One of many reasons I came to this campus was for the personal, yet open conversations students have with each other and professors.
When I came to visit, as a freshman at the University of Tulsa, I wanted to transfer because I desired higher education and a chance to really succeed. Boulder runs sounded cool, too.
On the day of my visit, I was predictably late. What do you call those classes you visit where, as a prospective student, you walk in, look confused and sit there for the rest of the hour hoping that no one can see how terrified you are?
Well, I was late for it, but I still found exactly what I was looking for.
Professor Sununu spent 20 additional minutes after the class, answering every question I had and going so far to show me her "Wife of Bath" doll, which is way cooler than that Barbie doll I allegedly flushed down the toilet when I was three.
I then interviewed for Media Fellows with Dr. Bohmer, who still managed to like me despite my lesser interest in baseball. I am from Kansas City, after all.
Those professors, the students I met and even the ridiculously fat squirrels (OK, not the squirrels — the cats.) brought me to DePauw and I've never looked back.
The only disadvantage is the snow globe we live in. You know what happens when a snow globe gets shaken up? Besides the arrival of Tim Allen with a long, white beard? Chaos ensues.
What if this column really got nasty about some particular issue or my own personal problem with something on campus? What if I said how I really felt about the bottled water column published in The DePauw the other day?
I would probably say that I entirely disagree with it. The main arguments for bringing bottled water back to campus were that spending five minutes filling up a water bottle is inconvenient and the water in the Hub tastes "funny."
I would probably get down to basic human decency. Forget the economics. "Funny" tasting water is a dream to most of the world's population. In many countries, people are forced to buy imported water.
I would probably talk about the thousands of children I came across in Ghana who will never have the audacity to complain about something as ridiculous as "funny" tasting water and silverware.
I'd probably express my concerns about a certain professor whose closed-mindedness and laziness costs students their grades and, more importantly, their right to express their thoughts openly.
On a campus with so many professors I truly revere, this particular case disheartens me.
Why bring it up in a column?
Because years of harsh evaluations at the end of the semester have apparently been ignored.
I hesitate to speak my mind.
The likely event of encountering someone deeply offended by my article after this is published hovers over me.
My love for this campus (and my own self-preservation) conflicts with my opinion.
We need to evaporate the globe glass, keep our minds open and not implode on ourselves.
If you didn't like my passiveness in this article, neither did I. Sadly, it's quite common on our campus.
I hope that DePauw can move past the subtle judgments we often bestow on one another based on superficial traits, and ultimately become more productive in our criticisms.
Also, I am very sorry to the writer of this column in response to the bottled water column of next week.
While I do disagree with your column, you are a fellow Tiger and that makes you awesome in my book.
—Jorgenson is a junior from Shawnee, Kan., majoring in English writing and film studies.
opinion@thedepauw.com
