Whitman news since 1896

Whitman Wire

Vol. CLIV, Issue 6
Whitman news since 1896

Whitman Wire

Whitman news since 1896

Whitman Wire

Illustration by Meg Cuca

Dear Mom: Alcohol Advice

Mom February 23, 2017

Dear Mom, I am a Whitman sophomore and I am worried that I go out too much—I have a lot of fun getting drunk with my friends and I drink usually three nights a week. I know that this behavior isn’t...

Illustration by Claire Revere

Alcohol at Whitman: Blues and Booze

Katharine Gillen and Olivia Gilbert November 10, 2016

Ever dreamed of grabbing a beer with a professor or fellow student after class at a convenient on-campus location? Although it’s not yet possible, seniors Mitchell Cutter and Spencer Mueller seek to...

Illustration by Claire Revere

America can’t handle its drinks

Rina Cakrani, Columnist October 12, 2016

One of the things that has surprised me the most about college life in the US is the way many college students don’t know how to deal with alcohol. There is this particular attitude towards alcohol...

Movie Drinking Games

Nathan Fisher October 3, 2014

Last Thursday, I was curling up on my couch with a nice glass of wine getting ready to start my Shonda Rhimes night with "Scandal" and "Grey's Anatomy" when it dawned on me that hey, I'm drinking a glass...

Getting Adventurous with Drunken City

Getting Adventurous with ‘Drunken City’

James Kennedy November 14, 2013
The Pioneer sits down with the leads and the director of Harper Joy's new play, Drunken City.
Lets Drink to The Worlds End

Let’s Drink to ‘The World’s End’

Nathan Fisher October 17, 2013
With my 21st birthday approaching in February and the end of three-fourths of my college years looming in May, I feel a crisis coming on that I might actually have to grow up and make adult decisions... Nah, that’s not gonna happen just yet, because denial is still an option/my best friend.

Why Whitties Drink: The Overlooked Reasons

Dani Hupper October 3, 2013
Loosening the mood and lowering inhibitions are not the only reasons Whitman students consume alcohol. In fact, the use of alcohol is most strongly promoted when it's not even in our presence.

Debate Team Moves Forward Amidst Disagreements About Supervision and Policy

Shelly Le May 20, 2013
Following last spring's Title IX investigation, a number of concerns have been raised regarding the relationship between students and assistant coaches and the administration's expectation and treatment of these coaches. Assistant coaches are almost always recent graduates, often just a year removed from being Whitman students. Despite their closeness in age to members of the team, they are hired as members of Whitman’s instructional staff and are expected to conform to the same codes of conduct as other staff members. In moving forward, members of the debate team hope there can be more positive and open communication from the administration, starting with the hiring of a new Director of Forensics. Steps to begin this process had been underway with the creation of an advisory group consisting of alumni, current debaters and a faculty member to provide input for a new director.

As Longtime Coach Steps Down, Debate Culture Under Scrutiny

Shelly Le May 20, 2013
In the last week of April of this year, Director of Forensics Jim Hanson announced he would be stepping down from his role coaching Whitman’s debate team in order to take a position as chair of the newly created rhetoric studies department. Hanson has been coaching debate at Whitman for two decades and has been widely credited with getting the team to its position of national prominence today. In the weeks following his announcement of resignation, debate alumni, students and faculty have raised questions about Hanson’s decision and the administration’s handling of the change, given that a new coach had not yet been selected for Whitman’s nationally ranked team when Hanson stepped down. Many alumni and debaters have suggested that Hanson’s change of position was not a voluntary choice, a charge which he has declined to comment on. While the college is legally prohibited from discussing the reasons why Hanson stepped down due to laws about employee confidentiality, Hanson’s decision came in the wake of greater administrative focus on the debate team. A three-week investigation by The Pioneer has confirmed that the team was the focus of a Title IX investigation during the spring of 2012, and that other administrative concerns were raised about sexual harassment and treatment of women on the team, as well as about the supervision of assistant debate coaches, most of whom are recently graduated students. The college’s Title IX investigation into the team has been the focus of discussions about Hanson stepping down, but the full story involves earlier concerns raised about team culture, including the treatment of women on the team.
Infographic by Cara Patten

Whitman Drinking Statistics

Elena Aragon February 2, 2012
Whittie drinking habits on a typical weekend.... PIE CHART STYLE!
Illustration: MaryAnne Bowen

Bad to the Bone: A dining hall drinking game

caricortez October 13, 2011

Complaining about Bon Appétit (or as they call it at Lewis and Clark, "The Bone") is an age-old pastime at Whitman, going back many, many centuries. But what people need to realize is that it's all...

Party Mentality, even at Whitman

William Witwer April 29, 2010
Even at Whitman the "Party Mentality" exists. What should we do about it?
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