Wednesday, December 3, 2025
|
|
|
Winter Weather Notifications
|
With the recent arrival of the first snow of the season, it will be helpful to review how the college communicates about inclement weather and possible impacts to standard operations.
Inclement weather notifications:
|
- Delay/closure decisions are made following discussions between administrators, Security and Facilities.
- When possible, notifications about closures or delays are sent by 7 a.m. However, if conditions deteriorate throughout the day, a later decision may be necessary.
- Notifications will be made via email or via the college’s emergency alert system, depending on the urgency and circumstances.
- Safety of all faculty, staff and students is our top priority. If the conditions are worse where you live compared to what is observed on campus, use your best judgment and stay home if you need to.
|
If the college is operating but you are unable to get to campus:
|
- Students should notify professors and/or supervisors.
- Faculty members should notify their division chair and the students in any affected classes.
- Staff members should notify their supervisors to discuss work from home or other arrangements.
|
If you do not hear anything from the college via email or text, assume that the college is operating on a normal schedule.
|
|
|
Economics Professor Publishes Article Examining Plea Bargaining
|
Assistant Professor of Economics Jason Ralston recently published an article titled “Prosecutorial Discretion: A Theoretical and Experimental Investigation” in the Social Choice and Welfare journal. The paper introduces an original model of crime and punishment with plea bargaining. The model is used to make predictions regarding the prevalence of the “innocence problem” (i.e., innocent defendants convicted for/plead guilty to a crime they did not commit), as well as crime rates. Legal scholars commonly recommend restricting small plea deals, since these are predicted to increase the incidence of the innocence problem. Laboratory experiments using the model show that limiting prosecutorial discretion in plea bargaining does reduce the innocence problem; however, it also increases the incidence of truly guilty individuals going unpunished and leads to a slight increase in the crime rate. This suggests that a legal policy placing limits on aggressive plea bargaining may come with significant drawbacks.
|
|
|
The fall semester Judd D. Kimball Endowed Lecture in Classics takes place on Wednesday, Dec. 3, at 5:30 p.m. in Olin Auditorium. Award-winning playwright Ellen McLaughlin will deliver a talk titled “Feminist Vision and Classic Greek Literature.” (Flyer attached.)
|
Outdoor Program Gear Sale Friday
|
The Outdoor Program will hold its annual new and used gear sale on Friday, Dec. 5, from noon–5 p.m. in the Reid Campus Center Young Ballroom. Used items will include kayaks, tents, life jackets and more. All new merchandise will be on sale for 15% off. Payments may be made with cash, credit card or as a charge to your Whitman student account. (Flyer attached.)
|
Basketball Home Games This Week
|
Sherwood Athletic Center will close early on Thursday, Dec. 4, at 3 p.m. and on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 3 p.m. to accommodate men’s basketball home games. Games start on Thursday, Dec. 4, at 6 p.m. and on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 5 p.m.
|
Wilderness First Aid Courses Next Semester
|
The Outdoor Program will host several wilderness first aid courses in the spring semester. (Flyer attached.)
|
- Jan. 9–18: Wilderness First Responder
- Feb. 14–15: Wilderness First Aid
- Feb. 14–16: Wilderness First Responder Recertification
|
Courses are open to students, staff, faculty and community members. Students should sign up through the normal course enrollment process. Community folks should contact Lish Gutierrez at rileyab@whitman.edu to register. More information is available online.
|
|
|
Today’s “Western Relations” presentations in the Reid Ballroom (see calendar) will be followed by a reception at the Fouts Center for Visual Arts where an interactive exhibition featuring work by Semester in the West students is on display through Friday, Dec. 12.
|
|
|
|
|
Sherwood Athletic Center, Room 114
|
|
|
|
|
Semester in the West: Western Relations
|
|
|
|
|
Semester in the West: Reception
|
Fouts Center for Visual Arts
|
|
|
|
|
Sherwood 114 or Reid Side Lawn (weather dependent)
|
|
|
|
|
Hall of Music, Chism Recital Hall
|
|
|
|
|
Reid Campus Center, Coffeehouse
|
|
|
|
|
Penrose Library, Room 313 (“The Fishbowl”)
|
|
|
Would you like to share an event with campus? Submit the information to the Events Calendar.
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
Find us on social media: @whitmancollege
|
|
|
|
