1.) Ask what activities the tour guide participates in…
The chances are that your tour guide participates in some very diverse and cool activities. The tour guides offer a lot of perspective about what it is to be a Whittier College student and what goes into having a good time at Whittier. Asking the guide about their extracurricular activities and interests will show you the plethora of what Whittier has to offer. When I toured, my guide was a member of a female society, wrote for the school paper, was involved in school leadership, and was involved in the drama program.
2. Ask about the mascots of Whittier…
Whittier gets plenty of grief for its mascot, The Poet. In years past, it has been ranked in the top 100 worst mascots. The animated poet over the years has gone from a more benign mascot to becoming fiercer. The infamous mascot can be found at most sporting events and school promotional activities (like admitted students fair, activities fair, etc.) Your guide should be able to tell you a couple of stories about the mascot. The original mascot of Whittier College was Friday the Squirrel. Friday belonged to John Greenleaf Whittier, the founder of the institution. When the original Friday passed away, he was taken to a taxidermist and to this day, the stuffed Friday lives on campus. Ask your tour guide if they know about Friday and where he is today.
3.) Favorite classes and teachers?
Whittier’s professors are very involved on campus and some of them are notorious. It is almost guaranteed that your tour guide will have a formed opinion about Dr. Hill in the Introduction to Psychology classes or with the men of the Political Science Department and their weekly lunch dates.Learning what your guide’s favorite and least favorite classes and teachers can provide insight about what classes to take and avoid. Also, because Whittier is so small, most professors have a one-on-one relationship with a couple of students. This creates a family feel that can be nice, but also it is good to be careful, because a professor will notice if you don’t come to class!
4.) The spooky side…
Whittier’s campus is over a hundred years old, as are some of its buildings. There are some pieces of the town and campus’ history that is a little spooky. The school backs up to a nature preserve that has a past dotted with ghost sightings, gang activity and other unsavory stories. On campus, several buildings are rumored to be haunted including Wanberg, Mendenhall, and the old Wardman Gym. Students like telling stories about the possibility of paranormal activity. Even if it isn’t true, it is still scary to think about. If you don’t see a ghost on campus, you can always drive up the street to see the home from the movie “Disturbia”.
5.) If they could change anything about your experience what would it be and why?
This is a telling question to ask. Most tour guides will provide you with an honest answer. These answers may help you shape your opinion about the school and what it has to offer. For example, Whittier does not have a dedicated pre-law program, so for a student who is thinking about going to law school, this might be something to consider. The student might also provide good ideas about what to avoid (taking too many classes in one term) or what to specifically seek out (one-on-one professor interaction).
Katherine Van Allen, originally hailing from Portland, Oregon,attended Whittier College from 2008-2012. Katherine majored in SocialWork, graduating with membership in two honor societies and one socialsociety. Katherine played sports for three years at Whittier. Shecurrently resides in Los Angeles and enjoys her job as a geriatricsocial worker.