harrisbt

Incredible

So many things contribute to the incredible safety of campus.

-Walla Walla is a small town. You're a hell of a lot safer here than you are in Portland or Seattle or any metropolitan area for sure.

-Campus security: there are hired guards as well as hired students who go around at night and make sure buildings are locked, students are okay, etc. If you really want someone to escort you across campus, you can call the student guards, and they'll walk you across.

-Whitman culture: everyone looks out for one another. It's as simple as that. You learn to recognize most everyone at Whitman, and you can always ask someone to walk you home if you're nervous about it. If you had too much to drink at a party, complete strangers will take care of you as if you're their best friend.

-The Health Center: has two parts, a nurses/doctor's office that is open 24/7 and always has nurses on duty and the counseling center, which is open weekdays, but has emergency 24/7 hours. You can go to the nurses side of the office for whatever you want; free ibuprofin, cough drops, or condoms, a check-up, or a bed to sleep for the night. You can even go there if your roommate has been snoring lately and you want a quiet place to sleep. Of course, you can go there if you're sick too and they'll take care of you, even drive you to the doctor or hospital and pick you up at no cost whatsoever. The counseling side is fantastic. These are professional psychiatrists and psychotherapists who are available to all students at no extra cost. Life can be tough sometimes, and they're always there for you if you're dealing with anxiety, depression, an eating disorder, trouble at home, or anything else. To touch on a previous point, there is no social stigma whatsoever for going to the counseling center. Nobody will think you're weird or messed up if you go get help. If you have serious problems and you're not dealing with them, that's a problem, and your friends are sure to jump in and take you over there.

Some of the best

Rooms are spacious, have big windows, nice furniture, and generally lots of storage. On top of that, there's a lot of diversity in terms of on-campus housing options. Within the residence halls, there are lots of doubles, singles, triples all over campus based on where you want to live. Some are in suite format. Other options include the Interest House Community (IHC) and Tamarac House, an outdoor-themed house.

Don't need one, but easier if you do

Lots of people take notes with that archaic -- what's it called -- pen and paper method. Some use their laptops, but the vast majority students take in-class notes with their trusty ballpoint pen or mechanical pencil and a pad of paper. For homework, having your own computer helps. There are 4 computer labs on campus that are open 24/7 and they loan out laptops to students for several hours at a time. You can save documents to the network and access them from any point on the campus. My computer is about to die, and I'm probably going to end up waiting for cheaper prices on laptops before buying a new one and just using what Whitman has to offer.