The Whitman College Bookstore sees a rush of students  buying textbooks at the beginning of each semester, and while those transactions are not representative of shopping habits throughout the year,...
Living and studying at Whitman College is expensive. Tuition increases every year, and living on campus is costly. And what about those costs that students don't necessarily budget in? Eating in town, going on a date, participating in Greek life and paying for alcohol are all expenses that new (and old) students end up stuck with. These extra expenses add up, and students don't always see them coming.
The priority of any institution for higher education is to endow knowledge and to allow students to explore intellectual interests. Yet at a college like Whitman with few commuting students, there are other needs that must be met: food and shelter.
