February 16, 2023: On the Recent Earthquakes

Email from President Sarah Bolton to the Whitman campus community:

Dear Members of the Whitman Community,

Last week, we learned of the devastating earthquakes that struck Syria and Turkey. Over the last several days, we have seen the death toll associated with this tragedy continue to rise and reports indicate more than 40,000 have died. 

As noted in the report from the Division of Diversity and Inclusion posted in this morning’s Whitman Today, we currently have 196 international students and even more international faculty and staff that are a valuable and essential part of our community here at Whitman. The staff in our International Student and Scholar Services office reached out to our students from the impacted regions shortly after learning of the incident. We continue to deliver support to these students and ask others in the Whitman community to provide flexibility and care to students who may be directly or indirectly impacted by these events. 

As we mourn this tragic loss of life, we want to encourage our community to lean on each other for support and make use of available resources for self-care. We ask that the Whitman College community be thoughtful about the needs and wishes of those most impacted by this disaster and request once again that we access that deep reservoir of empathy and join in a collective effort to support our peers and colleagues in the best way we can.

Faculty members with direct ties to the region have highlighted two humanitarian organizations, Ahbap and Bridge to Türkiye Fund, that are active on the ground and invite you to contribute to the disaster relief.

Sarah Bolton