Whitman Pioneer Spring 2012 Issue 4

This Week On Web

The Pioneer sports blog discusses implications of the new NCAA stipend www.whitmanpioneer.com/sports

A&E pg. 4

Campus band Which Bear unites a powerful, dynamic group of students with diverse instruments and an exotic sound E WH TH

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Founder’s Day prompts discussion of religious life and the history of secularization at Whitman College

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EX AMICITIA VERITAS

ONEER PI

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Feature pg. 6

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ISSUE 4 | February 16, 2012 | Whitman news since 1896

Community reacts to viral Maureen Walsh video, marriage bill

by DY L A N T U LL

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SOS CLINIC CONSTRUCTION EXPANDS UNINSURED CARE

The SOS Clinic is undergoing construction to create a larger facility that will be able to accomodate more families in Walla Walla without medical insurance. Photo by Parrish

by JU LIA STONE Staff Reporter

W

hen the new facility for the SOS Medical Clinic opens, it will provide a much-needed expansion of uninsured health care services in Walla Walla. The larger facility, with a new adjacent dental clinic, is tentatively scheduled to open in early to mid summer of this year.

Over the last decade, the Walla Walla Valley has seen an exponential increase in need for medical and dental care. Last year, the Washington State legislature removed dental insurance coverage for uninsured Washingtonians. According to the KOMO News Network, in 2012, Governor Christine Gregoire’s proposed budget for the 2012 fiscal year would eliminate the Basic Health Plan, ending subsidized health care for 35,000 low-income individuals. This is where the SOS Clinic steps in; by offering free medical care and prescriptions, the Clinic fills an important need in the community.

In Walla Walla, many people are without health insurance: almost 60 percent of those who are unemployed are not covered under any insurance plan. Many without insurance cannot see a doctor until they are in dire situations—often situations requiring trips to the emergency room.

According to Janice Anhorn, the clinic’s head nurse, young people in particular often face difficulties because they are not covered by health insurance.

“Many who are young do not qualify for Medicare yet, have health care problems and they’re on maintenance drugs, and they can only get their prescriptions for so long before the pharmacies refuse to refill them,” Anhorn said.

The SOS Clinic is a place where uninsured patients can refill prescriptions for maintenance drugs for diseases like diabetes or can be referred to specialists for tests or x-rays before they reach an emergency state.

These services are life-saving and job-saving for those

who use the clinic, and the situation is also win-win in the larger context of the medical industry as well, according to Head Project Manager Todd Reiswig.

Because of donated equipment and volunteer staff, the cost to treat patients at the SOS Clinic is very low.

“The last thing doctors want to do after serving patients from nine to five is see more patients.”

Fritz Siegert ‘12

“The people that need the health care get it, and it saves the rest of the established health care industry, like hospitals, from having to foot the bill,” he said.

Soon after the SOS Clinic moved into the SonBridge community center in 2005, the executive board began to plan renovations for a larger facility. Reiswig says that the new facility will be able to serve many more people than the current

facility, which operates out of a few rooms in a converted retirement home. The new facilities will have a new waiting room, four exam rooms, an office for the doctor, a reception desk and a nurse’s station.

Fritz Siegert, a senior Whitman student and long-time volunteer at the clinic, is looking forward to the completion of the renovations.

“The great thing about the new clinic is that the facilities [are] designed for health and medical care as opposed to renovated retirement home bedrooms,” he said.

The biggest limitation that the SOS Clinic faces is a lack of doctors. The clinic is only able to be open two hours on Monday and Wednesday. On Wednesday, Feb. 8 alone, the list of patients already checked in and screened by the nurse had reached 15—and that was well over an hour before the doctor was scheduled to arrive.

“The last thing doctors want to do after serving patients from nine [a.m.] to five [p.m.] is to see more patients,” Siegert said. see SOS CLINIC, page 3

Staff Reporter

ay and civil rights activists celebrated a massive victory in Washington State when Governor Christine Gregoire signed the bill to legalize same-sex marriage into law last Monday, Feb. 13. The bill, which appeared to slide through the Washington State Senate and House of Representatives with ease, was in fact met with some opposition. However, with strong support from both Republicans and Democrats, most notably Walla Walla Representative Republican Maureen Walsh, the bill will go into effect June 7.

Upon hearing the news of the bill being signed into law, Whitman students voiced their enthusiasm and excitement in everyday conversation and on the walls of Facebook. On that day, the video that went viral was not one of kittens playing with cheeseburgers, but one of Representative Walsh, giving a surprisingly impassioned and undeniably moving speech in defense of same-sex marriage.

“I was moved by Maureen Walsh’s testimony on behalf of the bill. It was one of the most honest political statements I have heard in a very long time. Definitely one of those restorative political moments for me,” senior Alice Minor said.

“I showed the video to a number of my friends and we were all so proud and moved. I cried.”

Whitman students and faculty took immense pride in seeing their Republican representative stand up for what she believed was right in the face of the backlash she received from her own party.

Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Jeremy Mims noted his appreciation for Walsh’s actions.

“I wrote [Rep. Maureen Walsh] an email this week, thanking her for her support, but she is getting a lot of pressure from her own party for supporting it,” he said.

see SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, page 3

Town Hall meeting talks tenure review

by SHELLY LE News Editor

L

Galen Sollom-Brotherton ‘13 takes a breath as he cruises to a first-place finish in the men’s 400 yard IM. Sollom-Brotherton set a new meet and Northwest Conference record in the event and earned Men’s Swimmer of the Meet for his swims. Photo contributed by Lehman

Whitman Swimming smashes long-set records in huge blitz

by LIBBY A R NOSTI Sports Editor

T

he Whitman swimming record board has never been shattered with such ruthlessness. Last weekend at the season-end Northwest Conference Championship meet, an unprecedented 25 records fell to this year’s talented batch of swimmers. The men and women raced their way through the three-day meet to round off the most successful season Whitman swimming has ever seen.

The men and women finished second and third, respectively, in the Northwest Conference.

Among the accolades taken home by the team were four NCAA nationals cuts, two NWC records, two meet records, Men’s Swimmer of the Year and Men’s Coach of the Year.

“The meet this weekend was nothing short of epic. Literally it was quite possibly the best meet I have ever been to in my life,”

said Assistant Coach Kevin Howard, a three-time record holder at his alma mater, Rochester University. “You always know that people are going to swim fast at a Conference meet, but there is no way to predict this.”

Of the 38 total events on the Whitman swimming record board, two-thirds were shattered at this meet alone. Including the three more that were broken last fall, over 70 percent of the fastest swims in Whitman history have occurred within the last six months.

“This is an amazing achievement by any program, but given the strength of our record board already it is truly something special,” said Howard, a new addition to Whitman’s coaching staff this year.

Head Coach Jenn Blomme collected her third consecutive Coach of the Year award this season for her efforts, her fifth since coming to Whitman in 2000. Junior Galen Sollom-Brotherton

won the NW Conference Men’s Swimmer of the Year for being the individual point leader at the meet. He also set two new Conference and meet records and earned Whitman’s only NCAA nationals automatic qualifying time in the 1,650 yard freestyle.

Both men and women completed their regular season with 5-1 records in the Northwest Conference, losing only to Whitworth University in dual meets. The program has been climbing quickly towards the top of the NWC since Blomme took the helm 11 years ago.

“It’s absolutely incredible to see where the program has come over the course of the past few years,” said alumnus swim team captain and current Admissions Officer Robert Street ‘07. “Year by year our team has grown both in numbers and talent. It’s hard to believe a team with only five men on the roster nine years ago is now second in the Conference.”

see SWIMMING, page 5

ast Wednesday, Feb. 15, students gathered to discuss the tenure process at Whitman at ASWC’s third town hall meeting this academic year.

In light of recent student uproar over Assistant Professor of Spanish Alberto Galindo’s tenure denial, Provost and Dean of Faculty Timothy Kaufman-Osborn spoke about the importance of the tenure process for Whitman’s future as an academic institution and addressed students’ concerns about the lack of student voice in the review.

“The purpose of the tenure process, I would argue, is to ensure as fairly and accurately we can that the faculty of Whitman College is the very best that they can be,” Kaufman-Osborn said. “A tenured position is the most important personnel decision the college will ever make.”

In explaining the tenure process, Kaufman-Osborn stressed the importance of faculty input in the process.

“One of the premises of our process is the comprehensive review of candidates for tenure is best performed by that can-

didate’s peers; hence, the review is conducted first and foremost by faculty members,” he said.

However, Kaufman-Osborn also stressed the value of student evaluations in the tenure review process. Kaufman-Osborn noted that professors being reviewed for tenure must submit two-thirds of student evaluations from classes they have taught in the past.

“One of the things we’re considering is making the evaluation process all electronic.”

Timothy Kaufman-Osborn Provost and Dean of Faculty

“One of the things we’re considering is making the evaluation process all electronic,” he said.

ASWC Senator first-year Evan Griffis and Vice President junior Maggie Appleton are working on an ASWC resolution that will work to address student grievances about the tenure process and hopefully allow more student participation in the tenure process, including requiring campus-wide notification when professors are about to undergo review. see TOWN HALL, page 2

(Left to right) MaryBeth Murray ‘12, Spanish House Native Speaker Vanesa Vega Dorado, Allison Ramp ‘13, and seniors Grace Evans, Aaron Aguilar, Zoe Kunkel-Patterson, Jessi Whalen, Amy Liechty, Jennifer Farly and Brendan Boyer stand in front of Memorial Building on Wednesday, Feb. 15 in support of Assistant Professor of Spanish Alberto Galindo and in protest of his tenure review denial. Photo by Bernstein

NEWS

2 Students weigh costs of double majoring Feb

16 2012

by MOLLY JOH A NSON Staff Reporter

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or many students, a liberal arts degree means majoring in one subject and taking a breadth of additional classes. However, 85 students are currently declared double majors. Because they need 76 of their 126 degree credits to work towards two separate majors, double majors are often limited in the amount of non-major classes that they can take.

“You give up some options that a single major doesn’t necessarily give up. When you decide to double major, you make a conscious decision to limit yourself in terms of the breadth or variety of classes you can take so that you can take two disciplines you care about to study in depth,” said senior BBMB and philosophy major Fritz Siegert.

Being a double major often requires extensive planning, particularly to help students avoid having class conflicts.

“I usually have students plan out, on a four year planner, the major they have completed the most work in first, and then we fill in the second major. An art major and a science major might be difficult, as

there is a good number of afternoon classes in each and as such labs and longer studio classes often conflict. It isn’t impossible; it just takes some very careful planning,” said Director of Academic Resources Juli Dunn.

Senior biology and philosophy major Kyle Moen feels that up until this semester, being a double major has been manageable, especially in regards to concerns about applying to graduate schools. Moen was able to finish his law school applications before the end of fall semester.

“The real serious kind of butt-kicking of being a double major comes in your spring semester of your senior year, when portfolio, thesis, orals start really hitting home. Before then, you’re just taking classes,” he said.

For senior BBMB and English major Kel Peyton, being able to look back at class schedules from previous years helped her figure out where conflicts might be. This past fall, there was a conflict between her English senior seminar and an essential BBMB lab. She was told she had to drop one of her majors, but instead the English department changed the time of their senior seminar.

Peyton expanded on how stretching herself over two disciplines has

led to feelings of isolation.

“I feel abstracted from everybody in [my] two majors. The lack of overlap in my majors is definitely a big part of why I feel abstracted from both, but I would also attribute it to the fact that I have to divide my attention between them. I’ve never been able to ‘fully devote’ myself to either of them,” Peyton said in an email.

However, for senior Seth Dawson, who is a double major in politics and philosophy, the experience was just the opposite. “[Being a double major] definitely enhanced my experience, especially because politics and philosophy are so compatible. The best moments in a liberal arts education are the ones when you make an unexpected connection between different classes, and I think the double major makes that happen more often,” he said in an email.

Because of the sheer amount of classes that double majors need to take, on top of the potential late addition of the second major, double majors most often do not go abroad. The amount of work and planning that goes into a double major degree is often a cause for concern for advisers.

“Double majors are asked ‘why are you doing this?’ more than single majors,” said Peyton,

PAGE

who emphasizes the importance of asking herself that question throughout her Whitman career.

Almost every double major interviewed for this article admitted to being called ‘crazy’ by other students because of the double major path that they chose. However, many claim that it is worth it.

“You really have to consider whether or not you want the major because you enjoy studying, or if

you just want to have that major.

It’s not worth it if you’re not super dedicated,” said senior politics and Spanish major Mehera Nori.

Many double majors also emphasized that even though they chose to double major because they loved the two fields, it was also a point of pride.

“The label’s nice. I’m not going to say it’s not cool to be a double major,” said Moen.

ILLUSTRATION BY ZINSER

ASWC President Dittrich encourages students to ‘light a fire of conversation’ regarding tenure from TOWN HALL, page 1

Provost and Dean of Faculty Timothy Kaufman-Osbourne dicusses the tenure review process at Whitman at the third ASWC town hall meeting of the year. The meeting took place on Wednesday, Feb. 15 in the Young Ballroom. ASWC proposed additions to the tenure process, suggesting further student participation in the tenure process. Photo by Peck

“We want to be able to allow professors to solicit students for letters of recommendation to go towards their review,” Appleton said.

Other student concerns included the short time frame students have to fill out in-class student evaluations, calling for electroniconly student evaluations and student full-review of the questions that will be on the evaluations.

Senior Emily Cornelius was excited that the process is open for discussion for students.

“I was happy an administrator was present to address the issue [of tenure] directly and explain what happens in the process directly,” she said. “I was happy to hear that [Kaufman-Osborn] is open to change and students’ concerns over this issue.”

Senior ASWC President Matt Dittrich emphasized the necessity of voicing student frustration in light of the tenure review process.

“Consider the ideas of your peers around campus . . . there are a lot of people around campus that are frustrated—let’s turn this frustration into some productive change,” Dittrich said.

“Let’s start a fire of conversation to make some positive change.”

The ASWC resolution on student grievances regarding the tenure process will be voted on and discussed on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 4 p.m. in Reid 110 and again Sunday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. in Reid GO2.

ASWC MINUTES

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The Whitman College Pioneer is a weekly student-run newspaper published under the auspices of the Associated Students of Whitman College.

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Feb

16 2012

Campus climate challenge cuts corn syrup consumption in name of conservation

by EMILY LIN-JONES Staff Reporter

C

ampus Climate Challenge challenged its members to avoid consuming any products containing high fructose corn syrup last week. The challenge was the second in a series of week-long challenges the club has planned for the spring semester.

Weekly challenges are a new addition to the club’s program this year, partially inspired by the restructuring of the organization’s leadership last semester. Unlike some of the club’s campus-wide initiatives, the challenges are more internally directed.

“It’s not really a public thing,” said sophomore Jenni Doering, a member of the club. “I think these challenges that we’re doing are more for our club unity, and just keeping us on track and thinking about these issues and being conscious of these things outside of the weekly meeting that we have.”

High fructose corn syrup is a sweetener present in many processed foods manufactured in the United States. In recent years, it has been under attack from health advocates and environmentalists citing evidence of its harmful effect on both consumers and the environment.

“One of the big reasons is because it comes from corn, which is now a major monocrop in America, and a lot of environmentalists are upset over the fact that corn is being subsidized. The vast majority of it is sprayed with pesticides, because there’s no reason to make organic corn when you’re going to use it for high fructose corn syrup,” said Doering.

Monocropping, the practice of cultivating a single type of crop on the same land over a long period of time, has long been the bane of environmental advocates, due to its damaging effect on soil ecology and sustainability. Additionally, excessive consumption of high fructose corn syrup has been linked to obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

The list of corn-syrup-heavy foods to avoid includes soda, yogurt, cereals, breads and ketchup. Junior Natalie Jamerson, another member of the club participating in the challenge, noted that certain processed foods are the main culprits of high fructose corn syrup in most diets.

“As a vegan who relies heavily on veggies, beans and the like, I don’t frequently encounter high fructose corn syrup in what I choose to cook for myself,” she said. “But smaller things like cereals and condiments can sneak in under the radar, so it’s important to be watchful for that.”

Doering observed that the homemade salad dressings and sauces in the dining hall could make life easier for those challenge participants on a meal plan.

“Mostly it’s in processed food, and we don’t have much processed food–which is really lucky–in the dining hall,” she said.

Roger Edens, general manager of Bon Appétit at Whitman, confirmed that dining halls try to avoid providing students with corn-syrup-rich products.

“We are no fan of high fructose corn syrup and periodically look through our shelves to see what might have crept in. Since we cook almost everything from scratch, it is fairly easy for us to look at what

3

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NUMBERS IN THE NEWS

by KARAH KEMMERLY News Editor

50 million

number of people without health insurance in the United States in 2011

20

percentage of those uninsured in the United States who are undocumented immigrants

17

percentage of undocumented adults in Los Angeles County who have never had a checkup, according to one study

3.2

percentage of U.S. population made up of undocumented adult immigrants

1.5

percentage of U.S. medical costs accounted for by undocumented adult immigrants Jenni Doering ‘14 emphasizes the importance of staying concious of high fructose corn-syrup consumption and its potentially negative health effects Photo by Bernstein

is left,” he said in an email. “[If] we find things that contain high fructose corn syrup, we trade them for a product that doesn’t, if we can.”

The preceding challenge encouraged members not to use plastic or paper cups for a week, while the following challenge for next week asks members to limit their power usage.

“[Club] members are actively pursuing a more sustainable lifestyle, so it is equally valuable to make decisions about how we choose to act and what we choose to eat,” said Jamerson. “Having a personal goal for the week brings us closer together and reminds us to be constantly vigilant environmental stewards.”

3.1

ratio of emergency department expenditures for uninsured undocumented children to those for uninsured U.S.-born children S O U RC E: S O U RC E S: N E W EN G L A N D J O U R N A L O F M EDICIN E, K A IS ER CO M MIS SI O N O N M EDIC A ID A N D U NIN S U R ED, C N N

SOS hopes to Biology department changes major requirements in bring doctors response to rising enrollment rates, overcrowding with revamp

by R ACHEL A LEX A NDER Senior Reporter

from SOS CLINIC, page 1

All those involved in the renovation feel that the new facility will potentially attract more doctors, enabling the clinic to serve more people.

Anhorn has been volunteering at the SOS Clinic since 2000. Her enthusiasm and dedication to the clinic have been essential to its growth and efficiency.

“We are seeing more and more patients. There is a greater need because people have lost their jobs . . . and all of a sudden they find themselves without health care insurance,” she said. “We are a stop-gap, really.”

The new facility will help the clinic serve patients with dignity and respect.

“The best part of the new facility is that [the SOS Clinic] will be able to help more people, improve their quality of life,” Reiswig said.

The renovations will also assist the clinic in its growth as an organization.

“As Whitman’s volunteering has progressed, the SOS has progressed as well. They now have a full-time Americorps volunteer who acts as the executive director of SOS, which they’ve never had before,” Siegert said.

Adjacent to the new SOS Clinic will be a full service dental clinic, which will fill a serious need in the Walla Walla area for dental care.

Last year, Washington State legislature canceled all coverage for adult dental care—as a result, there has been an increasing number of people seeking emergency dental care.

Helpline, an important service organization in the Walla Walla area, operates a mobile Dental Van that offers free dental care to individuals without dental insurance. However, the demand is so great that the waitlist for the Dental Van services contains over 500 people.

While the Dental Clinic will be a separately organized and administered clinic, it will work in tandem with the SOS Clinic. The Dental Clinic plans to apply for funding from a government program to support a recent dental school graduate to work at the clinic full-time. With a full-time dentist on the staff, the facility will be able to stay open four days a week.

Reiswig noted that his experience working with the clinic has helped him realize the worth in volunteer medical care and the need in his own community.

“The fact that there’s people who need help and we’re filling that need—it makes them feel like real people again, like they have hope. Before I got started with this, I didn’t realize the magnitude of the problem, and what an impact it can have on your life.”

CORRECTIONS TO ISSUE 3 The article “Tennis kicks off with Shootout” on page 6 should have reported that the men’s tennis team nearly beat Gonzaga and did beat Hawaii Pacific.

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tarting next fall, biology majors at Whitman will have a more flexible set of requirements to meet in order to receive their degrees. The changes have been made in response to rising enrollment rates at Whitman, which have saturated required biology classes and made it difficult for students to register for the courses they need to take.

“We have always required most of the classes that students take, so those classes are very large and very hard to get into. It’s been a perpetual problem,” said Biology Department Chair Delbert Hutchinson.

The largest change to the major is replacing three required upper-division classes with a less rigid category system. Previously, all biology majors were required to take ecology, cell biology and physiology. Under the new requirements, students must now take one class in each of three categories: molecular and cell biology, organismal biology, and ecology and evolution. Each of these categories will have three to four classes offered per year, which will make it easier for students to fulfill requirements without having to worry about getting into one specific class.

Biology is one of Whitman’s most popular majors. Hutchinson said that about 40 students graduate in biology and biology-combined majors every year, and according to Dean of Admissions Tony Cabasco, about 10 percent of prospective students express interest in biology.

Senior biology major Sophie Davis said she felt the changes were necessary, but was concerned that the new requirements might expose students to less diversity in their course loads.

“Because you’re required to take a very specific course

load [under the old system], you come away with a very holistic understanding,” she said.

She felt that students might be motivated to select courses within the new categories based on their interests instead of wanting to learn about something totally new.

“You’re going to have the potential to miss out on a course you might have learned a lot from,” she said.

Hutchinson said that the new requirements would bring Whitman’s biology major more in line with those of other similar liberal arts schools. He also expects students who want to study abroad to benefit from the changes.

“More of the classes [students] take abroad have the potential to go right for the major,” he said.

Other combined major programs will be affected by the change.

Biology-environmental studies majors will be able to choose classes from the newly established categories, rather than being required to take specific upper-division courses. While the biology, biophysics and molecular biology major requirements have not been changed, the increased flexibility for bi-

ology majors means that more classes offered in the BBMB department will count towards biology major requirements.

Natalie Jamerson, a junior biology-environmental studies major, said she was looking forward to having more class options available to her. Still, she had concerns about the possible effects for her combined major program.

“Some of the classes you can take to fill [the new categories] aren’t as applicable to environmental studies,” she said. With more flexibility, she believes classes that are more appropriate for environmental studies majors might fill up with regular biology majors, since those classes will now fulfill requirements for them. This might deprive biology-environmental studies majors of the ability to take classes that are particularly relevant to them.

In spite of their reservations, Davis and Jamerson agree that the changes are needed to address registration issues. Even as a junior, Jamerson said she wasn’t able to get into required classes this semester.

“I couldn’t get into cell biology just because of my registration time. It put me in a position where I’m not taking any

classes that count towards biology this semester,” she said.

Sophomore biology major Daniel Zajic echoed these concerns.

“There were a lot of scheduling conflicts that inhibited me from taking any more than one biology class this semester, which is unfortunate because of how big the biology major is,” he said in an email. “As a second-semester sophomore, I felt as if I were behind in the requirements.”

The new requirements also contain other changes. The total credit load has been reduced from 34 to 33, and a new one-credit seminar to present thesis research has been added. Students also now have the option of taking one semester of calculus and one of statistics, instead of two semesters of calculus. Because the new major requirements are less stringent than the old ones, all current majors will be converted to the new system starting next fall.

Ultimately, the new major requirements will help make the growth of Whitman’s biology program sustainable.

“When you have a small faculty and a large student body, you need the flexibility,” said Hutchinson.

ILLUSTRATION BY JOHNSON

Whitman students cautiously optimistic about future of Washington same-sex marriage bill from SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, page 1

Sophomore Phoebe Horvath, a member of GLBTQ at Whitman, spoke about Walsh’s support.

“I think it was a student, or maybe it was a faculty [member]— they sent [Maureen Walsh] an email.

And she wrote back a personal response, saying, ‘Thank you so much for supporting me,’ because it is a pretty controversial thing to do out here in a rural community,” she said.

Walsh’s speech in defense of same-sex marriage was only one aspect of the excitement that surrounded the entire bill, however. For many Whitman community members, the passing of the same-sex marriage bill represents a freedom for their future that was not present previously.

First year Evan Griffis, a

member of GLBTQ at Whitman, spoke about how the passing of the same-sex marriage bill will affect his own life.

“I was definitely happy to hear the bill passed the [Washington] House and Senate but I try to not celebrate prematurely.”

Evan Griffis ‘15

“I guess now I can start imagining my own wedding someday, whereas I used to never really think about it as a possibility. I feel like this is a fantastic time to be gay in Washington, and for that, I’m fortunate,” he said. “Of course, this

doesn’t take marriage equality and other GLBTQ issues off of my mind, but enjoying a tangible success in my home state is something to really feel good about. I’m quite proud to be a Washingtonian after this.”

For Mims, who has been with his partner for eight years now and has his wedding planned, the signing of the bill into law is especially exciting news.

“We were already planning our wedding in March, in Kansas City. We’ve had that on the books for a long time, and we’re having our family and friends there in the church. Although it’s not legal in Missouri, we’re just doing it in the church. Now that this is happening in our own state, hopefully we can return here in the summer and make it official,” he said.

Despite the positive response that the bill has garnered, in light of the back and forth discussion over Proposition Eight in California, some students remain skeptical about the process.

“I was definitely happy to hear the bill passed the [Washington] House and Senate, but I try to not celebrate prematurely. I actually lived in California during the brief period that gay marriage was legalized, and I was more ecstatic back then until the whole Proposition Eight debacle. So for now I’m hesitant to get too excited,” Griffis said.

But for now, there is certainly enough cause for those who support the Same-Sex Marriage Bill in Washington State to celebrate.

“It seems like a winning moment for equality,” Horvath said.

A&E 4 Which Bear unites diverse instruments, crafts exotic ‘gypsy jazz’ musical flavor PAGE

Feb

16 2012

by A LEX H AGEN Staff Reporter

W

hich Bear, a baroque folk band comprised of eight Whitman students, burst onto the campus music scene on Friday, Feb. 3 with a buzzed-about Coffeehouse show in the Reid basement.

The band, previously known as The Futures Traders, formed late last year and is led by junior Bo Sagal and senior Mark Glasionov, who both write the music and arrange the cover songs they play. Between the two of them, they sing vocals and play mandolin, guitar, harmonica and spoons.

The rest of the group is similarly multi-talented—its other musicians play instruments ranging from flute and clarinet to tabla, guitar, accordion, melodica, fiddle, bass, Stylophone and the cajon, a wooden percussion instrument.

Several of the group’s members—seniors Billy Harbour and Ruben Raychaudhuri, along with Sagal—originally formed campus band Science and Progress. Last semester the group added senior Aurora Bowers, junior Brandon Hopper, junior Robby Seager and firstyear Jessica Shatkin to its ranks.

Like many musical groups, Which

Brandon Hopper ‘13, Bo Saga ‘13, Aurora Bowers ‘12 and Robby Seager ‘13 (above back row), Billy Harbour ‘12 and Jessica Shatkin ‘15 (above front row), as well as Ruben Raychaudhuri ‘12 and Mark Glasionov ‘12 (not pictured) make up Which Bear. Photo by Felt

Bear came together organically.

“It just kind of arose from just jamming all the time,” said Shatkin.

Due to its varied instrumentation and many influences, the group’s music falls un-

der a mix of several genres. Its members described their sound as “ghost pirate,” with elements

of Irish folk and classical Baroque music, including “Bachian chord progressions,” according to Sagal. The group also plays covers of jazz standards, adding to its musical diversity.

“I’d say our instrumentation hints at gypsy music, no matter what we’re playing,” said Bowers. “It sounds like gypsy jazz.”

After their Coffeehouse debut, the band plans to record an album. Additionally, they would eventually like to move on to playing at other establishments and gatherings in Walla Walla.

“I really want to play Laht Neppur,” said Sagal, referring to the Irish alehouse and winery in town.

As a group, Which Bear has a good camaraderie, trading jokes and wisecracks in between practice sessions. During our interview, the band discussed the motivation for changing their name to Which Bear, a moniker that arose from the poster design for their Coffeehouse show, which featured a bear wearing a witch’s hat.

“We make a lot of funny jokes in between working hard,” said Bowers.

For more information on the band’s future projects, search for Which Bear on Facebook.

David Bowie’s experimental gems lie ‘Low’ PIO PICKS

by CAITLIN H A R DEE A&E Editor

I

n 1976, rock legend David Bowie moved to West Berlin, ostensibly to clean up, stop using cocaine and get his life back in order. Why anyone would imagine Berlin to be a suitable rehab center is unclear, but despite considerable stacked odds—the city’s wild hedonism, his hard-partying flatmate Iggy Pop, and the disapproval of label executives who wanted safe, marketable Bowie—the ever-changing star not only managed to rise above the spiral of cocaine addiction, he produced an album that experimented with ingenious and avant-garde musical forms.

That album was 1977’s Low, the first of Bowie’s so-called “Berlin Trilogy” and an often-overlooked treasure in Bowie’s decades-long parade of better-known hits. The creation of Low was inextricably bound up in Bowie’s battle with drugs. His emotional and mental turmoil proved a precious gift, imbuing sparse electronic landscapes with painful, haunting vocals. Even the cover art evokes alienation and struggle—Bowie stares ahead in profile with a gaunt, empty expression, on a background of swirling orange clouds. The image is a still from Bowie’s starring role in “The Man Who Fell To Earth,” in which he played— while constantly high—an al-

ien addicted to alcohol and television. A more apt example of life informing art, imitating other art, imitating life could hardly be found.

Low is a meld of Bowie’s experiences and exposure to German expressionist art and electronic music, creating a sound that was revolutionary at the time and a complete departure from the glamrock and pop of his Ziggy Stardust and Thin White Duke eras.

At times, the music pulses strong and vital with wordlessly exuberant tracks like “Speed of Life,” his first-ever instrumental piece and the similarly vibrant “A New Career In A New Town,” which captures the heartbeat of the Berlin disco scene. At other times, the mu-

sic wanders into exquisite depths of isolation and despair, with the haunting, gritty soundscapes of “Warszawa,” a track lent gravitas by stark accents of layered vocals that evoke crumbling, forgotten monasteries in Eastern Europe. The standout track of the album does not just lie low, but truly underground, with the experimental electronic territory of “Subterraneans.” Throughout the album, Tony Visconti’s production and the co-writing of legendary producer and musician Brian Eno unite with Bowie’s musicianship and freeform vocals to create a landmark sound and atmosphere. For both avid Bowie fans and new listeners, Low is definitely worth revisiting.

Whitman Starcraft II players challenge gamer stereotypes

by CL A R A BA RTLET T Staff Reporter

Y

ou’ll see them battling for guts and glory, not on the basketball court or behind a debate lectern, but over a video game console. Officially known as the Whitman College Collegiate Starleague Team, the chief function of the Starcraft team is to represent Whitman College in the Collegiate StarLeague, an association of approximately 250 colleges in the United States and Canada who competitively play Starcraft II. The uninitiated, or noob, may be wondering exactly what Starcraft II is. Team member senior Sam Lundberg explained the video game’s basic premise.

“On the aesthetic side, Starcraft II is an epic battle between crafty and resourceful humans of the Terran, the highly advanced and enigmatic Protoss aliens, and the endless legions of bloodthirsty, mindless insectoid killers of the Zerg Swarm,” said Lundberg.

“More practically, SCII is a game of resource management.”

His fellow Starcraft team member first-year Natty Baird elaborated on the game’s objectives.

“Though most people compare Starcraft to chess, I feel that the two games work very differently,” said Baird. “In chess, you begin with the maximum amount of pieces you can control, while in Starcraft, you start with a minimum amount of economy, pieces and territory and build up all of these over the course of the match. It’s a game of speed, strategy and mind games.”

“It’s not a game that you can mindlessly play through until you reach the end,” explained senior Kayla Hegedus, president and coordinator of the Whitman’s CSL team. “Instead, it requires you to be 100 percent foc u s e d for every single game, and there’s never an end, because there’s always room for improvement.”

While competitive gaming differs from traditional sports in many

ways, the rush of the match is still present. Sophomore Jamie “Exterminator” Edison described the intensity of e-game competition.

“You get really tense, the adrenaline starts pumping and you get so focused on winning the game, you can’t think of anything except what you’re doing right then and there,” said Edison. “The emotional high you get from winning that kind of game is nearly unparalleled, especially not by something so seemingly mundane.”

Starcraft II and its players differ from stereotypical gaming norms in a variety of ways, putting priority on high standards of courtesy and engagement, both within the gaming community and outside of it.

“Starcraft is a relatively polite game,” explained Hegedus. “Whereas other games will have trolls and be full of insulting and offensive language, Starcraft players wish each other ‘glhf’ [good luck, have fun] at the beginning of the game and ‘gg’ [good game] at the end.” “[The stereotype of a gamer is a] dude sitting in his room, never talking to anybody except his friends and fiancé from his World of Warcraft guild, sitting in his computer chair all day eating Hot Pockets and drinking Mountain Dew, never going outside to actually socialize with real people, because real people are scary and he’s socially awkward,” said Edison. “On the surface, one might say that I fit the stereotype, and probably the same could be said for the rest of the Starcraft team, but when you actually look deeper into these people’s lives, it’s pretty easy to see that we don’t fit the prof i l e . ”

ILLUSTRATION BY H WA N G

Each Thursday, The Pioneer highlights several events happening on campus or in Walla Walla during the weekend.

Here are this week’s picks: Outhouse Unplugged The Outhouse presents a relaxing, informal atmosphere with open mic style acoustic performances! Come enjoy some intimate unplugged music.

Thursday, Feb. 16, 8 p.m. - 10 p.m. 424 Boyer Street.

Mochi Making The Tekisuijuku (Japanese Interest House) presents a delicious and informative mochi-making workshop!

Limited slots—sign up by emailing murayamo@whitman.edu.

Friday, Feb. 17, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

528 University Street.

Cake Decoration Bored and hungry over the three-day weekend? Come cultivate your culinary artistry with WEB’s cake decorating workshop! Limited slots—sign up by emailing creativearts@whitman.edu.

Saturday, Feb. 18, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Glover Alston Center.

Lindsey Holdren ‘15 (above) combines vintage threads and exotic accessories with inspiration from friends and family to create her unique look. Photo by Beck

STYLE SPOTLIGHT Every week, The Pioneer searches out Whitties who bring an extra splash of fashion consciousness and sartorial daring to campus. This week’s Style Spotlight: first-year film and media studies major Lindsey Holdren.

Style Soundbites “My hat is actually my sister’s— it’s so old-fashioned, so I kind of enjoy it. My gloves are from Fireworks—it’s a store, there’s a lot of them in Seattle. My shoes are from Modcloth, which is like, the only store that I splurge at. It’s got vintage clothing, and it’s super cute.”

“I wear this necklace like every day. It’s a lauburu, which is a Basque symbol. My family hosted Basque students a lot, and my best friend lived in Spain for a little bit and brought this back for me.”

“Sometimes my outfit consists of the first thing I see. I usually end up picking out one thing that I really want to wear and then I base the rest of my outfit off it. I like vintage looks, not quite hipster, but bordering on there, even hippie sometimes.”

“I guess people should dress to kind of have an outward expression of their inner self. I don’t really look at fashion magazines or famous people—actually, the first time I got inspired to dress nicely was just one of my best friends who’s super stylish. Mostly I get inspiration from my friends.”

Cheesy love story brings chuckles in ‘The Vow’

by NATH A N FISHER Staff Reporter

M

y 16 year-old sister suckered me into seeing “The Vow” on Friday night by saying Channing Tatum was an 100 percent better actor than Ryan Reynolds and Taylor Lautner. In honor of Valentine’s Day, I forced myself to see this amnesic chick flick.

Though totally predictable, cutesy and not great, I enjoyed the movie and actually chuckled a few times.

“The Vow” follows the love of Paige (Rachael McAdams) and husband Leo (Channing Tatum).

The lovebirds seem to have everything going for them until one snowy night when Paige decides to unbuckle her seatbelt just in time for the couple’s car to be rear-ended. Predictably, Paige is torpedoed headfirst through the windshield in slow motion. The slowmo coverage was really unnecessary and more fitting for a sporting event. Leo sustains only a few scratches, but Paige suf-

fers a brain injury and is placed in a medically-induced coma.

After waking up from her coma, Paige discovers that her memory of the past few years is completely erased and she can’t remember that she’s an artist, a vegetarian or that she has a husband named Leo. The last thing Paige recalls is being engaged to another man! Oh, the drama! Leo has to fight for his wife and try and make her fall in love with him—“if she did it once, she can do it again.” Shoot me now, please!

In all fairness, I did not go into this movie with high hopes. Chan-

KWCW SHOW OF THE WEEK

GRAPHIC BY ALDEN

ning Tatum, unlike Rachael McAdams, has never been an actor that I can remember actually acting, except for his recent Saturday Night Live performance demonstrating his skills as an ex-stripper. To my surprise, Tatum’s performance was decent, but not Oscar-winning.

All in all, I was surprised by how much I didn’t hate “The Vow.” It made a perfect back-to-back movie viewing combination with the action packed “Safe House.”

Two completely contrasting B-level movies with a tub of popcorn made for a perfect Friday night out.

‘Swingin’ Soul of the Sixties’ Swingin’ Soul of the Sixties brings you the best of Motown and doowop every Tuesday. Get ready to twist and shout with to the tunes of Sam Cooke, Smokey Robinson and all the best of the 1960s.

Tuesdays, 12 p.m. - 1 p.m. On the dial at 90.5 FM Walla Walla and streaming live at www.kwcw.net. For requests, call (509) 527-5283.

SPORTS

Feb

16 2012

5

PAGE

SCOREBOARD

“EVERYONE IS PRESENT IN THE SAME MOMENT...ELECTRIC.”

Basketball

Men’s vs. Pacific University Feb. 10 vs. Linfield College Feb. 11 vs. Whitworth Feb. 14 Women’s vs. Pacific University Feb. 10 vs. Linfield College Feb. 11 vs. Whitworth Feb. 14

GENAY PILAROWSKI ‘13

Win 78-71 Win 87-60 74-84 Win 82-70 Win 65-38 Loss 71-84

Swimming

Men’s NWC Championships Feb. 10-12 Women’s NWC Championships Feb. 10-12

Second in NWC Third in NWC

Tennis

Men’s Whitman College Shootout vs. Lewis-Clark State College Feb. 10 vs. University of Montana Feb. 11 vs. UC Santa Cruz Feb. 11 vs. George Fox University Feb. 12 Women’s vs. Lewis-Clark State College Feb. 12

Baseball

vs. College of Idaho Feb. 11-12

Genay Pilarowski ‘13 (above) earned third and fourth place in the 100 and 200 yard breastroke events,respectively,at last weekend’s Championships. Photo contributed by Lehman from SWIMMING, page 1

The men finished second in the NW Conference for the first time in Whitman history with 572 points, trailing only powerhouse Whitworth University’s 796. The Whitman women placed third with 506 points, matching the highest ranking the women’s team has ever gotten; Puget Sound took first place for the women with 623 points, just 17 ahead of second-place Whitworth.

Aside from the statistical achievements made this season, members of the team point

Athletes dish on pre-game superstitions

to the uncommonly close bond they share as the key ingredient that motivated them throughout the season and during the Conference Championships.

“We’ve always been close, but this season was even more so. People think of swimming as an individual sport, but it’s just not at all— at least not on this team,” said junior sprint freestyler Helen Jenne, who smashed both the 50 and 100 free records this season, and participated in all five record-setting relays.

The Whitman swimmers em-

by PETER CL A R K

Staff Reporter

Staff Reporter

S

“Finishing my 100 fly, I touched the wall not sure of what to expect, and the first thing I heard was the roar of cheering from my teammates.”

The men’s 800 freestyle relay team, made up of junior Galen SollomBrotherton, senior Mitchell Lee and first-years Kevin O’Leary and Karl Mering, swam a provisional NCAA nationals cut time. They will continue training as they wait to hear if they are selected for the meet, to be held in Indianapolis from March 21-24.

Athlete Ally advocates spark conversation in NW Conference

by PETER CL A R K ome of the most famous athletes in the world also have strange and superstitious pre-game rituals. The best basketball player ever, Michael Jordan, wore his North Carolina shorts underneath his Chicago Bulls shorts every game of his professional career because he believed it brought him luck. Jordan’s ritual even set the trend for longer shorts in the NBA because he had to hide his North Carolina shorts.

At Whitman, both the varsity swimming and basketball teams are hopeful for major post-season performances in the coming weeks. In order to achieve maximum performance both on the court and in the pool, some of our athletes take part in superstitious habits to get their mind right for competition. Do they look strange to the average fan at a game? Yes, but the athletes couldn’t care less.

Senior women’s swimmer Monica Boshart’s superstition seems relatively simple at first glance.

“Before my race, while I am standing on the block, I have to say out loud what I’m about to swim” said Boshart. And if she were ever to forget her pre-race routine? “I would freeze. I would do my start, but then have no idea what race I am swimming”.

Sarah Anderegg, a sophomore on the women’s basketball team, eats an apple during every game when she is on the bench.

“It started last year. I would get nervous or apprehensive going in and out of the game,” said Anderegg. The solution to the problem: a serving of fruit. “I find apples refreshing, and it really calms me down.”

One of the disadvantages of basketball shorts is that they often do not have any pockets.

Junior men’s basketball player Luquam Thompson has adopted both a superstition and solution to this problem: he uses his socks. Since his sophomore year of high school, Thompson has put a piece of gum in his sock, and once warmups begin, he takes it out and chews it.

“It makes all the butterflies you have go away,” said Thompson.

Ian Williams, a senior on the men’s swim team, gets himself ready by turning his swim cap into a drum.

“Before most races, when I am behind the blocks, I pull my cap down below my ears so it creates a sort of drum. I then drum out the beat to ‘Golddigger’ by Kanye West” said Williams. No headphones, no iPod. “Just me, the cap and the goggles ready to race.”

phasized this point at last weekend’s meet, where they made their support for teammates evident.

“There were tons of people behind the blocks yelling, waving flags and jumping up and down during nearly every race. No other teams came close. I feel extraordinarily proud to be part of a team that is so supportive,” said sophomore Keller Hawkins, a record holder in the 100 yard backstroke.

Matt Liedtke, a senior butterfly specialist, described his last swim of his college career.

A

thlete Ally is an organization that encourages athletic communities to welcome and respect all individuals involved in sports regardless of their sexual orientation or gender expression. Athlete Ally was first introduced to the Whitman College campus in the fall of 2011, and the organization’s influence continues to be felt as the year goes on.

Athlete Ally entered the athletic scene at Whitman when ASWC first took interest in it.

Once the wheels were in motion, Athlete Ally then found its way into conversations at SAAC meetings. Ultimately, all of the varsity teams were educated about what the organization’s mission was, and how they could effect change on campus.

Since then, the presence of Athlete Ally has continued to grow, according to student leader senior Alice Minor.

“It has sparked a lot of conversations among athletes,” said Minor. This, according to Minor, is the way it should be. “Athletes can and should be leaders. The push for gay rights shouldn’t always be coming from gay people.”

Another student leader at Whitman is senior Matt Rowett. Rowett made sure to stress that this is only the beginning of Athlete Ally’s mission.

“In general, we’ve had a good start, but there is still a ways to go. We have only started the conversation,” said Rowett, who is also the captain of the men’s swimming team. He believes that

athletes sometimes get so caught up in the grind of their sports that they lose sight of the other values that team athletics teaches. “Athletes become hyper-focused at times. Team unity is something that is a backdrop, but never actually talked about,” said Rowett.

Athletic Director Dean Snider also believes that Athlete Ally is on the right track. “Every time I have heard people talking about it, it has always been in a positive framework,” said Snider.

For Athlete Ally to continue to be effective, however, Snid-

nature. We should find increasingly refreshing ways to have this conversation so that it has a lasting effect,” said Snider.

Rowett and Minor agree, and have found different outlets to spread the word. To start, they are working on implementing workshops for athletes and coaches to participate in that would teach them the issues that

ILLUSTRATION BY PETERSON

er stresses the importance of focusing on the dialogue produced from discussions, rather than just having athletes sign a piece of paper. “We want to make sure that we focus on the conversation, [as] opposed to forcing a sig-

homosexual athletes face, and the best ways to approach them.

“We think that workshops with athletes is the key way to implement the bridge between tolerance and owning the issue,” said Rowett. Minor and Rowett hope to have these workshops underway by the end of the year.

In addition to workshops on campus, the rest of the Northwest Conference is beginning to be-

Loss 4-5 Loss 1-8 Win 6-3 Win 9-0 Loss 2-7

Loss 3-16 Loss 0-9 Loss 0-8 Loss 2-6

UPCOMING Basketball Men’s vs. Willamette Feb. 17, 8p.m.

Women’s vs. Willamette Feb. 17, 6p.m.

Home Home

Tennis

Men’s vs. Rhodes University Feb. 18 vs. Kalamazoo College Feb. 18 vs. University of Mary Washington Feb. 19 Women’s vs. Linfield College Feb. 18 vs. La Verne Feb. 19 vs. Willamette University Feb. 20

Baseball

Arizona Desert Classic Feb. 16-19

Away Away Away

Away Away Away

Away

come educated as to what Athlete Ally is all about. After Rowett and Minor brought the issue to Whitman’s SAAC representatives, they then took it to the conference-wide SAAC meeting. As a result, the rest of the teams in the NWC have begun to strongly consider the possibilities of implementing Athlete Ally at their respective campuses. Whitman is at the forefront of this issue in the conference, and has asserted itself as the leader.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Minor and Rowett have approached the highest in command at Whitman College about this issue: the Board of Trustees.

“Two weeks ago Matt and I gave a presentation to the Diversity Committee of the Board of Trustees. It went really well,” said Minor. Ideally, the Board of Trustees will be receptive to Athlete Ally and continue to add to the already large impact its made on campus.

Even though Athlete Ally is thriving at Whitman, there is still much work to be done. Coaches, athletes, professors and students need to continue to have conversations regarding the issues that homosexual athletes face in team environments. By having conversations, the issue stays alive, which gives Athlete Ally an even greater chance of improving the environment for a supportive athletic community.

Women’s tennis ramps up for spring season

by SA R A H DEBS Staff Reporter

W

omen’s tennis has seen many recent successes, including competing in the Northwest Conference Playoff Semi-finals last spring, and placing at the National Small College Championships this past fall. After a solid individual fall season, the team is looking forward to a promising spring season.

Their first match was a tough loss on Feb. 12, away at Lewis-Clark State College, but the athletes are ready to take on Linfield College this weekend in McMinnville, Ore. With a strong returning team and the addition of five first-year players, the women have their sights set beyond Conference Championships to NCAA Nationals. Coach John Hein is optimistic about the spring season.

“I’m incredibly excited about the depth of our team and our ability to play great doubles,” said Hein.

“In DIII tennis, depth and doubles win titles, and our goal is to both win conference and earn a qualification to compete at NCAAs.” Women’s tennis has set the bar high and has been practicing hard in the off-season in order to accomplish its ambitious goals.

The athletes spend a lot of time together, and concentrate on both playing their best and supporting each other on and off the court.

“The team dynamic is really great,” said first-year Courtney Lawless, who was ranked No. 2 regionally with junior teammate Alyssa Roberg last fall. “We’re like a big family, and I’m really looking forward to competing and spending every weekend with [my teammates].”

Due to scheduling this season, women’s varsity tennis will see more competition time on the road than on their own courts. Sophomore Olivia Bates has mixed feelings about the numerous away matches, but is fo-

Morgan Lawless ‘15 prepares for the team’s upcoming away matches this weekend against Linfield College, La Verne and Willamette University. Photo by McCormick

cused on achieving the larger goal.

“Traveling is always difficult on your sleep, your homework [and] your body physically, especially driving for six hours straight there and back,” said Bates. “I wish

we had more home matches both for better health, but, also, so our school could come out and watch us play. But, ultimately, the goal is to be undefeated, and it doesn’t really matter where the venue is.”

FEATURE

FEB

16

* 2012

WHITTIES WEIGH IN THE PIONEER SURVEYED 98 WHITMAN STUDENTS, ASKING WHETHER THEY CATEGORIZE A FEW COMMONLY

PAGE

6

RELIGIOUS

AMERICAN

MATERIAL

SECULAR

CELEBRATED HOLIDAYS AS RELIGIOUS, AMERICAN, MATERIAL OR SECULAR IN NATURE AND PURPOSE. GRAPHICS BY BERFIELD

VALENTINE’S DAY

RELIGION CONFRONTS SECULARIZATION

0 9 75 16

FOUNDER’S DAY CONJURES UP MEMORIES OF RELIGIOUS PAST

by MOLLY EMMET T Staff Reporter

T

oday, Feb. 16, marks an intriguing intersection of events. Not only is today two days after St. Valentine’s Day, one of the most secularized holidays celebrated in the United States, but it is also Whitman College Founder’s Day. In light of the religious and nonreligious implications of these occasions, it is fitting to look at Whitman’s own transition from a religious to secular institution in the last 153 years.

Most people have at least a general idea of the purpose of Valentine’s Day, but it is a guarantee that not very many know the history behind Founder’s Day. This day celebrates the birthday of Reverend Cushing Eells, the man who founded Whitman Seminary in 1859 in honor of his friends and colleagues, Marcus and Narcissa Whitman.

“Seminary was the nineteenthcentury term, but it was really just a glorified high school,” said Senior Adjunct Assistant Professor of Religion and General Studies Rogers Miles, who taught a course last year called “The Secularization of Whitman College.”

Still, the school had a religious foundation, as almost all schools in that period did. When the first president, Alexander J. Anderson, came into office in 1882, he agreed that the college would be Congregationalist in exchange for funding from that sect of churches.

Anderson was an evangelical Protestant, but after the Civil War, Protestantism was divided by changes in society. Those who could adjust to these changes and take active steps to incorporate them with their faith were called Liberal Protestants.

With the presidency of Stephen B. L. Penrose in 1894, the college began to distance itself from the Congregationalist ties that Anderson had set up.

In 1907, Penrose cut the school’s denominational ties and found independent funding from wealthy individuals on the East Coast. During his presidency—which ended in 1934—Penrose continued to exercise his faith, but loosened the restrictions on the students.

According to a research paper by alumna Katie Bates ’11, a student who took Miles’ class as an independent study her senior year, students in the early 1900s were required to attend chapel and expected to attend church on Sundays. First- and second-year students were also required to take courses that taught them about the Bible, with a capstone course called “Philosophy of Religion,” taught by Penrose himself.

Toward the end of his career, however, Penrose focused more on spiritual supervision of students rather than strict regulations.

“The image of Whitman changed from Whitman the missionary, to Whitman the pioneer.”

Professor Rogers Miles

“If students wanted to get a little rowdy on the weekends and sleep through chapel, he wouldn’t give them a hard time,” said senior Noah Lerner, who took Miles’ course last year.

Following the replacement of Penrose with President Rudolf A. Clemen in 1934, there was a notable shift in the College’s

HALLOWEEN

approach of religion. Like many late nineteenth century colleges, Whitman was interested not only in teaching students, but also molding their character.

However, it started to transition this focus to areas outside the classroom rather than within.

After Penrose’s presidency and the severance of denominational ties, Whitman gradually became a secular institution, but there is still evidence of its religious beginnings.

“Over time, the image of Whitman changed from Whitman the missionary to Whitman the pioneer. Think about the name of the newspaper . . . Look at the way the missionaries are portrayed on the stickers in the bookstore,” said Miles.

As the current mission statement reads, Whitman is “an independent, nonsectarian and residential college.” Yet, as Founder’s Day indicates, the school has not forgotten its religious past amidst its secular present.

Lerner noted the lingering effects of Whitman’s beginnings as he reflected on the perspective he gained in “Secularization.”

“The course gave me a greater appreciation for the role of a liberal arts education. The founders of Whitman sought to produce graduates who were well versed in all facets of life, and were generally good citizens,” said Lerner.

Bates also felt the course affected her view of Whitman as an institution.

“I think the course made me feel more connected with Whitman because . . . it made me see the college as its own living, changing entity with its own needs, which, when you are only there for four years, can be difficult to see,” Bates said.

3 29 21 45 CHRISTMAS

23 6 18 10

SPIRITUALITY FOSTERS INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY

by TA LIA RU DEE Staff Reporter

W

hitman is a secular school. However, for many Whitties, religion and spirituality are important in their personal development and contributions to campus life.

The college website states: “A Whitman education involves deep and lasting learning in an academic community comprised of people with varied experiences and global perspectives.” With this mission in mind, admitting students with religious affiliation is inevitable.

“Religious diversity at Whitman is actually a response to the college’s diversity overall,” said Stuart Coordinator of Religious and Spiritual Life Adam Kirtley.

An endorsed statement of the Board of Trustees also responds to the presence of diversity, stating: “Diversity is fundamentally important to the character and

Kirtley points out, however, that some members of the Whitman community believe the college does not fully accept students’ religious beliefs.

“There is a perception by some that Whitman maintains a hostile posture relative to the expression of religion on campus,” he said.

Religious life proves to be very important among some members of the student body, often encompassing cultural heritage passed down from generation to generation within a student’s family. According to Kirtley, these personal identities that stem from religion make Whitman diverse.

“By and large, the college is trending toward a position of welcoming religious diversity on campus,” he said.

This religious diversity is apparent through religiously or spiritually focused groups on campus such as HillelShalom, the Whitman Christian Fellowship and Atheists, Humanists and Agnostics (AHA).

“A lot of people who come to Whitman are searching for something deeper and how to do things better.”

Michael Rogers ‘12

mission of Whitman College.”

“Religious identity is a form of an individual’s sense of self . . . and a college that takes seriously accommodating diverse identities will have to take seriously accommodating diverse religions as well,” said Kirtley.

“Although I was raised in a reform synagogue, learning about my father’s background has helped me appreciate and understand what it means to be a minority,” said first-year Miriam Moran, the president-in-training of Hillel-Shalom, Whitman’s

Jewish group on campus.

Moran’s father, from Egypt, was part of a smaller sect of Judaism that independently separated from traditional Judaism. It is because of this knowledge of her heritage that Moran feels she has a stronger connection to her cultural background as a Whitman student.

Moran’s evolving appreciation of her Jewish background has also fostered new respect for other religious beliefs. “[Learning about my father’s background] encouraged my respect for different religious and cultural practices,” she said.

Whitman students have undoubtedly shown respect and appreciation for diverse spiritual and religious identities. Along with the school’s recognition of religious diversity, there is also a trend toward students recognizing and appreciating one another’s diverse backgrounds, according to Kirtley.

“Most people at Whitman are secular in a sense that they’re really open and understanding,” said senior Michael Rogers, a religion major and member of the Whitman Christian Fellowship.

Rogers grew up in a practicing Christian household.

His father is a pastor, and he always went to church identified as “the pastor’s kid.” Rogers redefines “secular,” emphasizing the religious inclusiveness present among students at a secular institution. Rogers argues that Whitman is a school where

people have open minds and don’t exclusively think in terms of one religion, which he learned to appreciate during his time here.

“I find myself interacting more deeply with questions that even the church debates, which really helps me personally

“[The] college is trending toward a position of welcoming religious diversity on campus.”

Adam Kirtley

Stuart Coordinator of Religious and Spiritual Life

to

grow,” said Rogers.

For instance, homosexuality is one issue that may not be accepted in a traditional, strict Christian background according to Rogers. Growing up, he never knew or encountered anyone who identified as gay. Upon coming to Whitman, frequent discussions of homosexuality caused Rogers to step back, think and even challenge the beliefs he grew up with.

Rogers’ definition of “secular” is also seen through the group Atheists, Humanists and Agnostics (AHA).

Sophomore Maggie Eismeier, an active member of AHA, notes that the first-year Encounters program encourages scholarly engagement with religion.

Students receive various perspectives through this course, in which they read the Tanakh, the Qu’ran, the

Bible and the Bhagavad-Gita, all texts of different religions.

“Reading the Bible and the Bhagavad-Gita is good for me to understand the philosophy,” she said.

As a part of AHA, Eismeier still recognizes the presence of spirituality in the group.

“I know people who say that they don’t believe in God, but they believe in a soul,” she said.

Associate Professor of Religion Melissa Wilcox expanded on this belief in a higher being. According to Wilcox, even people who label themselves as nonreligious often still look toward a larger, non-physical being.

Wilcox alludes to spirituality here as a larger trend in the country that extends far beyond Whitman. Spirituality is a means to try and find something bigger in oneself than they had before.

“Around 90 percent of Americans believe in a higher being,” said Wilcox, chair of the religion department at Whitman.

Rogers also emphasized this presence of spirituality in the search for something bigger.

“A lot of people who come to Whitman are searching for something deeper and how to do things better,” said Rogers.

Through spirituality, culture and some religiosity, Whitman is more involved in religious life than its label as a secular school may imply.

“A fallacy is translating secular to being antireligious,” said Wilcox.

7

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Feb

16 2012

Letters to the Editor

Love defeats win-loss record TRISTAN GAVIN

Readers write in response to relationship column, Whitman student research, disappointment with KWCW I am appalled by the uxorial hubris exhibited in the article ‘Replacing communication with sex prepares us for divorce’! I’m surprised by the sophomoric claims made by last week’s guest columnist.

In my albeit not far-reaching experience, the phenomenon described by the precocious Mr. Gavin is more commonly known as sex blindness.

Sex blindness is an affliction befalling many young couples—the sex is so fun (and frequent!) that you are willing to overlook giant, gaping character flaws to maintain your sexual satisfaction. This oft characterizes the “honeymoon phase” of a given relationship. This phenomenon will soon fade; one morning you’ll wake up and realize that you’ve been sleeping with someone who doesn’t share anything meaningful with you.

I’ve never once begun an argument with someone and then thought to myself, “this communication is so pesky; let’s just bang this one out.” That might be cause for concern. The replacement of emotional intimacy with physical intimacy might be a problem in young relationships, but I would hardly say that mature and fruitful relationships are plagued by the same affliction. Unless you’re eloping during the throes of sex-blindness (which generally lasts about as long as a carton of milk), I don’t see how the aforementioned honeymoon phase could infiltrate a marriage!

To say that these tendencies are a major cause of American divorce is even more absurd—placing college relationships on par with those in which people have chosen to enter a lifelong union with one another is preposterous. The call for an examination of the perception of intimacy on college campuses is warranted, but I may suggest that this logic need not be applied to the greater population.

Megan Snyder Class of ‘12 The Pio’s recent story about homeless youth in Walla Walla was powerful for a long list of reasons, including the way that it focused attention on an often overlooked demographic in our community.

For me, perhaps the most significant reason was because the story showed how the ability of local human service agencies to define, understand and analyze this group of young people came about because of a Whitman student’s 2007-2008 research project on the topic. As a result of that project, Walla Walla community leaders were able to make longterm planning decisions based on real data rather than on anecdotes and news stories.

Importantly, that data would probably not have been able to be developed without the participation of the Whitman student researcher.

Your story was a critical reminder of the fact that Whitman students’ academic skills and training can lead to real world outcomes that make a difference for real organizations and real people, in this case homeless kids.

I hope that The Pio continues to shine a light on these efforts where in-class work leads to off-campus involvement and improvement.

Noah Leavitt Assistant Dean for Student Engagement A few weeks ago, I drove from Seattle to Walla Walla to attend the memorial service for Dr. George Ball.

As I was coming into town I fiddled with the radio dial and found some music that seemed interesting quickly realizing that it was probably KWCW. When the song was over, a young, presumably white, DJ came on. She described a [paraphrased] “recent trend with African American bands trying to be ‘Western’ and wearing blond wigs even though that’s not their natural hair color.”

I was appalled. I can only hope that mine is not the only letter coming in on this subject.

I will let the comment about “trying to be Western” sink in and speak for itself. Let me just raise two questions, however, that may be helpful in starting a dialogue. Would the DJ be equally confounded to find that white band members were doing things that weren’t “natural” to their hair? And what criteria does she use to judge white people who appropriate the music, dress and hairstyles (think dreadlocks perhaps) of others?

As a Whitman alum, I have watched with pleasure the growth of the college over the years. The college offers a wider array of classes than it did when I was a student and seems to attract a more diverse student body. I was mortified to hear these words coming from the college radio station.

Jeanne Morel Class of 1980

Sophomore

E

very year, over two million 10-year-old Americans sign up for Little League baseball. There are 25 players on the rosters of the 30 MLB teams at the start of every year, totalling 750 “big leaguers.” Of those 750, only 450 are Americanborn, and range in age from 20 to 40. Even if we assumed that all 450 players came from the same class of 10-year-old little leaguers, there is still only a 0.0225 percent chance of making it to “the show” for each of those kids.

At Whitman College, the 27 members of our varsity base-

ball team will all likely fall in with the 99.9775 percent. Even though it is unlikely that any of us will ever be paid to play baseball, we dedicate over 20 hours per week to the sport, and for little reward. The time we spend practicing and playing could just as easily be spent on our studies, through which we will all become “professionals.”

So, I have asked myself on many a sleepless road trip, why do we do it? Why do we spend so much of our lives working toward a sport we are unlikely to play again after graduation?

Whitman baseball has not had a winning season in over a decade, and has finished in the bottom half of the Northwest conference every year in that stretch. It is safe to assume that none of us is playing for glory.

We travel around the state losing baseball games attended by only our parents, because club sports like Ultimate Frisbee have larger fan bases than we do. We play in

Fate of gay marriage soon up to one man KYLE SEASLY First-year

L

ast Tuesday, Feb. 7 (if only it had been a week later), the Appellate Court of California upheld a ruling by Judge Walker which found the infamous lovehating Proposition 8 to be unconstitutional. Proposition 8 was a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage in the state of California. The court ruled that this proposition, which was passed with 52 percent of the state’s vote, violated the equal protection rights of those who challenged the law.

The inevitable judicial decision will go down one of two paths.

The first path occurs if the Supreme Court decides not to pull up the case.

This means that the case is closed and homosexuals will no longer be denied the right to marry in California. This is good in the short term, but still leaves the question unanswered whether the banning of homosexual marriage is really unconstitutional, because the Supreme Court could still weigh in on similar cases and overrule the decision.

On the other hand, if the Supreme Court does decide to rule on

the case, which seems likely, the result could be very interesting. The most interesting factor of how the vote might actually turn out is Justice Anthony Kennedy. The conservative half of the court is made up of Justices Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito and Chief Justice Roberts. The liberal half is made up of Justices Ruth Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Justice Kennedy lies somewhere in the middle, and in all very close cases is the swing vote.

An old joke about the voting of Justice Kennedy is that he flips a coin, Scalia calls it, and that’s how Kennedy decides. This illustrates how inconsistent of a voter he can be—a coin flip for justice. It’s deeply troubling that one man’s inconsistent voting will provide the voice for a defining civil rights cause of our generation.

If we take a look at the 2002 case Lawrence v. Texas, we find that Justice Kennedy sided with homosexual rights, and drafted the majority opinion. Texas had passed a law banning sodomy and the Supreme Court struck it down.

(Sound similar?) In his opinion, he used due process rather than equal protection when he stated: “Their right to liberty under the Due Process Clause gives them the full right to engage in their conduct without intervention of the government . . . The Texas statute furthers no legitimate state interest which can justify its intrusion into the personal

a culture diametrically opposed to the one we grew up in, where we will never be idolized no matter how much success we find on the field. We will never get treated differently for being an athlete, but it has never been about that for us. We came to Whitman to get a degree just like everyone else; we are just the ones who get to play baseball along the way.

We play because we can.

Other students do not have to deal with missing days of class for games because they don’t get to travel around the country with their best friends. They don’t pour enormous chunks of energy into a dead-end sport because they will never know the feeling of two dozen men coming together for a single purpose, while playing the game they love.

We did not grow up with dreams of being accountants, teachers or anything like that.

We grew up dreaming of playing in Yankee Stadium against the men we idolized on televi-

sion sets and baseball cards.

We were the kids who asked Santa for gloves and bats for Christmas, not video games.

Baseball helped shape our youth, and is still a part of who we are today. We play to hold onto the dreams of our childhood, because we aren’t ready to let go. We play because nobody has ever given us a good enough reason to stop. Until we find that reason, we are who we have always been: baseball players.

We are not alone. Our story is no different from the athletes on any of Whitman’s 13 other varsity teams. We all came to Whitman from all over the country to play the games we love while getting a top-notch education. While our labors may at times seem fruitless and our schedules bursting at the seams, we never for a minute regret our experience. What we have is pretty special, and no amount of 6 a.m. conditioning or restless bus rides will ever take that from us.

Political Cartoon by Kelly Douglas

and private life of the individual.”

This kind of reasoning on Kennedy’s part makes me think he may just vote on the side of the petitioners. If this does occur, and the court rules that the proposition is unconstitutional, than the debate on homosexual marriage will, for the most part, come to a close, until the lineup of the court gets switched around or a Constitutional Amendment challenges the decision.

If, however, they rule against the petitioners, then it will be a huge setback for homosexual rights in the country. Their only

way out is the same—an amendment or a shift in the lineup.

The sad thing about this case (and many others) is that in what is supposed to be a democratic country, one man, one whom no one elected, is deciding the fate of thousands, eventually millions, of people he’ll never meet. Kennedy’s Catholic background may sway his vote, however, his swing vote did uphold Roe v. Wade in the 5-4 decision of Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The man is full of surprises, but I’m not sure he realizes how undemocratic his vote could potentially be.

‘Booth babes’ trivialize women’s role in tech BLAIR FRANK Junior

an issue with the idea of booth babes to promote a product at a show. When I’m looking at a product, I want to evaluate it based on how it really is, not based on the looks of its spokesmodels.

It’s a frustrating and uncomfort-

this day and age. A 2008 study revealed that 52 percent of women in STEM careers left them, primarily due to hostile, macho environments at work. In 2011, the Geek Feminism Wiki reported 25 incidents of sexism at major conven-

B

ooth babes have to go. It pains me to be saying this in the year 2012, but it’s time for the technology and public relations industries to collectively grow up and realize that hiring models to walk around an expo hall with scannable QR codes plastered to the back of their Lycra hot pants is not okay. This industry deserves better than that.

For those of you not familiar with the concept, a booth babe is a scantily-clad woman hired specifically to act as an attraction for a convention or expo booth. They might have some high-level understanding of the product they’re pitching, but in general, they are simply there to attract people to the booth itself, rather than provide any sort of commentary on its contents.

On a personal level, I have

ILLUSTRATION BY BAILEY

able experience to have my baser desires played against my rational experience of a product.

More problematic, though, is the image they present. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields are faced with a plague of female attrition, even in

tions. The writing is on the wall: Women in technology face hostile environments both at work and at conferences. As it stands, the tech field is plagued by a culture of ingrained and accepted sexism.

Booth babes are a perfect symbol of that culture. Shows

Voices from the Community

like CES and E3 are major events in the tech world. They’re fantastic platforms to show that we as an industry want to create an environment in which women are valued for their contributions. Instead of sending that message, though, we’re continuing to allow the blatant objectification of women for no reason. This is an industry that’s supposed to be focused on looking forward, but we can’t do that without a real push for workplace gender equality and a rejection of sexism and sexual harassment. Eliminating their role at shows would be a step in the right direction. The removal of booth babes can only do good things for the tech community’s image and create a more productive environment at the shows themselves.

According to a 2010 study, women talked about themselves less if they thought they were being objectified by a male observer.

There are direct, quantifiable negative consequences for creating an environment like the one that currently exists at tech conventions.

It’s incumbent on the next generation of innovators and PR folks to make important, meaningful changes that promote equality in a field that’s all about the future.

What would your ideal Valentine’s Day date be? Poll by Peck

TOM WHIPPLE

ALLISON BOLGIANO

CAROLYN HART

KAYVON BEHROOZIAN

First-year

Senior

Senior

Sophomore

“Hell, I find moonlight crosscountry skiing pretty damn nice for me. Some kind of an outdoor picnic. More about the person than the fancy meal.”

“My idea of the perfect date would be to go on a moonlight sea kayak paddle on the Palouse River.”

“My idea of the perfect date is definitely going to an amusement park.”

“My idea of a perfect date is being out in the wheat fields with a picnic blanket, a bottle of sparkling cider and some delicious home-cooked pizza.”

BACKPAGE

Feb

16 2012

8

PAGE

BEST DANCE SONG / “The Bernie” WORST SONG THAT YOU LISTENED TO MORE THAN ONCE / “Friday” by Rebecca Black BEST COVER / “Sophie Grace Super Bass” by Nicki Minaj BEST COVER MUSIC VIDEO / “Black and Jewish” by Kali Hawk & Kat Graham

(FOR GOT TEN ) 54th

BEST BREAKUP SONG / “Someone Like You” by Adele

WEIRDEST LYRICS / “If I had a dick I would pull it out and piss on ‘em” —Nicki Minaj MUSIC VIDEO MOST LIKELY TO MAKE YOU FEEL SICK / “All of the Lights” by Kanye West BIGGEST YOUTUBE SINGING SENSATION / Matty B Raps BEST SONG THAT FINALLY GOT A MUSIC VIDEO & BEST SONG TO SING WHEN YOU’RE DRUNK / “And We Danced” by Macklemore

GRAMMY AWARDS

MOST LIKELY TO BE FORGOTTEN IN 2012 / Ke$ha BEST BAND THAT SHOULD WIN FOR SOMETHING / Mumford & Sons BEST SONG THAT DIDN’T EVEN GET NOMINATED / “Ni**as in Paris” by Jay-Z and Kanye West BEST “GLEE” MASH-UP / “Rumor Has It/Someone Like You”

Usually at least a little bit hipster, you appreciate a good improbable musical adaptation written for uke. Some popular transcriptions: Mahler’s “5th Symphony for Ukulele” and Van Halen’s “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love.”

UKULELE

TRUMPET

CELLO

Even though it only takes one of you to screw in a light bulb (because the whole world revolves around you . . . ), none of the people in orbit around you mind. They think you have good fashion sense.

Seriously?

Sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night screaming, “DON’T TOUCH MY BOCAL!!” You have a slight tendency towards insanity, but you call it creativity. One day you will be offered the position of “President of the World.” Accept.

BASSOON

PAN FLUTE

You are quiet and mayhaps a tad bit shy. You are studious and have a very mild case of eczema, but in the event of a zombie apocalypse, you would undoubtedly be the last human to survive.

You are outspoken and most likely a bit show-offy. It’s difficult to build anything designed by Dr. Seuss in real life, but you are dedicated to making a scene. Interestingly, you will probably name your daughter “Constance.”

HUT-ZUT

VIOLA

Laid-back and chill, you are sick and tired of hearing people say, “OMG, your violin is like, huge!” but you deal with it. You will probably never be arrested, but you definitely will be pulled over a couple of times.

SAY ABOUT YOU?

GUITAR/PIANO

WHAT DOES YOUR

Difficult to grossly generalize, but I’ll give it a go: carbon-based, you have a real knack for bipedal mobility.

You are a little bit self-conscious and have thought about starting a band. You think baby animals are cute.

THE REAL CAUSE OF THE

SH*T JAN-STARTS SAY WHITMAN MASSACRE “Wait, where is that again?”

“I heard about the place where you’re allowed to be naked on campus. It’s, like, the zen garden, right?”

“Damn, my Encounters class is in a different room in Olin tomorrow. Now I have to leave 15 extra minutes early to go find that.”

“Woo I’m so excited for the study break in Jewett main lounge!

Those are definitely the most fun I have all week.”

“Wait, who is this you’re talking about?”

“Wow, this Encounters class is terrible; how did you survive a semester of this?”

“I am so sick of only being known as the Jan-start!”

ILLUSTRATION BY CARTER-RODRIGUEZ

Comic by Ariel Carter-Rodriguez

Tiloukaikt: Hey Sissy.

Narcissa: Hey Till Cakes.

Tiloukaikt: Sorry to trouble you and all, but several of my people are dying of measles. Do you think your husband could maybe . . . ?

Narcissa: Nope. He’s great with the little stuff, like minor fevers and whatnot, but with diseases he doesn’t have a clue. And sorry about that, by the way. I think we may have brought that with us.

Tiloukaikt: Yeah, I guess I knew this would be too big for him. I just thought I’d ask anyway. I feel kinda silly now.

Narcissa: Don’t be. Hey, you wanna come in? We’re watching “Fringe.”

Tiloukaikt: Awesome, that’s a great show.

Narcissa: Yeah, it’s the best J.J. Abrams show ever.

(Pause) Tiloukaikt: You take that back right now! “Lost” is by far the best show that Jeffrey Jacob has ever been a part of.

Narcissa: You heathen! “Fringe” is so much better. I mean, the different characters that each actor is able to play alone makes “Fringe” far superior.

Tiloukaikt: Oh, come on! “Lost” explored spirituality, culture, science and personal longing all under the umbrella of an entertaining castaway mystery series. “Lost” makes you think and question. “Fringe” is just . . . entertainment.

Narcissa: How dare you! Why don’t you take “Lost” and shove it up your— Tiloukaikt: Oh you are dead, so dead. I am going to take a gun and shoot you in the chest you little— (What follows is literally history. Forgotten history, but history nonetheless.)

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