One of my previous articles talked a little as to how Whitman’s archives work. What I didn’t talk about, though, was some of the interesting tidbits I found in my time researching about the Planetarium –so here’s a brief compilation of the most interesting things I found along the way:
Written September 22, 1971 in relation to the Hall of Science: “Today, as many times in the past, several staff members and their classes have been inconvenienced by the shutdown of the ventilating system for a prolonged period while some work is being performed. While it is recognized that emergency situations arise in which there is no possible way of predicting or warning in advance those people concerned, there are other times when it is very possible to schedule these shutdowns so as to minimize the inconvenience caused by the interrupted service. Would it be possible in the future to determine when these interruptions are going to occur and arrange to have them done at a time mutually satisfactory to all. In general, when there is to be an interruption, various people in the Science building would appreciate knowing, in addition to those who might have classes scheduled. For example, certain items in the greenhouse might need special care. Classes might be rescheduled to a more convenient time, laboratories postponed or rearranged to minimize the problems.” The passive aggressiveness of this one was quite fun. Along a similar vein there was also: “The windows in S317 and S302 have already been converted and have already been used successfully to clear the room of toxic fumes.”
“It was moved and seconded that the minutes of the extraordinary meeting of the Board of Overseers of October 4, 1980, be approved as transcribed and mailed to the members of the Board. The motion carried.” & “An extraordinary meeting of the Board of Overseers at Whitman College was held in Olin 157, Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington, on Saturday, October 4, 1980, beginning at 2:00 p.m..” When I first read about this I thought that some unbelievable, earth-shattering, simply just extraordinary meeting had occurred on that date. However, as it would turn out, the use of the word extraordinary here is actually rather dull: it just means that the meeting happened outside of the board of overseers’ typical schedule. There wasn’t anything exceptional about the meeting, and the minutes themselves were just two pages long. Upon learning that I felt like a kid finding out Santa wasn’t real.
Among the many files was a feedback survey (back in 2008) which was sent out to Alumni who graduated from the Astronomy department. There was a section about what advice they would give to current students:
“Senior exams are brutal. Study hella.”
“Spend time in the wheat fields, look at the sun, and play with Mr. T.” (I have no idea who or what Mr. T. is)
A response I found particularly wholesome: “Take as many classes as possible! But don’t be in a huge rush. Admittedly this is a little contradictory and takes some planning. Take the 300 level classes when you’re prepared (or at least fairly so, or ready to really work, or if Andrea berates you to do it) because that way you’ll get more good out of them! Lab assist! You get paid and it’s just about the most useful hour a week you can spend at college. DO IT!! Do anything Andrea says. She’s usually right. Do anything UJ says unless he’s laughing at you, in that case he’s probably trying to get you into trouble so use your discretion. Enjoy your time. Work hard but have a little perspective and take some time off. Go fishing.”
This last tidbit was –frankly speaking– outright bizarre. For some quick context this is an anecdote from Carrol. L. Zimmerman’s autobiography, who was a Professor here at Whitman and the Head of the Physics Department back in 1937. Important to note is the fact that before the Hall of Science was built in the 1960’s there was Billings Hall instead (otherwise just known as the Science Building), which is where the following took place:
“One Saturday afternoon I was near the Science Building. The chemistry department was on the third floor, the biology department on the second, and the physics department on the first and in the basement. Suddenly there was a tremendous explosion on the third floor. All the windows were blown out. The building was locked for the weekend as was the usual procedure. I got my key in the lock without too much fumbling and ran upstairs. I met a lad halfway down the flight of stairs from the third to the second floor. His right arm had been blown off. Deep gashes in his left arm. Glass blown into his face and chest. I made him lie down. The only other person in the building was a girl who had been working in the biology department. I instructed her to call an ambulance and keep the front door locked. I sat there and held pressure points. It seemed like ages until the ambulance came. The lad’s life was saved because Modie had just completed a Red Cross Advanced First Aid course. She had practiced holding pressure points on me, and at her instruction, my holding pressure points on her. There is no question that if I had not had that experience, the lad would have bled to death. As it was, with one arm missing, his other arm, despite its injuries returned to full normal functioning. His sight was only slightly impaired in one eye. He went on to get his Ph.D in physics. The explosion happened because he was a student janitor for the building, and thus had a key. That afternoon he decided to see if he could make an explosive. He succeeded.”
Fun Fact: “The College periodically assembles a representative list of several hundred graduates in various areas of achievement, so that readers may examine their qualifications and personal histories and judge for themselves the value of Whitman’s contribution to their lives. (The list is not intended as an official honors list; it is the work of a small group of office researchers.)” (Yes this is just another quote, but it’s still a fun fact nonetheless.)
Now, how does a fun assortment of quotes relate to things like research, or digital fluencies? My point in showing you all these fun little things that I found is a message I’ve echoed throughout my previous articles: research, and digital fluencies at large, need not be dull. In fact, I’d argue it very often is quite the opposite! All of these excerpts, ranging from mildly humorous to outright bizarre, were things that I just happened to stumble into as I researched. I didn’t intend to stumble into them (nor could I have planned for it, regardless) and yet by the very nature of how research plays out I found a lot of amusement along the way. Think of the joys of falling down a rabbit hole, for instance. And that can happen with anything! It can happen with the archives, it can happen with learning the intricacies (or idiosyncrasies) of excel, it can happen with learning the inner workings of some bit of technology —and that can be just as fun as anything.
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