Thursday, February 24, 2022

Supporting International Students from Eastern Europe and Each Other

A Message from John Johnson, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion and Kazi Joshua, Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students

While the world considers how to respond to last night's Russian invasion of Ukraine, staff from the Dean of Students Office and International Student and Scholar Services are working to offer support to our community members with close ties to those areas, specifically students from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. We ask that all our community be sensitive to the specific needs of our students from Eastern Europe during this particularly difficult time. 

 

We also know that the situation in Ukraine may be upsetting for many in our community, regardless of your home country. If you feel this week’s events are impacting your emotional or mental health, please reach out to your network of support and, if necessary, take advantage of the various resources available through the Counseling Center or our new teletherapy partnership with Uwill. If you have concerns about a student, you can reach out to Whitman’s CARE team at whitman.edu/care. Employees also have access to counseling through Canopy, Whitman's employee assistance program.

Today you have the opportunity to learn from 16 different sessions of the Power & Privilege (P&P) Symposium. All classes are cancelled to allow for a full day of in-person and online sessions led by members of the Whitman community. Check out the P&P schedule page to determine which sessions you'll attend.

 

As you prepare, remember these best practices for engagement from the P&P leadership team:

• Actively participate. Engagement is essential for critical conversations, increased understanding of each other’s identities and movement towards change.
• Commit to change. This day should influence how you approach social issues throughout the rest of your life. When you commit to trying to fix an problem, you motivate others to join you in the process of sustained change. If opting to stay neutral is easy for you, it is essential to remember that some simply do not have choice of opting out. This day is only one installment in a larger movement to make Whitman a more inclusive space.
• Stay the course. People often turn away from these conversations because they fear they might look ignorant. Don’t be intimidated or let yourself be deterred when it comes to having hard conversations. 
• Remember that we are in a learning environment. If you do not understand other people’s positions of oppression because you are not in them yourself, continue to ask questions, share and listen.
• Treat each other with dignity and respect. Respect the opinions of others even if you do not agree with or understand their perspectives. Hate speech, discriminatory speech and any forms of degradation are unacceptable.

Noteworthy

Heimbrock Presents in Reproductive Choice Webinar

First-year Bex Heimbrock appeared as a panelist in the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice “Massacre Generation” webinar, discussing the impacts of domestic terrorism and legislative violence on the reproductive choices and other life decisions of Generation Z.

Blavascunus’ Work on Poland-Belarus Border in National Geographic

A recent National Geographic article on work to build a 116-mile long fence through a forest on the Poland-Belarus border features information from Eunice Blavascunus, associate professor of anthropology and environmental studies. Human rights groups and conservationists warn it will damage fragile ecosystems, including Białowieża Forest, which Blavascunas wrote about in her book “Foresters, Borders, and Bark Beetles: The Future of Europe's Last Primeval Forest.” 

Janning Shares Insights on Cultural Values and Breakups

Michelle Janning, professor of sociology and author of “Love Letters: Saving Romance in the Digital Age,” explains in an ELLE magazine article on celebrity break-ups how couples control the presentation of their love story to others. Janning says that for celebrity couples, relationships and breakups “are happening in a marketplace where their image as people who abide by romantic values is a lot more scrutinized, and therefore probably a lot more controlled because their livelihoods depend on it.”

Five Blues Named To NWC Women’s Basketball All-Conference Team

After a historic regular season that saw the Whitman College women’s basketball team run the conference table, the Blues had five members named to the Northwest All-Conference Women’s Basketball Team, announced Wednesday by the league office. Michelle Ferenz was named NWC Coach of the Year, senior chemistry-environmental studies major Kaylie McCracken first team, and junior psychology major Sydney Abbott second team. Senior psychology and biology major Kaelan Shamseldin and sophomore Korin Baker both received honorable mentions.

Le Garners NWC Women’s Tennis Weekly Honor

After two impressive wins over the weekend, junior politics major Angel Le has been named the Northwest Conference’s Women’s Tennis Student-Athlete of the Week. Le guided the Blues to a big 9-0 conference opening win at Whitworth. She played on the No. 1 courts in both singles and doubles, winning with partner first-year Arianna Castellanos in doubles and then recording a 6-1, 6-0 straight-set win in singles.

Photo: Moorhouse, Lee Major, photographer. “Kalyton and Wife, Both in Native Dress and On Horseback, One with Headdress; Council House and Tipi in Background 1900,” ca. 1900. Retrieved from the Plateau Peoples' Web Portal.

 

From Cheysen Cabuyadao-Sipe, junior anthropology major and president of the Indigenous People's Education and Culture Club (IPECC), and Jaden McGinty, junior anthropology-environmental studies major and IPECC treasurer.

 

The Long Tents that symbolize the homes of the Cayuse, Umatilla, Walla Walla, Nez Perce, Shoshone and many other Indigenous peoples of the Plateau are revered as fundamental spaces of learning, connecting and growing. Before the Plateau was colonized, Long Tents dotted the land, especially in places such as the Walla Walla Valley, where a wide array of tribes met to trade on their way to Celilo Falls.

 

As we build our own spaces of learning, connecting and growing today at the Power & Privilege Symposium, we should remind ourselves where we reside. These are not our homelands; we are mere visitors who represent a diverse array of perspectives in Walla Walla. So, as we ask ourselves to go “Beyond the Bare Minimum” for all manner of important issues and ideas today, we should reserve a space in our minds to learn about and discuss these uncomfortable questions: Who are we in this land? How do we impact the peoples whose homelands we occupy? How can we do better?

 

We must connect as a community and listen to each other in order to grow.

Whitman Women's Basketball Playoff Game Tonight

Come to Sherwood tonight to support the top-seeded Whitman's Women's Basketball team in the first game of the Northwest Conference Playoffs! The doors open at 6 p.m. for a 7 p.m. game time.

 

Students get in free with their WID! Faculty, staff and the general public must purchase tickets through the NWC Basketball Tickets website. Whitman fans are encouraged to mimic the weather and create a "white-out" in Sherwood by wearing their white Whitman gear to the game! 

 

The game can also be watched online. For complete information, as well as for information on the Whitman men's basketball team's game tonight at Linfield University, visit the Whitman Athletics website.

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