Celebrating Hawaiian Culture
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By Catherine Ulep, Assistant Professor of History
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Aloha mai kākou (Hello, everyone),
May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month. As we enter this month, two events invite the Whitman community to celebrate, listen to, learn from and uplift the histories, contributions and living cultures of AANHPI communities.
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The first event will take place today at 4 p.m. in Olin Auditorium. Speaker David Aiona Chang from the University of Minnesota will talk about his latest research and consider what it means to be Native Hawaiian on other Native people’s homelands. Chang is a historian of Indigenous people, colonialism, borders and migration in Hawaiʻi and North America, especially on the histories of Native American and Kānaka Maoli peoples. This event is sponsored by the History Department. (Flyer attached.)
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The second event is a Lā Mei event on Friday, May 1, from 5–7 p.m. on the Reid Campus Center lawn. This event is co-hosted by the Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander employee resource group and Hui o Moananuiākea (Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander student organization). In Hawaiʻi, Lā Mei (May Day) is a special annual occasion where schools and communities come together to celebrate Hawaiian culture through music, hula and storytelling. (Flyer attached.)
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At Whitman’s second annual Lā Mei, we invite the campus community to gather in celebration of Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) culture as well as the broader cultures of Hawaiʻi.
Hui o Moananuiākea will proudly showcase a hōʻike hula (dance performance) from their weekly Papa Mele a me Hula (Hawaiian song and dance class). We will also be joined by our special guests, Ka ʻAha Lāhui O ʻOlekona, who are our visiting community partners from Beaverton, Oregon. Attendees can also enjoy a variety of Hawaiian and Hawaiʻi-local foods and desserts alongside games, cultural activities and opportunities for community connection.
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Health Alert Update: Measles
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Walla Walla County is now reporting that a second case of measles has been confirmed in our area.
Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Nine out of 10 people near an infected person will become infected if they are not protected.
To protect yourself and others:
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- Get the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine—97% effective after two doses—available for students at Welty Health and Counseling Center and local pharmacies.
- Stay home and mask up if you are ill.
- Notify your medical provider and get evaluated if you have rash and fever.
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The illness strikes quickly, makes you very ill and has a high risk of complications. Take care of yourself and those around you. Please reach out to the Welty Health and Counseling Center if you have any questions.
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Facilities Services Work Advisory
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Next week, work will begin to level a sinkhole-like depression in the triangle of lawn near downtown behind the Walla Walla Sub Shop. All of the soil in the immediate vicinity will be excavated, replaced, compacted and tested for stability. Vehicles and equipment will be staged by the train tracks and by the Technology Services parking lot. The sidewalk will also be closed on the south side of Main Street between Palouse and Tukanon. The work is scheduled to be completed before commencement.
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Endowment Working Group Seeks Campus Input
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The Endowment Working Group is holding drop-in input sessions today in the Lizzie Murr Dining Room at Cleveland Commons. Staff are invited to stop by between 11 a.m. and noon; faculty are invited to stop by between noon–1 p.m.; and students are invited to stop by between 1–2 p.m. Faculty and staff representatives from the working group will be available to collect feedback on the kinds of information and consultation you would like to see on our campus endowment.
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Sex Week continues today with several Take Back the Night events.
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- 5:30–6:30 p.m.
Tabling and poster making outside of Cleveland Commons with Whitman prevention and sexual health groups and representatives.
- 6:30 p.m.
Take Back the Night march/rally.
- 7 p.m.
Take Back the Night share-out and vigil at Reid Campus Center’s Young Ballroom.
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During the sharing of personal stories, two counselors from Welty Health and Counseling Center and the YWCA Sexual Assault Victim Advocate—who are not mandatory reporters—will be available for support. (Flyer attached.)
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The Office of the President invites all staff members to a Staff Coffee Break on Friday, May 1, from 9–10 a.m. at the Edwards-Moore Clubhouse at Borleske Stadium. Turtletop transportation will be provided—leaving Cordiner Hall at 8:30 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. and returning at 9:45 a.m. and 10 a.m. Enjoy a break to socialize with your colleagues and learn more about Whitman’s athletic facilities and programs.
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This past weekend, the Sites of Justice (POL-482) class collaborated with Unincarcerated Productions to host a fireside chat at Baker Center. Students, faculty, staff and the larger Walla Walla community engaged in conversations on different justice related themes like gender, environment, food, abolition and reforms that shape prison landscapes.
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Endowment Working Group: Drop-In Input Session (for Staff)
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Cleveland Commons, Lizzie Murr Dining Room
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Endowment Working Group: Drop-In Input Session (for Faculty)
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Cleveland Commons, Lizzie Murr Dining Room
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Sherwood Athletic Center, Room 114
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Endowment Working Group: Drop-In Input Session (for Students)
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Cleveland Commons, Lizzie Murr Dining Room
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Fouts Center for Visual Arts, Room 201
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Pre-Powwow Presentation: “Why We Dance”
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Hunter Conservatory, Kimball Theatre
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Pre-Powwow Presentation: Tipi Raising Demonstration
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COWS: Thesis Writing Workshop
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Cleveland Commons to Reid Campus Center, Young Ballroom
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Whitman Students Poetry Reading
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Hunter Conservatory, Kimball Theatre
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Harper Joy Theatre, Freimann Studio Theatre
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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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