Fall 2015 Issue 10

The

PIONEER

ISSUE 10 | November 12, 2015 | Whitman news since 1896 | Vol. CXXXVII

CROSSING Halloween night collision sends two to hospital

ISAACS

Intro Astronomy course cut despite popularity

by GEORGIA LYON Staff Reporter

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s in years past, Professors Dobson and Paust of the astronomy department are going request a third astronomy professor so that they do not have to teach overload and so they can inspire more students. However, they doubt that the administration will grant this request.

The administration has asked them not to offer Astronomy 110 this spring because of budget shortfalls and a perceived lack of interest on the students’ part.

According to Dobson, the shortfall in enrollment for the class of 2019 means that Whitman has less money to spend on Astro 110.

“The enrollment crunch for this year is going to have a ripple effect for several years as we adjust to that loss of revenue. Even if we over-enroll next year, that does not mean that there is going to be discretionary budget for the administration to work with,” Dobson said.

Additionally, some in the administration seem to feel that students are only taking Astro 110 because it satisfies distribution requirements. Dobson believes that while some students may feel forced to take astronomy because of distribution, the students should be consulted before the course is taken away.

“It might be the case that students don’t have enough other choices for distribution science classes, and the faculty leadership would rather put resources toward increasing opportunities in other departments, which does not give the students the chance to say whether they wanted to take Astro 110 or not,” Dobson said.

Based on the numbers of students both on the wait list and in the class, Astro 110 would seem to be a popular course.

“This semester Astro 110 has 45 students and 23 students that didn’t get in on the wait list,” Paust said.

by SARA PLATNICK Staff Reporter

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eadlights cutting through the dark, pouring rain, and the screech of tires on cement.

First-year Weiben “Jack” Chen and sophomore Devin Reese were on their way home on Halloween when they were struck by a car on the crosswalk in front of Jewett Hall. Chen and Reese went to the emergency room, but were able to leave that night and are expected to recover from their injuries. The driver who hit them was not under the influence of any substance.

Crossing Isaacs Avenue has been a danger to students for years, and many students have witnessed a near miss while walking across this street. Isaacs Avenue is the second busiest street in Walla Walla, with an estimated 10,000 vehicles a day traveling on the road.

Hundreds of Whitman students cross the street daily to reach off-campus housing north of Isaacs, one of Whitman’s four fraternity houses or North Hall.

Chen, who has been in Walla Walla for a few months after moving from Hangzhou City, China suffered movement impairments and scratches to the face, and also was tested for a concussion.

“What I usually do is double check whether there’s a car or not, but at [the] time I was talking with my friend. I saw this car coming, and it was kind of far away from me, and the pedestrian light was on, it was blinking. There was a guy crossing the street from the other side, and so I figured the car saw the light and saw us and I started walking. But as I was walking in the middle of the street, the car didn’t stop, and so I got hit,” Chen said.

Reese, was walking with Chen and was also hit. The sophomore Biology and Film & Media studies double major incurred cuts on his face and knees from the accident. see COLLISIONS, page 2

see ASTRONOMY, page 3 PHOTO by Tywen Kelly

Construction planning period extended

by ANDY MONSERUD Staff Reporter

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he Board of Trustees approved further exploration of the possibility of constructing new on-campus housing and a new dining hall at their fall meeting last Friday. Further development of the plans, first announced in September and displayed on campus soon after-

wards, will continue alongside early probing for financial support of the planned construction in preparation for the Trustees’ next meeting in February.

Asked about the reasoning behind the decision, Chairman of the Board of Trustees Brad McMurchie expressed confidence in the project, but noted that it should also be weighed against other concerns.

“I think the governing boards

are generally quite convinced that Whitman needs to make additional investments in places like Residence Life,” McMurchie said.

“The question is what should those investments be and how do we balance our desire for those investments with other priorities we have...The logic behind our desire to make those investments is our sense that the Residential Life facilities can really inform and in-

Boxing club offers unique outlet

fluence the development of the Whitman community and how that community plays into our overall goals for student learning.”

While the construction is not certain to be approved, the decision is encouraging for those involved in planning the project. Dean of Students Chuck Cleveland, who chaired the design committee for the developments, is particularly optimistic.

“We talked to [the Board] about our process, and the architects made the presentations,” Cleveland said. “I’d say that overall they’re generally pleased.

They’re anxious to see how it really begins to take shape, and I’m sure there’ll be some things that will be altered a little bit once we get into the specifics.

We really just had concepts.” see HOUSING, page 2

TRUSTEE MEETING Highlights from their visit to campus last week

by LACHLAN JOHNSON Investigative Director

Construction planning continued Trustees approved the extension of the Living at Whitman initiative which presented findings on the possibility of building new residence halls and dining facilities. It is expected construction will eventually be approved, though no timeline has been adopted.

Global Studies resolution fares poorly ASWC President Jack Percival and VP Arthur Shemitz attempted to present a resolution on the Global Studies Initiative to Trustees asking for greater transparency and discussion about college decisions. Trustees were largely unreceptive.

Global Studies course releases not on table According to Percival, Chair of the Board of Trustees Brad McMurchie emphasized that the Board was unwilling to discuss the subject of course releases for the Global Studies Initiative. Many faculty view course releases as necessary for the program, and their removal as effectively shutting down the initiative.

Murray to spend time on campus Evan Martin (‘16) spars with Rick Brown, owner of Rick’s Boxing Club, after the men’s basketball team spent a day helping clean up around the gym as a community service project this fall. Go to Page 5 for more. Photo contributed by Jackson Clough

WHAT’S INSIDE THIS ISSUE?

President Murray plans to spend the majority of the rest of the semester on campus, after spending much of September and October flying around the country to meet each trustee individaully in their hometown.

Inside News

A&E

Feature

Opinion

Pio Hour

Valued community member Marge Jesse is retiring to spend more time with her grandchildren after 18 years helping Whitman students in the Post Office.

Students, instructors, and a guest artist are collaborating in “Go On,” a dance performace with shows this week.

This week, Feature looks back at events that captivated campus in years past. Current professors who were on campus at the time of these events weigh in on their impact.

How will self-driving cars change the way we think about the road trip? Columnist Olivia Gilbert offers her thoughts.

This Monday host Julio Escarce interviews the four finalists for the Watson Fellowship. Tune in at KWCW 90.5 FM.

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MONDAYS, 10-11 A.M.

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No timeline for breaking ground on building projects from HOUSING, page 1

The proposed new buildings are currently slated for construction on lots south of Anderson Hall, and on Boyer Avenue in the current location of Marcus House. Proposed housing developments include a residence hall for sophomores and an off-campus, Whitmanowned apartment-style complex aimed at juniors and seniors.

The trustees’ decision means that work will soon begin on seeking out potential sources of funding for the new buildings, which are expected to cost around 50 million dollars. The development office has scoped out about 20 potential major donors for the project. With the aid of President Kathy Murray, the office plans to contact those donors to gauge their interest in the coming months.

“What the Board decided, from a functional or technical standpoint, is that we want to continue the design process,” McMurchie said, “and more than anything we need to figure out whether or not we have friends and supporters of the college who are willing to make financial commitments to this project in the form of gifts. That’s all we’ve decided: to continue to design and to see if we can raise [enough] money to make this possible.”

Treasurer Peter Harvey, who was also involved in the design committee, notes that the school will also have to consider other options for covering the costs of the project. Among these possibilities would be taking on debt to cover the construction, or staggering it over a period of several years to spread out the costs.

No matter what, the actual beginning of construction would happen several months from now at least, by his estimate.

“Either at the February [meeting] or at the May meeting, we’ll have a better sense of the timeline. The earliest possible [time] we could finish with the design is...probably in April,” Harvey said. “If the funding were there we could potentially break ground this summer [at] the earliest...It takes 1618 months to build that kind of building, so it would take a while before we actually opened them.”

Despite the installation of flashing lights, the Isaacs crosswalk in front of Jewett Hall is the scene of many near-misses involving students. Oftentimes drivers do not see students in the crosswalk until it is nearly too late. Photo by Madaline Stevens

Car collisions pose daily danger from COLLISIONS, page 1

“I think in that specific instance...Jack [and I should have] just taken one glance to make sure that people were slowing down... especially when the visibility conditions were so bad at that specific moment, I think that is probably the best [thing] we could have done. But it’s a weird place for a crosswalk, ultimately. And if you haven’t driven that street before and you don’t expect it, it’s weird. And so I would say just make sure...to be extra cautious [when crossing],” Reese said.

“I definitely think I’ve gotten better about not jay-walking now, and I notice as a driver how many people are just not following the law at all.”

Heather Gaya ‘16

Reese mentioned that he does not want this event to be a defining part of his life here at Whitman because his injuries were so minor. Nevertheless, he agreed to speak to The Pioneer about the incident because he believes that students being hit by cars is an often overlooked issue and his narrative can help others to see the problem at hand.

“My whole idea about the issue is that it’s not really a big deal.

HINDSIGHT

And a lot of people make it out to be [a big deal]. I think it would be if I was more injured and if my lifestyle was more hindered, but honestly at this point I’m just trying to get back to normal. And I would say that there’s nothing preventing me from doing that, but it’s other people who bring it back up again because obviously I don’t look totally healthy yet, but I basically am,” Reese said.

Isaacs is not the only street where students have recently been hit by cars. Senior Heather Gaya was hit on Oct. 13 on Alder street near the Apex Food & Deli while walking through a crosswalk.

She was later taken to the emergency room to treat a torn ACL, quad muscle and a concussion.

On campus, Gaya is a Biology and Environmental Studies combined major. Her injuries have affected her schoolwork somewhat, but she says her professors and the school have been very accommodating about her challenges.

“I definitely think I’ve gotten a lot better about not jaywalking now, and I notice as a driver how many people are just not following the law at all, but I think it makes it difficult [for the city] to address the issue; I can’t really blame them because the issue was someone being stupid and not seeing me in the crosswalk,” Gaya said.

Whitman has worked on plans over the years to address the concerns about student safety near campus. Since the late 1990s, a committee has worked with the city to address facili-

ty and safety concerns near campus. One member of this group is Peter Harvey, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Whitman.

His job occupation includes overseeing the maintenance and risk management of the college.

Since the creation of the committee, the school has worked with the city to fund the lighted crosswalk on Isaacs Avenue in front of the Tau Kappa Epsilon house. Originally, the crosswalk featured lights that flashed on the street, but after some study of the crosswalk, they found that those lights did not work as effectively as lights that blink. Additionally, the committee conducted a security training program with the fraternities to teach safety in crossing the streets, but the program is not used anymore.

Nevertheless, this past summer, the committee worked with the City of Walla Walla to hire outside consultants to study Isaacs Avenue. The Isaacs Avenue Corridor Study looked at the street to see what improvements should be made. Some current issues with the street are mechanical, while others deal with safety concerns.

According to their findings, the current collision rate for vehicles travelling on Isaacs is 5.59 collisions per million vehiclemiles, which is more than triple the statewide rate for similar streets. To address the danger to pedestrians, the state has begun a plan to change the street from four lanes to a threelane setup with bike lanes on ei-

University of Missouri admins resign

The World Health Organization declared Sierra Leone to be free of the Ebola virus after 42 consecutive days without any reported cases. According to Sierra Leone’s WHO director Anders Nordström, 3,589 people in the country have died from the disease during a 17 month period. The neighboring country of Liberia was determined to be Ebola-free on Sept. 3, but concerns still exists as Guinea is yet to be cleared.

At the peak of the crisis, “hundreds of new cases a week” were reported in Sierra Leona and public events such as sporting events and film screenings were disallowed. The announcement by Nordström was celebrated with a ceremony in Freetown, Sierra Leone and included emotional speeches by health workers and other individuals.

University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe resigned on Monday and Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin announced that he would leave his position in January after protests about the administration’s handling of a number of racially charged issues on campus. Issues this year have included racial epitaphs directed at Missouri’s student body president and the Legion of Black Collegians in separate instances, as well as a swastika smeared in feces on a bathroom wall. Recent protests have been highlighted by a week-long hunger strike by a graduate student, demonstrations by various student groups, and a threat by the football team to boycott practices and games.

Source: The Guardian

Sources: The New York Times, CNN

PRODUCTION

WRITING

BUSINESS

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Production Manager Kerr Ivan Cirilo

NEWS

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Editor-in-Chief Sarah Cornett

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PIONEER

EDITORIAL

Sports Editor Cole Anderson Feature Editor Hannah Bartman Opinion Editor Adam Heymann Humor Editor Jeffrey Gustaveson Photography Editors Tywen Kelly Hannah Bashevkin Illustration Editor Luke Hampton

A news article on a virtual reality film incorrectly stated that IndieFlix owns the film rights. They do not.

News Editor

Sierra Leone declared Ebola-free

A&E Editor Martina Pansze

Last week’s Feature article on international student experiences lacked a byline. It was written by Kamna Shastri.

by LANE BARTON

Monday 11/9

News Editors Lachlan Johnson Lane Barton

Corrections to Issue 9

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Friday 11/6

Managing Editor Mitchell Smith

ther side of the street. The city has been applying for state and federal funds to cover the costs of renovation, which is expected to cost 15 million dollars. Assuming that grants are available for the project, the city can begin those renovations as early as 2017. The renovations will take a couple years total to complete.

The city expects the bike lanes and the three-lane setup will allow pedestrians to have a greater buffer from vehicles.

Thanks to the bike lanes, drivers will have more space to make turns off of Isaacs, and the center lane will provide a safer crossing experience for pedestrians.

“I think it’s a shared responsibility. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it’s mostly a pedestrian responsibility, but clearly pedestrians have to be careful. Sometimes I’ll drive down Park St. and students will just walk in front of me...but drivers have to [be] cautious wherever they’re driving.

Yes, especially through a college community, but really anywhere you’re driving you just have to pay attention. We all have a shared responsibility in this,” Harvey said.

Ellen Ivens-Duran, Georgia Lyon, Andy Monserud, Sara Platnick, Mikaela Slade

Production Associates Christopher Belluschi, Mickey Shin, Molly Unsworth, Chaney Coman, Antonio Tharp, Matthew Uecker

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Copy Editors Jessi Anderson, Callie Brown, Anthony Reale Illustrators Catalina Burch, Asa Mease, Prachi Patel Taylor Penner-Ash, Noah Porter, Eric Rannestad Claire Revere Photography and Videography Emma Casley, Missy Gerlach, Karissa Hampson, Alan Mendoza, Natalie Mutter, Keifer Nace, Mika Nobles, Hannah Poukish, Kaelie Rose, Madaline Stevens, Tyler Warren

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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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The

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Astro department cannot offer intro course in spring 1 in 5 students take course during time at Whitman from ASTRONOMY, page 1

While Paust feels the department could do better at inspiring Whitties to pursue astronomy with more faculty, some astronomy students feel excited about both current professor’s classes.

“I think that the professors that we have are awesome and they do a great job at being really accessible,” said junior Astronomy major Riley Jordan.

Antonia Gascoyne, a first year in Introduction to Astronomy, echoed Jordan’s sentiment.

“I have loved it so far.

It’s one of my favorite classes right now,” Gascoyne said.

If students wish to have more astronomy courses offered, Paust encourages them to speak up about it because student voices have affected which departments are prioritized in the past.

“Student outcry has driven changes in other departments.

Biology is a huge department now. They’ve grown a lot in the last couple of years, and a lot of it was because students said, ‘We

want to take biology,’” Paust said.

Moreover, a strong astronomy department might not only satisfy current students, but lure prospective students as well. According to Connell Boken, a first-year in Astro 110, Whitman’s astronomy department helped him decide that he wanted to attend Whitman.

“It was actually an astronomy course that I took during admitted students day that was part of the reason I wound up coming to Whitman,” Boken said.

Post Office Supervisor Marge Jessee (above) has retired after 18 years of time as a valued member of the Whitman community. Photo by Mika Nobles

Marge Jessee, beloved post office supervisor, retires

by ELLEN IVENS-DURAN Staff Reporter

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Astronomy students (above) engage with material and each other in an Introduction to Astronomy course. Intro to Astronomy will not be offered in spring 2016 even though it has historically been in high demand. Photos by Kari Hampson

arge Jessee retired from her position as Post Office Supervisor last week in order to spend time with her daughter and two grandchildren, who live in Spokane.

Marge has been a beloved member of the Whitman community for 18 years, not only as a friendly face behind the post office counter, but also as a scorekeeper for the men’s and women’s basketball teams and as a member of the Whitman Safety Committee.

Marge is happy to have the opportunity to care for her family, but her time at Whitman has been full of fond memories and close relationships.

“I think I have the best job on campus, because when [students] come to the post office, they’re always so excited to get their packages. I’m never a bearer of bad news. And it’s just been such a wonderful job,” Marge said.

Marge has seen big changes on campus. Some of them, such as the construction of Reid Campus Center, were big. Others seemed small, at least to Marge.

“A few years ago, they had the anthrax scare where they were worried that there [were] bad chemicals coming though letters in the mail, and a lot of people were wondering if they should handle the mail,” Marge said, “I never got too flustered by it all.”

Being in the mail room is never dull, according to Marge. Not only is there a constant stream of students getting or sending mail and packages, but every once in a while there are some odd deliveries.

“There’s always a few different things that come in the mail, that’re kind of intriguing. We’ve received rubber balls, just addressed [to a student]. We’ve received coconuts.

The other day we got a banana.

That was a first,” Marge said.

Marge will be replaced by Eddie DeLeon, who will be promoted from Campus Courier.

DeLeon, whose family connections brought him to campus as a child, hopes to retire here. He

is cautiously optimistic about what this new job will bring.

“I’m excited for the new responsibility and the opportunity to run the show down here, and try to do what Marge has done. It’s going to be quite the journey I think,” DeLeon said.

As much as DeLeon is excited to take on the challenge of running the Post Office, he is sad to see Marge go.

“She’s like my mom and she has helped me through my life... she has helped me with every little step that I’ve had to take,” DeLeon said. “She’s just a great friend and a great supervisor, but more importantly a great friend.

And it really sucks that she’s leaving, but it’s good for her.”

This change will affect more than the inner workings of the Post Office, though. There has been an outpouring of love and support for Marge from members of Whitman’s staff and student body. Cards have been circulated and flowers have been sent. It’s safe to say that most students will miss Marge, but student workers in the Post Office will probably feel her loss most keenly.

Senior Erik Arndt had the opportunity to work closely with Marge for years, and he attests that she was an excellent supervisor and community member.

“I think the best part about working at the post office is the community that’s back there, just between the student workers [and Carla Rountree] and Marge and Sue [Washington], who left last year, and Eddie, who has worked here the whole time but is now in charge,” Arndt said. “I think that’s one of the best things about the post office, is just the community that exists behind the window.”

Marge will be back and forth between Walla Walla and Spokane for the next few months, stopping to watch basketball games and work at wineries for big events, but she has a few words for us as she gets ready to depart.

“I don’t really have an opportunity to say goodbye,” said Marge, “So I guess this is a great opportunity to say goodbye and thanks for all the memories. I’ll miss everybody and every part of Whitman.”

Pio Past: Cookie Lady turns chips into dough For almost 120 years, The Pioneer has reported on news from the Whitman campus and surrounding community. Pio Past pulls old articles from past decades from the Penrose Library archives to give modern readers a glimpse of campus history.

Originally printed October 3, 1991, story by Tammy McLavey, staff writer

S

he didn’t hear me when I rang the doorbell in the back, so I went around the side of the house to make sure someone was there. Peering in the window, I could see her now, curled up in an afghan in the corner of the couch, watching Lawrence Welk on TV. When I knocked she sat up, smiled and promptly came to the door, flipping on the light switch only to see someone she had never met before. Without hesitation, she opened the door and I introduced myself to Mrs. Paula Bemrose, the Cookie Lady.

“It all started out as a church program,” she said. They were raising money for her church and living next-door to a college campus, so it seemed only natural to sell cookies. That was ten years ago: she has been selling cook-

ies out of her home at 423 E. Alder (behind Anderson Hall) to Whitman students ever since. “There was no place to stop. And I enjoy it too much,” Paula said. Last year she sold 314 cookies. Business has not been quite so booming yet this year, but Mrs. Bemrose seemed confident that students’ behavior will change with the coming of winter: “When the weather gets cold and they make a pot of coffee, they need something to go with it, besides a Slurpee, you know.”

But what’s the advantage of selling cookies? “They’re my way of getting acquainted with the college kids. There are always a few each year that come often. And I’ve made some good friends selling cookies,” she said.

One such friend was an ‘86 graduate of Whitman, who lived with Paula her senior year and is coming back from Alaska to visit for Thanksgiving. “It was a lovely relationship,” said Mrs. Bemrose. As far as things go, she hasn’t had any bad experiences selling cookies: “No bad experiences. Cookies are good experiences.”

Her selection includes chocolate chip, molasses ginger, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter and an occasional batch of sugar cook-

ies. “I sold them for 1 dollar a dozen. I don’t really care if I make any money, but I’d like to come out even at least.” Accordingly, she has raised this year’s prices to 10 cents a cookie, but popular opinion says they are certainly worth it. One student coined them as “Scrumpdiliumptious.”

The simple peace that comes in a cookie seemed baked into the essence of Mrs. Bemrose’s home and into the grain of her own character. Her hours, for example, are “anytime up ‘til bedtime.”

“Come in and ring the door bell,” reads the sign on her back door. “And if I don’t hear it,” she told me, “come bang on the door.

I always turn on the light to see who it is, and I can tell the college kid from other people.”

The Cookie Lady modestly showed surprise that I wrote continually during our interview. “I think you’re going to have more than anyone wants to know about me,” she said once. She told me very openly about her friends, her life and her cookies. “And are there any secret ingredients?” I asked. “No secrets,” she laughed.

“I could give you my recipes anytime. No secrets, just good ingredients.” Just like you, Mrs. Bemrose.

In the early 1990s, Paula Bemrose became known as the “Cookie Lady” for the delicious cookies she would sell to Whitman students. Illustration courtesy of the Whitman Archives

A&E

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“Go On” dance recital invites collaboration between guest artist, instructors, students

The three-peice recital “Go On“ was made possible with the help of Portland guest artist Tahni Holt. The choreography originates from improvisations. Photo by Natalie Mutter

by MEGAN HEARST Staff Reporter

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fter months of hard work, the dance department’s annual recital, this year titled “Go On,” has come to fruition. The process, which began with auditions in September, culminates with the performance at Harper Joy Theatre, on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 8:00 p.m.

Dance professors Renee Archibald and Peter de Grasse will both put on three dance performances over the span of the recital alongside Portland-based choreographer Tahni Holt. Those who go to “Go On” should expect to see a new and fascinating interpretation of the word “dance.”

The choreographers of “Go On” are putting on three different pieces, related to each other by an emphasis on innovation.

“There’s a range, but they’re surprisingly similar,” says Renee Archibald, Associate Prof. of Dance “You can expect to think about dancing differently, like, ‘What is dance?’, and experience performance rather than just dancing.”

The dancing will be modern and interpretive, while focusing on dance as a performance piece.

Emily Dorn, a sophomore dancing in “Go On” suggests that audience should, “definitely come in with an open mind, it’s very artistic, it’s an art form, so be very receptive to what’s on stage.”

The guest artist Tahni Holt arrived at Whitman campus just a few weeks ago, so her choreographing process was put into overdrive. Dorn reveals that,“our rehearsals have been very intensive– three hours a day for two weeks.” The intense work has paid off, as the

piece has been taking shape.

The experience of Archibald and de Grasse’s pieces have been very different, considering that they had several months to work them out. This has given them incredible creative freedom. “Because we’re making a new piece from scratch, we need a little brain space to think about what we’ve done, to look at the piece and see where we are,” says Archibald. Archibald’s dance performance has been in the works for a long time and still has a long way to go. “This is inspired by a solo piece I’m doing,” says Archibald, “so the experience started even earlier than the beginning of the semester.”

This performance is just a taste of what her solo work has to offer.

Though at this point the pieces have already been charted and choreographed, their origins came

A&E Editor

T

he line “because survival is insufficient” was taken from a 1999 Star Trek episode, but has a special place in Emily St. John Mandel’s 2014 novel “Station Eleven.” In addition to being tattooed on the arm of the main character Kirsten, it speaks to the story as a whole. In “Station Eleven,” Mandel ambitiously attempts to write about art in apocalypse- and even more remarkably, she succeeds.

The story unfolds fifteen years after the spread of a deadly flu that wiped out most of the population. It follows Kirsten as she travels by caravan with a nomadic Shakespearean troupe called “The Symphony” that performs for the scattered settlements around the Great Lakes.

The narrator jumps through time to tell the reader about before the pandemic, when Kirsten was a child actress. During a performance of “King Lear” the night before the outbreak, Kirsten watches as famous actor Arthur Leander dies from a heart attack on stage; the first act of violence she witnesses.

Arthur turns out to be a through-thread in the story, connecting many of the characters.

The EMT that jumps onstage to perform CPR on him is an ex-paparazzo that used to take pictures of Arthur’s ex-wife, Miranda, to sell to tabloids. Miranda’s secret passion was creating a handdrawn comic book about the fictional “Station Eleven” space station. Although Miranda died from the flu, her comic book survives and is found by Kristin. As Kris-

tin reads, she notices how the story reflects the situation of the apocalypse in a twisted and distorted way.

Miranda’s comic book and the Shakespearean plays that The Symphony performs remind the world of humanity after the collapse of civilization, and the characters hold tightly to what they can find of art. A settlement living in an airport that Kirsten visits has created a “Museum of Civilization” including high-heeled shoes, polished car engines, and keyboards.

Full of dark suspense and masterfully-executed plot twists, “Station Eleven” leaves the reader disturbed without delving into the gory minutia transpiring at the beginning of civilization’s collapse.

To some readers, this may be an irrevocable omission. Indeed, there were times when I was frustrated with the missing explanations of mayhem and horror that I’ve come to expect. There are glimpses of the terrible violence, but the gritty details are left out, as are the particulars of survival. However, it is clear throughout that Mandel focuses on other things she deems more important. She centers her book on a question largely ignored in its genre: What happens to art? What becomes of culture?

“Station Eleven” is different from any post-apocalyptic novel I’ve read in the way it interprets what is important for its characters. Beautifully written, “Station Eleven” is a quiet, nostalgic story that focuses on what remains from the former world.

Remembering her childhood before the plague, Kirsten remarks, “The more you remember, the more you’ve lost.”

they take a lot of work, these pieces are labors of love. ”I really love dancing, it helps me forget everything else,” reflects Dorn, “so yes, it’s a stressful experience, but at the same time, dancing in itself is a stress-relieving action.”

Archibald, for her piece, is excited to see the result of her hard work as well. “All of the pieces are just a slice of our professional research,” says Archibald, “just like the Science professors have students helping them on their research, this is similar, we’re having students develop our work, students are our collaborators, these performances are a part of our progress, they’re not the final result.”

If seeing the results of this creative collaboration interests you, make sure to head over to the theater on Nov. 11. Tickets are available at the box office. Whitman students’ tickets are free.

Tacocat brings big sound to Reid

Book Review: “Station Eleven” shatters cliches

by MARTINA PANSZE

from improvisations. “Some of the movements are from improvisations I’ve made,” says Archibald, “but by the time the performance happens it’s already been set.” Archibald’s performance has been honed for months, with her dancers watching videos of her movements and deriving inspiration from them. Holt’s piece had a similar progress but moved at an accelerated rate, with students exploring movement as a group.

Dorn describes the choreography of the performance as “listening to your body and moving your own body, it’s very autonomous, but it’s still a group piece.” Interpretation and choreography weave together into a brand new form.

Though the performances offered at “Go On” differ greatly, they are all united by the love of performance. The pieces benefit from this, and even though

Whitman Events Board brought the Seattle four-member band Tacocat to campus on Nov. 4. Photo by Alan Mendoza

by EMMA COOPER Staff Reporter

T

acocat: (n.) a colorful Seattle band; a palindrome; can be spelled with emojis.

Wednesday night at 8:00 p.m., Reid Coffee House hosted the Seattle band Tacocat for an evening of musical paradise.

The Seattle-local band has been on the rise and on the radar of many Seattleites. Because many Whitman students are from Seattle, Tacocat became an obvious choice to bring to campus.

“We chose them because they are a cool band with a unique sound who has a big following

in Seattle (which is where a lot of Whitman students are from),” says Sophomore Yarden Blausapp, Co-Music Director for WEB. Wanting to engage a large portion of the Whitman student audience, Sophomore Meredith Cranston, WEB Marketing Coordinator, emphasized WEB’s intent on appealing to the student body.

“Music entertainment is a key feature of WEB’s programming and often has the highest attendance, and I know we like to bring Seattle bands because a lot of students identify with Seattle and want to support the cool stuff coming out of the city.”

The four-person band of Taco-

cat is a flurry of brightly-colored hair. Members Emily, Bree, Eric, and Lelah all play instruments: tambourine, bass, guitar, and drums, respectively. Their music is pleasantly abrasive and upbeat, and their songs tend to be focused on the more eclectic things of life, covering everything from tampons to volcanoes.

Junior Matthew Meyer, Co-Music Director for WEB, became an instant fan after listening to their music.

“I’ve been listening to their discography on repeat.

I’ve also been reading/watching some interviews and they all seem like really cool people.”

KWCW Show of the week: Anthems and Airwaves

by ERIC ANDERSON Staff Reporter

J

unior Kira Deshler is no stranger to the radio station.

Her show “Anthems and Airwaves” has been broadcasting on KWCW ever since her first semester at Whitman. Despite this, she’s had no issues keeping the show fun and interesting both for her audience and herself.

“I really like the way it forces me to look at new music,” says Deshler, who says the show helps her discover tunes that she would otherwise have possibly never encountered. “It kind of broadens my horizons of what’s out there,” she added.

“Anthems” is all about the music, but as to what kind of music, Deshler has no set standards apart from whether or not she enjoys it herself. Some of her favorite genres include alternative rock, electro-pop, acoustic songs, and folk music. However, except for a dislike for metal and coun-

try, Deshler’s setlists can often encompass a wide range of genres.

“I usually have a different theme each week,” says Deshler, whether that be a musical theme or a “theme that’s not necessarily sonically cohesive.” One of her recent shows, for example, had a theme of 1970’s rock, and in the past she has chosen themes such as punk or acoustic.

In addition to the music, “Anthems” also provides a wide variety of trivia facts for listeners. “I think learning about how songs were written [or] the inspiration for songs or albums is really interesting,” says Deshler. In total, Deshler estimates that this portion of the show takes up about twenty minutes, which is spread across the show’s two-hour runtime.

Citing an example of some of the trivia she’s discussed, she says “[Fleetwood Mac’s] album ‘Rumours,’ [was] recorded while they were all breaking up with each other.” She goes on to

say that “the reason ‘Rumours’ is so good is because they were all having a horrible time romantically, but somehow they made it into an amazing album, despite all their internal conflict.”

Over the years, “Anthems” has gained a following among Deshler’s friends and the community, though her grandmother remains one of the show’s biggest fans. Asked on who she recommends the show to, Deshler says “anyone who likes music, basically, a wide range of people would definitely enjoy it cause I have a wide range of music.” She went on to say that “it’s pretty accessible to anyone.”

As a side note, Deshler also highly recommends that other students become part of KWCW. “Everyone should either listen to or get involved in Kdub, because it’s an awesome part of the campus culture, and it’s a great way to get your creative side out.”

“Anthems and Airwaves” airs each Monday from 6-8 PM.

Junior Kira Deshler’s music radio show “Anthems and Airwaves“ airs Monday evenings from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Photo by Keifer Nace

SPORTS

NOV

12 2015

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5

Rick’s Boxing Club helps Walla Walla youth in new ways

SCOREBOARD SOCCER

Men’s v. Whitworth University Nov. 7: L 1-3 Women’s v. Lewis & Clark College Nov. 8: W 2-1

VOLLEYBALL

v. Lewis & Clark College Nov. 6: L 0-3 v. Willamette University Nov. 7: L 2-3

MEN’S BASKETBALL

v. Central Washington University Nov. 7: L 93-98

SWIMMING

v. Linfield College Nov. 6: Men - W, Women - L v. Willamette University Nov. 7: Men - W, Women - L

UPCOMING MEN’S BASKETBALL v. University of La Verne Nov. 14 @ 7 P.M.

SWIMMING v. Lewis & Clark College Nov. 13 @ 6 P.M. v. Pacific University Nov. 14 @ 1P.M.

CROSS COUNTRY NCAA West Regional Championship Nov. 14: W 9 A.M., M 10 A.M.

Photo contributed by Jackson Clough

by ANDY MONSERUD Staff Reporter

T

hree nights a week, Rick Brown heads to his gym on Evans Avenue in College Place, where he coaches boxers ages eight and up. At 71, Brown doesn’t always have the easiest time, but he is a man on a mission.

Brown and his wife, Mosetta, have run Rick’s Boxing Club for six years with the aim of providing a space for all to learn to box and stay off the street. After an initial clinic at Borleske Stadium with boxers Rick had coached at another gym in town, the club moved into a disused machine shed provided by State Representative Maureen Walsh.

Rick has coached several competitive boxers over the years, but to Rick and Mosetta, the club is about more than competition.

“I’m a life coach. That’s the kind of coaching that I do. Boxing’s just an avenue that gives me a chance to teach the life lessons,” Rick said. “But we do the whole boxing go-around. From basics to advanced, we do it all.”

Rick and Mosetta have lived in Walla Walla since Rick got out of prison in the early 1990s.

These days, their son, Ashaunté Brown, helps them out. Ashaunté learned to box from Rick.

Rick isn’t shy about his time in the penitentiary, where he did 26 years on-and-off for a variety of crimes. He sees it as motivation for his work keeping students out of trouble. It’s also where he did the bulk of his boxing.

“I was taught [when I was] eight by my brother. He got me into it, and then he moved away and I never got back into it. But then I went to prison and did a boxing program, and I was what they called a natural. It was

just something I could do,” Rick said. “I had 16 fights. I lost my very first one ... but it taught me a valuable lesson. It’s a serious game, and you’ve got to pay attention to what you’re doing.”

Mosetta, who was attending Walla Walla Community College at the time of Rick’s release, remembers the decision to stay vividly.

“He got out and he said, ‘Oh, this is beautiful...I think God wants us to stay right here. He’s got work for us

“I’m a life coach..Boxing’s just an avenue that gives me a chance to teach the life lessons.”

Rick Brown

Owner, Rick’s Boxing Club

to do here.’ And I’m like, ‘Are you talking to him like that? Tell him no,’” she joked.

The gym has become the center of that work. To that end, Rick and Mosetta do more than teach boxing. They require anybody in the club to maintain a C average or higher in school, and they teach cursive handwriting in addition to leading community service projects. The Browns are proud to have had over 44 members of their club attend college over the last four years.

“Schoolwork comes before gym. You’ve got to get it up here,” Mosetta said, tapping her head. “We call this a toning place, to tone them and try to mold them into wanting to be something. You know, we don’t say ‘you need to be a nurse, you need to be a doctor.’ We want them to be what they want to be and develop into their own human beings.”

Rick puts it similarly.

“That’s what this program is all about, is just saving kids. Giving them a shot.

You know, I try to make it funny out here, but it’s serious,” he said. “But we try to have fun—if kids don’t have fun, they ain’t going to come back.”

Screen Shot 201511-06 at 3.49.10 PMWEB Contributed photo by Jackson Clough.

The pair also provides emotional support to the club’s members, especially teenagers.

“If they have problems, and they don’t want to tell their parents about it, well, they feel comfortable with me, and we talk about it, and we try to solve their problems,” Mosetta said.

“And we’ll always tell them, if there’s something that your parents need to know, we’re definitely going to go with you to tell them. But if it’s just something like ... if you didn’t do your homework, and got in trouble, then we have them explain to us ... so it puts it back on them, and all of them start thinking, ‘Well, Mom wasn’t wrong.’”

The club is free to all students and children under 18, with the exception of a fee to cover insurance. The club is a member of USA Boxing, which insures each boxer for any injuries sustained while boxing for a fee of 50 dollars per year. When they can, Rick and Mosetta try to pay half or more of that fee through fundraising or, if necessary, out of their own pockets.

While the club primarily serves the Walla Walla community, Whitman students are also welcome. Senior Jackson Clough met Rick in the spring of his first year and has worked out at his gym regularly ever since. He, Rick and Mosetta have all developed

close friendships in that time.

Clough and senior Evan Martin brought their fellow basketball players to Rick’s gym earlier this fall to work on boxing and to help clean out the back of the gym, which had collected massive amounts of junk prior to its repurposing.

“Rick has these little projects that he’ll do for the landowner, Maureen Walsh, and a lot of times he just has his regular kids go out and help, but they’re little kids and can’t carry a lot of stuff,” Clough said. “So I was like, ‘This could be a team community service thing.’”

Clough also recently completed a short documentary about Rick, Mosetta and the gym, in hopes of drawing attention to their work and help raise funds to keep the club running. Money is a major obstacle to the club. While Rick and Mosetta are in the process of registering the club as a nonprofit with the aid of Blue Mountain Action Council, its day-to-day functioning is at risk. The gym is desperately in need of insulation, which Rick says is his next project.

“It gets really cold in the winter, and it’s pretty much like working out outside when it gets bad, and that’s not possible, especially with some young kids.

So that’s the goal,” Clough said.

In the meantime, Rick, Mosetta and Ashaunté continue to coach kids in life and boxing. At the end of each session, the entire gym goes through the same ritual: “Come on, hands in. Come on, girls! Everybody put a hand in,” Rick booms across the gym. On three, I wanna raise the roof. Those angels floating around, they like to hear that ...

One, two, three ... God is good!”

Photos by Keifer Nace

World Series Recap: A Royal Redemption

by ALEC RAINSFORD Staff Reporter

T

he story of the 2015 world champion Kansas City Royals is a story of perseverance. It is a story of determination and an unwillingness to give in. This year, following a Cinderella playoff run, which ended at the hands of Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants, the Royals have redeemed themselves against an outstanding New York Mets team.

The Royals were just the fourth team since 1969 to win the World Series following a defeat the year before. Kansas City defeated the Mets in five games to claim the title one year after they lost an agonizing winner-takeall game seven to the San Francisco Giants. In true Cinderella fashion, the Royals came from behind in all four of their wins in this World Series. A total of eight times in the 2015 playoffs the Royals came from behind to win games, a seemingly successful way to wash away the bitter taste of last year’s World Series. It marks the second time the franchise has won the World Series and the first since 1985.

To win the World Series, the Royals had to get past a great New York Mets team. The Mets made it to the World Series after defeating the Dodgers and emphatically sweeping the upstart Chicago Cubs. New York made it to the championship on the backs of a strong pitching staff and the bat of Daniel Murphy. Murphy hit a ridiculous seven home runs in the first two rounds of the playoff, including a record setting streak of six consecutive games with a home run. Unfortunately the Mets ran into a Royals team that was simply unwilling to admit defeat.

The Royals path to the World Series was equally thrilling, as they defeated to Astros in a winner take all game five, then proceeded to take down the high powered Blue Jays in a nail biting, heart stopping series. The Royals were led by many, including home grown talent Alex Gordon, Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer. The team was also bolstered by newcomers Johnny Cueto, Ben Zobrist,and Alex Rios, all making key contributions down the stretch.

In this World Series, as is the case every year, there was debate regarding the most valuable player. Catcher Salvador Perez was awarded the honor, and it is hard to argue with his stat line. Perez hit .364 with two doubles and two RBI’s, as well as leading a lockdown pitching staff. But what about Wade Davis? The shutdown Kansas City closer pitched four shutout innings in the Series, while striking out eight and not allowing a single walk. There will always be debate over such an award because it always takes a team to win a World Series.

That seems to be the most important takeaway from this World Series: team. The Kansas City Royals we wtre a team that bought in completely, coming ohso-close the year prior. They rallied around each other this year, making their dreams a reality. With such a determined and talented core, the Royals should be around for years to come.

FEATURE

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6

Pio Past

NOV

12 2015

This week in Feature, the Pioneer pulled an article from a past issue that higlights a major campus event.

Sit-in boosts campus awareness of misconduct case: Protest has minimal effect on visitors; administration remains calm

by ALICE MORRISON

Staff Writer Originally Published April 20, 2000

O

ne hundred and forty Whitman students protested last Saturday against what many consider to be the college’s lenient punishment of a recent violator of the school’s sexual misconduct policy. The protestors wore red and gathered in front of Jewett Hall during a Visitors’ Weekend luncheon, seeking the expulsion of the accused and reform of the policy. The sit-in began at 11:45 a.m. and had approached full force by 12:10 p.m., when over 200 prospective students and their parents filed past on their way to an activities lunch in Jewett.

The protestors were orderly. Most sat and chatted on the grass while other beat recycling bin drums, passed out fliers and hung banners “It’s just showing our support for the victim,” junior Charlie Woodruff said. “We wanted to reach out to as many people as possible and make a statement to student on campus and those who are interested in coming here.”

“It’s a twofold thing,” sophomore Elena Windsong agreed. “It may have been driven by a specific case, but there are a lot of cases that nobody knows about.”

Students at the sit-in painted numerous signs that they hung from trees and the windows of Jewett. This sign stated the facts of the case and outlined the grievances of many students at the sit-in. Photo by Harotke

On the problem of women faculty

by BRADY JENSEN

Staff Reporter Originally Published April 21, 1983

A

t Convocation when I was a freshman, I remember commenting to my parents how few women marched in the line of faculty. That was in 1980. Three years later, little seems to have changed. Women faculty are noticeable in that they seem unique– the exceptions to some unwritten rule of male professors. Several recent hirings of women have dramatized the limited number of women currently in the faculty. Here again, these women stand out because of their sex. Even this enlightened publication recently noted the hiring of history professor Lynn Dumenil after the headline “Woman professor hired,” and told her marital status and age before her personal qualifications.

For most students, the great disparity of numbers between the sexes is a dramatic turn-around from previous educational experience. The majority of elementary and secondary school teachers are women; not until college is this reversed. This creates a myth that in education the women’s roles is with children and teens, while men can take over after high school.

But ultimately, what harm does this imbalance cause? It would be easy to admit the situation exists but still deny it is necessarily bad. However, this situation has a great impact on the type of education both men and women students receive both in and out of the classroom. A growing cognizance of the disparity and its impact shapes current hiring politics of the College as well. This issue leads us

Looking Back: Professors Comment on issues from past Pio articles

to consider both the effects of this imbalance on our education and how we should respond to the shortage of women in the faculty.

Initially we face a question of definitions. The “problem” is this: There are few women on the faculty. According to Dean of Faculty Edward Foster, this coming fall, 14 of 88 full-time faculty members will be women; that is 15.9 percent. Yet, as Foster notes, this is a marked improvement since 1979, when he first came to Whitman, when eight of 81 positions were filled by women. More encouragingly, 10 of 24 hirings in the last four years have been women. Thus, even as interest in the problem grows, the problem itself seems to decrease. But, as English professor Jean Carwile Masteller points out, the problem still remains.

It is important, she explains, that there be enough women “so that we don’t have to fit a single model of what a women professional is.” It is this function as role model to which just people first point as a reason for needing more women. Consciously or not, many students model their attitudes towards academia and the world on the opinions of their professors. It is therefore crucial that there be a variety of women in as many disciplines as possible to provide different models. Masteller feels she has a special role as a woman professional, but not all women would agree with her. Many prefer to see themselves as academics whose sex should not matter.

The community of women faculty needs to be large enough to accommodate both these views and large enough expose students to a diversity of opinion. Once having

“That was about the time [sexual misconduct] was starting to become an object of political discussion on campus. It didn’t have the awareness or the moral outrage that it’s had recently.”

Laura and Carl Peterson Endowed Chair of Social Sciences Keith Farrington ‘77

recognized that a problem exists and that is does in fact affect our educations, we can turn to address a solution. Unfortunately, a solution to this problem involves several more complicated issues, most prominent of which is the nature of Whitman itself. As astronomy professor Kate Bracher comments, “Social life is limited in Walla Walla for young single women,” she touches on the most obvious difficulty in attracting women faculty members. Walla Walla is a town oriented towards family life; single professionals of both sexes may be discouraged from coming here by the isolation and nature of the College’s location.

Location is also a problem for married couples. Career opportunities for both husband and wife are few. Unlike Seattle, for example, with many large universities and colleges, Walla Walla has only there small colleges. Few Whitman professors have spouses teaching at either Walla Walla College or the Community College. Consequently, Whitman is unable to attract married women due to a lack of opportunities for their husbands.

While Whitman is a very attractive school at which to teach, Walla Walla serves to discourage qualified applicants. The fact that there are so few women here already further turns away some candidates who may be hesitant to become modern-day Narcissa Prentiss Whitmans–pioneers in the wilderness.

Next week, The Pioneer will examine how the College has worked to attract women and what still remains to be done to make the women at future Convocations less unique and more the norm.

“I bet there was a fair about of skepticism: is this woman going to be as good as a male? I’m guessing that it was not yet well established that women could do everything as well as men could, and so they might even get harder scrutiny.”

Laura and Carl Peterson Endowed Chair of Social Sciences Keith Farrington ‘77

“Several years ago, while serving as provost, I did a presentation for the Board of Trustees about the demographic composition of the Whitman College faculty.

Gender is the dimension that has changed more rapidly than any other.”

Baker Ferguson Chair of Politics and Leadership Tim Kaufman-Osborn ‘82

Whitman students assaulted Saturday morning

by KELAN J. LOWNEY

Managing Editor Originally Published April 20, 2000

A

t 2:00 a.m. last Saturday morning, while standing near the corner of Isaacs and Estrella streets, an unidentified assailant struck first-year student John Goldmark in the face.

The assailant was able to evade capture, Goldmark declined medical attention. Allegedly, as Goldmark; his sister, junior Jennette Goldmark; first-year student Jeff Hammond, and junior Adam Shick left the Sigma Chi house early Saturday morning, a blue Geo Metro sedan drove past on Isaacs Street, its occupants shouting insults. The Whitman students shouted back at the vehicle.

Turning around, the Metro drove back toward the Whitman students and again shouts were exchanged. Upon a third pass, the vehicle pulled into Stanton Street and stopped behind Jewett Hall.

Two unidentified men exited the car and walked toward the group of students. Shick ran to the Tau Kappa Epsilon house with the intention of finding TKE members.

The two unidentified men proceeded to walk toward Goldmark, his sister and Hammond and exchange pleasantries. At this time, first-year student Josh Maricich left the Sigma Chi house and headed toward the group. Goldmark turned toward Maricich; as he turned back to the group, one of the strangers punched him in the face.

“He was acting really nice, and I should have known something was wrong,” Goldmark said.

“I think back then there was a lot more animosity between the town and the college when we got here in the early 1990s and now it seems like a lot less.”

Senior Adjunct Assistant Professor of Art Charly Bloomquist ‘96

OPINION

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12 2015

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Take self-driving cars with a grain of salt OLIVIA GILBERT First-Year

TELL IT SLANT

U

tter the words “self-driving car” or “autonomous vehicle” or “robo-car,” and it’s bound to elicit a variety of reactions that range from fanatical to practical.

Some see the self-driving car as yet another way for government to control our lives and predict it would only be a matter of time until the computers governing these cars would be used to monitor the human behind the wheel. A more immediate and obvious hazard is the potential for hackers to corrupt computer-operated cars.

But despite these concerns, the cars are extolled because they may be much safer than human-driven ones. The road is one of the most dangerous places for a human today — car accidents cause about 30,000 deaths annually, and 90 percent of driving accidents result from operator error — read: human driving is faulty. According to a study by the Eno Center for Transportation, it’s estimated that if 90 percent of cars on the road were self-driving, 4.2 million accidents could be avoided.

Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla (which released its own autonomous software this past October) predicts the eventual outlaw of humandriven cars. The Verge article “Elon Musk” reported Musk’s recent comments at a technology conference on human versus robot-driven cars: “It’s too dangerous,” Musk said, “You can’t have a person driving a two-ton death machine.”

The referenced numbers and logic can’t be debated. And yet, part of me can’t help but consider what we would lose in a driver-less world.

Maybe I feel like this because I come from Michigan, the birthplace of the automobile and a state where much of the economy and culture is dependent on the car industry, but I suspect my feelings are more related to the deeply ingrained American notion that cars provide freedom.

In a world where so much of what we do is outsourced, automated, digitized or otherwise done for us, driving a car provides a rare bit of autonomy. Everyone who owns or has driven a car understands the liberating feeling of getting be-

hind ing

the wheel and takyourself somewhere.

In fact, an entire cultural genre exists solely to document the unique relationship between Americans and cars: the “road” genre. The undying popularity of road movies, books and music (think: “Life is a Highway”) demonstrates our continuing admiration for understanding ourselves and our country through driving.

Nearly 60 years after its original publication, the sense of freedom and liberation captured in Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” still resonates with many Americans. “I discovered I did not know my own country,” John Steinbeck wrote in “Travels with Charley” to explain why he hit the road at age 58. Thelma and Louise drove themselves off a cliff as a statement of freedom and independence over captivity, even when that freedom meant death.

It’s true, though, that driving is rarely as romantic and revelatory as it’s depicted in road movies and literature. Ninety-nine percent of the time, driving is a mundane task we dread, whether it is the monotony of the daily commute or the drudgery of

Illustration by Prachi Patel

errand running. In these cases, a self-driving car makes perfect sense. Who wouldn’t rather be free to make phone calls, listen to a podcast or eat a bagel while traveling from point A to point B? But Americans would suffer in forgetting the value that exists in driving oneself not to get somewhere, but merely for the sake of the journey. The road trip is, as the Smithsonian article “Taking the Great American Road Trip” points out, “the supreme example of the journey as destination.” We are free to take spontaneous turns and unplanned stops, decisions we would be less likely to make if we were chauffeured by an auto-car speeding toward a pre-determined destination.

We don’t have the choice to look down at an iPad or book when we drive ourselves. We are forced to pay attention to our surroundings, be they 200 miles of Nebraskan cornfields or a breathtaking ascent into the Rockies.

In a world that places so much value on results and continues to devalue the process of getting there, the road trip is a rare and powerful refuge of independent action and exploration in which we are free to revel in the journey without worrying about where we end up.

So even if 40 years from now we’re all being driven around by our robo-cars, let’s not forget that every once in a while we need to turn off the automatic function and drive ourselves around the city, across the state or from coast to coast with no particular destination in mind, just driving.

Procastination: everything in moderation PEGGY LI Sophomore

Y

ou have two essays and a project due in three days time, tomorrow is your roommate’s birthday and your home team is taking on its archrival Sunday night.

But today is Friday, and Fridays are for fun, not the library. As you turn it over in your mind, you acknowledge that it’s a bad decision. You try to suppress this train of thought but as you imbibe your next shot (if you’re 21), the ambivalence intensifies. You spontaneously develop psychic abilities and imagine yourself the next morning feeling bitter for opting for a raucous evening rather than a quaint night of studying, watching a movie and hittin’

the hay early. Many of us go through these motions time and time again.

This feeling isn’t exclusive to academic matters. Even in daily interactions, you might experience a similar sense of dread. For example, you might find yourself arguing with someone when your entire body starts to tingle and sweat.

It creeps into your mind – the realization that you are indeed, wrong.

But despite this dissonance you continue to argue. In both cases you know you’re at fault, but you choose to ignore this truth.

Now, I’m not talking about forgetting about work you needed to do, or accidentally doing something dumb. I‘m talking about knowing full well that what you’re about to do is stupid, but doing it anyway. This poor decision-making comes down to two factors: what you want to do and what you should do. You want to just eat macaroni and cheese in your messy room with sheets that haven’t been washed in three months, but you should probably eat vegetables, clean your room and improve your hygiene. Flash-forward to the next

day, and you are feeling somewhat sick, your room has started to smell strange, and there are strange brown things growing on your covers. Most likely, you’re hating everything.

Choosing something you want is not actually about what you want, but probably more about how much you respect yourself. Even though I may watch five hours of TV at a time, I know no self-respecting person should be doing that on a daily basis. And the few times I’ve confined myself to staying in and being productive have given me a sense of satisfaction that far exceeds merely laughing at all the hungover people at the dining hall next day. There’s a sense of honor and dignity that goes hand in hand with doing the right thing. Weigh that against being in on what all the fun new yaks are raving about and dancing to some loud music in a crowded basement and the choice should be obvious.

Wrong choices are ubiquitous because it’s only human to succumb to intense, bodily and immediate desires. I’m a vegetarian but I ate a single slice of pepperoni two weeks ago

after failing a quiz. Weak! Doing what’s good and right isn’t as immediately rewarding as a piece of fried chicken. Self-respect won’t help you meet new people on the weekends.

But you do know what’s ultimately good for you. Alcohol or homework, sleep or party, funny cat video or project, the difference is clear.

If you’re chronically putting yourself in these positions, take some small steps by first combatting your need for immediate gratification. Self-respect, self-control, and good choices are all related, you see – there’s no way to improve without practice. While it might seem obvious that, despite our susceptibility to desire, we should do what’s good and right, there’s no harm in honoring your primal desires every once in a while. I know that I often choose something irresponsible more times than not without considering the consequences.

But the end of the week, you should be able to face yourself in the mirror and feel proud knowing that you made the right choices, even if it doesn’t feel that way in the moment.

Are vegans smug enough?

TINO MORI Senior

V

eganism has, for some time now, been a cultural punchline. Though the consensus is that the animal-omitting diet renders these herbivores humorless and bland as the protein they consume, it’s both easy and fun to point at these strange creatures and giggle. Anthony Bourdain describes vegans as the “Hezbollah-like splinter faction” of vegetarianism. Burnie Burns of the Rooster Teeth Podcast strikes a similar note when he argues the quickest and surest route to militancy in the United States is veganism. Alan Richman describes the community help board in a vegan restaurant as “offering assistance with the essentials of life, such as channeling, massage, and meditation, and a lot of notices promising rewards for the return of lost animals. Vegans seem to lose more than their share of cats.”

Did I chuckle when I read and listened to these humorous descriptions? Did I contribute to the problem by describing their protein as bland with an unnecessary metaphorical flourish? Absolutely.

There’s something about the evangelizing smugness of the generic vegan that lends them to mockery.

Richman’s subtle innuendo that vegans lose their house pets because they’re feeding them vegan pet food is worth a chuckle. Oh, those foolish vegans, when will they learn?

But the question we never seem to ask ourselves is this: Are vegans convincing enough? Are vegans doing enough to convert us? By now it’s common knowledge that industrialized farming is not good for the environment. The old adage is that it’s better for the planet to eat veggie burgers in Hummers than cheeseburgers in Priuses. Consumption is a political act – voting isn’t the only way we express our hopes for the future.

But vegans have a real role, beyond leading by example. Vegans can and should jostle us out of our comfortable, epicurean routines. Tell us how much methane the beef industry produces. Enunciate the anguish of chickens, crowded together in dark warehouses and fattened on feed. Decry the plight of the workers, the farmers whose livelihoods lie at the whim of corporations like Tyson. Make us uncomfortable about our choices.

Should every single human being convert to veganism tomorrow, 6:00 a.m. sharp in time for morning yoga? Of course not. I eat too much Greek yogurt and honey to make any such demands. But it’s time to start thinking about our di-

Illustration by Taylor Penner-Ash

ets differently. My food philosophy could never deprive another human being of a food they enjoy (except perhaps human flesh), but if you truly enjoy something, you do not eat it all the time. When something is ubiquitous, we take it for granted and stop esteeming it.

For example, my favorite dessert is zabaione, a rich, chilled custard made with egg whites and marsala. I eat it once a year, perhaps once every two. To eat it more frequently would make it less special. I would appreciate it less. I’m not saying you must limit your lamb chop consumption until the next election cycle, but make your meat remarkable. It’s too ubiquitous now, and that needs to change.

Voices from the Community

What are you willing to give up for the sake of the planet? Surely you would choose a wheat protein cutlet over permanent resettlement on Mars...wouldn’t you? Not all change will come from a carbon tax.

The first step in changing our ways is to listen. We shouldn’t dismiss vegans so quickly. Don’t let the persona of the vegan stereotype dressed in an organic hemp sweater distract you from their message.

The issues are important enough to overcome your inherent aversion to smug dogma. Instead, let your local vegan have their soapbox, and maybe even listen. After you help them find their escaped feline, you can perhaps learn something.

Letter to the Editor: Diversity and the Women in Leadership Symposium I was called to task in your October 22, 2015 front page story of the Whitman College Pioneer.

For the record, I submit names of women who have been included in this symposium–Women’s Education: For Living and Leadership.

Outstanding Black, Latina and Asian women leaders who have been members of previous panels include: Barbara Thomas - Executive Director, Northwest African American Museum, Seattle WA Nina Nguyen Collier - Founding Partner, Washington Advocates, Bellevue WA Dorothy H. Mann - Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Health Services, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA Ann Kawasaki - Director of Finance and Operations for Washington State Major League Baseball Stadium Public Facilities District Constance Rice - Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement, Seattle Community College District, First Lady City of Seattle, now Regent, University of Washington Martha Choe - Seattle City Council Member, Initiated Asian Youth-at-Risk program Lt. Rosa Melendez - Seattle Police Department and United States Marshall Nominee Mary E. Pugh - President of Pugh Capital Management, Inc. Dr. Sandra Madrid - Assistant Dean for University of Washington School of Law R.Y. Woodhouse PhD - President and CEO Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle Other women who were “First’s”: Linda Heller - first female partner at Price Waterhouse, Accounting Elaine Perkins - first female Sports Announcer for KING TV Seattle Some have advanced in their careers: Martha Chou - Member City Council Seattle, to CEO Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Sally Jewell - President West One Bank, CEO REI, Secretary of the Interior, President Obama’s current Cabinet Some have built new institutions: Ida Cole - renovation of the Paramount Theatre in Seattle to a public auditorium Debbie Brainerd - Islandwood School on Bainbridge Island which is currently used for several King County school districts as their environmental learning center.

This progress has been demonstrated over several years. Often the panels have had a theme. I chose this year, 2015, to honor our first female President of Whitman College and congratulate her on our behalf for being a trail blazer. I selected only Whitman graduates on this occasion as speakers.

I introduced the panel by citing from a book by Professor G.Thomas Edwards (a revered history Professor during my time at Whitman) and his book entitled, “Sewing Good Seeds.” It is the story of the journey Susan B. Anthony made to the Northwest, particularly to Oregon, Washington and Walla Walla. I was inspired by her slogan for her crusade, “Equality of Citizenship.” She achieved her dream in 1920 when United States women won the right to Vote. In my lifetime, that doesn’t seem so long ago.

Promoting women’s leadership is important to me and to our world.

Insight, inspiration and inclusion are guiding values. I am grateful and thank the over 100 women who have given 24 hours of their day and night to travel from Seattle and to deliver their stories and pearls of wisdom to our students at Whitman College over the last 30 years.

May Whitman College always be a place to learn, contribute and share.

Regards, Colleen Seidelhuber Willoughby ‘55

If you could do away with a silly social convention, which would it be? Poll by KARISSA HAMPSON

ANDREW RECKERS

SUNNY YSA

BIL MCCAFFERTY

JEREMIAH JURICH

Senior

Sophomore

First-Year

Senior

“Having to kiss your professors on both cheeks when you go to office hours.”

“I’d do away with socks and sandals being acceptable here, like birks and socks.”

“The need for women to shave. If they don’t have time to, they still should be able to wear shorts.”

“Pretending that you haven’t seen people’s Facebook photos.”

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Perks of sorority vs. fraternity housing B

eing a part of a Greek group on campus comes with the special privilege of living with your fraternity brothers or sorority sisters after your freshman year. We here at The Pioneer have taken the liberty of doing some investigative reporting on living in a fraternity house and a sorority section.

Both spaces give you a chance to develop some independence as you continue to fool yourself into thinking you are an adult. Fraternity houses are off-campus and largely unsupervised by Whitman staff, so members are given the opportunity to independently maintain the impeccable cleanliness of their houses, apply themselves to their rigorous course loads and throw tame, respectable social gatherings in the confines of their own home. Sorority women experience a similarly exhilarating sense of independence every time they punch the code into their dorm bathroom or receive a third strike on quiet hours from the RAs. Greek life living also allows you to have some real autonomy over the space in which you live.

Fraternity members are finally allowed the rare opportunity of a male-dominated space in this world where they can grow as individuals and brothers surrounded by male energy and mysterious carpet stains. Sorority members say they feel a similar level of autonomy when RAs dump out their alcohol and spam the Prentiss listserv with reminders of delightfully mind-numbing activities like cookies and bedtime stories or chastity belt decorating.

Ultimately, sorority and fraternity living situations aren’t all that different from each other, especially in terms of the rules and safety regulations applied to the different organizations. For example, fraternity houses often become public spaces where the doors are left open for students, community members, animals, and frat stars who should have graduated by now to enter. It’s pretty much the same in Prentiss, except if you prop the door open for too long you get a 20 dollar fine. So go ahead, take a risk, live with your sorority or fraternity members and get a taste of a carefully constructed false sense of freedom for a few years.

Illustration by Catalina Burch

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Why BBMB is the Best Major

“Our World Of Snow” JACK SWAIN Senior

I remember my winters, waiting out in the morning for the school bus. It was always still dark. I had my fists in my pockets because I always lost my gloves. I remember what my mom would say when I would come home with missing gloves. I have a bad memory, but I will always remember this.

I remember riding on the school bus. I remember the way I could never sit comfortably in those brown school bus seats. I remember how nobody talked to each other in the mornings. I remember sharing earbuds with different people. Sometimes it was people I had crushes on.

I remember “Hey There Delilah.” I had my first slow dance to “Hey There Delilah.” “Hey There Delilah” was the first song I learned how to sing on guitar.

I remember toaster waffles.

I remember feeling the days after Christmas. I remember sledding and coming home after it got dark.

I remember our k itchen table. I remember doing my homework.

I remember eating snow.

I remember how to make a snowball. I remember putting up Christmas lights on our porch.

I remember staying up late listening to the radio. I remember crying a lot. I remember the blue sky.

I remember snow days.

I remember making footprints in the snow. I remember bring-

ing lunch to school. Everyone else would have pop. My Mom would make me a Nutella, peanut butter, banana sandwich. She would cut it into triangles. I remember being the only one who ate their crusts.

I love you, Mom. Thank you.

I remember growing pubes. I remember getting teased for reading books all the time in homeroom. I was too embarrassed to bring books to school after that.

I remember my bathroom mirror. I remember my sister’s haircuts. I remember pretending to be sick and staying home. I remember spelling tests. I remember getting good grades. I remember watching Bill Nye in science class. I remember my bed and my pillow.

I remember wondering if anyone else in the world was real. I remember feeling alone.

I remember one night. I turned off all the lights in my room and looked out the window. Swirls of frost had gathered on the glass, and it I could feel the cold against my cheeks.

It was snowing. I remember saying to myself, “This is it.”

The snow continued to fall deep into the night, slowly covering the world. One flake at a time, one flake at a time.

espite being a liberal arts college that supposedly values the unique contributions of all disciplines, Whitman students know that there is a well established hierarchy amongst the various majors of our college. On the bottom floor are our friends over in division two majoring in Rhetoric Studies and Art History -- the people who lie about their degree at Thanksgiving so that they don’t have to explain to their crotchety WWII veteran grandpa that “German Studies” is not in fact equivalent with becoming a fascist. As we ascend upwards, we pass the floors of History, Politics, Psychology and Geology.

Finally we reach the penthouse, which holds your Physics and your Chemistry and your Math.

And then from the penthouse you can step onto a small transporter pad which will magically teleport you to a platform floating high above the Earth, suspended by nothing but the grace of God and the inflated heads of its disciples: the realm of BBMB. It is a well-accepted fact at Whitman College that BBMB is by far the best major. This is recognized by everyone, from stu-

Illustration by Taylor Penner-Ash

Welcome to Wilfrie: Extensions by Noah Porter

dents to staff to faculty. When BBMB majors declare their major, they not only receive the standard “I Declared” sticker, but also a diamond-studded crown.

This is useful as non-BBMB majors will know that they need to start grovelling before they begin talking to a BBMB major.

When discussing college majors, there are several appropriate responses when someone tells you that they are majoring in BBMB. The first is to grimace sympathetically and pat them on the shoulder, murmuring “I’m sorry.” Not only do es this indicate your acknowledgement of their path of struggle, but it will also make them feel like a martyr. This is one of the great joys of BBMB. Another good response is to simply gasp and say, “You must be SO smart!” Even if you imbue this statement with mild to moderate sarcasm, BBMB majors will not notice as they are used to being fawned over. Once you are a BBMB major, it does not matter if you get As or Ds because declaring BBMB instantly marks you as one of the smartest, most flawless people on campus. Even if you get bad grades, ADVERTISEMENT

it’s just because your classes are actually hard, as opposed to the rest of the useless trash offered at Whitman. To be honest, if you’re not a BBMB major you may as well be majoring in underwater basket-weaving for all the use it will bring you.

The benefits of studying BBMB are endless. You have the satisfaction of sounding incredibly intellectual when you tell people that your major is “Biochemistry, Biophysics, AND Molecular Biology.” Wow. With all those words how could you not be a genius? But that’s not all: The miserable years spent taking required classes that you don’t want to, dealing with horrible visiting professors, failing your writtens, and stressing about medical school will help to convince you that your education is worthwhile. Struggling to stay afloat is a clear indicator of a valuable college experience.

Most importantly, if you ever interact with a BBMB major, be sure to indicate shame that you are enjoying your path of study. After all, what’s the value of 50,000 dollars a year if you spend it doing something that you actually enjoy?