The Travesty Of Arendian Bathrooms
A week or so before school let out for Christmas, a survey of sorts was put up in the bathrooms of Arend as to the temperature inside the building. Hallmates were asked to vote as to their preferences, being warned that if more votes were counted than people who lived in the hall, the votes would be discounted. I don’t live in Arend, so I read and basically disregarded, although I personally thought things were fine.
Said survey was apparently some form of cruel joke.
Tonight I was in Arend 2nd West for the purpose of watching some episodes of the British show “The IT Crowd.” If you haven’t seen it or heard of it, it’s HILARIOUS, as well as being posessed of a really catchy theme song, so I suggest you check it out ASAP. But that’s not what this is about.
After a while, biological processes being what they are, I found myself visiting the bathroom on 1st West (since 2nd West is a guy hall, and I’m not a guy. Despite the guy-esque name.) I hopped down the stairs, through the double doors to 1st West, and entered the bathroom.
Dear.
God.
Not only was it freezing cold in there, I realized as I slammed the stall door shut and shiveringly tried to get my business over with as soon as possible, THE AIR CONDITIONER WAS ON. Cold air was being actively blown into the bathroom. I believe it may actually have been colder in the bathroom than it was outside.
I rushed to the sink, washed my hands in record time, and turned with relief to the hand dryer. At least it would be warm.
NO.
IT WAS NOT.
THE HAND DRYER WAS BLOWING COLD AIR.
I persevered bravely for about thirty seconds before I gave up and ran sobbing up the stairs to use my friend’s towel instead.
I dedicate this sordid tale to whoever is reponsible for the temperature of Arend’s bathrooms. DO SOMETHING. I BEG OF YOU.
Major Pluses and Minuses
Okay, writing a little about the Westminster lounge and faculty in response to Corey’s list has encouraged me to post a little list of my own: a list of my favorite things about my majors. I’m hoping you’ll also share what you like about your major(s), and then we can all bask in how much we love Whitworth. (Seriously, there’s a lot of negativity in talk about Whitworth, which is sometimes necessary, but there’s also a lot to appreciate.)
These are numbered not out of preference or priority, but for convenience.
Major: English
The good:
1. Faculty. Not only is this department peopled by legends, but the internal relations among professors are amazing. In the [70’s?] when, for financial reasons, Whitworth had to cut one faculty position from each of several departments, the English professors got creative. Knowing that the position would be restored once finances were better, the English professors chose to take turns in taking a one-year leave. I think Vic Bobb even took more than his share of the blow, because he could make enough money freelancing, and other professors had bigger families, etc., to worry about.
2.Westminster. Sure, the desks in 206 can’t fit an 8½x11 sheet of paper. Sure, the upstairs women’s restroom is about 4’x4’, and the downstairs one is creepy to the max. But the building has character. And more importantly: couches. And computers, and a printer, and English majors, and the Fortunado closet. What more could you want? Read more
Spokane’s Pirate Radio Runs Aground
Get ready to kiss Whitworth’s student-run radio station goodbye. After years of broadcasting in the shadow of larger college stations — Gonzaga’s classical station or Eastern Washington’s all-jazz, for example — what was once just the underdog is now going under. Come next year, KWRS will abandon its slice of the FM dial and go web-only.
It’s a deadline that’s been looming for years, since nearly a decade has passed since Whitworth’s administrators elected to let the institution’s hold on 90.3 FM run out. If conversations with past general managers of the station are to be believed, Whitworth didn’t think it was worth their while to keep its “unprofessional” student DJs on the airwaves.
And were they so wrong? The problems of Whitworth’s radio program feed on themselves to make the situation worse. A lack of support from the college has bred unprofessionalism in the students; that unprofessionalism is pointed to when support is scaled back still further; and on and on it goes. Whitworth’s students — both radio staff and listeners — deserve better.