Choral director Jeff Davidson retires after 37 years of inspiring students
June 13, 2019
Choral director Jeff Davidson has a simple philosophy when it comes to teaching: the mediocre teacher tells, the good teacher explains, the superior teacher demonstrates and the great teacher inspires. Students consider Davidson one of the greats. Davidson is retiring at the end of this school year after 37 yea...
Art teacher Nancy Mornini to retire after 20 years at Whitman
By Sara Azimi
June 7, 2019
If someone were to walk into room D-212, they would think art teacher Nancy Mornini has a family of 50. Numerous college stickers like "Arizona State University mom" and "Tufts University mom" completely cover the blackboard next to her desk. Confused parents at back to school night always ask her how...
I’m a banana—and proud of it.
By Anna Yuan
June 5, 2019
Words such as “banana” and “Twinkie” are often used as ethnic slurs toward Asian Americans who are considered to have lost touch with their heritage. The views in this blog are all my own and do not necessarily reflect opinions of the Asian American community. Since freshman year, I’ve been casually called a ...
Roundtable discussion about race
By Maddy Frank and Max London
June 5, 2019
Over the past two years, Whitman students have been involved in several serious incidents of racism. Last year, students attended a schoolwide assembly when multiple students experienced racism, and last month, two students were suspended after a photo of them wearing splotches of a black facial mask c...
Student athletes confront unhealthy body standards
By Ally Navarrete and José Wray
June 3, 2019
Some students’ names have been changed to protect their privacy. During a period of intense training in 2016, American figure skater and Olympic bronze medalist Adam Rippon would limit himself to only three slices of bread and three cups of coffee a day. Rippon struggled with body image issues a...
I accidentally took K2 and had the worst night of my life. This is my story.
By Anonymous
June 3, 2019
Imagine the worst nightmare of your life. Imagine the worst nightmare of your life, but this time, it doesn’t end. No matter what you do, you can’t snap out of it. You lose all sense of reality and descend into what seems to be an infinite loop of suffering: your own personal hell. You beg for ...
Sports photographers capture the action in front of the lens
June 2, 2019
You wouldn’t know it, but swim and dive team photographer Adam Hirsh has always been afraid of water. During his four years photographing the team, he routinely bent over the edge of the 10 meter diving platform—12 feet of water below him—to capture a swimmer’s backstroke start or a diver’s...
Wildstrom to retire after 50 years of ‘enthusiasm and passion’
May 30, 2019
Math teacher Susan Wildstrom may be small in stature, but in her 50 years teaching, she has made up for it in spunk. Wearing green, dangly earrings, a polka-dotted sweater and socks covered with pictures of cats, she’s quick to mention that she also owns socks with giraffes, cookies and milk, and constellations. “It’s...
SGA sees gender gap in election results, follows national trend
By Katie Hanson, Alex Robinson
May 30, 2019
After SMOB candidate Zoe Tishaev outlined her platform in a video March 21, both male and female students were quick to remark that she “didn’t know what she was talking about,” “had good ideas but an annoying voice” and “wasn’t likable but said good things.” Tishaev lost to John F. Ken...
ESOL program fosters community, friendships
By Clara Koritz Hawkes and Hirari Sato
May 29, 2019
Come fifth and sixth period, when most classrooms empty for lunch periods, the ESOL rooms are filled with commotion. In one corner of A334, students are working away at assignments, while another group sits by the teacher’s desk, chatting with teacher Charles Wang. Students file in and out, some eating...
Breanna McDonald leads Minority Scholars Program
April 27, 2019
For years, senior Breanna McDonald has seen herself as an athlete, a photographer and a high-achieving student. She led the track team to States this past season, where she placed fifth in the 800-meter dash, she has been taking photos since she got her first camera in eighth grade, and she said she ...
Camp Jojo to honor former student
By Katie Hanson
April 5, 2019
Content warning: This article contains language that pertains to suicide. Camp Jojo, an outdoor summer camp designed to help support teens affected by suicide, will be held this July in honor of former student Jojo Greenberg. Her mother, Sonya Spielberg, and her former camp director, Joel Van Egber...
By Jack McGuire and Lincoln Polan
June 21, 2019
Though he had always liked math, senior Bo Rider had never considered an engineering career....
By Jack Middleton and Jack Gonzalez
June 18, 2019
June 18, 2019
It’s rehearsal time, and every member of Whitman’s male a cappella group, Solid &...
By Andrew Eagle and Gabe Schaner
June 15, 2019
The NBA draft lottery used to be very predictable. But this year, the NBA reformed their...
June 14, 2019
At this point in my high school tenure, there’s one mystery that continues to elude...