Environmental activism, although alive today, is something that has not always had a strong presence on Whitman’s campus.
“The way I see it, the 60s were all about social rebellion with a moral purpose: The Civil Rights Movement, which segued into the anti-war movement where promiscuity and dope became a political statement,” said General Studies Professor and former Environmental Studies Department head Craig Gunsul. “The 70s were a time of social rebellion without a moral purpose; people just wanted to get high and laid.”
Gunsul helped create a group of Whitman students who went to the Washington State Penitentiary in the mid-70s. He believes this helped to re-spark people’s interest in activism and channel the energy that would have gone into environmental issues.
However, some work was done during one of the Arab oil embargoes of the 1970s. Students put “Turn Off the Lights” stickers on light switches on campus in order to conserve gasoline.
Until the 1990s, there was little Whitman-Walla Walla interaction with regards to environmental activism. Gunsul credits President Tom Cronin (1993-2005) with encouraging Whitman students to get involved in the community.
Geology and Environmental Studies Professor Bob Carson has been impressed with the efforts of individual students over the years.
Kristen Kirkby ’07 and Jay Heath ’07 were involved with The Paper Campaign, which makes recycled notebooks from cereal boxes and paper printed on one side. Brittany Smith ’08 and Juliana Williams ’07 worked with Campus Greens and Campus Climate Challenge for alternative energy.
However, Carson remains unmoved by environmental activism at Whitman as a whole.
“I think a very large proportion of Whitman students are enviromentalists or consider themselves to be,” said Carson. “A smaller proportion is going to join the coal plant working group to try to stop the big coal-fired electricity plant; an even smaller group is going to be in your face trying to get a protest started.”
Sophomore Gary Wang, co-President of Campus Climate Challenge, a branch of Campus Greens focusing on climate change, believes that one reason for this is the homogonous atmosphere on campus.
“I think the problem is that at Whitman most people care about the environment; they’re pretty similar politically, but because of this similarity you don’t need to take any action: there are always other people out there doing it for you,” said Wang.
“Look at how many environmental studies majors there are versus how many are working with environmental organizations to change day-to-day life at Whitman College,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it’s apathy. But there is no sense of urgency.”
Wang acknowledged Whitman’s green appearance, even though “there is still a lot of work to be done.”
Carson agreed, saying Whitman could be on par with schools like Oberlin College, Middlebury College, Western Washington University or The Evergreen State College.
Campus Climate Challenge has been a popular way to get involved.
“Our first meeting, we filled up all of Reid 207. We had to bring in extra chairs,” said Wang.
Wang attributes this to the Freshman Green Dorm guide handed out to incoming students and the optional workshop entitled, “Environment Now: Environmental Problems and What Whitties Do” with Bob Carson and Campus Greens during opening week.
The group is currently trying to get a 25-kW solar panel installed on either the science building or Jewett Hall.
