Many seniors have spent this year researching and writing theses in their major. The Pioneer spoke to three of these seniors about their projects.

Nate Higby – Sociology

The Pioneer: Tell me about the subject of your sociology thesis.

Nate Higby: My thesis is looking at the relationship between demographic information such as race, gender, income, education of those who identify as culturally Deaf and seeing if there’s a relationship between those demographics and various attitudes they might have about cochlear implants, which is a device to enable profoundly Deaf people to hear.

Pio: What does it mean to be culturally Deaf?

NH: It’s a very subjective term, but it’s [people who] adopt the social model of disability. They see that there’s nothing wrong with them … It’s only that society disables them. They adopt that [model], they speak American Sign Language and they actively communicate with other people who identify as culturally Deaf. Those are the three main criteria.

Pio: How do some culturally Deaf people feel about the cochlear implant?

NH: They see it as a device of ethnocide or eugenics. Ninety percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents. Most hearing parents want [their deaf child] to be a hearing person and be able to assimilate into hearing culture … so they choose the cochlear implant. [The culturally Deaf] worry that eventually, over time, their culture would diminish.

Pio: Why did you choose to study this topic?

NH: It’s an important discussion because we’re talking about the potential to wipe out a culture and no one knows that. No one realizes that there’s this community of people whose future might be at risk … I’ve always wanted to tell everyone, to share this debate with other people. I feel like it’s important for them to understand that this whole medical narrative we have, that deafness needs to be fixed, is problematic. I guess it’s kind of my main reasoning for wanting to do my project on this.

Pio: What has been the biggest challenge?

NH: Coming to understand that both sides are right in the way they feel, so trying to come to a conclusion about where to go with this, that’s something I’ve had to think about more.

Alissa Becerril – Religion

The Pioneer: Tell me about the subject of your religion thesis.

Alissa Becerril: This is a thesis on how these Adventist scientists have been able to reject evolution despite the evidence. They’ve been supporting creation. … So how exactly do they teach biology? How do they understand the theory of evolution and how it relates to their faith?

Pio: Why does this topic interest you?

AB: I’m a BBMB major too … I was curious to study [the scientific perspective] through the humanities and look at the history and philosophy of science.

Pio: How have you researched the Adventist approach to science?

AB: There’s a research institute based in California called the Geoscience Research Institute that’s funded by the Adventist Church … I looked at two biologists and how they address issues of evolution within their Adventist faith.

Pio: What have you found?

AB: Their definition of science is more like “the study of nature,” using empirical methods, but there’s this presupposition underneath it that the Bible is true … They use this theistic framework to interpret evidence and study nature. For example, [the human] genome is very similar to a plant genome. They say that it’s actually evidence of a designer that used the same model as with a plant or an ape.

Pio: As someone who studies science at Whitman, where we take evolution for granted, how do you react to such a different approach?

AB: The religion major has helped me. We look at understanding world views, so I’ve come to this conundrum of people rejecting evolution from that context … There is a tendency when you’re talking about science to say what is right and what is wrong. But with religion, you’re talking about world view and respecting, understanding other ideas. When you put these two things in conversation with each other, how do you reconcile those? That’s been hard for me.

Pio: Have you enjoyed your thesis project?

AB: It’s been a lot of fun to think about science in a humanities perspective. When you’re in the science building you’re learning these biological mechanisms, but it’s fun to ask bigger questions. Science does that and religion does that. It’s great when you see how they ask and answer similar questions.

Andrea Chin – Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology

The Pioneer: Tell me about the subject of your BBMB thesis.

Andrea Chin: My thesis is on how stress sensitivity and stress exposure can affect the serotonin system in the hypothalamus of primates.

Pio: How did you start this research?

AC: My project was an internship in the summer of 2013. I was offered the opportunity to work at the Oregon National Primate Research Center, which is part of the Oregon Health and Science University. [My project adviser] was working on neurochemicals, how stress can influence neurochemicals and also how it affects the reproductive system further.

Pio: How did you study this topic?

AC: They had the primates put under a stress control … They knew if they were stress-sensitive or stress-resilient based on whether or not they mensed after stress. They put them under stress and then euthanized them. From that they took the brains out. We had brain slices, basically. From that I stained the serotonin in the brain slices.

Pio: Are your findings generalizable to humans?

AC: The primate model is really well-used, especially in her research, she’s been using it a lot … Stress can stop you from ovulating and stop your menstrual cycle. That can be a major cause of infertility in women. The reason we were looking at stress-sensitivity in individuals; some people are more stress-sensitive and some are more stress-resilient … Looking at how the effects of stress can differ based the individual and how it affects the neurochemicals can change how we treat stress related disorders, especially those related to sub-clinical levels of stress.

Pio: Do you plan to continue this research?

AC: Personally I find it really interesting, but it’s not exactly what I’m interested in. It just happened to be what my research internship was on. I’d like to work in the lab, medical research sort of thing, but I’m more interested in infectious diseases, tuberculosis, malaria, that sort of thing … I intend to study those more in grad school eventually.

From noon to 1 p.m. on Friday, May 1, 272 students, faculty and staff members joined members of ASWC and Divest Whitman in a sit-in to protest the college’s investments in fossil fuels.

During the sit-in, ASWC President senior Tatiana Kaehler presented the recently-passed ASWC Resolution to the Board of Trustees. Unlike previous pieces of legislation regarding divestment, the current ASWC resolution presents what some would consider a more nuanced approach. Rather than demanding complete divestment, the resolution asks that the college’s investments have no more than one percent exposure to funds invested in fossil fuels.

“[It’s] based off of Pitzer College’s divestment,” said Kaehler. “We think that this cap is not only possible for Whitman but will not harm Whitman financially. So setting this cap will allow Whitman to join in the divestment movement and will allow Whitman to make a social stance that’s in line with its values.”

Dani Hupper speaks to those sitting in. Photo by Annabelle Marcovici.

According to ASWC Sustainability Director Dani Hupper, the college’s endowment currently has about 0.75 percent exposure to fossil fuels. The Investment Committee within the Board of Trustees would not have to make any changes in their current investments in order to adopt the resolution.

“We’re at a key moment in time when energy stocks have actually done poorly, so just for financial reasons, we have had our fossil fuel exposure under one percent,” said Hupper.

Hupper also stressed the flexibility of ASWC’s most recent resolution.

“Before we were asking broadly for divestment, we did not have a cap in mind. This time we’re saying that we recognize that there are difficulties to being at an absolute zero … We want to make it realistic for our trustees to divest without having to immediately get rid of [every fund exposed to fossil fuels],” she said.

In addition, this new resolution addresses students’ concerns about the financial impacts of divestment on the college’s endowment and tuition costs.

“We’re asking that, in three years, the board would look into how that is impacting the college financially, because we do understand that we need a strong endowment in order to fund things like scholarships and financial aid. We don’t want it to harm the college,” said Kaehler.

Photo by Annabelle Marcovici.

The Board of Trustees made no commitments in response to the resolution and the accompanying sit-in, but Kaehler was optimistic, saying she expects the trustees to seriously consider the resolution.

“I think the nuanced approach that was taken in the ASWC Resolution, which was written by ASWC members and members of Divest Whitman, is a very strong stance that trustees are open to. The conversation’s going to continue,” said Kaehler in an announcement following her presentation.

The trustees’ response may indicate that Kaehler has good reason to be optimistic.

“The trustees had a very positive conversation with ASWC leadership. We appreciate the thoughtful work they have done, which seems to be a good-faith effort to balance the economic issues associated with management of the endowment with the goals of those who are advocating for divestment,” said chair of the Board of Trustees Brad McMurchie ’84 in an email.

McMurchie also pointed to recent steps the administration has taken to make the college more sustainable and promote environmental consciousness.

“We discussed the work that has been underway this year with faculty, staff, students and governing board members to define concrete steps that can be taken to increase the sustainable nature of our operations and move Whitman towards a carbon-neutral position,” he said.

President George Bridges surveys the sit-in. Photo by Annabelle Marcovici.

The trustees had a busy schedule during their visit to campus, hearing presentations from groups of trustees, overseers, staff faculty and students regarding sustainability, residence life and science facilities. In addition, they heard a presentation from the Student Life Committee on sexual misconduct at Whitman and received updates from the recent visit to campus by the Office of Civil Rights.

Although they were unable to make immediate decisions regarding ASWC’s divestment resolution, the Board of Trustees, according to McMurchie, will seriously consider its proposals.

“I have asked the administration to review the underlying concepts in the ASWC proposal. It is a detailed and substantive proposal, and our intention is to give it similar attention before responding further,” he said.

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This week on the Pio Radio Hour, “Things we Fear.”

– Militarization of the police force, featuring an interview with Kevin Huxoll, head of Walla Walla Police Dept.’s SWAT team

– Climate change: the divestment sit-in

– Income inequality, featuring an interview with Andrew’s father Peter Schwartz, a former Political Science and Philosophy professor who writes about environmental issues

– Graduating from college, featuring interviews with seniors Aleida Fernandez, Grant Rommel and Ryan Jacobsen

Listen here.

The Pio Radio Hour is hosted by Anna Middleton and Andrew Schwartz and produced by Aleida Fernandez.

When a Whittie from outside the Northwest tells friends at home that they go to Whitman College, he or she is often met with a confused look.

“People think I go to junior college,” said junior Emma Altman. “You either get people that have never heard of Whitman or people that have a cousin who goes to Whitman … but it’s about 75 percent ‘What is that?’”

Altman is from Woodbridge, Conn., but her experience is similar to that of many other Whitman students who live farther away from Whitman in regions where it’s lesser-known. Over the past decade, more and more students at Whitman have experienced this challenge, as Whitman has recruited more students from outside the Northwest.

Whitman admissions by region

Though Whitman students have traditionally come from Washington, Oregon and California, in recent years the student body’s geographic diversity has greatly expanded.

“We’ve had huge growth in [applications from] … New England, [the Mid-Atlantic states] and the Southeast, and modest growth in California, the Rocky Mountain States and the Southwest. Our applications from Washington, Oregon and Idaho have stayed relatively flat,” said Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Tony Cabasco.

The college still receives a significant percentage of its applications from states like California and Washington. However, the proportions are shifting.

According to Cabasco, the college admits around 40 percent of applicants from all geographic regions, but the Office of Admission thinks about students from different areas in different ways.

“If you’re from Arkansas or Michigan or Ohio or New York, we wonder why you want to come to Walla Walla,” said Cabasco. “If it’s a student from the Pacific Northwest, in most cases they probably know Whitman, they probably know somebody who went to Whitman, culturally it’s probably a better fit.”

Cabasco sees the arrival of more geographically diverse students at Whitman is a great trend, though not necessarily one with huge consequences.

“When you get here you probably forget where people are from,” he said. “They’re just Whitman students.”

Social Diversity

While regional diversity doesn’t necessarily affect life at Whitman as much as other types of diversity do, students who were raised in different parts of the United States have different social experiences at the college.

“My friends always joke that I’m ‘East Coast aggressive,’” said sophomore Hannah Snyder, of Montclair, N.J. “I’m pretty clear and upfront about what I need, and I have an expectation from other people that they will be the same. A lot of times I’m frustrated [when] people can be more passive-aggressive or just more subtle.”

For Snyder, stereotypical social differences between the east and west coasts reveal themselves in the nuances of conversations on campus. But Snyder hesitated to explain away these interactions as purely regional differences.

“I think two things that are happening: [My friends] are taking stereotypes from the East Coast and putting that on me, and they’re also looking at my behavior and creating these generalizations, like that must be ‘how they are on the East Coast,’” said Snyder.

While these differences in communication styles are likely as much personal as regional, they resonate for many Whitman students from beyond the Northwest.

“Whenever I’m being, in particular, maybe a bit more assertively honest than maybe the typical Whitman student would feel comfortable being, [I say,] ‘Oh, that’s just Connecticut bitch coming out.’ And I’ll say that to people, sort of as an excuse for saying brutally honest things,” said Altman.

These social differences don’t just relate to Whitman culture. Sometimes they reveal larger regional differences between the northwest and other parts of the country.

“I fly into a New York airport. We’ll get onto the highway at midnight and by the time we get home six people have honked at us, one person has flipped us off,” said Altman. “[In Walla Walla,] it’s little things like the people saying hi to you.”

In contrast, junior Carlie Tise of Wimberley, Tex. has noticed that Whitman is sometimes less friendly than her hometown.

“If I go to the grocery store, it’s a social event. I have to be prepared to say hello to everyone I see because I know everyone I see,” said Tise. “Even if you don’t know somebody, you treat them as if you do.”

For some students, spending time in the Northwest makes them realize things about their hometowns that they hadn’t thought much about until they left.

“The reason I am especially happy at Whitman is that people are very open to new ways of thinking, and at home in North Carolina people are very friendly, but they also don’t want to have anyone try to change their mind,” said first-year Olivia Knox, of Greensboro, N.C.

Tise sees it very differently.

“Being religious means a lot to me, and I feel like that’s a part of me that can’t be expressed here,” she said. “I think people see being Christian as closed-minded, when really, that’s what’s closed-minded … There are some ways I was raised that are more conservative. I don’t think I would be shut down, but I definitely wouldn’t feel comfortable talking about some topics here.”

Similarly, Tise has noticed a good deal of stereotyping of the South on campus.

“People tend to get to know me first before they find out I’m from Texas, and then I think they’re so shocked to find out where I’m from,” she said. “People really do have these preconceived ideas of what a Texan would be like, and when they find out who I am, I think they’re surprised because I don’t necessarily fit them. It’s a huge state and clearly not everyone who lives there is going to fit that mold. It’s a huge spectrum, a huge range of political ideologies, etc.”

There is no generalizable Whitman experience for students from the south or from any particular region. Different individuals perceive social life at Whitman differently and sometimes have completely opposite perceptions of the student culture, especially in comparison to their hometowns. For most students from outside of the northwest, though, coming to Whitman requires some sort of social adjustment.

Another challenge for student from other regions is adjusting to the local environment and geography.

“I remember the drive from Pasco to Walla Walla before my SCORE, just being like ‘I don’t know what I did. Maybe this isn’t right for me,’” said Altman. “I never see that much sky at home. I never see that much open space all at once.”

During her time at Whitman, Altman has come to appreciate the rural elements of Walla Walla.

“When I fly to Pasco or Walla Walla, going over this part of the country is really awe-inspiring,” she said. “Sometimes when you fly into Newark, N.J. or something it’s a little depressing. But coming out here is really fantastic. There aren’t really words.”

The eleventh episode of the Pio Radio Hour aired yesterday, April 19, at 10am.

On this episode:

– Reporting about FACE’s annual Take Back the Night event, including interviews with FACE co-president Erika Nkwocha and student feminist Hannah McCarthy.

– A conversation about the Cuban Missile Crisis with Robert Allen Skotheim Chair of History David Schmitz.

– Audio clips and commentary about the Greekend Dance Competition.

– A story all about ants!

Listen to this week’s episode here.

The Pio Radio Hour is hosted by Andrew Schwartz and Anna Middleton and is produced by Aleida Fernandez. Listen at 10am on Sunday mornings on KWCW 90.5

After he completes his presidential term at Whitman College, George Bridges will turn over a new leaf as he takes the role of president at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash.

When Bridges announced his decision to step down from Whitman’s presidency, he did not actively go in search of another presidential position.

“I was not seriously thinking about another presidency. Indeed, I really was thinking about other possibilities, one of which was … to stay here and teach on the faculty,” said Bridges.

Bridges chose to pursue the position of president at Evergreen because of several of the college’s unique aspects, including its lack of a traditional graded collegiate course structure and its commitment to serving underprivileged or nontraditional students.

“The students are interesting, they’re bright, and yet many of them have really struggled just to get to the school and to afford it,” he said. “There’s a high percentage of students that are from very low-income families, and I’ve always enjoyed teaching and working with those students.”

Bridges also cited Evergreen’s involvement with local tribal communities as an attractive feature.

To be offered the position, which attracted a number of highly-qualified candidates, Bridges had to appeal to the Evergreen State College as much as the school attracted him.

“His record of scholarship and advocacy for social justice is a good match with Evergreen’s values,” said Deputy to the President John Carmichael in an email.

“It was clear from our interviews and campus forums, and from speaking with his professional colleagues, that George will be a strong and effective advocate for Evergreen and its bold approach to interdisciplinary teaching and learning,” said Keith Kessler, chair of Evergreen’s Board of Trustees, in a statement released when the college announced their selection.

As Kessler suggests, Bridges has left quite a legacy at Whitman. Bridges credits his time as president of Whitman for his approach to leadership at small colleges, an approach he plans to expand at Evergreen.

Throughout his time at Whitman, Bridges has already faced the challenges of diminished funding and declining applications and enrollment, and he has reversed both of these trends.

“All of those challenges at a very strong college [like Whitman] are the challenges that are being experienced at many public institutions in our state and elsewhere, particularly the reduced funding. I believe that what I can bring to Evergreen, as a part of that community, is knowledge, skills and leadership for how to address those issues,” said Bridges. “I think in a way Whitman has provided me with an education in taking this new position, and I feel very honored to have been appointed the next president.”

As he and his family plan the move to Olympia, Bridges has joked about investing in a waterproof wardrobe. But as he leaves the sunshine of Walla Walla behind, Bridges admits that he will miss the students and alumni, as well as his colleagues at Whitman.

“It’s been an absolute honor to serve here at Whitman. I hope the work I’ve done with the team here has made a difference and improved some aspects of the school and strengthened it,” said Bridges. “At the same time, once you’re a part of Whitman, you don’t ever leave. I don’t ever imagine not being, at least in part, a Whittie.”

Today on The Pio Radio Hour: stories of love and language. Listen here!

– A conversation with Associate Professor of English Mary Raschko, Taylor Middleton and first-year Robin Rounthwaite about the development of English and dialect.

– Students Mira Engel, Chris Hankin, Kai Tsubota, Marta Picoto, Bryce Benson, Julie Kitzerow and Spencer Beck answer 36 questions in an attempt to fall in love (based on a famous activity from the New York Times: read about it here), with varying degrees of success. You can hear this specific segment here.

The Pio Radio Hour is hosted by Andrew Schwartz and Anna Middleton and is produced by Aleida Fernandez. Listen at 10am on Sunday mornings on KWCW 90.5

A member of the Missionary staff interviewed Editor-in-Chief Emma Johnson-Lee and Publisher Elena Hernandez about their time at Whitman College and working for the Missionary.

Missionary: What’s your favorite part of working for the paper?

Emma Johnson-Lee: The fact that the students give us so many things to write about. Rarely does an issue go to press without some mention of students holding a protest or appealing to the trustees. And you’ll always find s0me impassioned activists in our Opinion section.

Elena Hernandez: In some ways it’s like a continuation of the RA position. Reminding people to clean up, encouraging people to use open and active communication skills, wiping away their tears…

M: What will you miss most about The Missionary?

EJL: All the fun times we’ve had together when our editors have been required to bond with us.

EH: Yeah. Mandatory bonding was great. We should mandate some more bonding. Also, Production Night snacks. I love Oreos and salsa. Especially Oreos dipped in salsa. Just trust me on this one.

EJL: I know I’ll miss our WordPress server. It loads really quickly and never crashes.

M: I’ve noticed. Your website is always running smoothly. It’s never down.

EH: Nope. It never is. It’s really fast, too.

M: Do you plan to pursue a career in journalism?

EJL: No, I don’t think a job at a different paper could ever measure up to my experiences at The Missionary.

EH: Nope. I’d be concerned that wherever I worked would remind me too much of my experiences at The Missionary.

M: Any parting words you’d like to add for all your loyal readers out there? There are so many of them.

EJL: Just keep fighting the good fight. Keep on raging against the machine and protesting every single microaggression you witness.

EH: Missionaries, Missionaries. We’re on top.

An ASWC student referendum on support for fossil fuel divestment was put to a vote on Tuesday, March 3. The resolution passed with strong support, with 85.39 percent of voters voting “yes.” More than half of the student body voted on the resolution, with 849 total votes, or a 55.6 percent turnout.

According to sophomore ASWC Sustainability Director Dani Hupper, the text of the referendum is nearly identical to that of the faculty resolution passed in January. The bulk of the work went into the preparing the Faculty Resolution, a process that involved interviewing more than 60 faculty members.

“A lot of the work got done late October, November, and then we finished over [semester] break,” said senior Henry Allen, a member of the Divest Whitman campaign who was closely involved in writing the resolution.

Following the nearly unanimous passage of the faculty resolution, ASWC planned this student referendum as an opportunity for students to demonstrate their support of the faculty’s decision.

“We felt like the faculty resolution so well represented our beliefs on divestment and what we called for,” said Hupper. “All we’re doing [now] is calling for the students to vote on the same thing. That gives it more weight.”

To create the referendum, divestment supporters first had to gather signatures from 150 students, as required by ASWC by-laws. In less than two weeks, supporters gathered 263 signatures, more than enough to require ASWC to hold the vote.

Divestment supporters used many forms of media to reach out to potential voters. Emails listing reasons to support divestment were sent over many list-servs, posters in support of divestment were placed around campus and supporters performed in Prentiss Dining Hall on the day of the referendum, encouraging students to vote “yes.” ASWC also helped promote turnout, reminding students to vote with emails and fliers.

Last spring, the Student Referendum process was used for the first time in recent memory, and although two referendums passed, only one brought about results. The Sustainability Director Act created Hupper’s position, which has been renewed for next year. However, the Student Trustee Resolution was not passed on by ASWC to the Board of Trustees until this October, and its suggestions were rejected by the Board.

Although the students’ opinion supports the faculty vote, whether the Student Referendum will bring about much concrete change remains to be seen, but the Divest Whitman campaign is optimistic.

“It’s one check in a long list of things we want to do to put pressure on [the trustees],” said senior Ari Ronai-Durning, who was involved in writing the Faculty Resolution and the Student Referendum.

Hupper reiterated these sentiments.

“Nobody thinks that there will be big change coming from divestment or this legislation. But we do think that constant pressure on the Board of Trustees with faculty pressure, with student pressure, with pressure from alumni, all that adds up to hopefully eventual divestment,” said Hupper.

Supporters of Divestment perform in Prentiss Dining Hall. Photo by Tywen Kelly.