Blackface Incident

2006 ushered in a hugely publicized and controversial event at Whitman. At a “Survivor” themed party at the Sigma Chi house, two students, attempting to represent racial division on the show, arrived in blackface. At that time, “Survivor” teams on the show were determined by the contestants’ race. Major controversy ensued as concerned students expressed their outrage at the incident on the student listserv. The debate gathered steam and soon became a heated topic on lips and listservs alike.   The administration, with the help of students and faculty members, inducted a Symposium to spur educated discussion about racism, prejudice and the sinister history of blackface and minstrel shows.     Both the “blackface incident” itself and Whitman’s reaction caught the attention of national news. The Symposium continued for another year before it was halted.

Windstorms

Windstorms of record proportion ravaged Walla Walla and the Whitman campus in early January of 2008. Luckily, most of the students were off campus, still enjoying their last week of winter break and no one was hurt.   Nevertheless, the 78 mile per hour winds still managed to fell 55 trees on campus and the paper clip statue near the library.

Jack Issue Controversy

In the spring of 2008, The Pioneer ran its annual “jack issue,” reporting fake and satirical news for April Fools.   One piece, titled “Indians take over Bridges office,” had an illustration of President Bridges in a headdress surrounded by Native Americans.   The humor was lost on many and the controversy initiated a series of listserv debates and letters written to The Pioneer. Some of the students, faculty and staff who responded expressed their outrage at the article’s apparent lack of sensitivity, respect and historical awareness. Others defended the article on the grounds of satiric intent. Some even commended the article for spurring such debate.

Student Assaults

In a number of separate incidents in the 2008-2009 school year, students have been assaulted by people outside the Whitman community. One student was assaulted and chased on two separate occasions by a small group of young adults. Another student experienced a similar attack outside the library.   The aggressors were never apprehended.

Break-ins in On-Campus Housing

Alongside the student assaults, there have been multiple cases of resident hall break-ins in the past four years. In 2006 a women who was reportedly high on meth and other substances broke into Jewett Hall and was subsequently tackled and restrained by a security officer. She then bit him and was restrained further. That same year, an older man broke into Prentiss Hall and wandered around with the expressed purpose of looking for a student. He burglarized some rooms and was forced to leave. Early in the 2008-2009 school year, a number of the interest houses suffered the burglaries of laptops and televisions. Jewett and Lyman Halls were also hit, but the thieves managed to evade capture.