Student Affairs Committee, said ASWC has received many comments from students seeking more support from the school.

“It’s rare that we get something so consistently from students so we’re definitely going to take it seriously,” he said. “[Next

semester we plan to have a senator study] how advising works, if it’s adequate, and what more we can do.”

He hopes to prepare something based on the results of that report to pitch to the Board of Trustees’ Student Affairs Committee, on which he and senior ASWC President Nadim Damluji sit, at its next meeting in May. While he acknowledged that current budget limitations meant the Student Engagement Center could not be expected to provide a person whose sole task would be to advise students on graduate school selection, ensuring that at least one person on staff gave increased attention to advising could be a good compromise.

“I imagine if there was a student push the Student Engagement Center could shift responsibilities to have a person fit that description more,” said Clark.

Buchanan welcomed the idea of a staff member assigned to help students find a good graduate school fit, while noting that she thinks the center does a good job assisting students given its current financial resources.

“I think it would be wonderful to have a go-to person on campus,” Buchanan said.

THEFT: Crime not Local bank robbed caught on camera

with fake weapon

by GILLIAN FREW Editor-in-Chief Police arrested a 34-year-old man Tuesday, Dec. 1 in connection with that day’s robbery of the AmericanWest bank at 1850 E. Isaacs Ave. after a witness was able to provide them the license plate number of the minivan he was driving.

Gabriel Cantu Leija of 613 Fern Ave. was taken into custody about 1:30 p.m. after SWAT team members

raided his house, and is being held at the Walla Walla County Jail on accusation of first-degree robbery, The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin reports.

The robbery occurred about 10:40 a.m. and resulted in the lock-down of four local schools, including Edison Elementary, Berney Elementary, Sharpstein Elementary and Pioneer Middle School. Police say Leija entered the bank with a fake gun and demanded money, leaving with more than $1,300.

 page 1 Reid, but not like that,” said Gustav, who has worked in Reid since his first year at Whitman.

Gustav’s backpack was stolen about three weeks ago. The backpack of a fellow building manager, senior Liz Forsyth, was stolen Tuesday, Dec. 1.

It contained her laptop, cell phone and keys. In both instances, the items had been left unsupervised behind the Reid information desk while the managers attended to tasks elsewhere in the building.

This reporter witnessed the Bon Appétit register theft, after spotting the perpetrator watching football in

the Reid basement. The man came to the café in time to see the money put in the register and asked Rays when they would be opening.

“I thought I’d seen him before,” Rays told police in reference to the suspect.

Gustav said that security can be challenging in Reid because it is a public building.

“It’s hard because this is a community building, so there are a lot of non-students. It’s just up to everyone to keep track of their stuff,” he said.

NEWS

9December 3, 2009

3

CORNELIUS

Keystone brews can of controversy

by RACHEL ALEXANDER Staff Reporter Somewhere on the Whitman campus tonight, a group of students will get together to have a few beers. More likely than not, they will drink Keystone, popular among students for its affordability. What Whitman students may not know is that Keystone is owned and produced by the Coors Brewing Company, which has a history of labor practices and political affiliations that might surprise some students.

The Adolph Coors Foundation has historically funded right-wing think tanks with profits from the Coors Brewing Company, including a $250,000 grant to start the Heritage Foundation. A $36.5 million endowment to the Castle Rock Foundation in 1993 enabled Castle Rock to fund right-wing think tanks, abstinenceonly education and groups that focus on traditional family values.

First-year Will Bender said he respects the company’s right to spend money how it wants, but disagrees with Coors’ political positions. He said, if given a choice at a keg, he would prefer another type of beer.

“If you have two kegs at a party and they both cost the same, why wouldn’t you pick the one that doesn’t donate to crazy things?” Bender said.

In 1977, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations began a 10-year boycott of Coors, protesting perceived attempts by the company to break up unionized Coors employees.

Unhappy about a Coors policy to force prospective employees to take a polygraph about their sexuality, gay rights groups joined the boycott.

In 1978, Coors addressed gay rights concerns by removing questions of sexual orientation from the hiring process. Coors began providing benefits for same-sex couples in 1995 and hired Mary Cheney, the openly gay daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, as a “corporate relations

manager for the gay and lesbian market” in 1998.

Coors has also been accused of polluting Clear Creek—located near its Colorado brewery—with carcinogens and other hazardous chemicals. In 1990, Coors pled guilty to two counts of water pollution and paid a $650,000 fine. The company also had two beer spills in the 1990s, which resulted in the death of thousands of fish in the stream.

Senior environmental politics major Kati Kallins feels that a company’s environmental record should factor into a consumer’s decision about whether to buy its products.

“I definitely believe in environmental consumerism as an important tool for showcasing one’s opinion of certain business practices,” she said.

Coors made a public effort to reduce its pollution after the spills, participating in voluntary audits of both carbon emissions and water pollution and donating $30,000 to the Clear Creek Watershed. In 1992, Coors began research on its volatile organic chemical emissions. When the company found them to be 17 times above the legal limit, the state of Colorado fined Coors $1 million for the violation.

Senior Lisa Curtis thinks it’s important to keep a company’s political and environmental views in mind when buying their products. She said that she and her housemates drink New Belgium Beer because they approve of the causes it supports. New Belgium is a co-op which is wind powered, uses cogeneration to heat their plant and has an 85 percent waste-stream diversion rate.

“It’s the best beer ever,” she said.

However, Keystone is one of the cheapest beers available. While Whitman students might care about Coors’ political past, for many, the bottom line will still be cost.

“If I’m paying to do something, I don’t have lots of money,” said Bender.

“It’s cheap. We’re in college. It’s going to happen.”

GLASS: City seeks

new plans for reuse , page 1 that sorting glass at the curbside can be difficult and cause excessive wear to machinery, which makes it expensive. He added that, to his knowledge, the Walla Walla Recycling Company always collected colored glass when it handled curbside recycling.

“There’s always been a market for glass,” he said.

However, that market has fizzled of late. Glass brought in for recycling is crushed and used as road bed material in Walla Walla’s landfill, because it can’t be economically recycled anywhere else. All other materials recycled in Walla Walla are shipped to Portland, but glass is too heavy to make this economically feasible.

China, the final destination of much of Walla Walla’s recycling after Portland, recently stopped accepting glass shipments.

“There really is not a re-purchase market for glass right now,” said Warner.

“We’re looking at some other ideas for how to use it locally.”

Regardless of what the city does with their recycled glass, Whitman students can recycle all types of glass in dorms.

Outhouse RA junior Hannah LaCroix said that they collect all colors of glass, which is picked up with their other recycling and taken to the Walla Walla Recycling Company. She was unsure why so many students are confused about whether or not colored glass can be recycled, and said the Outhouse sends out guidelines for recycling at the beginning of the semester to all RAs. Word that Walla Walla recycles colored glass had not reached Adams’ off-campus apartment.

“As an upper-class student, I haven’t felt like [the Outhouse] has given any advertisement of what’s recyclable in town,” he said.

Although the current glass recycling system might be difficult for some residents, it is unlikely to change in the near future because of economic concerns.

“If you’re a recycler, [the bin system] is not a good thing,” Gehrke said. “If you’re a businessperson, then it is.”

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BULLION Emily Lorente ‘11, who developed the College Coaches program set to begin spring semester at Whitman, poses in Penrose Library.

Pilot program will coach Wa-Hi students for college

by RACHEL ALEXANDER Staff Reporter Already this year, Whitman students have adopted grandparents, become storytellers and mentored local elementary school kids. Now, thanks to junior Emily Lorente, they’ll also have the opportunity to be college coaches at Walla Walla High School. “[The students] have a lot of potential to seek higher education but some need support,” Lorente said.

Lorente became interested in starting the College Coaches program after being an RA with the Whitman Institute for Summer Enrichment, a program which reaches out to local middle school students and helps them begin to prepare for college. She had a great experience, but also saw that the summer enrichment program lacked the resources to follow up with students during their time in high school after the program ended.

“It was kind of like, ‘Have a good four years!’” she said.

College Coaches aims to offer that missing support by working directly with Walla Walla High students in a group mentoring capacity. The program will start as a pilot during spring semester and will work with the existing Achievement Via Individual Determination program at the school. Each Whitman volunteer will be assigned three students to mentor.

Lina Menard, the community service coordinator, has been working with Lorente on getting the program started, and says if it’s successful in its first semester, it

could be incorporated into the community service office next fall.

“I think it’s really neat that we’re working to develop a connection between Walla Walla High School students and Whitman students that is academically focused,” said Menard.

Both Menard and Lorente feel the program will allow Whitman students to work with a new group in the Walla Walla community.

“It was something I felt was kind of lacking at Whitman,” said Lorente.

“There are [programs with] little kids and there are [programs with] old people, but there’s nothing with high school-aged kids.”

Mentoring college-bound students has already proven effective in other schools which have similar programs. The Seattle School District’s College Access Now program pairs parents and AmeriCorps volunteers with low-income, first-generation, college-bound juniors and seniors at three high schools. The volunteers help students look at schools, edit essays and apply for scholarships.

Walla Walla High School senior Denali Molitor said she believes the program will have a positive impact on the school.

“It’s good to see people who are in college—it makes it more visible,” she said.

Molitor is enrolled in two Whitman classes—calculus and Spanish—and is preparing to apply to several colleges this winter. She says that her school has a large achievement gap.

“You usually don’t have classes with people of lower economic status,” she

said. “It feels completely different when you’re in an AP class or a regular class.”

Molitor estimates that out of last year’s graduating class, about 100 students went to Walla Walla Community College, about 200 went to four-year schools, and about 100 found a job or joined the military.

Although life for many Walla Walla students is different than what most Whitman students grew up with, Molitor feels that College Coaches will foster an important connection between the two groups.

“I think any help is good help,” she said. “If [the schools] stay separate, it doesn’t help anything.”

Associate Professor of Education Kay Fenimore-Smith has agreed to help Lorente with training for the program. She agrees that the divide between the experiences of Whitman students and Walla Walla students can be bridged.

“If you’re aware of stepping back, understanding that you’re there to mentor and learn and that you don’t have all the answers, that makes your approach very different.” she said.

Lorente hopes the program will inspire Walla Walla High School students by showing them that going to college is a possibility. She encourages interested Whitman students to come talk to her about getting involved.

“We’re looking for anyone who wants to be involved in the community and have a good relationship with high school kids,” Lorente said.

CRASH: Students miss Whitman, anticipate recovery, return , page 1 recovery, plans to return to Whitman for spring semester.

“I stopped physical therapy when I was released from the hospital last Thursday and just keep up with all of the exercises they taught me,” she said in an e-mail. “The scar from my clavicle surgery is healing and I will be able to use my left arm in late December . . . and I am allowed to walk on Feb. 3rd! That’s 63 days from now, but who’s counting?”

And while Radosevic remains upbeat and even decked her wheelchair in Christmas lights, she misses Whitman.

“I felt pretty settled and Whitman was my home away from home, and I get homesick easily,” she said. “But with all the cards and e-mails that have been flooding my lap, I might as well have everyone here.”

Still, Radosevic says that the hardest part of her recovery is mental.

“I’m very anxious for the day that we all step on campus to begin a new semester together,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing Maggie and Khoa as soon as I return to campus. My thoughts and wishes are also with Lindy and her family as she progresses through her very long recovery.”

Maggie Allen Allen had two permanent screws surgically implanted into her shoulder, which was broken in the crash.

She returned to classes yesterday.

“I’m just glad that things are getting back to normal,” she said. “I keep hoping that the other two girls will be okay and they can soon come back to school.”

She hopes to be fully recovered from her injuries in a few months.

“The physical therapy I’m doing on my own is paying off,” she said. “[Recovery] can take up to a year, but it’s probably only going to take three to four months for me if I continue physical therapy.”

FEATURE

4

December 3, 2009D

Liberal Artsi A guide to Whitman’s academic

Since Whitman’s inception in 1882, a liberal arts education has been central to the college’s academic philosophy. A liberal arts philosophy offers a wholistic and broad approach to higher education. Whitman adapts these values by focusing on the standards of an interdisciplinary curriculum, a passion for rigorous scholarship and experiences that connect students to the real world.

Translated into curriculum, this means required participation of all students in all distribution areas and the Encounters program, an emphasis on writing and class discussion and encouraging students to take advantage of real world experiences, especially study abroad.

Many other liberal arts colleges, however, choose to achieve these same unifying values through different practices. Whitman has gone through two separate phases of overarching curricular reform, and the Board of Trustees Academic Affairs Committee is currently planning a move into the third phase, which would aim to increase inter-disciplinary, cross-cultural perspectives. Con-I troversy has arisen, however, as to how these changes would be implemented, and whether or notc students will be involved in the decision-making process. fi The Pioneer examines the past, present and future of a liberal arts philosophy at Whitman, including a comparison of how the implementation of Whitman’s philosophy differs from othere liberal arts colleges.

E h f

Distribution classes uncover new interests As a first-year at Whitman, current senior Jenna Stearns could not get into the English class she wanted to take for her major. Instead, she took an introductory economics course. Now, Stearns is an economics major.

College—especially first and sophomore years—is a good chance to explore fields of knowledge to which most students have little exposure in high school, and many students find their major, like Stearns did, through such early exploration. While Stearns explored because of necessity, Whitman’s distribution requirements are designed to act as an incentive for students, even those who have decided on a major and can take the classes they desire, to sample different fields because they know that they are required for graduation.

According to the 2009-2010 academic catalog, “Distribution requirements are the primary means of achieving breadth and perspective; the student is required to sample disparate areas of knowledge and ways of knowing.”

The distribution requirements demand completion of six credits in each of the areas of social science, humanities, fine arts, science and alternative voices, and three credits in quantitative analysis. The system was revised in 2000. “[Distribution classes] are really important in encouraging well-rounded educations,” said Stearns. “You can’t just take math and science classes, or you can’t just take psychology classes.”

The general form of a distribution requirement is six credits in a broad field with multiple departments in which most of the classes qualify, and where one class cannot fulfill two distribution requirements. The two exceptions are quantitative analysis, which requires fewer credits and can fulfill two requirements at once, and alternative voices, which describes a set of classes in many departments which are decided upon by the General Studies Committee.

“There are no classes that are automatically alternative voices; all alternative voices classes have been approved by the General Studies Committee,” said Elizabeth Vandiver, associate professor of classics and chair of the General Studies Committee.

BULLION

o w o s B

Most of the serious complaints she had heard about the requirementsf came as complaints about registra-a tion and scheduling, like the unavail-w ability of desired courses, accordingj to Vandiver. Many courses fill beforeg first year students and sophomores2 have a chance at them, including some popular courses for distribu-w tion requirements, like Chemistry of Art, a popular science class spe-s cific to non-science majors. Whilefi the unavailability of desired coursesL may lead some students to taking courses they wouldn’t otherwise, liket a distribution requirement, as it dids for Stearns, it may also prevent someW students from getting the most out ofC the requirements by blocking the de-P sired out-of-major courses.

Some students, particularly science majors who have to take certain

Presumably one reason you chose to come to a liberal arts college was for the breadth of education, and the distribution requirements contribute to that.

Elizabeth Vandiver associate professor of classics

courses in order and have multiple afternoon labs, may have a hard time fitting in the classes, especially afternoon classes. However, according to Stearns, most seniors have their distribution requirements finished or nearly finished, so it seems like it is not a major hurdle for most students.

Stearns has completed all the distribution requirements with the exception of fine arts. She plans to take a photography course in spring 2010 to fulfill that requirement.

“Some students ask ‘Why do I have to take this stuff I’m not interested in?’, but presumably one reason you chose to come to a liberal arts college was for the breadth of education, and the distribution requirements contribute to that,” said Professor Vandiver.

Many liberal arts colleges have distribution requirements similar to Whitman’s, including Reed College, Pomona College and Willamette University, often including some requirement similar to “Alternative Voices.”

It’s a common cornerstone in the philosophy of a liberal arts education.

Stearns had no complaints about the distribution requirements.

“It gives you a much better perspective, not just in general knowledge but in how your major applies to other fields,” said Stearns.

9December 3, 2009

in Focus

FEATURE

5

philosophy: past, present and future

Changes in core curriculum lead to expansion of texts, broader focus

by HELEN JENNE Staff Reporter It’s no secret that Core has undergone big changes to become the Encounters that first-years are taking this year.

“Core has gone through a massive evolution to become Encounters,” said Elyse Semerdjian, associate professor of history and encounters representative for the general studies committee.

The biggest change was the removal of the word “western” in the description, which opens up the course to texts from other parts of the world. This can be seen in the addition of texts such as “The Bhagavad-Gita” and “The Qur’an.”

“We had taught it for so long that we felt the need for some change and we all acknowledged that it was exclusively western,” said Margo Scribner, senior adjunct assistant professor of English and general studies, who has taught Core for 26 years.

“This is a very different syllabus than what we had before,” Semerdjian said.

While a lot of the texts are the same, some are completely new. This is also the first year of Core that includes film; “City Lights” was included this semester.

There are also now two plenary lectures, which are new additions to the syllabus. For the most recent one on Wednesday, Dec. 2, all first-years went to Cordiner Hall for class to hear Associate Professor of foreign languages and litera-

tures Zahi Zalloua lecture about the current reading, “Selected Writings” of Karl Marx.

There has also been a more general change, which is the addition of a theme.

This year’s theme is “Encounters Ancient and Modern” but it can change from year to year.

“With the new course description, we can change the entire theme of the course from period to period,” Semerdjian said.

New themes can be introduced and voted in, as often as every year.

“I think the new course offers a diverse range of perspectives. With each new text our eyes are opened more to how we’ve been shaped by our upbringing and culture and [we are invited] to engage and think about others,” said first-year Emily Berg.

First-year Heather Domonoske agreed that the texts are well-chosen.

“People here tend to like them,” she said.

She added that Whitman students would probably not read these texts on their own, making them good choices for the class.

However, first-year Shannon McCarty said that she thinks the transitions between the texts could be clearer.

“The sequence of texts lacks some continuity,” she said.

First-year Claire Ostwald said that the units help focus the syllabus and help re-

late the texts to each other. She believes, though, that with the exception of “The Odyssey,” the texts seem glanced over.

“While I think it’s interesting to be exposed to so many different, diverse texts, the amount of time we spend on each one seems too short,” Ostwald said.

Semerdjian said that Core teachers have looked at many different kinds of freshman seminar models, such as one in which each section would have a different theme, but decided to stick with Core as it is.

“Ideally, the course is meant to be a conversation piece on campus. We hope that students discuss the texts over lunch as well as professors in the halls,” she said.

The idea is that all first-years read the same text at the same time, enabling them to discuss it beyond the classroom.

“Part of it is to give you some unity as an entering class,” Scribner said.

She added that it can also make it so other professors a year or two down the line can take it for granted that their students have read certain works.

Having all the first-years take the same class at the same time means that many professors teach it. While there are some professors on contract just to teach Core, there are also math and science professors teaching. Semerdjian said that this is good for several reasons, one because it shows that these texts have interdisciplinary value. It also sometimes forces

Student role in academic decisions sparks debate At the most recent Board of Trustees Academic Affairs Committee meeting, there was an open discussion of Whitman’s purpose and how to fulfill that purpose. There is not currently a general agreement about the future academic philosophy of the college, or how much influence students should have over it.

According to the minutes of the meeting, the future of the college’s academic philosophy involves the implementation of increasingly interdisciplinary, cross-cultural perspectives.

The student representative on that committee, senior ASWC senator Will Canine, is frustrated by what he perceives as a lack of student involvement in such academic decisions.

“The faculty has a very complicated governance structure that involves a chair and tons of committee and various oversight and policy-determining bodies,” said Canine. “And many of the faculty see it as their 100-percent right to control all decisions involving the academic program at Whitman.”

Andrea Valenzuela, assistant professor of foreign languages and literatures– Spanish, stressed the voice students have regarding Whitman’s academic philosophy.

“My voice probably . . . has as much weight as [that of] the student body,” she said.

Regardless of differences in the perceived influence of students voices, according to Article V, Section 2 of the Constitution of the College, the faculty does have the power to arrange the courses of study and make academic decisions independent of student concern.

In Canine’s view, the current discussion surrounding the development of Whitman’s academic philosophy does nothing to alleviate the fact that students don’t have a voice in academic programming.

A three-year ASWC senator, Canine feels that Whitman discourages students from offering their perspectives on academic issues. He cited as an example the letter sent by ASWC to the faculty directly before they decided to switch to a 3-2 class schedule.

“We got professors sending us emails saying, ‘We are disappointed that you as students have seen fit to try and meddle’ . . . The faculty told me I was butting in. Faculty told me I don’t have a right to talk about academic issues because they’re not a student issue.”

Bill Bogard, professor of sociology and division chair of social sciences and education, believes that though communication between students and faculty could be improved, faculty control over academic decisions is necessary.

“I agree that students might be better informed about the process . . . but I also strongly support the long tradition of faculty control over curricular matters. It has served Whitman well and is responsible for the quality of education here,” he said.

First-year Olivia Nielson also agrees that it should be in the power of the faculty to make decisions about academic structure and programs, but believes students’ opinions should be taken into account.

“I feel like if a student has a problem they can go talk to a teacher about it, and they would be open to suggestion,” she said.

Canine said that the majority of the faculty are great at listening to student concerns, but a small minority have been unpleasant regarding student involvement.

“Faculty are the experts, and they should absolutely be determining curriculum and they should absolutely have discussions about what an American education means, because they are the ones qualified to have them,” he

said. “However, they cannot take away opportunities for an education that Whitman has been offering without talking to students.”

Bogard does not see himself or his colleagues in this way.

“I don’t think that in this process faculty members see themselves entirely in the narrow role of ‘experts,’ but as professionals dedicated to teaching and acting in the interests of their students,” he said.

Valenzuela believes the faculty does act in the best interest of students by listening to their concerns. She said while students have a voice, that does not mean they have ultimate control over some decisions, such as the decision to move to a 3-2 schedule.

“Students do have a voice in this— they absolutely do have a voice,” said Valenzuela. “I mean, the fact that what students expressed. . . was not the end result of that 3-2 vote does not mean it wasn’t taken into account. It was very seriously taken into account.”

She cited as evidence for such consideration the ASWC letter Canine mentioned, noting that the faculty listserv “went crazy” with discussion of its contents.

According to ASWC President Nadim Damluji, these discussions have been helpful in establishing a precedent for dialogue between students and faculty.

“The result of [the letter] has been really productive conversations that will hopefully include ASWC in the future,” he said.

Recognizing that there is great progress to be made, Bogard hopes that students can see the faculty’s decisions as made in their best interest.

“Despite flaws in the process and the need for better communication, I hope students can see this as a move that benefits them, too,” he said.

professors to teach outside of their subject area.

“It may be a challenge, but it’s meant to keep us on our toes as much as the students,” Semerdjian BULLION said.

Scribner agreed that it is an intellectual challenge.

“I had never read some of these works before,” Scribner said. “It’s really good for everybody.”

Although students are reading the same texts at the same time, not all agree that the conversation does successfully move outside of the classroom.

“I haven’t found that the conversation moves out of the classroom much, but I’ve found that just the discussion in class has been interesting and at times eye-opening for many,” said Berg.

Even though everyone is reading the same texts, Domonoske said that classroom experiences vary.

“Everyone has a very different Encounters experience,” she said. Domonoske pointed out that not only do different classes focus on different aspects of the

text, but also that some classes are more discussion-based than others. Ostwald agreed.

“I’ve heard first-years say that their class is lecture-based, with discussion interspersed, but my class is all discussionbased,” Ostwald said.

Although it may be hard to make the classes uniform enough to create a campus conversation, Berg loves the class discussion.

“The in-class discussion has been nothing less than I expected. We really roll with the ideas and apply them to our own lives,” she said.

Western region liberal arts colleges’ graduation requirements All liberal arts programs are not created equal. Below is a list of several different liberal arts institutions in the Western region of the United States and examples of unique ways of how they fulfill the pillars of this academic philosophy.

Required credits: Lewis and Clark

128 credits

Unique programs: Students must demonstrate proficient skills upon graduation in three categories: writing/rhetoric, bibliographic knowledge and information as well as information/electronic competency.

Occidental

128 credits

All students must take at least three “culture” courses from at least three of the following geographic areas: Africa and the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Europe or Latin America.

University of Puget Sound All students must earn at least 12 cred-

its outside of one’s major at the upper (300 or 400) division level. Students are also required to take “Connections,” a class that examines the benefits and limits of interdisciplinary approaches to knowledge.

32 classes Whitman

124 credits Willamette

Students must take one class in each of the following categories: understanding the natural world, creating the arts, analyzing arguments, thinking historically, interpreting texts and understanding society. They also must take four writing-centered courses.

31 classes Reed

30 classes classes

Distribution requirements in Alternative voices, social sciences, humanities, fine arts, sciences and quantitative analysis. All students are also required to take the first-year core class.

As a distribution requirements, students must complete three classes in physical education. In their junior year, all students must also take qualifying examinations before allowed to write their senior theses. credits

-Hanna Ory

GOLD

Humor

The Pioneer ISSUE 12 DEC. 3, 2009 Page 6

Historical photobombs

Unexpected celebrity signatures

The art of photobombing—jumping into the frame of someone else’s pictures— is popular now, but The Pioneer’s own Galen Cobb has been practicing the art since the beginning.

4-West listserv stays active throughout zombie apocalypse ---------- Forwarded message ---------Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 12:11:35 -0800 RA UPDATE! Hey guys, So, by now you’ve all probably noticed that there is a zombie problem on campus.

We know that it can be lonely when your friends have been consumed but remember that ResLife is here to support you! Come talk to an RA if you’re struggling or use the counseling center! Even with the zombie apocalypse going on though, it’s important to remember that this is a community hall, so let’s show a little more respect for public spaces. The main lounge is really bloody, and people are still leaving their papers around. Plus, we could really be doing a better job with quiet hours.

Peace, love and study breaks!

-Kelly P.S. Don’t forget that tonight’s study break is Worm Cups!! 8 p.m.!

---------- Forwarded message ---------Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 12:11:35 -0800 Guys, whoever took my True Religion jeans out of the laundry room and left the room covered in blood, a) I NEED THOSE BACK THEY WERE EXPENSIVE and b) GROSS! - Natasha ---------- Forwarded message ---------Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 12:11:35 -0800 Hey guys, Is anybody driving to the nearest safe zone? My roommates are infected, I’m pretty sure my family is dead or dying and I really just need to get away from here. I’ll bring Doritos Cool Ranch and Slim Jims and I just got the new Shakira album AND I pay for GAS AND AMMO!!!:-)!!

Zeke ---------- Forwarded message ---------Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 12:11:35 -0800 Hi ladies! (And Sven!)

Here is an update on cute Jewett boys who are still alive: Mitchell, Brian, Bryan, Zeke, Roshan, Adam, Chuckie, Spencer, Harrison - Ashley

FEATURING:

Allison Ramp and Taylor White

Finn Straley’s guide to Alaska Ketchikan: Imagine dumpster. Now, imagine that dumpster inside another dumpster, covered sticky and smelling like filthy sex. Welcome to Ketchikan.

Juneau: Unless you’re of drinking age, Juneau is a pretty dull place. Even if you’re of drinking age, it’s kind of depressing.

Anchorage: Awful. Just awful. Not only is this city colder than balls pretty much year-round, it looks like it was laid out by stoned fourth graders. A shopping mall next to a prison next to a school next to a shoe store? Really, Los Anchorage? Never go here.

Haines: Haines is okay by me. The town is nice, the people are attractive and it’s within driving distance of a decent fireworks stand. Nice work, Haines.

---------- Forwarded message ---------Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 12:11:35 -0800 RA UPDATE! Great job at the rap assembly guys! That was a tough battle! PROUD. OF. YOU! Also, I went down to 2-West to investigate the smell and unfortunately Zeke, (remember Zeke?) dragged his torso up to me using only the stumps of his forearms and told me that everyone there is dead. So our Ping-Pong tournament is postponed. :( HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATASHA!!!

- Kelly

Pelican: This place is fucking insane.

Year-round, 128 people live in Pelican, yet it still manages to support five functioning bars and liquor stores. Every year they host a music festival called the Boardwalk Boogie, featuring bands from all across Alaska. It’s kind of like Sasquatch, only instead drawing a bunch of stoned college students, the Boardwalk Boogie mostly draws sad alcoholics who either have been or will be convicted of domestic abuse.

Sitka: Great community, delicious food, and adorable children. Think Grover’s Corners but with fewer ghosts. Also, IT IS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL, and the people there will probably not murder you or try to sell you drugs.

Alaskan newspaper headlines Woman reports rustling in bushes beneath her house, it turned out to be a HUGE ASS BEAR

---------- Forwarded message ---------Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 12:11:35 -0800 Hey “Friends,” Isn’t it weird how all of a sudden I’ve become sooooo popular! Nobody wanted to invite me to the wheat fields last week because it was “creepy” when I practiced assembling my firearms in the study lounge. Thanks for letting me know, “bro to bro” that I scared all your lady friends, Zeke, but I needed to prepare for the day you said would never come!

AND SUDDENLY I HAVE EIGHT GIRLFRIENDS! This is to let you know that I will only continue to offer my protection if all the girls stop talking to Zeke. Over and Out. -Derrick “Blade Fist” Flowers

Alaskans!!

High speed boat chase results in awesome

Tourist buys 28-cent poncho for 10 dollars

After a visit to the “lower 48,” local teenager learns that people will pay tons of money to see same shit Alaskans see every day for free

Bear solves mystery of missing child, blames Eagle

---------- Forwarded message ---------Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 12:11:35 -0800 Dear “Friends,” Looks like our RA is infected. That’s what you get for talking to Pooka-necklacecheezballs like Zeke.

If the girls continue tearfully building their “mourning alter” for him, I’m going to stop bringing home squirrel or duck meat for any of you.

-Derrick “Blade Fist” Flowers

Sunrise deemed “too beautiful for human eyes”

Local fisherman declares every occupation not involving boats to be “bullshit”

---------- Forwarded message ---------Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 12:11:35 -0800 Guys, whoever took my human vertebrae necklace out of the lounge and left Kelly’s shot-up corpse on the table a) I NEED THAT BACK IT WAS FROM ZEKE and b) UR DISGUSTING. - Natasha

Bear mauls missing child

---------- Forwarded message ---------Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 12:11:35 -0800 Hi ladies! (And Sven!)

Here is an update on cute Jewett boys who aren’t cute but are still capable of reproduction for the sake of future generations: Zeke’s leftover semen, Derrick “Blade Fist” Flowers -Ashley

Fish dropped by eagle onto baseball field succeeds in halting game after wind, hail, snow, rain and lighting fail to do so

Opinion

The Pioneer ISSUE 12 DEC. 3, 2009 Page 7

Palin Country Sarah signs “Going Rogue” at Tri-Cities bookstore

DOUGLAS

5HÁHFWLRQV RQ 2EDPD·V UHFHQW YLVLW WR &KLQD During Obama’s visit to China he emphasized “universal rights.”

“They should be available to all people, including ethnic and religious minorities, whether RENSI KE they are in the UnitColumnist ed States, China or any nation,” Obama said on Nov. 16 at the town hall event in Shanghai, where he answered questions from university students as well as Internet users, or “netizens.” The next day, he reiterated that America holds “bedrock beliefs that all men and women possess fundamental human rights” during the press conference in Beijing with Chinese President Hu Jintao It interested me to see how The Los Angeles Times portrayed the facial expression of President Hu upon hearing Obama’s mention of human rights, writing, “As Obama spoke, Hu . . . stared straight ahead, impassively.”

It’s no wonder that American media would present Hu’s reaction negatively, considering that human rights were established legally in the United States’ Declaration of Independence in 1776, while the Chinese constitutional list of human rights was not complete until 1982.

Certainly, China has not kept up with the high pace of human rights movements in the Western world. While many Western movements have managed to achieve profound social changes over the course of the 20th century, China suffered from dictatorship for 49 years, and then the Cultural Revolution during which the country witnessed 10 years of deprivation of speech freedom.

Even today, people often discourage the youth from being too outspoken by repeating the Chinese proverb, “The gun shoots the bird with its head up.” Such a proverb apparently contradicts Obama’s notion of Internet freedom: “I can tell you that in the United States the fact that we have unrestricted Internet access is a source of strength and should be encouraged.”

After the interview with Southern Weekend, Obama reinforced his point in a letter to that press and its readers: “An educated citizenry is the key to an effective government, and a free press contributes to that well-informed citizenry.”

Here Obama intended to stress the causal relationship among press freedom, citizenry cultivation and government efficiency, but whether a free press will necessarily lead to an educated citizenry is debatable.

One tricky problem facing China—and probably many Western countries too—is this: To what extent should a government intervene to protect individuals from infringement on speech freedom by other individuals or groups? In the context of online expression, we are discussing a

more specific problem. How should a government deal with the abuse of Internet freedom? It might be surprising to say that China, a censorship-stricken country in the eyes of the Western world, is suffering from this problem.

On one of China’s biggest online forums, www.mop.com, netizens are obsessed with discovering others’ personal information through networking, which is called “human flesh engine.” Although some government officials have lost their positions due to exposure of their misconduct online, more people have suffered from the infringement on their privacy due to the entertainment-oriented engine.

Moreover, the aggregation of pornographic information, the upsurge of nationalism during the boycott of several foreign corporations and individuals and the recurrence of online personal attack due to the concealment of true identities all speak for the chaotic liveliness of Chinese online expression and Chinese netizens’ lack of awareness of the responsibility that accompanies their freedom.

While American media bombards China with charges of hindered information flow, I wonder why it never bothers to learn some basic facts about China. A 2006 National Geographic survey showed that 74 percent of young Americans didn’t know that Mandarin Chinese is the most commonly spoken native language in the world and 45 percent believed that China’s population is only double that of the United States—while it is really four times as large.

Let alone some more important information has been neglected in the unhindered flow of information in America: China has just lifted its people from poverty; the average salary of Chinese citizens is 1/34th of that of Americans; the attendance rate in higher education is only 23 percent (America: 50 percent); millions of its people have grown up in an education system that stresses respect for authority and accordance with the majority.

The above figures might give you some hints about the causes of the irrational Internet freedom in China.

President Obama stated his belief in Shanghai’s town hall, saying, “Every country must chart its own course.” But his arguments about “universal values” implied nothing but the difficulty anyone may find in living by his or her beliefs.

I want to see a wider range of freedom on the Chinese Internet, but I don’t expect it to come in the near future, and I would say that the Los Angeles Times observation of President Hu’s “impassivity” is a cultural misunderstanding: That’s how a political leader with aplomb should behave when his country is on its way.

Rensi Ke is a senior English major. She is this year’s Whitman Sherwood Exchange student from Shantou University in China.

ALEX POTTER Columnist

They came with the night, ready to brave the cold. They were armed with sleeping bags, propane heaters and hot coffee.

They came 24 hours before Sarah Palin would arrive at the Hastings bookstore in Richland, Wash. on Nov. 29 because they were true be-

lievers.

“She’s the first politician in the last 20 years I’ve admired,” one man waiting in line said.

Palin has all of the hallmarks of a charismatic leader and populist politician. The die-hard Palinites that stoically bore the cold Saturday night were less inclined to talk about issues and more about Sarah— and indeed everyone in line was on a first name basis with Palin.

Her supporters confirmed that there was something different about Palin that drew them unlike any other candidate.

“She’s not an ordinary politician . . . if it were Mike Huckabee or Romney . . . you wouldn’t see a line like this,” said Jeff of Camas, Wash.

So if it isn’t her policies, what is it about Palin that’s making everyone from grandmothers to college students and children wait for dozens of hours in freezing cold weather just for a signature and a glimpse of the one-time vice-presidential candidate and half-term governor of Alaska?

I found that among her supporters there are three things about Palin that set her apart.

First, “She’s one of us,” said Donna of Richland.

“She not only talks the talk, she walks the walk,” said Erin of Richland.

Finally, both men and women waiting in line were quick to say that Palin could be our first female president.

“She is a great woman leader,” Kelsey, a sophomore at WSU, said, and though she might not win, Kelsey was confident that Palin is forging new opportunities for women in politics.

“One of Us”

There was consensus among the people waiting in line that Palin was “average” and represented common people’s interests.

Comments along this line ranged from her origins in rural America to her speaking style. When I asked what she liked so much about Palin, Donna answered that Palin is “small town [and] honest” and that “she talks on an average level, so people can understand.”

Indeed, almost every person I interviewed mentioned that Palin just talks “common sense” or “tells it like it is.” In the same vein, a concern emanated from Palin’s supporters about their lack of representation in the mainstream media and political structure. Many of these concerns were expressed in terms of economics.

“There’s no way people can spend that much money and we still come out,” said Tara of Eltopia, Wash. when discussing the influence of money on politics. There was also the feeling that average people weren’t benefiting from government policies, particularly regarding Obama’s response to the recession. “[The government is] bailing out people when they don’t need it and keeps paying their top people millions,” said Donna.

Chris of Richland echoed this sentiment.

“People think conservatives don’t care about poor people, but I think it is the opposite. Liberals are in the guise of caring about poor people, but they only care about themselves.”

However, there was also a more fundamental question of integrity underlying people’s comments. A common viewpoint was that the people with power, whether in government or media, are corrupt compared to average Americans.

“The corruption, getting rid of the corruption,” said Nancy of Richland, on what issue was important to her. “We’ve just seen people who are a minority talking and making laws while the majority sits back.”

The image of Palin as the outsider, the common person coming in and cleaning up politics was reiterated by Josh, who grew up in Alaska. “[I’ve] seen firsthand Alaska politics and corruption,” said Josh. He said that he was impressed by Palin’s ability to confront corrupt oil companies and politicians there.

It appears that the most significant aspect of Palin’s appeal is indeed people’s sense of alienation from power, and more specifically from the powerful themselves, that many Americans feel today.

“She Walks the Walk”

An enormous part of the enthusiasm I encountered derived from how Palin didn’t just advocate ideas, but lived her values. “[Palin has] good American values, good family, and she shows us through her own family what should be happening,” said Kelsey, the WSU student.

It appears that the most significant aspect of Palin’s appeal is indeed the sense of alienation from power, and more specifically the powerful themselves, that many Americans feel today.

Paradoxically, yet perhaps profoundly, perceptions of Palin’s values were not derived from her perfection but rather her struggles. While speaking about the pregnancy of Palin’s daughter Bristol, Kelsey reiterated that “they are a real American family; they aren’t perfect,” and contrasted them with the seemingly perfect Obama family.

If there is one issue that did seem important to everyone, it was abortion. On this issue perhaps more than anything, Palin inspired admiration and respect among her supporters. In case you don’t know, Palin’s son Trig has Down syndrome and Palin decided not to have an abortion.

For Jeff, Palin’s decision not to abort Trig is intensely personal.

“I feel a lot of similarities between me and Trig. My mom told me some things about her similar situation and Sarah’s,” he said.

Kelsey also expressed admiration for Palin’s strength in choosing to have her son, though she added that she didn’t know what she would do regarding an unwanted pregnancy. When I asked Erin which of Palin’s stands on issues resonated with her she also brought up abortion. “[Her] pro-life [stance] for sure, especially since she has her son. She could have had

an abortion, but she didn’t. I really respect that,” she said.

It is easy to be cynical about any political movement driven by a charismatic personality. But Palin’s supporters revealed a deep identification with the struggle to live out your values in an often-hostile society. I admired them greatly for their thoughtfulness.

“The First Woman President”

When my friend, senior Matt Ozuna, inquired whether Jeff thought America was ready for a female President, Jeff’s retort was quick.

“I’m ready for a female president!”

Erin echoed that sentiment.

“I hope she is the first female president of the U.S.A.!”

Palin’s status as a conservative female seemed to be an important animating factor in her appeal to many people who gathered to see her. Not everyone agreed that it was significant that Palin could possibly be the first female president.

“People make too much of whether someone is black or white, male or female,” one woman said. Natasha, of the former USSR, was adamant that her gender was in no way related to her appeal.

Yet when I asked whether people think it’s important that Palin is female, others responded affirmatively.

“Oh yes, I do, I definitely do,” Chris said.

Similarly, when I asked why she was waiting all night to see Palin, Kelsey immediately responded: “I’m out here because she is a great woman leader and we are women and young.”

Palin’s attractiveness as a female candidate seemed to be inseparable from her appeal as a conservative and, in particular, her stance on abortion.

“I think it is important that she is a woman and believes that . . . men don’t know what it’s like, but she does,” said Chloe of Pendleton, Ore. about the connection between Palin’s pro-life stance and her gender.

While perhaps the desire for a female president wouldn’t have driven the crowd in Richland to vote for Hilary Clinton, the possibility of a female presidential candidate that shared their values seemed to be a powerful driving force behind Palin’s popularity.

Meeting Sarah

When I arrived back at the Hastings bookstore the morning of Palin’s arrival, the line had grown so long that it stretched well out of sight. I got back into my spot at the front of the line that had been diligently defended through the night.

Palin arrived to the high pitch screaming of her devoted fans, carrying a young child (her daughter’s?) in her arms, looking distinctly un-presidential in a poofy, flowery red top. The book-signing was a family affair, with her father, brother and other unrecognizable relatives all there to shake hands.

I met Sarah Palin, briefly, and she was interested enough to ask what I did for a living. I told her I wrote for my college’s newspaper and had the time to fire off one question: “Are you the future of the Republican Party?”

She smirked, hesitated, gave a little laugh and responded coyly, “. . . Could be.”

Whether that prospect disturbs you or inspires you, one thing is for sure: Palin is a force to be reckoned with.

Alex Potter is a senior double-majoring in politics and Asian Studies.

‘Democracy’ in America now an empty cliché Democracy is awesome. Better than communism, monarchy, theocracy and definitely better than whatever Iran has (theocratic democracy?).

Lucky for us GARY Americans, we don’t WANG live under a dictaColumnist torship like Iraq under Saddam. We get to vote! Our voices are heard by our government.

In the name of democracy, President Bush proclaimed, did we invade Iraq. In the name of democracy did we prevent dominoes from falling into the abyss of totalitarian communism.

In the name of democracy, we self-righ-

teously claim to be better, at least politically, than fellow human beings who have the bad luck to be born into oppression.

For example, in 1989, thousands of Chinese youth made a statue called the lady of democracy in Tiananmen Square to protest the yoke of communism and demand reform.

Well, better to be lucky than good, right?

Because what exactly is good about democracy? What exactly should we be exalting and promoting?

Sure, we get to vote every four years. We get the right to give a billion dollars to two political parties to represent us. We get the right to write letters to our congressman or woman. We get the right to express our disapproval to Gallup. We even get the right to let our money count as free speech in the name of change.

Sounds about right. Sounds like our de-

mocracy is governed by two things: money and self-righteousness. When was the last time you saw all your views represented in a political decision?

Is anyone here totally satisfied with the current health care debate/debacle? If you’re a tea partier, are you actually influencing policy or just feeding Glenn Beck’s ratings?

Political deliberation has been usurped by feigned outrage. And that’s the worst aspect of democracy—its fragility.

But how can there be a worst aspect of democracy? Isn’t democracy the unquestioned good since the end of the Cold War? Isn’t democracy the end of history?

Democracy is supposed to be the final end of human progress and civilization, but we don’t even know what the word means.

We think it’s just voting every four years for a president and a justification for a mili-

tarized foreign policy. Sounds great, but what is it really?

Democracy is a cliché.

We’ve let democracy become a trite phrase to toss out when we need moral justification. It has the same meaning as “take some time to smell the roses.”

Clichés have an odd way of substituting themselves for our own voices, because we have learned when it’s the right time to utter a cliché.

When somebody is judgmental, say, “Dude, don’t judge.” When somebody asks how you are, say, “I’m good, you?”

When your society gets questioned say, “But at least we’re democratic.” We all believe abstractly that democracy is the best system of governance—but do we mean it?

Do we live our day-to-day lives believing it, or will we not think about it until it’s November 2012?

Democracy really is just a word, kind of like the words love or cool. It’s in our vocabulary to toss out at the right moments, like in politics class.

Like all words that have fallen into our toolbox, democracy has lost its meaning.

We like it when we read about it, but we don’t actually enact it.

We have institutions and practices locally to provide us avenues to be democratic. Local city council meetings. Even the vaunted Associated Students of Whitman College is a body dedicated to representing you.

All these meetings are public. Go and see what your representatives are up to because the status quo is an outsourcing of democracy. For democracy to be a meaningful word, we have to renew it.

Gary Wang is a junior political philosophy major.

OPINION

8

1HLJKERUKRRG :DWFK SURJUDPV VKRXOG VXSSRUW VKULQNLQJ SROLFH IRUFHV In response to decreasing revenues across state and county governments, everywhere police and fire departments are shrinking due to BRYANT budget cuts. Our FONG public safety is now at risk.

Contributing It isn’t that I’m Columnist unconcerned with the threat to fire departments, but I’ll focus here on the ways to increase police presence and local crime fighting.

Police forces are shrinking everywhere across the nation, in places including San Diego, Calif., New York and Grand Rapids, Mich..

The focus on speed checking and speed traps doesn’t make our communities safer.

This seems to be a main source of funding, according to USA Today.

Since raising taxes is never a good option, local governments need to promote measures of individual protection and monitor the streets themselves. In a sense, they should create a volunteer civilian police corps.

The police can slash costs by operating on an on-call basis.

The government needs to give the citizens more control over their protection to streamline unnecessary spending and decrease dependence.

Such a program already exists. Neighborhood Watch, formed in the 1980s, consists of an organized group of citizens who work to protect a neighborhood from crime and vandalism, and who agree to report to authorities when problems arise.

Neighborhood Watch needs to be sponsored and encouraged by governments—

when I checked the Web site, I needed to purchase materials and earn permission before I could initiate the program.

The process to institute this type of program currently is a hassle. Only when the process becomes convenient will neighborhoods adopt the group efforts of Neighborhood Watch.

Instead of looking to raise revenue to strengthen government presence, a neighborhood watch would make citizens more involved with law enforcement by establishing a crime-fighting force all around the community.

According to a Lakewood, Colo. police report, only about 10 percent of burglaries, auto thefts and vehicle trespasses happened in Neighborhood Watch areas.

When the total burglaries are 780, it means that Neighborhood Watch does work in crime prevention.

It establishes a citizen responsibility of the neighborhood.

Citizens should act and form their own groups rather than complain of shrinking police forces. The new income sources for increased police operations would come from raised taxes, which hurts citizens.

In organizing local citizen-sponsored crime fighting, the government and its citizens save money, creating a more efficient operation.

In order for Neighborhood Watch to gain popularity, it requires concerted action by the government and the citizens.

The government needs to make implementation of this program easier, and provide greater incentives for it, perhaps through tax breaks. Citizens need to take action, and not rely on the government.

Neighborhood Watch is the future of crime prevention.

Bryant Fong is a sophomore majoring either in chemistry or economics.

/LO :D\QH à RRGV PDUNHW ZLWK PHGLRFUH PL[WDSHV What’s the name of that one song, again? I think to myself while stumbling through the world of legally downloaded music.

All I know is that it’s a Lil Wayne song JOEY and that it has a sick KERN beat, but these are Columnist two things I can’t type into a search engine with any degree of success.

My solution: Download the Lil Wayne discography, putting me on the level of middle school boys worldwide. I ignore this unfortunate connection, click download and walk away content that I’ll get what I want. I come back to see my package completely downloaded. I add the folder to iTunes and watch in horror as 681 songs relentlessly add themselves to my library.

I can’t help but ask myself, why and how the hell does Lil Wayne produce so much material? Why is it that I only like about one out of every 50 songs he produces? Why do people like me feel the need to download all of these songs knowing 640 out of the 681 or so will languish, ignored, in my library forever? The answer: I have no idea.

Lil Wayne has songs that are irresistibly catchy. I won’t deny this fact, as it enabled me and countless other unfortunate souls to go about flooding their laptops with his

countless mixtapes. But this doesn’t justify the amount of shitty songs with which he floods the market.

It seems to me, Mr. Wayne, that you record anything one or two times through, call it good and then release it to the public.

While this process may enable you to release an ungodly number of songs, it makes people have to sift through them for days to find something worth listening to. So, to put it simply, stop releasing so many songs and settle on the ones worth a listen.

By flooding the market, Lil Wayne ensures that some of his songs will inevitably become popular because, simply, almost no recording artist can release that many songs and fail to produce a decent single.

His methods seem akin to throwing 40 darts and praying that one of them lands on the target. It honestly makes me question whether he actually knows what a good song sounds like, or if his ears have grown so numb with cough syrup that he has to guess. Start listening to your own songs, Lil Wayne. Editing to ensure that published material is worthwhile has always been an important facet of media, music included.

Rampantly releasing material shouldn’t be the goal of any artist. Being the most prolific artist of the generation amounts to nothing if half of the songs you release amount to wasted space in someone’s iTunes library.

Joey Kern is a first-year English major.

the Pioneer

December 3, 2009

I T ’S RIDICULOUS

Too few Americans travel It’s ridiculous that fewer than 30 percent of Americans even own a passport. That’s right—it is, in fact, ridiculous.

At a British comedy club reDEREK cently I heard a THURBER joke that hinged on this fact that Contributing fewer than 30 perColumnist cent of Americans own passports.

Though I can be as pessimistic about American ignorance as most people, this number seemed impossible to believe.

So I checked it.

According to an article in USA Today, 74 million Americans owned passports as of spring 2007. Though that is actually a good number of people, when you realize that there are a little over 304 million people that live in the United States, this number becomes much smaller. The percentage works out to about 24 percent with these numbers.

This is, of course, an old statistic, but most estimates put the current rate up by only a couple of percentages points. The other ridiculous thing to note from this statistic is that having 24 percent is record-

breaking. The article probably rightly suggests that this is due to the increased immigration regulations between Canada and the United States.

Plus, Canada hardly counts as a foreign country, anyway.

As an American who is living in London this semester and has spent his free time traveling across England, Scotland, Ireland and mainland Europe, I can honestly say that it is truly sad how few Americans have traveled.

My recent trip across the highlands of Scotland has made this more apparent than ever. We got to see the great castle in Edinburgh, drink fine Scottish whiskey—Scotch—in traditional pubs, wander through streets that are full of history, search for Nessie on the great and beautiful Loch Ness, try to figure out the public buses, fear getting attacked by our hostel employee, take long train rides across the British countryside and generally learn about a whole different culture.

With so few Americans really and truly knowing what it is like to live and get around in a foreign country, it’s no wonder others think we are arrogant pricks. It is hard to defend our nation to weary foreigners when confronted with such startling statistics.

And, really, it is embarrassing to think that a country which arguably holds the

For most of us Thanksgiving means a table piled with steaming mashed potatoes, roasted turkey carved into hearty slices, cornbread JAMES stuffing, cranberry SLEDD sauce and pumpColumnist kin pie heaped with whipped cream. But not all families are so lucky and last week millions of Americans gathered around empty tables.

No American should ever have to sit at a barren table. The U.S. government should expand food stamps and other programs so that no one in the United States struggles to feed their family three meals per day.

According to The New York Times, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported last month that 49 million Americans went without adequate food at some point last year. This is an increase of 13 million people over the previous year, the highest number since the USDA began keeping track in 1985.

According to Northwest Harvest, 15 percent of children in Washington live in poverty, and nearly 300,000 live in households that find it difficult to put together three healthy meals each day.

Rural Washingtonians—especially those in the south-central part of the state, near Walla Walla and the Tri-Cities—are more likely to face food insecurity.

Of the 49 million Americans who experienced food insecurity, one-third faced “very low food security,� where family members had to miss meals or reduce portions to save money. The remaining two-thirds—over 30 million people—had to eat cheaper foods, rely on government aid, or visit soup kitchens to feed themselves and their families.

Single mothers were the most likely to battle food insecurity. In over one and a half-million households, children went

without enough to eat—more than double the previous year.

Why did so many more Americans go hungry at some point in 2008? The answer, unsurprisingly, is the downward spiral into a deep economic recession.

The unemployment rate, which was at 4.9 percent at the end of 2007, rose to 7.2 percent in December 2008. This year, the unemployment rate spiked to 10.2 percent.

More Americans without jobs means more people who can’t afford to adequately feed their families—so even more families could go hungry this year.

The increase in hunger is directly linked to welfare reform.

In 1996, Congress passed the Personal Welfare and Work Opportunity Act, a key component of Newt Gingrich’s Contract with America. The act imposed a lifetime limit of five years’ benefits for welfare recipients, strictly limited aid to immigrants, whether legal or illegal, and reduced job training opportunities.

Proponents of welfare reform, including Newt Gingrich and former president Bill Clinton, claimed that it would reduce poverty rates

ZKLWPDQ QHZV GHOLYHUHG REPORTERS

BUSINESS

Editor-in-Chief Gillian Frew

Production Manager Quinn Taylor

Publisher Kim Sommers

Managing Editor Margaux Cameron

Production Associates Sally Boggan, Alyssa Fairbanks, Miriam Kolker, Ben Lerchin, Tessa Matson

Rachel Alexander, Maggie Allen, Gabe Cahn, Kristen Coverdale, Allan Crum, Lindsay Fairchild, Liz Forsyth, Jay Gold, Andrew Hall, Caitlin Hardee, Staten Hudson, Helen Jenne, Hadley Jolley, Sam Kollar, Merrett Krahn, Doyle McCarthy, Becquer MedakSeguin, Noah Mogey, Lea Negrin, Eric Nickeson-Mendheim, C. J. Wisler, William Witwer

Copy Editors Cara Lowry, Sara Rasmussen

News Editor Galen Bernard

Webmaster Andrew Spittle

Associate News Editor Josh Goodman

PHOTOGRAPHY

A&E Editor Connor Guy Feature Editor Hanna Ory Sports Editors Max Rausch and Dujie Tahat Opinion Editor Gabriela Salvidea Humor Editor Alex Kerr Photography Editor Simon Van Neste Illustration Editor Patricia Vanderbilt

Linnea Bullion, Emily Cornelius, Ellie Gold, Dana Hubanks, Isabel Hong, David Jacobs, Marie von Hafften

ILLUSTRATION Sam Alden, Kelly Douglas, Emily Johnson, Binta LoosDiallo, Carrie Sloane, Jung Song, Kiley Wolff

and unemployment. Neither unemployment nor poverty rates have improved, while millions of Americans have stopped receiving aid, forced into menial jobs that won’t feed their families.

Today, as the country struggles to climb out of the deepest recession, we must reevaluate all aspects of our economy.

The United States is the richest country in the world, and no American should ever go hungry. With over 30 million Americans forced to miss meals or eat less to save money, it’s clear that welfare reform has failed.

Congress should seriously consider repealing the Personal Welfare and Work Opportunity Act and other welfare reform laws.

James Sledd is a senior environmentalpolitics major.

SONG

EDITORIAL POLICY

PRODUCTION

Art Director Rebecca Fish

Derek Thurber is a junior history major studying abroad in London this semester.

Congress must act to combat increasing hunger in America

EDITORIAL

Director of Content Andy Jobanek

most influence internationally out of any country in the world has so few citizens that have actually seen that world about which they are creating policies.

Of course, it is expensive to travel. Not everyone can afford to take romantic vacations across Europe, see the Great Wall of China or hunt for kangaroos in Australia.

But there are certainly more than 26 percent of Americans who can afford to travel at some point in their lives.

Also, to be fair, the United States is very large and further away from most foreign countries than Europe for example. Although traveling around the United States is interesting, important and educational, it is not an adequate substitute for seeing at least part of the world.

On average, more than 70 percent of Europeans and between 60 and 70 percent of Australians have passports. Maybe more Americans should step out of our protected bubble and see something really new for a change. If I have done nothing else, then I hope that every person reading this will seriously consider traveling abroad whenever they get the chance. You will not regret it, and neither will the rest of the world.

Advertising Manager Matt Solomon Finance Manager Jordan Estes

Advertising Associates David Deming, Matt Tesmond, Shellin Tran Advertising Designer Brianna Jaro

The Whitman College Pioneer is a weekly student-run newspaper published under the auspices of the Associated Students of Whitman College. The purpose of The Pioneer is to provide pertinent, timely news and commentary for Whitman students, alumni, faculty, staff and parents, as well as the Walla Walla community. The Pioneer is dedicated to expanding open discussion on campus about the issues with which students are most concerned. We provide coverage of Whitman-related news as well as featured local and regional events, and strive to maintain a standard of utmost fairness, quality, and journalistic integrity while promoting freedom of the press. In addition, the Pioneer strives to be a learning tool for students who are interested in journalism. The Pioneer welcomes all feedback and publishes weekly Letters to the Editor in print and online.

SUBMISSION POLICY

Letters to Editor may be submitted to The Pioneer via e-mail at editors@whitmanpioneer.com or sent to The Pioneer, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA, 99362. All submissions must be received by 4 p.m. on Saturday prior to the week that they are intended to appear. All submissions must be attributed and may be edited for concision and fluency.

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CODE OF ETHICS

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9

A&E PIO PICKS

Each Thursday, The Pioneer highlights several events happening on campus or in Walla Walla over the weekend. Here are this week’s picks: Winter Art Student Salon This exhibit will feature works of all students taking studio art courses— not necessarily just those majoring in studio art. Organizers feel that it is important to provide opportunities for “non-majors” to have their work exhibited in a gallery setting like this.

The opening reception will take place in Sheehan Gallery in Olin Hall on Saturday, Dec. 5, at 3 p.m. The exhibit will then continue in the Sheehan Gallery until Dec. 18; normal hours are Tuesday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.

Concerto/Aria Competition In this annual competition, vocalists, pianists and other instrumentalists all vie for three coveted opportunities to perform their concerto or aria in front of Whitman’s symphony orchestra. Come see some of Whitman’s most talented soloists perform these difficult selections—they’ve spent all semester working on them.

Friday, Dec. 4 at 4 p.m. in Chism Recital Hall. Free.

Parade of Lights Each year, the Downtown Walla Walla Foundation hosts this parade down Boyer Avenue, featuring floats created by countless local businesses. The parade begins at the corner of Boyer and Palouse at 6 p.m., travels as far as Fifth and Alder, then circles back on Main Street to end on Boyer at about 7 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 5. Free.

NETFLIX IT:

‘THE FRENCH CHEF’

by MARGAUX CAMERON Managing Editor When you consider that I went as Julia Child to the sexual fantasy party, it isn’t that surprising that I jumped at the chance to review her cooking show. To be totally honest, I had never actually seen an episode of “The French Chef ” until recently, after enjoying both the book and movie versions of “Julie & Julia.” Beyond her trademark voice and caricaturesque mannerisms, I never gave much thought to her considerable cooking ability until I saw her show.

“The French Chef with Julia Child” collection features 18 episodes of her TV show organized into three discs: “Starters and Side Dishes,” “Main Courses” and “Baking, Desserts, and Other Classics.” The dishes she prepares are all traditional French fare, unusual for American audiences at her show’s 1962 debut. From crêpe Suzette to thon en Chartreuse, Child hits up the bigname French dishes as well as the lesserknown rustic recipes with equal skill and enthusiasm, providing knowledgeable insight on the delicacies of French cooking to housewives and Francophiles across the United States. Watching the show on a full stomach immediately after dinner, I found her extensive use of butter somewhat nau-

Movie Reviewer Few films possess the kinetic energy sufficient to propel their characters through the plot: Many have flat, undeveloped deadweights whose stagnancy creates too much friction for any sort of plot development. Even fewer films allow that energy to translate into unconventional explorations of ambitious, recondite themes.

Pedro Almodóvar’s latest film, "Broken Embraces," somehow manages to surpass its unrealistic plot—which, if you’ve seen his other films, is probably the least of his worries—and aim its peeping Tom lens at the shoddy divisions that tend to compartmentalize our understanding of art itself.

What separates memory from reality, subject from author? These seemingly disparate binaries are strung together by a profound desire to correct the incorrigible: A critique of the unadulterated author figure we’re all guilty of citing in our Core (pardon, ‘Encounters’) classes.

The film, unlike the plot, centers on the enigmatic figure of Lena Rivas (the always gorgeous Penélope Cruz). She is the axel of Harry Cain’s (Lluís Homar) memory. Cain, whose name turns out to be a pseudonym, was once a director, but now, because of blindness, he must settle for screenwriting. Instances that occur in the present—a young filmmaker named RayX, for example, reminds him of someone he once knew—offer Cain a chance to reconstruct his past and unveil his long list of secrets to Diego (Tamar Novas), the adult son of his personal assistant Judit (Blanca Portillo).

Even as the film pays homage to Almodóvar’s own beautiful chaos—the film Cain directed when he still had sight, "Chicas y maletas" (trans. "Girls and suitcases"), strongly parallels Almodóvar’s own "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown"—"Broken Embraces" doesn’t explore the intricacies of its female characters. Lena remains a piece of eye candy to be admired by her suitors and the audience. I won’t go so far as to call it objectification; Almodóvar surely had his reasons, but the portrayal of Lena’s character is as bitter as the film itself is intelligent.

Regardless of this potential mishap (I’m sure Almodóvar will explain his reasons soon), "Broken Embraces" embodies all the feelings within the auteur himself and should not be missed by anyone who claims to love cinema.

ISSUE 12 DEC. 3, 2009 Page 9

seating, but after spending four months in France last spring, I know it’s authentic.

The real attraction of “The French Chef,” however, is not Child’s recipes, but Child herself. While her warbling voice and signature phrases are well-known and mimicked even by those who have never seen her on TV themselves, their entertainment value really can’t be underestimated.

Even though Martha Stewart is the closest I’ve come to watching a modern cooking show, I don’t think most of the chefs on TV these days keep the camera rolling through their errors. In the first episode I watched, “French Crêpes II,” Child sticks a rubber spatula into a rotating stand mixer, which immediately sends it shooting across the kitchen. Child yelps in surprise, then turns the camera and chuckles, “That was a mistake!”

As a collection, the 18 episodes included in the DVD set were taken from different seasons throughout the show’s duration.

As I watched them with my family, we noticed a distinct difference between the earlier black-and-white episodes and the later full-color ones: The B&W episodes, including “French Crêpes II,” feature a Julia Child who seems more restrained, trying to act professional but not really used to the camera. She sometimes corrects herself mid-sentence or blinks at the camera as if trying to remember what to say next.

In the full-color episodes, Child’s character comes out in full force, prompting my younger brother to wonder, “Is she drunk?” There’s still the occasional halting,

hesitating speech, but Child hams it up to such an extent that you wonder if she’s actually presenting a caricature of herself. In the intro clip to “A Fish in Monk’s Clothing,” Child faces a truly monstrous 150-lb cut of swordfish while holding a veritable arsenal of cutlery. She yelps, “I’m all ready to make fish!”—punctuating the last word by smacking the giant piece of meat with her fistfuls of cleavers and meat hammers.

Child’s catchphrase for her long-running television career was something along the lines of “If I can do it, so can you—and here’s how!” In her television kitchen, Child shows a careless attitude toward mess, sweeping everything from

vegetable peelings to plastic bags to dirty pans onto the floor when she’s done with them. While that practice certainly makes the cooking process simpler, I doubt it’s truly realistic. Despite that, Child’s show presents an entertaining and informative look at French cooking. Even though bookstore shelves today are crammed with cookbooks catering to a more worldly public than that of Child’s original audience, “The French Chef” is still popular for its humor as much as for its culinary expertise.

WOLFF

‘Ashes Grammar’ compelling despite potential pitfalls

‘Broken Embraces’ not to be missed

by BECQUER MEDAK-SEGUIN

The Pioneer

by ANDREW HALL Music Reviewer

HARDEE Cheyenne Duncan, 14, second from right, and her friends from Central Middle School in Milton-Freewater arrived at the theater before 5 p.m. to secure their places at the film’s midnight showing.

‘New Moon’: Students opt to ‘see it anyway’

by CAITLIN HARDEE Staff Reporter As mass hysteria swept the world following the release of “New Moon,” the second film in the Twilight franchise, even Whitman’s legendary bubble was caught up in the wave of excitement.

A survey asking Whitman students about the film showed that 41 percent had decided to see it, 44 percent had decided to skip it and 15 percent were unresolved. Some respondents were decidedly more enthusiastic in their responses than others.

Senior Jocelyn Richard, via e-mail, answered with an emphatic, “YES. Are you seeing it midnight Thursday like a true fan? I’m getting my Jasper ensemble together.”

Junior Christine Simbolon, currently participating in a domestic off-campus studies program in Philadelphia, also responded.

“I’m ‘abroad’ in Philly and bought my tickets yesterday for the midnight showing. In fact, I’m going with five others from the program. And the group even includes two guys! It’s not just an obsession for the girls,” said Simbolon. “Granted, the movie has bad acting and the books don’t have the best writing, but it’s still fun and enjoyable and, well, addicting.”

Others were less than enchanted. Putting those gender studies and Core classes to good use, senior Becca Levy offered a different analysis of the film and book series.

“I’m not against vampires,” Levy said.

“When I was in middle school I was all over Anne Rice. I’m not going to denigrate it as a genre, but I feel like [Twilight, specifically,] advocates unhealthy relationships and weak female characters.

But I’m probably going to end up watch-

ing [New Moon] at some point just to laugh at it.”

Sophomore Abbey McGrath explained some of the problems with the previous film.

“In the book there’s so much that happens in Bella’s head,” said McGrath. “The director didn’t think about it enough to convey it in film. She just put in all these emo silences, and the audience is going, what the heck, what’s supposed to be happening? It may not be excellent literature, but it definitely wasn’t translated into film very well. But I’m still going to see the movie. I have my 15-year-old sister that I can use as an excuse.”

Outside of the jaded world of college audiences, others were unabashedly enthused. On the night of the “New Moon” world release, a crowd of fans huddled faithfully on the sidewalks of Walla Walla’s local cinema, passing the hours before the midnight showing. Cheyenne Duncan, 14, and her friends from Central Middle School in Milton-Freewater were the first on the pavement.

“I got here at like 5:30 [p.m.],” Duncan said.

Duncan discussed her personal favorite among the film’s characters, the enigmatic vampire Edward Cullen, portrayed

by Robert Pattinson.

“I think he does a good job of it,” she said, smiling. “I think everyone has their own Edward in their head, so I don’t think there can be a perfect Edward. But I think [Pattinson] does a good job of doing his research on how the character would act.”

At least, a good enough job to melt the hearts of fans, incense the film’s detractors and generate more domestic income in an opening day than any other film in history, including “The Dark Knight.”

Well done, RPattz.

A Sunny Day in Glasgow is not a particularly great name and especially not one for a band from Philadelphia; it screams twee pop and British indie, one which borders on the potentially infuriating and one of which is easily associated with boring guitars and misguided nostalgia.

I'm also inclined to assume that people often make comparisons between their name and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" despite considerable differences between the television series and Ben Daniels' music. The band's first album, Scribble Mural Comic Journal, was a wash of sometimes incomprehensible, hyperambitious electronic noise-pop that hinted at good things to come more than it actually provided them. Through touring and between albums, the band's lineup swelled from composer Ben Daniels and his sisters, Lauren and Robin, to a seven-piece, and this lineup, minus Lauren Daniels, assembled Ashes Grammar, a followup that takes everything compelling about Scribble Mural Comic Journal and makes it larger, prettier and infinitely more hypnotic.

Ashes Grammar is not a song-friendly album. There are songs, certainly, but rarely are there clear points of division between them, and at over 60 minutes and 22 tracks, picking moments out without meticulously watching track lengths can be difficult. The album's first two tracks consist of 53 seconds of vocal harmonies, the first rhythm instruments come in not until the third, and the two don't meet until a minute into that song, and only for a brief moment. "Failure," the album's fourth track and third minute, is where things start to get interesting; a tomheavy drum part announces that something's moving as several overlaid vocals come in, but the second half of the song is pushed by fleeting pianos and guitars

with not a second of backtracking. When "Close Chorus" pushes past its introductory collage, it's a haze of synthesizers, oohs, aahs and gentle acoustic guitars and likely the most immediate pop song here, but even it refuses easy listening, as the arrangement shifts several times throughout to compelling effect.

Given how big this record is, it's prone to welcome sonic detours. Nearly halfway through is a haunted, beatless track consisting only of what are probably vocoder noises, which then sets up the "Be My Baby"-quoting "Evil, With Evil, Against Evil"'s warmth, and "Canalfish" sits somewhere between the two. It opens with a synthesizer loop that then carries into the next track, where the band actually sounds like a band for the first time.

Whereas transitional tracks on records like these that so clearly don't want to be taken merely as a whole lot of singles usually prove frivolous—M83's "Before The Dawn Heals Us" and "Saturdays = Youth" both come to mind—Daniels' attention to detail and his ability to imbue them with tunefulness turns many of them compelling.

Personally, I'm pretty sure that Ashes Grammar works because of pieces like "Nitetime Rainbows," where I've started the record from several times now. It was one moment in the middle of that song that first drew me in, given that I wasn't crazy about anything else this band has done in the past. It wasn't until half an hour later, on several occasions, when I'd realized that I'd played the album through to its conclusion and found absolutely nothing I disliked, but also a whole lot I was quite fond of, that I was finally sold on Daniels as a composer, or on A Sunny Day in Glasgow as a band.

And now I'm fairly certain that they're responsible for one of the least generic dream pop records in some time, which is a rare feat.

COMIC

VANCE

A&E

10

December 3, 2009

Top 5 French fries in Walla Walla

Cooking together: Holiday recipes for the whole family

by C.J. WISLER

Staff Reporter

Whitman students, like most college students, ponder a select group of questions on the average day-to-day basis: Should I go to that party at so-and-so's or study for my physics exam? Is this shirt clean enough to wear again? And, of course, most importantly: What am I going to eat tonight? For those looking for something outside of Bon Appétit, fast food— particularly french fries—rarely fails to satisfy. For those not sure where to look for the Perfect French Fry, you are not alone. Walla Walla, despite its many local restaurants, does not appear at first glance to offer much aside from the Jack in the Box in the way of close-to-home, good-and-greasy pieces of potatoes. Rather than returning immediately to Bon Appétit, however, check out our recommendations. Here are a few of our favorite fries: Fast Eddy's: "The Best Portion for the Price" Fries or "The Most Sociable" Fries Though not exactly the most complex-tasting fry, Fast Eddie's Drive Thru—known for a slightly more diverse menu than Ice-Burg's—includes house fries that do give you quite a bang for your buck. Whether you order the fries themselves or alongside some juicy mound of ground beef and cheese, they come in a heaping pile of decent-tasting greasy goodness. Thick and plentiful, they filled me up pretty quickly, as well as my housemates, who eagerly and happily assisted me in finishing them. With a nice, light amount of salt and pepper seasoning, Fast Eddy's fries not only gave me a plentiful amount of french fries but a spontaneous moment of housemate bonding. For that alone, I give Fast Eddy's a place amongst the top fries crew.

Ice-Burg Drive-In: "The Best Overall House Fries" I am not a huge fan of salt. It's not that I mind salt, but every time I order something "salty"—e.g. most fast-food fries—I feel like I'm consuming over a week's worth of sodium. However, Ice-Burg's house fries find the right balance of salt to fry, making them my personal favorite fry out of the bunch. Light, crispy and buttery in texture, Ice-Burg offers a decent, though not overly abundant, portion of tasty 'taters. A relatively all-American fry—without the all-too-tangible amount of grease—Ice-Burg's house fries taste great, are reasonably priced and won't put you over your sodium limit for the day. Or, at least, the week.

The Green Lantern: "The Better-Than-Average Bar Fries" Since at least half of the Whitman student body is under 21, it seems slightly unnecessary to include the popular bar's heaping portion of bar fries to the best-fries list. Yet, after several recommendations touting the pub's fries as exceptional, I decided to check them out. While not overwhelmingly delicious, they were surprisingly wellcooked and seasoned despite being a "bar fry." Containing both skinny and more jojotype fries, The Green provides a moderately greasy but palatable serving. For Whitties who are of age, consider heading to the Green not just for a brewskie or cocktail but for a healthy-sized portion of fries as well.

Brasserie Four: "The Classy House Fries" If your wallet can handle the price, Brasserie Four includes more than just fancy French courses. With exotic-tasting seasonings and a buttery side sauce, the fries are not only interesting to look at but fun to eat as well. Though I found them to taste a little bit overcooked, they included a rather unique edge to the run-of-themill house fry with their parsley-like garnish and interesting seasonings. For anyone looking to add a fancy flair to their french fry—and with a little extra money to burn since the fries cost around $5.12 total with tax—try the local "date" restaurant.

CONTRIBUTED BY WISLER

Mill Creek Brewpub: "The Sensational Seasoned Fries" Unlike The Green Lantern, the Mill Creek Brewpub does let minors in until around 10 p.m. for decent (though fairly expensive) dining. These fries have been recommended to me several times, and not without reason: The delicious aroma wafting from the fries as I made my way out into the cold with my doggie bag, heading toward home, was enough to make several passers-by ask for a bite. The milehigh pile of thick-wedge fries tasted almost better than they smelled with the garlic, spices, pepper and salt.

Students weigh in on illegal music downloading

by CAITLIN HARDEE Staff Reporter

Contributing Reporter Cooking together is one of those things with a warm, fuzzy connotation, by which hundreds of Food Network shows have profited. Unfortunately for some people (yours truly), this can be a nightmare. It entirely depends on who’s cooking. When I cooked in a restaurant, others interfering was a welcome boon. Dishes went out faster. We could get into an assembly-line rhythm. This was because people knew what they were doing.

But when family tries to help, somehow you have to bond and catch up simultaneously and when that gets involved, food gets neglected, fingers get cut, people start yelling and the real cooks get frustrated because no matter how much we love our family, the food must be the priority.

Call me a cynic but there’s plenty of time to catch up while you eat, not while you cook; eating should be a celebration of the art of the meal, where conversation can flow and wine can be imbibed without the risk of dropping the chef ’s knife.

Despite my unfriendly view of meal preparation, cooking together is inevitable this time of year, so I have decided to let battling in the kitchen become a tradition as well. At least when you expect yelling and slapping, you can do it safely, making sure that you take out your anger when no knives are involved. Make sure you are armed only with an oven mitt or a spoon, at the most daring.

Below are some of my favorite collaborative Thanksgiving and Christmas dishes, whose quarrels I have embraced into my creative process.

Cranberry Orange Relish My brother and I have been making this together at Thanksgiving since infancy.

My mother always videotaped us screaming and hitting each other as we battled over the food processor. We still fight like toddlers when we make it. The result is worth it, though—the sweet and sour nature compliments the richness of turkey beautifully. Our favorite was to put it on butter-flake rolls for leftover sandwiches, but you can also use it in the sandwiches in the recipe below.

2 cups fresh cranberries 2 navel oranges, cut into quarters ½ cup to 1 cup sugar, to taste In a food processor, alternate adding the cranberries, 1/4 cup at a time, and the orange sections. Don’t process too much, as you’ll want a chunkier texture.

Add the sugar to taste, and serve!

Turkey and Arugula Sandwiches on Sweet Potato Biscuits Every year, I have a huge Christmas party where I invite around 70 of my friends and require them to wear formal wear while they eat a feast of my creation. Needless to say, cooking for that many people can be a horrific stress trap. My best friend usually helps by assembling these sandwiches. Because I’m typically mid-hair and mid-makeup, with a hot curling iron in my hands and a formal dress clinging to my kitchen apron, I’m not typically in the best of moods when she gets to work. I’ve been known to get a bit bossy and well, physical, if she isn’t exact. For Christmas, I usually serve them with roasted duck and cherry preserves but they would also work beautifully for any Thanksgiving leftovers you have to serve to family in the following days.

Sweet potato biscuits Recipe adapted from Paula Deen, Food Network 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 2 heaping tablespoons sugar 4 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup mashed cooked sweet potatoes 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) softened butter 2 to 4 tablespoons milk, depending on the moisture of the potatoes Sandwiches 4 cups baby arugula 1 cup cherry preserves or cranberry orange relish (see above) Leftover roasted turkey Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate, large bowl, mix the sweet potatoes and butter. Add the flour mixture to the potato mixture and mix to make a soft dough. Then add milk a tablespoon at a time to mixture and continue to cut in. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and toss lightly until the outside of the dough looks smooth. Roll the dough out to 1/2-inch thick and cut with a biscuit cutter. Place the biscuits on a greased pan and coat tops with melted butter. Bake for about 15 minutes. Watch your oven: If the biscuits are browning too fast, lower the temperature.

Let cool, and split biscuits. Spread bottom half with preserves or relish, then top with about ¼ cup of arugula and turkey.

LOOS-DIALLO

C ROSSWORD P UZZLE 1

COMMENTARY We don’t like it when people steal our stuff.

The outrage and fear on campus, following the recent spate of laptop thefts, testifies to that. Such reactions are understandable. A laptop holds a student’s work, the labor of one’s mind—one’s livelihood as a student. Few of us would ever condone stealing someone’s labor and livelihood.

Oh wait.

A recent poll of Whitman students asked the question: Do you download music without paying for it?

Fifty percent of 107 responders answered: "Sometimes." Twenty-three percent responded, "All the time," and 11 percent said they use bulk music subscriptions like Rhapsody. Only 16 percent said they consistently pay full price for their music.

It’s a sensitive subject. We are in the midst of a recession and many college students don’t have extra funds to throw around. However, the surge in illegal downloading impacts artists and the music industry in ways that students may not realize. Jim McGuinn, owner of local music store Hot Poop, spoke regarding the intense pressure on recording artists to perform strongly in sales.

“You get fronted money when you get signed up,” McGuinn said. “They say— your CD’s going to do well, here’s $50,000.

Now you owe a couple hundred [thousand] for recording it and promoting it.

When I used to do light shows, I met people who told me they still owed Sony, or in those days Columbia Records, for their albums. They had not recovered it. They’d sold a lot. But it cost more—to make it, promote it and tour.”

Despite pressures on individual artists, the music industry is often perceived as rich and financially stable.

“I feel like the music industry makes enough money that it’s pretty much okay to download music for free,” said sophomore Annie Truscott.

While top record executives like Doug Morris and Simon Cowell do have plenty

by KALEY EATON

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ALDEN of money, declining record sales force labels to be more conservative with the artists they sign, leading to dwindling diversity.

“It’s kind of like selling oil,” McGuinn said. “I talk like a Republican. But you’ve got to allow the record labels a chance to make some money. If they’re restricted, they’re not going to sign new artists. When you have Taylor Swift, they say, let’s go get another Taylor Swift. They’re not out trying to find the new best thing.”

For McGuinn, the question of illegal downloads concerns not only the welfare of the industry, but ethics.

“I would just feel guilty,” McGuinn said.

“Some of these artists are millionaires, but most aren’t. I’ve seen the industry evaporate—people that I knew in the industry are no longer there. Here’s what I find is weird. ‘Man, you gotta hear this, it’s really good.’ You really care about the band, but not enough that they make money?”

The fact that music downloading poses such a personal ethical problem also speaks volumes over the inability of the legal system to actually enforce copyright laws. Despite publicized instances of legal action being taken against downloaders, many feel that the number and anonymity of downloaders will protect them.

“I feel like so many people are using it that I don’t think they’d be able to single me out individually,” said Truscott.

However, some of the risks of downloading come from fellow file sharers rather than prosecutors. Torrent services such as LimeWire and FrostWire are often riddled with viruses and malicious down-

loads intermingled with normal music files.

“A lot of the illegal downloads come with viruses,” said McGuinn. “I feel like your mom. If you have free, unprotected sex, you may have herpes for the rest of your life.”

Downloaders using peer-to-peer file sharing services also face serious issues of quality control. A test search for a highcharting pop song on one download hosting site turns up a wide range of file sizes, bit rates and audio quality—everything from high-quality song files to files on par with something ripped from YouTube. For music purists like McGuinn, born in the age of vinyl, such compromises in quality are unacceptable.

Despite the drawbacks and dangers of illegal downloads, sales have continued to spiral as more young people turn to file sharing services. Such trends raise the question of karma. Will young musicians currently using illegal downloads someday themselves face the problems ravaging the industry? Truscott, a KWCW DJ and violinist with The Breezes and Combo Pack, spoke further over her own musical aspirations. While she would like to go further with the bands, she isn’t worried about the anemic music market.

“I’m not really that interested in selling music, more just playing for people,” Truscott said.

For those who are interested in selling music, illegal downloading remains a complex and troubling problem—one that strikes close to the heart of the music industry and its future.

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ACROSS 1. Fellow 5. New Mexico native community 9. Paramedic’s skill (abbr.)

12. Eczema, e.g.

13. Word on the Irish euro 14. Letter after pi 15. Give or take 16. 1968 Chicago headline-maker 18. Pioneer 20. Certain East African 21. 1965 L.A. headline-maker 23. Nephew of 32-Across 26. 104, to an uneducated Roman 27. Pioneer 32. He killed Abel 33. “Run __ Run” 34. Mongolian lasso 35. Set sail 40. Pioneer 44. Dessert similar to ice cream (var.)

45. Feminist author Muscio 46. Faux __ 47. Method of intercourse 48. Photosynthesis site 49. __ Punk (music genre) 50. Red gem 51. Lot’s wife, post-transformation

DOWN 1. Angry 2. A Marx brother 3. Indian tea variety 4. The common seal, to biologists 5. Like some illnesses 6. Main character in Super Monkey Ball 7. “Lord of the Rings” baddies 8. Gets it 9. Spanish colonial caste 10. Participate in a talk show, say 11. Decompose 17. Biathlon requirement 19. Mtn. statistic 22. Mother of 32-Across 24. Plains native tribe 25. Without a peep 27. Hospital div.

28. Sea creature with a horn 29. Most proximal, archaically 30. It might flash at the start of a show 31. Improvise, jazzily 36. Clears water from a boat 37. Common sleep disorder 38. Kingly 39. Purveyor of Easy Mac 41. Ski lift device 42. It may have desserts 43. Iraqi or Saudi 44. Place to get a facial

9

Sports

The Pioneer ISSUE 12 DEC. 3, 2009 Page 11

Missionaries lose players, games

by JAY GOLD Staff Reporter The Whitman women’s trip to Caldwell, Idaho, for the Lady Yote Classic last weekend was discouraging, to say the least. Not only did the Missionaries lose games to host College of Idaho 66-48 and Eastern Oregon University 62-53, but they also lost their only established point guards junior Jenele Peterson and senior Dawna Mello to injuries. Coach Michelle Ferenz was particularly concerned with her team’s poor performance on the road.

“We had a tough weekend. We didn’t shoot well and that really hurt us, especially against College of Idaho. You can’t do that on the road,” Ferenz said.

Since opening the season with a 62-59 home victory over Macalester College the Missionaries have lost three straight games including a 74-64 home defeat at the hands of Lewis-Clark State University on Nov. 21.

Statistics clearly support Ferenz’s suggestion that her team struggled to get the ball in the basket during both games. After converting a meager 25.8 percent of its field goal attempts against the College of Idaho, Whitman improved its shoot-

ing slightly hitting 32.3 percent from the field against Eastern Oregon. The team crippled its efforts to win by shooting less than 50 percent from the free throw line in both games.

Ferenz rather logically posited that such pronounced offensive inefficiency places excessive pressure on a team’s defense and makes it almost impossible to win, especially on the road. However, she is optimistic that her team will be able to more effectively manufacture points in the future.

“Offensively, we’re a lot better than we showed last weekend,” said Ferenz.

Though the presumption that improved offense by itself will lead to victories is somewhat faulty, the coach believes her team can be more successful as the season rolls on. In spite of—and, to some extent, because of—the fact that the injuries to Peterson and Mello have left the team shorthanded for the foreseeable future, Ferenz has found encouragement in the way that newer players have performed.

After lauding 2008-2009 All-Northwest Conference (NWC) players senior Hilary White and Peterson for their performances in the team’s two home games

and applauding senior Michele Krall’s ability to return from her knee injury as effectively as she has, Ferenz praised firstyears Kelly Peterson and Emilie Gilbert for their play filling the void left by Peterson and Mello at point guard.

“A couple of our freshmen [Peterson and Gilbert] stepped in and played well,” said Ferenz.

However, the coach acknowledged that her backcourt’s youth could be a problem and that her team will need to make adjustments, but suggested that the team’s expectations remain high. Last season, after all, the team made the NWC playoffs.

“That would be a good goal for us again,” Ferenz said in reference to that fact.

While the team’s conference standing will ultimately be a matter of considerable importance, conference play will not commence until Jan. 2 when the women travel to Portland to face Lewis and Clark College. Until then, the team will seek to improve against non-conference opponents. This coming weekend, Whitman will travel to California to play against Pomona-Pitzer Colleges and the University of La Verne. These games represent a chance for the team to prove that they can

SCOREBOARD FRIDAY, Nov. 20

Men's Basketball

Women's Basketball

Kim Evanger Raney Memorial Classic hosted by Whitman College Points by Half Total Team Records

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Macalester College 59 0-1

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Whitman College 62 1-0

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Men's Basketball

Walla Walla Vineyard Inn/Bon Appétit Classic hosted by Whitman College Points by Half Total Team Records

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Portland Bible College 73 6-4

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Whitman College 95 1-1

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Points by Half 2 Total

Points by Half Total Team Records

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West Coast Baptist College 37 69 0-3

32

William Jessup University 105 1-6 Whitman College 91 1-2

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Whitman College 44 86 3-2

Team Points

Finishes

1. University of Puget Sound 2. Whitworth University 3. Whitman College

801 607 398

Men's Swimming

Northwest Swim Invitational hosted by Lewis & Clark College

SATURDAY, Nov. 21 Women's Cross Country

NCAA Division III National Championships in Cleveland, Ohio. - 6K Top 3 Whitman Finishers (of 279) Time

Team Points

Team Records

1

FRIDAY, Nov. 27

Northwest Swim Invitational hosted by Lewis & Clark College

Finishes

1. Whitworth University 2. University of Puget Sound 3. Whitman College

647 628 533

Women's Basketball

Lady Yote Classic hosted by College of Idaho Points by Half Total Team Records

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College of Idaho 66 3-2

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SATURDAY, Nov. 28 Women's Basketball

Lady Yote Classic hosted by College of Idaho Points by Half Total Team Records

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Eastern Oregon University 62 5-3

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Whitman College vs. California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif.

Whitman College 53 1-3

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*Team finished 25th of 32 teams

Points by Half 1 2 Total

Men's Basketball

Women's Basketball

California Institute of Technology 28 35 63 0-3

97. Yasmeen Colis 23:34.5 111. Sara McCune 23:41.7 133. Kristen Ballinger 23:52.2

TUESDAY, Nov. 24 Men's Basketball

Kim Evanger Raney Memorial Classic hosted by Whitman College Points by Half Total Team Records

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a haiku

by DUJIE TAHAT Sports Editor

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Whitman College 28 50 78

2-2

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 25 Men's Basketball

Whitman College vs. West Coast Baptist College in Lancaster, Calif.

Whitman College vs. University of Redlands in Redlands, Calif.

Points by Half 1 2 Total

Jenele Peterson ‘11 puts up a shot in Sherwood Center. Peterson was injured in last weekend’s Lady Yote Classic. She hopes to return for NWC play Jan. 2. win on the road and avenge their subpar performance in Idaho.

On Saturday, Dec. 12, Whitman will look to avenge their earlier loss to Eastern Oregon at home. Ferenz claims that her team will be amped and ready for the rematch and hopes that students will be

there lending their support, despite the fact that finals will be steadily approaching.

“It would be great to have a nice crowd,” said Ferenz. “It’s really good therapy to yell and a scream at a basketball game.”

SCHEDULE

Walla Walla Vineyard Inn/Bon Appétit Classic hosted by Whitman College

Women's Swimming

COURTESY OF DARRIN LINGLE

Team Records

University of Redlands 46 47 93

1-1

Whitman College 41 53 94

4-2

Brett, on-field heroics meet godly grace etched on a grizzled grey lion’s mane

Men's Basketball

Women's Basketball

The Whit men take a break from their recent travels to take on the older version of themselves in their Annual Alumni Game this Saturday, Dec. 5.

These alumni will get another chance to do something they couldn’t do in their Whitman careers, actually win a game. The current Missionaries will attempt to improve on their fast start.

They will resume their regular season Dec. 12, when the Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz pay the Sherwood Center a visit.

The Whitman women begin their own tour of California this Friday, Dec. 4, when they play Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in Pomona, Calif. The following day, they will go to La Verne, Calif., to take on the Leopards of the University of La Verne. When they return to Walla Walla, they’ll look forward to a game against in-town rival, Walla Walla University, on Tuesday, Dec. 8.

The women will look to come back from a slow 1-3 start.

ADVERTISEMENTS

SPORTS

12

December 3, 2009

Whit men complete California sweep

by ALLAN CRUM and MAX RAUSCH Staff Reporter and Sports Editor Whitman men’s basketball is off to its hottest start in a decade as the Missionaries have hustled their way to a 4-2 record this season following a 3-0 sweep of their annual California swing.

The Missionaries kicked off their Thanksgiving road trip with blowout wins over California Institute of Technology and West Coast Baptist College, defeating their California counterparts 78-63 and 86-69, respectively.

The Missionary press was particularly stifling in these games forcing Cal Tech and West Coast Baptist into a combined 81 turnovers.

Whitman’s last game of the road trip proved to be much closer. The Missionaries needed a last second layup from first-year Brady Brent to cap off a 94-93 comeback win over an impressive University of Redlands team.

Whitman showed their ability to finish in their first close game of the season as they erased a 88-81 deficit with under six minutes left to play.

“Winning a game like that is remarkable; it shows our team’s resilience, shows we have the extra gear it takes to win games at the end,” sophomore forward David Michaels said.

Head Coach Eric Bridgeland has taken a young group of players that showed promise during last year’s 10-16 season and turned them into a hard-nosed unit that showcases frightening inside-outside balance on the offensive and an intense full court press defense that rarely gives the opposition room to breathe.

Six Missionary players averaged double figures in scoring, led by forward senior Daniel Davidson at 12.7 points per game. This balanced attack is facilitated by Coach Bridgeland’s extensive use of his bench: In the Missionaries’ first home game of the season Nov. 20 against Portland Bible College, a 95-73 Whitman victory, 11 Missionaries saw game time and 10 of them scored at least one basket.

While this may not fully translate when conference play begins, Coach Bridgeland can sleep peacefully knowing his entire squad can ball.

“We have a lot of guys that can play, which is key because we need a lot of energy out there and 13 or 14 guys can combine to give us a lot more [than only five],” said Bridgeland.

The men’s squad has shown balance, but several of its players have shown themselves to be exceptional at specific facets of the game. Sophomore point guard Brandon Shaw, the team’s leading returning scorer, after averaging 16.6 points per game last year, is almost unguardable off the dribble.

His skill set has been a perfect fit for Coach Bridgeland’s dribble-drive offense.

The offense emphasizes penetration into the lane by the point guard. Depending on how successful the player is with his drive, he can either finish at the hoop with a layup or kick the ball back out to the perimeter. Firstyear Peter Clark is often on the receiving end of these passes, and as a result he is averaging almost 10 three-point attempts per game. Whitman has been able to keep its opponents on its heels throughout games with this constant attack.

Swimmers take 3rd

by LINDSAY FAIRCHILD Staff Reporter In the two-day Northwest Swim Invitational hosted by Lewis & Clark College, both Whitman swim teams showed that they are forces to be reckoned with in the Northwest Conference. Each team finished third overall, the men out of nine schools and the women out of 10. The University of Puget Sound won the women’s meet with 801 points, second place Whitworth College racked up 607 points and Whitman was a distant third with 398 points.

Whitworth and Puget Sound switched spots on podium in the men’s meet as the Pirates nipped the Loggers 647-628. Whitman rounded out the top three with 533, besting fourth place Pacific Lutheran University by over 200 points.

The Northwest Swim Invitational was Whitman’s first multi-school meet of the season. The format tested the Missionaries’ endurance by requiring them to compete in a preliminary round with up to 47 other swimmers for a spot in the 16-swimmer finals.

The first day of the meet, first-year Katie Chapman recorded the only Whitman victory with a season best time of 2.14.07 in the 200-yard butterfly. Fellow first-year Kevin Dyer just missed a first-place finish with his season best 4.52.35 in the men’s 500-yard freestyle, but had to settle for second.

The Whitman women showed well in the 100-yard freestyle, with fifth, sixth and eighth place finishes by first-year Charlotte Graham, junior Lauren Flynn and firstyear Helen Jenne, respectively. The women also had good finishes in the 100-yard breaststroke by first-year Cari Cortez and sophomore Monica Boshart who combined to score 13 points for the Missionaries. Junior Natalie Reilly also contributed four points to the Missionaries cause with her 13th-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley. Jenne, Chapman, Graham and Flynn also tied for second place in the women’s 200-yard freestyle relay.

The Whitman men had a good first day as well. The Missionaries racked up 43 points in the 100-yard freestyle with junior Jamie Nusse, first-year Paul Chang and sophomore Mitchell Lee finishing third, fourth and seventh, respectively. The Whitman men demonstrated their depth in the 200-yard butterfly, racking up 37 points thanks to fourth-, sixth-, 11th- and 14thplace finishes from senior Eric Molnar, sophomore Matt Liedtke and first-years Brett Clark and Tyler Hurlburt, respectively. Additionally, first-year Joey Gottlieb earned 14 points for his fifth-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke.

Molnar and Gottlieb also combined to contribute 11 points in of the 200-yard individual medley, finishing 10th and 13th, respectively. Whitman also picked up points in the 500-yard freestyle as sophomore Chris Bendix led the the Missionaries with his eighth-place finish.

Both Whitman teams stepped up their game on the second day. Dyer led the way for the men with his impressive 20-point victory in the 1,650-yard freestyle, beating his nearest competitor by an astounding 24 seconds. Bendix also contributed 14 points to the Missionaries cause, finishing fifth.

Freestyle specialist Nusse added 33 points to the mens’ tally on day two by finishing second in the 200-yard freestyle and third in the 50-yard freestyle. Whitman racked up 33 more points in the 400-yard individual medley as Molnar, Wood and Bendix finished sixth, eighth and ninth, respectively.

Gottlieb and Chang kept things going for Whitman in the 100-yard backstroke combining for 24 points with their sixthand eighth-place performances.

The women also had a strong second day, highlighted by Chapman’s third-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly. Flynn and Jenne were on her heels the whole way, taking fourth and fifth, respectively.

Coach Jennifer Blomme reflected on the teams’ success this season.

“Our team has always prided itself on its closeness, and this year is no different.

In fact, team dynamics are stronger than ever,” she said. “Our captains [Flynn, senior Sidney Kohls, Wood and Hurlburt] are offering great leadership. They’ve been bringing a lot of focus and energy to their swim training.”

Blomme spoke also to the role that the coaches play.

“We also have a great assistant coach, Eric Hisaw, who is coordinating a new and dynamic strength program that is going to have big pay-off as the season progresses,” Blomme said. “But our hardest work in the water is yet to come; we’ll continue to get stronger and refine our strokes even more.”

Overall, both Whitman swim teams competed well against the Northwest Conference teams, defeating most of the teams, with only perennial powerhouses University of Puget Sound and Whitworth College causing any difficulty for the Missionary swimmers. With their performance at the Northwest Swim Invitational, Whitman solidified themselves as one of the top three programs in the conference. The Missionaries will only need to step up their game if they are to challenge Puget Sound and Whitworth for conference supremacy.

The Missionaries’ press defense has been just as aggressive as the offense.

Opposing teams have wilted under the constant pressure, offering up almost 30 turnovers per game—leaving Whitman +9.3 in turnover margin, which leads the Northwest Conference. The press forces opposing offenses out of their natural rhythm allowing the Missionaries to dictate the pace of the game. First-year Drew Raher is the catalyst for the hustle the press requires; he always seems to outwork everyone else on the floor when chasing down loose balls.

This is true of the whole Whitman team: While they may often be undersized compared to their opposition, they make up for it with constant hustle and seemingly endless energy.

So far this season, the team has been out-rebounded by 50 on the defensive glass, but on the offensive boards they are winning the battle by just about 2-1, creating a plethora of secondchance opportunities on the offense and leading to high point totals.

The press, the hallmark of this hustle, forces opposing big men who usually don’t handle the ball to bring it upcourt as their team’s point guards and wings find themselves well covered all the way up the court.

Bridgeland knows his team’s success is predicated on their heart and hustle.

“Given our style of play we know that if we play harder than the other team we have a good chance [to win], however, if we are outworked our style of play can cause us problems,” said Bridgeland.

The press does have its flaws as it is somewhat of an all-or-nothing

JACOBSON Brady Brent ‘13 capped off the Missionaries’ California road trip with a lastsecond game-winning layup, lifting Whitman over the University of Redlands. strategy; if it is broken by successful long passes the opposition will be rewarded with wide open lay up opportunities. Portland Bible College proved this as they were able to break the Missionary press with long outlet

passes which led to easy layups for the Wildcats. Whitman will need to tighten the screws before Northwest Conference play begins on Saturday, Jan. 2, against Lewis and Clark College in Portland.

Tune out the racquet:

Just squash it!

With all the hubbub surrounding Sherwood Athletic Center’s new, state-of-theart climbing wall, improved training room facilities and STATEN team locker HUDSON room space varsity Staff Reporter for programs, one of the most important improvements seems to have been pushed to the way-side: resurfaced squash courts!

I understand that many of you probably do not play, or perhaps have not even heard of, the game called squash—that is, unless you went to some super exclusive East Coast private school. The purpose of this column, then, is to enlighten you with the merits of the sport and maybe score some fellow squashplaying partners.

The first thing you must know is that squash is not like racquetball.

Racquetball, while fun, is a bastardization of the sport—straight up. It was invented so that people could play so-called squash on a regulation handball court, which were popular across the nation in the 1940s and 1950s.

If you were to compare the two to sandwiches, something to which I’m fond of comparing things, racquetball would be your Philly cheese steak—blue-collar, greasy, consumed around the nation; squash would be your Italian BLT— approachable, clean-cut, but with a certain chic to it as well.

It takes a person of discerning taste to pick the Italian BLT over the Philly. It takes a person of discerning taste to pick squash over racquetball. Racquetball is good; squash is great.

Squash is played with a rubber ball about half the size of and

COMMENTARY

much less bouncy than a traditional racquetball. Because a squash ball doesn’t bounce nearly as high as a racquetball, squash is a more tactical, methodical game.

Racquetball exchanges frequently devolve into a home-run derby of sorts, with each player trying to whack the ball harder than the other, hoping to catch a corner of the wall, send the ball flying off at a weird angle and catch his or her opponent off-balance.

There is some strategy in rac-

Racquetball, while fun, is a bastardization of the sport.

quetball, to be sure, but even then, the winner is most often the person who can hit the main wall nearest the floor most consistently.

A low shot dies when it hits the wall, rebounding only a fraction as much as a ball hit any higher, because the friction of the floor slows the ball’s velocity almost immediately after it rebounds off the wall.

On a squash court, wailing away at the ball won’t get you very far.

Playing the walls, varying your shots and lobbing balls over your opponent’s head all become extremely important.

T h is

CONTRIBUTED BY DUJIE TAHAT

is made all the tougher in squash because the court is lined off; you can’t hit the ball off the ceiling like in racquetball or catch the ball any higher off the back wall than at a certain point.

Saying that squash is a more calculating game is not to say that it is a slow game, by any means. The tight confines of a squash court, which is eight feet shorter than a racquetball court, mean that the game frequently gets fast and frenetic.

Despite all of these advantages, squash doesn’t seem to be played at all on the Whitman campus. I have gone down to the courts quite a few times and found a few racquetballers playing on the adjacent courts, but no squash players.

Part of the reason for this, I’m sure, is that Whitman loans out equipment for racquetball rather than squash. Racquetball, but not squash, is taught as a 1-credit SSRA course.

Why is this? We have squash courts—it doesn’t make sense to have them if we don’t use them.

As they are, they’re just a waste of space.

If anybody wants to play some squash, e-mail me at hudsonjh@ whitman.edu. Oh, and I play racquetball too.