Whitman news since 1896

Whitman Wire

Vol. CLIV, Issue 6
Whitman news since 1896

Whitman Wire

Whitman news since 1896

Whitman Wire

Learning a second language should be a requisite for all

Maura Kelly, Opinion Columnist April 13, 2023

Language is one of those things where, if I ruminate on it too long, I get amazingly overwhelmed and it starts to seem unbelievable. The number of languages in the world is incredible, and the countless...

Photo contributed by Jake Lee.

Language learning, language loss

Anna Shimkus, Feature Writer October 27, 2022

“Am I allowed to swear in this interview?” asked first-year Aubrey Nickle. My finger hovered over the voice memo record button.  Regardless of my answer, she continued buzzing around her room,...

Illustration by Anna Stone.

Whitman’s Chinese department celebrates new growth after addition of major

Alexa Grechishkin, Campus Life Reporter April 7, 2022

This year, 2022, is the first year Whitman students will have the opportunity to graduate with a Chinese major, signaling the growing strength of the program. Despite its small size, the Chinese department...

This translates to continue, with regards to the continuing commitment of faculty and students for the development of an Arabic program at Whitman. Text contributed by Bash Haidar.

Nicholas Champions Revival of Arabic at Whitman

Tywen Kelly, Publisher February 22, 2018

On Saturday, Jan. 27 at 11:50 a.m., Olivia Nicholas sent out a survey to the student listserv with two short questions: “Do you believe Arabic courses should be offered at Whitman?” and “If Arabic...

Seeking and Finding

Nikolaus Kennelly, Columnist March 9, 2017

Why is it that so often those most likely to talk about the virtues of detachment struggle the most with their obsessions? To take an example, Herman Hesse, the great writer of "Siddhartha," suffered breakdowns...

Illustration by Meg Cuca

Learning in another Language

Rina Cakrani, Columnist February 9, 2017

Seeing that Whitman has a cultural pluralism/language requirement and many students do in fact speak one or more languages other than their first language, I thought it would be interesting to give...

Check out “A Way With Words”

January 24, 2016

Hello readers. It's been a while. I was abroad last semester in Argentina. Needless to say, I'm excited to get back to blogging. At some point I'm hoping to write about the linguistic points of interest...

In Search of the Transcendent Icebreaker

Tino Mori, Columnist October 28, 2015

Illustration by Catalina Burch. Starting conversations is an uncomfortable business. Enunciating words requires a concerted effort, while excessive eye contact with the wrong fellow is liable to result...

Language, Gender, and Patriarchy

Hillary Smith March 12, 2014
Examining the ways in which gendered language perpetuates our patriarchal society.

The Demise of the English Language

Sam Chapman March 13, 2012

Let me preface by acknowledging that I idealize the past; it's fallacious to assume that bygone days saw the meanest peasants talking like Shakespearean dukes. That said, I believe social media is hastening...

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