EDITOR,

Unless you have been living under a rock––or large boulder for that matter––for the last year or so, you might have realized that the economy has been struggling just a tad. You might have felt this economic pinch when trying to figure out how to pay the gross lump sum that allows you to come to this institution and play frisbee, sing in t-tones, creep around with nerf guns at two in the morning, go rock climbing, take music lessons, eat at the dining halls, drink beer, and possibly learn something. The reason I have come to this school (other than to get an education and succeed at life and all that bull) was to ski race. I know that all you have something that gets you fired up and you would go crazy without. This may sound trivial and childish to most of you but my passion is ski racing. This sport has drained me of countless hours of quality party, study, and sleep time but it doesn’t stop me because I cannot imagine living without it, not to sound like a sappy love story. However, today at 4:30 p.m. my greatest fear came to life when my coach revealed to me and the rest of my team that the program has been dropped due to financial constraints of Whitman College. Now I don’t know if you can imagine what it would be like for the thing you most care about to be taken away, but it has really crushed me and a number of others at this school. So what can we do? We could say screw this and cry about it like little three year olds, or be grown-ups and discuss the issue like civilized individuals, around a keg (just kidding). Really though, Whitman students love to be informed and if not should really consider being so; therefore I strongly recommend that if you did not attend the forum yesterday (3/11) at Maxey you should attend the one after break April 2. Here the students will have a chance to question President Bridges, Dean Snider, and Lori Bettison-Varga (Provost and Dean of Faculty) about the current budget constraints at Whitman, and in particular why the school would cut a program that so many people love in hopes of saving 50,000 dollars. Well, I got to do the obscene amount of work that is piling up, but please, I beg you to come to the meeting and support your fellow peers because it has more effect on you than you think. Hope to see you there.

– Chris Machesney ’12