The QC, Vol. 93, No. 14 • February 1, 2007

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The Voice of Whittier College Since 1914
Quaker Campus
Thursday, February 1 , 2007
Issue 14-Volume 93
• QC@WH1TTIER.EDU
2007 pledging
comes to an end
Teresa Baranowski
QC Staff Writer
Seventy new society members
were inducted on Sunday, Jan. 28,
during the annual New Member
Convocation ceremony held at the
Shannon Center. This year only
one all-male society, the William
Penn Society, had a pledge class at
convocation, which raises concerns
among the administration that the
meaning of pledging might be lost
in male soceities.
During the ceremony, the
pledge masters and pledge mistresses of their respective societies
introduced their new members. The
Athenians had seven, the lonians
had four, the Palmers had 13, the
Tha! ian s had n ine, the Mets had 11,
the Penns had 11 and the Sachsens
had 15.
This year, the Orthogonians and
Lancers lost their pledge classes
due to depledging [see Quaker
Campus Issue 13, Vol. 9J], while
the Franklins are stiil temporarily
banned from campus. According to
Associate Dean of Students Andre
Coleman, the male societies may
need to work on keeping a consistent message on why their pledges
should join their society.
"The women do a better job
communicating their value, and for
whatever reason that message isn't
being communicated as well to the
men," Coleman said. "We just need
to make sure we have a good consistent message of what it means to
be in amale society and the benefits
of joining. We already have a lot of
women in this organization, and it's
a reminder we need to do more work
in the male organizations."
A common theme throughout
the night as society presidents,
see CONVOCATION, page 5
PAUL GALLAHER / QC MANAGING EDITOR
MLK speakers take the stage
Sophomore Martina Miles was one of five participants in the sixth annual Martin Luther
King Jr. Oratorical Contest that took place on Thursday, Jan. 25. in the Shannon Center.
This year's theme was "Let's Dream Again," where Miles took home first place, and was
awarded a collection of books and a plaque. For the full story see Campus Life, page 7.
Tony Barnstone wins a $20,000 National
Endowment for the Arts Fellow for his poetry
REBECCA DEITCH / QC PHOTO EDITOR
Professor of English Language and Literature Tony Barnstone will use the $20,000 to
continue working on his book, Tongue of War: From Pearl Harbor to Nagasaki, which
uses poetry to delve into the minds of Japanese and Americans during World War II.
Julia Kitlinski-Hong
QC Staff Writer '
Professor of English Language
and Literature Tony Barnstone
has been honored with a $20,000
National Endowment for the Arts
Fellow for his acclaimed poetry.
Barnstone is using his grant money
to continue working on his book:
Tongue of War: From Pearl Harbor
to Nagasaki, which uses poetry to
delve into the minds of Japanese
and Americans during World War
o.
Barnstone was one of 50 writers
to receive the fellowship, a highly
competitive award, out of more
than 1,000 applicants. "In brief, I
submitted 10 poems that were then
sent with names removed with well
over 1,000 other manuscripts to a
panel of 12 nationally recognized
poets who were the judges."
Barnstone is pleased to have
won the award. He said, "It feels
wonderful. Writers spend most of
their working life wrestling with the
void, which manifests itself these
days as a blank computer screen,
often at three in the morning when
the rest of the world is sleeping,
and so to have this* sort of external
recognition is comforting, like a
voice out of the darkness."
The NEA is a national organization that supports excellence in
the arts by awarding grants from
a wide range of categories, from
theater to literature. "The NEA
Literature Fellowship consists of
$20,000 to support the writing of
a book of poems, a book of fiction
or a book of translations," he said.
"I won for poetry, and the money
will help support me next year on
my sabbatical, when 1 will be on
half salary."
When asked what inspired him
to write his award winning book,
Barnstone said, "I will say that in
the 11 years I have spent researching this project I have read widely
in the literature of war, drawing
see BARNSTONE, page 4
JAN TERM CLASS
Check out this cool Jan. Term
courses that students actually
didn't fall alseep in.
Campus Life, Page 8
NEW MUSICAL
Into the Woods and onto the
Shannon Center stage; students
perform musical.
A&E, Page 10