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The person responsible for writing the "95 Theses Why Whitworth is Better Than Gonzaga" has been identified, according to Sue Weitz, Gonzaga's vice president for student life.
Sometime during the night of Oct. 31 or the morning of Nov. 1, an undetermined number of students from Whitworth College left about 300 fliers on Gonzaga's campus listing reasons why Whitworth is better than Gonzaga. Gonzaga's campus security discovered most of the fliers before the morning of Nov. 1, but a few of them were left for students to see, Weitz said.
The Whitworth students also dressed Gonzaga's statue of Bing Crosby in a smiley-faced T-shirt with little Whitworth flags on it that were also removed by security, Weitz said.
"Some of the statements on the flier were not respectful to our community," Weitz said in an e-mail to the University. "This incident is not reflective of the spirit and mission of Whitworth College."
Although the student responsible for writing the theses has been identified, it is impossible to determine how many students were responsible for spreading the fliers around the campus, Weitz said.
According to Weitz, there has always been a friendly rivalry between Whitworth and Gonzaga. In the past the schools pulled pranks by stealing each other's jerseys, she said. However, Weitz did not find this particular prank funny. She said she is a fan of clever pranks, but described this one as mean.
Gonzaga's president, Fr. Robert Spitzer, S.J., was attacked in the theses, which Weitz felt crossed the line.
"Clearly, this is a case where many of us are troubled by the acts of a few," Whitworth President Bill Robinson wrote in an e-mail to the Whitworth student body. "I hope our friends at Gonzaga will have the generosity of spirit to recognize that they are admired and respected by virtually all of us at Whitworth."
Oct. 31 marked the anniversary of Reformation Day, on which Martin Luther posted 95 Theses to challenge the authority of the Pope to sell indulgences. His theses were nailed on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, on Oct. 31, 1517.
The morning after the distribution of the fliers, Gonzaga student David Tobias started a Facebook group entitled "95 Theses Shows How Stupid the School Is," which gained 600 members from Gonzaga in five days, he said. Tobias has since removed the group because Whitworth students were getting riled up about it, he said.
"I felt like we were adding fuel to the fire," Tobias said.
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