Whitman College Magazine Winter 2022

STUDENT LIFE
Living in
Wellness
Whitman Awarded a Grant to
Support Students in Recovery
adjusting to college life can be a challenge for
any student, but perhaps especially so for those who
are in recovery from substance misuse. With two
new programs introduced in the 2021-2022 academic
year, Whitman is actively creating a more supportive
environment for those students.
Wellness House, the newest residence in Whitman’s
Interest House Community (IHC), created with the help
of a $60,000 grant from Washington State University’s
Collegiate Recovery Grant Program, is believed to be the
first sober living house on a Washington state college
campus. However, the programming doesn’t focus on
the absence of substances but centers around positive
lifestyle elements instead.
Like Whitman’s other Interest Houses, such as La
Casa Hispana and the Fine Arts House, the Wellness
House residents—aided by Resident Advisor Shemaya
Griffin, a junior psychology major from Chicago—are
responsible for hosting regular house programs. Past
activities included a get-together where students were
VISITING VOICES
as a technology reporter
for The New York Times,
Cecilia Kang, a Whitman
Class of 1994 graduate, has
spent years investigating
Facebook. Her book “An
Ugly Truth,” cowritten with
fellow NYT reporter Sheera
Frenkel and published in June
2021, explores the deleterious effects the social media
giant has had on society and on democracy itself.
Based on more than 400 interviews with highlevel
sources at Facebook, the exposé claims that
despite the company’s lip service to stamping
out disinformation and dangerous rhetoric, it
intentionally allows a platform for these due to
company policies that place growth above all else.
supplied craft materials and encouraged to write love
letters to themselves, which they could later look back
at for affirmation.
“My goal for programing is to have a space where
the students who live in the house and who visit can
learn some daily wellness practices, but also just
come to relax and take a break,” says Griffin.
The initial grant, supplemented by a subsequent
$20,000 award, has also helped establish a program
of group meetings for students on campus facilitated
by the Walla Walla-based organization Trilogy
Recovery. The students-only meetings are based
on the Self-Management and Recovery Training
(SMART) program, which is designed to help
participants feel empowered to change and to provide
guidance toward leading fulfilling and balanced lives.
Journalist Cecilia Kang ’94
Shares ‘Ugly Truth’
One piece of proof the book offers is a memo written
by Facebook veteran Andrew Bosworth that inspired
its title. “The ugly truth is that we believe anything
that allows us to connect more people more often
is de facto good … Maybe it costs a life by exposing
someone to bullies. Maybe someone dies in a terrorist
attack coordinated by our tools. And still we connect
people,” he wrote.
In September 2021, Kang returned to Whitman for
a President’s Advisory Board meeting and tacked on a
speaking engagement, where she said one of the goals
of the book was to show readers how Facebook’s
manipulation of data in turn manipulates users.
“If you understand how the machine works, you
realize you have agency … understanding the
business is empowering,” Kang told the audience.
Watch the event at whitman.edu/magazine.
RANKINGS
Great
Times
Eight
We knew it—and the
Princeton Review has
once again confirmed it:
Whitman College is one of
the country’s best.
In addition to being
included on Best Western
Colleges and Best Value
Colleges lists in the 2022
“The Best 387 Colleges”
guide, Whitman also was
ranked No. 2 on the list
of Top 20 Best Schools
for Making an Impact
among private institutions
and, for the fifth year in
a row, placed No. 9 in
Green Colleges.
The current guide—the
30th anniversary edition—
also featured a special
“Great Lists” section highlighting
the schools that
have consistently placed
in their “Best of” rankings
over the past three decades.
Whitman College earned a
spot on eight of those lists:
• Most Loved Colleges.
• Great Quality of Life.
• Great Classroom
Experience.
• Great Professors.
• Great College Library.
• Great Health Services.
• Great Professor
Accessibility.
• Great Intramural Sports.
WINTER 2022 / 7