Whitman Pioneer - Spring 2011 Issue 7

Encounters curriculum to transform Encounters: Transformations to feature six units that explore common themes across texts.

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Letter to the Editor ASWC President Carson Burns advocates for the need for increased student participation on faculty policies.

WHITMAN NEWS, DELIVERED

VOLUME CXXVIII

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Walla Walla, WA whitmanpioneer.com

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ISSUE 7

ASWC looks for seat on Curriculum Commitee

by KARAH KEMMERLY Staff Reporter

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SWC is currently pushing to get student representation on Whitman College’s newly established curriculum committee. Members of ASWC believe that allowing students to be a part of making curriculum-related decisions will be hugely beneficial for the college.

ASWC has sent a letter regarding this issue to the student body and its members are tabling in Reid Campus Center to raise awareness about the proposal. Senators are also meeting one-on-one with professors to try and build faculty support. ASWC hopes that students will encourage their professors to vote to pass the proposal on March 30.

If passed, their proposal will save two non-voting seats on next year’s curriculum committee for the ASWC president and vice president.

The curriculum committee is new to Whitman--it was voted into existence last November. Its two primary functions are to oversee changes in course descriptions and in the catalog and to look at how best to combat course compression.

This committee will be the first ever to undergo curriculum planning across divisions. They will be using a new web-based system to organize their plans.

The curriculum committee in part replaces the academic council, which had student representation.

Senior John Loranger, ASWC vice president and chair of the CURRICULUM,

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$40,180

TUITION INCREASE TO KEEP PACE with STAFF COSTS, FINANCIAL AID

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hitman College’s Board of Trustees has announced a 4.5 percent rise in tuition for the 2011-2012 academic year. This raise will set next year’s tuition at 40,180 dollars, up from the 38,450-dollar tuition that students paid for this academic year. Additionally, students will have to pay more for room and board next year -- housing will increase by five percent and the cost of Bon Appetit’s meal plan will increase by four percent. Whitman students who are required to live in a residence hall, have a meal plan and pay full tuition can expect to pay close to 50,650 dollars including the Associated Students of W h i t man College (ASWC) fee -- and that’s all before they have to buy textbooks.

These raises are part of a nationwide

COST OF TUITION FOR THE 2011-2012 ACADEMIC YEAR

by SHELLY LE Staff Reporter

trend, as schools across the country try to make ends meet in a still-struggling economy. State schools have been hit especially hard, and many are looking to cut positions while increasing tuition. The University of Washington’s administration has proposed a 14 percent increase for the 20112012 academic year. According to President George Bridges, Whitman’s tuition increase comes as a result of the increasing cost of technology along with the rising of finan- cial aid and staff and faculty costs.

“We have rising fringe benefits costs, rising financial aid needs, and we have to be able to address those,” President Bridges said.

Although Whitman’s tuition increase may seem like a large amount, this is

TUITION

the smallest rise in tuition that the college has seen in years. In the recent past, Whitman tuition has increased by as much as seven percent and increases have averaged about five percent each year. According to Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer Peter Harvey, the college has been trying to accommodate the poor economy and Whitman families’ needs.

“Given the current economy, we’re being sensitive to families’ needs and we’re intentionally trying to make less of a burden,” he said.

TUITION

2009-2010

2010-2011

$36,620

$38,450

TUITION,

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Capital punishment debate engenders activism, research, artistic expression Life or death decisions only three miles away

by KELSEY KENNEDY Staff Reporter

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ast September, the state of Washington executed a death row inmate at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary for the first time since 2001, a move that stirred controversy among proponents of capital punishment and death penalty abolitionists alike.

The inmate in question, Cal Colburn Brown, a 52-year-old Caucasian man as described by the Department of Corrections, was executed for the 1991 rape and murder of Holly Washa.

Madelyne Petersen ‘13 views “The Vandercook Book” display from the collection organized by Visiting Assistant Professor of Art Mare Blocker. This display is one of many shown at Sheehan’s latest gallery installment “Playing the Print.” PHOTO BY PARRISH

New gallery displays Bartholme prints

by WILL WITWER Staff Reporter

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rowing up surrounded by art and artists, it took junior Siri Smith a while to appreciate art, especially because her mother, Master Printer Marcia Bartholme, was very protective of it. A large collection of Bartholme’s work is now on display in the Sheehan Gallery, much of it coming from the walls of Smith’s home.

“My oldest memory of my mom’s studio is from when I

Lacrosse aims for championship tournament PAGE

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snipped off part of my bottom lip with a pair of pliers,” said Smith in an e-mail. “We used to live right outside New York City for seven years and she would make a point of dragging me to art museums on the weekends and I really resented her for it. In high school, she used to threaten me not to throw parties because she didn’t want anything to happen to the art

on the walls of our house.”

On Friday, March 4, Bartholme’s extensive collection of prints officially went on display in the Sheehan Gallery, and a fairly large crowd of well-scarved art students and enthusiasts gathered to hear her speak. All of the prints are collaborations with well-known artists like John Cage, Francesco Clemente and Fay Jones.

SHEEHAN,

Walla Walla Foundry aids local and regional artists in producing polished works PAGE

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On the night of the execution, a small group of Whitman students, community members and other activists from around the state gathered in separated and fenced-off “demonstration areas,” representing both sides of the capital punishment debate.

Among them was senior Mimi Pysno who went to voice her disagreement with the practice of capital punishment and was deeply affected by the experience.

“It was really somber and more jarring than I thought it would be,” Pysno said of the demonstration.

Pysno is also a member of the Whitman Civil Liberties Union (WCLU). The WCLU, a subsidiary of the American Civil Liberties Union, is dedicated to promoting individual rights of citizens and specifically making students more aware of their rights guaranteed under the United States Constitution, according to Pysno. The official stance of the ACLU is to support a full moratorium on the use of the death penalty and increase public awareness of the “unfairness and arbitrariness” of capital punishment as outlined on their web site. In recent months the WCLU has been inactive, but Pysno is in the process of recruiting new members for the group.

DEATH PENALTY, PAGE 5

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Frustration with increase in light of 3-2

NUMBERS IN THE NEWS

by RACHEL ALEXANDER News Editor

from TUITION,

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The tuition increase will not significantly impact students receiving financial aid and need-based scholarships because they are based on students’ ability to pay for the total price of Whitman. However, students receiving merit scholarships will not see an increase to their aid.

“Students on merit-based scholarships renew their scholarship for four years, so they renew at the same [amount] next year,” said Tony Cabasco, dean of admissions and financial aid.

A recent survey conducted by the American Council on Education found that 42.2 percent of college and university presidents found rising tuition and affordability of higher education among their most important areas and challenges.

Whitman’s administration is similarly worried about maintaining its high tuition fee while still being able to adequately pay staff and faculty.

“We’re going to try and keep it low, as low as we can to keep Whitman’s tuition affordable,” said President Bridges. “On the other hand, we have financial needs to support and maintain our academic and co-curricular program.”

Members of the administration are not the only ones wor-

Number of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay when Obama took office

172

Number of prisoners currently at Guantanamo Bay source: new york times

1032 Edward Younie ‘14 leads a discussion on “Copenhagen” in Professor Claire Valente’s Encounters class. PHOTO BY PARRISH

by RACHEL ALEXANDER News Editor

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rying about Whitman’s affordability. ASWC Vice President John Loranger notes that future, long-term tuition increases are unsustainable for the college.

“We understand why they happen and they’re necessary for the budget, but a tuition raise of four or five percent is not a sustainable model in terms of the financial future for the college,” he said. “There is just going to be a point where you can’t raise tuition anymore.”

Despite the college’s efforts to remain conscious of families’ ability to pay for Whitman while balancing the costs of staff and faculty, students are still frustrated by the increasing tuition, especially in light of other changes the administration has made in the past year.

“I’m frustrated with the situation of the 3-2 switch, increasing class sizes, and then hearing about how the college expects to raise tuition,” said sophomore Avery Potter.

According to Cabasco, tuition at Whitman in 1991 was roughly 17,000 dollars -- adjusted for inflation the cost was approximately 27,000 dollars. Although next year’s tuition increase is significantly less than most years, students will be paying a 67 percent increase of what Whitman students paid 20 years ago. “[Tuition rates] are a major concern and it’s something that many of us here at Whitman have thought about,” said Cabasco. “Accessibility and affordability is a major challenge in American higher eduction.”

In the debate between administration, faculty and the Board of Trustees over the increasing cost of Whitman, students are still frustrated of the lack of student input in the discussion.

“It feels like we’re paying more, but we’re getting less opportunities,” Potter said.

hitman College faculty voted on Wednesday, Feb. 23 to approve a new curriculum for Encounters. Starting in the fall of 2012, Whitman first-years will be enrolled in the new version of the course, which is called Encounters: Transformations. The proposal for a new curriculum was developed by Zahi Zalloua, associated professor of French and general studies, and Gaurav Majumdar, associate professor of English.

Sharon Alker, assistant professor of English and general studies and chair of the Encounters curriculum subcommittee, said that the Encounters: Transformations proposal was selected because it built and expanded on previous themes of the course.

“Transformations took an extra step,” she said. “It’s not just an encounter; it’s what happens as a result of that encounter.”

Transformations is based around six units which explore common themes between texts. In the fall semester, students will cover origins and beginnings, spiritual and philosophical transformations, and mutability. Spring semester will continue with revolutions, transformation as rewrite and traumatic transformations.

Although the proposed syllabus for the curriculum has several texts in common with Encounters: Antiquity and Modernity, Zalloua said that these units would provide a fresh perspective.

“It’s not merely a cosmetic change when you place a text under a different unit,” he said. “You start asking different questions.”

Every student at Whitman has taken Core or Encounters, and most have strong opin-

ions about the content, themes and texts selected for the course.

However, student input was largely absent from the revision process. Although there are two student representatives on the General Studies Committee, no students are part of the Encounters Curriculum Subcommittee, which reviews and selects proposals for curriculum changes.

Junior Bailey Lininger serves as a student representative for the General Studies Committee and said she enjoys the opportunity to provide a student perspective on academic issues.

However, she said that student voices are needed on the Encounters Curriculum Subcommittee.

It’s not just an encounter; it’s what happens as a result of that encounter.

SHARON ALKER, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH AND CHAIR OF THE ENCOUNTERS CURRICULUM SUBCOMMITTEE

“I feel that students have a lot to say about Encounters,” she said. “We could be a really important resource to the decision-making process.”

Associate Professor of Philosophy Tom Davis said that while student input was important, faculty are better able to provide long-term perspectives on curricular issues than students, who are only at Whitman for four years. Davis said he would not be opposed to students serving in an advisory capacity for Encounters curriculum revisions, but that their role should stop there.

“I am always happy to have student input, but I never want students to have a vote,” he said.

Even within the faculty, the new Encounters curriculum was

not universally supported. Davis said that he, along with several other professors, were concerned that the course structure did not allow students to answer questions about the nature of truth and stability for themselves.

“I think it’s important when you’re teaching a required firstyear course that you’re not telling students the answer to fundamental questions,” he said.

Specifically, Davis was concerned that the structure of the new curriculum would lead student to conclude that flux is superior to stability and that there is no universal truth. He said that these conclusions are especially problematic for scientists, because science is an “inherited paradigm of stability”.

“The whole activity of science presupposes that you’re working on truth,” he said.

Alker said that disagreement was part of the process of revision.

“We have wonderful faculty members, and they’re all educated in different traditions and different disciplines,” said Alker.

“They all have different and very vibrant, well-thought through ideas about how to teach.”

These differences can lead to disagreement, which Alker sees as central to the process of change.

“As a necessity, we all disagree passionately,” she said. “That’s to be expected and encouraged.”

By expressing concerns and disagreement, Alker said that faculty can offer valuable suggestions for improving curriculum. For the current proposal, some faculty raised concerns about the lack of scientific and non-Western texts on the syllabus. The proposal was subsequently revised to incorporate this feedback.

Alker also believes that change is a necessary part of Encounters.

EDITORIAL

PRODUCTION

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BUSINESS

Editors-in-Chief Molly Smith & Derek Thurber

Production Manager Maggie Appleton

NEWS

Business Manager Dhavan Vengadasalam

Managing Editor Alyssa Fairbanks

Production Associates Ted Hendershot, Miriam Kolker, Abigail Sloan, Meg Vermilion

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Backpage Editor Diana Dulek Photography Editor Jack Lazar Illustration Editor Olivia Johnson Web Editor Ellie Gold

777

Days since Obama promised to close Guantanamo Bay within one year

3

Days since Obama signed an executive order which allows the continuation of military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay

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Supreme Court vote tally on Boumediene v. Bush, ruling that Guantanamo prisoners had a right to habeas corpus in 2008

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Number of Guantanamo detainees currently challenging the legal basis for their detention

“It’s important to have change, but not change for change’s sake,” she said.

Currently, the Encounters theme can be changed every three years, but if no proposal is approved by the faculty, the course will stay the same. Majumdar said that this allows faculty to stay engaged when teaching the course.

“It helps us to have an occasional jolt of ideas,” he said.

“It keeps the discussion fresh.”

CORRECTIONS TO ISSUE 6 The illustration accompanying “Allegations of hazing leveled against TKE initiation practices” on page 3 should be credited to Markel Uriu.

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WHITMAN NEWS, DELIVERED

Opinion Editor Gary Wang

source: government printing oFFice

Out with antiquity: Encounters transforms into new curriculum

I’m frustrated with ... the 3-2 switch, increasing class sizes, and then hearing about how the college expects to raise tuition.

AVERY POTTER,

Section of the Defense Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2011 which prohibits the transfer of Guantanamo detainees who are not U.S. citizens to other prisons within the U.S.

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Founded before the turn of 20th century, The Pioneer is Whitman College’s weekly, student-run newspaper. With a circulation of over 1,200, The Pioneer serves both the Whitman College student body and its network of faculty, staff, parents and alumni as well as the local Walla Walla community. The Pioneer publishes a weekly issue of the latest news, arts and sports coverage and student editorials.

The Pioneer is entirely student-run and serves as an open forum for the student body as well as an outlet for gaining journalistic experience at a school that has no journalism program. The staff receives guidance from a Board of Advisors, a group of campus and community leaders, including Whitman College faculty and staff with journalism expertise as well as members of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin. The Pioneer strives to maintain the highest standers of fairness, quality and journalistic integrity and is governed by a Code of Ethics.

Letters to Editor may be submitted to The Pioneer via e-mail to editors@ whitmanpioneer.com or sent to The Pioneer, Whitman College, 280 Boyer Ave., Walla Walla, WA, 99362. All submissions must be received by 4 p.m. on Sunday prior to the week that they are intended to appear. All submissions must be attributed and may be edited for AP-style and fluency.

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To access the complete Code of Ethics for The Pioneer, visit whitmanpioneer.com/about.

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10 2011

FOOD AUDIT TO DOCUMENT BON APPETIT’S PRACTICES Looks to document “real food:” food that is local, ecologically sound and humane

by WILL GREGG Staff Reporter

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his year Whitman College students are digesting food on another level by auditing the process of consumption itself. Several campus groups are working on a food audit, which will examine Bon Appétit Food Management Company's purchases as part of the nationally-organized Real Food Challenge (RFC).

The RFC website defines real food as “ ... food which truly nourishes producers, consumers, communities and the earth.”

Real food is food that meets certain criteria including local and community-based, fair, ecologically sound and humane.

But defining real food is often itself a challenge.

“The challenges to really defining ‘real food’ are numerous because ‘real’ is a nebulous term,” said junior Lauren McCullough in an e-mail. McCullough formerly served as the RFC North-

west Regional Field Organizer.

According to McCullough, one of those challenges is that the criteria for defining real food are dependent on third-party labels. Food may be real in one aspect, but not in another. For example, Bon Appétit General Manager Roger Edens said that Bon Appétit looks to buy local products.

Their goal is to purchase 20 percent of food from local producers.

However, local food often lacks organic certification because small farmers have trouble paying licensing fees and meeting other requirements for a third-party label. Because Bon Appétit policy specifically preferences local food over organic, they might look for different real foods than RFC proper when making purchasing decisions.

Campaigning for better, more ethical food on campus is not a new activity for Whitman students.

Sustainability Coordinator Nat Clarke recalled past student initiatives to

change the menu at Bon Appétit.

“Our relationship with Bon Appétit as far as the student body is concerned has been gracious at times and tenuous at times,” he said.

Certain initiatives over the years have received Bon Appétit support. As an example, Clarke cited that Bon Appétit helped students perform a waste audit two years ago. Last year, Bon Appétit performed the audit alone. That audit helped quantify waste, which is important information for establishing industrial composters on campus, another student project.

“As long as we can demonstrate student support, they’re willing to try most things,” said Clarke.

Edens expressed his support for the food audit.

“Bon Appétit has a really robust philosophy about sustainability and the environment, it’s one of our core principles,” he said.

Earlier this year, students have held conferences with Bon Appétit about the audit. Edens said that Bon

Appétit has even helped students navigate the process of auditing.

To complete the audit, students will examine the purchasing invoices of all three dining halls and Café 66 in Reid Campus Center. Edens said that purchasing invoices from large companies will be disclosed for the audit, as will records from smaller farms.

The audit will be completed for purely informational purposes and is designed to measure Bon Appétit’s purchases against RFC standards. This information may later be used by students to lobby for changes in food purchasing.

“The results are absolutely the first step for any action, both in terms of campus activism and for institutional buying procedures.

Without knowing what the current situation is, you can't intelligently campaign for meaningful change,” said McCullough.

Edens said that, though Bon Appétit actively seeks to buy sustainable and environmental-

ly conscious foods, definitions of real food can differ between groups. He said that Bon Appétit has to consider taste and cost in making purchasing decisions, which is another reason for their emphasis on local food.

“I think balance is the right thing,” he said.

Clarke said that accuracy would be a challenge with the audit.

“Essentially, the only real way to know if it’s real, good, healthy food is to grow it yourself, cook it yourself, or if you have complete disclosure of everything from dirt to table," he said.

McCullough acknowledged the difficulties with defining real food, but said that they shouldn’t get in the way of the real point of the RFC. “Real food, as we're classifying it, doesn't embody the change I want to see in the global food system,” she said over e-mail. "It's not perfect. It's not necessarily equitable or fair or sustainable, but it's a crucial step in the right direction.”

Students note that curriculum is for them, facult mixed on student representation from CURRICULUM,

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student affairs committee, said that currently the curriculum committee language is set so that “consultation” with students, technology services and the library staff can occur as needed.

Loranger feels that this isn’t enough.

“Students are in a categorically different group than the others. We’re who the curriculum is designed for,” he said.

He feels that students can provide the faculty committee members with a perspective they would not have otherwise had.

“Faculty are absolutely the experts on curriculum. But students can provide an experiential perspective. We see how the curriculum is working dayto-day, and we’re taking classes across departments over a fouryear period of time,” he said.

He believes allowing students on the committee says something positive about Whitman as a whole.

“This is a collaborative, open community. The best decision-making includes both parties affected.

ASWC president senior Carson Burns agrees.

“This is a twoway street,” he said.

Burns also drew attention to a specific section of the ASWC proposal that spoke to potentially using student representatives to engage the greater student body.

The proposal states that ASWC “has the capacity to gather large-scale student feedback” so that student representatives can prepare a presentation about student feedback in case the committee wants feedback on some issue they are working with. According to the proposal, “It will be much more efficient to have students already present rather than tabling an issue that

arises mid-meeting until students can be included next time.”

The proposal also speaks to ASWC’s ability to communicate the committee’s decisions with students “in a timely and efficient manner.”

Burns gave an example situation wherein ASWC’s ability to act as a liaison would be particularly useful.

“One thing the faculty is looking at potentially doing is increasing the number of classes in time slots that are currently not frequently used, like the eight o’clock slot. If they’re not sure if students would be willing to take classes then, ASWC committee representatives could

Students are in a different group than the others. We’re who the curriculum is designed for.

JOHN LORANGER, '11

find out for them,” he said.

Loranger also discussed how having these representative slots would provide Whitman students with a “cool leadership opportunity.”

“The faculty are a stellar example of successful professionals. Sitting on this committee would be a great way for future leaders to get involved in policy-making,” he said.

ASWC is in the process of presenting their proposal to each division of faculty. Burns says that their reaction has been thus far “pretty positive.”

He said that one the faculty’s concerns is whether or not this is something that students really do want to participate with.

“Our goal is expressing to them that we really do want to be a part of this.”

Another concern of the faculty’s is confidentiality. Michelle Janning, assistant dean of faculty and associate professor of sociology, feels that it is important issue to address.

“Sometimes in curricular planning it is possible that individual faculty members’ statuses and position allocations are part of the discussion. Protecting individual faculty members’ confidential information is something that the College takes very seriously,” she said.

Furthermore, she believes that knowing confidential information would be a stress on the student representatives.

“Knowing information, and keeping it confidential, can be burdensome. I would hate to have students be placed in a position where they are losing sleep because they know something about the College that has to happen but that they cannot share with any other students,” she said.

Burns and Loranger are currently looking at how other curriculum committees with student representatives deal with this issue.

Andrea Dobson, associate professor of astronomy and chair of faculty, shares the same concerns about confidentiality. She declined to give her opinion on whether or not she felt that students should serve on the committee.

“Having students of the committee could be potentially beneficial because students experience the consequences of curricular decisions in ways that faculty do not and would thus provide a different perspective than other members of the committee,” she said. “But my role is simply to help facilitate getting this question before the faculty.”

ILLUSTRATION BY URIU

Record numbers for service trips

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hile most Whitties head home for Spring Break, nearly five dozen will take a week out of their break to help those in need.

This year there will be five service trips, each of which will take a week over spring break to travel and give back. A record 58 students are participating.

This year’s trips are to Seattle to work on refugee and immigration issues, Portland to work on sustainability, Tennessee for preserving Native American traditions, New Orleans to help with Katrina relief, and Issaquah to work with the Pomegranate Center on community art building.

Senior Kelsie Butts, Whit-

man’s Spring Break Service Trips intern, said that the service trips relied on support from the rest of campus.

“As part of our model under the national organization Break Away, pre-trip education is very important as well as garnering support from the rest of the campus,” she said.

Students pay to go on the service trips, meaning that they rely on fund-raising from such events as a dessert night, which drew 150 people last Thursday, and letter-writing campaigns.

The Issaquah and New Orelans trips will go from March 12 through 19. The Portland, Seattle, and Tennessee trips will go from March 20 through 27.

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Registration is now open.

Session I May 16-June 24

Session II June 27-August 5

Summer Sessions at Lewis & Clark go.lclark.edu/college/summer

MAR

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10 2011

SPOTLIGHT

FOUNDRY ENRICHES WALLA WALLA’S ARTISTIC IDENTITY

by KATE ROBINETTE

Each Thursday, The Pioneer highlights several events happening on campus or in Walla Walla during the weekend. Here are this week’s picks:

Staff Reporter

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he Walla Walla Foundry, established in 1980 by Mark Anderson ‘78, casts and fabricates contemporary fine arts. Offering digital operations, casting, fabrication and design services, the foundry employs 50 specialized workers, roughly equivalent to 104,000 man-hours per year, who help bring artists’ works to life.

Current projects listed on the Foundry’s web site include works

by Maya Lin, designer of the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in D.C., Matthew Barney, creator of the Cremaster Cycle film series, and Kiki Smith, known for her feminist body art. With these local, regional and international artists, and with an average of 100 projects going on at any one time, there is a wide scope of works that the Foundry makes possible.

But right here on the local level the Foundry’s impact is felt.

Anderson, who graduated from Whitman with a major in studio art, knows the rigorous schedule constraints that keep Whitman students from taking advantage of the Foundry’s capabilities.

“The Whitman experience is so intense that even though the Walla Walla Foundry is here locally, it seems at this point almost unlikely that there are many students or even the faculty have time or reason to get involved. Not that we wouldn’t like that to happen, it’s just that I think the schedule is so jam-packed,” said Anderson.

Whitman studio art faculty, however, often take classes on tours of the Foundry and some even base projects around those visits.

Kynde Kiefel, exhibitions and collections manager for Shee-

Erika Meitner Reading The Visiting Writers Reading Series will present frequentlyanthologized and National Poetry Series Winner Erika Meitner tonight in Kimball Theatre. Meitner is the author of “Inventory at the All-Night Drugstore” and “Ideal Cities”, and her poems have been included in journals such as Seattle’s Tin House, The New Republic and The American Poetry Review. Meitner’s reading will be followed by a short question and answer session.

Thursday, March 10. 7 p.m.

Kimball Theatre.

Left: An adapted piece based on the work of late Whitman art professor Jo Rasmussen. Right: Artist Kehinde Wiley’s bust of Kanye West floats in a tub of wax molds. Many artists find the Foundry instrumental in bringing their pieces to life. PHOTOS BY KLAG

han Gallery, feels there is an additional connection between Whitman and the Walla Walla Foundry. Before coming to Whitman she worked at the Foundry doing photography and special projects; her husband Jeremy is the current Wax Room Manager there.

“The parallel [between Sheehan and the Foundry] is that they’re different versions of bringing ideas to fruition,” said Kiefel.

“The Foundry is the translation of ideas into this ultimately permanent physical form and then here it’s translating the translating …

designing the best way to show those ideas that would benefit people, students and the community.”

The Foundry has also been integral in bringing much of the sculptures and statuary on campus and around Walla Walla. Anderson pointed out that when he graduated, only two sculptures resided on campus and basically only historic statues could be found in Walla Walla.

“I believe Walla Walla is a much richer place today than it was when I was a child, or even when I was a Whitman student,” said Anderson.

The Foundry’s presence in a small community like Walla Walla may seem miraculous, according to Kiefel.

“Hang out here awhile, [though,] and you see there’s a lot of really great artists and a lot of exciting inventive things happening,” said Kiefel. “And [Whitman is] lucky; we get to see it from the inside — we know this is a rich place. The foundry is part of that too, of making this a really evolving community and evolving artistic place.”

New show breaks down preconceptions of printmaking from GALLERY

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Smith also knows many anecdotes about her mother’s work with these artists who, according to her, see the world very differently from everyone else. “[Smith] grew up with this collection in her house; when I walked into her house that series of five was hanging on their stairwell,” said Kynde Kiefel, exhibitions and collections manager at Sheehan Gallery, gesturing to a series of John Cage prints. “She has a beautiful familiarity with it; it’s almost like part of her family, too.”

PIO PICKS

Dawn Forbes, the director of the Sheehan Gallery, mentioned in her speech at the gallery opening that “for Siri, seeing these prints is probably a weird form of homecoming.”

Indeed, Smith echoed such sentiment herself, explaining that the first week it went up she was stressed out, and that she would go into the gallery to calm herself down. But it wasn’t always that way; Smith remembers the times when aspects of her mother’s work were inaccessible to her.

“A lot of the art is pretty abstract, so understanding why it was valuable or why my mom was so fond of

it was never really clear to me until I was older,” said Smith. “I’ve slowly become more and more interested in the arts from classes I’ve taken at Whitman and from working for an art consultant. It has given me a much better perspective on what my mom has accomplished.”

And Bartholme has accomplished a lot. The title of Master Printer indicates that she has a full grasp of the demanding technicalities of printmaking. As art forms go, etching is one of the most challenging because of the lack of complete control over the final product.

The artist spoke about how etching as a medium means accepting a certain level of chance and randomness in your work and using it to create a finished design — something many artists torture themselves over.

“There is a certain decision that the art makes for itself,” said Kiefel.

“There is a certain amount of steering you can do, and a certain amount of study, but the fact that [the artists and printmakers] made it look this good in this realm of controlled chaos is really kind of miraculous.”

Frequently misrepresented as a reproduction of art, such as

Turkish Royals at TKE Campus band Turkish Royals (formerly Red Dot) will play live music ranging from “improvisational metal” to R&B at the TKE house. The band, comprised of John Henry Heckendorn ‘12, Will Reese ‘11, Ian Coleman ‘11, Gretchen Swanson ‘11 and Eric Werner ‘12, will be joined by campus bands Science in Progress and Dirty Mike and the Boys. Thursday, March 10. 9 p.m.-midnight. Tau Kappa Epsilon.

Damon Fowler Students looking for something to kick off spring break can head to the Marcus Whitman Hotel for an evening of music

by Florida native and Blind Pig Records musician Damon Fowler. Dubbed “a master of the six-string, lap-steel, Dobro and slide guitars”, Fowler blends roots rock, blues and sacred steel styles into his performance. Tickets available at the Marcus Whitman Hotel and Hot Poop. Friday, March 11, 8 p.m. Marcus Whitman Hotel. 10 dollars.

a band poster for example, printmaking actually creates original art that varies widely in its final product due to an individual printmaker’s artistic choices. Smith feels that this makes printmaking worthy of a place in Sheehan.

“I suggested my mom to Dawn because I think great art is something that should be shared,” said Smith. “I think that my mom has allowed me to appreciate not only art but people.

As a printmaker, she invites artists to come work with her and it’s really remarkable to see the range of images produced from the same medium.”

Spring Break in Walla Walla full of fun activities

by MCCAULAY SINGER-MILNES Staff Reporter

For all those Whitties who are staying in Walla Walla for spring break, here is a list of 12 fun ways to spend your 17 days rather than simply catch up on sleep.

1.

Traverse the wheat fields This may seem like the back-up answer on anyone’s list of things to do over spring break. However, simply imagine a warm sunny day (anything above 60 degrees!) presenting itself after a winter of cold, snow, rain and overcast days — one has no choice but to embrace the day and head to the beloved fields.

Grab some friends and go to a favorite restaurant, get some food to-go and have a picnic. Anyone spending their break at Whitman must spend at least one afternoon soaking up the Walla Walla rays.

2.

Visit the Kirkman House Museum The museum is currently featuring the Smithsonian exhibit entitled “Journey Stories”. According to the museum’s web site this exhibit “explores the roles of migration and transportation in the United States” with the intention of commenting on the spirit of Americans, who are often on the move. Take advantage of this opportunity to visit a museum of your own free will rather than from a syllabus.

3.

Listen to live music at Inland Octopus The Rogues, an Irish family band, are playing a live show at the toy store Inland Octopus on Sunday, March 13 at 4 p.m. Gather a group of friends, walk downtown and enjoy an afternoon of free live music that may even expand your musical genre horizons.

4.

Watch this month’s Walla Walla Symphony Concert The symphony will be performing on Tuesday, March 15 in Whitman’s very own Cordiner Hall. Tickets are 13 dollars and the show begins at at

7:30 p.m. The symphony will play pieces from artists such as Williams, Tchaikovsky and Piazzola.

For more information visit their web site: www.wwsypmhony.org

5.

Saddle Up at the Riding Against Abuse College Rodeo This annual event benefiting child abuse prevention is taking place from March 11 to March 13 this year. The pricing varies by event and the rodeo will take place at the fairgrounds. This is an opportunity to see something that you may not have experienced before — everyone has seen or heard about rodeos from movies, but who has actually watched one in person?

6.

Camp-out on Ankeny Sleeping indoors is overrated! It may take some convincing, but gather some friends, some sleeping bags, a tent and quite a few layers and sleep on Ankeny. Star gaze and have a contest to see who lasts the longest outside.

7.

Try a new restaurant Why not treat every weekend like its Parents’ Weekend? Treat yourself to a nice meal off campus, spend some time researching restaurants in Walla Walla (Bangkok 103 Café is known to have great Thai food), save the necessary money and enjoy.

8.

Catch up on movies/television This is a priority. As college students we try to do our best to stay up-to-date with popculture references; however, this

often feels like a lofty goal. Think of spring break as a way to redeem yourself in the eyes of friends and loved ones, so that the next time they ask you which movie you want to win Best Picture, you don’t have to confess that you don’t know what films were nominated or that you haven’t been to a movie theater since “Inception”.

PHOTOS BY VON HAFFTEN

9.

Go for a bike ride Exercise and fresh air possess rejuvenating qualities for any worn-down, stress-riddled student. Explore Walla Walla and enjoy spending time outside by going on a bike ride around town. Here is a map of bike paths in the Walla Walla Valley (http:// www.wallawalla.org/pdf/bicyclemap_wwvalley.pdf) and the town (http://www.wallawalla. org/pdf/bicyclemap_cityww.pdf).

10.

Read for fun A concept that so many take for granted, reading for fun often feels like an illusive idea during the semester.

Visit one of Walla Walla’s many new and used book stores, pick out a book that seems interesting and spend the afternoon in a coffee shop, outside, or even Penrose library reading a book without a pen in one hand and a highlighter in the other. I recommend the newest edition to the chef memoir genre, “Blood, Bones, and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef” by Gabrielle Hamilton. “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen is also a recommended read according to many Whitties and “The New York Times” Best Seller List.

11.

Go golfing Challenge friends to a round of golf. Walla Walla has numerous golf courses (http://www.wallawalla.org/golf.cfm).

Make it fun by placing a friendly bet on the game; perhaps the losers can buy lunch for a wheat fields picnic.

ILLUSTRATION BY SLOANE

PHOTO BY KLAG

IHC celebrates Mardi Gras

O

n Friday, March 4, students flocked to the Interest House Community for a night of fanciful mask-making, colorful facepainting and dancing to celebrate Mardi Gras. The Fine Arts House and Das Haus (The

German House) gave students free reign to mask-making and face-painting supplies, respectively. At around 10 p.m. La Maison’s (The French House) dance party began to fill. The general consensus of the event was a positive one.

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MAR

5

10 2011

FEATURE GOES BEHIND BARS

Walla Walla is known for three main things: wine, onions and the Washington State Penitentiary. Built in 1886 and known as “the Pen” or “the walls” to the community, the penitentiary has a capacity for 1,968 inmates and is the location of Washington’s death row. Capital punishment is a declining practice in many states and abolished in 15; Washington’s first execution in a decade took place in September 2010.

The prison was recently in the news after an inmate stabbed a prison guard in the head with a ballpoint pen on March 1. At Whitman, however, the penitentiary tends to be distant in our minds, though it is close in physical proximity. This week, Feature looks into several points of intersection between “the pen” and the Whitman community.

Campus connection brings Whitman inside ‘The Walls’

by HANNA KAHL Staff Reporter

At nighttime in Walla Walla the outline of a massive building looms over the wheat fields, its lights nearly blinding. Any Whitman student could tell you that the lights are from the Washington State Penitentiary. And while they may know of the prison, to many its presence remains mysterious or ignored.

“It’s there. We don’t really do anything with it. The thought that they are so near us is scary, but it doesn’t really affect us,” said senior Maherin Ahmed.

The mere existence of convicted murderers nearby is enough to prompt shivers. However, those that have worked within the prison or have researched its effects look beyond fear to a more complex perspective of the Penitentiary and the inmates living there.

Was that even possible?” she said.

Davidson said that the inmates were very involved in the classroom.

“The inmates talked a lot more, for one thing, often simultaneously.

They were really anxious to express their ideas,” she said. “Education was a privilege, as opposed to a right, and it certainly wasn’t something that they were forced to do, so there was this kind of excitement that you have when you have a class made up of people who really want to be there.”

Scott Elliott, assistant professor of English at Whitman, who has taught creative writing to inmates, reinforced the observation of their enthusiasm in learning.

“There was a break in the middle, but the students often didn’t honor the break because they

things like ‘women are this, women are that,’ and I would say but I’m a woman and I’m not that.

They almost didn’t recognize me as a woman. They would say, ‘You don’t count. We’re not talking about you,’” Davidson said.

Davidson and Elliott, however, both described the prisoners as generally respectful and appreciative.

“I found the students, by and large, to be respectful and dedicated to craft,” Elliott said.

They also sometimes exhibited fondness or yearning towards their instructors.

“I felt very safe with most of them. Sometimes when I was showing movies and I turned the lights out I had moments of thinking ‘Is this really a good idea?’ to be

for

academic stimulation.

“At the time that I was teaching there, initially, they could still go for their [associate’s degree],” said Davidson. “The Shakespeare class was one of the ways to get credit towards that. After that program was taken away, you couldn’t actually go for an AA degree anymore, but a lot of the students continued taking classes nonetheless because it was a way of keeping themselves intellectually and emotionally alive in prison.”

Since the AA program has been cut, in addition to the state’s current economic situation, there is concern that more programs will face a similar fate. A Penitentiary employee described how these program cuts and the reduction in the number of correctional officers may

Effect on Walla Walla

Programs enhance life at the Pen The prison offers a wide range of programs to benefit inmates. There are career education programs in information technology and carpentry and volunteer-based programs including Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and assistance to military veterans. Guest sport teams, musical groups and lecturers hold programs for the inmates and other groups assist offenders with the reintegration process. The various colleges in Walla Walla County are also involved in academic programs offered to the inmates.

A prison employee (who wished to remain anonymous due to concern over job security) remarked in conversation that oftentimes the programs offered to the inmates mean the world to them; this is partially because they crave structure and want something to give meaning to their otherwise monotonous lives.

The Pen as a classroom Whitman Professor of English Roberta Davidson has taught Shakespeare and gender studies at the Penitentiary for five years. Her husband John Kerwin, adjunct instructor of sport studies, is also involved at the prison. Together they wrote a book titled “Macbeth for Murderers” about their experience working in a penitentiary.

Davidson found that teaching Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” to criminals presented a unique angle of examination and analysis.

“I had in my own mind a couple of questions about Shakespeare’s tragedies and one of them was in the characters of his murderers — how accurately is he representing what it is like to have that kind of mentality — and the other was a question I had about ‘Macbeth’ for a long time which is how is it possible that a character that starts out at the beginning of the play as a good, decent man turn become such a monster by the end of the play.

matically when inmates have the opportunity to get education. It depends on whether or not governments want to spend money on vocational and educational programs in prison or whether they want to spend money on more prisons,” Davidson said.

Davidson found that the Walla Walla inmates seem to have established a code of conduct within the prison that they themselves attempt to maintain.

“If some of the other inmates thought that someone was going too far one of them would intervene,” she said.

This proved accurate in the case of Van Cleary; another inmate is said to have attempted to stop the stabbing.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY SONG

wanted further feedback on their work or to ask questions,” he said.

The prisoners’ behaviors were observed to be more in-your-face at times when compared with the traditional college class. They also used a lot of swear words to prove a point.

“I’ve never had to break up any fights among Whitman students or worry about the repercussions of something that we’ve talked about in class or what’s going to happen to them when they go back to the prison population as a whole,” Davidson said.

The inmates in the prison were also quite misogynistic — a rare occurrence in Whitman classes.

“The inmates would say

here in the dark with all these violent men, but nothing ever happened to worry me, with the exception of something that happened with an inmate who wasn’t one of my students,” Davidson said.

“Sometimes, in interacting with them, I had the impression that I was sensing a longing for a missing father figure, or a craving for a kind of exchange they aren’t able to get on a regular basis given their circumstances,” Elliott said.

Budget cuts and increased violence The classes often offer the inmates a chance to further their education and receive longed-

lead to increased violence within prisons, and in fact already has.

He referred to 28-year-old Marcus Van Cleary, a correctional officer at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary who was stabbed in the face with a pen multiple times by an inmate, as well as a recent case in Monroe Correctional Complex, Wash., where a correctional officer named Jayme Biendl, 34, was strangled to death in a chapel by an inmate attempting escape. Some are convinced that budget cuts in recent years contributed to these deaths; the time not devoted to activities and groups and the lack of structure can culminate in acts of physical violence.

“The recidivism rate drops dra-

Safety concerns about how the Penitentiary affects society in Walla Walla remain. People worry that the families of the “dangerous” inmates are affiliated with illegal or unethical activity by relation. There are also fears about inmates being released from prison. Peterson Endowed Chair of Social Sciences Keith Farrington says that his research refutes these claims.

“One thing that I’ve learned about family members of inmates is that they defy any kind of general description. They are all different kinds of people,” Farrington said.

He also contends that the judgment society imposes on family members of inmates seem to be unfair and irrational.

“Prison wives felt discriminated against. It was difficult to get a job and find housing and also it was difficult to obtain insurance in many cases,” Farrington said about findings in his collaborative paper with Whitman alum Ann Evanston ‘90 in which they interviewed the wives of prisoners.

In Walla Walla these discriminations sometimes create divisions between inmate-affiliated people and general society. Many inmates’ wives choose to live together in the same apartment complexes, for example. These divides can also affect the children of inmates’ and their families as a whole.

“There was a situation where a child of an inmate and a child of a correctional officer got into a fight on a school yard,” Farrington said.

There is also a misconception that inmates want to stay in Walla Walla after being released.

“The fact of the matter is when inmates get out, for the most part, the last place they want to stay is Walla Walla. They want to go back home and most of them do not live anywhere in this area,” Farrington said.

Ultimately, the prison boosts Walla Walla’s economy by increasing employment.

“The prison pumps approximately 65 million dollars into the community,” Farrington estimates.

In backyard; on back burner: Death penalty discussion at Whitman from DEATH PENALTY,

PAGE

1

In particular, the 8th Amendment of the Constitution, which prohibits the infliction of “cruel and unusual punishment”, has been a rallying cry for civil liberty activists such as the WCLU group in favor of abolishing the death penalty.

Colburn’s execution was stayed by the state Supreme Court in 2009 due to these concerns surrounding the “cruel and unusual punishment” argument. At that point, the state was still administering a three-drug cocktail lethal injection, a method that had come under scrutiny due to instances of botched executions in other states.

“The execution in September involved a different drug which was meant to make it more humane,” said Pysno.

As a result, the stay put on the on the execution was lifted and Washington followed suit as many states move to a one-drug lethal injection which decreases the risk of severe physical pain. Despite the use of a more humane method, Pysno still felt compelled to attend the protest at the penitentiary due to her much more fundamental issue with capital punishment.

“I’m against the death penalty because it is fundamentally wrong for the government to condemn an action it engages in itself. You can’t enforce a law you don’t abide by,” she said.

Visiting Professor of Philosophy and General Studies Mitch Clearfield contends that it is important to view the issue of capital punishment at a more basic level by considering how it fits into your personal conceptions of justice. These

are the types of discussions Clearfield facilitates in his ethics classes and “Punishment and Responsibility,” a course that deals with the philosophical basis for inflicting punishment. Clearfield usually spends two seminars discussing the death penalty and the manner in which functions of the criminal justice system, like imprisonment (considered kidnapping in most aspects of society), are rationalized.

“There’s a gut appeal to this idea of creating balance and restoring justice. The question philosophers deal with is does it have a rationalization or not? How do we fit the punishment to the crime?” he said.

Clearfield spends significant time analyzing the American criminal justice system, visiting seven or eight prisons in Washington and Oregon alone, and takes his classes to the Walla Walla State Penitentiary, a juvenile justice center and usually one or two other prisons in the area.

“Students visiting the penitentiary are usually really uncomfortable. They see the yard and the kitchen and think it’s okay, but once they see the actual cells with inmates they get uncomfortable. Actually seeing suffering is a real turn-off,” he said.

Clearfield has observed that Whitman students in his philosophy classes are generally very interested in the subject matter, but the college’s location adjacent to the penitentiary doesn’t seem to play an important role.

“Student activism at death penalty demonstrations has been mostly minimal. In 2001 [at the execution] it was a somewhat sizeable group.

In 2010, from what I understand, hardly anyone turned out,” he said.

Pysno admits that on the activist level, it is often difficult to rouse stu-

dent interest in the issue, partially due to its nominal national news coverage. “[The death penalty] isn’t talked about frequently on the national stage because it isn’t happening everyday, something that I think carries over to the Whitman community. People aren’t talking about it. It’s much sexier to be standing in solidarity with the protesters in Wisconsin than criminals on death row,” she said.

Junior Tom Everett, a member of the Whitman College Prison Research Group, notes that the issue isn’t strongly contested nationally or on the state level because many citizens accept the status quo, whether or not they are personally in favor of capital punishment.

“I think that people have made up their minds mostly about how they feel on the debate, and since the state laws make it seem like voters and citizens are not in control of the legality of capital punishment, most people probably see it as a foregone conclusion,” Everett said.

The debate has gained some renewed national attention this month with a new bill to repeal the death penalty to be approved or rejected in Illinois by Governor Pat Quinn before a March 18 deadline. Illinois would be the sixteenth state to abolish the death penalty. Discourse on the issue of capital punishment also persists at Whitman, whether or not it is at the forefront of most students’ minds.

The Prison Research Group,

made up of professors and students representing a wide spectrum of departments, interrogates issues in the criminal justice system at meetings and facilitates tours to nearby prisons. Everett chose to join the Prison Research Group to develop a better understanding of the criminal justice system that pervades the Walla Walla and Whitman communities.

The question of capital punishment and the criminal justice system in general are also interrogated by the visual and performing arts on campus. The Sheehan Gallery is currently showing “Behind the Walls”, an exhibit that explores the history of the penitentiary through archival materials, including photographs and written accounts.

Last month’s One Act Play festival showcased a work by junior David Otten, “The Midnight Chimes”, which dealt with the hours leading up to a death row inmate’s execution from the perspective of the inmate’s family.

Later this semester, Harper Joy Theater will be producing a play entitled “The Walls” that investigates the criminal justice system — this time focusing specifically on the State Penitentiary. Junior Theo Pratt, an actor in “The Walls” has been doing significant research into various aspects of the prison system in Walla Walla.

“Due to the nature of the subject matter I think there’s going to be some controversy. But it is important to acknowledge that capital punishment is a controversial and charged issue that can be found right in our backyard,” he said of the production.

MAR

6

10 2011

Lacrosse poised to break into championships

by PAMELA LONDON Staff Reporter

W

hitman College may be a member of the NCAA Division III for its varsity programs, but there are a number of sports where Whitman gets to see how it stacks up against some of the top Division I schools, and one of them is lacrosse.

Lacrosse is a technically a club sport, but participation is consistently high enough to field full teams for men and women. This season, practices began the week following the end of the holiday break, with games following soon after. The teams travel around the Pacific Northwest and compete against teams from several of the big state schools in the area, including the University of Washington, Boise State University and Oregon State University.

On the women’s side, the team is led by head captain and senior Diane Feuillet and co-captains seniors Hannah LaCroix and Sarah Evans and junior Krista Garrett. The team also has the assistance of Ben Wu, who works at the GAC as the Intercultural Center Program Advisor. “[Ben] had no lacrosse experience before this year, but is learning fast and is a big help to us,” said Feuillet. “He helps with substitutions during games, and has a good ‘sports sense’ so he helps us improve.”

That assistance was extreme-

ly helpful right from the beginning of the season, as one of the traditions of the lacrosse team is to be player-run, and not have an official coach. Instead, the team relies on the leadership of the captains and the teamwork of all the players to keep things running smoothly, according to LaCroix. There are several new players on the team, including first-years and newcomers, which makes teamwork and camaraderie essential for success.

“We have a very young team, with some great experienced players as well as some promising players who are new to the sport,” said

Feuillet. “Every year we get more experienced players than the year before, which is exciting for the sport, meaning it is growing in the Seattle and Portland areas.”

“We do have a pretty big roster this year, which reflects how fast the sport is growing on the west coast and how sweet the game is, but it also makes it difficult to get everyone the playing time they deserve in each game,” said LaCroix. “All of the new players have done such an impressive job of jumping into what is a pretty confusing and kind of intimidating game, and old players have done a wonderful job of helping to teach

Abbye Neel ‘13, McCauley Singer-Milnes ‘14 and Kenna Little ‘13 play on Ankeny.

The young team is currently in fourth place in the NW League. PHOTO BY VON HAFFTEN

SCOREBOARD Baseball

skills during practice and games.”

“This year, we have a nice division of offense and defense players, and a lot of really talented players on the team,” said Garrett. “Everyone is working really hard and playing well together, which definitely showed this past weekend [at Boise State University].”

After hosting six schools from Washington, Oregon and Idaho in a tournament the weekend of Feb. 26, Whitman traveled to BSU this past weekend to play the Broncos and the University of Oregon. After spring break, the team will play Seattle University and Oregon State University before hosting the Northwest Women’s Lacrosse League championship tournament on April 16 and 17.

Whitman has a great chance to make the championship tournament, as the team is currently sitting in fourth place in the Northwest Women’s Lacrosse League. The team looks to break into the top couple of teams in the conference and improve on its standing from last season, when it finished in fourth place.

“This year we came together very quickly, with only two weeks of practice before our first games, but I think it made us a better team even faster, and new players were able to pick up the game quickly,” said Feuillet. “Eight teams will attend [the championship tournament] and I am confident we will be one of them.”

vs. University of Puget Sound 3/5, 3/6

Tennis

Staff Reporter

R

ugby is a sport that most people in the United States fail to understand. People don’t know how many players are on the field at one time, that one cannot throw the ball forward, and that blocking is not allowed.

Due to this deficiency of knowledge, the women’s rugby team often finds itself with little fan support.

Sophomore Ethan Bergeson acknowledges that he does not go out to cheer for rugby games because he simply does not understand the rules of rugby.

“I just don’t really know what is going on,” Bergeson said. “It makes it a lot more difficult to cheer when

OPINION

I don’t know what to cheer for.”

While rugby may not have anywhere near the support of other sports on campus, sophomore co-captain Becky Nevin feels that rugby may not need the level of support that other teams do.

“Rugby doesn’t need to have the big fan support. We need players, a field and an opposing team -- not like basketball which needs fans to be basketball,” Nevin said.

Even though Nevin believes that rugby does not necessarily need as much fan support as other sports, she acknowledges that it is very nice to have.

“I really like home games because the community can come out and support us,” Nevin said.

“If people want to get to know the

game better, they should come to a game. They’ll find that it is actually relatively easy to figure out.”

If you want to classify rugby, you could say that it is sort of a mix between football and soccer. The scoring is also similar to that of football. The primary way to score is to ground the ball in the opposition’s in-goal area by touching the ball to the ground, which counts for five points. Just like in football, there is next a conversion kick – but in rugby it is worth two points in contrast to football’s one. Three points can also be scored by a successful penalty kick or drop goal.

The game is similar to soccer in that there is nonstop action. The games are divided into 40-minute halves and the team plays

win; 8-­1

vs.Pacific Lutheran University 3/4

win; 7-­2

WOMEN'S vs. University of Puget Sound 3/4

win; 7-­2

vs. Whitworth University 3/5

loss; 6-­3

Tennis MEN'S Stag-Hen Invitational at Claremont, Calif. vs. Kenyon VS. TBD VS. TBD VS. UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS-­TYLER VS. BOWDOIN WOMEN'S vs. Pacific Lutheran University

for all 40 minutes of that time, except during infrequent time-outs.

Just like in soccer, the ball is constantly in motion around the field.

Overall, Nevin enjoys where women’s rugby sits in the eyes of the Whitman community, except for one general stereotype about the women.

“I would like people to understand us and get rid of the stereotype that we are just a bunch of butch women,” Nevin said.

So far this spring, the women’s rugby team has played three games, all of which have been on the road. The team next plays on April 2 in Spokane at the 20th Spokane Rugby Fools Fest. After that, there are a string of home games throughout April and May.

away; 3/11 AWAY; 3/11 AWAY; 3/12 AWAY; 3/14 AWAY;

3/15

home; 3/11, 2 P.M.

vs. Pacific University

away; 3/12

vs. George Fox University

away; 3/13

Golf WOMEN'S

vs. George Fox University SoCal Dutch Women’s Golf Invitational

away; 3/13 away; 3/15, 3/16 1 p.m.

Baseball vs. Lewis & Clark College

home; 3/12,

11 a.m.

vs. Lewis & Clark home; 3/13, 12 College p.m.

Vision for fan Athletes earn national academic honors culture at Whitman

by ANDREW HAWKINS

MATT MANLEY Staff Columnist

T

MEN'S vs. University of Puget Sound 3/4

UPCOMING EVENTS

Ignorance leads to low support for Whitman rugby

by TYLER HURLBURT

loss; 6-­4 loss; 12-­4

T

his year the Whitman College men’s swim team concluded their season with the highest grade point average in the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) for Division III schools. Their cumulative GPA was 3.55, just .03 higher than Pomona-Pitzer and Emory, who tied for second.

Both the women’s swim team and the women’s cross country team received All-Academic status with a 3.35 and a 3.47 respectively.

This academic accolade demonstrates the focus on success Whitman students have. The men’s GPA was also second-highest of all collegiate swim teams in the United States, topped only by Division II Ohio University of Findlay. (It should be noted that Findlay’s men’s team is comprised of three swimmers.)

Without a doubt this is an impressive honor for the men’s team who beat out teams like Washington University in St. Louis and Vassar for the prize. “[Even though] not every coaches’ association has [academic accolades], the men’s tennis team has had the top GPA of programs at Whitman, so has the cross country team,” said Associate Professor of Sports Studies Dean Snider.

Liberal arts institutions follow the academic philosophy that be-

lieves general knowledge of multiple subjects is more important that intense specialization. Whitman student athletes take this a step further, committing hours a day to exercise and teamwork in addition to classes and homework.

The national academic achievement of Whitman’s swim teams and women’s cross country teams, however, is a rare honor.

“I think our swim [and cross country] programs are a beautiful family/team environment,” said Snider. “I couldn’t be more proud.”

Last year Whitman had a men’s swimming GPA of 3.52 and the second highest GPA among Division III swim programs. “[The way] swimming and academia really supplement each other is through building strong discipline,” said sophomore swimmer Kevin Dyer. “As a distance swimmer, every time I step up to the blocks it’s with the knowledge that what I’m about to do is going to hurt like hell, and it won’t be easy, but that there’s no way around

N ATIO STR LLO ILLU -DIA OOS

BY L

hree weeks ago, I was at Sherwood Center, having one of the best experiences in my personal history as a sports fan.

I watched as the men’s basketball team completed a storybook comeback: the Missionaries had trailed by as many as 21 points and were down by 14 with under six minutes to play. Then Whitman caught fire, getting several key steals, making three-point shots, using a full-court press, and going on a 17-0 run over the last 5:41 to win by three points.

Even sweeter, the victory came against Whitworth, our biggest rival and the (former) number one team in NCAA Division III hoops.

For me, though, the real story wasn’t the night’s win -however awesome the comeback may have been.

It was the fans.

In my four years at Whitman, I have attended plenty of sporting events. I love spectating, analyzing and criticizing, heckling, and most of all supporting friends as they compete. As a varsity athlete myself, I also consider it something of a duty to support other varsity programs. I’ve been to games with 400 or 500, maybe even 600 students in attendance.

But I had never been to a Whitman sporting event anything like this.

Arriving at the start of the second half, I immediately found myself engrossed in the crowd, screaming at Whitworth’s number 23 about his obvious wannabe status, Hanes commercials, and Space Jam. I embraced someone I didn’t know when Brandon Shaw converted a three-point play. I may or may not have yelled that I want to bear Josh Duckworth’s children. And of course, at the end of the game, I rushed the court with about 700 other jubilant Whitties.

In an uproarious Sherwood that night, there were 1,262 people in attendance. Pretty much the only students who weren’t dressed for the

“white-out” theme were those that had gone bare-chested and painted their bodies, and the decibel level in the gym was probably unhealthy to the ear. Everyone was screaming, except for those crying tears of joy.

I may be hyperbolizing a smidgen, but I’m trying to make the point that this game was something special, something that we don’t often see at Whitman in terms of support for athletics. Well over half the student body was present, and having a great time. So what is preventing this from happening all the time?

Whitman has long been known as a school that’s ‘not for jocks’ — our athletes are generally great students and we have abstained from that archetypal signifier of meatheadery American football — but that doesn’t mean that we can’t or shouldn’t have the best athletes and the best fans.

Whitman’s average attendance at a varsity sporting events is low compared to other schools.

Take the men’s basketball game on Feb. 12, for example. Whitman beat Willamette that night, tying the school record of seven consecutive wins, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since the 1985-86 season. There were 225 fans at that game. The same night in McMinnville, Ore. league bottom-feeder Linfield had 650 fans present in a routine win over Pacific University.

Whitman as an institution has done its part to support athletics at all levels in recent years. There is the men’s basketball team’s success under a new coach with Division I experience, a flock of talented first-years working to revitalize a struggling baseball program, and a combination of ASWC and athletics department dollars have made club volleyball and club tennis a reality in the past three years.

These are but a few examples of Whitman’s recent commitments to excellence in athletics. Now, it’s time for fans to step up and support athletes as well.

I don’t mean this as a complaint or a plea for attention on behalf of campus athletes or the athletics department. Rather, the basketball team’s final home games of the season reminded me how an athletics culture of success and hard work, coupled with a devoted fan culture can be an incredibly fun thing to have in any campus community.

That’s something we can all root for.

Staff Reporter

it and that sometimes you have to do things you might not want to.”

At Whitman more 60 percent of the student body graduated within the top 10 percent percent of their high school. One in every six Whitman students is a varsity athlete. Even though many do not play varsity sports, 75 percent of Whitman students participate in varsity, intramural or club sports around campus.

With such a strong involvement with sports and academics, it could be suggested that athletic and physical education is just as important as academic evaluation.

“You have to know how to get back up and try again,” said Snider. “Sports teach us how to win gracefully ... We are all interconnected and interdependent on each other. [Teamwork is] more humble success.”

“Being a swimmer helps you develop a degree of mental fortitude that I don’t think most people can really comprehend, simply due to the fact that our sport demands us to sacrifice so much of ourselves for so long,” said Dyer. “At times it seems like the season will never end ... There are certainly moments in which life becomes an insane balancing act between academics and athletics, but I believe it’s the balancing act that makes us so good at what we do. It makes us focus, all the time, on what we have to be doing.”

Tennis splits weekend

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he Whitman women cruised to a 7-2 victory over Puget Sound on Friday, March 4. At No. 1 doubles, Elise Otto ‘11 and Alyssa Roberg ‘13 crushed their Logger opponents 8-0. Kate Kunkel-Patterson ‘13 pushed through a tiebreak to win her first set and proceeded to win the second to clinch the point at No. 4 singles. She teamed with Emily Rolston ‘12, pictured, earlier in the match to post a 8-3 victory at No. 2 doubles.

Saturday, March 5, the women fell 6-3 to Whitworth. Otto and Roberg teamed up for another win at No. 1 doubles, while Roberg and Kunkel-Patterson posted singles victories at No. 2 and 4 respectively.

Roberg earned NWC Student Athlete of the Week after a perfect weekend at No. 1 doubles and No. 2 singles.

PHOTO BY BOWMAN

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10 2011

Experience of commuting reveals our individuality AMI TIAN Columnist

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s time flies by I’m increasingly aware of the fact that my days here in London are numbered. Already I’m anticipating, upon my return to Walla Walla, feeling homesick for London. I have to confess, though, that it’s not mainly the UK I’ll miss, but being in a city.

There are many reasons to like living in a city. The cultural capital, for instance. I see a play as frequently as every week--often I see two plays a week. The museums are free and numerous. And if I wanted to I could go to the movies and see independent or foreign films, or I could head to the British Film Institute and view, free of charge, anything in the archive. Then there’s the food: Turkish kebabs, West African stews, Indian food on Brick Lane, Aero bars (candy counts as food, right?), potato wedges at McDonald’s (they don’t have them in the U.S.), fish and chips, sandwiches from The Banger Bros--alright, so I will miss the UK. Don’t let people tell you the food is terrible, that is a

complete lie (that is, unless you’re into being, like, really healthy).

But one good, unique part of living in a city that I hadn’t really paid much attention to before is having public transportation, which I may miss most of all (although I do love those potato wedges). And it’s not so much that I like the ability to go places without having to drive, although that is nice; it’s the experience itself of sitting on the bus or the tube, or waiting at a platform or a bus stop.

And it’s this solitude in the midst of civilization that is affirming of your humanity and your individuality.

It’s the experience of feeling simultaneously together and alone. Everyone is together in transit; most of the passengers are strangers to one another. It’s a unique situation: to be able to at once have time to yourself and to be surrounded by people, to be reminded that the world is large and strange and new. It’s realizing that the people around you inhabit entire personal universes that will most likely never intersect with yours; in the future they will love and hate and want

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear Editor, I am writing to express the need for student input on the curriculum.

Historically, this is an area in which students have had little say at Whitman. On March 30, we have the opportunity to gain this voice. The faculty will vote to accept or deny a proposal for student representation on the newly-formed Curriculum Committee. This committee will start meeting next year to address enrollment pressure, course scheduling and routine curricular matters--all of which directly impact students on a daily basis. Of course, the faculty have the right and responsibility to determine the curriculum. However, if Whitman truly is the open, collaborative community it professes to be, the college would be best served by allowing the recipients of the curriculum to participate.

Student representation will serve the committee in three ways.

First, students provide a unique experiential perspective on the curriculum much different than that of the faculty, and student input will ensure that well-informed deDear Editor, In the recent article entitled “Mission Statement Discussed at Town Hall Meeting,” The Pioneer seriously misinterpreted President Bridges’s comments and position on the future of the Whitman College Department of Music. The article implied that according to the President performance would no longer remain a vital part of the music curriculum.

The College and the Music Department are strongly committed to continuing to maintain a balance between the performance and academic aspects of the program. The department will continue to offer the long-standing performance, jazz and academic tracks. Performance is an integral part of any reputable collegiate music program and curricu-

Dear Editor, I would like to clarify possible misconceptions that might have arisen from President Bridges’s response to questions that were raised at the Town Hall held February 28 regarding the status of the education department. According to your article, President Bridges stated that, “six years ago a group of faculty decided to phase out the education program.” President Bridges may have misspoken or was misquoted, either way the statement is misleading and inaccurately represents the power of the faculty in such a decision.

What happened six years ago was the closure of the Teacher Certification Program (a small part of Whitman’s education department).

This occurred because increased state requirements made compliance impossible for our relatively small program. This was done in accordance with the education faculty, college administration and Washington Office of the Superintendent

cisions are made. Second, students can provide instant feedback to the committee or easily poll the student body on important issues. Third, student representatives can effectively disseminate information and communicate the rational for decisions to the student body.

The student voice has been narrowed in the broadest sense with the recent elimination of the Faculty Policy Committee, which had student members. More importantly, students have the opportunity to provide input on curricular matters at all but one of our peer institutions on similar curriculum committees. If you believe Whitman students should have a voice on our new Curriculum Committee, please let your professors know the next time you talk one-on-one, or send them an e-mail. Student participation in decision making is essential for both effectively addressing enrollment pressure and continuing to advance this college.

Sincerely, Carson Burns, ‘11 ASWC President lum. Performance will always play a foundational role in Whitman’s Department of Music.

While having so many members of a department retire simultaneously clearly signals change, replacements for all faculty who are departing have been recruited or are being recruited. The future of the music department will be built on the strengths of the past and present combined with the fresh ideas of new faculty––and the future looks bright.

Sincerely, George S. Bridges, President Timothy Kaufman-Osborn, Provost and Dean of Faculty Susan E. Pickett, Catharine Chism Professor of Music and Chair, Department of Music of Public Instruction. There was no discussion, at that time, of phasing out the entire department. The education department continued to offer a minor in education, counseled students into graduate certification programs, and established a partnership with University of Puget Sound for their Master of Arts in Teaching program. Two years ago, the college administration notified me of their plan to discontinue the education program. I think it is important to note that this was not a faculty decision, either on the part of those of us in the education department or the faculty as a whole.

I appreciate continued student interest in the fate of the education department and hope that this clarifies how the department’s dissolution has come about.

things with profound intensity and you will be oblivious to it all, but right now you are sharing the same space. You are watching them scratch their noses and stare at their shoes and in the next five minutes they will walk away out of your life forever, and they will go on living lives of their own.

This is a small fact, a known fact, but it feels significant.

The tube is the best place to spy on people: being able to stare at people’s faces, observe them surreptitiously, being able to study the brow, the nose, the lines around the mouth for a good three to five seconds before it’s considered staring--and even then you can continue to look using your peripheral vision. You know what I’m talking about, you’ve done it before.

And the diversity of strangers to watch is both staggering and refreshing. You see people who stay with you, in their abbreviated forms, for days afterward: the girl with the pink carnation in her hair, applying lipstick; the man crumpling up a paper bag of leftover French fries; the woman talking to her friend about her horses as though they were her children. (“My babies are all growing up,” she sighs.) You fall in love with a face on the platform and have your heart broken by them three times in the four stops between Holborn and Bethnal Green.

But it’s not even just the people-watching opportunities that make public transportation in-

valuable. While the visual stimuli for the curious person (or the budding stalker) are bountiful, it’s not the most valuable part of the commute—it’s just the part that makes it more interesting than say, commuting in Los Angeles, where you’re just in your car for a long time. Commuting gives you time to think. There is no other time set aside for doing absolutely nothing. Even with going to bed there’s the rush to get to sleep; racing thoughts act only as obstacles. Most of the time you’re thinking about inane things like what you’re going to have for dinner or errands you need to run.

But having the freedom and time to let your mind wander allows it to sometimes travel to interesting places. At the very least, you learn how to cope with hearing yourself think, which can be an embarrassing and harrowing experience. And it’s this solitude in the midst of civilization that is affirming of your humanity and your individuality. You possess awareness of your connection to and separation from other people. This is what commuting on public transport gives you: the experience of feeling grounded and alive, feeling like a real person living in the world.

I wouldn’t trade it for anything. æYQ¾ ,Q9Z¾ Qh¾ 9¾ gPGi\gQB¾ 9ZD¾ wQXY¾ hikDQGh¾ Y9V\g¾ hikDsQZN¾ 9Ag\9D¾ QZ¾ \ZD\Z¡¾ +PG¾ YQhhGh¾ eG9Zki¾ AkiiGg ¾ Y9B9g\ZQ¾ 9ZD¾ BPGGhG¾ 9ZD¾ P9pQZN¾ Y\ZGs¡

Military intervention in Libya is unwise BRYANT FONG Columnist

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n March 3, Obama asked Colonel Muammar elQaddafi to step down as Libya’s leader. Obama threatened to use military options if Qaddafi does not.

The Libyan conflict is full of bloodshed and terror. Obama faces a decision whether or not to intervene with military force. There has been recent talk of establishing a nofly zone in order to protect civilians.

I do not think that he should intervene. The United States already has a lot of domestic problems that must be addressed. How can the U.S. solve international issues if its government does not attempt to solve many of the domestic issues?

Since 1969, the oftentimes firm, sometimes erratic Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi has ruled over Libya, an oil rich nation in North Africa. The February 2011 protest, organized by anti-government opposition, began across several Libyan cites. The rebellion has more control of the military than Qaddafi and have taken the eastern half of the country. Recently, Qaddafi and the rebels have fiercely battled throughout the country.

This is the Middle East’s problem. According to James Meernik’s analysis of U.S. foreign policy, this option may conflict with the U.S.’s goal to export democracy, thereby justifying military intervention. As reported by the Hoover Digest, this policy has only a three percent success rate of installing legitimate democracies.

If the U.S. does intervene, then the move to democracy will not belong to the Libyan people. A central piece of Obama administration’s policy of democracy promotion is surrendering the “ownership” of the political movement to the democratizing country. Egypt and Tunisia removed their own leaders without American help.

The U.S. is already fighting two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Troops are already serving multiple tours, so why does Obama want to get the nation into another military operation? Where will the troops come from?

I don’t see any answer. The Na-

tional Guard, the branch of the armed forces that is supposed to protect our borders and help in “states of emergencies”, is currently fighting in Iraq.

There will not be enough troops to fight and maintain the safety of all soldiers. This scenario could lead to another incident similar to what happened in Somalia in 1993.

If the military invasion is a matter of international safety to establish a stable government, then the U.S. should work with the United Nations. If the U.S. goes into Libya without international allies, then a situation similar to what former president George W. Bush launched in Iraq could repeat itself.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is against the no-fly zone as it may require some military action. He stated that any military action must be carefully thought out in order to avoid unintended consequences.

According to former State Department Director of Policy Planning Anne-Marie Slaughter, the nofly zone will be difficult to implement because of the lack of support from the UN security council due to Chinese and Russian resistance.

There are many domestic issues for Obama to address that he cannot afford to get involved in another international issue. These domestic problems range from education to state deficits, trade imbalance, to lack of jobs. Is taking the U.S. to Libya a way to avoid addressing these issues, and take them away from the front page?

This is the wisdom of the statement “help yourself before you help others.” Obama does not seem to be able to help the U.S., as all the hope and changed he promised has yet to materialize. How can the our nation help other countries establish their democracy when it already has many of its own issues yet to be addressed?

Obama needs to appease his constituents before he can help others. According to the Gallup poll, Obama’s approval ratings have decreased in every state. In 10 states his approval is lower than 40 percent. Why would Obama be worrying about Libya’s problems when approval ratings are low and re-election is in the near future?

Those issues are not going to solve themselves; Obama must urge Congress to take action, similar to what he did with the healthcare reform campaign. I am not for the healthcare plan, but appreciate the effort and action he took to at least get a result. Obama needs to address the problems of the nation and seek the approval of American people before helping other nations.

If they ask for help, then the U.S. may help them. Libya has not asked for help. Let Libya create its own independence. gs9Zi¾ \ZN¾Qh¾9¾BPGYQhigs¾Y9V\g¾Mg\Y¾ \gp9XXQh ¾!gG¡¾ G¾GZV\sh¾qgQiQZN¾9A\ki¾ e\XQiQBh¾ 9ZD¾ NGZGg9X¾ BkggGZi¾ GpGZih¾ egGhGZiQZN¾ 9¾ eGgheGBiQpG¾ that is not representGD¾ \Z¾ B9Yekh¡

Respectfully, J. Kay Fenimore-Smith Associate Professor of Education, Education Department Chair ILLUSTRATION BY ALFORD

WISCONSIN DEMS’ ESCAPE JUSTIFIED TRISTAN GRAU Columnist

T

he 14 Wisconsin state senators hiding in Illinois are defending the rights of workers to participate meaningfully in state politics. Their controversial tactic of leaving the state is justified because Governor Walker’s plan would drastically alter Wisconsin’s political playing field. It is also not an unprecedented move; Texas Democrats in 2003 used the same tactic to delay a redistricting plan that heavily favored Republicans.

Non-participation is a dangerous tactic for representatives, one which should be used only when absolutely necessary. Even opponents of Governor Walker’s proposal to limit the right of unions to bargain collectively are justified to be concerned by the precedent set by representatives leaving the state.

Fleeing the state to avoid quorum should not be a standard political tactic. Losing is a necessary part of politics and representatives normally have an obligation to participate in decisions they disagree with even if they know they will lose.

The case of the Wisconsin senators is different because of the stakes. This is not a budget fight, it is a fight over the future political power and viability of unions. Governor Walker’s proposal would rewrite the rules of political engagement in Wisconsin under the cover of balancing the budget.

The problem is that the Governor’s proposal does nothing to directly fix Wisconsin’s budget crisis. The Governor has gone on record saying that even if unions accept his proposal to cut salary and benefits, he will still push to end collective bargaining.

The Governor wants to limit the power of unions in order to balance the budget, even if unions support rather than oppose his budget cuts. This is absurd. If unions are not blocking a fix to the budget crisis then how will drastically limiting their power help the situation?

The “Wisconsin Fourteen” are fighting for the political participation of unions and their members by refusing to participate in congressional politics. Outlawing collective bargaining would limit the ability of government employees to influence state politics; Democrats should not stand by and watch while Republicans rewrite the rules of political engagement in their favor.

These senators are following the example set by two groups of Texas Democrats in 2003. The “Killer Ds” and the “Texas Eleven” successively fled the state to block a redistricting plan led by Tom DeLay that would have strongly favored Republicans in future elections. The redistricting plan was as unprecedented as tactics of the Democratic resistance.

Like the current conflict in Wisconsin, this plan was initially based on a legitimate concern; Democrats in Texas consistently won the House despite a slight majority of Republican voters in the state. But as in Wisconsin, the Republican plan went too far, going beyond correcting this discrepancy and giving Texas Republicans a large structural advantage in future elections.

While the Texas Democrats blocked the plan for some time, a similar plan eventually passed through different channels. While Democrats were probably motivated mostly by a desire to defend their own political power, they were also defending the legal rights of voters.

Unions traditionally support Democratic candidates, which is likely a strong motivation for the senators who have fled the state.

But like their predecessors in Texas, they are also defending the rights of workers more generally.

Whatever one thinks about boycotting as a tactic, it should not be up to police to force representatives to attend the legislature. Rather, it is up to the voters to decide whether the senators can best represent the needs of the people by boycotting the Senate.

If this conflict was just about a budget deficit, then the Wisconsin Fourteen’s tactics would be irresponsible. But as the political rights of workers are at stake, drastic measures are necessary.

Wisconsin Democratic should “do their job,” but that does not mean they have to watch Republicans gut the power of unions and the workers they represent. ,gQhi9Z¾ g9k¾ Qh¾ 9¾ hGZQ\g¾ e\XQiQBh¾ Y9V\g¾ Mg\Y¾ ,gQZQD9D ¾ 9XQM¡¾ X\A9X¾ e\XQiQBh¾ iGZD¾ i\¾ Y9WG¾ PQY¾ 9ZNgs§¾ B\\WQZN¾ B9XYh¾ PQY¾ D\qZ¡

MAR

8

es!

10 2011

Giggl

Real Talk

Diary of a Hungover Whittie

SPRING BREAK DESTINATIONS You may be considering staying at Whitman College over the next two weeks to "catch up on sleep" or "work on your thesis" or partake in any number of equally lame and pointless activities.

If this is the case, gentle reader, attend!

We are in southeastern Washington; here, even the staunchest locals dream of escape during the March holiday. As a service to you and your loved ones, the Backpage would like to edify and amuse with a brief discussion of our favorite pleasure spots for the "National Peanut Month School Sabbatical". For those of you who already have a destination in mind, consider this an appetizer for your imminent vacation. Bon appétit!

PORTLAND, ORE. Solid choice, if you are looking to build up the indie music cred you had before entering the Whitman Bubble. Be sure to take your fixie with you.

HOME Familiar, comfortable, haunted by the dusty aroma of your mother's terrible cooking and dos’s wet farts. Totally free of nude Cuban paramilitaries, at least since your dad moved out in '96. Don't be too sad about having to stay home. The food is free, you get to borrow the car and you know everybody. Well, except that all your friends went abroad for Spring Break. Sorry!

WALLA WALLA, WASH. Includes the Pasco/Kennewick/Richland area. Beautiful scenery, sensational wine tourism, fine restaurants and inexpensive accommodations. If you stay here, odds are you will end up drinking St. Pauli's by yourself and listening to Wilco's "How to Fight Loneliness" on repeat.

CALIFORNIA For many of you, this place will be "home". But California is not truly home, not to anyone. California is a mirage. Ever since America's first spring breakers struck gold in 1849, the rest of the country has flooded to the golden coast in search of booty ("drunk chicks").

If you're a Whitman student, California lies at the intersection of economy and style. San Diego offers unparalleled proximity to TJ; Orange County is home to 90,000 Koreans; and in San Francisco, you can be touched up by a homosexual in the Castro for absolutely free. A major upside: as you approach Mexico, you may start to remember what a non-orange tan looks like.

MEXICO Up north, drugs and knife crime.

Down south, radiant beaches and slightly less knife crime. The men are beautiful and distant; the women, simmering with passion. You will have a romance, and when you describe it to your future spouse, the little tear in the corner of your eye will eventually lead to your divorce.

Unless you go to Cancun, in which case you are scum.

EUROPE You are rich. Congratulations! Enjoy your stinky cheese, your Land's End polos and your specially purchased Fair Trade boater. Now know, gentle traveler, that your "smattering of Italian" will not be enough, and you will end up screaming at a waiter in heavilyaccented English, before breaking down and ordering "pizza ... margherita" at up to 10 consecutive dinners. Grim.

NEW YORK CITY Lured by the attraction of a sensationally out-of-control Julie Taymor vanity project, travelers to New York will be rewarded this spring season.

The Big Apple is rightfully considered the capital of the world, and whether you're wining and dining at incredible restaurants or just roaming Manhattan, you will be in heaven. Unfortunately, you probably won't be able to afford your plane ticket back. Enjoy your new life of prostitution, crime and drug addiction!

FLORIDA While visiting your ailing grandparents, it is important to note that the poorer their health, the more time your parents will be obligated to spend attending to them.

Freedom! The beauty of Florida's coastline is only matched by the senility of those that wander her glowing beaches. For your sake, stick to the clubs. Remember: in Miami, every night is Euro-Trash night, so pack accordingly.

[rides] Seattle or bust 8 days ago

Ben Dover to rides

Hey I need a ride home to Seattle for break. I can offer gas money and/or baked goods. Must have space for a kayak paddle.

Ben Dover to rides

3 days ago

Hey, I’m Ben. Do you want to make a 10?

Dollar Bills, they all adorning my kayak paddle.

I really need a ride to Seattle.

So do me a favor, And don’t be a slaver; Red Rover, Red Rover Send an email with a ride right over.

Thanks, Ben Dover 7 days ago

Seriously though, I will pay you cash money, bake you up some goods, massage your feet etc. I will supply whatever you need!

Hey! Want to subsidize the cost of your trip home? Let me pay you for a spot in your car! But wait, there’s more! I will also bake your favorite treat and personally feed it to you as we drive! You know you want me in your car—all the cool kids are giving me rides!

The Diary of a Hungover Whittie 8:30 a.m. Still drunk. Wake up, feel like P. Diddy aka DEATH. Only two hours of sleep. Put on sweatshirt over shirt I wore to bed. Go to breakfast, try to eat. Spend most of the time with my head on the table.

9:00 a.m. Class. Longest 50 minutes of my life. Don't say a word.

9:50 a.m. Pass out on Olin couch. Power nap.

11:00 a.m. Class. Again. Can't keep eyes open. Thank God we're watching a movie. No bright lights.

12:00 p.m. In bed. Curl up in fetal position. Eat granola bar.

1:00 p.m. Class. Have rallied for too long, not feeling too bad.

3:00 p.m. Take shower and get ready (like how normal people do in the morning, but in the afternoon) 3:45 p.m. Go to Starbucks with friends. Chill for a little bit.

5:00 p.m. Smoke a couple bowls.

6:15 p.m. Taqueria. Sooooooooooooooooooo Good.

6:50 p.m. Ice-Burg. Hot fudge and Reese's milkshake. Om nom nom nom nom nom.

7:20 p.m. Watch Kanye's "All of the Lights" video a few times.

That shit is crazy.

8:00 p.m. Asleep with computer still on lap.

Ben Dover to rides

With spring break coming up, The Backpage has noticed the rides listserv is experiencing a bit of pre-holiday madness. It’s amazing the lengths some Whitties will go for a ride. We decided to illustrate our point by following one particular student’s quest for a ride: Ben Dover to rides

We go to Whitman, so we must be smart. Still, we do a lot of dumb shit. For instance, does drinking the night before you have every one of your classes stop you? No? Me neither.

kthanksbye, Ben

COMIC

2 days ago

I’m starting to get desperate here. No one has e-mailed me back, and I’m sort of beginning to believe that you Whitties are all heartless bastards. I am losing sight of my pussy bourgeois ideals. Do you want to pervert my belief system like that, you heartless bastards!?! Please, help a brotha out!

Peace, Big Beezy

Ben Dover to rides

8 hours ago

WHY IS NO ONE ANSWERING MY EMAILSSSSSSSS?!!! I NEED A RIDE PRONTO. I AM STARTING TO REGRET COMING TO THIS SCHOOL, YOU FILTHY ANIMALS!! I KNOW YOU HAVE CARS. I’M OFFERING YOU CASH MONEY LIKE THE RIDE PROSTITUTES YOU ARE, AND YOU DON’T EVEN HAVE THE COMMON-WHORE FUCKING COURTESY TO RESPOND. ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH. I’M GOING TO MISS THE NICKELBACK CONCERT THIS SATURDAY. SLUTABEES! IF THERE IS ANYTHING YOU SHOULD LOVE, IT IS NICKEELBACK, YOU NIGHTWALKING PIECES OF SHIT. IF I DON’T GET A RIDE I WILL PERSONALLY SLEEP WITH ALL OF YOUR MOTHERS, PEOPLE WITH CARS. I WILL STALK YOU AND SLEEP WITH YOUR MOTHERS!!!!! GET BACK TO ME WITH A RIDE AND I WILL RESCIND THIS THREAT (IN MOST CASES).

Ben Dover

Ben Dover to rides

5 hours ago

I may have gone a little too far with that last e-mail. I’m serious about that ride, though. Let me know!

Thanks, Benjamin ILLUSTRATION BY ALDEN

CROSSWORD Dear Followers, Crossword’s back!

That is all.

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12. Ag or nub suffix 13. Oil trade org.

14. “Julie & Julia” director Ephron 15. Smallest Indian state 16. Monopoly delay?

18. Spring break option for the common good 20. Lowercase sigma in the African alphabet 21. Claim 24. Chilly He-Man enemy 27. Consumed 28. “Duh,” to Helga of “Hey, Arnold!”

29. Spring break option for the outdoorsy 33. Qty. 34. Tunisia capital?

35. Subjective news pg.

36. Cottage, to Andres 38. “Ceci n’est _____ une pipe.”

40. Spring break option for the burnt out 45. Dressed to kill 47. “We _____ do it!”

48. Stench 49. Parks of the Civil Rights Movement 50. Lost biblical vessel 51. Sexy, in netspeak 52. Mystic 53. Thing to do in Aspen DOWN 1. Bay of _____, Cuba 2. _____ vera

3. Rip 4. City, to Archimedes 5. Reference date 6. Made, to Giacomo 7. Product of vinegar and baking soda: Sodium _____ 8. Up to a given time 9. Pimped out, as a ride 10. Go astray 11. Bolted 17. “King of the Hill” locale 19. Active word?

22. Author Vidal 23. Gazed at 24. Apple desktop 25. State of unconsciousness 26. Takes a bite of humble pie 27. Pennsylvania or Pacific in Monopoly, e.g.

30. Loft 31. The people 8-Across get their stuff from 32. Daniel of Comedy Central 37. “Everything aches!”

38. Gamer’s repose?

39. Neither discounted nor overpriced 41. Bayou state’s org. for learning 42. Andean tubers 43. Most terse evangelist 44. Sumerian god of crafts and creation 45. _____ CAH TOA 46. Making out on a street corner, e.g.

kanye

tweet of the week

kanyewest Kanye West

I just zoned on how ill it is to really fall in love ... Pimpin’ is whatev ... Love is that shit!

ANSWERS TO LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE 1. JALOPY 2. PRICED 3. BLOATS 4. NEARLY

5. DRAINS 6. HERALD 7. ABOUND 8. SLOUGH

Q: What do you call a nosy pepper?

A: JALAPENO BUSINESS