Whitman Pioneer Fall 2011 Issue 10

Students sound off about campus health care and Welty Center responds to concerns over treatment

The

PIONEER

HOW DIVERSE NEED-SENSITIVE SWITCH IS WHITMAN? PROVOKES CONCERN

Undocumented Students Statement proposal to go before Board of Trustees

by SHELLY LE News Editor

U

ndocumented students who pursue a secondary education run into a number of obstacles that may hinder their educational goals. Whitman currently accepts applications from all students, regardless of citizenship status, and will often offer private financial aid to undocumented students who otherwise are not eligible to receive federal financial aid. This practice is not generally known among undocumented students when applying to college.

The Undocumented Students Statement proposal will be brought in front of the Board of Trustees Thursday, Nov. 17, and may soon make this practice more visible.

If the proposal passes, starting in 2012, all newly printed college catalogs will include a statement in support of undocumented students on campus. It will also make Whitman the first liberal arts college and the second institution in the United States to include such a statement in its college catalog.

“It’ll be the first time a liberal arts school will voice its support for undocumented students in such a concrete way,” senior ASWC President Matt Dittrich said. “That’s an incredible stand to take right now.”

The Undocumented Students Statement will include the administration’s willingness to admit and provide private financial aid to undocumented students who apply to Whitman.

“This is one of the most important things that we can pass for our student body during this time,” Dittrich said. “The investment from Whitman College can drastically change anyone’s life, but the impact that it can have for someone who’s undocumented is incredible, and you can’t put a value on that.”

Just like Whitman’s current statement on diversity, the catalog will include a statement on the administration’s support of undocumented students and their pursuit of a college education.

“This is one of the most important things that we can pass for our student body during this time,” Dittrich said. “The investment from Whitman College can drastically change anyone’s life, but the impact that it can have for someone who’s undocumented is incredible and you can’t put a value on that.”

The proposal comes after last year’s ASWC DREAM Act Resolution which states that, as a governing body, ASWC supports the DREAM ACT, a congressional bill that would grant legal permanent residency for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children.

Senior Ariel Ruiz, who co-wrote the ASWC DREAM Act Resolution, believes that passing the statement will allow Whitman to show others that the college is ready to openly talk about undocumented status and that the college sees undocumented students as important to the campus.

“It will set a standard for Whitman to show the community that we can take a public stance on an educational issue for the safety of our students,” Ruiz said. “It shows to ourselves that this is an issue we need to talk about.”

Ruiz further stressed that passing the statement goes beyond simply accepting undocumented students on campus and would help Whitman progress into a more open and transparent campus.

“This movement is not just about undocumented students,” Ruiz said. “It’s about how we establish ourselves and how we foster a safe and progressive environment that allows all of our students, including undocumented students, to achieve academically.

Dittrich noted that acknowledging students with an undocumented status is crucial to expanding diversity on campus.

“I think that exchanging different perspectives is a critical component of a liberal arts education.

So, by its very nature, I would argue that an institution like Whitman College supports and promotes diversity of thought,” Dittrich said.

Although the Admissions Office does not take into account students’ documentation status and makes undocumented students eligible for private financial aid, the college does not publicly explain this. Consequently, many undocumented students often choose not to apply to Whitman.

“All students face challenges when they’re applying to colleges and jobs, and undocumented students face particular barriers inherent to their immigration status.

Many fear being deported and don’t think they can apply for college at all,” said senior Katie DeCramer. see UNDOCUMENTED, page 3

60% 40% 20% Wh itm an Col leg e Wa b as hC olle Swa ge rthm ore Col leg e Ree dC olle ge Pom ona Col leg Occ e ide nta l Co lleg e Obe rlin Col leg e Kno xC olle Hav ge erfo rd Col leg e Grin nel l Co lleg Col e ora do Col leg e Col

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cludes both need- and merit-based aid. The Admissions Office usually aims for a number around 33 percent.

“We needed to maybe even have a lower discount rate this year to be able to make up a budget for this year because of the higher spending of the

two previous years. You have to go lower to balance it out,” Dyerly said.

With the lower discount rate for this year, students worry that the campus’s overall diversity will be significantly impacted.

“For a liberal arts education,

Race at Whitman: 2003-2010

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native american international pacific islander other 200

asian hispanic black white

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ecently, students have been raising concerns regarding the switch in the admissions policy from need-blind to need-sensitive admission. At an ASWC town hall meeting Oct. 24 and in comments since then, students have discussed the policy, especially in terms of its effect on the diversity and the makeup of campus.

“Diversity has become a more pressing concern of students over the last four years,” said ASWC President Matt Dittrich. “We’re becoming more and more aware of how imperative it is to have diversity of thought in a liberal arts education.”

The switch, implemented last year for the admission of the class of 2015 and continuing for this year’s prospective class, raises questions about a few of the most obvious forms of ethnic and socioeconomic diversity.

“Quite arguably, [the switch to need-sensitive admissions] added to a lessening of cultural diversity on campus,” said Dittrich.

Need-blind policies completely separate the question of an applicant’s admittance from the amount of financial aid they receive, while need-sensitive practices take financial need as a factor in the admissions process.

Director of Admission Kevin Dyerly says that the amount of financial aid awarded to the class of 2015 was not significantly lower than in previous years, and the Admissions Office is still thoroughly committed to diversity in many forms.

“I think we need to be careful about being too quick to say [the switch to need-sensitive admissions] has dramatically changed the makeup of the Whitman community, because it really hasn’t,” said Dyerly.

“While we certainly were more aggressive in lowering the discount rate in this past year, part of it was because of the last two high entering classes.”

For the classes of 2013 and 2014, the discount rates were 38.3 percent and 39.5 percent, respectively. “[The financial aid spending for the last two classes was] dramatically higher than where we had been before that,” said Dyerly. “A lot of that is due to the economy and certainly economic constraints on families and students, but more classes like that would not have been sustainable for the college. We still have finite resources, so it was primarily a financially driven decision.”

The discount rate for the class of 2015 was 31.4 percent, which means that 31.4 cents on every dollar were given back to students in the form of Whitman scholarships. This in-

ISSUE 10 November 10, 2011 Whitman news since 1896

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CHART: THE RACIAL MAKEUP OF WHITMAN AND THE PANEL OF 14 SCHOOLS Non-citizen white Pacific Islander black Multiracial hispanic American CHANGE IN asian Asian ADMISSIONS native american Hispanic POLICY IMPACTS multiracial DIVERSITY OF pacific islander Black INCOMING CLASSES international White Staff Reporter

Friday: Check our website for an update on Walla Walla County Elections www.whitmanpioneer.com

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THE RACIAL MAKEUP OF WHITMAN

by A LLISON WOR K

This Week On Web

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Get to know the Northwest Conference: Athletic and academic profiles of Whitman’s rival schools

Feature pg. 6

200 5-6

Sports pg. 5

as people are exposed to a variety of different disciplines, if the liberal arts education were attaining its highest ideals, it would expose students to diverse cultures,” said sophomore Alyssa Goard.

But Dyerly says this year’s decrease in tangible diversity is not necessarily as big a deal as it seems.

“You’re coming off a year where as far as ethnic minorities, the sophWhite omores are the most diverse class in the history of the college,” said Dyerly. “This year’s [about] 18 percent,.

Other When you look at the enrollment this year versus enrollments over the last Hispanic few years, is about the exact same.”

Dyerly also stressed that Indian WhitmanAmerican was one of the last of its “peer colleges” to make the switch to need-sensitive admissions.

Asiankind of dictated that “Realities the fiscally responsible thing to do was to go to a need-sensitive apBlack proach, by which for about 10 percent of our applicants, financial need Non-citizen would be one of the many factors in the admissions process,” Dyerly said.

The peer colleges are the Panel of 14—a selected 14 schools including Pomona, Colorado College, Swarthmore and Carelton College—that the Whitman website calls “a combination of peer and aspirant institutions.” see NEED-SENSITIVE, page 3

SELFISHNESS, PROTEST FEATURE IN ‘A LTRUISTS’

Sam Halgren ‘14 (left), Olivia Clingman-White ‘14 (middle) and Thomas Knook ‘12 (right) rehearse a scene from ‘The Altruists,’ directed by senior theatre major Sarah Wright. The play delves into timely themes of social disconnect and protest, as captured in the lives of a group of young radicals in New York. These would-be revolutionaries unconsciously mirror dynamics of counterculture and hypocrisy currently unfolding in elements of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Photo by Felt

read the article in A&E, page 4

Recently proposed Pell Grant cuts would most impact students on border of receiving aid

by DY L A N T U LL Staff Reporter

S

tudents understand the necessity of financial aid— without it, many brilliant and hard-working students would not be able to attend Whitman. So what happens when certain government financial aid is cut completely? Hopefully students won’t have to find out, but in an effort to balance the federal budget, the government is considering cutting financial aid funding in the form of Pell Grants and Washington State Need Grants.

When government spending is too high and the federal budget needs to be re-worked, education is an area that classically tends to get hit. The date for the decision about cutting Pell Grants is not known, but if students want to help fight for theirs and their peer’s financial aid, the time to make their voices heard is now.

Tyson Harlow, assistant director of financial aid services, explained what exactly the Pell Grant is.

“The Pell Grant is a needbased federal grant for students who come from families with fairly low income—what we call high-needs students,” he said.

The students that will be effected by the potential cut will be students with the most need. A Pell Grant cut means that the threshold for those who are eligible for financial aid will be lowered.

Marilyn Ponti, director of financial aid services, talked about how it would effect students seeking financial aid. “[Legislators] are looking at reducing the income level, so for those kids whose income level is a certain amount, they would lower it, which means that even the really, really needy students are going to lose Pell Grants,”

she said. “Somebody who was marginal before, maybe getting $500 or less in Pell Grant, could possibly lose it for next year.”

The impact of the Pell Grant cut would not be felt for current students making use of the federal grant. But if Pell Grants were to be cut in the near future, the next incoming class would feel its effects.

“Ultimately, as an institution, we’ll probably have less funds to spread out amongst all of our students, and it would just mean that were not able to help as many,” Harlow said. “It would probably have the greatest impact on the new incoming class, because we try to help our current students as much as possible.”

Senior Bryant Fong, former Opinion writer for The Pioneer, outlined the importance of the Pell Grant in the U.S. education system via email. see PELL GRANTS, page 3

NEWS

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Grant funds tenure positions

by ROSE WOODBU RY Staff Reporter

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ast June, Whitman was awarded a $644,000 grant from the Andrew J. Mellon Foundation which will allow eight faculty positions to be converted to tenure-track positions over a four-year period. This grant can be used for the social sciences and the humanities, so none of the faculty positions being converted to tenure-track will come from the physical sciences.

Provost and Dean of Faculty Timothy Kaufman-Osborn explained how these tenure-track positions have been and will continue to be chosen.

“The Committee of Division Chairs. . . selected the first four of eight positions to be converted [in politics, studio art, psychology, and art history and visual culture studies], and another four will be selected and presented for approval by the Board of Trustees next February,” he said via email.

President Bridges said in an email that Whitman previously used money from the Mellon Foundation to create the Global Studies Initiative, which provides faculty seminars and workshops about reading cross-disciplinary and global texts.

In the grant proposal, Whitman explained why it values tenure-track faculty.

“Full-time tenure-track faculty members exemplify the liberal arts model of the teacher-scholar . . .

They have a permanent stake in the welfare of the college; serve as mentors as they progress toward graduation; and often develop ongoing research collaborations that are critical to students in the graduate school admissions process. While contingent faculty are often wonderful teachers who contribute in important ways to Whitman’s academic program, most are not required to do so in many of the ways expected of tenure-track faculty,” said the proposal.

Senior Katie DeCramer said that she would prefer to have more tenuretrack positions in the politics department because politics courses are in high demand and tenure-track positions encourage teaching excellence.

“Teaching excellence means more opportunities for student learning,” she said.

Junior psychology major Vy Cao-Nguyen said she is excited to have more tenure-track positions in the psychology department. She would like to see faculty members remain on staff longer as tenured faculty members.

“I was really sad when my old adviser, Professor Wiese, left because she had a better offer elsewhere,” she said.

Though Cao-Nguyen specified that Weise may have left for a variety of reasons other than her desire to obtain tenure, professors who aren’t tenure-track are more likely to leave than those who are.

Bridges added that having more faculty in tenure-track positions helps provide better advising to students.

“More tenure-track positions helps the college provide greater continuity in the advising of our students and in ensuring long term commitment by faculty to the mission of the institution. I must stress that this initiative should in no way be interpreted as criticism of our current visiting faculty—most are exceptional teachers and scholars. However, most also are searching for permanent positions at other institutions while they are here and are, therefore, distracted from their commitment to our students and their learning,” he said.

Associate Professor of History Brian Dott said that despite the excellent contributions made by many contingent and adjunct faculty members to the quality of education at the college, tenure-track faculty are more invested in the long-term decisions of the college.

“Tenure-track and tenured faculty serve on important com-

NUMBERS IN THE NEWS

by SHELLY LE News Editor

10.8

Million undocumented immigrants living in the United States in 2010.

1.29

Million undocumented immigrants aged 18-24 living in the United States in 2010.

65,000

Approximate number of undocumented students who graduate from U.S. high schools each year.

3

Years it takes for an undocumented student in Washington state to be considered a resident for instate tuition purposes since the passing of HB 1079 in 2003.

55

Percentage of voters who, in 1994, supported California’s Proposition 187, which called for cutting off social benefits to undocumented immigrants.

ILLUSTRATION BY SONG

mittees which make decisions about the future directions for the college,” he said in an email.

Dott explained how the Mellon Grant has influenced positions in the social sciences.

“In the social sciences this year we are searching for two new positions which will be partially funded through the Mellon Grant over the next few years. The politics department is searching for a new faculty member with expertise in Asian politics. The faculty member in this position will add regional specialization which is not currently represented in the existing ten-

ure-track positions in politics,” he said. “The psychology department is searching for a new faculty member with expertise in social and developmental psychology of adolescence, again an area which not currently represented in areas of expertise of existing tenure-track faculty.”

Kaufman-Osborn feels that the grant will be hugely beneficial for the college.

“In sum, this grant should enable us to enhance the quality of the education we provide to Whitman students; and that, in the last analysis, is what this institution is all about,” he said.

S O U RC E S: U NI V ER SI T Y O F C A L IF O R NI A IN LOS A N G EL E S, T H E H U FFIN G TO N P OS T, T H E D EPA RT M EN T O F H O M EL A N D S ECU RI T Y

CORRECTIONS TO ISSUES 8 & 9 In the issue 8 article “Town Hall meeting focus on diversity concerns” on page 3, the decrease in available financial aid money should have be cited as $320,000.

In the issue 9 article “ASWC to vote on media bylaw” on page 3, Ben Lerchin should have been cited as a junior.

In the issue 9 article “Teams choose alternative mascots” on page 5, Becky Nevin should have been cited as a junior.

WHITMAN STUDENT FEES AT WORK ASWC FINANCE MEETING 11/4 • Request of $1,742.33 from Green Fund by Campus Climate Challenge for completing installation of the Industrial Composter on Whitman College Campus. Request passed unanimously.

• Request of $311 from Contingency Fund by Best Buddies service program for activities. Request passed unanimously.

ILLUSTRATION BY BAILEY

• Request of $2540 from Travel and Student Development Fund

by Backcountry Ski Club for 10 members to take an Avalanche Awareness Level II course.

Request passed unanimously.

• Vote for Finance Chair to shave off half of his mustache. Vote passed 5 Y 3 N 0 A.

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RA applicant pool motivated by more than money

by ROSE WOODBU RY Staff Reporter

R

esident Assistants get free room and board, but most students don’t seem to be applying for the position primarily for the financial benefits. This year, 75 students applied to be RAs, a higher number than the usual 60-65 applicants. Yet despite the correlation between the high number of RA applicants this year and increased tuition costs at Whitman, students don’t seem to be applying for the money.

Douglas Hall RA and junior Nathan Wong explained that the monetary compensation is not worth the challenging workload RAs take on, which includes a minimum of 20 hours of work per week.

Wong said that he decided to become an RA because he wanted a challenge.

“I applied because I had a great freshman RA, and I wanted to be better connected with the Whitman community. I didn’t have any big commitments like sports or clubs, so I wanted a challenge and a chance to

meet and help students,” he said.

Director of Financial Aid Services Marilyn Ponti said that being an RA can significantly reduce costs of attending the college for some students.

“For a student who gets a scholarship, we would look at the same budget for them and allow them to keep their scholarship up to the budget minus room and board. [Being an RA] usually benefits the student because they don’t have to work another job,” she said.

Ponti noted that there might be a causal relationship between the high number of RA applicants and the high cost of tuition.

“It’s possible that as the budget gets higher and as students look to reduce their loan and employment, being an RA is a good way to do that,” she said.

Yet ultimately, Ponti agreed with Wong.

“I think you have to become an RA because it’s something you really love and want to be a part of, and if there’s a financial benefit, that’s great,” she said.

As for an explanation of why so many students applied this year,

Associate Dean of Students and Director of Campus Life Nancy Tavelli explained that the sophomore class, which is where most of the applicants come from, is the largest it’s ever been in Whitman history. Travelli also reported that the number of students applying to be RAs this year is not the highest on record; the record number of students applying to become an RA was 90 applicants in the late 1980s.

Sophomore Katie Tertocha considered the financial component when she applied to be an RA, but she ultimately applied for other reasons.

“I think I maybe want to be a counselor in the future, and I’ve just had really good experiences with past RAs,” she said.

Tertocha preferenced Anderson and Jewett because she had a great experience with her RAs during her first year and wanted to give back.

“My RAs freshman year were super helpful. They definitely made my freshman year better than it could have been,” she said. “Getting room and board paid for is just an additional perk.”

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

The purpose of The Pioneer is to provide pertinent, timely news and commentary for Whitman students, alumni, faculty, staff and parents, as well as the Walla Walla community. The Pioneer is dedicated to expanding open discussion on campus about the issues with which students are most concerned. We provide coverage of Whitman-related news as well as featured local and regional events, and strive to maintain a standard of utmost fairness, quality, and journalistic integrity while promoting freedom of the press. In addition, The Pioneer strives to be a learning tool for students who are interested in journalism. The Pioneer welcomes all feedback and publishes weekly Letters to the Editor in print and online.

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NEWS

Nov

10 2011

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Climbing wall opens to community

by SA M CH A PM A N Staff Reporter

I

n the summer of 2009, Whitman’s outdoor climbing wall was built over in order to enlarge the Sherwood Athletic Center. The center later re-opened that fall and students, faculty and staff got to take advantage of the newly opened indoor rock climbing wall. However, the new center was cold comfort to the friends, family and climbers from the Walla Walla community who were excluded under the new policy: Whitman users only and no guests.

Now, red letters on the Climbing Center’s website proclaim a change to the policy that loosens requirements for use of the wall. Students, faculty and staff may bring unlimited family and two guests for a fee of seven dollars. Alumni can also get those privileges by paying the same fee.

Director of Outdoor Programs Brien Sheedy says that he hoped to have the new Climbing Center open to the public immediately after it opened, but the college was apprehensive.

“The college was uncomfortable with having an open access policy at that time due to insurance and liability concerns,” Sheedy said.

When Sheedy obtained an additional insurance policy that covered guest users, he and the Climbing Center staff were able to convince the administration to agree to the new, looser policy. According to Sheedy, allowing Whitman users to bring family and guests for a fee is a boon to the

10 FACTS ABOUT WHITMAN’S BLACK STUDENT UNION

by MOLLY JOHANSON Staff Reporter

This week, The Pioneer showcases a club on campus, highlighting its unique features.

It is one of the largest diversity clubs that is run through the Intercultural Center with close to 100 listserv members and about 30 core members.

The club meets every Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Glover Alston Center.

The club regularly discusses issues of diversity that may not get talked about in other venues on campus, such as the recent Troy Davis case.

BSU puts on Soul Food Night at Prentiss dining hall once every semester. On top of offering soul food, the dinner also features music and fact sheets with bios of important figures in black history.

BSU hosts themed dances, like the “Hip Hop Ya Don’t Stop!” dance. These events offer dancers a different kind of music than is usually played at dances.

The club works closely with admissions. Members attend diversity-themed admissions events, and those who live on campus offer to host students who come from diverse backgrounds.

BSU holds a candle light vigil on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. BSU regularly brings lecturers to campus in February, Black History Month, such as Justice Charles Z. Smith, the first African-American to serve on the Washington Supreme Court.

The club works closely with Wakilisha Afrika, the African awareness club on campus, as well as Club Latino.

In the spring, BSU hosts a staff reception dinner at the Baker Faculty Center in which they show a slideshow of their events and present sashes to graduating seniors.

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The climbing center is now open to members of the Walla Walla community. Students, faculty and staff can invite guests to the climbing wall for a fee of $7. Whitman has utilized the new change to invite climbers from WWU. Photo by Bernstein

Climbing Center in several ways.

“It’s an additional revenue source to offset the cost of maintenance. Harnesses, ropes, and shoes have to be retired on a regular basis,” Sheedy said. “The other thing is that at the old facility, which was open to the public, we would regularly have events where students, staff, and faculty would bring family members. During family weekends, we would have a lot of siblings come.”

Since implementing the policy change, the Climbing Center has held successful climbing events on Alumni Weekend and Family Weekend. The latter was attended by around 100 people, about half of whom used the wall.

Climbing Center Summer Manager Heather Domonoske was on hand to collect money from the first guests to take advantage of the program.

“People are really happy,”

AID MAY SEE DECREASE from PELL GRANTS, page 1

“America’s graduation rate from bachelor or associate degree-granting institutions is only 40 percent according to the 2009 census report, which will only increase if the barrier to enter college is higher because of increasing costs. A study by Eric Bettinger found a significant positive correlation between application of Pell Grants and retention rate among low income students,” he said.

According to Ponti, in order to protect financial aid for future students, the most important thing students can do is to let state legislators know how important financial aid is to students.

“What happens is if the legislators don’t hear from us, they think everything’s fine, and they can make cuts. So we as an institution have to make sure that we are an advocate, and that we get out there and let legislators know that student aid is really important to us and that cuts could hurt our institution, in many different ways,” Ponti said.

Save Student Aid is a campaign advocating for the protection of federal student financial aid. The campaign is an attempt to collect the voices of students, parents, and community members so that legislators deciding what to cut know

just how important financial aid is to students across the nation.

In addition to this campaign, the Financial Aid Office hosted an event earlier last month in Reid Campus Center to collect student information and represent the importance of student aid visually.

“We had something down at Reid Campus Center the Friday before last where we had some info sheets, kind of like bio sheets, for students to fill out, so that we could create this things they call All-Star cards,” Harlow said. It’s kind of like a baseball card that would show the student, what type of aid they get, what financial aid means to them, all that, so they can hand those out to legislators in Olympia, to kind of put a face on the money that’s being considered for cuts.”

Harlow stressed that students hold the power in influencing legislation concerning the Pell Grant.

If students do not voice their opinions on essential subjects such as financial aid, then decisions will be made without taking their perspective into account.

“Students are really the best voices, and we recommend that students contact their legislators,” he said.

The Save Student Aid group website can be accessed at www. facebook.com /savestudentaid.

Domonoske said. “There are definitely some avid climbers from the community who’ve been waiting for us to open the wall.”

Domonoske, Sheedy and the Climbing Center have been working to make the Whitman community aware of the policy change. Aside from the website, they have put up posters and set out tri-fold brochures at the center and plan to distribute table-toppers over the next week.

For nine dollars, rock climbers from Walla Walla are allowed to use the facility as well but only if they can find a Whitman user to count them as a guest. This part of the policy is popular with climbers from Walla Walla University, such as junior Michael Kudla.

“I go to WWU, so I usually climb there, but I’d like to go to Whitman and climb sometime. I think it should be pretty easy to make some friends and go together there, although I am pretty outgoing, so that’s not necessarily the case for everyone,” Kudla said. “I think what they’ve got so far is great; a little pricey, but then again, maintaining a wall isn’t cheap either.”

Many Whitman climbers have been reaching out to WWU climbers and community members who need help to be counted as guests; a Facebook page has been created to match guests with “sponsors” at Whitman.

Sheedy, who enjoyed the community relations offered by the previous outdoor wall, is glad that the new policy is bridging gaps, and plans to continue working to make the Whitman community aware of the policy change.

“We’re going to need to continue to do anything we can to make students, staff, and faculty aware of the fact that they can bring guests now,” he said.

“Since access has been restricted, it will take time for the community to realize there’s been a change.”

For more information concerning the Climbing Center’s guest policy, visit www.whitman.edu/content /outdo or - pro gram / ro ck- climbing

Statement aims to encourage open discussion of immigration status from UNDOCUMENTED, page 1

“This statement is an articulation of what we already do but don’t publicly acknowledge,” said senior ASWC Senator Daria Reaven.

DeCramer and Reaven are a part of a group of students who have collected video testimonials from various clubs, faculty and students in support of passing the statement.

“The board is at a crossroads in choosing between publicly affirming our current practices that support the fair and equal admission of students regardless of their documentation status and turning our back on these students who are our classmates, our teammates and our friends,” DeCramer said.

The statement is particularly crucial to students who are applying to colleges but don’t necessarily know Whitman’s policy of accepting students regardless of whether they are legal U.S. citizens or not.

“This statement makes a big difference because then [undocumented students] know that they can go to Whitman, that they’re supported and that they can receive financial aid,” Ruiz said.

The Whitman constitution states that the college cannot take a political statement because it would detract from its mission.

Despite this, senior Adam Delgado, student representative to the

Diversity Committee of the Board of Trustees, stressed that the statement is not a political stance by the college but rather an articulation of the administration’s support of students’ pursuits of higher education regardless of their citizenship status.

“It’s important to note that this is a recognition that Whitman welcomes students from all citizenship backgrounds and that Whitman doesn’t discriminate or impede the development of undocumented students on campus,” Delgado said. “A statement supporting undocumented students directly from the Board recognizes that support of these students comes from all levels.”

Ruiz hopes that the statement will allow undocumented students themselves to be more comfortable talking about their citizenship status.

“Over the course of time that I’ve been here, I’ve met a number of undocumented students who feel invisible. Who sort of feel that, although they’re accepted, they can’t really talk about [being an undocumented student],” he said. “I don’t think that’s right, I don’t think undocumented status is something that we should be quiet about.”

For a closer look at the experiences of Whitman’s undocumented students visit www.whitmanpioneer.com/news/2011/02/24/undocumented-whitman-students-facedifficulties-paying-for-college/.

ADMISSIONS POLICY AFFECTS SOCIOECONOMIC DIVERSITY from NEED-SENSITIVE, page 1

Whitman’s ethnic diversity percentage for the class of 2015 is lower than those of selected schools from the Panel of 14, but it is comparable to most. Colorado College’s entering class identified 20 percent of entering students as American ethnic minorities, while Carleton had 23 percent and Swarthmore stated a 42.2 percent figure.

“If you’re only comparing it to last [year’s ethnic minority percentage], which was an all-time high, it seems like a much more dramatic decrease in students of color,” said Dyerly. “But if you look at our students of color enrollment over the last five years, our 17.8 [percent] is the lowest, but four out of the last five years we’ve been between 18 and 20 percent.”

Many have also pointed out that diversity means much more than ethnic and socioeconomic differences.

“For me and for ASWC, we also see enrichment of diversity at Whitman as being a concept that occurs once we’re here,” said Dittrich. “How do we promote different types of thoughts and how do we expose ourselves to different types of understanding and how do we develop different cultures and cultural awareness?”

Dittrich discussed how a liberal arts education—and an expensive one at Whitman—is at its core a forum for bringing diverse backgrounds, thoughts and ideas together.

“Whether we’re talking about extracurricular stuff or classroom stuff, the educational experience is essentially what you’re paying for,” said Dittrich. “You’re not

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paying to come to a place to meet people who are exactly like you; you’re coming to be exposed to completely different thoughts.”

Dyerly agreed that diversity is not only the numbers the admissions office publishes.

“Sometimes we get a little too focused in on just what’s a little more tangible, and that’s not to discount some of the strides that Whitman has made in terms of ethnic and socioeconomic diversity—that’s important to us,” said Dyerly. “But having read

through thousands of applications, all diversity is not lost in this class, and certainly not as you look at the entire student body. It’s almost arguably every bit as diverse as the community was a year ago, and we hope to continue to keep it that way, if not improve.”

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Terrance Hayes spellbinds audience with ‘beautiful presence,’ deep poems

by A LEX H AGEN Staff Writer

D

istinguished poet Terrance Hayes was the latest writer to visit campus as part of the Visiting Writers Reading Series, delivering a lively and profound reading of some of his latest work on Thursday, Nov. 3.

Hayes, whose visit filled nearly every seat of Olin 130, read poetry from his National Book Award–winning collection, “Lighthead,” as well as some unpublished poems.

Throughout the reading, Hayes spoke about his creative process, the themes behind his work and his various influences. Much like his style of reading, Hayes’ style of writing is filled with spontaneity.

“Writing poems is hard and frustrating and uncertain, and after every poem I think, ‘I could never do that again,’ but then, you know it happens . . . It’s not like it’s not without its trauma, but that’s what I like. I like that uncertainty; I like feeling like I may not be able to do it again,” said Hayes.

Some of Hayes’ work explores the connections be-

Terrance Hayes reads from his poetry collection ‘Lighthead’ in Olin 130. Hayes presented works from ‘Lighthead’ as well as new, unpublished poems. Photo by Axtell

tween different types of media. Hayes discussed how visual art influenced his work, as well as the way he references musicians like Nina Simone and David Bowie in his poems.

Many of Hayes’ poems are deeply personal and are inspired by his personal relationships and experiences. One poem, which he described but did not read, fo-

cused on meeting his biological father for the first time. Because of their personal nature, Hayes’ work is complex and rich in detail.

“I think of my poems as sort of asking questions more than answering them,” Hayes said. “Sometimes I get closer to the mystery, [or] closer to the experience, but I don’t know if it’s always as clean

as

figuring something out.”

The audience found Hayes’ reading to be enchanting.

“I thought it was an amazing experience,” said first-year Rhiannon Clarke. “I think he’s got a very beautiful, velvety voice and a really nice cadence.”

The ideas and themes Hayes explored proved interesting as well.

“He does an incredible job making these authoritative claims you want to believe,” said junior Anna Conrad. “He is very well-spoken and has a beautiful presence.”

The Visiting Writers Reading series, presented by the English department, continues on Thursday, Feb. 9 with a reading by poet Camille T. Dungy.

‘The Altruists’ explores provocative PIO PICKS themes of sexuality, social protest Each Thursday, The Pioneer highlights several events happening on campus or in Walla Walla during the weekend.

Here are this week’s picks:

Lecture: Richard LeMieux Richard LeMieux, author of “Breakfast at Sally’s,” speaks on the harrowing upheaval of his existence: from successful businessman with a happy family life to homelessness and poverty. Come to laugh, cry and be inspired.

Thursday, Nov. 10, 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Cordiner Hall.

Dan Barker Author Dan Barker, a former Evangelical preacher turned prominent atheist, speaks to Whitman on his personal journey and leading an ethical life without religious structure.

Saturday, Nov. 12, 5 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Kimball Theatre.

Rocky Horror Picture Show Come for a wild B-movie night of rock ‘n’ roll, transvestites, music and audience participation, with Richard O’Brien’s cult classic!

Saturday, Nov. 12, 10 p.m.

Maxey Auditorium.

Weeks of Wizardry: Quidditch Tournament WEB presents the latest event in Weeks of Wizardry, Whitman’s very own 2011 Quidditch Tournament. Sign up to play by emailing spevents@ whitman.edu, or come to watch the fun!

Sunday, Nov. 13, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Ankeny Field.

by CL A R A BA RTLET T Staff Writer

F

rom Wednesday, Nov. 9, through Sunday, Nov. 13, “The Altruists,” directed by senior theatre major Sarah Wright, will be performed in the Freimann Studio Theatre of Harper Joy. The title of the play illustrates its underlying conflict: Does true altruism or unselfish concern exist in our world? Or are most people inherently selfish?

The Pioneer went behind the scenes to chat with cast members at a Thursday night rehearsal. “[We’re] a group of young radicals living in the nineties in New York, who protest everything, are complete hypocrites and are totally self-involved,” said sophomore cast member Olivia Clingman-White.

“I guess it’s just about people who believe in changing the world. They have really strong convictions,” added fellow cast member sophomore Russell Sperberg. “The whole play is about what happens when their personal convictions conflict with their public convictions.”

However, it was not this conflict that proved to be most challenging in terms of the play’s subject matter but instead the relatability of characters to the actors and the overt display of sexuality.

“Definitely in the beginning, it was just weird because Sam and I are lovers in the show and like, having to make out with him and basically have sex on stage; that was sorta weird,” said

Nanyonjo Mukungu ‘12 models a diverse blend of style influences. Photo by Beck

STYLE

SPOTLIGHT (Left to right) Thomas Knook ‘12, Russell Sperberg ‘14, Michaela Gianotti ‘12 and Olivia Clingman-White ‘14 rehearse a scene in the Freimann Studio Theatre. Photo by Felt

Sperberg. “But mostly now the most difficult thing is just really considering everything and not giving something that’s just one note. And making it good.”

Cast member sophomore Sam Halgren explained further.

“For me it’s having to connect to a character who is basically the same age as me, but who’s had such a 180 degree life from what I’ve had,” said Halgren. “I mean, he’s a prostitute at 20 years old in New York, right? And I go to Whitman College. So that’s a big difference. So I had a bit of trouble trying to get into that.”

Escape stress with Grammer

by M A LLORY M A RTIN Staff Writer

T

his past week I’ve had two presentations, three major essays, a performance and a midterm exam due. Suffice to say, it has not been fun. As I often do, I turned to my sister to pull me out of my stress-filled funk.

She pointed me to this album.

Andy Grammer’s self-titled debut album is your typical feel-good pop record. Grammer sounds like a cross between Jason Mraz and Mike Posner, and his lyrics brim with a chill positivity that is refreshingly simple.

It would be false to say that Andy Grammer’s songs are particularly deep, but something about the upbeat, techno-pop nature of his music and lyrics just fills me with joy.

Andy Grammer started out as a California State University at Northridge graduate playing on the street corners of Los Angeles. Biding his time while building up his talent, he wrote his own music, signed with a record la-

bel and, after a few singles, released his debut album this summer.

Personal favorites off this record include “Biggest Man in Los Angeles,” a nod to Grammer’s days as a street musician, and “Keep Your Head Up,” a reminder to stay positive—my new theme song.

Skip songs “Love, love, love (Let you go)” and “Build me a girl.” The beats are fun, but the lyrics and themes are too clichéd.

At $7.99 on iTunes, this album is a fun, silly steal to brighten your homework-heavy days, and provides for countless hours of dancing around the lounge with your section mates.

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ILLUSTRATION

BY VAZQUEZ

KWCW SHOW OF THE WEEK

GRAPHIC BY ALDEN

‘8-Bit Smiles’ Nicole Holoboff delivers two hours of diverse music, starting with remixes and more upbeat songs and transitioning to acoustic and mellow folk music. For playlists and videos, visit www.8bitsmiles.wordpress.com.

Wednesdays, 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. On the dial at 90.5 FM Walla Walla and streaming live at www.kwcw.net. For requests, call (509) 527-5283.

‘Puss in Boots’ delivers humor for kids, adults

by NATH A N FISHER Staff Writer

A

fter two weeks of refusing to go to Dreamwork’s new animated film, “Puss in Boots,” I dragged my roommate kicking and screaming to watch this surprisingly hilarious movie. Cats flamenco dancing, swordfight sequences and spoofs referencing westerns and “Fight Club” lead to a movie

But what seemed to help bring the actors closer to their characters was the Occupy Wall Street movement as it correlated directly to their roles as activists within the play.

“As far as the Occupy movement goes, it’s a really important thing, and there are so many intelligent people protesting. But at the same time, there are people there protesting just for the idea of protesting, to be up in arms, and maybe in some ways those people are trying to be altruists, but really just don’t know what they’re doing,” said Halgren. filled with laughs, eye-popping visuals, great banter and bits of morality mixed in. Throughout the movie, I would glance over at my roommate and yes, he and I were both giggling like the little kids sitting around us!

“Puss in Boots” features Puss, a swashbuckling outlaw who was first introduced in “Shrek 2” (voiced by Antonio Banderas), the lovely bandita Kitty Softpaws (voiced by Salma Hayek) and Humpty Alexander Dumpty, the estranged buddy of Puss (voiced by Zach Galifiankis). The story spins together the fairy tale characters of Jack and Jill, a bickering bandit couple (voiced by Billy Bob Thorton and Amy Sedaris) whose biological clocks are ticking, magic beans, a giant beanstalk and a golden goose. The wild adventure leads the animated characters through the desert, into the air-deprived clouds and across Mexico in search of magic beans and the golden goose.

Although “Puss in Boots” does not nail the adult and child demographics as well as the original “Shrek,” it comes pretty darn close. Each voice was perfectly matched for the character, and the chemistry between the actors really comes through. After viewing the end credits, I was surprised by some of the actors whose voices I did not recognize during the movie. Despite every inclination I had going in, the movie was enjoyable to watch. All in all, “Puss in Boots” was able to get two manly eighteen yearolds giggling like we were six.

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: Senior politics major Nanyonjo Mukungu.

Style Soundbites “My vest: my friend got for me a couple Thanksgivings ago. She went shopping and was like, ‘Oh, that’s totally Nan!’ My earring is actually my housemate’s.

She makes other earrings that are singular; I kind of stole the idea from her, just to wear one earring around, but she pulls it off a lot better than I do. My hat: I got it at a consignment store in North Carolina; it was like four bucks.

My glasses, I got from this online store called Zenni Optical; they were only eight bucks. I really like Harry Potter, so I wanted glasses like him that were clear.

My brother gave [my socks] to me for Christmas. I love socks, and this is, like, the best present I’ve ever gotten. They have happy faces, and I just love wool socks.”

“I guess I just start off with one thing that I really want to wear, and then I build around it. I look at fashion blogs, and I have like 450 pictures now, pictures that I saved from looking at fashion blogs in the past. Lately they haven’t really been inspiring me, so sometimes now I just pick something, like, ‘Hmm . . . how about that?’ and find whatever’s in my closet.”

“I feel like my fashion style has a lot of different influences, but I guess, as generic as this sounds, Urban Outfitters is one of the main ones. When I was younger, I would look at Urban Outfitters catalogs. But I still can’t really afford, like, anything in the catalogs, so I would try to find something that was as close as possible to match it. All of my housemates are into J.Crew, so I get inspired from them and like borrow their clothes. I’m also super into punk style. It’s hard to put a label on my style. I get most of my clothes from thrift stores, especially the Goodwill here. I also get a lot of stuff from the Urban sales rack.”

“My philosophy is just wear whatever I want and not really care what people think. Just whatever makes you enjoy yourself.”

SPORTS

Nov

10 2011

Fall teams wrap up season

by M AT T TESMOND Staff Reporter

T

he seasonal change from fall to winter marks the end of another successful fall sports season consisting of dramatic victories, heartbreaking losses, All-Americans and nationally ranked teams.

The men and women’s cross country teams are still far from finished with their seasons. The men’s team finished sixth at conference, but still has the regional finals coming up in Pomona, Cali.

“The success of the season all depends on regionals,” said sophomore runner Spencer Corwin. “We are much closer to doing something special [at regionals] this year than we were last year.”

The team will be sending its seven best runners to compete this weekend.

Led by young talent, the women’s cross country team was able to take fourth at conference and is looking strong going into regionals. First-year Erin Campbell and supersonic juniors Emilie and Katri Gilbert received All-Conference honors for finishing in the top 14 in the conference.

The cross country teams are not alone in having successful seasons. Both the men and women’s golf teams have posted their best results in years.

“We ended quite well,” said star first-year golfer Scott Martin humbly.

The men’s golf team reached its zenith during conference championship play, obtaining a third-place finish.

“We’ve been trying to shoot in the 200s all season and we met that goal,” said Martin.

Achieve it they did, shooting a 297, the best men’s golf score in the past decade. Although the team didn’t win the conference championship, Martin is very optimistic going forward.

“If we work hard to im-

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SCOREBOARD Volleyball

vs. Whitworth University Nov. 2 vs. Lewis & Clark College Nov. 5

Loss 2-3 Win 3-2

Soccer

Men’s vs. Whitworth University Nov. 5 Women’s vs. Willamette University Nov. 5

Loss 1-3 Win 4-1

UPCOMING Cross Country Men’s and Women’s DIII West Regionals Nov. 12

Away

Swimming Whitman varsity athletes compete this fall on the field and the court. Both men’s soccer keeper Michael Bathurst ‘13 (left) and women’s soccer midfielder Jaclyn Rudd ‘13 (center) took NWC Athlete of the Week honors this season. Archive photos, collage by Olmsted.

prove, I think we can definitely top the conference,” he said.

The women’s golf team posted a great finish coming in second at the conference championship while sporting a national ranking of 11th. Many teams would kill for those credentials; the women’s golf team, however, was not satisfied.

“It was disappointing.

Last year we would have been content with our finish this year, but we have raised our standards,” said sophomore Elaine Whaley emphatically.

Although perhaps disappointing, the experience was also beneficial.

“We learned to be cohesive as a team and we learned how to compete at a high level,” said Whaley.

This cohesion is something men’s soccer is trying to build with a team overflowing with young talent. Unfortunately, the results didn’t quite match the talent this year as the team sought to grow together.

“We didn’t get the exact results we wanted, obviously,” said

junior Dhavan Vengadasalam.

“We played really well this season, but we just ended up losing a few key games, which really hurt us.”

Despite this, the team has a bright future.

“We’re going to be working playing as a team and that will pay off,” said Vengadasalam.

The men ended their season fourth in the conference with a 9-8-2 record.

The women’s soccer team shared the disappointment of the men’s team, but did so with an iron will.

“We didn’t get the results we wanted, but we never gave up,” said junior midfielder Julianne Masser.

“We lost a lot of games that could have gone either way, but we stay united, and I’m proud of that.”

Masser had more praise for her team when asked to describe the season in one word: “Resilience. I think that sums it up.”

The women ended up sixth in the conference with an 8-10-2 overall record.

Volleyball had a tough

season but finished strong with a final five-game win over Lewis and Clark.

“We had a rough start, and it was frustrating for everyone,” said junior Rachel Schober. “Luckily, we are all hard workers, and it ended up being a great experience.”

The team struggled early on but built steam as the season continued. They ended up with a 4-18 record, which Schober believes is misleading.

“Your record doesn’t reflect how you feel, and I think we have felt good about what we’ve been doing,” she said.

Like golf, tennis is not traditionally a fall sport. The men’s and women’s teams, however, played in ITA regional championships this fall. The men’s side swept the tournament with Andrew LaCava winning the singles title and the duo of Matt Tesmond and Conor Holton-Burke taking the doubles crown. Both went on to compete in nationals in Mobile, Ala., finishing sixth and ninth nationally. More impres-

Men’s and Women’s vs. Lewis & Clark College Nov. 11, 6 p.m. vs. Pacific University Nov. 12, 1 p.m.

Home Home

Basketball

Women’s vs. Lewis-Clark State College Nov. 15, 6 p.m.

Home

sive, however, was the team effort from the men. They took seven of the eight quarterfinal spots in the singles tournament and filled out the semifinals in doubles.

“It was especially important we did this well because the conference is the strongest it has been in a while,” said junior standout and singles semi-finalist Sam Sadeghi.

The women’s team also sent two players to nationals with Alyssa Roberg winning the singles title and then teaming up with Courtney Lawless to take the doubles title. Roberg placed ninth at nationals and the doubles team finished sixth.

“The team did really well.

Everyone did a great job of working hard and getting better,” said Roberg. “Going forward, we want to get more playing time with our doubles teams, and that will pay off in the spring.”

What’s to know: Introduction to Northwest Conference

by PA MEL A LONDON Staff Reporter

Northwest Conference (NWC) NCAA Division: III Established: 1926 What’s to know?

The NWC sponsored varsity sports exclusively for men for almost 60 years until 1984, when it joined with the Women’s Conference of Independent Colleges becoming the Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges. In 1996, the conference joined the NCAA and shortened its name to the Northwest Conference.

Each year, the conference awards one school the McIlroyLewis All-Sports Trophy, which is based on a points system that recognizes the school that has excelled across all fields of varsity competition. Whitworth University has won the last four McIlroy-Lewis All-Sports trophies. In the 2010-11 season, Whitman finished in sixth place, earning a school record of 161 points.

George Fox University Newberg, Ore. Founded: 1891 Mascot: Bruins Varsity sports: 15 What’s to know?

Originally founded in 1885 as a Quaker school, today George Fox is a Christian university of professional studies and liberal arts and sciences.

The Bruins have won district or conference titles in 10 different sports over the last 10 years.

The men’s baseball team won the NCAA DIII World Series title in 2004. In 2009, women’s basketball won the NCAA DIII national title, the first DIII title for any women’s program west of the Rocky Mountains.

Herbert Hoover and Ken Carter are notable Bruin alumni. Hoover was the 31st president of the United States, while Carter inspired the movie “Coach Carter” for coaching at his other alma mater, Richmond High School.

Lewis & Clark College Portland, Ore. Founded: 1867 Mascot: Pioneers Varsity sports: 19 What’s to know?

Lewis & Clark is a private school made up of the undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences, School of Law and Graduate School of Education and Counseling. It is one of four colleges in Oregon that predate Oregon’s statehood and is one of the few pioneer-era schools to have been coeducational since its founding. Originally, the school was called Albany College, changing its name to Lewis & Clark College in 1942 and its mascot to the Pioneers in 1946.

One in five Lewis & Clark undergraduates is a varsity student-

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athlete. The college is also known for its club and intramural sports, including Ninja and Wolvetch, which were invented by the Pioneers.

Linfield College McMinnville, Ore. Founded: 1849 Mascot: Wildcats Varsity sports: 16 What’s to know?

Linfield, a private undergraduate liberal arts and sciences college, was founded in 1849 as the Oregon Baptist Educational Society in Oregon City. It then became the Baptist College at McMinnville and later McMinnville College before adopting the name Linfield College in 1922.

The Wildcats football team has the longest streak of winning seasons in all levels of the NCAA, with 57 consecutive seasons as of 2010-11. The college has won four national football titles—the latest in 2004—as well as two national baseball titles (1966, 1971) and two softball national championships (2007, 2011).

Pacific Lutheran University Tacoma, Wash.

Founded: 1890 Mascot: Lutes Varsity sports: 20 What’s to know?

In 1890, Scandinavian immigrants founded PLU with the purpose of furthering Lutheran higher

education in the Pacific Northwest.

Academically, the school is known for its arts program and media organizations—its Society of Professional Journalists is nationally recognized and KCNS is one of only a few entirely student-run television stations in Washington.

PLU is also home to athletic success, exemplified by coach Frosty Westering, who ranks ninth in wins among all college football coaches and holds the NAIA record for coaching victories with 305 in his career. The Lutes have won four national titles with Westering at the helm. Football isn’t the only successful sport at PLU: No other school in the NWC has won the All-Sports Trophy as many times as the Lutes.

Pacific University Forest Grove, Ore. Founded: 1849 Mascot: Boxers Varsity sports: 20 What’s to know?

Pacific University began in March 1848 as Tualatin Academy, which evolved from an orphanage that had been founded by Tabitha Brown. The first teacher at Pacific was Eliza Hart Spalding, a member of the Whitman Mission. Today, Pacific is a small, private, independent liberal arts school that offers undergraduate and graduate education. The Boxers have one of only five varsity women’s wrestling programs in the nation.

University of Puget Sound Tacoma, Wash.

Founded: 1888 Mascot: Loggers Varsity sports: 21 What’s to know?

UPS, the only nationally ranked private liberal arts college in Western Washington and one of only 17 such institutions west of the Mississippi River, was founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church. Since its founding, it has changed from a school marked by moral conviction to an institution recognized for its academic and athletic success.

Although the name “Loggers” has been the face of UPS varsity athletics for years, the school is in the midst of trying to establish “Grizz” as the new mascot in an attempt to mirror the university’s support for equal rights for men and women. UPS has been one of the most athletically successful schools in the NWC in recent decades. The women’s soccer program has now won the NWC title for 10 consecutive years. The women’s swim team bested that mark by setting a standing conference record of 11 consecutive NWC titles. The Loggers won the NWC All-Sports Trophy in 2006 and 2007.

Whitman College Walla Walla, Wash.

Founded: 1883 Mascot: Missionaries Varsity sports: 14 What’s to know?

Unlike many of its fellow NWC members, Whitman is a non-sectarian liberal arts college. The school was initially founded as a seminary in 1859 by a territorial legislative charter before becoming a four-year institution in 1883. In 2011, Whitman was ranked 36th of 650 institutions on Forbes’ America’s Best Colleges List, the highest of any NWC member school.

Over 70 percent of students participate in IM sports and over 20 percent are varsity student-athletes.

The Missionaries are the only NWC member without an intercollegiate football team. In 2010-11, Whitman claimed its only NWC title ever with its championship in men’s tennis. Recent national success has come on the club level, with the cycling team winning the NCAA DII national title in 2009-10 and the men’s Ultimate Frisbee team competing at the NCAA DI Nationals last spring.

Whitworth University Spokane, Wash.

Founded :1890 Mascot: Pirates Varsity sports: 20 What’s to know?

A private Christian liberal arts school, Whitworth University offers students undergraduate and graduate education. Students abide by two sets of rules and traditions: the “Big 3”—alcohol, violence and cohabitation are prohibited—and the “Little 3”—a series of tasks that students are supposed to complete by the end of their senior year, including catching a virgin pine cone, breaking a dish in the dining hall and getting hit in the head with a Frisbee.

The Pirates have recently been one of the most successful members of the NWC, winning the NWC AllSports Trophy for four consecutive years. In 2011, men’s basketball was the top-ranked team nationally prior to being upset by Whitman and in the final regular-season poll. Women’s swimming won NWC championships in 2008, 2010 and 2011 and finished as high as 10th at the NCAA DII championships (2008).

Women’s tennis has won three consecutive conference titles. Whitworth has also recently claimed Coach of the Year titles in 11 varsity sports at the NWC, regional and national levels.

Willamette University Salem, Ore. Founded: 1842 Mascot: Bearcats Varsity sports: 20 What’s to know?

Willamette is the oldest university in the western United States.

The university was originally called the Oregon Institute and was an unaffiliated branch of the Methodist Mission. In the late 1800s, Willamette established the Pacific Northwest’s first medical and law schools. After Whitman, Willamette is the highest-ranked NWC school in Forbes’ poll, ranking 96th of 650 institutions.

In 1993, the Bearcats won its first and only team national championship: the NAIA DII men’s basketball title. Individually, Willamette has been home to NCAA DIII champions in track and field and cross country. In 1997, Liz Heaston became the first woman to play in a collegiate football game when she helped the Bearcats defeat Linfield College en route to a school-best finish (national runner-up).

FEATURE

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10 2011

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DIAGNOSING WHITMAN

“I’m going to have to think a little bit more carefully about which IM sports I play.”

IM athletes in pursuit of the illustrious blue shirt often sacrifice personal safety in the name of intramural glory, and many inevitably find themselves at the Welty Health Center for the treatment of injuries. Considering the prominence of intramural and club competition on campus, how does the health center’s care of these students compare with its care of varsity athletes? This week, Feature takes the temperature of students regarding misconceptions about medical services, new initiatives to provide more athletic trainers and student satisfaction with the treatment provided.

Kendell Gilmore '14

Welty Health Center receives mixed reviews from students

by KINSEY W HITE Staff Reporter

T

he Welty Health Center, open to students 24 hours a day and recently ranked second best college health center in the nation by the Princeton Review, receives mixed reports from students. Claudia Ness, director of the health center, says it aims above all to keep the entirety of the Whitman student population healthy while continuing to expand its services.

“Each student and each different situation is treated with respect and confidentiality. The nursing staff is very nurturing and caring; they take their responsibility to the Whitman students seriously,” said Ness.

The health center established an evening clinic this academic year in hopes of better meeting students’ needs.

Physicians now have office hours in the later evenings in an attempt to be able to treat a higher volume of students.

Ness hopes that if any students have thoughts on services that could be provided at the health center, they will contact her.

“My experiences with the health center have been mostly positive. There are a wide variety of resources I have used successfully, be it getting prescriptions or flu shots,” said first-year Miriam Moran.

“Overall, it has been an extremely

useful resource with many different and helpful resources.”

Not all Whitman students have had positive and enriching experiences while in the care of the health center staff, though.

Senior Paul Kruss has been dissatisfied with treatment received in the health center for serious illness. During his freshman year, while afflicted with a severe case of tonsillitis, Kruss was told by health center staff that he probably had a cold and was given ibuprofen. He later found out from his normal off-campus practitioner that he needed fairly immediate surgery.

During Kruss’ sophomore year, he said he came down with swine flu but was seemingly forgotten in one of the back beds by Welty staff.

“I had swine flu and was mostly unconscious for three days in the health center, and the nurses weren’t even aware I was back in one of the beds,” said Kruss. “All of this being said, nobody has ever been rude or mean to me at the health center. The people who work there, for the most part, are very kind and understanding.

For minor problems, I think the health center can be a great resource, but they seriously need to send people to the hospital if they don’t know what’s wrong with [them]. Both of my major experiences at the health center have taught me never to go there if I think my problem

is anything other than strep throat, mono or a minor flu.”

Other members of the comparative college group, the Panel of 14, have health centers that offer services relatively similar to that of the Welty Health Center. Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., has a Student Health and Counseling center which offers the standard slew of services such as walkin care for minor illness, prescriptions and appointments with physicians. This is the same for Reed College in Portland, Ore., and Occidental College in Pasadena, Calif. However, none of the other health centers are open to students at any time of the day or night. Reed, Carleton and Occidental’s health centers close their doors between 5:30 and 6 p.m. After-hours care, even if for minor illness, is provided by local clinics or hospitals, not university health centers.

“I am very defensive towards the health center because I feel that people are far too quick to criticize them for little mistakes or bad interactions,” said junior Anna Dawson. “I think those people ought to stop and recognize how lucky we are to have them at all and to appreciate what a difficult and, at times, extremely unpleasant job that they have on their hands. Stop complaining, give them a break and think about how hard they work to keep students safe and healthy!”

After injurying her leg in an IM football game, Kendell Gilmore ‘14 (above) worked with a physical therapist through the Welty Health Center. Photo by von Hafften

IM athletes help set health record straight

by MOLLY EMMET T and SA NDR A M ATSEVILO Staff Reporters

W

hile fall IM Football may have wrapped for the season, concerns remain that the Welty Health Center falls short when it comes to caring for non-varsity athletes.

The ASWC Student Affairs Committee started an initiative earlier this semester in an attempt to make sure IM and club athletes were covered by the Whitman Health Policy in regards to injuries on the playing field. However, the committee soon realized that these athletes are indeed covered by the policy, rendering the initiative unnecessary.

At Whitman, students are required to have some form of health insurance, whether it is from a private provider or from Aetna, the basic illness and injury policy offered by the college. Regardless of insurance, any student can go to the Health Center free of charge, for whatever needs he or she may have. But when it comes to sports injuries, students seem unsure of the care they will receive.

“I was sure that it would

be good quality care, but I was unsure if it would be up to the quality of a doctor,” said Thomas Barber ‘15, an IM football athlete.

Coverage varies for private insurance companies, but within the Aetna policy, 80 percent of charges are covered. This applies to all sports injuries that need care outside of the center, even those from club and intramural play. Even so, the misconception of lacking coverage for nonvarsity athletes may have stemmed from a clause within Aetna’s policy. In a long list of “Exclusions and Limitations” within the brochure, the policy states that it excludes “expense incurred for injury resulting from the plan or practice of intercollegiate [varsity] sports, in excess of $250.”

However, in parentheses following that statement, the policy states, “Participating in sports clubs, or intramural activities, is not excluded.”

“So, participating in IM and club sports is still covered . . . It is important to clarify that care provided at the health center is not submitted to any insurance.

Our care is without cost to any Whitman student regardless of injury,” said Claudia Ness, R.N., ADVERTISEMENT

director of the health center.

Still, the staff of the health center understands that, although general insurance coverage is the same for all Whitman athletes, there are differences because of the benefits that special varsity plans include.

“The Athletic Training department in Sherwood is only open to varsity athletes,” Ness said.

Acknowledging this discrepancy and the need for sports medicine that IM and club athletes have demonstrated just this season, the health center has started an initiative to broaden treatment.

“Up until now there has been no dedicated space for club and IM athletes to be treated in. To make that available, the health center is working on putting student trainers in place by spring,” said Ness.

To compensate for the current unavailability of trainers, the health center helped sophomore Kendell Gilmore find a physical therapist to meet with during her recovery from a knee injury she sustained while playing IM football.

“I followed up with physical therapy through the health center

and they actually hooked me up with a really great physical therapist . . . It was really convenient for me because he could just come to the clinic and see me, so I could see him right there and I didn’t have to drive anywhere,” said Gilmore.

However, the cost of Gilmore’s injury, amplified by physical therapy fees, is enough to make her reconsider the nature of her participation on the field.

“Definitely with the cost of getting injured I’m going to have to think a little bit more carefully about which IM sports I play and how intense I’m going to be on the field,” said Gilmore.

Senior John-Henry Heckendorn, the athletics advocate for ASWC, acknowledges the risk factor of contact sports, but is actively working with students and administration to minimize the risks for participants.

“You can’t put people in a bubble. Sports are necessarily somewhat risky; people are going to get hurt,” he said.

Heckendorn is currently attempting to collaborate with the health center to help athletes stay safe and understand their own liability, including implementing a consistent safety seminar for IM football athletes, recruiting student trainers to hold office hours in the health center, and systematically screening athletes who have suffered concussions before permitting them to go back on the playing field.

“For the past couple of years, ASWC has been putting a lot of pressure on the college to provide training services for non-varsity athletes, and this year we’re actually making some headway on that,” said Heckendorn.

“What we’ve decided to do is to institute a student-trainer program, where students who take the Advanced [Sports Medicine course] are going to have the opportunity to work at the health center, so they’ll hold office hours . . .

That’ll be going into place next semester, and we’re actively trying to recruit students in this.”

Heckendorn believes that teaching safe rules and practices to athletes who may be overeager or inexperienced is an effective way of preventing injuries before they even happen.

“You need to come up with an appropriate set of rules and then be consistent about them and not constantly changing them,” said Heckendorn.

Focused on the same goal of awareness and safety, Ness and her staff want students to realize the complete benefits of health care at Whitman—both through the insurance policy and through the center’s services— without needless concerns that they won’t be covered.

“We need to get the word out to students that it is not accurate to think that [the school’s] insurance policy will not help them if they become injured,” Ness said.

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OPINION

Nov

10 2011

7

PAGE

Festivals do not define who we are PETER CHEN Senior

H

alloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. It was so fun to see people dressing up last week, bunny tails or beetles in the dining hall. I even got some emails offering Grandma’s secret cookie recipe in exchange for costume equipment.

Undoubtedly, lots of people celebrate festivals. Festivals not only present culture but also cause economic boosts in modern society. Before I came to Whitman, I was told to book the airline tickets right after I got my visa because they would get expensive during Christmas; a few days before Valentine’s Day, some of my male friends always start to buy roses and try to keep them fresh because roses cost ten times more on that day. However, what if they do not buy a bunch of roses for their girlfriends on that day? Does it mean they do not love them enough?

Of course not. Maybe they just cannot afford it. Maybe they

are saving money for buying a ring to propose. Maybe they just think it is not economical to spend that much money on roses when instead they can take their girlfriends out for a fancy and romantic dinner. People can do whatever they want on festivals; they don’t need to follow the traditions all the time; they can even define their own traditions if they want.

I have never felt the need to send my mother a bunch of carnations or do anything special for her on Mother’s Day. I call her really often, asking how things are going and if the tumor in her breast is getting better. I don’t need to tell her I love her because I know and she knows that I will love her as long as my heart still beats.

Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year, is one of the longest and most important festivals in China. It starts on Jan. 1 on the Chinese lunisolar calendar and lasts until Jan. 15, which is the date of Lantern Festival. No matter how busy or expensive it is, most Chinese people will come home to unite with their families and friends.

I did not go back home last year and when my friends found out, they asked questions like “Are you having trouble with your parents?” and “Do you hate them?” and “Are you adopted?” implying that I was a jerk for not coming home to see my parents. I was deeply offended; my friends

Technology can help with dropping achievement gap

vidual students, functioning as tuALFREDO and helping students to remVILLASEÑOR tors edy their individual weaknesses.

Junior

I

t’s not uncommon to find unflattering statistics about our nation’s educational achievements; while countries like Finland and China are getting ahead in math and science, our average SAT reading scores have dropped to a record low, and high school dropout rates teeter around 50 percent in many of our major cities. It’s quite the stark contrast to a few decades ago, when the United States was at the pinnacle of achievement in math and sciences and the most powerful industrialized country in the world—and it should prompt us to ask what has gone wrong since our country’s golden age of education.

While we are spending about double what we used to on public education, according to The Wilson Quarterly, since as far back as the ’70s there has been little to no improvement in our average standardized test scores. There has yet to be any definitive evidence that the more money we put into education, the greater the student achievement. The problem is that instead of trying to innovate, we’re throwing money into what systems we have at the time, regardless of whether they’ve been proven to be the best options.

One solution to both our underachievement and our overspending is investment in technology, specifically computers and teaching software. These have the potential to streamline our whole educational system and also to improve the way students are taught, particularly in math and science courses. Schools could convert certain classrooms into computer labs and hire private software companies to develop educational programs with the capabilities of teaching, examining progress and making adjustments to both pace and teaching style. Every student’s education would be personalized and customizable.

Teachers would no longer have to undergo the process of lecturing to students with different skills and learning styles; by having the software do the bulk of the work, they could focus their energies on indi-

The beauty of having personalized educational programs is that students would no longer need to be forced to sit around school for a given amount of time. The slower students would have an educational program specialized for their own learning styles as well as teachers/tutors available for extra support; the exceptional students, in complete control of their learning pace, could rip through a course at breakneck speed. This way, eligibility to graduate wouldn’t have to be based on credit hours; it could be based on achievement. Once the educational program has deemed that a student has grasped a subject, the student could just move on to something else independently of his or her peers, whether it’s another course or higher education.

The way students are taught now is the same way they’ve been taught for hundreds of years.

School districts need to take advantage of the technology available today. It would make the whole system more efficient, and it could potentially keep the recession measures from negatively affecting quality of education: Companies are already charging us billions for textbooks and technology is only getting cheaper.

Letter to the Editor Belated thank-you I retired from the University of Washington and recently moved to the Odd Fellows Retirement Community. On a walk through the Whitman campus, I was picking up leaves to press and keep.

A co-ed approached and I said, “I wish I could have a bright red leaf from that tree.” She said, “I think I can do that.” Before I knew it, she leaped up, grabbed a branch, walked her feet up the trunk, and bent a branch down so I could reach a leaf. Then she jumped down and said, “There!”

I think I was too startled to say thank you, so I want to say “Thank you, Tree Climber; I don’t think anyone at the UW would have done that!”

Shirley Ruble Whitman Class of ‘57

ILLUSTRATION BY SONG

judged me because I did not come home for the Spring Festival.

First, to clarify: I love my parents, especially my mum, who almost lost her life to give birth to me. I did not go home last year because I wanted to travel in order to take a break after hav-

ing a rough and tiring semester.

That semester I took 24 credits of classes, worked as a teaching assistant for my professor, a translator for my university website and a coordinator for the Gender Issue club on campus. I prepared to take the TOEFL test and ap-

plied to get the U.S. visa. When I went out to socialize, it was to let my friends know I was still alive.

I felt exhausted at the end of the semester, which generated a strong desire to travel, releasing myself from stress and absorbing something new, such as food. I talked with my parents and they were completely supportive. They even booked me the air tickets as a New Year’s gift. I traveled around the southern part of China during winter break, which included the Spring Festival.

I feel lucky to have parents who allow nontraditional things to happen during traditional festivals, giving their son what he really needs by respecting the choices he makes in his own life. So, Mum and Dad, you are a hundred times cooler than my judgmental friends.

I am not saying people don’t need to celebrate festivals, but I firmly believe that people don’t need to follow the traditions of festivals if they don’t want to. Festivals cannot define who we are; they cannot prove whether or not I am adopted. Instead, we can define what festivals are: I define the last Spring Festival as a festival of understanding and communication because I had the deepest conversation with my parents. Therefore, even though I did not have a family reunion, the Spring Festival was still special for me.

Gaddafi, bin Laden deserve our respect in death despite crimes ELIZABETH COLE First-year

M

y mother can recall her exact location the night John Lennon was shot, the day Mt. St. Helens erupted and the night she received a phone call from a grief-stricken friend after the death of Elvis Presley. Where she was and what she was doing at these exact moments were nothing out of the ordinary, but learning about these world-changing events left a lasting impression on her memory. Though I have experienced far less than she has in my lifetime, a few such instances have already been filed away in my own mind. Most notably, I can recall the exact moment at which I received the news of the deaths of Osama Bin Laden and Muammar Gaddafi.

In both instances (and this speaks a great deal to our generation) I was notified of the event at hand while browsing the Internet sometime between checking Facebook and my email. Indeed, the Internet serves as a tool by which global news can be rapidly transmitted in a matter of minutes. However, in addition to circulating knowledge, it can at times circulate explosive hatred and disrespect as well.

Within a matter of hours of the news being broken that Osama Bin Laden had been killed, Facebook pages sprung up all over the site brandishing titles from “Rot in Hell Osama. You ****,” to ones lauding “The Guy Who Killed Osama,” to the humorously indifferent “Omg Stfu Bout Osama the Bitch Dead the End.” Many more took the op-

portunity to formulate countless ­ “ Where’s Waldo?,” Hideand-Seek and Anne Frank jokes.

Not only did I find most of these pages disrespectful in and of themselves, but most of them also truly crossed the line by spreading images (real or not) of Osama’s mangled body across the Internet. This phenomenon surfaced once again when news outlets around the world broadcasted images of the former Libyan leader’s lifeless corpse splattered with blood and speckled with wounds. There seems to me to be something inherently disrespectful and fundamentally wrong about circulating such images of the dead— no matter who they might have been. What disturbs me more than the actions of such men is the ability of those left after their death to revel in their destruction, to turn to the streets in blood-soaked celebration.

The loss of a life, no matter how heinous the person was in existence, is not something we should revel in. The image of a mangled body is not something we should applaud. As one of the Facebook pages for Osama’s killer stated, albeit hypocritically, “You now all re-

alized you’re celebrating the death of a man. Even if it was Bin Laden, think about how future generations will look back at our reaction.” People are continually shocked by the images seen on the JFK assassination video. Outcries of discontent undoubtedly would have been heard if photographs of the men whose deaths my mother lived through had been broadcast throughout the country. So why is it considered appropriate to publicize the broken bodies of dead men merely because they were considered to be our enemies? Certainly every person deserves the same respect in death allotted to everybody else.

I do not assert that these men were good people in any way; however, death is not something I would wish upon anyone. Punishment? Yes. Justice? Of course. But even when the actions of a man must result in his death, that death is not something we should relish. It is something we should approach with great solemnity.

For when we fail to acknowledge the gravity of such occurrences, we ourselves are acting just as inhumanely as the men we seek to abolish from this earth.

Political Cartoon by Kelly Douglas

Have a strong opinion about something? You don’t have to be a columnist!

Contact editors@ whitmanpioneer.com about writing a guest column.

Voices from the Community

What is your favorite intramural sport and why? Poll by Felt.

JOEL SENECAL

CHELSEA KERN

RUSSELL SPERBERG

ZACH GORDY

Sophomore

Junior

Sophomore

First-year

“My favorite intramural sport is volleyball. My team is Cloud of Faeries.”

“Flag football, of course! My team only won the championship; it’s no big deal.”

“Team Makitas. Shirtless seventh innings.”

“Bowling . . . or skateboarding.”

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Nov

10 2011

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Ice Fishing Ever take a gander at those old men sitting on the middle of a lake for hours, fishing through a miniscule hole in the ice? Well, now you can be one of them by coming on a two-day excursion to Moses Lake, where the main activity will be sitting on little chairs. This trip is perfect for those who need a bit of relaxing and who don’t mind staring at a four-inch hole in ice, looking for piscine creatures all day. After-sunset activities include campfire games and sleeping on the perimeter of the lake in tents.

Trail Maintenance . . . in the snow!

This five-day trip combines community service with some quality backpacking. The mosquitoes that can sometimes plague the Wallowas will not be there—although a breezy, icy chill will! We will cover three miles a day, removing great amounts of snow and reinforcing the outline of a trail that badly needs reconstruction. Bring snowshoes—the snow can be deep in some places. What’s even more fun than crossing the snow is moving threefeet-deep drifts out of the way! Come on this trip if you’re ripped, or want to be that way after five days of lifting snow.

Igloo Campout Sure, camping in tents is fun, but igloos are quite supreme, especially when you have to build them yourself!

Over four days, we will construct a variety of different igloo styles as we walk a total of 10 miles up Ross Lake and 10 miles back down. The soreness caused by the mileage will be alleviated by the warm, homey comforts of an igloo. What could be better than averaging five miles a day, then collecting almost a ton of snow to use in an igloo?

Rock Climbing . . . on ice!

There are few activities Whitties love more than rock climbing. Luckily, now there’s a winter version. Don’t forget to bring your gloves! The added twist is the chill of pure ice on your hands, and, man, can it get slippery. This trip is three days of harrowing, slippery climbing. What can be more fun than sliding down the side of Smith Rock, only to be caught seconds later by your safely secured harness?

No rock climbing experience required, but bring some sap if you don’t enjoy those slippery slides down.

Search for Bigfoot This five-day extended backpacking trip in the Blue Mountains has one main goal: finding Sasquatch. Moving through 15 miles of snow will hopefully result in running into this mystical, magical and super fantastical beast. Bring your cameras, for this is a sight to behold. Nothing, not even wet, heavy snow and freezing temperatures can get in the way of observing the coolest creature ever!!

ILLUSTRATION BY “BACKPAGE” JOHNSON

From fly to fugly: The Backpage style guide Good Style Fifi von Grotenboten is known around campus for her razor-sharp style.

“I had this jacket made at a custom leather shop in Milan. I hand-picked the cow,” she boasts proudly in her trademark “trumpet with a stuffy nose” voice.

“The top is made out of old curtains stolen from the palace of Versailles, and the miniskirt was a gift—from Madonna.” When asked about her cuttingedge boots, she looks slightly away. “I got them at, uh, Goodwill,” she says. I note that neither boot has a single scuff; they’re obviously brand-new. “Okay.

OKAY!” she says. “I got them at Nordstrom, but you can’t be a real campus style icon unless you find something implausibly fashionable at Goodwill!”

Bursting into tears, she runs off.

Comic by Julie “Backpage” Peterson

Neutral Style “So, um, how long exactly is this gonna take, because I have lab in a couple of minutes, and I promised my partner I’d be there on time,” is the opening remark of Hector Clemons. Upon being asked to elaborate on his personal style, he gives me a look that can only be described as “quizzical.”

I ask him to describe what he’s wearing and where he bought the various elements of his outfit. “Um, ok, well, I am wearing some tennis shoes from . . . somewhere . . . and some regular jeans, I guess, that I think my mom bought for me . . . uuhhhh . . . and I’m pretty sure I got this shirt at Goodwill or something. Oh, sorry, it’s a blue shirt.” He doesn’t seem impressed when I tell him he made a great thrift-store find. “Oh, um, thanks. I’m gonna go to lab now. Thanks. Um, bye.”

Bad Style Wingdum Hasselbrand peers down at me from the tree in which he is perched. “Ba-GAAAAAWK,” he says in what is actually a pretty remarkable impersonation of a chicken. Upon being asked to describe his getup and how he composed it, he switches to his native tongue. “I’m wearing a pair of minilederhosen stolen off the back of a rare German leprechaun on my recent vacation to Sweden,” he says. “I am also wearing a cummerbund, an eye patch and a raincoat. I am currently barefoot.” When I ask him where he got these items, he looks at me as if he doubts my sanity. “A secret agent, a pirate, and Goodwill. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to ask these guys an urgent question.” And, switching back to chicken, he stealthily approaches a squirrel.

Housemates: Heaven or hell

Puzzle: Taste of Bon Appétit

Letter by The Puzzle Slut

Hey. Halfway past last week’s apathy.

Successful puzzle. No feeling like writing.

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It’s about that time of year when you’ve spent a solid amount of time with your new housemates.

And now that you have a handle on their behaviors, you can start developing peeves which will haunt you for at least the rest of the semester. Here is a breakdown of things you may have noticed that you like or dislike about your current housemates.

Likes: • They bake cookies.

• They drive you to the grocery store/to get froyo.

• Their pot brownies stink up the kitchen.

• They have house parties you’re automatically invited to.

• They watch football and drink beer with you at 10 a.m. on a Sunday.

• Their leftovers in fridge = good for drunchies.

Dislikes: • They don’t put their recycling in the recycling bin.

• They leave passive-aggressive notes of things you need to do.

• They leave a mess. In your room.

• They forget to flush while you are on a Winter OP trip for the weekend and then the bathroom smells funny.

• Their pot brownies stink up the kitchen.

• Their loud friends come over and take over your living room.

• They talk about squirrels. Every day.

Comic by Tabor “Backpage” Martinsen