Whitman Pioneer Spring 2012 Issue 3 by Whitman College Wire

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ISSUE 3 | September 20, 2012 | Whitman news since 1896

Il faut compléter trente-quatre crédits pour se spécialiser en français.

Das GermanistikProgramm biete drei Jahre des Sprachunterricht.

Arabic = absent There are 440 million Arabic speakers worldwide, but no classes at Whitman. Why? by SARAH CORNETT Staff Reporter

andarin, Spanish, English, Hindi, Arabic. These are the five most commonly spoken languages in the world, of which Whitman College offers three. However, while Hindi has never been offered at Whitman, Arabic has recently gained campus-wide attention. Offered sporadically in recent years, students have mobilized in creating a petition to bring a full program to campus. Annabelle Marcovici, a current sophomore, recently created an online petition to prove student interest to the administration. “I hoped that demonstrating student interest would reignite conversations within the student body and the administration about why we don’t offer Arabic and how we might be able to do so,” said Marcovici. “Offering Arabic would go a long way towards upholding Whitman’s commitment to global perspectives and diversity.” Though the language was never offered consistently, many students came to Whitman thinking a more consistent program was in place. The Whitman Admission Facebook page touts a picture of an Arabic class taught by Mona Hashish, with the caption “Arabic class at Whitman” in the “Around Campus” album, and many students entering the college believe an Arabic program has been disbanded. “I was under the impression that Whitman offered it be-

cause I knew of students who had taken it here,” said Marcovici. Many of Whitman’s counterparts have programs in Arabic, including Carleton College, Macalester College, Occidental College and the Claremont Consortium. Arabic holds incredible strategic importance as a language of study in today’s world, and Arabic speakers are in high demand in foreign service professions, a field many Whitman students are interested in pursuing. “Our world is changing in a way that makes Arabic suddenly incredibly important,” said Professor Jon Walters, chair of the humanities. Because Whitman has never had an official Arabic program, classes were only available if a professor in another department was willing to teach them. “Arabic was offered on occasions when we could find a visiting professor to teach it,” said Professor John Iverson, current chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature. “There’s never been a program on a regular basis.” Former Religion Professor Robert Morrison first taught the language on campus to a small number of interested students until he left the college in 2008. Later, visiting World Literature Fulbright Professor Mona Hashish held beginning Arabic classes during the 2008-2009 academic year. In that same year, the faculty and administration began to seriously consider a regular program.

Mixed results with college prep in public, private Walla Walla schools by TALIA RUDEE Staff Reporter

see ARABIC, page 3

Senior seeks snakebite antidote by MAEGAN NELSON Staff Reporter

enior Jordan Benjamin knew exactly what he wanted to be when he was growing up. “I always knew that I wanted to be a herpetologist, but it took me a while to figure out exactly what that was going to mean,” said Benjamin. He found his calling treating venomous snakebites in Africa. It was, however, a long process getting to where he is now: taking a leave of absence for the

fall semester in Bembèrèkè, a tiny town in Benin, West Africa. Benjamin’s passion involves the Global Snakebite Initiative, a nonprofit organization based in Australia dedicated to addressing the neglected global tragedy of snakebite envenomation. Fatal snakebites occur primarily in poor rural areas, where immediate medical care is often unavailable. Affected populations often lack education on how to identify the snakes that bit them, which also contributes to fatalities. When Benjamin got his EMT

license before he started at Whitman College, he knew that he wanted to be involved in the medical field. Combining that with his herpetology background, Benjamin was led to the Global Snakebite Initiative, which allowed him to tie his training to his interest in venomous African snakes. Working in rural areas with venomous snakes required a new approach: treating the snakebite without knowing what type of snake bit the victim. Last summer, Benjamin presented his so-

lution at the Joint Meetings of Ichthyology and Herpetology in Minneapolis. His approach: identifying the type of snakes from the symptoms presented by the bite. Donald Clarke ‘11, a fellow herpetologist and Whitman alumnus, traveled with Benjamin to present at herpetology meetings. “Jordan discussed and presented his work with so much knowledge and confidence that he was actually mistaken for a Ph.D. student several times during the see SNAKES, page 3

Whitman student Jordan Benjamin ‘13, right, works with a snake in Bembèrèkè, Benin as part of work with the Global Snakebite Initiative. Photo contributed by Spawls

dvanced Placement classes, PSATs and college fairs all contributed to the average Whitman student’s preparation for applying to and ultimately attending this challenging school. Regardless of a public or private background, Whitman students prepared for college by taking demanding classes. Sophomore Sean Williams attended DeSales High School in Walla Walla prior to beginning his Whitman education and noted a difference in workload between his high school experience and now. “Light days were few and far between,” said Williams. “Whitman is easier in a sense.” Since DeSales is such a small private school, it puts an emphasis on matriculating students attending four-year colleges. “It is assumed that you are going on to a four-year college,” said Williams. “Compared to some of my friends at public school, the [large] homework load was consistent.” DeSales makes valuable resources available to students in addition to the school’s homework load, including College Goal Sunday, which helps students access what they need to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid as well as presenting the opportunity for students to take college classes at Whitman College. “We are grateful for the connection we have made with Whitman College,” said Kathy Ruthven, the DeSales counselor. “The groundwork that is laid when kids from high school take college classes can be really fruitful.” As an additional resource, Ruthven tries hard to prepare the students with very individualized attention beginning in eighth grade. “When [the students] start their senior year, I’m going to meet with each of the seniors for a good hour and start their year with their goals regarding college and make some plans for what we will do throughout the school year to orient them for what the process is,” said Ruthven. But the college prep truly starts way back when the students are in middle school. Eighth graders at DeSales take a preACT exam called the Explorer test. After taking the test, each student will meet with Ruthven individually with his or her parents and come up with a fouryear plan for high school referencing the Explorer test’s scores. “I have that luxury of having 28 seniors as opposed to 400,” said Ruthven in reference to the difference between DeSales and Walla Walla High School. see COLLEGE PREP, page 6

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NEW FUND OPENS OUTDOORS TO FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS

Professor of Geology Bob Carson (bottom row, far right) has been taking his students on various outdoor excursions for almost 40 years. Photo contributed by Carson

by EVAN TAYLOR Staff Reporter

new fund was created this year in the name of Professor of Geology Bob Carson to boost the Outdoor Program. The fund’s stated goal is to allow students who wouldn’t usually go on outdoor trips to experience education outside of the classroom. Starting this year, each incoming student is granted $150 credit, which

they can freely spend on OP trips. “It was a total surprise, and I am deeply honored,” said Carson about learning that the fund was dedicated to him. The fund was created and is maintained by two anonymous alumni, who will match all money raised up to $50,000. The seeds of the fund were sown decades ago, when the two alumni, then Whitman students, went on various outdoor trips with Bob Carson. They shared his love and ap-

preciation for the outdoors and the personal growth that can be gained through these trips. The Bob Carson Fund is named such because of the energy Carson put into Whitman’s Outdoor Program to help it mature into what it is today. Since he was hired at Whitman in 1974, Carson has frequently taken students on outdoor trips, both in relation to geology and for the OP. “If I want to go climb a mountain or run a river, why shouldn’t

I take students?” said Carson. “There’s always going to be geology. There’s always going to be rocks to see. There’s always knowledge to be shared.” With Carson’s help, new types of trips such as whitewater kayaking, boating, mountaineering and hiking were implemented by the growing OP. Today, Whitman maintains an impressive outdoor program which is a significant part of the lives of many students. Brien Sheedy, current direc-

tor of the OP, observed that enrollment in trips so far this year has been strong, and plenty of firstyears have already tapped into their fund money. He acknowledges that, with increased interest in the OP, new trips may have to be scheduled for the winter. Sheedy is excited for new students to try OP trips and the educational experiences that come with them. “One of the great things about being on Outdoor Program trips is that you get exposed to natural beauty and new ways of experiencing the natural world while also learning about yourself, working with other people and getting challenged,” said Sheedy. Jamie Kennedy, director of planned giving, looks beyond this year for the future for Whitman’s OP. His goal is to raise enough money to have the Bob Carson Fund available for every student at Whitman. “Inevitably the program will grow,” said Kennedy. In addition to the alumni who created the fund, 72 alumni have already donated to it. “There’s no reason we shouldn’t be able to at least double the number of alumni this next year who will support it. There’s nowhere to go but up.” Kennedy foresees that in a few years, once more alumni are aware of the fund, the match limit set by the donors will be surpassed. Currently, $5,580 has been raised, in addition to the initial donation from the fund’s creators. Kennedy hopes that the fund will last for not just the next few years, but for many years to come. In the same way that Bob Carson helped expand the OP in the ‘70s and ‘80s, the Bob Carson OP Fund is intended to further the program, starting with the freshest students on campus. “It would be great for students to realize how fortunate they are that this is an opportunity for them,” said Kennedy. “They should take advantage of it because there aren’t too many times in life when people are charitable enough to be doing something strictly for the benefit of others.”

First-year Iraqi international student Hasan Ali shares story by DANIEL KIM Staff Reporter

very year, many new international faces appear on the Whitman campus. This year was no different from any other. However, one student came all the way from Iraq—the first of his country to come to Whitman. As many international students who have come to Whitman with different backgrounds, firstyear Hasan Ali comes to the United States with a story of his own. “It makes me feel really happy, and it makes me feel stressed to be the first student from Iraq. I feel like I have to work really hard to show the face of Iraq,” said Ali. Despite the fact that there has been a war going on in Iraq for about a decade, Ali was able to focus on getting a great education. Coming to Whitman was no swift decision, as he had other opportunities to get a quality education coming out of high school. Prior to Whitman, Ali attended the University of Oklahoma in the fall of 2009 on an ExxonMobil scholarship and studied computer engineering. “I was studying computer engineering, but my experience with University of Oklahoma was not the best. The computer engineering major was intensive work, and [I] did not really feel for it at the University,” said Ali. Later, the ExxonMobil scholarship discontinued funding Ali’s education, and so he had to return home. He could not attend college in Baghdad because the laws restricted him from transferring from a school in the United States to a school

in Iraq. He could not attend a private college due to the cost. While back home, Ali applied to the Iraqi Student Project, a nonprofit program that partners with American colleges and universities with the goal of helping war-displaced students get a good undergraduate education. Ali studied with the program for a year in Damascus, where he later found out about Whitman. “The program knows, through their connections, several colleges, one of which was Whitman. I applied to four colleges, and Whitman was the first to give me a scholarship. To be honest, it was my favorite college,” said Ali. Ali’s extensive education in Iraq allowed him to apply to more competitive U.S. schools like Whitman. “I went to a private school that is free, but [you] have to go through an IQ test to be able to go to this school. It is the most well-known school in Baghdad, and everyone in Iraq knows it,” said Ali. Although he also applied to other U.S. colleges, Ali knew that Whitman was the school he wanted to attend. “I actually tried the hardest on Whitman’s application because when I Googled which colleges change the lives of students, I found that everybody at Whitman was happy, and [Whitman] was indeed the college that changed the lives of its students. I was not able to actually visit Whitman, therefore I Googled Whitman,” said Ali. Even though he was studying computer engineering at the

University of Oklahoma, when coming to Whitman, Ali decided to revert back to an undeclared major. He is interested in politics and psychology and hopes to help his country in its challenging time with his education. “After my life has been changed at Whitman, I need to change the lives of other people. I am thinking of majoring in politics because the politics in Iraq [have] been really bad for the past 50 years,” said Ali. “I am also thinking of majoring in psychology because before the war, there was this oppression, and after the war, there was even more oppression, where the people were seeing things people shouldn’t be seeing.“ His experience at Whitman thus far has been fairly typical of most Whitman students—balancing the many hours of homework with involvement in various extracurricular activities and a job with Whitman College Technology Services. “I looked at other schools, and I didn’t see anything like Whitman. Whitman is engaged with the student body and everyone is involved with nature. Everyone knows everyone here and is friendly. That was what attracted me to Whitman,” said Ali. Ali will not be returning to Iraq until he has completed his four years at Whitman, due to his contract with the Iraqi Student Project, which states that he cannot return to Iraq on breaks. However, Ali is not concerned about returning home on breaks as he has alternative plans. “I have made good friends [whom] I may stay with on the

breaks. Maybe [I will] work during summer on campus. If not, I can go to my support group in Seattle and stay with them. [My] support group [is a group of] people who help me financially and with any needs I have during my stay,” said Ali. By the time he finishes college, Ali wants to make sure that the Whitman community understands Iraq’s situation. When he does finish his four years, he hopes to end the so-

First-year Hasan Ali hails from Iraq. Prior to coming to Whitman, Ali studied computer engineering at the University of Oklahoma. Photo by Woletz

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cial inequalities that have radically changed after the war. “I don’t only want to be changed, but I want to make change. People need to know about Iraq’s positive and negative areas. America is not interested in Iraq anymore because the war is over. I want to [help] the people here [learn about] Iraqi culture. If the future leaders of the people know what happened and why, and what people can do, I’ve done my mission,” he said.

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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 Letters to the Editor in print and online.

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Talk to examine DADT repeal

Veteran Rob Smith to speak on experiences in Don’t Ask Don’t Tell-era military by LACHLAN JOHNSON Staff Reporter

his evening, Thursday, Sept. 20, army veteran Rob Smith will speak in Maxey Auditorium at 7 to mark the one-year anniversary of the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Because of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, Smith concealed his sexuality for five years while serving in the U.S. military in Iraq and Kuwait. After returning to the United States and attending college, he revealed his sexuality and now advocates for gay rights at colleges across the country. Smith’s lecture will address the historical context of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, as well as his personal experience serving under the policy and the challenges still faced by the GLBTQ movement. “Not only is Rob Smith interesting, he’s also very complex,” said Matthew Ozuna, interim director of the Intercultural Center. “He is a soldier. He’s also a black American. He’s also a gay American. And he’s defied the silence associated with all those things and is advocating change in a whole host of areas.” Coming from a working-class family in Ohio, Smith was awarded the Army Commendation Medal and Combat Infantryman Badge during his service overseas. He remained silent about his sexuality throughout his military service and attended college afterward through military benefits. Smith has spoken at colleges across the

United States about the repressive environment created by Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and contributed to the anthology For Colored Boys, which contains a collection of stories about issues faced by gay boys growing up in African-American and Latino communities. “It’s good for me to spend the one-year anniversary of the repeal somewhere where I can talk about the issue and about the fact that there’s a lot of things we have to do to move for-

“I think that this is a great time to honor that one-year anniversary [of DADT] but also to ... look forward to the election.” Matt Ozuna, ICC Director

ward while we’re fully integrating our gay and lesbian soldiers into the military,” said Smith. Smith’s visit to campus has been organized by sophomore Evan Griffis, a GLBTQ intern who has been working over the summer to organize the event. “I wanted to make sure that this was more than a onehour lecture in Maxey,” said Griffis. “It’s really nice to see a speaker come and be so happy to meet with students.” After the lecture Smith will sign books, and a private reception will be held for those in-

volved in GLBTQ in the Baker Faculty Center. In addition to speaking in Maxey this evening, Smith will be visiting Professor Jim Hanson’s Political Campaign Rhetoric class. Griffis convinced the Intercultural Center (ICC), Whitman GLBTQ and the Office of the President to jointly fund the event, and organized much of the outreach and scheduling. The ICC began planning to bring a speaker to campus to mark the anniversary of the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell last spring. “I think that this is a great time to honor that one-year anniversary but also to kind of look forward to the election. So if we have someone that can speak about Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, but then also talk about gay rights in general and more specifically marriage equality ... then that would be great; that would be a slam-dunk event, and Rob Smith was that person,” said Ozuna. The ICC is advertising the event throughout the whole Walla Walla Valley, and special efforts have been made to reach out to the Gay-Straight Alliance at Walla Walla High School, GLBTQ Walla Walla University, the Walla Walla branches of Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Army Corps of Engineers and the VA Medical Center. “I think that difference of opinion is a good thing. I encourage those [with different views] to show up and bring their opinions and viewpoint up in discussion and

questions afterwards,” said Ozuna. Gay rights will be a pivotal issue in the upcoming elections. While the Washington legislature passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in February, opponents of same-sex marriage gathered enough signatures to put the bill on the ballot in November, delaying its implementation. Same-sex marriage is a controversial issue in Walla Walla, and Smith hopes his speech will help bring attention to the issue. “What the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repeal has done for the LGBT movement is show us that we can win, we can move forward,” said Smith. “Marriage equality is definitely one of the more important ways that we can do that.”

Corrections to Issue 2 The “Voices of the Community” poll on page 7 of Issue 1 was by Allie Felt.

NUMBERS IN THE NEWS by EMILY LIN-JONES News Editor

Number of Chinese ships that entered disputed territory between Okinawa and Taiwan on Sept. 14, heightening ChinaJapan tensions. SOURCE: CNN.COM

200

Number of Japanese-owned 7-11 stores closed through Sept. 19 due to anti-Japanese riots throughout China. SOURCE: CNN.COM

Minutes in the “Innocence of Muslims” YouTube video that sparked protests throughout the Islamic world starting on Sept. 11. SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

Warrants issued by the Egyptian government for the arrest of Egyptian and California-based individuals involved in the making of the film. SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

The “Voices of the Community” poll on page 7 of Issue 2 was by Chao Li. In the “Voices from the Community” poll on page 7 of Issue 2, Jessica Lawrence’s name was misspelled. In the article “Opposition to bison relocation raises questions of motives” on page 7 of Issue 2, Don Snow’s title should have read Senior Lecturer of Environmental Humanities.

224

Number of recorded injuries in the ongoing Cairo embassy protest as of Sept. 13. SOURCE: AHRAM ONLINE

Suspects arrested by the Libyan government in connection to the Sept. 11 killing of U.S. diplomats. SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

Senior pursues lifelong passion researching reptiles in West Africa

Jordan Benjamin harvests venom from a snake in Benin to help develop snakebite antidotes. Photo contributed by Benjamin from SNAKES, page 1

conference!” said Clarke. Clarke and Benjamin also share another link: Kate Jackson, assistant professor of biology. She has been advising both of these young men on how to pursue their passions. “I think Kate is the only person I have ever met who truly understands what drives me,” said Benjamin. “She has been chasing the same dream even longer than I have, and if she hadn’t taken a chance on me, I would never have ... ended up where I am today.”

“He doesn’t do things in a casual way. He had used his savings as a teenager to go and learn how to correctly handle snakes at the ... snake farm in Kenya,” said Jackson, when asked about Benjamin. The snake farm Jackson refers to is in Watamu, a town in coastal Kenya where Benjamin spent a few days in the field and assisted at the Bio-Ken Reptile Research Centre and Snake Farm. “[Jordan] is a young man of remarkable promise,” said Stephen Spawls, a scientist and author who worked with Benjamin at the re-

search center in Kenya. “He’s full of enthusiasm for reptiles, and it’s his intention to do research on African snakes. Snakebite is a significant problem in rural Africa, and Jordan intends to do his bit to help curb the suffering caused by Africa’s deadly reptiles.” Benjamin’s approach to the African snake problem is unique: diagnosing snakebites from the symptoms of the bite. A half million people are bitten by venomous African snakes per year; treating them, however, is difficult as each snake requires dif-

Students question lack of permanent Arabic program in language department from ARABIC, page 1

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“In 2008, we started talking about writing a grant to launch Arabic,” said Assistant Professor Elyse Semerdjian, a specialist in the Middle East and Islamic studies. “Soon after that conversation started, the stock market crashed, and we decided it wasn’t a good thing to continue given that Whitman was going to have to freeze hires.” According to Walters, beginning a program in a new language is a serious investment, costing millions of dollars. “A new tenure line requires about a $2 million increase in the endowment,” said Walters. Economic concerns have seemed to be the central prohibiting factor in Whitman’s drive for Arabic, though the ongoing Now

is the Time campaign to raise $250 million for the endowment will mean a number of new faculty positions. Faculty members are hoping to expand or create new academic programs, and Arabic could be one of these. “The current capital campaign is aimed, in part, at creating 12 to 15 new tenure -track positions at Whitman,” said Dean of Faculty Timothy Kaufman-Osborn. For Walters and similarlyminded faculty and students, the formation of a full Arabic language program at Whitman is looking increasingly probable. “My suspicion is that Arabic will be among those [programs funded by the campaign],” said Walters. “Nobody is trying to say no [to this]. This is coming.”

Benjamin engages in field research on venomous snakes in Benin, where he is helping develop medicine for rural communities. Photo contributed by Benjamin

ferent anti-venom. Unfortunately, the majority of people in Africa are uneducated about identifying poisonous snakes. In order to understand the effects of a snakebite on a patient, the doctors need to understand the biology of the snakes present in that region, the biochemical composition and clinical effects of their venom, how the human body ticks and how to fix it when it doesn’t. “[The challenge is] how to synthesize all of this information into an appropriate treatment plan when somebody is carried into the hospital at night and says that they have been [bitten]

by a snake,” said Benjamin. This is not an easy project for a small group of individuals to undertake, but for Benjamin, it is worth it. “I came here because I needed to stand on the front lines of the problem I intend to spend my life fixing and see it from the same point of view as the people who are dealing with it everyday,” said Benjamin. “To experience the same frustrations and obstacles, get the same dirt in my hair, blood on my hands, share in enough of the joys and tragedies of life here that I can come back and know exactly what the ‘burden of snakebite in rural Africa’ means for a family.”

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You + sandwich 509-522-9991 Sunday 10-3:30 Monday-Saturday 10-7:30

A&E 4 Playwrights give guidance, inspiration to Instant Play Festival participants Sep

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The Instant Play Festival’s group of student playwrights takes a break from an evening workshop to pose for a photo with visiting playwright Daniel Alexander Jones and “body maps” of their classmates. Photo by Felt

by MALLORY MARTIN Staff Reporter

he Instant Play Festival is a time-honored Whitman tradition. Entering its fifth year, the festival gives 14 Whitties the opportunity to learn from three different professional playwrights over the course of three weeks, absorbing all they can and learning the tricks of the trade. At 9:00 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 23, seven of the students will be given a predetermined prompt and prop and sent off to write one tenminute play to be submitted in the

morning. Then, their piece is passed off to one of seven groups of volunteers consisting of students, professors and faculty alike, who proceed to direct, design and practice the piece over the course of Saturday, Sept. 24. By 8:00 p.m., the plays are performance-prepared and ready for their world debut. The process is repeated the following day with the other seven playwrights. This year, visiting playwrights Daniel Alexander Jones and Kristin Newbom, along with Whitman’s Assistant Professor of Theatre Kristen Kosmas, were on hand to assist and educate the ea-

ger group of new playwrights. Kosmas, who has participated in the festival since its creation in 2008, particularly loves the knowledge the different playwrights bring to students each year. As director of this year’s event, it fell upon her shoulders to select the new faces for the program. Jones and Newbom immediately came to mind. “Their approaches to playwriting are unconventional, and their ideas of the form and what it can include are broad,” said Kosmas. “I think it’s important for young playwrights to know that there actually is no ‘right’ way to write a play,

and I thought Kristin and Daniel might encourage the students to embrace and enjoy that freedom.” Newbom, a Brown University graduate, native Seattleite and author of several plays including “Telethon,” “Bluestory” and “Subrosa,” was grateful and excited to participate in this year’s event. “I was thrilled to be invited by Kristen Kosmas to come teach a playwriting workshop at Whitman. I had heard great things about the college and the theatre department, and they all turned out to be true!” said Newbom in an e-mail. “The great thing about the Instant

Play Festival is it’s a very potent flash immersion into what it takes to make a play. And since it’s condensed into 48 hours, the collaborative experience of it is heightened, which makes for ripe experiential learning and rich community-building. It’s a wonderful way to start the academic year and the mainstage season.” Tickets are available in the Harper Joy Box Office from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 30 minutes before every show. The festival will perform on Sept. 23 and 24 at 8:00 p.m.

Loya’s multicultural upbringing inspires storytelling career by EMMA DAHL Staff Reporter

lga Loya, a nationally known storyteller, will be coming to campus and performing Tuesday, Sept. 25 in Olin Hall 130 at 7:00 p.m. Loya, who grew up in East Los Angeles with her Mexican grandmother and father, is well known for her unique style that combines the English and Spanish languages. This blend creates a captivating dichotomy that makes her stories extremely entertaining to listen to for people of all ages. Loya’s young life was heavily influenced by the stories she heard from her multicultural family. Her storytelling style blends history, myth and tradition into eclectic but beautiful tales. Her personal website describes the stories she tells as “personal tales, short stories inspired from a mix of newspaper and dream, healing stories, tales of extraordinary women, of myriad voices and inflections, and sometimes music and dance.” Matthew Ozuna, interim director of Whitman’s Intercultural Center and a direc-

tor of Club Latino, discussed Loya’s upcoming performance. “Olga was chosen over the summer with the help of student leaders in Club Latino,” he said. “She is very accomplished and well-known and can speak directly to the Mexican-American experience, which I and some Whitman students and community members can relate to very closely.” Fabiola Ochoa, co-president of Whitman’s Club Latino, discussed Loya’s visit to campus in correlation with the club’s Hispanic Heritage Month. “She’s a great asset to bring to Whitman because she has the best of both worlds,” said Ochoa. She also dispelled any fears attendees may have of misunderstanding Loya’s bilingual performance. “The way that she performs is that if she says something in Spanish, she’ll translate it right away to English, so she says both,” so it is easy for the audience to follow her stories. “What we were trying to accomplish with her was [to have] a figure for Hispanic Heritage Month ... We’re hoping that with her, we can reach out to

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the

community,” said Ochoa. Loya’s appearance will also be the premiere of the Intercultural Center’s Storyteller Series. The goal of the series, Ozuna said, is to “bring awareness to the different peoples, languages, histories, traditions, values and beliefs existing within the human condition and examine how these differences intersect with one another.”

Animal Collective’s ‘Centipede Hz’ takes their sound in new direction by CLARA BARTLETT Staff Reporter

nimal Collective has always been there for me. When I reached the pinnacle of college application stress during my senior year, I could take 48 seconds of solace in their strange experimental song “College.” In a hybrid of spooky and sincerely friendly voices, the members of Animal Collective reminded me, “You don’t have to go to college.” And when I needed an all-inclusive pick-me-up song to play with friends, “My Girls” was there, drawing my fingers to the volume knob on my car. Even partially deaf with a near-miss car accident in the process, I felt better at the end of an elapsed five minutes 40 seconds. However, Animal Collective is not some complacent friend always waiting to lend you their shoulder. No, Animal Collective will shock you, and sometimes

test the limits of your ears’ patience and endurance. Thus, one’s love for Animal Collective isn’t fueled by musical enjoyment, but instead by musical understanding. Some songs, like “Brother Sport,” are a sly, sexual nod to oral stimulation that would otherwise fly under the radar if it weren’t for your detail-oriented, music-buff friend. And some of their songs—functioning as forms of experimental rock—can sound more like bouncy remixes of an early morning trash truck pick-up overlapped by some muddled vocals. On Sept. 4, Animal Collective released their ninth studio album, entitled Centipede Hz. With the pop success of their 2009 album, Merriweather Post Pavilion, the release of Centipede Hz was anticipated with both excitement and apprehension from fans. In Centipede Hz, it’s possible to hear the poppy hooks reminiscent of Merriweather Post Pavil-

ion. But unfortunately, the clarity of these hooks that popularized Animal Collective’s previous album are cluttered and buried underneath the angst and hyperactive experimentation that is unique to Centipede Hz. Songs like “Moonjack,” “Today’s Supernatural” and “Mercury Man” initially show promise, but as the songs proceed, they become convoluted by competing rhythms, electronic gargling and information/noise overload. If Centipede Hz and Merriweather Post Pavilion were brothers, Centipede Hz would definitely be the angsty, somewhat dislikable younger 13-year-old bro, trying to get his act together while Merriweather Post Pavilion would be the cooler, more levelheaded, unanimously appealing but sometimes drugged-out older brother. Overall, Centipede Hz is worth a listen, but make sure you don’t have a headache going into your musical adventure.

‘Finding Nemo’ New dimension, same magic by NATHAN FISHER Staff Reporter

’m baring my soul here: the sappy characters in “The Muppets” and “Finding Nemo” are my all-time favorites. Really, over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been as excited as the 10-year-old kid I was in 2003 when “Finding Nemo” was first released, waiting for the re-release of “Finding Nemo” in 3-D. Sure, the 3-D was probably just a ploy to get more money, but a group of Whitties didn’t care as they crammed into my car Friday night. Were we disappointed? Absolutely not! We still laughed when the seagulls went after the ninja crab (“Mine! Mine!”) and we just about died when Dory spoke whale. The new 3-D effects were awesome as the underwater world came to life, and bubbles, jellyfish and snapping sharks surrounded the viewers. The 3-D stuff, though, was really not necessary, because what makes “Finding Nemo” a true treasure is the heartwarming, funny story with its flawed characters. The story doesn’t hold back, even for a kids’ flick. Opening with a barracuda mass-murdering the entire family of Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks), an orange clownfish, only one egg survives and becomes Marlin’s overprotected son,

Nemo (Alexander Gould), who has an under-developed fin. Nemo’s rebellion against his neurotic dad causes him to get captured and taken to a dentist’s office aquarium filled with Bloat, a puffer fish (Brad Garret), Gil (Willem Dafoe), and a starfish named Peach (Allison Janney). But the real story is Marlin’s “Taken”-esque quest to rescue his son. Sounds like a downer, but along the way Marlin meets and befriends a wonderful cast of characters who had my entourage howling. The standout, of course, is Dory, the absent-minded blue tang (Ellen DeGeneres). The dialogue between the forgetful Dory and the anxious Marlin is magical. My other favorites were Mr. Ray (Bob Peterson) singing his sea shanties, Bruce (Barry Humphries), one of the vegetarian sharks, leading the 12-step “fish are friends, not food” meetings, and the cool sea turtle dudes, Crush (Andrew Stanton) and Squirt (Nicholas Bird), still riding the EAC. I absolutely loved and highly recommend Pixar’s timeless classic “Finding Nemo 3-D.” In fact, the film is such an epic journey of self-discovery that it should join “The Odyssey” as part of the required reading/viewing in Whitman’s firstyear Encounters course. Remember, “just keep swimming!”

SPORTS

Sep

20 2012

How does Whitman

STACK UP? by MATT TESMOND Staff Reporter

Women’s soccer Frontrunners: University of Puget Sound, Linfield College Whitman Preseason NWC Rank: 6th The Northwest conference is led by a very talented UPS team currently ranked 4th in the NCAA West region standings. Linfield, although ranked behind UPS in the West, put together a 4-0 start to the season, earning a top-25 ranking in the most recent d3soccer.com poll. Whitman comes in ranked sixth in the conference but is hungry to upset the teams vying for national attention. If the women can find ways to translate their time of possession into goals, they could see themselves near the top of the standings.

Women’s volleyball

Women’s cross country Frontrunners: Lewis & Clark College, Linfield, Whitman Whitman Preseason NWC Rank: 3rd The women’s cross country team has quietly been one of Whitman’s most successful over the past four years, sending individual members each year to the NCAA championships and sending the entire team in 2010. With another strong supporting cast, the women will be looking to recapture the NWC title this year. The women showed their potential at the recent Sundodger Invitational, placing fifth overall. Lewis & Clark won the overall race and Linfield finished just in front of Whitman with a fourth-place finish. Although the women are very talented this year, they will need strong running to upend the powerhouse that is Lewis & Clark.

Men’s cross country Frontrunners: Willamette University, George Fox University

Frontrunners: UPS, PLU Whitman Preseason NWC Rank: 8th The Whitman volleyball team will be facing stiff competition this year from both PLU, ranked 20th nationally, and UPS, ranked 11th nationally. With the guidance of new head coach Matt Helm, the team is certainly looking to improve on last year’s three-win season. After an intense preseason training schedule, the women have put in the work, but they will have to be able to put it together on the court to determine their NWC future.

Whitman Preseason NWC Rank: 2nd The Whitman men’s cross country team is poised for a big year. The men ran strongly at the Whitman Invitational, placing second behind only Lewis & Clark State College, the second-best NAIA team in the country. Unfortunately they followed it up at the recent Sundodger Invitational, placing 15th overall and sixth of the NWC schools in attendance. This drop was reflected by the men dropping out of the West regional rankings. This team, while certainly in need of stronger running at the moment, has a shot at taking the conference if they can stay injury-free.

Marcos Medina

FIRST-YEAR PROFILE

do, but I grew up with soccer and made a lot of friends through that. How was your time playing soccer for Walla Walla High School? Medina: I made the varsity team as a freshman, so I joined the team the same year as [Whitman head coach] Mike Washington. Our team had its best year when I was a sophomore, but my best individual season was as a senior when I made the All-Conference team. What was it like getting to know Mike Washington prior to coming to Whitman? Medina: I played club with him for several months before high school, so I have known him for over four years now. He is a really great coach and very funny. It will be great to have another four years because I know his coaching style and what he expects of his players. What made you choose Whitman?

Medina, one of 12 first-years on the men’s soccer team, is one of only two members of his class to have played in multiple games so far this season. Photo by Bowersox

by TRISTAN GAVIN

weekends of collegiate soccer.

Sport: Soccer

What was it like growing up locally?

Staff Reporter

Hometown: Walla Walla, WA Medina grew up in the area and has already asserted himself as a contributor to the 2012 Whitman men’s soccer team, providing a pair of assists in his first two

Medina: I actually grew up in Milton-Freewater for most of my childhood. I moved to Walla Walla in eighth grade and attended Walla Walla High School the following year. It’s a small community so there isn’t a whole lot to

Medina: I was looking at other schools in the state like Gonzaga and the University of Washington, but Whitman awarded me a Lomen-Douglas scholarship that made it my top choice.

The Whitman fall sports season heated up with the beginning of conference play last week, but how do the teams stack up compared to the rest of the Northwest Conference? The Pioneer takes a look at each sport to discover how Whitman stacks up and how the conference will shake out.

PAGE

SCOREBOARD SOCCER

Men’s v. Willamette University Sept. 15: T 0-0 v. Linfield College Sept. 16: L 2-1 Women’s v. Willamette University Sept. 15: W 1-0 v. Lewis & Clark College Sept. 16: L 2-0

VOLLEYBALL

v. University of Puget Sound Sept. 14: L 3-1 v. Pacific Lutheran University Sept. 15: L 3-0 v. Whitworth University Sept. 19: W 3-1

Men’s soccer

CROSS COUNTRY

Frontrunners: Pacific Lutheran University, Whitworth University

GOLF

Whitman Preseason NWC Rank: 4th Men’s soccer presents one of the most intriguing NWC stories of any of the fall sports. The men started their season with a trip to California. They posted a huge win over Redlands, ranked 9th nationally at the time, and followed it by losing in OT to Claremont-MuddScripps, ranked 15th Nationally at the time. The team finished the trip by beating Pomona-Pitzer and losing to Occidental, both solid teams. The men certainly have the talent to finish at the top of the conference with players such as junior defender Cooper Schumacher and senior goalkeeper Michael Bathurst. As the California trip showed, however, consistency may be an issue through the long and tiring soccer season.

Sundodger Invitational Sept. 15, Men: 15th, Women: 5th

Men’s Quail Ridge Invitational Sept. 16, 3rd Women’s O’Brien Invitational Sept. 16-17, 9th

UPCOMING SOCCER

Men’s v. Pacific University Sept. 22: AWAY v. George Fox University Sept. 23: AWAY Women’s v. Pacific University Sept. 22: AWAY v. George Fox University Sept. 23: AWAY

VOLLEYBALL

v. Willamette University Sept. 21, 7 p.m.: HOME

GOLF Men’s Pacific Invitational Sept. 22-23: AWAY

GOLF

USTA/ITA Fall Regional Sept. 22-2, Men: AWAY, Women: HOME

Alumni, students link up at W Club golf tournament by PAM LONDON Sports Editor

Whitman’s third annual W Club golf tournament went off without a hitch last Friday, bringing alumni and student athletes together for an afternoon of hitting the links. Put on by the W Club—Whitman’s athletics alumni association—and Whitman’s varsity golf teams, the tournament is one of the W Club’s most high-profile events during the academic year. Planning began a year in advance and all 14 varsity teams have been fundraising since last spring. “We’ve been kind of testing fall versus spring [for big events like this] ... so the planning process ... has been shaping and reshaping how much running a tournament like this can advantage the program,” said Whitman Athletic Director Dean Snider. Despite the importance of fundraising efforts, events like the W Club golf tournament also emphasize forming connections between alumni and current student athletes. As Snider puts it, the “friend-raising” component of the W Club takes precedence over the fund-raising. “One of the primary goals of the W Club is friend-raising: getting our athletic alums and other alums reconnected with Whitman athletics,” said Snider. “I think the friend-raising side is really important, and that is what we need to focus on ... We see fundraising as an outcome of good friend-raising and re-networking.”

letes, great experiences ... We want to showcase how strong our athletes are ... Telling that story is important because it reconnects people to the college. It establishes a political voice, a strong voice amongst the alumni that they want to have and maintain strong athletic programs where our athletic programs are seeking the same kind of excellence as every program on campus.” A new aspect added to the tournament this year is the inclusion of student presentations during the banquet portion of the event. Snider introduced and interviewed four current student athletes–seniors Ryan Gilkey, Julianne Masser, Alyssa Roberg and Galen Sollom-Brotherton–to tell their stories to alumni, highlighting the theme of “great students, great athletes, great experiences.” About two-thirds of the 80 players in the 2012 W Club golf tournament were alumni; the other third was made up of community members, including current student athletes. In total, the tournament raised a little under $9,000, a significant increase from the $5,000 raised in the first year. In addition to big events like the golf tournament and the Hall of Fame banquet–scheduled for Sept. 29 in Sherwood Center–the W Club hosts other events throughout the year to reconnect alumni and student athletes. The W Club will be tailgating at the men’s and women’s soccer games at Pacific Lutheran University in October, as well as at an away weekend for the men’s and women’s bas-

How has the adjustment been to Whitman life? Medina: [Being from Walla Walla] made the adjustment of moving out much easier, knowing that my family was very close by, but it definitely feels like I am away from home despite being able to see my parents whenever I need to. It’s funny, I have met lots of people from all over the country since getting to school, but they are always surprised that I am actually from here. How often do you see your family? Medina: It’s really up to me to make the effort. I enjoy being independent, but I also try to see them at least once a week, whether it is for dinner or just to do some laundry.

Want to know more about Marcos?

Read more online at www.whitmanpioneer.com/sports

The third annual W Club golf tournament gathered alumni, community members and student athletes for a day of golf and “friend-raising.” Photo by McCormick

The tournament is organized so that if possible, each foursome of players includes both alumni and current students. These groupings give alumni the chance to reconnect with Whitman athletics by asking questions and hearing current student athletes’ stories. “Networking is a big thing. It is telling the story of really great students,” said Snider. “The theme that we have for the year is great students, great ath-

ketball teams in the winter and an away weekend for either the tennis or baseball teams in the spring. The golf tournament and other W Club events seek to highlight the unique relationship shared between Whitties, both current student athletes and alumni. By fostering real-world networking between the two groups, the W Club keeps alumni connected to the school and athletic programs they love.

FEATURE

Sep

20 2012

PAGE

Public versus Private

High school important, character paramount by HANNAH AGUIRRE-CLAYSCHULTE Staff Reporter

igh schools are like people: They have their own personalities, their own strengths and weaknesses, their own behaviors. In a way, our high school becomes one of the many aspects that define us. Because we are so connected to our secondary schooling, it is only understandable that it plays some role in the admissions process. “You can’t separate the individual from their high school,” said Tony Cabasco, dean of admissions and financial aid. Sixty-eight percent of the incoming fall class comes from West coast states, where highly ranked public schools are relatively common, especially in largely populated areas where the public schools are well-funded, such as suburbs around Seattle and southern California. “About 70 percent of our students come from public high schools and about 30 come from private, independent high schools,” said Cabasco. “Those results hap-

pen primarily because we’re a West coast school, where most students attend public schools.” Sophomore Matthias Needham, who attended a public high school in Tacoma, Wash., does not believe his public school background affected his chances of getting into Whitman. “Not at all. However, my high school was in an affluent part of town,” said Needham. While being interviewed, Cabasco hinted that it is not necessarily the issue of public versus private high schools that affects the admissions process, but the area in which the school is located and the funding it receives. “You look at big, suburban, well-funded public schools in Minneapolis or in Denver, Seattle, Portland—it’s not as surprising that we have more students that come from public schools,” said Cabasco. “If you were to look at a liberal arts college like Whitman that’s located in the Northeast, you’ll find that the number might be more like 50/50 or even 60 percent private, because in certain parts of the Northeast and the East Coast, it’s more common for the kind of stu-

dents that would look at Whitman to come from private schools.” Cabasco also mentioned how the geographical area affects the academic intensity in public schools. “I think in the West, public schools are stronger too,” said Cabasco. In comparison to Whitman’s statistics, 52 percent of Middlebury College’s students come from public schools—still the majority but on a more even scale. In addition, 64 percent of the class of 2015 from Amherst College in Massachussetts attended public high schools, and 66 percent of the 2014 class at Oberlin College did as well. Students coming from a high school with a steady flow of applicants to Whitman are already measured before the admissions office opens the actual application. “There’s some schools that we get consistent applicants from and it sets up the data and there’s ways we can obviously measure,” said Cabasco. “We see the success rate of those students when they come to Whitman and we get a sense for, ‘Okay, students from that school will come to Whitman and do well’ ... It gives us a barometer.”

Admissions Officer Talia Gottlieb claims it’s not a private school or public school issue, but rather how one functioned as an individual within their own high school environment. “How does your rigor, your GPA, your writing, your extracurriculars—how do these compare based on that singular school that we’re taking a look at?” said Gottlieb. After being divided up into separate geographical areas, admission officers are expected to know the high schools in their area inside and out down to the very last detail. “We’re expected to know the rigor of the schools, whether there’s weighting in terms of GPA or inflation of grades, so we as admission officers based on our own territories have to take a deep look at the qualifications of both public and private,” said Gottlieb. When asked what they think, Whitman students had a variety of opinions. “I do not think Whitman preferences,” said sophomore Brian Lewis, who hails from a private school in New Mexico.

“The school I went to is also known for its rigor, which certainly did not hurt my chances.” Sophomore David Wilson, who attended a public school in Washington, agreed that private schools can confer some sort of edge. “I feel like private high schools have more college preparation and application assistance resources made available to their students,” said Wilson. Disregarding whether or not Whitties come from public or private high schools, it is important to remember that each student was chosen to become a part of the Whitman community for a reason, that each acceptance letter was sent because the admissions staff believed the individual added to the class as a whole. “I think to some extent once you are at Whitman, it is a clean slate, public or private,” said Julie Dunn, director of academic resources. “Whitman is a new chapter and while one’s previous schooling might bring certain strengths and challenges, what you are doing here and now is what is most important.”

An overlooked aspect of Whitman’s diversity is the variety of students’ high schools. It

Shifts in Academic Load

may appear that certain advantages come with a private or public education, but

What kinds of high schools did Whitties attend?

how much of an edge is actually conferred?

Public Charter Schools 5%

from COLLEGE PREP, page 1

She is able to meet with each student and their families individually, setting out a fouryear plan when they are freshmen and lending even more attention to the students during their senior year, meeting with each student for a good hour. Although Walla Walla High School certainly does not have the intimate advantage of student and college counseling sessions, the school produces high-achieving students. Senior Ryan Campeau is a native Walla Wallan who attended high school at Walla Walla High and continued to thrive at Whitman. Campeau ensured her college preparedness by selfselecting college prep courses that the school had to offer. “I do remember freshman year that I was prepared for the workload in college and the type of studying and essay writing, so I was really thankful that I took so many AP classes,” said Campeau. Although both DeSales and Walla Walla High offer competitive academic programs, Williams and Campeau both felt that their college counseling could be improved. Williams said he remembered a large emphasis placed on schools such as Gonzaga, Washington State University and Walla Walla Community College, where he noted most people ended up. He felt this reflected a lack of involvement on the part of the counselors. “College prep could improve for sure; there are more options out there,” said Williams. Campeau’s experience at Walla Walla High School was similar to Williams’, recognizing room to expand and build on current college preparation within the counseling department. “Counselors are available, but my experience with my high school counselor was very poor,” said Campeau. Campeau had a “genius” friend who applied to many topnotch schools, such as Stanford and Harvard. One of the counselors did not support her choices of schools to apply to, encouraging the student to only apply to Washington State University. Her main emphasis was that there would probably be a full scholarship available. “We were all shocked that was her suggestion—she was deterring her from reach-

higher,” said Campeau. Still, Campeau recognizes the school’s efforts to improve the counseling. “They are trying to broaden what they can offer,” said Campeau. Walla Walla High School administrators could not be reached for comment. The school does offer many AP classes, as Campeau took four classes of seven as AP in one year. However, there is a huge dichotomy between the AP and the regular classes in terms of their ability to prepare students for college. “I do recognize that the extra benefit did come from being in AP classes,” said Campeau. One semester, Campeau was required to take a regular-level government class that was required for all senior students. “I remember being really shocked by the teacher’s expectations of us, our workload and the student’s activity in the classroom of not being engaged, not caring,” said Campeau. Although this reflected the norm of non-AP students to Campeau, Walla Walla High School does actively try to engage all students in a pre-college mindset. An example of this drive is a program called AVID, where 30 students who are identified as being “at risk” are selected for special attention. This, however, is only available to 30 students from a 2,000-student school and cannot provide direct help to everyone who may be at risk of not graduating and not attending college. Success for the rest of the student population becomes a matter of personal initiative. Keith Farrington, professor of sociology at Whitman as well as a parent of former high school students at Walla Walla High School, reflected on the preparedness the high school had for his children, especially seeing the great achievements of one of his daughters after she graduated from an undergraduate experience at Emory University. “Jane’s [Farrington’s oldest daughter] success at Wa-Hi may have been in some measure determined by who she is internally and constitutionally as well as by the positive environment to which she was exposed in high school,” said Farrington. “She is extraordinary, a gogetter with great work habits,” said

60%

rigorous

40%

Private Schools 23%

Based on a poll of 100 Whitman Students

Wa-Hi, DeSales vary in college prep approach

fairly rigorous

Public Schools 72%

How rigorous do you find Whitman’s Academics? fairly rigorous

easy not very rigorous

ing

8% 21%

17%

54%

n Conse is sexy!

How rigorous was your high school educa tion?

rigorous

14% 30% 14% 24%

On a scale of 1-10, how well did your high school prepare you for Whitman? INFOGRAPHIC BY PETERSON AND McNULTY

Farrington. “The high school provided a really great environment for her to reach her potential.” Jane graduated with honors from Emory, attending Stanford University for a law degree, and is currently in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton. “A big part was that she had a teacher who really ingrained in her a love of language and the origin of words,” said Farrington. Farrington emphasized the exceptional teachers such as Jane’s language teacher and excellent math teachers who prepared her for required academic challenges in college, such as a required rigorous mathematics camp at Princeton. Despite all of his daughter’s achievements, Farrington still did not recognize the help of a school counselor. In addition to students’ and parents’ reactions to the amount of preparation at the Walla Walla high schools, superintendent Mick Miller commented on the overall system. “For students that are interested in attending a four-year college, we do a really good job in terms of college preparation. Most students in college preparation courses are very prepared,” said Miller. Miller does, however, recognize room for improvement.

“We need to work on getting more students interested in attending four-year colleges,” said Miller. “We also need to make sure to

make it clear that there are significant job opportunities by attending two-year technical colleges—keep the options open.”

Feature Facts by ADAM BRAYTON Feature Editor

In 2010, public high schools saw enrollment that was tenfold that of private high schools. SOURCE: NCES.ED.GOV

President Barack Obama started going to private school in the fifth grade. Mitt Romney attended public elementary school in Detroit, but began at a private preparatory school in the 7th grade. SOURCE: 2012.REPUBLICAN-CANDIDATES.ORG, ABOUT.COM

In December of 2011, a Long Island high school student got suspended for orchestrating a 40-person Tebowing event which became a fire hazard as the kneeling participants blocked the school hallways. SOURCE: NPR.ORG

Walla Walla High School and DeSales High School are not the only two high schools within the city of Walla Walla. There is also Lincoln High School, which is an alternative school that operates on a block schedule with electives. Their mascot is the phoenix. SOURCE: LINCOLNALTERNATIVE.ORG

The Center for Education Policy ran a study in 2007 that determined that it could “find no evidence that private schools actually increase student performance ... it appears that private schools simply have higher percentages of students who would perform well in any environment based on their previous performance and background.” SOURCE: TIME.COM

When Albert Einstein retired from Princeton in New Jersey, he would not have been legally qualified to teach high school physics because of a lack of first-aid training in addition to other requisites. SOURCE: NPR.ORG

OPINION

Sep

20 2012

PAGE

Digital presence impacts ‘real’ world PAUL HAMILTONPENNELL Senior

MARGINALIA

ILLUSTRATION BY MEASE

ost of us would agree that we care about how we are perceived. We want to be heard and respected. This desire does not arise from mere vanity; we care what we do because we believe that it matters. This extends to what we do and say, or fail to say, when we’re on the internet. Yet despite this concern, we do not take our internet selves seriously. The internet opens the potential for the exchange of ideas, experiences and sentiments on a great and unprecedented scale. With a little work, it could become a venue for radical interpersonal growth. But first we have to overcome its stigma as a socially dubious, marginal environment, and learn to take ourselves and others as seriously online as we do in person. Our digital presence has a major impact on everyday social ex-

istence. Consider it in terms of numbers: On any given day, more people—dozens, even hundreds more—see our Facebook statuses, text messages, emails, postings and comments than they see what we do, hear what we say and respond to our actions in the flesh. Though we constantly try to distinguish between public and private life, that distinction breaks down when we go online. If “private” is looking at myself in a mirror and “public” is looking others in the face, then cyberspace is a two-way mirror where we can’t see how many people—if any—are watching us from the other side. Because it is neither private nor public, we distinguish our time in front of a screen from “real life.” But those various users we encounter online are real people, and the internet is a real social space. Still, the internet feels impersonal. Everything we see or write is mediated by a digital interface, which allows us to observe, ignore, react and judge it all with a spectatorial—even voyeuristic—detachment. Because of this distancing effect, the basic social boundaries asserted in everyday interactions are not explicitly imposed upon our digital contributions. The limits of acceptability are ambiguous and can be tested constantly. As a result, the internet is of-

ten overflowing with things which have been pushed to the fringe of social life. It serves, among other things, as an outlet for our emotional and psychological detritus: vices, hyper-sexuality, repressions and secrets are disproportionately represented online. These otherwise potent and earnest outpourings, all lumped together in cyberspace, can end up looking like sheer nonsense and absurdity, loosely linked only by inane non-sequiturs. Many would argue that, for this reason, the internet is not worth taking seriously as a social space, and should primarily remain a vehicle for silly—albeit entertaining—mental junk food. This assertion denies the possibility of opening up this new realm for the exchange of our loftiest ideas, feelings and aspirations. The internet is young, and we have yet to experience the full extent of its possible impact. It allows us to collapse the all-too-firm boundary between public and private life, which gives way to valuable new modes of expression. Just as our actions affect those around us, the things that we see, say and do online affect the “real world.” Rather than conforming ourselves to conventional uses of the digital realm, we may seek to improve it, and so improve our whole, shared social environment. This is how we grow: together.

Engaging with diversity speakers key for student growth JOEY GOTTLIEB Community member

THE WHITEST AFRICAN

e are fortunate at Whitman to have a fantastic array of esteemed lecturers and speakers come to our remote campus to share their insights. Many students leave lectures feeling inspired to spread the ideas they have just witnessed but oftentimes are stymied by Whitman’s isolation or apathy.

“We’re too far away from anything.” “Whitties just don’t care.” Faced with these obstacles, students often abandon the ideals and calls to action heard in these lectures, and the inspiring talks and thousands of dollars spent to bring the speakers here become worthless. In order to make these extraordinary opportunities for learning meaningful, students need to make attending lectures a priority in their schedules, refocus on their responsibilities as students, and recognize that carrying out meaningful, idealistic work is not limited to traditional activism. Many of these talks offer cutting-edge research and academic thinking. They often provide analysis and examples that are relevant to coursework and extracurricular activities. Last semester, Dr. Mark Mathabane gave the most inspiring talk of my Whitman career in which

Political Cartoon by Maggie Appleton

he made an impassioned defense of the enriching and transformative power of diversity. Now here I am, less than a year later, writing a column about diversity and student identity, trying to share some of Mathabane’s ideas as well as my own with my peers, hoping to generate some sort of discussion. First, you don’t need to focus on what is outside Whitman as much as you think you do. Many students are often concerned that, outside of reading a newspaper, they are inadequately active in the world of social justice and positive change. To those who do struggle with this, remember that you are students. You are granted the privilege of a safe space in which to discuss potent and controversial ideas and to be able to work together to synthesize new ideas for action out of the insights

Senior

AGAINST THE GRAIN

e live in a society that produces more waste than any other era in history. Plastic, styrofoam and aluminum wrap around every commercial purchase, food, clothing or a house. For the sake of convenience, we have manipulated our society to think short-term, to turn a blind eye to filth and to create this imaginary place called “away.” In reality, there is no away. It ends up in landfills or the North Pacific Gyre, an area now twice the size of Texas in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, filled with garbage. Garbage has begun to take a progressive step, with recent trends of recycling and composting food waste. Some people actually think about how much waste they produce. Trash is tangible, vo-

Voices from the Community

luminous and measurable. People can assess their impact by looking at their reduction of waste as it gets separated into distinct bins. Unfortunately, I have bad news. Within each household, there is another type of waste. A resource we use inexhaustibly to keep our homes, clothes, pets, teeth, body and toilet seats clean. A resource 1.1 billion people on the planet do not have safe access to, one that inflicts illness on five hundred thousand to seven million people annually, and a resource that is quickly running out: water. Of all water used daily in American households—for showering, laundry, lawn care, drinking, and flushing toilets—how much would you guess is spent on what? Today, 30% of municipal water, clean drinking water, is used to flush our shit. That means the amount of water one person uses to flush a toilet in a year is equivalent to forty years of drinking water for that same person! It looks like we are about to start drowning in our well-watered feces. So what’s the solution? Humanure: composting our own waste. This system would mean depositing into a pit rather than a bowl of fresh drinking water. It would mean building organic, nutrientrich soil instead of buying tons of fertilizer. It would mean tak-

DICK CLOVER

EM TINKLER

First-year

Community member

Sophomore

“People spend too much time on [social networking sites] doing shallow things.”

ing the $5 billion America flushes down the toilet annually and putting it towards needed change. Humanure, human-manure, is literally the best thing since sliced bread. Dig a hole above a movable structure or put a barrel underneath a conventional toilet. The toilet feeds a large metal barrel constructed with an aeration tube to avoid anaerobic soil. A carbon-nitrogen balance is needed for proper decomposition, so the only unusual features are a bucket of nitrogen clippings next to the toilet and biodegradable toilet paper. Deposit, throw in a scoop of clippings, and when the hole or barrel fills, move the structure or barrel and plant a tree or use for tree soil—incredibly nutrient-rich soil awaits. Implementing humanure nationally is not going to be an easy job. It is going to mean a re-envisioning of our current mindless, wasteful ways. It is going to mean allowing children to drink clean water to live an extra day instead of putting that water into our toilet bowls. However, we have come to a critical point. It is time to take action, to put our potty mouths in the open, and to realize where feasible solutions to our global water crisis can be addressed. Let’s stop drowning ourselves in crap and advocate for humanure.

What is your major complaint about social networking sites such as Facebook? // Poll by TANNER BOWERSOX

ERIKA LONGINO

“I think it’s really creepy that they have your personal information, and that they cater ads to your tastes.”

those concerned that they need to be more engaged, more of an activist, activism isn’t always the best fit. Adopting a cause simply for the sake of pursuing classic activism is worthless. Two speakers came to Whitman this week. Jody Herman came on Sept. 18 to speak about transgender discrimination, and tonight Rob Smith will talk about his experiences as a gay man of color during his time in the military and now as a civilian. These will be two of many lectures that relate to social justice and positive change, and I hope that some of you will heed my suggestions. We need to reexamine the importance of lectures and their value to this campus and better understand our responsibilities as learners, becoming more creative in our expressions of activism to further the idealistic causes that are so crucial to our generation.

Reusing human waste saves water, reduces fertilizer use DANIELLE BROIDA

Have an opinion to share? The Pio is soliciting guest columns and letters to the editor! Send yours to: editors@whitmanpioneer.com

these speakers share with you. As students, you are responsible for bringing well-formed and positive ideas out into the world, but your primary responsibility during your tenure as a student is to grow those ideas and grow them well. Second, activism isn’t for everybody. Enter lectures recalling that you have your own “method,” the way in which you can further the cause and communicate ideas most effectively and meaningfully. I have struggled for a long time with my inadequacy as an activist. I have never felt motivated to attend rallies or vigils or eliminate the phrase “Joe Walmart” from my vocabulary. I have, however, come to realize that writing and speaking one-on-one with others are my most effective media to articulate my beliefs and persuade others of their importance. Find your own method and take it from there. For

“People don’t tell you things to your face!”

JOHN LEE Senior

“They’re a little bit pointless. You can waste crap-tons of time and really accomplish nothing.”

BACKPAGE

Sep

20 2012

PAGE

Whitman to change mascot to

‘Reverse Cowgirl’

hat one guy who wears the bow tie announced recently that Whitman College would “finally be changing that awful mascot.” “I really don’t give a [expletive] about history or tradition or any of that [expletive],” said the President. “Yeah! Go Me! Bow ties for everyone!” He gave energetic highfives to staff members

and

walked off the stage. Despite this very unprofessional “chill conference” (his term), he failed to announce what the new mascot will be. “I’m so glad we’re getting rid of sexism on this campus. We’re, like, so sick of it and stuff,” said a group of Kappa Kappa Gammas. The administration announced, surprisingly, that the new mascot would be the “Reverse Cowgirl.”

The Backpage sat down in an exclusive interview with the President to see why the switch took place. “How’s that for reversing the trend? Did you see what I did there?” said the President. The Backpage asked him why he changed the mascot and what the obvious implications of the switch were. “What?” said the President. “It’s just the edge we need over

other liberal arts colleges. Pomona never saw this coming. The Missionary was just too traditional and, frankly, a little sexist. The Reverse Cowgirl is a symbol of the old west, and it empowers women. I mean, it’s ‘cowgirl’, right?” When asked whether he knew what he was talking about, the President admitted he did not. As to be expected, some groups are not very hap-

py about this change. Unexpectedly, however, many members of fraternities are not happy. “It’s just really hard to chant ... especially when you’ve had a couple ices. Am I right?” said sophomore Robbie MacNichol, an avid sports fan and attendee. The President has indeed alienated many with this decision. Lord only knows what he’s got in store for us next.

son was just another floor in Jewett, but then she took me back to her room after the [Sigma Chi] rave,” said Chow, his hands still shaky from the trauma. “They don’t have couch beds. Where was I supposed to sit?” Chow has not returned to Anderson since the breakup, and he remains painfully ignorant of parts of campus farther than Penrose Library. Further questioning revealed that he hasn’t figured out that Prentiss is a residence hall, believing it to be a state-of-the-art brunch building with multiple floors of seating. Saneski is taking the breakup pretty hard, as evidenced by several Facebook statuses of feigned resilience and Taylor Swift vide-

os, but the collapse of the relationship has had an equally great impact on the first-year community. The first-years rallied around the couple as their first glimpse into a college relationship, and they have been left with a taste in their mouths best described as a bitter, discouraging taste with a hint of vegan chocolate cake. “I remember watching him swipe her into brunch after they made out at the [Phi Delta Theta] luau,” said a sobbing Anderson Fsection resident about Chow and Saneski, or “Chowski” as they were affectionately known. “That is the kind of love that Nicholas Sparks writes movies about.” It has become clear that many of the first-years

don’t know what love is. “Can I buy it with flex dollars?” said Jewett 2-West resident David Fellsings. “Doesn’t it only exist between TKEs?” said North Hall resident Johnny Masbaum. While most first-years have plenty of distractions from the breakup, Saneski has to deal with daily reminders of lost love. “He bought me a lanyard for our one-week anniversary,” said Saneski while sobbing. “Now I can’t swipe into a building without hearing the first song we danced to ... It was dubstep.” Despite over 20 likes for her Facebook relationship status’s change to “single,” Saneski’s adjustment to

life without Chow will be hard. “We used to not study in the library and watch ‘How I Met Your Mother’ ... not together, but we both did it,” said Saneski. Reports say that Chow has been Facebook chatting with great frequency with junior Kristen Gabbons but “doesn’t want anything serious.” Although the breakup has cast a solemn spell over the firstyear community, the floodgates have opened for first-year relationships. In the past week, more than three couples have broken the Facebook threshold and more are likely to follow. Something sweet is in the air on the Whitman College campus, and it is not the smell of brotherhood.

Worst break-up...like ever

ast week bore witness to the end of a young relationship. Ryan Chow from 4-West recently cut off ties with his Andersonian girlfriend, Natalie Saneski, because they reportedly “weren’t ready for a long-distance relationship.” The couple, who met at the ‘80s dance, dated close to two weeks before their physical separation led to an emotional one. “I can’t be spending all of my time walking across campus or eating lunch in Prentiss,” said Chow, adding that he had missed Taco Tuesday two times too many. Although it is less than a halfmile away, Anderson felt like a distant and alien world to Chow. “At first I thought Ander-

Geologic Erotics

of White’

dedicated to Doctor Bob

ACROSS 5 not your mother’s sedimentary pinch out feature. 6 “in geology, _____ are everything!” 7 done with the pelvis, elvis. 8 bull _____

DOWN 1 coprolites look like this crap. 2 kind of like third base if you’re #8 3 characteristic of rock-hard boobs 4 making mountains in pants since Pangaea.

‘Fifty Shades

efore writing her bestselling erotica novel, author and “Twilight Saga” fanatic E.L. James traveled to Washington to gain more inspiration for a “Twilight”-esque trilogy that she planned to write. After taking a few very unforgiving wrong turns, James ended up in Walla Walla and consequently Whitman College for an afternoon. It took just one short afternoon on campus for James to be compelled enough to find her needed inspiration for her book. “[At Whitman] I was struck by how many white students there were,” said James in a recent interview. But as she later explained, she still considered Whitman diverse because of the many “varieties and shades of white students I saw.” This prompted her to write a compelling story titled “Fifty Shades of White,” which details the struggles that one girl has in differentiating between the vampire’s white skin tones and other white students’ skin tones at an unspecified col-

Comic by Ruth Hwang ADVERTISEMENT

lege. James’ friends told her to consider changing the plot to make it more appealing to readers, so she switched the title of the book to its current name and then “altered” the plot to focus more on the sexual escapades of two characters with an emphasis on erotic BDSM scenes. There are some readers who claim they still see the influence of James’ Whitman visit. Upon hearing the shoutout to Whitman, an unknowingly confused but nonetheless excited President Bridges commented on the book. “To have a novel of this quality and fame be influenced by this college is not surprising but nevertheless makes me proud. I am strongly considering making this novel a mandatory read for all incoming students and faculty to help illustrate what makes Whitman great!” said Bridges. When asked if he had actually read the erotic novel himself, the president mumbled an incomprehensible, ambiguous-sounding response.