1990-1991

The Faculty Bob Withycombe, Director of Forensics Pete Messer, Assistant Director

Whitman News

A. New faculty staff and administrators joined Whitman.

1. Professor Edward Dixon joined Whitman Music Department. He conducted the Whitman College Chamber Orchestra, taught cello, string bass and music theory.

2. Paul Hoornbeek was a visiting professor of English.

3. Rory Cornish was a visiting professor of History from London.

4. Tom Olson was the new ski coach added to Whitman College Athletic Department.

5. New visiting professor Joe Thomas joined Whitman’s Art Department.

6. Barbara Panzl began work at Whitman College as Assistant Dean of Students.

7. James B. Nicola was Harper Joy Theater’s first guest director.

B. Keith Promisel was the student body president during the fall semester, and Jodi Hanson was elected in spring as the new student body president.

C. David Maxwell was the college president.

D. Bob Withycombe was the debate coach of Whitman College and was also elected to office in the National Forensics Association.

E. Pete Messer was hired as a part time debate coach.

F. The big debate was whether Whitman College should go curriculum changes.

G. Tuition increased 10% to meet student expectations.

H. Smoking was restricted in the SUB because of a petition of 140 students.

I. Alcohol banned at interest house ACs.

J. Whitman students react to War in the Persian Gulf. They protested against war and asked for peaceful means to resolving the conflict.

K. Senator Slade Gorton visited Whitman College in April.

L. The pioneer ran adds about Nutri/system and weight loss centers.

M. A four phase Student Life Enhancement Project started. The project included building a new central dining facility, renovating both Lyman and Prentiss and building a campus field house. The central dining facility and the campus field house were never done.

N. Penrose Library underwent some changes and improvements as well. A new library system was installed, worth nearly $200,000.

Speech Courses

Speech Department Description: Courses treat public speaking as a liberal art, proposing that such speaking is not a skill learned by rule but an exercise of judgment that can be no better than the speaker's understanding of the nature of the communicative acts.

SPEECH 110. Fundamentals of Speech, 3 hours.

SPEECH 221, 222. Principles and Practice of Forensics, 1 hours (individual events), 2 hours (debate). 

SPEECH 270. Argumentation and Persuasion, 3 hours.

SPEECH 370. Seminar: Western Rhetorical Thinking, 3 hours.

SPEECH 379, 380. Special Topics Courses. (Not offered)

SPEECH 401, 402. Independent Study.

World News

A. ANC and other antiapartheid forces saw the economic isolation of South Africa as the key to end apartheid.

B. On January 16, one day after the deadline President Bush had given to Saddam Hussein for withdrawing from Kuwait, the United States began bombing Iraq. The Persian Gulf oil crisis became the center of world’s attention.

C. The crisis in Middle East raised concerns about the American intervention.

Protests started all over the US. Whitman students travel to San Francisco to join as many as 250,000 other protesters from all around the nation. Tensions and egos mounted in Middle East. On January 30 Iraq invaded Saudi town in Kuwait. On February 27 Bush ordered cease-fire and Iraq agreed to meet all the UN demands and to leave Kuwait.

D. Turmoil and unrest in a changing China. Socialism was not the best for China.

Team Awards

IV. Debate at Whitman College

A. This years debate topic was: “ Resolved: That government censorship of public artistic expression in the United States is an undesirable infringement on individual rights.”

B. Intercollegiate debate

1. Five debate teams competed at Western Washington University in Bellingham in September. Whitman’s debaters had an overall record of 14 wins and 16 losses. Susan Meister and Jean Tobin led Whitman with 4 wins and 2 losses. Another tournament was held at Lewis and Clark College on October 12.

2. Twenty-one schools participated at Western Washington tournament in February. Whitman College had a remarkable success and was placed the 1^st. Christina Olson and Jennifer Becker were the 3^rd in the junior division. Jason Lillis was 1^st in junior Persuasion; Jean Tobin was 1^st in senior Persuasion and 1^st in William O. Douglas competition. Dorine Lawrence and Todd Myers were 1^st and 2^nd in Communication Analysis, and Derek Buescher 1^st in senior Extemporaneous. Other debaters that qualified for elimination rounds were Smith, Schnorr, McClusky and Kreizenbeck.

3. Twenty-seven schools participated at Whitman College tournament held on campus in the beginning of March. Whitman was placed the third. In individual events Junior Derek Buescher finished first in Senior division impromptu, Todd Myers finished 1^st in After Dinner Speech and fourth in Communication Analysis, Jean Tobin finished fourth in Senior division Persuasion and Jason Lillis finished fourth in Senior Persuasion. Three Whitman debate teams reached finalist rounds. In the junior division Jennifer Becker and Christian Olson, Todd Myers and Greg Schnorr reached quarter finals in open division, and the team of Derek Buescher and Charlotte Smith reached the semifinal round.

4. At the beginning of the spring break Whitman College competed at the Northwest Championships of the Cross-Examination Debate Association. Charlotte Smith and Derek Buescher lost in the final round to the University of Oregon, while Gregg Schnorr and Todd Myers lost to the same team in quarterfinals. During the spring break another tournament was held in Reno and Whitman College had a team that reached the semi-final rounds, Becker and Olson. The same team was sent this year, at Towson State University in Baltimore. Christiana Olson and Jennifer Becker went 6-2 in preliminary rounds and lost in octafinals.

5. 150 schools competed in the debate nationals at Western Washington University in Bellingham. Two teams from Whitman Smith and Buescher, and Myers and Schnorr won four rounds and lost four in preliminary rounds.