Lots of Stuff to Talk About!

Editor Rant

Saturday there is an important Swimming and Diving meet against Kenyon. Swimming takes place earlier than Diving. Diving is at 5:00 pm in Mitchell's pool. Seems like a time everyone can make, right? Wrong. I bet most of the swim team will not be in attendance, supporting their fellow teammates. Just because there are more swimmers should not mean that the divers feel pressured to attend the entire swim portion while few to no swimmers attend the diving portion. This angers me mostly because my younger sister is a diver, and a damn good one at that, but her talent is unrecognized because the people who go to watch diving are parents, few friends and maybe 3 or 4 swimmers. Last weekend I got up hung over and walked my ass down to the pool at 10 am to watch my sister dive, mainly because she's awesome. When I was there the swimmers I saw (4 of them) were sitting talking to each other or studying before their portion of the meet, the other people there were parents of other divers and two other students. My sister then stayed the rest of the meet to watch and support the swimmers.
This is just unfair. Is it not a Swimming AND Diving team? Do teams not support one another? It makes me angry to see my sister and her teammates unsupported by the rest of their team. I was on swim team in high school and the same bullshit happened, diving was earlier sometimes so no swimmers watched, and those who watched got bored and talked to each other, which is just rude and ruins the concentration of the divers. Since I was ten years old I have spent most of my Saturdays in the natatorium of the University of Buffalo watching my sister compete. It was hot, humid, hours long and most of the time I hated it. But when my sister got on that board to dive I got this feeling of such pride, that's my little sister doing that, getting those scores, being that good at what she does. Eventually when I understood it more, I had more fun and appreciated it more.
All I am asking is that Saturday, you go and support the swimmers, and then support the divers, and swimmers, I hope you stay and support the divers, because most of them are someone's brother or sister and all of them are someone's child, and there's a lot of pride in that and there should be the same pride in them as your teammates.

-Laura Masters, Junior Editor

Remember, Remember, the 8th of November

Dear Denison Community,

On Wednesday, President Knobel sent a campus-wide email addressing the events that happened during this week last year. After reading the letter, the Denison Progressive Alliance executive committee wants to address the anniversary of last November's events, and to call for a continuation of the discussions that began at that time. We are happy to see that the Administration recognizes the importance of ongoing dialogue and creating changes on our campus. However, it is our observation that the actions of the Administration have not succeeded in creating a sustained dialogue, but rather have come in small doses. An email near the end of the semester is inadequate and overdue. In order to truly see change on this campus, there must be a consistent and urgent effort by both the Administration and the student body to seek transformations.
All of the efforts listed in Dr. Knobel's email are laudable actions, but we find it troubling that for many students, this was their first time hearing about these changes. We want to encourage the administration to be more open with students about changes being implemented so we can make use of them.To facilitate this conversation, DPA is starting a weekly lunch hour conversation open to all students, Administration, faculty, and staff. Please look for more information about this towards the beginning of next week. We will contact the Bullsheet with more ways to get students involved in these discussions.
Ultimately, true change on our campus culture can only come about through the combined effort of students and Administration. This is the starting point to create change, and if we want it, we have to fight for it. One email every semester is not enough, we need to be a part of the process and involved in making the change. Last year, there was a sense of solidarity and collective understanding, but that seems to have died away with a lack of communication. We recognize, as Dr. Knobel said in his email, this cannot be all about the Administration. However, the Administration does have the ability to facilitate the conversation and foster student involvement.
As President-Elect Obama said to the nation Tuesday night, this "is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other." Change must not just be rhetoric, but action; and we have the power to make that happen. This is reflected not just on a national level, but on a local level and begins with ourselves, in our Denison community.
We echo Dr. Knobel's words that as the election represented a fundamental responsibility to the national community, we also have a responsibility to the Denison community. Last November, there was a call on campus to change the current systems. To do so, we encourage the Denison community to seek information from the Administration, faculty, and staff, and to reach out to one another.

Amanda Dever, 7677; Caiti Schroering, 8096; Emily Anderson, 8531

DCGA, WooHoo!

There are many qualified candidates running this semester for the position of 2012 DCGA Class Senator. I have read the platforms of my competitors (available on the DCGA website), and it seems that we agree on many things that we would like to see happen at Denison. From making freshman parking more accessible, to increasing the quality of dining hall food, we have each stated a commitment to improving the quality of life and available opportunities for the entire campus. That being said, I am asking for your vote. Having attended multiple DCGA meetings, I feel that I understand (and possess) the necessary skills to serve as an effective Senator. Even if I am not elected, I am committed to effecting change on campus. For example, I will be seeking a position on the newly created Security Council to act as a mediator between students and campus security.I cannot promise that everything you personally want to see change would in fact change as a result of electing me. No one could promise that. But I can guarantee that should I be elected, I would commit to fully serving you. Thanks for your time and remember to vote for up to 8 candidates on November 11th on myDenison.
Kale "friend me on Facebook if you have any questions" Hills 7571