The
PIONEER
ISSUE 7
October 23, 2013 | Whitman news since 1896 | Vol. CXXXI
by HANNAH BARTMAN Staff Reporter
“W
hy do we come here?” said Father Pedro Bautista-Peraza at the Sunday, Oct. 20 morning Mass in St. Patrick’s Church on West Poplar Street in Walla Walla. “Why?” This question of action is at the root of all decisions, religious and nonreligious alike, but when it comes to religion on Whitman College’s campus, the question is usually “Why don’t we come here?” Active religious participation among Whitman students, and college students in general, appears to be small compared to that of the rest of the population. The small groups of students who do practice their religions, in whatever form, at times feel stigmatized, and thus religious discussion is further muted. Where is the room for religious freedom at Whitman? “There are people that I avoid talking to about religion because I know they’re so anti-religion it almost defeats the purpose of talking about it,” said sophomore Noel O’Shea. Granted, this aversion towards religion is likely to be found anywhere, so a number of religious and spiritual clubs have appeared on campus to create communities for those of similar faiths. Such clubs include Whitman Christian Fellowship, Hillel-Shalom, Muslim Student Association, Namaste Meditation Club, Better Together and the nonreligious club Atheists, Humanists and Agnostics. The Office of Religious and Spiritual Life on campus works to create communication among faith groups a reality, and thus is witness to the actual diversity of religious and spiritual clubs available on campus. “I think that there is far more religious activity and more students in some sort of a spiritual journey than people realize at Whitman,” said Stuart Coordinator of Religious and Spiritual Life Adam Kirtley. “Even students who are heavily involved in their spiritual practice will sometimes tell me that they feel like they’re the only ones, and yet I see so many of them.” It may be true that there is a large number of small groups invested in faith, but some students still feel unfairly judged for their religious identity. Katie Steen, one of the eight small group leaders of the Whitman Christian Fellowship, laments that fellow stu-
Searching for religion on and off campus “I get frustrated when people say that they have to hide their religious identity, and that makes me know that I have more work to do.” Adam Kirtley
Stuart Religious Coordinator & Counselor of Religious Life
Photo by Felt
see RELIGION, page 2
Walla Walla community moves to rebuild public pool by LORAH STEICHEN Staff Reporter
D
espite the fact that temperatures in Walla Walla are known to spike above 100 degrees Fahrenheit each summer, the community has no access to a public pool facility, which could provide escape from the sweltering heat. With the exception of Jefferson Park Pool, a shallow pool open only to those 10 years old and younger, Walla Walla has been without a publicly accessible aquatic facility since the closure of Memorial Pool in 2006. Rebuild Memorial Pool, a committee of concerned citizens, is working to remodel and reopen Memorial Pool in order to provide a public pool for Walla Walla. “There are public pools in almost every community around here, and most of them are substantially smaller than Walla Walla,” said committee member and alumna, Director of Advancement Services Becky Kennedy, ‘96. The city closed down Memorial Pool in 2006 because it
lacked the funds necessary to repair the aging facility. Since then, there has been a slew of efforts, including three separate bond initiatives that have tried and failed to bring a public pool facility back to Walla Walla. In order to ensure the success of their effort, the current committee to rebuild Memorial is using a revised approach from past endeavors. “The primary difference is that this is a much smaller project than previous attempts to rebuild some sort of aquatic facility. So that’s one difference: the scale,” said alumnus, committee member and Assistant Swim Coach Chris Bendix, ‘12. “Another difference is that this is not a complete rebuild or starting from scratch; it’s repurposing the existing facility with some additions, which is both more cost effective and more practical [in terms of] getting the community on board for it. It’s not a huge water park. It’s just revamping and rebuilding the pool as it already exists.” Although past efforts to bring back a public pool have been unsuccessful, the committee hopes
that this simplified approach will appeal to community members. “I’ve seen community pool proposals come and go over the years, and this is, hands down, the best one because it recycles an already existing facility and because I’m just a really big fan of the good old-fashioned swimming pool where fun, fitness and imagination meet,” said Associate Professor of Politics Aaron Bobrow-Strain in an email. “All the previous proposals were too focused on Disney-fied bells and whistles. This is a proposal for a pool, and pretty much just a pool. That appeals to me as a taxpayer, a parent and as someone who cares about fitness and creativity.” The group plans to construct the pool with the funds from private donors, with the hope that it will be publicly maintained and operated by the City of Walla Walla Parks and Recreation department. “They have the infrastructure. They have buildings and copy machines and human resources, and not only do we not have it; we don’t want to fundraise for that part too,” said Kennedy.
In addition to the resources that the Parks and Recreation department have to manage a public pool facility, they also have the necessary experience. “It’s kind of an expertise thing ... It would be possible to have a board of overseers and an aquatics director that managed the facility, but that’s a lot of work, and the city has experience with that and has done that before. So from a managerial point of view, it makes more sense to have the city do it,” said Bendix. While the rebuild committee has chosen a minimalist approach to the pool remodel, the City of Walla Walla Parks and Recreation Director Jim DuMont expressed doubt regarding the plans. “In my opinion a city this size and in this climate needs a water facility that serves the public need. That is why we have attempted to solve this issue since before Memorial Pool closed in 2006 ... Whatever you build you have to be able to afford to operate,” said DuMont. “The proposals before included components see POOL, page 3
Varsity athletes host leadership clinics by MITCHELL SMITH Staff Reporter
V
isitors in the Sherwood Athletic Center on Sunday, Oct. 20 saw the varsity gym full of basketball players going through rigorous dribbling and shooting drills and scrimmaging to improve their skills. Were these players the men’s varsity basketball team, beginning their preparation for the fast approaching season? Not exactly. Instead of an age range of 18 to 22, these athletes, numbering 44 total, were ages eight to 14, and instead of attending Whitman College, they came from everywhere around Walla Walla. This event was one of five leadership-based basketball clinics that Whitman Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach Matt Airy has put on this year with the help of other coaches and players on the team. The clinic, called “Together We Can,” is in its sixth year at Whitman, and is focused on teaching life skills through basketball. It is also one of many camps held by varsity teams across all sports at Whitman. “What we have is an emphasis on leadership every day. Whether that’s showing good body language, whether that’s getting put ups, or being in next play mode, where we’re not dwelling on successes or failures, but we’re moving on to what’s next and being very focused,” said Airy. The camp doesn’t just teach these skills to the most gifted athletes, but is open to anyone within the age range. Leadership, according to Airy, is something that can be taught no matter the skill level. “The leadership emphasis is a factor no matter what your ability levels are. That’s something that is universal that everybody can take with them,” he said. Airy was struck by the huge growth that kids in the camps have made over the last few years, becoming the leaders the camp has helped teach them to be. “What’s neat now is to see kids that have been in the clinics and camps from five years ago who see COMMUNITY, page 7