Pioneer spring 2013 issue 13 by Whitman College Wire

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Issue 13 | May 2, 2013 | Whitman news since 1896

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Jim Hanson, longtime debate coach, to step down by RACHEL ALEXANDER Editor-in-Chief

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climbers come together for sweet onion crank contest

fter coaching debate for 20 years, Debate Coach Jim Hanson announced Monday that he would be stepping down in order to take a fulltime position as Chair of the Department of Rhetoric. Debate team members and alumni have expressed shock, disappointment and frustration with the decision, which many feel will seriously damage the debate program. Junior Sean Mulloy, a current member of the debate team, said no real reason has been given for the sudden change, prompting many team members to question the reasons behind it. “Many members of the team feel very frustrated and disillusioned with this sudden announcement,” said Mulloy. “We have no idea [why he’s stepping down]. The administration has told us that for privacy reasons, they cannot comment. I think it’s only fair that some sort

“Many members of the team feel very frustrated and disillusioned with this sudden annoucement... The administration has told us that for privacy reasons, they cannot comment. I think it’s only fair that some sort of justification be given to us.” Sean Mulloy ‘14 Debate team member

by KYLE HOWE Staff Reporter

ast Saturday, April 27, climbers from all over the Pacific Northwest arrived at Whitman for the annual Sweet Onion Crank climbing competition. The Crank allows climbers of all skills to participate in the competition against fellow climbers of a similar skill rank at Whitman’s own climbing wall. “The Sweet Onion Crank is the final climbing competition of the NC3 series, and it is the primary competition circuit for the region. So the Crank is a pretty big event for the climbing community. The competition consists of tiers of climbers: beginner, intermediate, advanced and open. Climbers compete against people in the same bracket, so experience doesn’t really matter,” said event organizer senior Matt Sellick. All climbers are given a time period to rack up as many points as possible “The climbers are allotted two and a half hours to rack up points by successfully climbing boulder problems without falling. The points are assigned based on the difficulty of the problem, and climbers record their points on a scorecard. After two heats of

climbing, and a round of silly speed bouldering, the winners are announced and prizes are distributed,” said Sellick. The environment of the entire competition was laid-back, as everyone enjoyed using the climbing wall. “It was awesome to see climbers from all over the region enjoying our facility and the problems that Whitman’s climbing community worked hard on putting up,” said Sellick. This huge event took a lot of preparation, but it ran smoothly with no difficulties. “For me, the Crank was a culmination of eight months of preparation. It was a bit hectic and stressful running the event, but it is always fun to be part of a climbing community event. The community is very laid-back and talented, so the Crank did not feel overly competitive,” said Sellick. For the event organizers, one of the best parts of the day was seeing how all of their hard work paid off, as they saw everyone having a great time. “I think that my favorite part of the Crank was seeing how excited people were to climb the problems that my friends and I spent time setting. It is always satisfying to see folks enjoying something you created, but the Crank

brings a ton of great climbers to the wall so it is interesting to see how people solve the movement of your puzzles,” said Sellick, who is part of a climbing staff that completely redid the gym’s bouldering problems. For all of the climbers, the experience of the Crank was just as great as they were able to compete in a very friendly environment. “The Crank was really fun. It was packed; it took so long that they were registering people constantly for 45 minutes. It has a really nice atmosphere where everyone tries to help each other with the problems and the people were all really accepting of any skill level,” said sophomore Quinn Piibe. When the event finally began, Whitman climbers were eager to begin after watching the event being set up for the past few weeks. “I was excited to finally get to try all of the boulder problems I had been watching people set up for weeks in the gym,” said Piibe. Each climber enjoyed climbing and pushing themselves to beat their previous records. “The Crank went well for me. It was the only NC3 competition I’d participated in this year so I didn’t have a huge

stake in doing really well— I just wanted to push myself as much as I could,” said sophomore Woody Jacobson. However, it wasn’t all climbing for the participants; they also had a lot of down time and got to meet other climbers. “My favorite moment this year was after everyone had competed and we were all sitting out on the grass hill in front of the climbing wall. We had to wait about 15 minutes for all the scores to get calculated, so during that time I picked up the megaphone and started telling everyone climbing jokes. They crowd really appreciated it and it was a lot of fun,” said Jacobson. There was even an onion eating competition between a few of the participants. “My favorite moment from this year’s Crank was watching Jack Lazar and two other climbers have an onion eating competition for a new rope,” said sophomore Greg Dwulet. At the end of the day, all of the climbers were tired and sore, but happy about their achievements from the competition, as they look forward to next year. “My final score was a lot higher than last year’s, and I was really sore the next day, so I’d consider it a success,” said Jacobson.

Small dating pool creates challenges for queer students by DYLAN TULL Staff Reporter

or many Whitman students looking for a relationship, or even just looking for a casual hook-up on a Friday night, Whitman’s small size can feel overwhelmingly claustrophobic. There are moments when it feels as if you know every face on campus, when you despair that none of them are viable dating options, and when even the girl who used to make eyes with you in the library is taken. Fortunately, though, these moments usually pass. Even if there are only approximately 1,500 students on this campus, and even if the girl is the library is otherwise occupied, there is another girl in your economics class who is actually quite cute. This isn’t always true for members of the queer community. Queer individuals at Whitman make up a tiny, almost familial community within an already small student body,

which often makes the challenge of on-campus dating exponentially more difficult. Junior Phoebe Horvath discussed this size issue. “I think it’s hard to have a

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dating culture here because the school is small. There are only a certain amount of students, and within that subset there are only a certain amount who identify with or are open to a non-

straight relationship,” she said. GLBTQ intern sophomore Evan Griffis spoke to the same frustrations, adding that the community atmosphere on campus discourages individuals from pursuing casual hook-ups. “At bigger schools, I think it would be even more of a hook-up culture. But I think here, just because we do have a small community, it kind of forces a little bit of the anonymity away from that, and it kind of puts some pressure on actual long-term relationships. With that being said, I think the frustration is definitely from the [small size of the community].” Because the queer community is so small, queer couples are often very visible for the rest of campus. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it does mean that entering into a relationship could be incredibly stressful for someone who has not yet come out of the closet. Senior Kate Kight commented on her personsee DATING, page 3

of justification be given to us.” Hanson declined to give a reason for his departure from debate when contacted by The Pioneer, and referred back to his email to the team, which states, “Given the recent creation of a new Department of Rhetoric Studies and my role as chair in building this program from the ground up, I will be stepping aside from my debate responsibilities in order to devote my full time and attention to this new effort.” He would neither confirm nor deny that his decision to step down was entirely voluntary and had no further comment on that topic. “I’m hoping that the program will move forward and they’ll hire a good director and the program will maintain its quality,” said Hanson. President George Bridges was unable to comment specifically on the reasons for the change due to federal laws and college policies which keep personnel issues confidential. Associate Dean of Students Clare Carson also declined to give specific details about the reasons for the change. “There’s a lot of speculation and false rumors going around. I think they should respect what Jim said and go with that,” she said. Carson said that the new Director of Forensics position would be full-time, allowing the college to focus more resources on debate. Hanson currently splits a full-time position between the debate team and the Department of Rhetoric. Still, debaters are frustrated by what they perceive as a lack of clarity and transparency in the change. A “Support Jim Hanson” Facebook group created by alumni had 249 members as of press time, and several alumni have contacted the college, as well as The Pioneer, to express their support for Hanson and the debate program, and their disappointment with the sudden change of coach. A group of 28 debate alumni also wrote an open letter on Wednesday to the Board of Trustees and members of the administration expressing their disappointment for the way the decision has been handled. A full PDF of the letter can be viewed on The Pioneer’s website. Alumnus Kristofer Peterson ‘97, who was on the debate team for four years, said he will be withdrawing $5000 of planned gifts to the college in response to the decision, as well as cutting off contact with the alumni association if the matter is not resolved. see DEBATE, page 2

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Debate change provokes alumni, student concern

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from DEBATE, page 1

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Nord Award projects address queer issues by MAEGAN NELSON Staff Reporter

s students are wrapping up the end of the year, some things are winding down, but for the annual David Nord Award recipients, things are starting to really pick up. Junior Maikor Pereira Azuaje and senior Diana Boesch were selected to receive this award for work with faculty advisers on projects addressing critical issues currently facing the queer community. The award was established in honor of alumnus David Nord ‘83, who created its endowment three years before he died in 1993. For her project, Boesch has been conducting thesis research about queer law. “I knew I was going to write my thesis on something related to LGBTQ studies because it’s been my passion for the past couple of years to write my thesis on queer politics. I was very lucky and got the David Nord Award, and what my thesis is about is the Lawrence v. Texas case [in] 2003 which decriminalized sodomy.” This important case at the

time effectively criminalized gay and lesbian people’s identity. “Their identity was really wrapped up in their sexuality; society tended to perceive them as criminals themselves, not just the act as criminal. As a result, they were denied other societal benefits such as child custody [and] marital rights,” said Boesch. She focused on the effects of the work of Lambda Legal, the nation’s oldest and largest legal organization working for the civil rights of lesbians, gay men and individuals with HIV/AIDS. She wanted to look at the development of a gay legal identity. Boesch’s advisor, Assistant Professor of Politics Melisa Casumbal, has been working closely with Boesch on her thesis. “I am so proud of her,” said Casumbal. “My hope is that she is able to continue doing whatever work she wants to do, whether in law or in anything else.” Boesch presented her research in a lecture on Monday, April 29 at 5 p.m. in Kimball Theatre. Pereira Azuaje has been working on a more creative approach to understanding queer issues.

For his project, he choreographed an original dance performance called “I Love You, Man: Friendship and Brotherhood Across Sexual Orientations.” His production will be performed on Saturday, May 4 at 2 p.m. in Cordiner Hall. “My way of approaching my topic was through dance, because I think through movement you can express more, and the topic is friendship and brotherhood across sexual orientations,” said Pereira Azujae. Personal experiences led him to this project idea. “I was afraid to come out to my all-male section. But there was this one guy who was very affectionate and when we were going to room together the following year, I came out to him. I was very nervous, but he was very accepting and he didn’t change the way that he related to me,” said Pereira Azuaje. Pereira Azuaje will be focusing on how gay and straight men interact and how gay men often act more “straight” to be accepted. Visiting Dance Instructor Peter de Grasse has been very impressed with Pereira Azuaje’s choreography.

“Most of my work with Maikor in the studio actually happened first semester. He was in the dance production class; my experience of him is that he is gifted as a choreographer and the way that he works [is] interesting for someone of his experience, because he is working semantically and with his imagination,” he said. He describes Pereira Azuaje’s methods as slightly unconventional. “One of the things that he told me that he is working on right now is that he is working from his dreams, dreaming of movement and then taking notes or trying to remember his dreams ... that is a really unusual way of working and it is so imaginative that I think it has given him some work that wouldn’t be achieved in an orthodox manner,” said de Grasse. Sophomore Evan Griffis, one of this year’s two LGBTQ interns, helped to organize the selection process and is pleased with its results. “Every year, it’s really cool seeing who is going to win. The hardest part is that there are always so many good applicants with great ideas, but I’m really excited about this year’s winners,” he said.

“I think it is not a voluntary decision because knowing Jim as I do, he would have insisted on a transition period,” said Peterson. Peterson served as a judge for one of the team’s tournaments earlier this spring, and said he spoke to Hanson, who was making plans for next season at the time. Peterson and Mulloy were both disappointed by the lack of student involvement or consultation in the decision prior to Monday’s announcement. The last switch in debate coach, from Bob Withycombe to Hanson, included a transition year from 1993-94 before Hanson took over. Peterson felt that the current time frame left the college almost no chance of finding a coach as accomplished in both parliamentary and policy debate. “The pool for his successor is very limited. I don’t think the college is going to be able to find someone of his caliber,” said Peterson. As a side effect of this decision, the Whitman National Debate Institute, a summer program for high school students which is taught by Whitman debaters, will not be held this summer. Carson said the college is working to find alternate employment for students who were slated to teach over the summer. George Bridges, Dean of Students Chuck Cleveland, Clare Carson and Provost and Dean of Faculty Tim Kaufman-Osborn are planning to meet with debate students on Wednesday, May 8 to address their concerns and discuss moving forward for the team. The Pioneer will publish more information as it becomes available.

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CLINTON COURT Apartments 1 & 2 Bedroom Apartments For Spring 2013 and beyond Adjacent to the campus—affordable No smoking please

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EDITORIAL POLICY

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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ASWC revises bylaw measures, addresses Lifecycle problem

Photo by beck

by SARAH CORNETT Staff Reporter

McKibben sparks activism by LACHLAN JOHNSON Staff Reporter

n Monday, April 29, over 200 members of the Whitman and Walla Walla community came together amidst cries of “Now is the time!” In honor of nationally renowned environmental activist and author Bill McKibben’s campus visit, member of Whitman’s Campus Climate Challenge organized a march around campus and collected petition signatures so that students and locals alike could show their support for the divestment campaign. “I had never led a march before, and I was astounded that we had that [much] energy on the campus. Not just in the students, but there were professors on that march; there were community members on that march; there were staff members on that march,” said divestment leader sophomore Collin Smith. At the end of the march, ASWC President Kayvon Behroozian publicly endorsed the divestment movement. ASWC passed a resolution on April 14 encouraging the Board of Trustees to halt all new investments in fossil fuels and to assemble a committee of students, faculty, staff and members on the governing board to investigate the potential financial impacts of divestment, as well as the potential for active shareholding or green investment managers. “After [McKibben’s] talk I was a lot more persuaded than I was before,” said Behroozian. “The one thing I’d do is try

to get everyone to go convince their friends that this is not a radical movement, that it’s a completely conservative [movement].” McKibben began the day of his visit by giving a plenary speech to Whitman first-years in Cordiner Hall, all of whom read his book “Eaarth” as part of the Trauma and Transformation unit of the Encounters syllabus. This unit also included Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” and Art Spiegelman’s “Maus.” “Eaarth” is the first environmental text to be included in the Encounters syllabus, which was revised last year. Professor of Politics Phil Brick recommended “Eaarth” as a new addition to Encounters and arranged McKibben’s visit to campus so that students could gain a deeper understanding of the text. Professor of Politics and Director of Encounters Paul Apostolidis believes that hearing an author speak is a hugely beneficial opportunity for Encounters students. “It’s like when students had the opportunity to watch the staging of ‘The Tempest’ rather than just reading Shakespeare’s text. When you have the opportunity to do the really crucial work of reading the written word and handling the text in written form, and then you can have that together with a more live and in-person staging of what that text is all about, it opens up different avenues for interpreting what’s going on,” he said. McKibben is glad to have been a part of the Encounters experience. “I feel very honored ... [“Beloved” and “Maus”] are classic texts, and about epochal moments

in human history,” said McKibben. Then at 7:30 p.m in Cordiner Hall McKibben gave a lecture addressing “Eaarth” and his organization 350.org, a leader in the national movement to divest from fossil fuels. Brick hopes that McKibben will be an inspiration for students interested in environmental activism. “I hope [students] come away inspired, but also as a result of conversations we’ve had on campus ... they come out of the lecture with a more sophisticated understanding of the scale of the problem, but not let the scale overshadow ways in which climate can help us think of way we could live better lives,” said Brick. He has certainly made an impact for members of the Whitman divestment campaign. These student activists met with McKibben to discuss campaign strategies in the afternoon. They plan to present the petition signatures they collected to the Board of Trustees at their meeting on May 2. First-year Erika Longino, a member of the Whitman divestment campaign, hopes that they will inspire other students to work for change. “I feel like there’s a lot of pentup frustration behind the climate change issue; it’s something you hear about in the news every day, it’s something that all the freshmen are reading in their classes right now. Having an outlet for that after the event, showing that there are students who are activists who are working to do something, it will be a good statement and a way for it to open up to the rest of campus.”

Two Tibetan Buddhists are visiting campus this week to host a prayer ceremony, a film screening and a lecture. Photo by Bernstein

Tibetan monk builds sand mandala by KEENAN HILTON Staff Reporter

mid pre-finals madness two Tibetans—one of them a Buddhist monk—came to campus to share their art, introduce their culture and to tell their story to the students of Whitman. “I think it will be educational for the Whitman college students to understand the kind of disadvantages that people in different communities around the world have to suffer, have to go through, and that in turn might give them a better perspective on all of the blessings that they enjoy in their lives,” said Karma Tensum of the Tibetan Children’s Education Foundation. WEB sponsored a four-day, multifaceted visit by two representatives of the Tibetan Children’s Education Foundation. It began on Monday at 10 a.m. with a prayer. Over the course of the next four days a monk dressed conspicuously in traditional orange and red quietly constructed a sand mandala on the Reid landing between the coffeehouse and the main floor. “The mandala is basically a pictorial representation of a celes-

tial palace, the palace of a Buddha. This mandala that we’re creating at Whitman is the mandala of compassion. So we can say that this mandala is a depiction of the realm of the Buddha of compassion,” said Tensum. An artistic meditation, sand mandalas are a uniquely Tibetan practice. Monks carefully construct these detailed pieces of art from colored sand. Yet, after the days of focused work, the practice ends with the mandala’s ritualistic destruction. “They erase it all at the end which I think is supposed to speak to the impermanence of life, everything,” said sophomore and coorganizer of the Namaste meditation club Theo Ciszewski. The artwork focuses on the insight of impermanence, but the organizational goal of the foundation is quite different. “The Tibetan children’s education foundation works on the premise that the Tibetan culture is ancient, it is sacred, and that it is something worth preserving,” said Tensum. “The second fact that we deal with is this that Tibet itself, under the Chinese commu-

nist rule, our culture is not doing that well. So what do you do as a small nonprofit here in the United States to help preserve that culture? We believe that one way we can do that is by informing, educating people in the West about what a wonderful culture it is.” Under Chinese rule Tibetans are not allowed religious freedom, their traditional lifestyles have been made impossible by social displacement and they receive little benefit from China’s booming economy. “Tibetans on all accounts have become like second-class citizens in their own country,” said Tensum. In addition to constructing the spiritual sand mandala, the visitors gave Whitman students a view into the cultural past and present of Tibetan Buddhists. They presented a film on Tuesday, April 30, and Tensum delivered a lecture on his experience during the Tibetan Diaspora on Wednesday, May 1. In his presentation he recounted and reflected on his escape across the Himalayas as a child. “We hope that we can keep Tibet in the hearts and minds of people in the West,” said Tensum.

ignificant changes in the ASWC bylaws were made at the final ASWC Senate meeting of the year last Sunday night, April 28. Senators voted to revise a number of measures previously in the bylaws, including those pertaining to clubs. “The old bylaws reflected the house of clubs, which was a structure no longer present in ASWC,” said senior Hannah Holloran, chair of the Ad-Hoc bylaw committee. “We needed new bylaws to represent how ASWC runs now. There’s a new section concerning clubs ... we needed new bylaws to reflect how clubs actually interact with ASWC.” The house of clubs is a structure no longer present in ASWC, one where club leaders sat on a separate ASWC body. Currently, and something that will be reflected in the new bylaws, a Club Director oversees the creation of clubs and moderates approval of a club within ASWC. ASWC Clubs will also be required to have two representatives, a president and budget manager, a notable shift from the previous bylaws that required only a president. The bylaw changes also reflected further criteria for service-learning organizations. These groups, clubs who apply for service-learning status at least two years after their creation, will now be required to perform a service project that reflects the mission of their organization. Presently, Campus Climate Challenge and Whitman Direct Action are the only groups with this status. A measure barring campus organizations receiving a fixed eight percent or more of the ASWC budget from applying for funds through the Travel and Student Development fund was also passed. This means organizations including The Pioneer and Whitman Events Board (WEB) will have to include possible travel expenses in their general operating budgets. In another notable change, the Oversight Committee will now be required to disclose any investigation it conducts. Previously, the committee could keep such investigations under wraps, but with the new bylaws, the chair of the Oversight Committee will be required to share the subject and cause for investigation if asked.

Additionally, the bylaws included a measure mandating that two percent of the annual budget will be added to the Lifecycle fund. Lifecycle, which is a savings resource set up to replace equipment for campus media organizations and the ASWC office, had not been allocated money for two years before this one, resulting in this year’s Finance Committee to allocate $24,000 to it. This had the effect of tighter allocations to clubs for the upcoming academic year. “It makes it easier for the budgeting cycle in the years to come,” said Holloran.

NUMBERS

IN THE NEWS

Dead from a recent outbreak of H7N9 bird flu virus in China SOURCE: BBC

Years of hard labor sentenced to U.S. citizen Pae Junho in North Korea on Tuesday, April 30, after being arrested while traveling in the country as a tourist last November SOURCE: BBC

New suspects who have been taken into custody in relation to the Boston bombings, who appeared in federal court on charges of hindering investigation on Wednesday, May 1 SOURCE: BBC

24 million Dollars provided by new legislation signed into law by California Governor Jerry Brown to clear backlog of weapons known to be in the hands of people who acquired them legally SOURCE: BBC

Age at which it will be legal for girls to purchase overthe-counter morning-after pills in the United States, as announced by Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday May 1 SOURCE: NEW YORK TIMES

Local queer students find community at Whitman from DATING, page 1

al difficulties with this issue. “If one partner doesn’t want to be out, there’s not a lot of hiding at Whitman. And [my girlfriend and I] got sick of trying to hide it, because it got in the way of the amount of time we could spend together,” she said. “I also think that it’s a myth that it’s easy to come out at Whitman ... it’s a very personal issue, and you can have all the support and love in the world and it still can be utterly terrifying.” GLBTQ intern junior Sean Mulloy also pointed out that how comfortable one feels about being out of the closet, and to whom they are ready to reveal that information, affects the relationship possibilities on campus. “I think that there [are] folks that are interested in the queer community, but still don’t necessarily feel comfortable being out. I think it’s even harder for them, because they have to be out in order to date or hook up with someone,” said Mulloy. Horvath spoke to this, emphasizing that this dynamic differs for men and women. From her experience, it’s more socially acceptable for women to leave their sexuality undefined, whereas for men, there is pressure to define themselves according to more rigid structures. “I think a lot of people have come to terms with their sexuality being somewhere on that spectrum, and I think in general, women are a lot more comfortable with that idea ... Most of the men who I know are out are out as either gay or bi. It’s more definite; you don’t see as much of the spectrum,” Horvath said. Fortunately, the community has formed itself to deal with the issue of limited options. Most significantly, because the dating pool is so small, queer students at Whitman have encouraged developing friendships with off-campus queer communities. Several students at Walla Walla University and Walla Walla Community College have turned to Whitman as a source of community because they feel that their colleges lack a clear support system for queer students. WWCC sophomore Justin Hallowell spoke about why students at his school have made acquaintances within the Whitman queer community.

“As a school, Whitman is a lot more liberal, and so the students here are a lot more knowledgeable about issues. They tend to do things that are directly related to the population here, and they seem to actually make a difference,” Hallowell said. “Here there is a larger majority [of a gay population], so you aren’t quite as much of a minority. And again, it is a lot easier to be gay here [at Whitman] than it is to be gay [at WWCC].” WWCC students attend parties like Queer Beverage and participate in GLBTQ group activities, which allows these students to experience the support of a larger community while simultaneously expanding the dating options for Whitman students. According to Mulloy, Whitman has come to be a refuge for some WWU and WWCC students who are willing to look off campus for support. “This year we’ve been able to form much more intricate relationships with the other colleges’ communities. So like yesterday at Queer Beverage there were a lot of folks that came from Walla Walla University, and we have a few really good friends from [Walla Walla Community College],” said Mulloy. In addition to encouraging more students to attend functions, queer students at Whitman have expanded their notion of what a relationship entails. Both Griffis and Horvath spoke to the opinion that the societal ideal of a monogamous, two-people-together-forever relationship can be quite stifling. “A lot of times, people find alternate ways to define a relationship that works for them better. And that’s really worked for me, and I know that’s worked for other people on campus ... It’s been kind of neat to figure out that there are other ways to be in a relationship besides two people together forever,” Horvath said. Griffis conveyed the same sentiment, arguing against the assumption that a monogamous, traditional relationship between two people is best for everyone. “There is kind of this other pressure for us to want to reject that notion, or reject the idea that we have to assimilate into that kind of relationship. So there’s also this kind of counter-pressure to rebel against that system, and kind of explore alternative relationship structures,” he said.

A&E

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2013

‘Floyd Collins’ brings suspense and tunes by CLARA BARTLETT Staff Reporter

rom May 2 through May 18, “Floyd Collins” will grace the Alexander Stage in Harper Joy Theatre. Directed by Michael Walling and stage-managed by Sabra Jaffe, the musical tells the story, based on true events, of a man (Floyd Collins) who, while exploring a Kentucky cave in 1925, became trapped. Getting a sneak peek at rehearsal, The Pioneer reports. The best word one can use to describe “Floyd Collins” is “acrobatics.” Looking up this word for a specific definition, the term “athletic floor exercises” immediately pops up. But let it be clarified, when talking about “Floyd Collins” in relation to “acrobatics,” the sense inferred is not linked to somersaults or gymnastics, but to the challenge of balancing the difficult demands of the show, and the audience’s awe of the success of such stunts. To start, “Floyd Collins” is vocal acrobatics epitomized. “It’s super good music, but the orchestration from top to bottom is just so difficult,” said first-year Randy Brooks, who plays the role of Floyd Collins. Junior Zoe Randol agrees. “The music was definitely the most challenging aspect. It can be very deceiving when you hear it, but the score is incredibly difficult,” she said. “It’s a mix between bluegrass and opera, which is a very strange mix, and it sounds amazing, but it’s extremely difficult to do, especially for some of the men for this show and the actress who plays Nellie. It’s really, really difficult stuff.

Randy Brooks (above) delivers a commanding performance as Floyd Collins. The music draws from operatic tradtition while the acting is strenuous. Photo by Bernstein

But they’re doing very well. We’re all doing very well, I think.” Junior Russell Sperberg, playing Floyd’s brother Homer, also discussed the difficulties of the show. “The music has been really difficult. I’m usually a baritone, but the music for Homer is for a tenor. So I can hit all of them except one note, which we had to drop down. But, now that we’ve been through the process, it’s just a lot

Eleven songs for eleven weeks of summer by EMMA DAHL Staff Reporter

hat defines the perfect summer? It’s carefree. Upbeat. Fun and energetic and full of color. Summer is road trips and wind in your hair and fresh watermelon and bare feet and barbecue smoke and laughing with friends and blasting music. And what’s a summer without music? So without further ado, here’s a playlist of fresh songs that em-

body the sunny spirit of summer, full of upbeat tempos, catchy melodies and happy lyrics: 1. “Get Lucky” (feat. Pharrell Williams) by Daft Punk Daft Punk’s long-awaited return doesn’t disappoint. “Get Lucky” is the first single from their new album Random Access Memories that’s scheduled for release in mid-May. It’s a really, really groovy song and it’s perfect for funky summer dance parties. 2. “Entertainment” by Phoenix This song is pure energy. The spazzy tempo and uplifting falsetto vocals will undoubtedly put you in a good mood. 3. “All the Time” by The Strokes This is the best song on this list to drive fast with the volume loud and your windows down to. “All the Time” is quintessential Strokes: 100 percent pure angsty rock-and-roll greatness.

ILLUSTRATION BY JONES

PIO PICKS Each Thursday, The Pioneer highlights several events happening on campus or in Walla Walla during the weekend. Here are this week’s picks: Harry Potter Trivia and Wizard Rock Dance Party Enjoy a magical evening of delicious food, all-things-HarryPotter trivia questions and a rocking dance party to the tunes of “Wizard Rock.” Friday, May 3 at 7 p.m. at the Writing House

Whitman College Orchestra Concert Listen to the sweet serenades of Debussy, Schubert and David Diamond at the orchestra’s last concert of the year.

Friday, May 3 at 7:30 p.m. in Chism Auditorium

Eurotrash Dance Party Get pumped for your last weekend before finals by rocking out to all the best Eurotrash out there. Turn up that Daft Punk and come dressed in your best Eurotrash garb. Saturday, May 4 at 9 p.m. at Das Deutsche Haus

Everything I Learned in Business I Learned Owning a Bar

A 1989 graduate of Whitman College, Jonathan Sposato is chairman of Geekwire LLC, a news site that reports on the technology industry and its people, from Fortune 500 companies to garage start-ups. His presentation will explore the themes of scaling an Internet business to millions of users while hiring strong teams and maintaining the correct balance for gender appeal of end-user facing products. Learn more about Sposato at his Vizify page. Monday, May 6 at 7 p.m. in Kimball Theatre

4. “Needle” by Born Ruffians Summer isn’t always fast-paced and full of energy. There are days of lounging in the sun, times where the mellow wins out over the excitement. “Needle” is a slower tune with a beachy feel, included here to represent those calmer days. 6. “My Number” by Foals “My Number” rails against being tied down; it sings of moving beyond complications, of freedom, of not letting anything or anyone bring you down. 7. “Once in a Lifetime” by Talking Heads “Once in a Lifetime” speaks of the ephemeral, fast-paced nature of life—a topic relevant for the shortlived summer. It reminds us to soak up the summer while it lasts! 8. “Solid Gold” by Eagles of Death Metal This song is another entry with a quick beat and really upbeat melody. The first few lines of lyrics are “Sweat! When it’s hot, baby, ooh! When it’s hot, baby, sweat!” Couldn’t be more relevant to summer. 9. “Default” by Django Django Another song that you can’t help but get up and dance to. Probably the catchiest tune on this whole list. 10. “Hang Me Out to Dry” by Cold War Kids This song induces the mood of a long, hot, dry, heavy day. The slow, deliberate bass plucking and unhurried lyrics drag their feet, but in the best way possible. 11. “Boy with the Arab Strap” by Belle & Sebastian Along with “Needle,” “Boy with the Arab Strap” falls into the more mellow side of the spectrum. Nonetheless, it’s a happy, toe-tapping good song, and a perfect note to end the playlist on. Happy listening, and have a great summer!

easier; it’s just so much more fun.” And even during a pre-dress rehearsal performance, success and fun in the face of vocal challenge was very apparent, the cast pulling off vocal stunt after vocal stunt. Taking place both above and underground in a cave, the show also includes a dynamic and elaborate set. Wooden lattices, arranged in a geometric pattern giving the impression of lay-

ered rock, are pushed around stage to draw a distinction between the action that occurs in the cave and the action that occurs above. But interestingly enough, the two sets are always connected. “I’m onstage the entire show,” said Brooks. Just as Floyd Collins’ fate lurks in the back of our minds throughout the show, the character of Collins literally lurks on stage the entire time. Making for yet an-

other challenge, the main character, doing a miraculous amount of singing, has no water onstage. But this is not to say the other characters get off easy; climbing, hanging and jumping from the wooden lattices, characters are constantly maneuvering the elaborate set. “If you’ve seen a musical, don’t come with any ideas of what a musical should be, because this is not like that at all,” said Brooks.

The Must List: Summer movie preview by NATHAN FISHER Staff Reporter

un’s out, shorts on, jacket ditched, finals looming and summer vacation with lots of time for movies is just around the corner. New releases coming out this summer thankfully seem interesting and filled with huge explosions and a few laughs. Here’s a brief list of the movies that have caught my eye to see this summer. MONEY, MONEY, MONEY With the premiere of “Iron Man 3” this week and the “Star Trek” sequel coming out over Camp Whitman (and I CANNOT WAIT to see both), I am not seeing much in the way of originality at the start of summer. Some of the biggest upcoming summer blockbusters include “Fast and Furious 6” (guilty pleasure; I loved the fifth installment), “The Hangover Part III” (really, aren’t they all married yet?), “Man of Steel,” “Monsters University” (I’m a sucker for animated movies), “Despicable Me 2,” “Grown Ups 2” (REALLY???), “Red 2,” “The Wolverine,” “The Lone Ranger,” “Smurfs 2” (not going to happen), “300: Rise of an Empire” and “Kick Ass 2.” With the exception of “Smurfs” and “Grown Ups,” I’m excited to see all of these movies. That being said, the sheer number of these sequels, prequels or reboots raises a question: Has Hollywood become unoriginal? Sadly, the answer is obvious. Mystery Leaving the retreads, a more innovative movie coming out is “Now You See Me,” which is about a group of the world’s best magicians who pull off impossible heists and give the money to

ILLUSTRATION BY HAMPTON

the audiences of their show. The movie sports an intriguing cast with Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, just to name a few. And of course, who doesn’t love magic? Eclectic and not totally made for money For those who like movies that are offbeat and a bit out of the box, Joss Whedon’s (“The Avengers,” “Firefly” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) new movie “Much Ado About Nothing” looks promising. Apparently a contemporary take on Shakespeare’s play, the movie is shot in black and white and looks to be smart comedy. The question is whether Whedon can pull off Shakespeare without his superhero gadgets and without any visual effects—I vote a hopeful ADVERTISEMENT

yes! Another eclectic movie that shows promise is “The Way, Way Back,” a movie along the same lines as “Juno” and “Little Miss Sunshine.” “The Way, Way Back” is about the spring break trip of a 14-year-old and his unusual family. I think the movie looked cute, but I also enjoyed Chevy Chase in his vacation movies! All the rest Although this summer’s flicks are not original or groundbreaking, they promise to be very entertaining. While I’ve only highlighted my personal favorites, there are many, MANY more action movies and comedies such as “World War Z,” “The Internship,” “Elysium” and several more indie movies coming out. Looks like I’ll be a mole for many hours this summer. Enjoy the movies!

SPORTS

may

2013

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The Sweets practice during the week to prepare for weekend tournaments. Peter Burrows ‘13 (above, in grey shirt) looks on as his teammate stretches out for the Frisbee during a Sweets practice. Photo by Johnson

Sweets one game from nationals by cole anderson Staff Reporter

ast weekend, the Whitman Sweets Frisbee team competed in what turned out to be its last tournament of the season, culminating in a hard-fought battle against University of Washington for a spot in the national tournament. Despite one of the best collective team efforts all season, the Sweets fell short. Though the loss was disappointing, the team accomplished what they set out to do at the beginning of the season. “This year we had quite a few team meetings and I personally am so glad we have those. We

do things as close to a democracy as possible and we realized that yeah, we want to win every game, but we specifically did not set the goal to make nationals,” said junior Nathan Sany about this season. That mentality was a shift from the previous season, where the ultimate goal was to go to nationals for a second year in a row. Sany went on to note that in past years, a significant reliance was put on a few exceptional players whose incredible individual ability took the pressure off the rest of the team. This season, the emphasis was shifted to better, more fluid team play by integrating every player’s talents into a sys-

tem where reliance was spread across each player’s shoulders. “We played the best Ultimate I’ve ever seen the Sweets play this Sunday; it was incredible. And to see us so focused and having such a great time doing it, not making nationals is not as big a deal to me because we wanted to play as one team and it took us the entire season, but at regionals we did it. We were one team and we trusted every single person and that’s why I play the game, so we can have everybody do big things and I was thankful to see that, even though it means not going to Wisconsin,” added Sany. This is especially impressive given the doubts floating around the

Skateboarders and longboarders form tight community by cole anderson Staff Reporter

ven though alternative transportation is rampant on Whitman’s small campus, only a handful of Whitman students skateboard. Whether longboarding to class or skating for leisure, those who own boards on campus represent a small fraction of the student body. Whitman’s campus isn’t exactly ideal for the sport. For skateboarding you mainly just need an open, rarely frequented area with various obstacles and terrain. If there is a skatepark nearby, obviously that is a large draw, but for Whitman students, the nearest park is in College Place. On campus, skaters use the small area outside of Olin Hall or can be seen behind North Hall practicing tricks. As for longboarding, all one really needs is a hilly area that is hopefully nicely paved, ideally with not much traffic. In Walla Walla, serious elevation change is something of a rarity, so most long boarders on campus mainly direct their hobby toward getting to class. However, there are students who do manage to find places off campus to longboard from time to time, like first-year Connor Hood, who likens his hobby to other extreme sports. “It’s a bit like snowboarding for summer. I enjoy going fast and sliding around. I get a rush out of it, I guess,” said Hood. Skateboarding on and around campus provides a similar release for the skaters. “[Skating] allows me to take a break from the externally legislated tasks an individual has to do at school and ... do something that is purely for me; it simply allows me to have a release and get out excess energy,” said Zach Gordy, a sophomore skateboarder. Tom Shellum, another soph-

omore skateboarder, also ex- to get along with the skateplained his love for the sport. boarders, even if they don’t ap“Skating is a lot of fun. Like prove of turning every part of any sport, it’s a good way to be ac- the campus into a skate spot. tive and get exercise, but it also “Despite the stereotypes of has an element of creative expres- skaters not getting along with sion that I don’t think you can cops, we actually have a pretty find in most other sports. I think good relationship with Whitman the combination of athletic activ- Security. They let us skate pretity and creativity that skateboard- ty much anywhere, and if there is ing offers makes it a great stress a spot that they don’t want us skatreliever, so it’s been a good hob- ing, they are really nice about tellby to have at school. It’s also been ing us to leave,” said Shellum. a good way to meet people outThe rest of the student body side of the Whitman bubble. I’m seems to be ambivalent to the skatfriends with a lot of skaters in ers, making the community even Walla Walla just because we see more isolated from the mainstream. each other at the park so often.” “I don’t think people really Although Whitman is not care about skaters one way or anan ideal skating location for the other at Whitman. Everyone does skating community, there are their own thing here so I think several places they frequent. seeing someone skate is not real“If I’m skating on campus, ly a novelty people pay much atmy favorite place would be the tention to. People are always surweird banks that are behind the prised when they find out I skate, green fence on the Ankeny side even though I frequently skate at of Olin. They are pretty small but spots around campus,” said Gordy. very steep which makes them challenging enough to be really fun to skate, but if I can find a ride I always prefer to skate at one of [the parks]. There is just a lot more you can do at a skatepark than on flat ground,” said Shellum. Although the skateboarding community is small, their unique interests have drawn them together. “Everyone I’ve met who boards is really fun to hang out with, some really good people—guys and girls too, which is really fun,” said Hood. Even cam- Tom Shellum ‘15 skateboards outside Olin Hall, one of pus security seems the better skate spots on campus. Photo by McCormick ADVERTISEMENT

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Ultimate world prior to this season. “Many teams thought we were not going anywhere this season,” said junior Walker Larson “[But] actions such as beating UNC Wilmington, the school who did not invite us to Easterns because we were not considered ‘elite enough of a team,’ 13-7 at the Stanford Invite, might give such skeptics a reason to second guess themselves.” The Sweets will likely assume a similar role next season, but look forward to continuing to shock the Ultimate world. “I think the expectations will be lower next year because we are losing players and we are losing some leadership, but I think that we’ll still get wins. We still have a ton of returning players,” said Sany. This skepticism will remain as the Sweets are again losing some key seniors, namely Jacob Janin, who was the team captain, coach and role model in a lot of ways, according to Sany. “He’s going to be a huge loss. I’ve played with him over the past couple summers and it’s crazy to think about him not being around,” said Sany. Nonetheless, this sea-

son proved to me more successful than everyone but the Sweets expected, and hopes are just as high for next season. “While the season as a whole went well, many would consider our two performances at California highlights. We won the Stanford Open, guaranteeing us a spot at the Stanford Invite, where we would go on to beat the number one seeded team in the nation, the Wisconsin Hodags, in pool play,” said Larson. Sany saw the season’s successes as growth that will help the team down the road as they continue to build the program. “We grew a ton as a team this year and I can foresee us doing that next year, too, especially with some new players,” said Sany, looking ahead to next season. If the regional tournament revealed one thing about the Sweets, it has to be that they remain loyal to their team in failure and success. “I don’t think I can pick out a single moment that I consider to be the best of this season. It’s hard to choose what to define as a particular highlight when spending so much time with such a talented group of individuals,” said Larson.

AAU: Bad for coaches, players Peter clark Columnist

mateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball is the most important tool in helping aspiring basketball players attain their dream of playing college basketball. For the spring through the summer, college coaches line the baselines of gyms in major AAU tournaments across the country evaluating players and looking for potential recruits. Because I was once one of these players, I can attest to the giddy thrills of brushing shoulders with major college coaches walking out of a gym and watching games of nationally ranked prospects. These tournaments are jampacked full of hope. Coaches are hoping to find the player to round out their recruiting class, and players are hoping to land a coveted scholarship. Unfortunately, this hope is accompanied by the reality that the style of AAU basketball does not reflect the structured sphere of college basketball. Not at all. While certainly not in all cases, the majority of upper-tier AAU basketball teams are made up of players who are from different high schools, cities and sometimes even states. They practice a handful of times a week depending on the varying availability of the players on the team. With such little practice time, one can guess the style of basketball that ensues. The games turn into isolation-based, unorganized frenzies that can best be described by my Dad’s favorite phrase, “helter-skelter.” With no team defense, highlight plays like alley-oops, ankle-breaking crossovers and shots that are swatted into the fifth row of the stands garner the oohs and ahhs that young players all want. The current basketball culture encourages these feats of athleticism, so players keep mastering those particular plays. I know that I probably sound like a “Hoosiers”-worshipping basketball aficionado, but I can assure you that I am not. I enjoy watching posterizing dunks and slick dribbling as much as the next fan. As much as it pains me to admit, watching high-flying, athletic basketball is hard not to appreciate. The problem is that there is

a disconnect between what AAU breeds and how college basketball is actually played. The majority of successful college basketball programs are predicated on good shot selection and team defense. Passing, screening and cutting are a part of college basketball, as are defenses that move as a unit and work together. While outstanding one-onone play has its place in college basketball, especially in late game situations, a good portion of players who try what worked for them in AAU likely find themselves on the bench in a hurry once they get to college. Coaches, on the other hand, go into these AAU tournaments knowing they must mold these undoubtedly talented young players into college basketball players who can produce consistent results in a structured system. The hard part is knowing which players are coachable and which ones are not. In a perfect basketball world, AAU would properly prepare players for their potential futures in college basketball, and coaches would have the opportunity to effectively evaluate talent. Since AAU falls terribly short of both, we are left with a system whose goal is to send high school basketball players to college, yet simultaneously complicates the process for both players and coaches involved. If AAU basketball really wants to be the primary facilitator for tournaments that showcase prospective college players, the coaches of AAU teams must take it upon themselves to put their players in a system that at least partially mirrors a constructive team atmosphere. Otherwise, players are left with rough transitions into the college game that is rooted in a system that will continue to be unorganized until conscious effort is put into actually preparing these young basketball players for the next level.

SCOREBOARD baseball

v. Whitworth University Apr. 27: L 8-3, L 13-9 v. Whitworth University Apr. 28: W 9-0

upcoming Baseball

v. University of Puget Sound May 4, 10 a.m.: Away v. Pacific University May 4, 1 p.m.: away

tennis

Women’s v. Lewis-Clark State May 3, 3 p.m.: home

FEATURE

PAGE

MAy

2013

BRUSHES WITH

AUTHORITY For most Whitman students, interactions with legal authorities are virtually non-existent. However, when police interact with students, they usually only see the underbelly of campus activity.

Negative contacts skew police, student views by Hannah Bartman Staff Reporter

hitman students and Walla Walla police officers aren’t often at odds with each other, but when the police do get called in, students are not usually in their best form. While the majority of students see the police as helpful and wellmeaning, weekend interactions with law enforcement may provide police officers with a less-than-favorable view of Whitman students. Through the interactions he has had with students while working as a city policeman, Officer Tim Hollingsworth has a nuanced perspective on Whitman College students. “Unfortunately the only contact we get with the students as patrol men is at the frat houses where we deal with the drunk and disorderly,” said Hollingsworth. “We don’t get regular interactions with the normal students, so most of the time our only interaction with the students is negative.” This soured relationship does not lead to a positive and cooperative relationship between students and law enforcement. The majority of calls the police receives are from citizens from the surrounding area of the fratnernity houses. Some instances in which they might be called are issues of disruptions of the community, such as public urination or disruptively loud noise. “Police are generally pretty aware of the culture at Whitman and know that the school puts a lot of faith in us to make wise decisions in party situations,” said Tau Kappa Epsilon President Chris Perkins in an email. “Occasionally they’ll stop by a function and make sure everything is okay but it never goes beyond that.” When dealing with the students, which can occur multiple times a week in the warmer seasons, the police keep in mind the personal character they perceive of the Whitman community. Most of the interactions the police have with students involve turning a drunk student over to a sober friend. Hollingsworth notes that he has never issued an underage drinking or drug possession ticket to a Whitman student. “Just realize that we understand that you are students, and this is a great college, and we’re very lenient with the students as long as we don’t get that attitude,” said Hollingsworth. “This isn’t an easy college to get into and to have it all thrown down the drain just for something stupid; I don’t want to be that guy. I want to try to correct it on a one-to-one level.” Police not only have to deal with the bad mouthing from the

ILLUSTRATION BY VAZQUEZ

students, but they have also had eggs thrown at cop cars and debris thrown in the road. Officer Hollingsworth has only issued one arrest to a Whitman student, which occurred last summer. Hollingsworth arrived at the Tau Kappa Epsilon house to find a student urinating outside the house. He found the student’s sober girlfriend and turned the drunk urinator over to her. However, when Hollingsworth and his above-six-foot-tall sergeant turned to leave, a student threw a pie at the sergeant’s face. “We get done being pretty lenient with the students when we get a pie to the face,” said Hollingsworth. “It doesn’t make us think too much of the students, but that’s the only kind of contact we get.” One student that has had a different sort of run-in with the law is junior Logan Emlet. Last August, Emlet and another Whitman student were arrested and charged with public nuisance for streaking through Borleski stadium during the first Sweets game. As a result of this, Emlet spent a night in the Walla Walla jail. He perceived that the police officers during the arrest were “jovial,” but it was the employers of Burleski Stadium that encouraged the arrest and subsequent charges in order to make an exam-

ple out of Emlet and his classmate. “Because we go to Whitman there are some benefits that some students think that they should get, and I just wasn’t privy to those privileges,” said Emlet. The charges will ultimately be dropped this August, but that was only after a year of charges for lawyers, fines and a tainted record. Ultimately, Emlet has come to a personal realization that the Walla Walla Police Department was “nice enough,” and it was due to other factors that he received his sentence. Overall, students appear to have a similar apathetic or positive view of the police based on a Pioneer survey of 47 students. Of the 27 students who said they had had an encounter with the police, 76 percent described it as positive. Similarly, students appreciate the WWPD’s quick response and attentiveness to helping those in need. “I was assaulted last year and the police responded fast enough to catch the guy before he could hurt anyone else. They’re good people and they’re good at what they do,” said one anonymous student on the survey. However, a minority of students believe that Whitman students are not perceived in a positive light by the police. “It’s pretty obvious that

WWPD does not like the Whitman student body. I think part of that is that they feel a pressure to treat us differently, whether explicitly from the school or not, and ... resent that—and to some extent, rightfully so,” said another respondent. Another student described an encounter with the police while out partying in similar terms. “Police called Whitman students spoiled. [They] think we are above ‘the rules,’” said the student. Most security threats and issues related to the law are kept under the jurisdiction of Whitman’s own campus security, where perceptions of students are more positive. “Primarily I interact with students and a vast majority of those interactions are positive,” said Security Guard Gabe Kiefel. The security office is the only office on campus that is kept open 24/7, so security receives a fair amount of non-emergency calls from students. In this way, most situations in which students feel uncomfortable are kept within the security office. “We call the police with anything involving a crime of any kind, like assault, burglary or

theft. For police infractions we prefer to keep that within Whitman,” said Kiefel. “Really we call the police with anything in which someone feels uncomfortable.” The only time that the security office feels the need to call the police is when there is a disturbance by a non-Whitman citizen. Security is not trained to involve itself in physical altercations, so the police department is a safeguard for any possible emergency situations. “They’re very quick to respond. I’ve never had a negative interaction with the Walla Walla police department and if I call reporting something they’re very receptive,” said Kiefel. The inharmonious interaction between students, police and security is one that creates a disconnect and an increase in tensions between Whitman and the law. The police feel an improvement can be made by solidifying a mutual understanding of respectability. “It’s hard to have a positive mindset about the students when all we have is a negative,” said Hollingsworth. “Let the students know that we are approachable and, we feel, more than fair with the students.”

Gabe Keifel talks about being both an alum and a Whitman security officer. Read online at www.whitmanpioneer.com/feature

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OPINION

MAY

2013

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Open letter: Schools shape sexual culture Spencer Wharton Senior

SEXCETERA Dear Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association:

arlier this year, the Chicago Board of Education voted to overhaul its public schools’ sex education curriculum and begin teaching age-appropriate sexual health lessons in kindergarten. You, in response, criticized the board as “pushing an extreme agenda across the board, both to normalize sex and begin the conversation earlier.” I’ll admit that, as a leftist atheist sex columnist from the Pacific Northwest who enjoys premarital sex on a rather regular basis, I’m probably not your target audience. But still, I’m having one hell of a time trying to wrap my mind around how your two points, “normalizing sex” and “beginning the conversation earlier” are bad things. We’re both adults here, so let’s be frank: People fuck. They make love. They have sex. The vast majority of people will have sex during their lives, and most will do it more

than once! And contrary to what some people seem to think, sex isn’t some new development in human history. I’m not a historian, but I feel it’s pretty safe to say that, broadly speaking, sex has been a favorite pastime of humans for, well, ever. I bring this up because you seem to be under the perplexing impression that sex is not “normal.” It’s as if you want us to teach our children that sex is like pink eye— a weird, disgusting rarity that only happens to the miscreants who don’t wash their hands. But sex isn’t pink eye. It isn’t a rarity. And as long as we keep our children in the dark about this fact, we’re setting them up to feel shame and guilt when they begin to develop their sexualities, as they almost inevitably will. After all, classrooms are where we forge the culture of our future. Today’s teachers shape tomorrow’s society. The lessons we teach our children about their bodies—both what we say (or don’t) and how we say it—will follow them for much of their lives. For generations, sex education has saddled our children with incomplete information and shame. We can do better than this. You’re worried that we’re trying to “begin the conversation earlier.” But that’s what we need, because we’ve spent too long saying nothing about sex at all. In every other subject, we expect our schools to teach our children fundamental, age-appropriate, evidencebased facts. This, after all, is how we empower our children to become informed, intelligent teenagers and adults. Yet when it comes

Voices from the

Community

to sex, we hold an entirely different set of standards, as if we’d rather keep our children ignorant. This is not the purpose of education. I know you’re afraid of the potential consequences of early sex ed. Supporters of abstinence-only sex ed often fear that giving students information about sex will make them more likely to have it. But the evidence shows the contrary: Comprehensive sex ed makes students more likely to delay first sex. Similarly, teenagers who receive comprehensive sex ed are 50 percent less likely than abstinence-only students to experience pregnancy. Comprehensive sex education is the best way to help our youth stay healthy. Instead of consequences, think of the potential benefits. The next generation of Chicago’s schoolchildren will grow up unafraid, unashamed and unapologetic. When they choose to become sexually active, either as teenagers or as adults, they will do so from an empowered, knowledgeable position. Comprehensive sex ed, after all, doesn’t tell students they should have sex; rather, it gives them information and encourages them to make decisions in line with their personal values. They will have the skills to build healthy relationships founded on mutual respect and consent. They will be healthier, more responsible, less likely to get pregnant—and, god forbid, comfortable with their sexualities. This should not scare you the way I know it does. -Spencer Wharton

Non-discrimination policies empower students of color Sayda morales

What is one thing you would like to change about Whitman? // Poll by skye vander laan

Sophomore

Heather Domonoske Senior

“I would like to see the Bob Carson Outdoor Fund money available for students of all ages.”

Doug Scarborough Assistant Professor of Music

“We talk about being really eco-friendly here, but if we really wanted to put that down we would take Ankeny Field and just let it go. Don’t mow it, don’t re-sod it, don’t aerate it; just let it revert back to its natural state. It would develop these trails, like a nature walk, instead of a perfectly green artificial mat that it is now.”

Jack Percival First-year

“I would like to see more of an effort on Whitman’s part to not only increase the community feeling that Whitman markets itself as having, but also to assert itself more nationally and try to get more applicants from a wider variety of geographic areas in the country. I know applications have been down, and Whitman’s a fantastic school, so we just need to market ourselves a little bit better.”

mind the gap

ince first learning about affirmative action in high school, I have often asked white college students if they approve of affirmative action. The most common response I have received is an ambiguous answer: The students usually support the idea of affirmative action but not the way it is practiced. I have also found that it depends on whether or not the college students I am asking got accepted to the college they wanted, because if not, the response is negative and the students may even blame affirmative action for not getting into the school they desired. But affirmative action is not to blame for a white student’s rejection, nor is it to commend for a student of color’s admittance. First off, before a student’s race is even taken into account, the student in question is already in the top 10 percent of the applicant pool, meaning that any student accepted due to affirmative action policies is already highly qualified. On the surface, affirmative action policies give students of color an advantage; but if you dig deeper, you will notice that these policies do nothing to deconstruct the actual discrimination that those students have faced because of their race.

Austin Biehl First-year

“I think that [Professor of Geology] Pat Spencer should not go on sabbatical.”

For more community responses visit www.whitmanpioneer.com/category/opinion ADVERTISEMENT

ILLUSTRATION BY HAMPTON

Whitman College is not an affirmative action institution. Rather, as its policy states, it is a non-discriminatory one. In other words, Whitman does not accept any student or employ any faculty or staff based on factors such as race. It is important to continue with the aims of affirmative action and to understand that nondiscrimination policies can still empower students of color without antagonizing white students into feeling they are being cheated. Non-discrimination as an ideology that is practiced by both college admission officers and employers is better than affirmative action policies that only tokenize and objectify students of color. The issue with affirmative action is that it sets a quota that colleges specifically have to abide by. This does not enable students of color, but rather turns us into a number that a college is required to fill. In contrast, a non-discrimination policy takes into consideration a student’s background as it affects his or her position in society. It is not that students of color deserve preferential treatment simply because of the color of their skin, but rather it is because students of color, regardless of socioeconomic status, face the challenge of overcoming stereotype threat that makes their application impressive. When a student of color is as strong an applicant as a white student, the student of color should be accepted as a response to the years of oppression and discrimination that people of color have had to face in this country. The difference here is that this is a case-by-case basis and the reason for admitting the student of color would not be in order to fulfill a quota, but instead because the student of color has a perspec-

tive that is underrepresented in most college institutions today. Some would refer to the previous as reverse discrimination, but if you look at the figures specific to Whitman, 76 percent of the newly admitted class is white, while only 2.9 percent is black and 7.4 percent is Hispanic. It is clear, then, that white students are still in the vast majority. So if students do not get into a school, it is not because of the color of their skin, but rather due to what experiences they may bring. Affirmative action policies are very limiting in that they target race as a factor that should determine admission, whereas nondiscrimination policies take into account the plethora of experiences that a student may contribute. Race is not as important as background is. That being said, because the majority of college students of color are first-generation and working class while the majority of white college students are middle to upper-middle class, race does seem to correlate to a specific background. Of course that is not a formula, which is why non-discrimination policies are more encompassing and fair than affirmative action policies that only look at physical characteristics such as race to make final admission decisions. This is not to say that white students here at Whitman have not struggled at some point in their lives. But for students of color, statistics already show that we should expect to be the minority even though, combined, we are in fact the majority. Until this changes, we will need to rely on informed non-discriminatory policies to ensure that the undervalued and underprivileged have the same opportunities as those who have been privileged.

Letter from the Editor

his issue of The Pioneer will be the 91st and final issue I’ve worked on during my time at Whitman. I’ve saved my personal reflections for our graduation magazine, issue 7 of The Circuit. For now, I want to acknowledge everyone who has helped make this year challenging, fun and full of high-quality journalism. First, I have to thank production manager Sean McNulty, for his willingness to step into the hardest job on the paper lastminute and his dedication to improving the quality of design, issue after issue. His willingness to collaborate on last-minute infographics has made our front page truly standout. I also owe so much to fall managing editor Libby Arnosti, who kept work fun and editors engaged during stressful and at times exhausting nights of layout. Each and every one of my section editors has helped the paper build on its success and innovate this year. I’m grateful to News Editor Emily Lin-Jones for her lead-

ership in the newsroom and her inspiring reporting skills; Karah Kemmerly for her high standards; A&E Editor Aleida Fernandez for her creativity and vision; Sports Editor Tristan Gavin for his quality writing; Feature Editor Adam Brayton for his popcorn skills and levity; Opinion Editor Alex Brott for his attention to detail and Backpage Editor Kyle Seasly for keeping things light around the newsroom. Photo Editor Marie von Hafften has taken her staff to amazing levels and mentored an incredible group of talented artists, and Illustration Editor Julie Peterson has shown gusto and cheer in even the most last-minute of infographic brainstorming sessions. I’m also deeply indebted to Chief Copy Editor Marisa Ikert for catching so many of our late-night mistakes before they went to print, Webmaster Ben Schaefer for his interest in helping the website and the paper grow, Web Editor Blair Hanley Frank for having my back on all occasions, Advertising Manager Hannah Bauer for bringing

a refreshing dose of sass and Italian sodas to production night and Business Manager Vincent Peterson for making sure I never had to deal with the U.S. Postal Service. Finally, I have to acknowledge Web Content Editor and next year’s Editor-in-Chief Shelly Le. Shelly, you’ve been such a reliable, helpful presence on the paper for all the years we’ve worked together, and your love of The Pio and care for its continued success is inspiring to watch. I can’t wait to see what you and everyone else do next year. And to everyone else in the Whitman community: Thank you for allowing me to have the most rewarding, challenging and educational experience of my life in our newsroom.

Rachel Alexander Editor in Chief

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BIRKENSTOCKS Banned

ue to health and safety concerns, as of April 28, 2013, Whitman College has placed a ban on Birkenstocks. Many students have raised up their fists in retaliation while other students, for many reasons, see the change as needed. The health and safety issues with Birkenstock shoes began decades ago in the ‘60s when a marked increase of foot fungus and ankle injury made its way to campus. Additionally, recent studies have proven that Birkenstocks have joined the list of newer addictions, such as computer gaming, Facebook and cell phone usage. Similar to how Ugg boots act as house slippers in Australia, Birkenstocks act as house slippers in their home country, Germany. Indeed, by taking both of these types of house slippers out and into their working day lives, Americans have set themselves up for injury. Would you ride a bike wearing

fluffy pink cat slippers? Would you run experiments in chemistry with hydrochloric acid in Spongebob slippers? Would you scale a mountain in zebra print slippers? Not if safety were a concern. Part of the issue with Birkenstocks is in how students use them improperly. In fact, some students have begun a campaign saying that it’s the student culture of the shoe that makes them dangerous, and not the shoes themselves. They want students allowed to wear Birkenstocks and educated on the proper usage of a pair of Birkenstocks. Around campus this group can be spotted in purple shirts that say: “Birkenstocks don’t give people toe fungus and break their ankles: People who wear them improperly do.” “Birkenstocks aren’t for climbing mountains; that’s a common misconception here at Whitman. We think that be-

ILLUSTRATION BY MEASE

cause our footwear is ‘earthy,’ that it can hold up to our active pursuits,” said one Birkenstock educator. “Another problem is that we think the shoes last forever, that the greener the brown or tan pair get, the more ‘street cred’ we have. Frankly, keeping shoes for that long is unsanitary. While having your mom’s Birkenstocks with a hole in the heel and a broken strap may seem cool, it’s dangerous.” Some students are celebrating the end of Birkenstocks. “I’m tired of going out for a nice dinner and seeing girls made up with their hair, makeup, a beautiful dress and then Birkenstocks. Same with guys in suits. Maybe [Birkenstocks] are comfortable, but they are an outfit killer. If we went off what was comfortable all of the time, some of us wouldn’t ever wear clothes while the majority of students would live in yoga pants and pajamas. The line has to be drawn somewhere, and if the shoes are a health and safety hazard, nix them,” said sophomore Ciara Bartbrett. A Facebook group has since been formed to “Save the Birks: Whitman College” and posts indicate that a protest took place on May 1. Students are instructed by the group to wear their Birkenstocks and go about their normal day, and accept disciplinary action if the college is capable of dispensing that many citations.

Things Whitman NEEDS to Change I’m on the 2nd floor. Where are you?

MAY

2013

Backpage stages coup of the Pio

ast night, on the last production night of the year, the Backpage finally thwarted communism once and for all. Assisted by CIA agents and various members of a dogfighting ring, the Backpage staff members successfully staged a coup against the leftleaning “communist” senior Rachel Alexander and installed junior Shelly Le as the new “editor-inchief” of The Pioneer. The members began to plan the coup after Rachel proposed “land reform” in the Pio office during an all-staff meeting. “I don’t even know what that means,” commented sophomore Tabor Martinsen, “and I certainly can’t make a top three list about it.” Tensions grew as Alexander refused to buy members of the Backpage pizza and beer whenever they wanted. That’s when rumors began to circulate that Alexander was a dirty commie bastard. She denied these claims almost instantly. “Yes, I am a communist. I am a feminist politics major at a small liberal arts school. Is that weird or something? Half this campus is communist.” Backpage editor sophomore Kyle Seasly began to collaborate with members of the CIA and informed Rachel Alexander ‘13 (above), currently dead. Photo by Seasly them that a leftover KGB agent could be posing as a 22-year-old woman. The came clear in an exclusive CIA informed Seasly that was im- Skype interview with Prespossible, but decided to help over- ident Barack Obama and throw Alexander anyway. At mid- Vice President Joe Biden. night on May 1, the coup began. Biden stated, “Alexander was a Unfortunately, Seasly was run communist, plain and simple. Le, Le over by a tractor in the crossfire. will be good. She’s much more sta“It was certainly a tragedy, ble, and simply not a communist.” what happened to Kyle,” commentThe head of the CIA assised Backpage writer junior Tristan tance operation to overthrow AlGavin. “That’s why I’m going to be exander was a man whose codewriting a comedy about it in the fall.” name was “Brett Lerooo.” The reasons behind the coup be- He declined to comment.

Hip Hop Crossword I’m on the 2nd floor too. I don’t see you!

Penrose Library

or all of its wonderful oddities and idiosyncrasies, Whitman College definitely has a few things it needs to change ASAP. Whether it’s because they confuse students, make them scared, annoy them or cause people to say “DA FUCK?”, these aspects of Whitman are almost as frustrating and bothersome as Kayvon’s fake laugh. 1) The doors at Reid Campus Center with the opposite side hinges: You’re having what you think is a great lunch at Reid and decide to wander over to flirt with the student working the front desk. After successfully charming him/her up, you “peace out” at the perfect time and don’t look back as you head for the glass doors that face Cordiner Hall. Just when you’re feeling as cool as the other side of the pillow, it happens. Every time, like clockwork. The happy-go-lucky pop in your step is instantly sucked away by a simple door. But how can anyone blame you? Even when you’re sure that you remember being on the other side, you still run into the middle of the first door on your way out. The embarrassment you feel, combined with the pain on your stomach from awkwardly jabbing it onto the door handle,

ILLUSTRATION BY RAIBLE

forces you to make an oath never to accidentally choose the wrong side again. And then the same thing happens next week, no matter how hard you try to avoid it. 2) The library floors: It’s finals week and you have to meet with your group before the presentation tomorrow. Everyone only had 30 minutes tops to go over material and practice so time is of the essence. You all agree to meet on the first floor at the group study tables. Yet when you get there, nobody else is there. You patiently wait for five to 10 minutes and then decide to call them to confirm the time and location, to which the rest of the group answers that they are at said location and have been studying for the last 15 minutes. You are confused as to how your entire group became delusional and was unable to find the agreed study spot when you realize that you are on the second (main) floor of the library. Classic Whitman mistake, but one that causes a great deal of unneeded stress to your finals week and one that makes you ask when there will be a unanimous agreement of the library levels. 3) The creepy guy who always checks out girls’ Facebook profiles on the downstairs comput-

ers at Reid: You know him well; we all do. He’s the little, balding older man that slightly resembles the old-looking (but young in age? Gah, too confusing) Benjamin Button who, when not working as a Bon Appétit janitor, spends the majority (read: ALL) of his time on the PUBLIC computers in the basement of Reid. “Maybe he just can’t afford his own computer and is using an available resources to do work, you asswipe, so mind your own business,” is what you initially think to yourself. But then you see his terribly inefficient way of typing with two fingers while he looks at the keys and then back up to squint at the screen. You start to think, “Huh, he seems to have a Facebook account that’s actually pretty funn—HOLD UP. Are those younger girls’ pictures that he is staring at from fewer than three inches away? And what’s with the note pad that he keeps pulling out to scribble notes or names down on? OH GAWD. My Creeper Beeper is going off like crazy! Someone needs to say something to him!” And yet, you don’t. Nor does anyone else, for that matter. And the creeping continues day after day. When will this madness be put to an end?

down

across

2. sippin’ on _______ and juice 4. got the right ____________ for you to turning me on 6. I’m a __________, I’m gonna make it 8. _______ there when you call, I’m ________ there on time 10. exceedingly common hip-hop word

1. it’s the freakin’ ___________ baby gonna have me some fun 3. lemme see your _______, lemme see your what! 5. living in a gangsta’s __________ 7. where the ________ at? 9. they be like, _____, I be like yeah!