This is only the latest and most ridiculous evidence of a worrying trend toward exclusivity in Whitman College. Last week's Whitmania featured yet another Whitman-only dinner - complete with a sparsely attended ceremony for graduating seniors - and special giveaways for Whitman students only. Compare this to Butler/Wilson's Summer Bash, where all Princeton students were treated identically with regard to food and gear giveaways. At the beginning of the year, Rocky College students received a Rocky hoodie; Whitman students got not only a sweatshirt but sweatpants and a baseball cap, plus Whitman towels and T-shirts. To top it all off, Whitman students received $15 in Paw Points in exchange for the inconvenience and indignity of eating somewhere else on the Thursdays of the two pre-frosh weekends, when the dining hall was closed to undergraduates - yet Wilson residents were not compensated for similarly losing their dining hall the next night.
The most infamous example of Whitman's elitism is that of the weekly "College Night," which in theory provides Whitman students with an opportunity to interact as a college, without the meddlesome influence of outsiders. During College Nights, Whitman residents are treated to private dinners complete with tablecloths, ice sculptures, special menus and performances by a cappella or dance groups. The dinners are no longer candlelit; after some paper decorations caught fire, the votives were replaced with flickering, battery-powered plastic imitations. Apparently the candles were so vital to the creation of college spirit and unity that it was necessary to buy safer replacements.
To be fair, Whitman's administration and College Council have an incredibly difficult job: Starting a new residential college from scratch is much harder than it seems. Given the wide variety of Whitman residents - brand-new freshmen, sophomore transplants from Butler and Mathey, upperclassmen from anywhere and a handful of graduate students - it's almost impossible to figure out how to please everyone. Whitman has a fabulous College Council that does amazing things with the budget it has been given, and they are trying their best to create a unified Whitman; thus, College Night. As columnist Michael Medeiros '10 pointed out last week, however, none of this elitism has resulted in any sort of college unity.
The philosophy behind College Night is that it allows students to interact with other members of the Whitman community in a quiet and more private setting. This, however, could be accomplished through our RCA groups, as Medeiros suggests. If the administration is looking to build college unity, that might be a good starting point - as a sophomore, I know almost none of the freshmen in my RCA group, and I've never met the upperclassman who lives next door. This college-wide phenomenon is the result of RCAs spending almost all their time and resources on freshmen. Even in a two-year college, this isn't ideal. In a four-year college, however, non-freshmen are alienated and feel even less loyalty toward Whitman. This is where the attention should be diverted - building a true and inclusive college spirit instead of using divisive elitism and exclusivity.
Apparently, the passes I found under my door were meant to be facetious - simply the College Council poking fun at itself, the idea of College Night and the air that has come to surround Whitman. The council maintains that it would never block anyone from attending the event, but given Whitman's track record, I'm not so sure. That this elite vibe even exists to be mocked is disturbing and more than a little upsetting.
We had one chance to establish Whitman College's reputation for years to come, and we have made an extremely poor first impression. I am saddened to have been a part of the inaugural class of the college that has come to be treated with resentment, jealousy and even mild disdain by the rest of the Princeton community. Though it will be difficult to change Whitman's identity now, it's time to take a step in the right direction and end the exclusivity and elitism that is keeping Whitman estranged from its peers and equals.
Margaret Byron is a sophomore in Whitman College. She can be reached at mbyron@princeton.edu.
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