The adjustment back to Whitman after studying abroad can be difficult for students on multiple levels, because of both the academic and social transition.
In February, Whitman’s Board of Trustees will formally discuss student representation on the Board of Trustees, a long-time goal of leaders of the Associated Student of Whitman College (ASWC).
In its most recent effort to organize efforts to combat global warming, Climate Campus Challenge (CCC) aims to change Whitman College’s investment policy to encourage the college to withdraw funds, or "divest", from fossil fuel companies.
Over the past year, the college administration and faculty have been talking more about the difficulties of handling faculty diversity on campus. Although the college makes efforts to recruit a racially diverse faculty, and has sought out larger numbers of female professors, in part to reflect the growing female proportion of the student body, professors in both of these groups tend to leave Whitman in greater numbers than their white and male counterparts, especially prior to receiving tenure.
Preliminary hearings for the city of Walla Walla’s 2013 budget have placed Pioneer Park’s Aviary in peril. In the face of a budget shortfall due to low tax revenues, city officials say that the aviary may have to go unless volunteers can obtain sufficient funding from private sources.
The drive east along Highway 12 from the Tri-Cities back towards Walla Walla and the Whitman campus rarely fails to amaze me. At the left turn by Wallula Gap, I stare west at the vast expanse of land carved out by the ancient Missoula floods, captured by the exposed magnificence of the land in all its contours and forms and patterns.
Senior Lea Baker wrote a letter to her boyfriend going through U.S. Army basic training every day of her freshman year. When he couldn’t receive mail, she wrote to other soldiers deployed overseas—and enlisted fellow Whitman students to help.
“The first year I did Letters of Gratitude it was kind of like a selfish act; it was like, I can’t write letters to him so I’m going to write letters to troops overseas,†said Baker, who started the project her sophomore year. As part of the Letters of Gratitude campaign, Thetas have been tabling in Reid and encouraging passersby to contribute a message to U.S. troops overseas. Thetas pictured are Cailtyn Yoshina (center), Emily Grossman (with blue scarf), and Andrea Horwege (far right). Photos by Allie Felt.
With help from members of Kappa Alpha Theta, Baker is tabling in Reid every day through Nov. 16, inviting Whitties to pen a letter or two to a soldier stationed abroad.
International students come to Whitman knowing they will be in a place where very few people share their background and experiences. Though nearly all international students end up staying at the college for their whole undergraduate career, there’s no escaping the fact that Whitman is a small college with a a small international community in a remote, rural town.
On the morning of Saturday, Oct. 27, over 130 Whitman students, faculty and staff assembled in the Reid Ballroom to kick off 2012’s Make-A-Difference Day.
It is no secret that Whitman is a predominantly liberal campus community. The vast majority of students identify with left-of-center political viewpoints, and oftentimes it can be difficult to find differing perspectives on political issues. Last year, a conservative student, sophomore (then first-year) Alexandra Calloway-Nation, decided to create a safe place for students with similar political beliefs to share their views.
Participants of all stripes came to take part in the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) of Walla Walla's third annual “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes†march against domestic violence on Wednesday, Oct. 17.
