by Concordia College students in History 112HU, Fall 2016
Bishop Whipple
The first Bishop Whipple relates to Concordia College through tradition. An image of Bishop Whipple from the early nineteen hundreds compared to an image of it today is virtually unchanged. There are a few minor changes, but that is to be expected on a building that was built in 1881. The windows are all in the same place, the roof and chimneys are in identical positions. The buildings structure is very much the same as the original design it was built with. The lack in change of design speaks to the value of tradition at Concordia. Concordia wants to remind its students of the past and what made this school into what it is today. Roman Catholic Bishops say, that private and church-related schools were first in the field of American education, and that they should be emphatically considered to be an integral part of the American educational system.[1] This indicates that private schools and ones with religious relations were some of the very first schools formed when America was first being settled. Concordia as well as other private schools want to hold on to the tradition and values from back then. They do this by not changing the building of Bishop Whipple but yet instead they update and advance the building so that it is acceptable for student use today but still have the old prestigious feel to it. This adds to the look and feel of the campus by having something that is very old while adding things that are very new. This feeling lets students benefit from both worlds so to say by realizing the tradition that built Concordia while also having the technological advancements throughout time on campus.
Concordia celebrated its 125th year anniversary in 2016. It celebrated this by putting up an event on campus celebrating all the history of Concordia. The event traveled through time from the very beginning of Concordia all the way to the present. Bishop Whipple was part of an exhibit in this event, it said that Bishop Whipple has been used for many reasons throughout its existence at Concordia, these uses ranged from offices to dorms to classrooms.[2] The celebration of the 125 years of history at Concordia shows that the college is deeply invested in its history. While exhibits like the one on Bishop Whipple also elude to the history of the school it also touches on the tradition of the school. One of the focus of the exhibit Bishop Whipple was a part of was on the history of what it has been used for throughout its existence at Concordia. The building was used for both male and female dormitories. Also, it has been used for offices for faculty, and for class rooms. Today the building is used for both classrooms and offices for faculty. The mix allows students to learn in the classroom and also be close to the offices of their professors for guidance outside of the class room.
The re-photograph of Bishop Whipple also show the advancements the college has made throughout its existence. These advancements consist of removing one of the doorways and only having one entrance to the building because they added on to the left side of Bishop Whipple and created another connecting building with classrooms and offices in it. The removal of this doorway and the widening of the other doorway is most likely to make the building handicap accessible. Another advancement made to Bishop Whipple is the addition of bike racks, benches, and street lights outside of the entrance. This shows that the Concordia campus has gone through changes throughout the years and the college wants its students to feel comfortable and safe. The comfortable and safe part comes from the benches outside the door for relaxing and chatting while the street light illuminates the area for a feeling of safety.
In conclusion, the re-photography of Bishop Whipple reveals more than just the minor changes that have been made to the building. It represents a feeling, a tradition, known by many “Cobbers.” It represents the deep historical connection the school has with its past. Also, it represents the advancements the college has made throughout its existence to keep up with the times and technology. Bishop Whipple may be a small wing of many connected buildings on campus but it represents so much more as being the oldest building on campus.
[1] Butts, R. Freeman. "Our Tradition of States' Rights and Education." History of Education Journal 10, no. ¼ (1959): 29-46. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3692630.
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