Issue 10 spring 2015

The

PIONEER

ISSUE 10 | April 16, 2015 | Whitman news since 1896 | Vol. CXXXII

SUSPENDED Feb 6-9: Policy team attends Texas Open tournament.

Whitman Debate forced to disband following policy violations

Prior to spring break (again, date unclear): Policy team put on probation and would haveWhitman Campus Security guard attend next tournament with team

Mid-late Feb (date unknown): Investigations started

by Chuck Cleveland and Juli Dunn following complaints by one or more students regarding alcohol policy violations.

Some members and coaches of policy team are interviewed.

Apr 9: President Bridges and Provost Pat Spencer gather all debate students to announce suspension of team for two years.

30 minutes later the rest of campus is informed via email.

by LANE BARTON Staff Reporter

Emily Lin-Jones and Andy Monserud contributed reporting.

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n April 9, the Whitman Debate team was suspended for a minimum of two years after an investigation by administration revealed violation of team and school policies. The investigation primarily focused on violations of alcohol protocol by debaters and coaches during a 2015 tournament.

Allegations of gender discrimination and potentially unsafe situations occurring over the course of the season were also presented to investigators.

Investigation into Alcohol Conduct The investigation process centered on allegations of misconduct during a February 2015 tournament at the University of Texas at Austin. Later that month, Associate Dean of Students Juli Dunn and Dean of Students Chuck Cleveland interviewed some members of the policy team and coaches regarding possible alcohol policy violations and an alleged relationship between a coach and student. Prior to Spring Break, a decision was made to put the team on probation. Dur-

Yik Yak takes Whitman campus by storm

ing this time, it was expected that a Whitman Campus Security guard would chaperone the Policy Team to their next tournament to ensure the safety of debaters and that no further policy violations would occur.

One former coach, who asked not to be named for legal reasons, admitted that at least one alcohol policy violation had occurred at the Texas tournament, in which the coach had a drink in a hotel bar with a student who had recently turned 21. Team guidelines, which were established last year prior to the hiring of new coaches, prohibit students from drinking at away tournaments.

“Obviously [I] made a mistake.

I didn’t think it was a fireable offense to have a drink with an of-age student ... After that had occurred we took steps to rectify that misperception [on the team],” said the former coach, who recalled telling investigators about the incident while being interviewed in February.

That violation, along with separate allegations of misconduct on the policy team, eventually led to a decision to cancel the remainder of the Policy Debate team’s season. The decision was announced to team members on March 16, and the two policy coaches were dismissed from their positions on the same day.

On April 9 it was announced

that the entire program — both policy and parliamentary procedure teams — would be suspended for a minimum of two years.

“To be clear ... the primary reason Debate has been suspended for two years is a direct violation of their policies and procedures,” said Dunn.

Concerns with Gender Discrimination and Harassment Though they were not the focus of this year’s investigation, concerns regarding gender discrimination and harassment had also been brought to the attention of the administrators running the investigation.

“The allegations of gender harassment, discrimination ... I think it just adds to the decision which is ‘We’ve done this for [three] years with this team without a lot of impact in terms of being able to get the behaviors turned around.’ If in addition to alcohol there’s also these other concerns that are circling about behaviors that we weren’t able to confirm, that’s problematic,” said Dunn.

Although the administration could not disclose specific allegations, individuals involved with debate, some of whom wished to remain anonymous due to continued interactions with team members, spoke to The Pioneer about issues they claim to

by GEOFFREY LEACH Staff Reporter

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Feature Editor

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see YIK YAK, page 6

Haley Forrester ‘17 (above) contemplates the experiences of her character, C. Photo by Dawson

A&E

Pio Hour

Online

Columnist Zan McPherson discusses the effects of online interactive health care and its effect on individuals.

This Sunday, hosts Anna Middleton and Andrew Schwartz of The Pioneer’s radio show discuss current events in and around campus, the state and the world. Tune into KWCW 90.5 FM. SUNDAYS, 10–11 A.M.

Check out our website at www.whitmanpioneer.com for continuing updates on the suspension of the Whitman Debate Team.

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have experienced in the past year.

Instances of female debaters possibly being treated unfairly were among the complaints brought forward to administrators. A member of the team, who wished to remain anonymous, contended that some female debaters were sent to compete in fewer intercollegiate tournaments and were given less feedback than male debaters.

In a letter to The Pioneer, Director of Debate Kevin Kuswa cited the many steps taken to improve the program’s inclusivity since its Title IX review last year, denying that decisions to take debaters to tournaments were based on gender.

“Debate is a competitive activity that requires coaches to make difficult decisions ... All travel-related decisions were made according to our team policy which was crafted with, and approved by, the Whitman administration. It is not for me to question the feelings of individual debaters ... but I can say that we have worked extremely hard to provide coaching and support to all of our students,” said Kuswa in the letter.

Prior to the suspension of the policy team in March, some team members claim they brought forward concerns to administrators regarding their personal safety at debate tournaments.

“Women have felt unsafe at debate tournaments for reasons of sexual misconduct,” said Taylor*, another debate member.

In an email, President Bridges acknowledged that reports of harassment and alcohol use at national tournaments had influenced the administration’s decision to suspend Whitman’s program.

“The two-year suspension will give us an opportunity to explore [national debate] culture more carefully, speak with other institutions who are competing in [Policy or Parliamentary Procedure], and determine whether there [are] inherent or structural issues at the national level that would make it difficult for us to ever put a team back on the road and ensure, to a great deal of accuracy, the safety of all the participants involved,” he said in his email.

Former and current debaters claim that multiple complaints have been brought to the administration about gender, sexual misconduct and safety issues on the team over the past four years. Senior Annabelle Marcovici, a former debater who quit the team in 2011 during former director Jim Hanson’s tenure, mentioned feeling alienated by the atmosphere while on the team. see DEBATE, page 2

*Names have been changed.

Reflecting with ‘Three Tall Women’

by SARAH CORNETT

alking around campus, it is not unlikely that you’ll hear a student or two talking about Yaks. While it is possible that they are speaking of large wild oxen, they are more likely discussing the latest social media craze to overtake campus conversations: Yik Yak. In the past year, Yik Yak has taken both the country and Whitman’s campus by storm.“Who Spewed that abuse? Anonymous Yik Yak app isn’t telling,” read a New York Times headline last month. “Yik Yak Attack,” Bitch Magazine titled a story one week later. “Social Media’s Hateful Site” headlined a story in a Detroit newspaper two weeks ago.

An anonymous app that narrows what you see based on location, Yik Yak is meant to provide a platform for short, Tweetlike statements made on your phone that can be up or downvoted.

Because it is a locationbased app, with results narrowed to a five-mile radius, Yik Yak is well-suited for college campuses. Started in 2013, its founders Tyler Droll and Brooks Buffington started Yik Yak in an effort to provide a more honest platform for social media, a sort of communal bulletin board for college students.

Mar 16: Debate team and campus informed of policy team's suspension for remainder of season in an email.

Two coaches were fired at this time.

hrough April 19, the Department of Theatre will perform “Three Tall Women” in Harper Joy Theatre. Written by Edward Albee, the play tells the story of three women, named A, B and C. A, played by sophomore Lauren Rekhelman, is a 92-year-old woman who tells a lot of stories. B, played by senior Anastasia Greeley, is her 52-yearold caretaker. C, played by sophomore Haley Forrester, is a 26 year old from a lawyer’s office looking into why A is not paying her bills.

There is also a boy, played by sophomore Thomas Zbyszewski.

“From my character’s perspective, it’s about learning to age, learning to be O.K. with aging,” said Forrester.

The three actors are all playing women older than them, and in the cases of Greeley and Rekhelman, their age difference is quite large. To try and appear older, Greeley looks at the specific movements she makes.

“I’ve been preparing for this role by thinking a lot about my physicality in terms of age. How does a 52 year old move that’s different from a 21 year old? And that involves being a lot more deliberate in my actions, not slow, but just not as rapid,” said Greeley.

The play will be under the direction of guest director Paul Budraitis, who has worked in a number of theaters and studied extensively in Lithuania.

He used some exercises to try and get the actors into character.

“One of the exercises we did to get in character was imagining the character in front of us in a mirror ... imagining them standing there like how they would look, what they would be wearing,” said Forrester.

Forrester’s character, C, is a lot closer in age. In this way, Forrester can more closely relate to her character than

Showtimes All performances will be at Harper Joy Theatre. Tickets are available at the Box Office.

Thursday: 8 p.m.

Friday: 8 p.m.

Saturday: 2 p.m, 8 p.m.

Sunday: 2 p.m.

Rekhelman and Greeley.

“I’m not her, but at the same time my character is 26, so, as opposed to the older ladies, I can more closely relate to her just age-wise,” said Forrester. “Some of the things she says I can totally understand.”

Even though there is a giant age difference between Greeley and the character B, Greeley still manages to find a connection.

“I take care of kids a lot. I do a lot of babysitting, and not to say that is exactly what B is doing with A, but it is a caretaker role, so I understand what it is to assist another human being,” said Greeley.

Part of this also stems from Greeley’s need to feel connected with all the character’s she plays.

“If I’m playing a role I have to feel connected, it’s complete empathy,” said Greeley.

With such a small cast, the play offers a lot of challenges.

Forrester found that one of these challenges was memorizing lines.

“It’s a four-person cast and the lines are shared between three of the four people, and so I’m essentially memorizing a little less than a third of the play,” said Forrester.

Still, the actors feel a connectedness that pushes them toward success.

The size of the cast might be daunting but it is also exciting. see TALL WOMEN, page 4

NEWS

16 2015

Burma Voices speaks of trauma

Practice outpaces policy in sexual misconduct process

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by LACHLAN JOHNSON News Editor

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by ANDY MONSERUD News Editor

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embers of GlobeMed performed the original production Burma Voices on Friday, April 10. The event consisted of a series of monologues about the country’s long period of rule by a military junta, based on the testimonies of Burmese people. Though military rule ended in 2011, it has led to an unstable state under which many of the country’s various ethnic groups are still subjected to persecution and ethnic cleansing. Burma Voices sought to raise money for the Burma Humanitarian Mission, a non-profit partnered with GlobeMed that works to provide medical care and education in the country and to raise awareness of the nation’s ongoing political strife.

GlobeMed has an ongoing fundraising partnership with the Burma Humanitarian Mission, and members take trips to neighboring Thailand annually to work in refugee camps near the two nations’ shared border. This event both grew out of that partnership and worked to fulfill it.

Directed by senior GlobeMed member Tory Davidson, the monologues were adapted from a book of testimonials on the military regime that a group of GlobeMed members had brought home from a trip to Thailand. The book was written in 2008 and 2009, but according to GlobeMed member sophomore Haley Case, many of the brutal tactics of the old regime remain in the small Southeast Asian state, which is now known as Myanmar. “[The monologues] are a little more historical, but ... the legacy of the regime carries forward strongly to today,” said Case. “So even though there was a regime shift ... it’s definitely still an issue.”

The monologues included speeches from political and cultural leaders like Zarganar, a popular Burmese comedian embodied in GlobeMed’s production by junior Arty Kraisitudomsook, and U Win Htein, a high-profile member of an opposition party known as the National League for Democracy who was imprisoned by the junta following his election to the Bur-

Lyman RD Colleen Bell reads a monologue at Burma Voices. The presentation discussed years of oppression in the Southeast Asian nation. Photos by McCormick

mese parliament in 1990, played by first-year Jessie Friedman. It also featured perspectives from ordinary Burmese people who fell afoul of the regime, either because of their involvement in anti-regime activism or simply by bad luck.

“We’re putting on this event ... to showcase the stories of people from Burma — political refugees, peace activists, mainly people who are really promoting democracy — to amplify their voices and bring another perspective to campus, which is kind of why GlobeMed exists,” said Case.

“We exist to support these people.”

After the monologues, attend-

Debaters from DEBATE, page 1

“It’s just sort of a climate that makes you feel like shit. My first semester on the team I couldn’t tell you why I hated [being on the team] so much ... It’s because it just becomes so normal that you don’t even realize that people are saying shitty things to you and not looking you in the eye when they speak to you ... It’s a bunch of things like that that add up to make you feel like you are nothing,” said Marcovici.

Although the program took steps to create a safer team atmosphere following a temporary suspension in 2013, some debaters feel that, in addition to the alcohol violations identified during the investigation, problems with team culture still persisted.

ees were treated to traditional Burmese food and asked to consider writing letters to their representatives requesting action to aid the people of Burma/Myanmar. Firstyear Robby Boyer, who signed one such letter, found the presentation informative but said he wished it had covered more recent events.

“I really hadn’t heard anything about the situation in Burma. I knew that historically there were things terrible happening, but I didn’t know about what was happening today,” said Boyer. “It’s only a little bit about what’s going on ... I’d like to know more.”

conflicted

“It’s really easy for people to be like, ‘This is just about alcohol — point me to the specific instances since January that this has occurred,’ and it’s just not that simple,” said junior Lauren Hauck, a member of the policy team.

Reactions and the Future In regards to the suspension itself, several debaters have taken to public forums, including social media, to express anger and sadness at the loss of an activity they value so much.

“The last week has been kind of heartbreaking. It’s immense, the loss that I feel, in terms of the opportunities that I no longer have access to because I can’t debate, as well as the relationships

t has been over two months since ASWC passed a resolution calling for changes to Whitman’s Sexual Misconduct Policy. While many of the resolution’s suggestions have been adopted in practice, several remain unaddressed, and none have been formally added to college policy.

Since 2011, the federal government has required Whitman and other colleges to adopt and enforce policies to prevent sexual violence on college campuses and hold perpetrators accountable. Students at Whitman have also called for policy changes; after months of debate on a committee of representatives from student groups across campus, ASWC passed a resolution in January calling for specific changes to the college’s Sexual Misconduct Policy.

In practice, several of the ASWC resolution’s suggestions have been taken into account. As recommended by the resolution, every investigation of sexual misconduct this year has involved two trained investigators. The college has also adopted many of the reporting practices of the Project Callisto program, which was recommended by the resolution. However, Project Callisto itself will not be used, as the program is in the very early stages of development and it costs 20,000 dollars to participate in the beta testing.

“We told [Associate Dean of Students Juli Dunn] it’s not so much that you have to adopt the Callisto reporting system, it’s that we want there to be a way for people to submit [narratives] in a way that’s more on the survivor’s terms, and [before it was] on the school’s terms,” said senior Corinne Vandagriff, who chaired the committee which drafted the ASWC resolution.

Another major change driven by the ASWC resolution is that reporters of sexual assault now have the chance to appeal to the chair of the faculty if an investigator decides a respondent is not responsible or there is a lack of evidence. However, this change has not yet been added to the official Sexual Misconduct Policy (SMP).

“This is the [practice] we’re following. There’s nothing in our policy that says you can’t appeal here,” said Dunn.

Because the SMP is part of the faculty code, it can only be changed through a vote by the faculty senate.

The Office of Student Affairs tries not to change the policy while there is an open investigation, and the faculty does not meet during the summer, so most years there is a very narrow window in September where change can occur. For this reason, college policy struggles to keep pace with legal requirements that frequently change, and even amendments agreed upon by students, faculty and administrators can take months to be officially adopted.

ASWC has called for the SMP to be removed from the faculty code, and the faculty senate will vote on this question on Wednesday, Apr. 22. One point of contention will

on

... that are no longer feasible because I can’t debate,” said sophomore policy debater Jack Lassiter.

At the same time, there are those on the team who recognize that the decision might have been necessary to avoid continuing the trends of the past couple years.

“I think the suspension was the only option. Maybe not four years ago it was the only option, maybe we could have saved the debate team if we had suspended it for a year last year, but I don’t think we can move forward from where we are right now without phasing out a huge portion of the debaters and coaches,” said Hauck.

During a short and tense meeting with President Bridges shortly before an email was sent out to

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campus, debaters were informed of the program’s suspension. They said, however, that they were not provided any more information that what was shared publicly.

Some debaters express concerns about the investigation process resulting in the suspension of the parliamentary team, even though only Policy team members were involved in the investigation and the allegations surrounding the February tournament. These debaters say they were not made aware, in their meetings with administrators, of specific violations of policy that would justify the suspension of the entire team.

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likely be whether the SMP should be controlled solely by the administration. A possible compromise would be for changes to the policy proposed by the Student Affairs Office to require approval by Committee of Division Chairs, a group of three representatives who are elected by the faculty of each academic division.

“I would propose if [the SMP] comes out of faculty code that there be checks and balances, that it’s not just [Dean of Students] Chuck [Cleveland] and I writing policy,” said Dunn.

The question of revising policy gets even more complicated when one considers the college’s Grievance Policy, which is supposed to encompass the sexual misconduct and other offenses such as racial discrimination and bullying. Hypothetically, the SMP and Grievance Policy are supposed to present the same policy and will one day be merged into a single document.

The Grievance Policy is even more difficult to revise than the SMP. There is not clear jurisdiction for who can approve revisions of the Grievance Policy. According to Benjamin H. Brown Professor of Physics Mark Beck, who is currently working on revisions, the president has the final say on whether to adopt changes. According to President Bridges, it is the Board of Trustees who approves revisions. However, according to Dunn, there is no official framework for revising the Grievance Policy. When changes are made, it is generally the result of the Student Affairs Office, Human Resources and Office of the Provost, the three offices which handle investigations under the policy, mutually agreeing on revisions in order to meet new legal requirements.

The coming weeks present many opportunities for those wanting to see change in policies. Starting on Tuesday, Apr. 21, investigators from the federal Office of Civil Rights will be on campus to conduct a compliance review. The OCR investigators are to ensure Whitman has appropriate policies in place, that the policies are carried out in practice, that they are known by administrators responsible for them, and that students are aware of resources available for them. Though the compliance review is not directly related, Whitman College is currently the subject of two OCR investigations for alleged Title IX violations.

Sexual assault on campus will also be discussed by the Student Affairs Committee, which will meet at the end of April when the trustees are on campus. Following a presentation by students, faculty and administrators, the Student Affairs Committee will consider the ASWC resolution and other proposed changes before deciding on their own list of recommendations.

“If there is some specific policy [students] have a problem with, they should go to ASWC now because there’s going to be a lot of momentum after the Student Life Committee meets,” said ASWC president senior Tatiana Kaehler. “If our resolution didn’t include everything that needs to be changed, I’d like to include that in the recommendation.”

not explained to us what those violations were or why they were so bad that they justified canceling the entire program for everyone on the team for two years. It was not ever explained to us what degree of infractions regarding policy are sufficient to warrant a cancellation,” said Margaret Rockey, a junior parliamentary debater.

In the meantime, current and former debaters are organizing to possibly appeal the decision, although, some say, the lack of transparency from administrators has made it difficult to know how to proceed.

“I don’t know what I can and can’t do at any point in time because I have so little information,” said Lassiter.

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3 Regional diversity brings different views 16 2015

by NATALIE BERG Web Content Editor

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hen a Whittie from outside the Northwest tells friends at home that they go to Whitman College, he or she is often met with a confused look.

“People think I go to junior college,” said junior Emma Altman. “You either get people that have never heard of Whitman or people that have a cousin who goes to Whitman ... but it’s about 75 percent ‘What is that?’”

Altman is from Woodbridge, Conn., but her experience is similar to that of many other Whitman students who live farther away from Whitman in regions where it’s lesser-known. Over the past decade, more and more students at Whitman have experienced this challenge, as Whitman has recruited more students from outside the Northwest.

Social Diversity While regional diversity doesn’t necessarily affect life at Whitman as much as other types of diversity do, students who were raised in different parts of the United States have different social experiences at the college.

“My friends always joke that I’m ‘East Coast aggressive,’” said sophomore Hannah Snyder, of Montclair, N.J. “I’m pretty clear and upfront about what I need, and

WA

communication styles are likely as much personal as regional, they resonate for many Whitman students from beyond the Northwest.

“Whenever I’m be-

MN I have an expectation from OR other people that they will be the same.

A lot of times CA I’m frustrated [when] people can be more passive-aggressive or just more subtle.”

For Snyder, stereotypical social differences between the east and west coasts reveal themselves in the nuances of conversations on campus. But Snyder hesitated to explain away these interactions as purely regional differences.

“I think two things that are happening: [My friends] are taking stereotypes from the East Coast and putting that on me, and they’re also looking at my behavior and creating these generalizations, like that must be ‘how they are on the East Coast,’” said Snyder.

While these differences in

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ing, in particular, maybe a bit more assertively honest than maybe the typical Whitman student would feel comfortable being, [I say,] ‘Oh, that’s just Connecticut bitch coming out.’ And I’ll say that to people, sort of as an excuse for saying brutally honest things,” said Altman.

These social differences don’t just relate to Whitman culture. Sometimes they reveal larger regional differences between the northwest

and other parts of the country.

“I fly into a New York airport. We’ll get onto the highway at midnight and by the time we get home six people have honked at us, one person has flipped us off,” said Altman. “[In Walla Walla,] it’s little things like the people saying hi to you.”

In cont rast, junior Carlie Tise of Wimberley, Tex. has noticed that Whitman is sometimes less friendly than her hometown.

“If I go to the grocery store, it’s a social event.

I have to be prepared to say hello to everyone I see because I know everyone I see,” said Tise.

“Even if you don’t know somebody, you treat them as if you do.”

*

Whitman admissions by region Though Whitman students have traditionally come from Washington, Oregon and California, in recent years the student body’s geographic diversity has greatly expanded.

“We’ve had huge growth in [applications from] ... New England, [the Mid-Atlantic states] and the Southeast, and modest growth in California, the Rocky Mountain States and the Southwest. Our applications from Washington, Oregon and Idaho have stayed relatively flat,” said Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Tony Cabasco.

The college still receives a significant percentage of its applications from states like California and Washington. However, the proportions are shifting.

According to Cabasco, the college admits around 40 percent of applicants from all geographic regions, but the Office of Admission thinks about students from different areas in different ways.

“If you’re from Arkansas or Michigan or Ohio or New York, we wonder why you want to come to Walla Walla,” said Cabasco. “If it’s a student from the Pacific Northwest, in most cases they probably know Whitman, they probably know somebody who went to Whitman, culturally it’s probably a better fit.”

Cabasco sees the arrival of more geographically diverse students at Whitman is a great trend, though not necessarily one with huge consequences.

“When you get here you probably forget where people are from,” he said. “They’re just Whitman students.”

Read more about regional diversity at whitmanpioneer.com

Student leaders fill local vacancy with Girl Scouts troop

by JERMEY ALEXANDER Staff Reporter

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he Walla Walla Valley has more girls who want to be Girl Scouts than they have troop leaders. To fill the gap and give local girls the chance to be scouts, four Whitman students have stepped up to lead a Girl Scouts troop for local children.

Juniors Brooke Bessen, Nicole Hodgkinson, Nina Henelsmith and Sarah Krawczak saw an email when they were firstyears on the Whitman College volunteer listserv about starting a troop. There was an overflow of girls in the Walla Walla Valley on waiting lists to join Girl Scouts troops. A way to help solve this problem was to recruit Whitman students and get them involved in this organization.

“We started when the girls were Daisies in kindergarten, and now they are now seven to eight years old. There are many great places on Whitman’s campus to explore with the girls.

We took them to one of the astronomy labs one time and have reached out to professors who have kids in the program. We are trying to take them camp-

ing soon, but they are a little young to do much,” said Bessen.

The troop has meetings every other week at the Glover Alston Center (GAC). The girls have been really impressed with the troops growth over the last year. There were four girls when the Whitman students were sophomores, and now there are 10. The general consensus among the leaders is that this has been a terrific experience for not only the scouts but for everyone involved in the program.

“My experience has been great and I have really enjoyed getting involved in the community. I have met many very nice families through the troop that I probably would not have been exposed to as a Whitman student,” said Hodgkinson.

Leading a Girl Scouts troop anywhere is a big undertaking for four busy college students. Planning the troops activities takes a lot of time. The Whitman students create different lesson plans at every meeting and try to cater to what the girls want.

“We always do a welcome activity to get the girls moving around. The main activity depends on what patch the girls are

earning for that given week. We try to incorporate STEM elements into each lesson because that is what most of us study at Whitman. After the main activity, we have snack time and then close the meeting,” said Henelsmith.

Whitman professors who are aware of the troop have been very impressed with these four girls’ commitment. The current leaders want to keep the troop going after they graduate.

“We are hoping since we are upperclassmen to recruit some underclassmen to get involved now with the troop. We want them to get to know the girls and take over the troop when we graduate Whitman,” said Bessen.

There is still a shortage of Girl Scouts troops in Walla Walla, and Whitman students who want to get involved may have the chance to create a troop of their own or take over for one of the current Whitman scout leaders when they graduate.

“The girls are great. We try to coordinate with the larger Girl Scouts organization as much as possible. There are 700 girl scouts in this area. There is a lot of want for troops and a lot of girls that are interested,” said Hodgkinson.

Sarah Krawczak, Nicole Hodgkinson and Nina Henelsmith, all ‘16, formed a Girl Scouts troop for local children their first year at Whitman. Photo by Hannah Bashevkin

Whitman welcomes class of 2019

by CHRISTY CARLEY Staff Reporter

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undreds of admitted students, both prospective and already committed, will be welcomed to Whitman this Saturday for Admitted Students Day 2015. The day will include opportunities for students to sample classes, tour the campus and attend various informations sessions.

The month of April is crucial for college admissions officers as they aim to fill next year’s class.

Director of Admissions Adam Miller emphasized the importance of a campus visit, in addition to financial aid, as a deciding factor for students and their families.

“Saturday is a really big day,” said Miller. “We’re going to have nearly 400 people on campus who are coming because they like Whitman enough to have invested a few hundred dollars and a day or two of their time to come out and see us. We

really work hard to honor that commitment that families bring to us.”

This year has been the most selective year in the history of Whitman admissions. After approximately a 40 percent increase in applications last year, this year’s application increase of three percent means that still more applicants must be rejected.

In determining the number of students to admit, Miller explained several factors that must be taken into account. Included in these is what Miller referred to as the “Summer Melt” — the number of enrolled students that later decide to take a gap year or are selected from the waitlist at another school.

“We want to have a number of enrolling students that’s higher than where we end up,” he said.

So far 169 students have committed to come to Whitman next fall. This number includes 14 who were admitted last year but deferred to take a gap year, 120 who ap-

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plied early decision and a remaining 35 regular-decision applicants.

The Office of Admission is hoping to get the number of students up to about 420. The office is waiting to receive responses from 80 percent of admitted students by May 1.

Miller emphasized that a student’s decision to attend Whitman is just as important as the decisions that admissions officers make.

“I can be excited about who we offered admission to, but will they choose us?” he said.

Among the students already committed to Whitman is Ben Limpich from Ventura, Calif. Limpich is president of his high school’s debate team and began rock climbing about a year ago.

“It’s really the only sport I find that isn’t incredibly monotonous because its a puzzle combined with physical exertion,” he said.

Limpich cited the welcoming and laid back atmosphere of Whitman as a driving factor in his decision to attend. He also mentioned the appeal of different outdoor and recreational activities he could get involved in next year.

“Liberal arts colleges tend to blend together for me, but Whitman stood out in that it had intramural sports and this access to nature that was really emphasized,” he said.

Andrea Hood from Bellevue, Wash. is among the admitted students who applied for the first early-decision deadline. She was the second person to officially commit to the class of 2019. Though Hood initially hesitated to attend the same school as her brother, a current student, she is enthusiastic about this upcoming fall.

A prospective BBMB major, Hood was attracted to Whitman for its science programs, and she also hopes to minor in

French. She is excited about getting involved with animal rights activism and spoken word poetry.

Having visited Whitman several times in the past, Hood was particularly attracted to the student culture and looks forward to the fruitful discussions she will have next year.

“People are more open to each others’ opinions,” she said. “There’s not much judgement happening here.”

Karissa Hampson from Vancouver, Wash. is looking forward to joining the cycling team and getting involved with GlobeMed next year. While small class sizes and academic opportunity were much of what attracted Hampson to Whitman, what first caught her attention while visiting was the beauty of the campus.

“One thing that really struck me about Whitman is just walking around and there was art everywhere,” she said.

Hampson was also struck by the positive atmosphere she felt at Whitman. She said she does not normally look too closely at college rankings, but Whitman’s quality of life ranking given by students stood out to her. She said her visit to Whitman reflected what she had read.

“Some campuses you walk around and everybody looks stressed; some campuses you walk around and everybody looks engaged or friendly.” she said. “Whitman was definitely the latter.”

Miller emphasized the importance of interactions with prospective students in the month of April.

“Every chance you get to have a positive interaction with a prospective student or parent and to show them the best of Whitman I think is an opportunity to help make Whitman a better place,” he said.

NUMBERS

IN THE NEWS

by LACHLAN JOHNSON News Editor

1959

The year the Cuban Revolution, led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, overthrew dictator Fulgencio Batista.

SOURCE: JFK LIBRARY

1,400

The number of Cuban exiles involved in the failed invasion at the Bay of Pigs in 1961, which was heavily supported by the CIA. SOURCE: JFK LIBRARY

3

Iran, Sudan and Syria will be the only states still designated as sponsors of terrorism by the United States government, should Congress approve President Obama’s request that Cuba be removed from the list.

SOURCE: Al-Jazeera America

33

The number of years Cuba has been on the State Sponsors of Terrorism list.

SOURCE: Al-Jazeera America

2013

The year a report by the State Department suggested Cuba does not provide weapons or military training to members of leftist revolutionary movements.

SOURCE: U.S. State Department

2 million

The number of Cubans estimated to be living in the United States in 2011.

SOURCE: PEW RESEARCH CENTER

A&E

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4

APR

16 2015

Actors confront life, love in new production

Mr. Walla Walla raises funds for dance program

by HANNAH BARTMAN Staff Reporter

I

f Whitman students thought that Mr. Whitman was the only chance they had to see shirtless men shamelessly selling their talents and good looks for charity, they were wrong. On Saturday, April 18, Mr. Walla Walla will be hosted at the Gesa Powerhouse Theatre to raise money for the Walla Walla Dance Festival.

“I was just looking for an event and I absolutely hate auctions. I think they’re so boring ... I think this will be a fun event and also a good way to raise money,” said event coordinator and publicist Michael Mettler.

There will be 10 contestants and three female judges, two of whom have been named Ms. Washington. The activities of participants include a dance routine, a formal and active wear exposition, a talent show and an interview. After the competition, there will also be a bachelor auction in which approximately four Walla Walla bachelors will be auctioned off to the crowd.

“It has turned into something that I don’t think will be children-appropriate,” said Mettler.

“For students it might be harder to sell, but [they should attend because] it’s supporting a cause for the Whitman College community, and it’s supporting dance education in Walla Walla public schools.”

The three lead actors had to play characters significantly older than themselves. Portraying women much their senior proved to be an interesting challenge. Photos by Dawson

Michael Mettler

from TALL WOMEN, page 1

“It’s also really scary not having that many people on stage ... [but] I think that’s been really cool too, to have this really strong connection between the four of us because we are all we got,” said Forrester.

The actors are not playing characters of their own ages, and they also experience age differences between one another.

“They’re [both] sophomores as well, so that’s different. It’s kind of funny working on a show that does focus so much on age and different generations and moments in your life that I actually have noticed [certain differences between] me and the other people in the cast ... [As a senior], my concerns are differ-

ent. The things I talk about and am thinking about are different than the rest of the cast,” said Greeley.

As the performances start, both Forrester and Greeley are a bit nervous about the play and are experiencing pre-show jitters.

“I’m an actor and I’m always going to be nervous ... but of course, I know when we get there we’re going to be there and it’s going to be great,” said Forrester.

“I won’t feel good until after a couple of performances because I think you are constantly changing things, and I think that’s how it should be, that’s why it’s live,” said Greeley.

Performances run through April 19 and tickets are selling out fast.

KWCW show of the week:

‘The Vinyl Vault’

by DANIEL KIM A&E Editor

F

ollowing the vinyls that have been coming back into popular demand within the past few years comes Liam Tevlin’s radio show, “The Vinyl Vault.” A vinyl enthusiast and collector, Tevlin shares KWCW’s record collection as well as some of his own for his listeners. Tevlin appreciates the record collection, which consists of a vault filled with music, especially by artists who are becoming antiquated and lost to time.

“The Vinyl Vault” is a time to discover new and old music, almost exclusively in vinyl format, and learn about the development of musical genre, songwriting and the music business as you relax to the sweet crackle of needle on vinyl. Tevlin even breaks a sweat constantly cueing up the turn tables for the next song on the next record, but he loves the quality of

The Walla Walla Dance Festival is a non-profit that is related with Whitman’s Summer Dance Lab program. The WWDF hopes to bring internationally recognized dancers to Walla Walla at the end of the summer to perform for aspiring dancers at the Summer Dance Lab. WWDF also hopes to start a weeklong intensive immersion programs for kids in Walla Walla who want to learn dance. In order to raise money for this effort, Mettler collaborated with locals to create Mr. Walla Walla.

Each candidate will raise money in the week before as well as during the event, where audience members will have the option to donate to a candidate of their choice.

For the bachelor auction, Mettler says he aims to get anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 dollars for one date.

“For students it might be harder to sell, but [they should attend because] it’s supporting a cause for the Whitman College community, and it’s supporting dance education in Walla Walla public schools,” said Mettler.

Tickets are on sale online at PHTWW.com for 30 dollars, which includes a complimentary glass of wine.

the vinyl so much that he finds every drop worth the effort.

Show: ‘The Vinyl Vault’ Time: Mondays, 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Host: Liam Tevlin

Online interactive health care removes emotional intelligence

by ZAN MCPHERSON Staff Reporter

Y

ou’re sick and you don’t know what ails you. What do you do? Do you go to the doctor or search your symptoms on Google? Just as a wild guess, I’d estimate that you would rather spend thirty minutes or more looking up medical information online than calling the doctor to schedule an appointment.

This common decision comes, as you would probably know, with the risk of misinformation. Much of the medically-focused Internet is based on user-generated forums and the biased marketing of certain products. It is easy to get lost in the stories that unknown users tell of rare, horrifying diagnoses and simple symptoms that lead toward some fatal disease. It is also easy to fall for advice on the Internet that benefits the website’s own profit and not the patient’s health.

Likewise, using the Internet as a resource for information on personal health drains medical care of its emotional and psychological element. With the importance of emotional intelligence climbing to the forefront of medical training and success, one would think that physicians would gradually distance themselves from the Internet. But as Tom Brand, executive director of the medical consulting firm Avid Design verifies, “there’s been a huge buzz” about moving patient care into this realm.

It’s a dangerous buzz. The extent of the rapid growth and development of online interactive healthcare websites is astounding.

Hospitals are creating video tutorials, programs for virtual check-ups and even remote sensors that can relay vital signs. An article pub-

lished in 2001 in the “Indian Academy of Clinical Medicine” entitled “The Internet: It’s Role in Medicine and Healthcare” claims, “Such technology means that, in 20 years’ time, many patients will no longer need to travel to see a specialist.”

Some physicians and companies (for example social networking sites like “Patients Like Me”) believe that these online resources increase the quality of patient care. But, nothing on the internet can match the quality of face-to-face contact with a doctor. Complete healthcare requires an honest, in-depth conversation, and moving doctor-topatient interactions online compromises the emotional care that patients both want and need.

In his book “Emotional Intelligence,” Daniel Goleman goes into depth regarding the necessi-

ty of emo- tional care of patients. Anger, anxiety and depression, he says, have been proven to actually stagnate the recovery process, suppress the immune system and damage certain organs. Shifting medical care into such an impassive arena, therefore, compromises both patients’ happiness and physical health.

I am often scared by what the Internet tells me about my symptoms, and my mother, a practicing physician, sometimes scares me just the same. Whichever method you choose, you are likely to encounter something you don’t want to hear. The difference is that doctors can reassure you, care for you and provide trustworthy information. This is the most valuable aspect of healthcare, and it can’t be destroyed by the impersonal advances of online technology.

SPORTS

APR

16 2015

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Women’s Golf focuses on post-season play

by RILEY FOREMAN Staff Reporter

W

ith low scorecards and high ambitions, the Whitman Women’s Golf program is rapidly approaching a shot at the Northwest Conference league championship. So far this spring, the team has secured four top-two finishes, a national rank of 19th place and a pair of NWC Student-Athlete of the Week awards.

This past weekend, the women competed in the Spring Classic, one of the two N WC-ra n k i ng tournaments of the year. The team shared top honors with Whitworth University, who also shot a collective 53-over par. Whitman’s success marks an improvement from the Fall Clas-

sic, at which the team placed second to league rival George Fox, the number-two ranked team nationally. However, as Head Coach Skip Molitor notes, the competition remains fierce.

“It’s clear that [George Fox] is very legitimately in the hunt for a national championship, and we’re very legitimately in the hunt for the league championship, even with them in our league,” he said.

Molitor’s confidence in his players might stem from their 1-23 finish atop the leaderboard at Whitman’s Easter Invitational.

First-year Phoebe Nguyen finished one stroke ahead of teammate junior Alyssa Maine to secure her third-consecutive tournament win. Sophomore Lou Points, who holds the second-best stroke average on the team, finished third, while senior Kelly Sweeney took eighth as Whitman rolled to their second team victory of the spring.

“It’s remarkable that Phoebe won [the UPS Invite, the Cal Lutheran Regal Invite, the Easter Invitational and the Spring Classic],” said Molitor. “The Cal Lutheran tournament had the leading scorer in the country. For Phoebe to win a tournament where you’ve got

the top player in the country was a tremendous confidence boost.”

Despite the recent success, there is no guarantee of a team or individual bid to Florida for the NCAA D-III National Championship. The women are aware that they will be the team to beat at the upcoming NWC Championship, but they are determined to stay focused on the opportunity at hand.

“My mind will wander and start thinking of results, and there will be times when I have bad holes,” said Nguyen. “But I go to the next hole telling myself that I can always come back — if not for me, then for my team.”

Nguyen’s drive led her to yet another first place finish at the Spring Classic in Tacoma this past weekend, where she held a ninestroke lead over the next competitor, Whitworth junior Chelsea Bayley. Sweeney added to the excitement with the program’s firstever hole-in-one. All four of the team’s scoring players cut shots on the second day of play, finishing in a tie for first overall with Whitworth. Third-place finisher George Fox was not far behind, a mere two strokes away from the Spring Classic winners.

“It is great to have another top 20 ranked team in our conference because it pushes us to improve all aspects of our game,” said Nguyen of George Fox. Although Nguyen and her teammates are ecstatic about their recent success, they have just over one week to prepare for the biggest challenge of the season.

“After tying for first in the Spring Classic, our one-and-only goal for the remainder of the season is to win the NWC championship and get the automatic qualifier bid to the national tournament,” said Maine.

For the golfers and their coach, their improvements and the journey to the NWC Championship has made the team more of a family than a group of athletes.

“As we moved from fall to spring, we grew even closer and have been able to translate the cohesiveness to the course,” said Maine. “Even though we are out there by ourselves on the course, we all feed off of each other’s energy to compete at our best.”

The Whitman Women’s Golf program will make its way to Sunriver, Oregon on April 25 and 26 for the NWC Championship.

MLB regional Women’s Tennis eyes another NWC championship season preview

by KYLE FLANNERY Staff Reporter

O

pening day was last Monday, so maybe I’m cheating a little bit by previewing the MLB Season now, but here are a few predictions with the caveat that I’ve been able to glimpse a few games. Let’s start with the reigning San Franciscan champions. After winning three out of the last five World Series, the Giants seem to have developed an every-otheryear trend, meaning that this could very well be a down year. Throughout the regular season and an October without enough superlatives, ace Madison Bumgarner accrued 270 innings, and although I hate to say it because I like the guy, he may be due for an extended trip to the DL. Even if he doesn’t, the off-season replacements for the Big Panda (Pablo Sandoval) and Michael Morse (3B Casey McGehee and 1B Norichika Aoki respectively) are not all that awe-inspiring. Quality pitching in AT&T Park combined with Buster Posey, who will have a monster year, will allow the Giants to put up a decent record, but I think they will inevitably miss out on the playoffs, especially with an improved Padres roster pilfering a few more wins than they did last year.

The L.A. Dodgers are quickly becoming this generation’s Yankees — the team everyone loves to see lose. Despite spending a leaguerecord 270 million dollars on payroll this season, all the money in the world will not buy the L.A. Dodgers a championship, at least not until Clayton Kershaw gets the St. Louis Cardinal monkey off his back. Although he is undoubtedly the cream of the crop among pitchers, having led the league in ERA the past four seasons, his inability to deliver in the postseason is becoming a broken record come October. Some might point to Don Mattingly not pulling his ace when he had the chance, but I believe that there is something to be said about

It’s been a long time since the Mariners have had any hype, but talk of a World Series berth seems a bit premature. a team having a pitcher’s number.

The Dodgers will win games, no doubt, and the NL West, but they didn’t do anything in the off-season to get exponentially better. Instead, they simply unloaded Matt Kemp to the Padres. This stagnation is why I envision them falling tantalizingly close to winning the NL Divisional round against those pesky Cardinals yet again, who are a virtual lock to write in as contenders for the pennant every year.

While the A’s were the best team for the first half of the 2014 season, trading Yoenis Cespedes prompted a precipitous landslide into one of the worst in the second half. Backing into the playoffs, they fell to the surprising Royals in the AL Wild Card. After trading away Josh Donaldson to the Blue Jays, Brandon Moss to the Indians, and Jon Lester leaving of his own accord, they feature an entirely revamped roster. Despite losing all the offense that Donaldson, Cespedes and Moss provided, I find it hard to bet against the A’s at least having the potential to exceed expecta-

by KENDRA WINCHESTER Staff Reporter

F

or years, the Whitman College Varsity Women’s Tennis team has been able to compete successfully at a national level. They have continually set the bar higher year after year with the help of Head Women’s Tennis Coach John Hein, who shared in a 1998 national championship as a player at the University of California-Santa Cruz.

As soon as he came to Whitman, he was able to begin building a prosperous program. Hein’s past two years coaching at Whitman have resulted in undefeated conference play, and this season looks to be no different, with only a few more conference matches left to play.

Although they have had extremely victorious seasons in years past, this year’s team dynamic seems to be different.

“This year we have increased depth, and it brings up the level of intensity each day in practice and has caused us to be much better at doing more of the little things right than in years past. Still, we’ve retained and even built upon the core of what our team is about, which is building amazing relationships and competing as a team in this individual sport,” said Hein.

A lot of the success that has driven the women’s success has been that of the senior twins, Morgan and Courtney Lawless. Each with multiple all-American titles under their belt, this season will be their last here at Whitman.

“I can’t say enough what they mean to our program and how much leadership they provide on and off the court every day,” said Hein.

While both Courtney and Morgan have bittersweet feelings about their senior year coming to a close, they are still looking forward to finishing out the season strong.

Morgan has had some trouble getting things started this year.

Last season, she incurred a groin injury that affected this season as well. However, she is improving each week as conference play comes to an end. “[After] taking a whole

tions and make the playoffs, partly because they will be featuring the next crop in an endless line of young quality pitching from Sonny Gray and crew, and their ability to work the platoons, but a divisional round playoff loss is as far as the 2015 season will take them.

It has been a long time since the Mariners have had any hype, and talk of a World Series berth seems a bit premature. The only way that will happen is if Taijuan Walker and James Paxton can finally make an impact in the show, delivering on potential that has been a long time coming. If they do, dominant pitching will allow them to reach the postseason, either by winning the AL West or snagging a wild-card spot, but their offense still leaves something to be desired. While off-season addition Nelson Cruz hit 40 home runs last year in spacious Camden Yard, I don’t see him reaching even 30 at Safeco. Even if they do make the playoffs, and I’m skeptical, they will most likely bow out to the more experienced AL teams like the resurgent Red Sox or perennial Tigers, who are both my picks to reach the AL Championship.

I think the Red Sox make a mid-season pitching upgrade, take the pennant, eventually win the World Series over the Washington Nationals, and Big Papi retires at the end of the season.

Unlike other teams at Whitman, the Women’s Tennis Team depends on contributions from both upper and lowerclassmen. Hanna Greenberg ‘18 and Maddy Webster ‘15 are two such players. Photo by Clay

year off last year, it has been a slow start,” she said.

Courtney, similarly, has battled sickness throughout this season and only started practicing again after spring break.

“Having to start over from scratch and not being back to normal, I am having to work out every day plus getting a lot of practice in. I know I am getting to a point where I just can’t get away with skill I have to actually be able to practice, and I know it is going to take a lot to get back to where I was,” said Courtney.

Finishing the season strong while also enjoying the time they have left is on the mind of the seniors. The Lawless twins, as well as seniors Erin Bell and Madison Webster, will be graduating and ending their college tennis careers. All of these seniors will be leaving historic legacies that they are sure will stay with the team in future seasons.

“I think it is important for their senior experience that they are peaking later so they can en-

joy their best tennis when it counts the most,” said Hein.

However, not having the Lawless twins 100 percent of the time, the team has been able to pick up some of their slack and compete at a high level this season.

“I’ve lost three or four matches this year already, compared to none before. But that’s the thing about our team this year. We’re so deep that I can just trust them to pick up any of my slack,” said Morgan.

A significant part of that depth has come thanks to the three first-years, Jenna Gilbert, Hanna Greenberg and Lindsey Brodeck, and junior transfer Alex Sigouin.

“The key is that while they bring as much talent and experience as any class we’ve had, except possibly our current seniors, with our depth they are having to really fight for playing time.

Each of them has met or exceeded expectations in terms of performance, with Hanna making huge contributions in doubles and ADVERTISEMENT

Lindsey in singles,” said Hein.

Having an amazing group of women to continue the legacy of Whitman Tennis has been even easier with the help of this first-year class.

As the season draws to an end, the team has their fate in their own hands. If they are able to win these matches against Pacific, Willamette, PLU and UPS, then they will win conference and host the conference tournament. The return to the National Tournament will be hard like every year; however, it is very achievable with this group of women.

On Saturday the women finished the day with an 8-1 victory at Willamette University after starting the day with a 6-3 win in Forest Grove, Ore. at Pacific University. They will close out their regular-season schedule Saturday and Sunday with two more conference matches against Pacific Lutheran University and University of Puget Sound.

FEATURE

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APR

16 2015

Return of the Anonymous Forum So far, the app has created no problems for the school’s administration or its students. But will it become the next Whitman Encounters?

Users can vote on Yik Yak posts, and if one receives five down-votes, it disappears. What remain are predominantly humorous, relatable messages. Photo by Barton

from YIK YAK, page 1

The consequences of anonymity The anonymity, however, has proved problematic at many campuses. While abuse of Yik Yak at Whitman hasn’t inspired significant administrative action, the three articles mentioned above focused on cases of abuse at campuses not unlike ours: Middlebury, Colgate, Kenyon and Lewis & Clark College. These colleges are just a few among a huge number of institutions wrestling with how to handle Yik Yak and hateful comments made on it.

Cases of abuse at these schools have included racist, sexist and generally hateful comments. At Kenyon, a student proposed a gang rape at the women’s center. At Lewis & Clark, a gun emoji was used to target black students. At Middlebury, one student threatened to sexually assault another.

Though anonymity can make

comments like these more prevalent, many negative posts are rarely seen because of Yik Yak’s down-vote system. If a “Yak,” as messages are called, gets five “downvotes” from users, it disappears from the screen.

This feature has erased many hateful and shortsighted comments from view. At Whitman, up-and-down voting is the way many students use Yik Yak. “I don’t post on it, but I upvote and downvote,” said sophomore Valentina LopezCortes, a Yik Yak user.

The community-policing feature of Yik Yak’s voting system allows for a sense of responsibility and involvement from users.

“It’s interactive because you can vote on things,” said junior Alex Hulse, another Yik Yak user. “Some people will post really sad things and other people will say condescending things or dismissive things, but I haven’t seen anything that is super targeted like I’ve seen at other places.”

While many students say that hateful comments are rare finds on Whitman’s Yik Yak, the company has made changes to better moderate posts and user activity that have affected campus. In a move made this year, Yik Yak has hired college campus representatives to help moderate content. Whitman’s representative is first-year Arianna Wildflower, who says that her two main job duties are to promote Yik Yak on campus, as well as monitor and moderate posts.

Wildflower got the job after seeing a posting for campus representatives on Facebook.

She said another big part of her work is “giving out free stuff to people” for Yik Yak promotion, which has included Easter eggs and chocolate, stickers, socks and hats. She says that even though she works for Yik Yak, she doesn’t have any special authority or control on the app. She up and downvotes the same as any other user, but she does reach out to the administrators if she sees hateful posts.

“I downvote and report things, and if something is really concerning I email the creators,” she said. “Sometimes there are nastier feeds and things that are really serious that need to be removed.”

Because so many people at Whitman use Yik Yak, a nasty comment can receive five downvotes very quickly, and hateful posts often disappear quickly.

Wildflower acknowledges that Yik Yak’s unique anonymous structure has created problems, but she points to the company’s efforts, like hiring campus administrators, blocking Yaks with triggering words and the downvote system, as an effective community-policing method.

“The anonymity is a double-edged sword because in addition to the friendlier posts, there’s also more hateful things. That’s something

Yik Yak has been working hard to address,” said Wildflower.

Memories of Whitman Encounters At Whitman, anonymous message boards are not unfamiliar. Many remember the promising beginnings of Whitman Encounter’s, a website created by students that offers a way for other students to post thoughts and feelings anonymously.

The student who created the site, who graduated in 2013, said that Whitman Encounters was designed to provide a platform for discussion in a campus environment “where niceness is valued more than honesty.” On it, students could (and still can) find intellectual discussions, pining and a host of other topics students feel like writing about.

Although the site had seen a fair share of hateful speech since its 2012 inception, during the 2013–2014 school year discussions about the discriminatory and abusive posts that often graced the page embroiled much of campus. A rally against racial harassment in November of 2013 brought together the Whitman community. Students and administrators organized subsequent workshops and discussion to figure out the fate of Whitman Encounters.

After campus-wide discussions with students and administrators last year, Whitman Encounters began requiring a login email so that students with @ whitman.edu email addresses could only post. Since then, its popularity has decreased relative to its first two years.

In some ways, Yik Yak seems like a reincarnation of Whitman Encounters’ good qualities. It allows for anonymous comments (though unlike Whitman Encounters, there is a word limit) but has checks on its post with the trigger words and downvote systems.

“I really like that, unlike Whitman Encounters, Yik Yak is monitored and posts go away after downvotes, so there’s a lot less offensive stuff,” said junior Yik Yak user junior Catherine Bayer.

For many students, Yik Yak seems to be the new preferred method of anonymous interaction.

“It is like Whitman Encounters, but more user friendly,” said Hulse. “It’s a lot easier to use and more interactive.”

While hateful speech on Yik Yak has been a serious topic at other colleges, the app at Whitman hasn’t yet necessitated any administrative action that resembles what happened with Whitman Encounters.

“I don’t hear a lot about issues on Yik Yak — certainly not in the way we have in the

past relative to Whitman Encounters. That is not to say it is or isn’t a problem,” said Dean of Students Juli Dunn in an email.

This hasn’t been the case at many other schools, where administrations and Yik Yak have collided.

At Lewis & Clark College, a racial threat accompanied with a gun emoji resulted in students only being allowed swipe-entry access for the dorm they live in, rather than all campus-owned housing. At Colgate College, a letter signed by dozens of faculty demanded the app be banned on campus after a series of threatening Yaks. Dozens of other schools have tried unsuccessfully to ban the app or garner the identities of posters who make menacing comments.

The founders, Droll and Buffington, however, are defending the anonymity that they say is essential in their app. The pair met at Furman University and started Yik Yak in an effort to provide “a level playing field” for social media. Though they’ve been active in efforts to make the app work better and limit hateful speech, they say it’s been a learning process.

Nearly all students interviewed for this article said that Whitman’s Yik Yak is most commonly filled with funny, relatable posts. “[Yik Yak] promotes this very positive conversation. It’s not like its feeding on the evils of what college could be,” said Lopez-Cortes. “Yik Yak is a forum where you can be completely honest.”

“When I travel, I’ll check the Yik Yaks where I am, and I think that our quality of feed is way better,” said Wildflower, the administrator here. “I think that it reflects the people in the area ... Mostly here it’s high quality jokes.”

Despite the anonymity, some students say that it promotes a community among users.

“I like it because you can see debates and how the community comes together when someone posts something negative,” said first-year Emily Johnson.

A quick scan of Yik Yak will most often turn up jokes, relatable remarks on campus life and questions directed towards other students. Events and activities are sometimes posted, too.

“I find it entertaining, and think it’s a good portal for finding out about what’s going on on campus,” said Bayer.

However, a sizeable amount of students have yet to jump on the Yik Yak train, in part because it is still pretty new.

“I’ve heard a lot about it from friends,” said sophomore Eric Treto. “But I have yet to jump on the Yik Yak train.”

OPINION

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16 2015

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Get sexually adventurous this summer using U.S. military policy CRYSTAL AND CHEVY Anonymous

I

t is spring! Many of us may be looking around after a season of cold, quiet solitude, and for the first time in a while, the immense natural beauty is so abundant on campus. And as a wise man once said, “Everybody looks better in a sun dress.”

After the initial shock of spring comes the hot heat of summer. Many of you, with partners, may be starting to consider what to do when you leave the manicured lawns of Whitman College. Do you stay together? Do you split up? How do you navigate the months apart that we students call “summer”?

Well, we would like to introduce an option — one we took from the military. While Don’t Ask Don’t Tell may have failed miserably for the Armed Forces, it provides a stellar relationship model. We suggest that this summer, instead of attempting to navigate a painful ultimatum, you and your partner try having your separate flings and meeting new people.

However, don’t tell your partner about these new interests, and your partner shouldn’t ask.

If this arrangement sounds like something that you might be interested in for the summer, talk to your partner about using it before the semester ends in order to maintain an overall healthy relationship. Remember to actually discuss it, otherwise it is not a mutual agreement. Without any communication, it is just inappropriate and unjust to your partner. In addition, make sure you discuss it before you part ways, for it is hard to backtrack once you have started.

Our current relationship model is based off the idea that the key to success is always 100 percent honesty. But honestly, that may not always be the case! While we certainly advocate for commu-

nication (and talking to your partner about this is important), some things are better left unsaid in order to sustain a healthy relationship. Hearing about your significant other’s random sexual encoun-

ter with a person they met at the bar last night will probably be hurtful. DADT may permit both of you to have your cake and eat it too.

DADT allows you to avoid being crippled by sexual frustration w h i l e y o u r partner is hund r e d s of miles away, and it simulta-

neously helps to maintain a relationship that is important to the both of you. However, the key part of this strategy (and perhaps the most difficult) is the “Don’t Ask” part. This entire model breaks down when one of you attempts to inquire about the other’s activities.

If one of you does, gently remind them about the previously agreed-upon mode of conduct.

It’s tempting, we know, but we bet that you don’t want to know the answer and you don’t want to tell it yourself. If, when you return to campus, you and your partner have a drunken night of revelations, chances are it will not be the worst thing to ever happen. But at the very least, leave the confessions for when you are successfully and strongly reunited.

If this plan is not the right path for you and your partner, that is fine. We just want to offer it as an option and bring it onto your radar.

Address discrepancies among workloads, grading standards within first-year Encounters classes CHRISTOPHER

HANKIN First-year

MIRACLE WHIPS

W

hitman College prides itself on an Encounters program that helps to initiate new students and get them up to speed with the expectations that the school holds for writing, reading and critical thinking. Encounters students grapple with difficult texts that will challenge their preconceptions and hopefully expand their minds to a world of new possibilities. Unfortunately Encounters is the source

of a lot of stress for some students. Discrepancies in the grading policies and workload expectations create resentment towards the program.

I personally love Encounters. I am not lying when I say that I wake up every Monday, Wednesday and Friday excited to go and discuss whatever our reading was for that day. This is because of the constructive and positive environment fostered in my classroom. Students feel free to share their thoughts on the reading, and we really challenge one another to think critically. We are also led by a phenomenal professor who is incredibly dedicated to our class and the overall mission of the Encounters program. He manages to balance workload and learning in a way that is both challenging and inspiring.

Bayard Blair is a first-year in the Encounters program who is considering a biology major and will hopefully be heading

off to medical school after Whitman. He has struggled with the grading standards in his class.

“It seems to me as if the grading is a lot harder in my class than in many others,” said Blair in an email. “I see so many people spending very little time doing work for Encounters and receiving A’s, compared to my class where I see so many people working very hard and not getting the same grades.”

Though everyone at Whitman subscribes to the general philosophy that grades are far less important than learning, sometimes it is hard to focus on the learning if your grade is in jeopardy. This is especially true for students heading off to graduate school and who are genuinely and understandably concerned about their GPAs. “Some people will have worse grades just because they had a harder professor,” said Blair in his email. “That’s not what shows up on your

transcript, though. All that shows up is the grade you got and the class that you took.”

Though Blair recognizes how much he has progressed as both a writer and a thinker, he wishes that his grade reflected that development in the same way that grades do for students in other sections.

“I understood when I came to Whitman that Encounters would not be easy. It just seems that not every professor is pushing their students as hard, and I don’t think my effort and improvement should be minimized by a bad grade on my transcript,” he said.

The purpose of this article is not to complain about how hard Encounters is, but rather to call for a better standardization of the curriculum and grading rubrics between sections. Obviously, expecting teachers to use the same teaching method would take away from the beauty of the program. Getting a unique per-

spective on the readings from your professor’s area of study is an amazing opportunity.

With that said, there should not be such a significant disparity in the difficulties of various classes. Professors should compare both curricula and grading rubrics in order to make the system fair for all students involved. This would ensure a more equitable standard of both quality and quantity of work.

The inequality in terms of difficulty often makes students prioritize Encounters less than other classes. Students in the “harder” classes might feel cheated, and those in the “easier” classes might feel as though they don’t really need to do the readings. Were the expectations more comparable, students would get more out of reading and discussing the texts. Encounters is an amazing idea in theory, but the implementation of the program leaves something to be desired.

Respond to opinion with ideas, not judgment KATY

WILLS Junior

W

arning: This article will talk a lot about feelings. If you can’t handle that, spend some time reflecting on yourself and come back to this, because I have important things to say. My experience writing a thought-provoking article for our college newspaper has been incredibly stressful. Because I wrote such a pointed piece, I’ve hardly gone a few days without hearing about it from someone or several people.

I started out trying to write another fiery, impassioned article about the status of Greek life at Whitman, and I ended up feeling small, timid and stressed. I have a deadline as a regular columnist for The Pioneer, and every time I think about that I get scared

and my chest starts to tighten.

There’s something wrong with that. If a person has something important they want to say, they should be able to feel good about having said it. They should be able to feel strong and tough and not worn down from the stress. Even as I write this I can imagine the responses on the Pioneer’s website or anonymous whispers on Yik Yak. For a while I’ve wanted to write about what’s it’s like to protest at Whitman, but I haven’t felt like I’ve had the authority to do so. Part of me doesn’t want to write another article like that. I don’t want to hear from my friends that Yik Yak is showing some contentious debates where people are talking about me. I don’t like being the person who is judged or criticized.

I’m not a martyr. I’m not purporting to know what I’m doing or be any kind of expert on Greek life, but I’m frustrated. Part of what I’m writing about here is an encouragement to others who have spoken out about contentious issues.

One of the issues that continually surfaces around Greek life is how to get the fraterni-

ties on board with social issues and sexual assault problems.

I’m speaking from my personal experience of conversations I’ve had or have been had around me. I know that *not all men* need to be convinced to participate in Take Back the Night or welcome ASC into your chapter room, but there is still a big deficit of those that seem to care.

In an effort to reduce the amount of movements started on Whitman’s campus only to be dropped off, I’m next writing a follow-up to the article I wrote on Greek life at Whitman several weeks ago. Stay tuned, keep reading that Pio, because my next article will be what this one was supposed to be. I just had to get some things on the table first.

Voices from the Community

ILLUSTRATION BY REVERE

What are you going to do when it gets warm out? Poll by TYWEN KELLY

KANGQIAO LIAO

WHITNEY WOOD

ELYSE LAURIN

Junior

Junior

Sophomore

“I would do more outdoor trips with friends, maybe go to the wheat fields and play some tennis”

“Continue wearing my sandals.”

*

“I’m going to play some soccer and go to the swimming hole with some friends. I love eating ice cream.”

View more Voices of the Community at www.whitmanpioneer.com

YE HE Sophomore

“I would enjoy the sunshine with my friends on Ankeny. Sometimes we would also bike to the wheat fields and play some outdoor games.”

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Jackpage: Note found!

JACK SWAIN Junior

T

he other day, I found a crumpled letter in a wastepaper basket. What was I doing snooping through the garbage? An ordinary person might think it unusual to browse through trash cans, but I find it actually quite worthwhile. You really can get to know someone by searching through their trash.

I’m serious. And I’m not talking about fucking gross shit with moldy food, etc., etc., obviously.

Anyway, this letter that I found was so curious and utterly real that the only thing I could do was publish it here. And it was beautifully handwritten. Besides, it’s a work of pure literature—and don’t worry, I changed all the names. And if you ask me what the real names are, I’ll kill you.

To the author of this letter: I really have no excuse for myself.

Here it follows:

them in years because there are holes in them. I should probably just throw them away but IOh I don’t know why I’m rambling. I’m just putting off what I was going to tell you.

I don’t know how to say it.

I have to stop seeing you. I just I don’t know. Don’t be upset! It’s not that I don’t like you or anything. And it’s not because of your girlfriend either it’s just that, I don’t know. I mean Jesus!

It seems I hardly even know you!

Oh I’m sorry I do know you a little bit I guess. I know you really do like me. Fuck. Ok honestly you are great but I just can’t see you anymore. I guess I’m in a weird place in my life right now. Did I tell you I’m deciding to drop out?

Thanks again for the CD though!

-F Ps. Please don’t worry about me.

I know you are a really sweet guy but I just don’t want you to worry about me.

Ps. I don’t think I will be able to make it to your birthday party. I hope you understand.”

APR

16 2015 ADVERTISEMENT

Do you know your Title IX rights, how to recognize a violation, and how and when to ask for help?

Jack Swain is conducting interviews for his column. If you are the kind of person who stays up late, email him at swainjw@whitman.edu.

“L -

First of all, that CD? Thank you! You said it was one of your favorites? I told you I had never heard of it before, but I realized I was wrong. As soon as I turned it on I remembered! My aunt used to play that CD for me all the time when I was little. We would listen to it in her truck when she used to take me ice fishing. You know what’s really weird? I used to hate going with her. Like literally I would dread it. It’s weird because I honestly haven’t thought about it in years but listening to that CD kind of made me almost miss it.

I remember I used to wear these green mittens. I still have them actually, but I haven’t worn

Browning Out: Summer job hunt

S

pring is rapidly approaching, and we all know what that means: Summer is just around the corner. And again, we all know what that means: You had better find yourself a job, you lazy asshole. Personally, I had the nice experience of applying for a whole multitude of jobs when I was home over spring break. I went from store to store with a deranged look in my eye, hoping I conveyed the amount of sheer desperation that I felt. At one point I even looked one of my potential bosses in the eye and mentally communicated, “It’s either this or babysitting all summer, and we both know that kids can be dicks.” This experience led me to ask the obvious question: Why wouldn’t anyone want to hire an undergrad college student who has really no valid job experience? Really, I am possibly the perfect job candidate around.

I began my search optimistically. I donned my least shabby outfit and ventured downtown.

I walked into the first store and noticed there were three cats just wandering around. This is an issue because I’m obsessed with cats, and it might have distracted from the puttogether look I was going for. (Although how can we really be sure?).

I approached the counter and asked, “Hi, do you hire summer...” and at that exact moment a cat leapt on to the counter. What could I do?

I finished the sentence, “Cats! And by cats I mean... You have a lot of cats.” The elderly lady working the counter peered at me, clearly not appreciating how overwhelmed I was by the whole situation.

“Yes,” she responded with the kind of half grin that you give to your weird cousin at family gatherings. Then, of course, I

booked it out of there, after contemplating taking a picture with the cat and deciding against it.

Things continued from that point on a slightly higher note. I successfully completed a few applications. Dropped a few résumés off. I was feeling like a functional adult for all of five minutes. But then the worst happened. Someone asked me, “What makes you qualified for this job?”

This happened to occur in a little cafe, and I was completely tongue-tied. I looked around, processing the environment around me– food, drinks, waitresses–looking for anything that might give me a hint as to what I should say that would make me sound at least somewhat intelligent. Here’s what I came up with (apparently the only logical thing I could think of): “I, too, enjoy partaking in the occasional brunch feast.”

Needless to say, this was followed by supremely awkward eye contact and utter silence. (PSA: I do not do well with silence). So I continued talking.

“You know, I would say breakfast is the mightiest of meals. Without breakfast, how could you conquer the day? Coffee and bacon. I have no job experience.”

He looked at me with the kind of cold blank stare reserved for those people who are just the biggest idiots you know.

“Thank you and good day sir,” I said with a dramatic flare that I really didn’t know I possessed.

If I were going to summarize this whole experience, I would say that being an adult sucks. Moral of the story: Work on your social skills before applying for jobs. Also, if you know of any jobs that require virtually no job experience, please let me know.

Title IX is not just about sports; it is a prohibition against sex-based discrimination in education. It also addresses sexual harassment, gender-based discrimination, and sexual violence (including sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking, voyeurism, exhibitionism, verbal or physical sexuality-based threats or abuse, and intimate partner violence).

Learn more at one of many upcoming sessions hosted by the Office of Civil Rights. All Whitman faculty, staff and students are encouraged to participate.

April 22 & 23, 2015, at Whitman College Focus Groups • All Students: April 22, 4:00 p.m., Olin 157 • Student-Athletes: April 22, 7:00 p.m., Sherwood 222 • Greek-Affiliated Students: April 23, Noon, Reid G02 • All Students: April 23, 4:00 p.m., Maxey 121 Open Office Hours for Students, Faculty and Staff • April 22, 9:00-Noon, MEM 332 • April 22, 2:15-3:45 p.m., MEM 332 • April 22, 3:00-3:45 p.m., MEM 135 • April 23, 1:15-3:00 p.m., MEM 135 • April 23, 2:00-3:45 p.m., MEM 332

www.whitman.edu/titleIX www.whitman.edu/ocrvisit