This year, for the first time, two Whitman seniors will graduate with degrees in race and ethnic studies (RES).

Bevin Hall and Veronica Willeto are the trailblazers of the RES major. Both Hall and Willeto are double majors; Hall with gender studies and Willeto with history.

“We hadn’t really anticipated having any [RES] seniors this year,” said professor Nina Lerman, who serves as the director of RES’ steering committee.

“There is a lot of interest in students who end up at Whitman to try to understand the ways that we represent ourselves and each other,” said Lerman. “These kind of students are going to be interested in a continued study of difference.”

The RES major first became available in 2006, although this is the first year that it is included in the course catalogue. Hall and Willeto were both studying abroad in Botswana last April when Lerman, their advisor, e-mailed them to notify them of the RES major’s approval.
Hall and Willeto made the switch to an RES major while still in Botswana. The decision was not simple for them.

“I had to definitely reflect on what this major meant to me and what it meant I had to do this entire year up until graduation in order to complete it,” said Willeto. “And, if it was worth it.”
Willeto had previously considered creating her own major similar to RES. As a student from the Navaho Nation in the four corners area, she said her background had influenced her in being “passionate about learning what we mean when we say ‘race,’ or what it means to have an ethnic identity.”

After making the decision to major in RES, Hall and Willeto faced other difficulties.

“When we were in Botswana there were limited resources,” said Willeto. “It was tough to just communicate with our advisor.”

“We did it all via e-mail,” said Hall. “It was complicated to try to figure out all the credits, but Nina was incredibly supportive.”

After getting the approval to complete an RES major, there were further complications.
“We certainly experienced a lot of frustration in terms of trying to figure things out,” said Hall. “There was no precedent for anything…things like how long our theses should be and what we should learn about in seminar, etc. We’ve sort of been the trial, or the pilot, for the program.”

“I could foresee that it was going to be challenging academically,” said Willeto. “But I think I was not aware of how much of an impact [the major] would have on me. Going in depth into issues of race, power, inequality and society and starting to think about these things on a campus like Whitman really took a toll on me emotionally and challenged me.”

Both are critical of Whitman’s current forms of addressing diversity.

“I think that Whitman is just barely on the horizon of dealing with diversity issues,” said Hall. “It has really become clear this year that diversity isn’t just about having students of color on posters for incoming students. I think that the students and the administration are just barely beginning to begin the dialogue on diversity and to question the way that we address diversity and what diversity even means.”

“In my personal opinion, I don’t think that Whitman allows students right now, with what is available right now, to engage in a really in -depth way with those sorts of issues,” said Willeto. “At times it felt isolating and very difficult to grapple with these things when there’s not a lot of people that are also thinking about these issues.”

Willeto does not want to see the RES major marginalized. She hopes it will be given enough resources in terms of financial allocations, as well as faculty support. She also would like to see the major become less focused on issues of race in America than in the world as a whole.

Both Hall and Willeto see the RES major as beneficial to not only themselves, but also to the Whitman community.

“I think students with a race and ethnic studies background can certainly add to the discussion of diversity in an incredibly productive manner,” said Hall.

“I am hopeful that Whitman is going to be making a lot of changes,” said Willeto. “Because it is responsible to this major now, I hope it’s going to open a lot of doors and move things forward. I hope it will bring out a lot of hope in others, because it did it to me, even if there still are kinks that need to be worked out.”

Both are satisfied with their decision to major in RES.

“It’s the best decision I’ve made,” said Hall. She invites lowerclassmen who are interested in the RES major to contact her or Willeto.