Once upon a time, there lived a brilliant man named Walt Whitman, who decided to open up his own poetry college. In an effort to avoid the pretension of the East Coast, Whitman decided to head west. Eventually he found himself among beautiful wheat fields where he chose to build his school.

Being a poet, he decided to name the area Walla Walla. (That rhymes.) Enlisting the help of his outdoorsy friend Thoreau, Whitman constructed a few woodsy cabins to create an ideal locale for intellectual pursuits.

He named his college after himself. (So much for unpretentious…)

Whitman developed a diverse curriculum, including a first-year self-defense class in which students prepared for dangerous encounters with local ducks and squirrels.

According to legend, Whitman also formed a secret society called the Brotherhood of Bicycles, Meditation and Booze (BBMB). While this organization formed lasting bonds, it caused mixed reactions and has long since been dissolved. With this one exception, Whitman College remains just as it was when it was founded.