The college provides students rich opportunities for leadership roles and for contributing to policy formulation, and it supports an active campus social life; a comprehensive wellness program; excellent recreational programs, including varsity competition and an extensive program of intramural sports; and a wide-ranging program of extracurricular student activities. Two guiding principles that underlie our approach to the cocurricular are that connection is preferable to separation and that embracing diversity is an important component of student learning.

The offices of the Dean of Students and the Provost and Dean of the Faculty direct and coordinate a wide range of student services. The Dean of Students coordinates new-student orientation, housing and residential life, food services, counseling, health services, the career center, the intercultural center, the academic resource center, security, and the campus center. The Provost and Dean of the Faculty coordinates premajor and academic advising, postgraduate fellowship and scholarship programs, foreign study, and athletics.

The Residential Campus

Residence halls and houses are designed to assist students to succeed academically and to develop personally. Residential living is an integral part of the Whitman educational experience. All single undergraduate students who are under 21 years of age at the start of each semester and have not yet lived on campus for four semesters are required to live on campus. No designated family housing is available on campus.

Students may select from a variety of residences. With the exception of Prentiss Hall all residential facilities are coeducational. Three residence halls are clustered on the south side of the campus: Anderson Hall, for 138 students; William O. Douglas Hall, for 70 students in suites of eight students each; and Prentiss Hall, a residence for 145 women, houses the three Whitman sororities as well as women not affiliated with a sorority. College House provides apartment-style living with kitchen facilities for 37 students. Jewett Hall houses 167 students, Lyman House is a traditional hall with two-room suites for 99 students, and Marcus House provides space for 27 students with mostly single rooms. North Hall, which houses 70 residents, is a choice for returning and transfer students featuring mostly single and double rooms.

Coed language houses, such as French, Japanese, Spanish, and German, further the academic and cultural interests of students studying a foreign language. Approximately six to nine students as well as a native speaker reside in each house.

Other special-interest houses are the Multi-Ethnic Center for Cultural Awareness (MECCA), which fosters communication between minority and international students and the Whitman community; the Environmental House, focusing on environmental and ecological issues; the Fine Arts House, which promotes programs emphasizing studio art, theater, and music; the Global Awareness House, which focuses on world issues such as hunger, population, and human rights; the Asian Studies House, formed to promote understanding of Asian culture and issues; and the Writing House, which provides resources to encourage the growth of writing as a discipline. The Community Service House encourages discussions of service issues among students and the Whitman community and has a community services requirement. Tamarac House programs outdoor-themed activities.

Four national fraternities maintain chapter houses near the campus. Each has its own dining, sleeping, study, and recreational facilities.

Just as it is important to live on campus, it is equally important to eat on campus. Eating on campus helps to integrate the student into the campus, provides the opportunity for sections to spend time together, contributes to community within the halls, and allows further opportunity for students to interact with faculty outside the classroom. The college operates three dining halls, located in Jewett, Lyman, and Prentiss halls. Students who live in the residence halls are required to subscribe to a board plan (see exceptions under “Board” in the Charges section). Dinners are delivered to the interest houses Monday-Thursday for communal family-style dining. Students living off-campus are encouraged to eat noon meals in college dining halls and may subscribe to one of several board plans.

While it is difficult for the college to provide highly specialized diets in the dining halls, Bon Appétit (the college’s food service provider), as well as the Health Center, will work with students who have dietary concerns. There are vegetarian and vegan alternatives at every meal. Residents of the college-owned halls may eat in any of the dining rooms, while residents of the fraternities normally subscribe to their own dining services.