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"THERE'S MY LIFE":
STUDENTS ON THEIR PHONES

Bhavesh Gulrajani
Campus Life Reporter

Go to the "Settings" app in your phone — how many hours of screen time have you logged today? Did you use your phone while you were in class or while eating lunch with a friend? Most people will agree that there is something aesthetically unpleasant about walking into a room and seeing everyone staring down at their cell phones. Yet, we are almost all guilty of using our phones while we wait for our coffee order in Cleveland or as we walk across Ankeny between classes. Whitman students reflect on their phone usage and the varying reasons they do or do not constantly check them.

Read the full story here.

Illustration by Alicia Buchter.

PRESIDENT BIDEN PARDONS THOUSANDS FOR MARIJUANA POSSESSION

Nazaaha Penick
News Reporter

President Biden’s original campaign promised to decriminalize the use of marijuana for “Black America.” After issuing a proclamation on Oct. 6, the following day Biden pardoned thousands convicted of marijuana possession. These decisions came a month before the midterm elections. Whitman Associate Professor of Politics Suzanne Beechey and Whitman students discuss their views on legalizing marijuana and the implications of this proclamation on communities of color.

Read the full story here.

CROSSFIRE:
GIRLBOSS; SLAY, OR NAY

Chloe Hansen, Kyle Mathy
Opinion Writers

The term "girlboss" has been in living rent-free in our collective vocabularies since Sophia Amoruso published her 2014 memoir by the same name. It has gone through many phases of both favor and distaste in the public eye. While many women strive to achieve "girlboss-hood," others reject the term, claiming it perpetuates patriarchy. Opinion writer Kyle Mathy argues that hope is not lost for girlbosses everywhere — perhaps the term can be reclaimed for the leftist, anti-capitalist agenda. Opinion writer Chloe Hansen, on the other hand, argues that "girlboss" has always been offensive and only holds women back from liberation. The question lingers — to slay or not to slay?

Read the full debate here.

Illustration by Holly VanVoorhis.

LANGUAGE LEARNING, LANGUAGE LOSS

Anna Shimkus
Feature Writer

Many bilingual students at Whitman are classified as heritage speakers, meaning somebody who has learned a second language in an informal setting. Others still come from families who speak another language that they themselves do not speak. For these students, language classes are more than a potential cultural pluralism credit: they are an opportunity to reconnect with their heritage in the absence of family. Classroom instruction, despite its shortcomings, is the next best thing after total immersion. However, sometimes the formalization of language can trigger confusion in heritage speakers: many begin to wonder if they're speaking their own languages "correctly."

Read the full feature article here.

Image contributed by Jake Lee.

BEPANOPTICON

Bex Heimbrock
Opinion Editor

Why shirk the grip of social media entirely when one can simply subscribe to an app that does the woke work for you? Following in the footsteps of VSCO, which did away with likes and follower counts, BeReal, the latest social media craze, is an app that asks its users to post once a day at a random time. BeReal is selling users a social media that one can feel good about. The app invites users to shed the self-curated personalities one may find on other apps and simply show the ‘true’ you. But how "real" is BeReal? Is this much surveillance in our lives really as woke as we want to be?

Read the full article here.

GUIDE TO THE BEST UNDERGROUND COUPLES COSTUME

Grace Canny
So recherché you had to look up what it even means

It’s that time of the year when you should double-check your car registration … just kidding, it’s Halloween! You may be asking yourself: "What can I dress up as that perfectly displays my humor, intellect, obscure media consumption AND my partner?" Well I have the answer for you. Use one of these recommendations, and your peers will be in awe of your costume!

Read the full story here.

Illustration by Eleanor Amer.

HEAR FOR THE TEA:
THIS WEEK ON THE WHITMAN WIRE PODCAST

Carsten Wallace-Bailey
Podcast Reporter

From Oct. 21-23, the campus community welcomed Whitman families for Family Weekend 2022. On this week’s episode of the "Whitman Wire Podcast," Carsten Wallace-Bailey chats with Whittie parents about their weekend on campus. Coordinators of various Family Weekend events are interviewed, and President Bolton is featured in this week’s Headlines.

Tune in here.

Illustration by Payton Davies.

"THERE'S MY LIFE": STUDENTS ON THEIR PHONES