Openness is Key to Pursue Positive Change
As a member of the Student Government Evaluation Committee (GEC), I would like to make some clarifications from Tuesday's article.
President Pierre stated, "if the GEC had done a little bit more homework, they would have realized that fact," in reference to our comments on the need for increased communication and collaboration and said that these things had improved during his time in office.
First, I would like to emphasize that in our statements about communication and collaboration, we were not saying that DePauw Student Government (DSG) completely lacked these traits, we were simply stating that many others and ourselves thought that they could be improved.
I think that every organization on campus should continue to work towards improvement and refinement.
Also, the GEC observed every body of student government and interviewed many of the members of these bodies. A reoccurring theme in all of our observations and in the interviews with members was that communication and collaboration were two of the primary issues in DSG.
A majority of senators and representatives that we personally spoke to said these issues were prominent. Although, I cannot speak for where President Pierre collected the information to back up his statements. I would think that had he pulled aside many members of DSG and interviewed them subjectively he would have found the same issues that we did.
The GEC is a part of the constitution in order to provide checks and balances on these institutions. This system will fail if the information provided by the committee is disregarded.
It is necessary for student government, particularly the leadership, to strive to continue to advance no matter what improvements have come in the last year, especially when many members still see these issues as critical problems.
The GEC was only given a week to publish their report and, we decided that it was necessary to continue our review of DSG more thoroughly. The GEC will continue their work alongside all members of DSG to pursue positive change on this campus.
— Ellen Clayton, senior and Alex Lemna, freshman (Not representative of the opinions of the GEC as a whole)
Critique of coverage of Tatge class misses the point
Like many other alumni, I make a point to read The DePauw each week so that I can know what is going on at my alma mater. Most of the time, I'm heartened to read about lively debate and a vibrant social and academic community. In the past week, though, I've been somewhat shocked over the predominant sentiment regarding the recent story about Professor Tatge's class and The DePauw's subsequent reporting.
Lost in the emotion, innuendo of legal threats and lack of thoughtful analysis by many members of the DePauw community, are a few basic facts.
What happened to the student, who is an adult, is a matter of public record — even though it is incredibly unfortunate.
The primary purpose of a university like DePauw is to provide its students with a liberal arts education, to generate debate and critical thought and to permit both faculty and students to challenge the world around them.
The primary purpose of a newspaper like The DePauw is to report on news. It is pretty clear now that the subject of the class at issue is and was news.
Also lost in all of this, rather ironically so, is a coherent debate over our right to privacy. There are certain zones of our lives where we should expect privacy. But when we act in public, whether in an exemplary or in a less-than-exemplary way, we cannot claim an expectation of privacy.
Regardless of whether or not a newspaper publishes a narrative of what you do, certain records will always exist to create that narrative in the future.
It could be an arrest record or other disciplinary action. Or it could be what you and those who know you send via email or through social media. Every tweet ever sent is going to be housed in the Library of Congress. Forever. The DePauw bubble is real in many ways, but it does not exempt us from the scrutiny that every adult faces.
Neither the faculty nor student media should shy away from addressing real and relevant issues affecting the world at large and within the immediate DePauw community. While such pursuits should always be done with empathy and with dignity, I hope this eruption will not stifle the vibrant place we all love.
Mike Stanek ‘06
African American retention rates reported inaccurately
An article published in the March 2 issue of The DePauw ("Office of Institutional Research reveals retention rates for black males down not up") is both misleading and flat wrong.
The figures which are referenced in the headline, article and the vertical axis of the accompanying chart, apparently came from somewhere, but are not reflective of any conclusions reached by this office.
After comparing the published report to the data I've compiled (and which is quite different from the paper's), I'm left to assume that The DePauw took a report it received from an unrelated source and misinterpreted it in a number of ways, leading to entirely erroneous conclusions. Given how poorly the figures were represented, any conclusions drawn from them are not reliable.
The story asserts that the numbers contradict statements on retention made by Hermen Diaz. That, too, is incorrect. His statement that retention (customarily defined as the percent of entering students returning for the second year) for black males has increased since the implementation of the Black Male Initiative is factually on-the-mark, though fluctuations in the proportions are magnified due to the small number of students.
In general, however, there has been an increase. The article clearly conflates two different, though related, outcomes and does not draw the necessary distinction between the two.
Please know that I stand ready to help and that this error could have been averted had the reporter and graphic designer contacted me for confirmation of the data and the conclusions they were trying to draw and convey.
— Bill Tobin, director of institutional research
Support needed for national swimmers
In less than two weeks, 10 of the DePauw male and female athletes will compete at the NCAA swimming championships. The nine men attending represent the largest DePauw men's team in over 25 years. And Catie Baker, the women's representative, has had an excellent career that deserves attention.
Yet the DePauw [University] official web site and official twitter account have made no mention of their accomplishment. In addition The DePauw newspaper has not even covered their selection.
Recently many students on campus have commented on a lack of support for DePauw athletics. I believe some of the responsibility needs to fall on The DePauw to raise awareness.
As a main media source, The DePauw needs to let students know and get excited over their peers competing in such honorable events.
The lack of awareness is a shame. Our community has a rare chance to see these athletes in action as the meet will be held for the first time in Indianapolis at the IUPUI Natatorium March 21-24. I would encourage you to check out the schedule of events at http://www.ncaa.com/championships/swimming-men/d3 and cheer on our fellow Tigers!
— Brendan Flores, senior