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College Prowler Take
Whitman students embrace a variety of fashions and personalities, but all are united by one main quality: without fail, Whitties are nerds. They are unique and more intelligent than the average college student, although they may either be closet nerds or be upfront about it. Academic passions aside, students also tend to pretend not to care about looks or clothes but actually do care (because they care about appearing to not care). As far as girls go, there are the sorority girls who tend to be aware of fashion. Hippies and hipsters follow their own sorts of trends, and the significant “outdoorsy kid” population is ready to go backpacking at a moment’s notice. There are a number of quieter girls who dress more conservatively in simpler styles. Boys are very much the same, with the frat bros, hippies, hipsters and “outdoorsy” boys. Overall, girls tend to be pretty good-looking, if not also clever and full of personality. There are, of course, the stand-out, attractive girls, and they are notorious on campus. For the most part, it’s the girls who complain that there aren’t any guys who are simultaneously decent and available. With a slightly higher number of women than men, the “good ones” among guys don’t stay single for long. In the small LGBTQ community at Whitman, this is also true. Many attractive guys end up in fraternities, and since Greek life tends to socialize internally, it can be difficult for non-Greek women to have any relationship longer than one night with a Greek guy. Girls tend to argue that, outside of the most attractive guys, who always are in relationships, boys tend to be less attractive. If you’re a straight female, be prepared for some competition. However, for what some men lack in attractiveness, they make up for in personality, sense of humor, and brains.
Students Speak Out
Love your school more than free food? Hate your school more than term papers?
Somewhere in between? Show the world what YOU think of YOUR school:
Anonymous says:  |
It seems that Whitman girls go...
It seems that Whitman girls go after guys a lot, and the girls are cool. |
Anonymous says: |
I wish it was easier to have a...
I wish it was easier to have a relationship with a guy. I’ve been involved with lots of great, cute guys, but a lot of them aren’t looking for a relationship, which sucks. In a way, it’s good, though, because I don’t know if I have the time for it anyway, and I’m going abroad in the fall, so I won’t be here, either. |
Anonymous says: |
Guys are nice, not very...
Guys are nice, not very attractive, and do not approach girls at all. |
Anonymous says: |
The girls are quite attractive,...
The girls are quite attractive, and most have a personality, opinions, and deeper conversational skills than your typical valley girl. There are some brain-dead, dud girls, but most of them are really smart and down-to-earth. You have to be if you’re a Whitman student, otherwise, it’s hard to keep up with everything. |
Anonymous says: |
Typically, students haven’t seemed...
Typically, students haven’t seemed to care about their appearances, but more recently, I’ve seen much more make-up and fashionable clothes on younger students than I remembered. |
FactsBirth Control Available?
Yes - Condoms can be found for free in all of the dorms and at the health center. They even place them in big candy jars right in the front of the health center office. The morning-after pill and birth control are available through the physician on campus.
Social Scene
Most Whitman students are very sociable and excited to be in a new social environment, especially first-year students. By the end of freshman year, most students know everyone in their class and most of the entire school. It is a rarity for students to walk by one another and not recognize everyone's faces, though they may not have been formally introduced. Students rapidly get to know one another by name or reputation, and students do a lot of bonding and mingling with other students from class in order to meet people outside their living situation.
After freshman year, the social circle seems to expand, and students get to know more than just their former-freshman peers, either through classes, sports, or where they end up living. It's a very social campus, and students spend a lot of their free time talking with one another and having coffee or playing sports. Once groups are formed, usually by the middle of sophomore year, students tend to stick to these, causing an environment of cliques at Whitman. For the most part, different friend groups coexist quite nicely, but there is occasionally animosity between certain groups (for example, Greeks vs. indies, or hipsters vs. everyone else).
Hookups or Relationships?
Hookups prevail among first- and second-year students. Serious relationships don't tend to occur until after freshman year, although for many, relationships are born from random hookups. Nonetheless, couples that gey together during their first year often end up staying together all four years. In reality, there are not as many relationships as sometimes perceived. Plenty of single students are on campus, but in the gossip rings they are often forgotten because nobody wants to talk about being single. Meanwhile, relationships are very widely known and students who keep themselves updated in the “couples/dating” circuit know who’s with whom, for the most part. It’s hard to keep relationships on the down-low, though hookups can generally stay pretty anonymous, unless those involved let the secret out.
Best Places to Meet Guys/Girls
Guys and girls often at the fraternity parties, especially at the beginning of the year. Whitman sponsors a lot of parties in the fall (the ‘80s-themed dance is very popular) as well as music events, so students, especially first-years, have tons of changes to mingle. Same-sex couples often meet through these events, as well as events put on by advocacy groups, such as Coalition Against Homophobia or GLBTQ, or outside of Whitman. Aside from these, students also meet significant others in classes and use this context as a base to share their personal interests and find something in common about which to strike up conversations. Once students are more settled in their friend groups, they will start to meet people through friends of friends, clubs, and other involvements.
As for meeting people who aren’t from Whitman, this is more challenging because most students don’t spend enough time off campus. Though some students meet people at the local clubs and bars, it’s much more challenging and much less likely that a student will date or be involved with someone who doesn’t attend Whitman. Some students have met non-Whitties from Walla Walla University or WWCC, though students from these other schools rarely come to the Whitman campus.
Dress Code
Generally, Whitman students either don’t care too much about their appearance or pretend that they don’t care too much about their appearance. Comfort tends to be of a greater priority than appearance, especially for going to class. Nonetheless, fads pass through campus and particular social groups seem to have their own unspoken dress codes, such as for the sorority members or theater students. Even so, the Whitman dress code definitely depends on the occasion. During finals, students often roll out of bed in their pajamas and just go; for parties or big events, more students will be dressed up.
Did You Know?Top Three Places to Find Hotties:
1. TKE House in particular, but pretty much any of the fraternity houses.
2. Sporting events, particularly soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter and Ultimate in the spring.
3. Any large party, be it on campus, in the dorms, or off campus at someone’s house. Top Five Places to Hook Up:
1. Any frat party.
2. Dorm parties, especially for first-years, are hookup frenzies.
3. Off-campus parties—Whitman students who live in and throw parties at their off-campus homes usually nickname their houses, and the names of hot spots usually spread pretty quickly (especially “the Monstrosity,” “the Fishbowl,” and “the Bakery”).
4. During and after school-sponsored dances (only a handful of these each year).
5. Very top floor of the library—so it’s happened only a handful of times.
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