Historic Victory for Debate & Forensics Team
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Last month, Whitman College’s Debate and Forensics program marked an indisputable historic moment.
The senior team of Alexa Grechishkin ’25 (right) and Isabel Mathy ’25 (left) competed in the National Parliamentary Debate Association (NPDA) National Tournament. The duo beat out Rice University, Concordia University and Parliamentary Debate at Berkeley—securing Whitman's first national parliamentary debate championship in the college’s history.
On Monday, March 10, at McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois, Grechishkin (English major, Hispanic Studies minor) and Mathy (Politics major) took the final round on a 5-2 decision over the Berkeley team.
“This win was possible through the hard work and dedication of students, coaches and alumni,” says Baker Weilert-Pekar, Director of Debate and Forensics.
Weilert-Pekar leads the program with the assistance of Kiefer Storrer, Assistant Director of Debate & Forensics, and relies on other coaches, including Kyle Bligen and Gabe Graville, and Whitman alum Jas Liu ’24, who helped coach students at the NPDA championship.
Read more.
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Student Sets Distance Running Record
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Whitman’s distance track team performed well at the recent Payton-Shotwell Invitational, where Jack McManus ’27 broke the previous 10,000 meter program record by three seconds. In addition, three Whitman runners, Ellis Pryor ’25, Jonathan Grothe ’25 and Dori Buttleman ’25, delivered 5,000 meter times that qualify them for the Northwest Conference Championship, and Maleda Sims ’25 qualified with a personal best 200 meter time.
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Professor Contributes to Plant Biology Lab Book
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Associate Professor of Biology and Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology Brit Moss recently published a co-authored review and series of two experimental protocols that are part of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory book “Maize: A Laboratory Manual.” The intention of these protocols is to introduce plant biologists to the thinking that will guide them toward the correct synthetic biology tools to answer their experimental questions. The first protocol details how to design and build yeast strains that serve as a platform to study the molecular machinery found in corn plant cells that detect and respond to the important growth hormone auxin (AuxInYeast). The second protocol walks new users through how to experimentally test AuxInYeast strains using an approach called fluorescence flow cytometry. The AuxInYeast tool has great potential to accelerate both basic plant biology research and applied crop engineering and breeding.
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Spring Into Whitman Days This Month
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April is an important month in the admission cycle with visits taking place every week and two Spring Into Whitman Days on Saturday, April 5, and Saturday, April 26. Everyone can contribute to the success of these events by smiling and being friendly to anyone you see on campus, wearing your Whitman gear and being careful not to park in designated visitor parking. Please sign up to volunteer if you are able to do so.
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Community Fellow Applications Due Next Week
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The Career and Community Engagement Center is currently hiring for the 2025–2026 Community Fellow program, where Whitman students are paired with local organizations to work on a project with a broad impact. Preference is given to juniors and seniors. Six fellowships are currently available. View the full descriptions and apply on Handshake. Applications are due no later than noon on Tuesday, April 8. Questions? Email watersc@whitman.edu or juhasza@whitman.edu.
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Hosokawa Journalism Lecture Announced
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The annual Hosokawa Journalism Lecture will take place on Tuesday, April 22, at 7 p.m. in the Reid Campus Center Young Ballroom. This year’s event will feature a conversation with Versha Sharma, the award-winning Editor-in-Chief at Teen Vogue. Sharma currently also serves on the boards of the Online News Association and International Women’s Media Foundation.
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Five seniors traveled to New York City during spring break through a trip organized for recipients of the Garrett-Sherwood Scholarship. In addition to sightseeing, the students connected with alumni at Penguin Random House, The Rockefeller Foundation, Merrill Lynch, Geneva Global, Harper Collins and Vanity Fair.
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Reid Campus Center, Room 207
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Welty Student Health Center
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Hall of Music, Chism Recital Hall
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Hall of Music, Chism Recital Hall
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Hall of Music, Chism Recital Hall
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Reid Campus Center, Young Ballroom
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Reid Campus Center, Side Lawn
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Would you like to share an event with campus? Submit the information to the Events Calendar.
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Whitman Today is emailed to Whitman College staff, faculty and students each weekday during the academic year and twice a week during breaks. An archive of previous issues is available online.
All submissions are welcome! If you have accomplishments to celebrate, an event to publicize or other Whitman content to share, email whitmantoday@whitman.edu. Submissions of 125 words or less are due by noon on the business day prior to publication. Submissions may be edited and/or held for a later date according to space and editorial needs. Your submission also authorizes use on Whitman's social media unless otherwise specified.
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Find us on social media: @whitmancollege
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