Whitman Stories

Laura Krantz’s career has taken a few turns, but the wildest of them all is the one that got her researching Bigfoot and aliens. As she releases the second season of her hit podcast “Wild Thing” it is worth looking back to the origins of Krantz’s stories. How exactly does a history major and daily news journalist become involved in producing a podcast that tells the stories of questionable beings such as sasquatch and aliens? Krantz ’00 says it all started with a shared last name.

Whitman College and Walla Walla University are both planning to bring students back to campus in January. Officials at Whitman College and Walla Walla University announced their plans earlier this fall. “We have learned a great deal more about the virus,” Whitman College President Kathleen Murray said. “We have also learned from institutions that did well this fall, as well as institutions that struggled.”

An online survey conducted out of Whitman College found more than half of Washingtonians say they have delayed medical visits this year. The findings underscore widespread concerns about disruptions to health care during the pandemic. Researchers from the college in Walla Walla asked more than 2,300 Washingtonians if they experienced delayed medical care due to COVID-19.

Jonathan Weinberg '22 has wanted to make an influence on the education system in his hometown since he was a student in the district, not too many years ago. When an opportunity presented itself in the form of an opening on the school board, the junior philosophy major at Whitman felt called to step forward.

A global pandemic. Social unrest. A presidential election year. Across the nation and college campuses, 2020 has upped stress and anxiety to exhausting levels.That’s why counselors representing the Walla Walla Tri-Colleges came together to provide self-care tips and resources for students, faculty and staff across the three communities.

Although musicians have to deal with a variety of limitations, many students are still enjoying making music from home or the Whitman practice rooms.

The Princeton Review has ranked Whitman No. 9 among the 2021 Top 50 Green Colleges. Whitman ranked highest among schools from the Pacific Northwest. This ranking acknowledges the college’s efforts to promote sustainability and environmental responsibility on and off campus. The Princeton Review determines a school’s rating based on comprehensive measures of being an “environmentally aware and prepared institution.”

As the election nears, Whitman’s virtual campus has been abuzz with voter registration events, presidential debate watch parties, guest lectures and more. Whitman College faculty, students, staff and alumni have incorporated crucial voter education, activism and involvement into their busy schedules. In 2016, the last presidential election year, nearly 74 percent of eligible Whitman students voted according to campus voting data from the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education.

"Our moment of crisis, which should be both welcomed and deepened, calls for the rendering of judgment on the following question: will the majority of the country allow an anti-constitutional minority, empowered by an anti-democratic constitution, to rule in perpetuity?"

“Disgust likely evolved to keep us away from sources of pathogens,” said Tom Armstrong, assistant professor of psychology at Whitman College in Washington State. “Creepy crawly insects could be repellent because they tend to live in dark, damp places where bacteria thrive. Some may be human parasites, whereas others could transmit disease. While worms or maggots in food may not be harmful in themselves, they could indicate that food has been compromised by pathogens.”

In response to the global and national events of 2020, Whitman has selected "Race, Violence, and Health" as its first academic theme to help students navigate trying and transformative times.

Pahlke writes that most children today know very little about the history of women’s rights in the U.S., including the suffrage movement or the fact that a woman has never served as president or vice president.