<p>I came across the website Whittiergate.com and I was stunned at what I saw. Is it all true? How does it keep a good reputation with so much negative things happing to the college?</p>
<p>Lol every single college in the country has underage drinking, drug use, and promiscuity in dorms, but how colleges choose to handle those things varies. Whittier is actually very strict on those things and will penalize students if they are caught doing anything that violates school rules. The fact that it is news that there is underage drinking and drug use at Whittier means that they are doing a good job at handling those issues</p>
<p>madmit, good question, but one you could answer for yourself… I’m familiar with both Whittier College and the Whittiergate.com website. You might have noticed that the Whittiergate.com site has been online since early 2007, and that the site has issued a standing challenge to the college to bring a lawsuit against the site. That won’t happen because not only would the college lose the suit, but also much more of what goes on at Whittier College, and at its Whittier Law School, would be exposed. That site’s immodest claim to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about Whittier College turns out to actually be true. Forewarned is forewarned.</p>
<p>As for the flippant answer by thesanchize, and with all due respect for this fellow poster, who claims to be a 17 year old Indian (Indian, not Native American) high school student living in New Jersey, why would you make a post that can’t possibly be informed and is misleading? This can only make people suspect that you aren’t who you say you are, I mean, this post looks like a plant by the college, not a genuine member post. Student families don’t need false reassurances, we need the facts, the truth. If you can’t contribute to that search, then please do not post at all. I wish you the best, assuming you are who and what you say you are, thesanchize, just be careful not to mislead others, you don’t want to be responsible for problems for others due to your advice, do you? Please be responsible. </p>
<p>I checked out this Whittier College thread because my family has an interest in this college, and, therefore, in the site madmit asks about. I might or might not have posted myself, but it was thesanchize answer here that made me feel i have to post to set the record straight. I only wish my family had seen the Whittiergate.com website madmit asks about before we had contact with Whittier College, not afterward. I hope Whittier College does finally start doing a good job at handling the many and serious problems at Whittier, and that would have to begin with the admission of those many and serious problems existence, and, sadly, Whittier College isn’t there yet (but if the Whittiergate.com site keeps at it, maybe someday the college will do what should be done). </p>
<p>(Oscar Wilde once said we pass on good advice because we can’t seem to do anything else with it. I hope both madmit and thesanchize can use the good advice I’m offering them here. - HTG) </p>
<p>Support Higher Education !</p>
<p>I visited the campus (48hrs), talked to a few students, and did not know about whittiergate until I came back home and did further research on the school. I liked the school, its setting, the library, the campus in (top of the line college restaurant catered by “bon appetit” - look it up online), top of the line sport facilities, etc. My son had visited both public and private college in California and came out of his Whittier visit enthused. He toured the campus with a guide and also on his own to get a feel for the locals. He only met students that were happy to be part of this school. When I read whittiergate, I was at initially shocked. But the more I read, the more it became evident that this was a vendetta. Read every article, not just one or two. You’ll find that they repeat accusations from other articles to fill up negative space. Of course there is the alcohol & sex stories, but keep reading and you’ll find stories about cancer causing agents from the new turf field, and the pollution it cause not only to athletes, but spectators and every person down stream when the rain washes in the L.A. bassin. You’ll see how extreme and biased the author(s) is or are. I guess it’s no more than a couple of disgruntled employees or students who are obsessed to find any negative on this school. In the end, I just see it as propaganda spinned from a kernel of truth. You can develop a whittiergate on any corporation, government agency, school, or organization if you want to (although, the website name can’t be as cool, since only Whittier had Nixon). Of the 13 colleges that my son applied to (so far 8 accepted him and 1 denied him), Whittier is at the top and I agree with him.</p>
<p>I forgot to point earlier how silly some of the whittiergate claims are. The one about the turf football/track field jumps out. Most public high school in CA have replaced grass fields with turf fields because turf doesn’t need irrigation water (a very precious liquid in this part of the world). According to whittiergate, we have million of CA kids and countless adults (watching sporting events) being exposed to these cancer-causing chemicals. Whittiergate could have been a force for good by exposing failures and problems at the school in a serious and fact-based manner, but by trying to compromise the school’s reputation with scare tactics and yellow journalism, the authors have discredited their work. Sad.</p>
<p>Back to again put in a word for responsible posts. Artificial turf is clearly, just as Whittiergate.com claims, a health, safety, and environmental hazard. Whittiergate not only strictly presents facts, the site also links to other sites where visitors can find and read the science for themselves. If ‘Red’ was a better student in his day, he would find and read the science for himself now, and then he could post responsibly. </p>
<p>Artificial turf is a multi-billion dollar per year branch of the carpeting industry and has a record of not only promoting misconceptions about artificial turf but also lobbying state legislatures and federal agencies. Nevertheless the State of California sued artificial turf manufacturers over unstated lead content. Lead in the plastic blades gives them a green appearance. Studies show competitive artificial turf installations require more water than does grass - for cleaning so users don’t get MRSA, etc., and cooling. </p>
<p>BYU closes their artificial turf field when it reaches 120 degree F, at which temperature the field components start offgassing, no surprise since 20,000-30,000 used tires in combination with silica sand and various plastics and lead together compose artificial turf. BYU’s artificial turf has reached 200 degrees F (the hottest ambient temperature ever recorded in California was 134 degrees F in Death Valley). </p>
<p>I followed up on Whittiergate’s artificial turf links, to sites like synturf.org and then on to scientific studies. When your son ends up with MRSA sooner or cancer or silicosis later, how smart will you imagine you are then, Red? The artificial turf installed at Whittier College can only be disposed of at a hazardous waste site, is that a strong enough clue for you? Your obvious lack of any knowledge of artificial turf suggests you should actually read Whittiergate.com’s pages on the subject and follow up on the links provided by the site, for you son’s sake if not just you avoiding further embarrassment.</p>
<p>Professional outdoor field sports (from American football to soccer to baseball) are getting rid of artificial turf, that’s why the carpet industry is pushing product on parks and recreation districts, schools, and even home owners. People consequently suffer - there’s a whole new class of field sports injuries directly attributable to artificial turf, kids suffer one of these injuries, or contract MRSA, or skin and/or plastic cleats melt, people then have to inform themselves and compel a return to grass. Glendale city council has banned artificial turf in front yards, and no grandfathering about it. In San Francisco a very good site has come online opposing artificial turf installations in parks. These aren’t vendettas against Glendale residents nor against the City of San Francisco, they’re necessary to correct the residents’ and city’s mistake. Likewise, Whittiergate.com is no vendetta against Whittier College, it’s rather necessary to reform Whittier College. </p>
<p>An honest, and hopefully intelligent, reading of Whittiergate.com content shows the site is “a force for good” as you write, Red. So why are you denying that fact, and by resorting to effectively dishonesty, or coincidental ignorance combined with an irresistible urge to post, anyway? The example you choose to put down Whittiergate.com, artificial turf, well, Whittiergate.com is right and you’re wrong. Let’s keep it simple as well as honest. And as for Whittier College, this school took the student paper, Quaker Campus, offline for an entire academic year for this offense: Q C published an opinion questioning the wisdom of replacing health-, safety-, and environment-friendly grass with a toxic carpet. But then some years back it was discovered that felony electronic eavesdropping had been going on in the student paper editorial office. Like Nixon’s Campaign to REElect the President, this school’s creepy and needs to change. </p>
<p>So let’s review… Whittiergate.com has been online since 2007. Whittier College has made a number of changes due to pressure from Whittiergate. Whittier College has not and isn’t going to bring a lawsuit against Whittiergate.com - because the site publishes facts, is not defamatory. You know, the best defense against libel is publishing the truth. I suppose at the point in time when Whittier College makes reforms that substantially satisfy the non-profit Whittiergate site that the site would go offline. The end of the story depends not on Whittiergate but rather on Whittier. </p>
<p>Whittier College has always stonewalled, and victims, whistle blowers, reformers, eventually tired and went away. That’s not working with Whittiergate.com. When Whittier makes necessary reforms, then the Whittiergate era will become part of the school’s history. The shame is that Whittier College has stonewalled, has reformed itself only bit by bit under the protracted glare of a public spotlight and then community action, not out of any sense of honor or conscience or even just decency or common sense. </p>
<p>I personally think it’s people like you, Red, who prefer an insincere pitch from paid recruiters and their gullible victims to the facts presented by volunteers, who keep Whittier College going on its self-destructive course. Gee, look, all the lemmings are doing it, let’s do it, too! That would be dumb enough, but hardly any of the lemmings are going to Whittier College, Red. Do you deny climate change, critically exacerbated by human activities? See Whittiergate’s link to a recent ROI (Return on Investment) study published by Business Week showing Whittier College to have one of the worst ROI rates in the country. Or is Business Week engaging in scare tactics and yellow journalism?</p>
<p>Finally, Red, you reference Dick Nixon as though that’s a positive association, which says a lot about your world view, very contemporary - it doesn’t matter what you’re on TV for so long as you’re on TV, eh? Most people agree that Dick Nixon was bad for this country, for California, for Whittier, and for Whittier College. The sad thing is that Nixon was an innocent Quaker kid when he had to enroll at Whittier College - because he couldn’t afford Harvard even though he was accepted. (That’s where the hilarious faux comparison of Whittier with Harvard was born. Whittier College ■■■■■■ the AVID and Upward Bound inner city public schools programs to double dip through the federal Hispanic-Serving Institutions program to stay afloat. Harvard is to Whittier what Paris is to Podunk, or Citizen Kane is to Porky’s.) Newsflash, Red: It’s not if a kid’s accepted by a school, it’s if he’s offered a full-ride. Honestly, I have not yet met any kid who applied to Whittier College who wasn’t accepted. Does anyone?)</p>
<p>What would be cool, Red, is if you actually read and thought about the content and followed up on the links Whittiergate provides and then, having seen the error of your ways, post here again, but responsibly, honestly (and you have to engage in due diligence and logic to be honest). I don’t see how you’re going to help your son become a better man than you this way, Red. Best luck to both of you. I hope I’ve helped…</p>
<p>We had our concerns after reading the articles on the site but no college, corporation, church or family exists in a bubble. They all have some issue(s) they could improve on. With that said, when our freshman son came home on winter break from Whittier College this year and said that he loves his college we knew he made the right choice. He has a sense of pride and ownership in the college both academically and socially. Feel free to contact me if youd like an objective opinion on the Whittier experience.</p>