The QC, Vol. 93, No. 13 • January 18, 2007

              'he Voice of Whittier College Since 1914
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Issue 13-Volume 93
QC@WHITT1ER.EDU
A new chapter in Whittier's history
Kissinger's campus visit marks the beginning ofthe Nixon Fellowship Program
Tammy Marashiian
QC Editor in Chief
Dr. Henry Kissinger's visit to
Whittier College on Wednesday,
Jan. 17, started a new chapter in
the school's history as it signified the beginning of the Richard
M. Nixon Fellowship Program,
which is designed to prepare exceptional students for informed
citizenship and service through
internship, scholarship and research opportunities.
Even though Kissinger spoke
at various events on campus during his stay, the only event open
to students was the Conversation with Dr. Henry Kissinger in
Arnold Hall. In the introduction,
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty Susan
Gotsch noted that Kissinger had
expressed interest in meeting with
students and engaging in an open
conversation where students were
free to ask a range of questions
not limited to the opening of
China. The result was a free of
charge informal discussion with
see CHAT, page 4
PAUL GALLAHER / QC MANAGING EDITOR
Dr. Henry Kissinger discusses his time in the White House and relationship with President
Richard Nixon during the Fireside Chat in the Shannon Center on Wednesday, Jan. 17.
Professors and Whittier Coalition for
Peace and Justice protest Kissinger
Tammy Marashiian
QC Editor in Chief
As Dr. Henry Kissinger spoke
inside Arnold Hall and the Shannon
Center, two students, a handful of
Whittier College professors and
members from the Whittier Area
Peace and Justice Coalition gathered
outside Arnold Hall to protest against
Kissinger and his visit to the college
on Wednesday, Jan. 17.
One of the protestors, Associate
Professor of History Jose Orozco,
who was painting posters for the
protest on the Hoover patio the day
before, does not support Kissinger's
visit because he believes that what
Kissinger has done in politics—the
bombings in Cambodia during
the Vietnam War and the ousting
of democratically elected Chilean
President Sal vador Allende—has had
horrendous effects on the world.
Orozco is also frustrated with
Kissinger because he has decided not
to release his historical papers until
five years after his death.
Orozco continued to say that in
some part, he is also protesting the
school's decision to bring Kissinger
to campus. "What he is getting by
coming is cleansing for what he has
done," Orozco said. "And we can't
allow ourselves to be sold to this."
During an interview with the
Quaker Campus, Kissinger was asked
whether he wanted to respond to the
protestors and their belief that his
reason for coming to Whittier was
to get some sort of redemption or
cleansing. His response was, "I'm
83 years old. Do you think I need
to come to Whittier College for a
cleansing?"
As Associate Professorof History
Laura McEnaney painted a sign with
the phrase, "I know what you did last
century," which she later held the next
day at the protest, she explained that
she was participating in the protest as
"a moral voice to remind him of his
record." She continued, "My presence represents an alternative voice to
challenge the history he presents."
When asked whether the fact
that Kissinger came to raise money
for students influenced McEnaney's
decision to protest, she said, "I
see PROTEST, page 6
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Kissinger in Context program offers
detailed perspectives on Kissinger
Tammy Marashiian
QC Editor in Chief
A panel of foreign policy experts and a public mural project
were two of the events Whittier
professors organized as part ofthe
Kissinger in Context program that
took place last week in preparation for Dr. Henry Kissinger's Jan.
17 visit to Whittier College.
Associate Professor of Political Science Deborah Norden,
who coordinated the Kissinger
in Context program before the
Winter Break, wanted the events
to "create a more informed campus community with respect to
Kissinger's foreign policy actions."
She continued to explain that
even though Kissinger has been
out of the White House for decades, he is still very much part of
today's foreign policy. "Kissinger
is a very controversial figure,
which is perhaps not surprising
given that he exercised so much
power during such a prolonged
and problematic period of U.S.
history," Norden said.
Norden then offered her goal
in creating the program. "My hope
was that, by learning more about
U.S. foreign policy and its consequences during the Cold War,
students would shift from simply
being 'wowed' by the presence of
a famous historical figure to being
more critical thinkers," she said.
"This means standing back and
assessing Kissinger's different
decisions and actions with a better
understanding of their context and
their outcomes, at both the political and human levels. And ideally,
learning to think more critically
about the nuances of Kissinger's
role would also help students to
think more critically about policymaking more broadly, during any
period of time."
The most popular event,
which took place on Wednesday, Jan. 10, in Hoover 100 was
titled "Exploring U.S. Foreign
Policy During the Cold War" and
featured two foreign policy experts who discussed Kissinger's
see CONTEXT, page 6
Societies
lose
pledges
Esther Chan
QC News Asst. Editor
Both the 2007 Lancer and
Orthogonian pledge classes have
depledged after the first week of
pledging, which began Tuesday,
Jan. 9, according to Associate
Dean of Students Andre Coleman.
Senior Lancer Society President Connor Tryon and junior
Orthogonian Society Vice President George Jones both declined
to comment.
The majority of the Lancer
and Orthogonian pledges de-
pledged for undisclosed reasons,
leaving only one pledge in each
pledge class. The remaining
members in each society were
forced to depledge because the
societies' constitutions state
that the majority of pledging
activities need groups, according to Coleman. "They are faced
with a tremendous challenge, and
how they respond from this point
forward will say everything about
the organization they are and the
leadership they have within their
organization," Coleman said.
With the loss of the Lancer
and Orthogonian pledge classes
and the temporary suspension
of the Franklin society, the only
remaining all-male society is the
William Penn Society, which currently has 11 pledges. For the all-
female societies, the Athenians
have seven pledges, the Ionians
have four, the Metaphonians have
11, the Palmers have 13 and the
Thalians have nine. The Sachsens,
the only co-ed society, have 15
pledges. Pledging activities will
conclude with a convocation ceremony in the Shannon Center on
Sunday, Jan. 28.
According to Coleman, pledging is not meant to be easy; it is a
right of passage that leads people
to become highly committed to
an organization by learning about
their organization and rituals to
show their commitment. Coleman
said, "Pledging is not something
see DEPLEDGE, page 5
I
DR. KISSINGER
Check out the two-page spread on
Dr. Henry Kissinger's historical
visit.
Campus Life, Page 8-9
MEN'S LACROSSE
The Lacrosse team enters their
season as a nationally ranked
program.
Sports, Page 15