Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down 12/09/04

• Thumbs up to not having finals on Friday. More vacation is always good.
• Thumbs up to the swans going away for the winter. We can walk the paths without fear!
• Thumbs up to the holiday season. Happy Holidays!s

• Thumbs down to having so many tests and projects the week before finals.
• Thumbs down to whoever put the barrel in the lake. Grow up, you’re in college.
• Thumbs down to finals that are at 8 in the morning. Who’s awake that early?

Dygert cleared on 3 charges of swan teasing

Kiley Mackie
Staff Writer
April 15, 2004, Page 1

Sophomore Andrew Dygert, accused of provoking the swans while videotaping them for a class convergence project, was acquitted on three of the four charges against him at a formal hearing Wednesday.
Dygert was acquitted of the following charges:

1. Conduct that threatens or endangers the health or safety of any person on college premises or at college-sponsored or college supervised functions or conduct likely to result in property damage.
2. Disorderly Conduct.
3. Providing false information to staff.

Dygert says he plans to appeal his only guilty charge: Failure to comply with directions of college officials or their designees acting in performance of their duties, based on insufficient evidence.
Russ Hewitt, director of Residence Life, informed Dygert of the charges during an informal hearing last Thursday after initially questioning him during an unrelated interview the day before.
Hewitt said the initial interrogation resulted from an anonymous student e-mail stating he/she had seen Dygert provoking and video taping the swans on April 6. Additional complaints received after the initial interview prompted Hewitt to continue investigation and summon Dygert to the informal hearing.
During questioning, Dygert offered his own account of the event.
On April 6, he and freshman Tosha Rae Long went down to the pond behind Hansen Hall to film the swans for a convergence project they had been assigned in class, Dygert said.
While filming the swans from the walking path, Dygert said the swan flew across the pond toward him.
Both he and Long said they had not provoked the swan in any way prior to the attack.
Dygert said after he was attacked, he retreated from the swan while the camera was still rolling and both he and Long left the area.
After hearing Dygert’s account of the event, Hewitt sent an e-mail to Dygert requesting the tape be viewed to either confirm or deny Dygert’s initial claim of being more than 50 feet away before the swan attacked.
Dygert, the news editor of The Owl, forwarded the e-mail to the The Owl staff, who denied Hewitt’s request, saying the tape was The Owl’s property and that turning over research material would be in violation of its policy and would set a dangerous precedent that any research material could be accessed upon anyone’s request.
Dygert agreed with The Owl’s decision.
“What’s actually on the tape shouldn’t matter,” Dygert said. “If I get assigned to write a paper for a class, should I get charged for what I write in it?”
Long, who was there while Dygert was filming and has seen the footage, also said she thought the tape would only provide circumstantial evidence.
“It (the tape) could have helped Andy’s case or hurt it,” Long said. “It just depends on who’s watching it and what point they’re trying to prove.”
Though Hewitt said that all procedures fell within the scope of the student handbook, he agreed that cases with such few consequences should not have to be dealt with formally.
“With the amount of complaints we receive, we’re much too busy to be having formal hearings when we could just get a damn video tape,” Hewitt said.
Regardless, the tape was not viewed in the investigation or at the formal hearing and did not affect the outcome of the formal hearing.
Though Dygert said he was somewhat pleased by the decision, he said he still disagrees with the single guilty charge and the way the matter was handled.
When Dygert complained of several procedural discrepancies in the investigation, Hewitt denied them using the Student Handbook.
Hewitt also said that if any student were to claim procedural problems as grounds for dismissal of a case, he would direct them to pg. 87 of the Student Handbook which states: “Doane College, as a private college, is not required to provide due process in its response to student discipline matters.”

Letter to the Editor: Swans should stay

Letter to the Editor
April 15, 2004, Page 4

Dear Editor:
We are outraged about the students’ comments in this last issue of The Owl. We are going to defend the swans.
First of all, the reason they are more aggressive now is because of everyone aggravating them. They are more defensive because some of the immature and inappropriate students that we seem to have on campus insist on annoying the beautiful swans.
The swans would not be as aggravating if the students just minded their own business.
For example, instead of stopping and “kicking the swans in the head” when the male swan approaches the student, keep walking in your initial direction.
If the swan follows you then run in the direction you are headed. The swans should not be removed from the lake. Also, there is no way that you should remove the male swan during their nesting period.
If administration is thinking about doing anything then they should block off all access to the stone path in-between the nest and the bridge. We are in favor of putting up the temporary fence around the lake.
It would be the safest way to keep our wonderful swans in their nest and still keep the students away from them. If there is an issue about cost or labor, money can be raised and students can put it in (group, “community” effort). Just say the word and it can be done.
Another thing, what are the Crete youths doing by our swans anyway?
If everybody can respect the swans and what they are going through, then there shouldn’t be a problem. I just think that there are not enough respectable students.
We previously thought that highly of the Doane student community. They have proven us wrong if they are assaulting our beautiful creatures in the lake.
Thank you and we hope something reasonable can be done.
Just please do not remove them from the lake.

Heather Poysa
Holly Bitzinger

Swan Photo

Jerrome Morgan
Photo Editor
April 8, 2004, Page 1

The swans swim on Doane Lake while a woman and her dog enjoy the nice weather. Signs posted around Doane Lake warn that the swans are nesting and may be aggressive

Close encounters of the swan kind

Andy Dygert and Tosha Rae Long
Staff Writers
April 8, 2004, Page 1

The swans on the Doane lakes are stirring up a lot of controversy during mating season. However, many people are wondering whether the swans are causing the problems or if it is the students’ actions that are antagonizing them.
“There seem to be more reports of students attacking swans versus swans attacking students,” said Russ Hewitt, director of Residence Life.
One student has been reportedly attacked by a swan.
Sarah Newton, friend of the supposedly attacked student, recounted the incident.
“It attacked her with its wings and left bruises on her legs as she was walking from Communications to Hansen,” Newton said.
Designed as a scenery addition to the campus, the swans have since created turmoil.
“Usually I think the swans are a great addition to Doane’s campus, however lately we’ve had some incidences where the male swan is being very protective of his eggs,” said Kim Heier, Dean of Student Leadership.
The solution to this problem, although it might seem simple, is rather complex. Removing the swans would be the obvious answer.
“If the swans continue to be aggressive, we will have to relocate them,” said Pappy Khouri, Vice President of Financial Affairs.
However, Khouri said that if the male swan is removed, nature is disrupted because the male and female alternate in sitting on the eggs.
There have been reports of students provoking the swans. The best way to avoid conflict is to abstain from contact with the swans Hewitt said.
“The college will take steps to protect the students,” Hewitt said. “I hope that students just realize to walk on by.”
Recent attempts to squander student aggressiveness toward the birds include signs posted near the water stating “Nesting swans may be aggressive. Please use caution” and a campus wide e-mail sent by Hewitt stating that any students caught aggravating the swans will be issued an automatic $500 fine.
Tiffany Grossman, freshman, feels that the aggressiveness of the swans is a harsh reality.
“It is a tough one,” Grossman said. “It is a sucky situation because they are attacking people, but they have to because they are protecting their babies.”
Other students feel that removing the swans is the best option.
“The swan is on a power trip and someone needs to dethrone him,” said freshman Matt Cooper. “We should keep them, but maybe let them out after mating season.”
The fact is, the swans are becoming an issue on the Doane campus, one that may need a solution soon.
“I think that we may need to think about removing him [male swan] from campus on a temporary basis until he can become less aggressive,” Heier said.

Editorial: Do not harrass the swans

Staff Editorial
April 8, 2004, Page 4

The recent conflicts with the swans have prompted Residence Life to issue $500 fines to students caught harassing them.
While students should not taunt the swans, often times a swan becomes defensive simply because students walk by.
Students need to be able to cross the bridge by Hansen Hall in order to get to the Communications or Lied Science and Mathematics Building. This isn't harassing them, but the swans still get riled up when people walk by.
Students have added to this problem by throwing things and teasing the swans. But it's not just students who are to blame.
Crete children have also been seen tormenting the swans and causing them to swim rapidly up to shore. The Crete community and the Doane community both need to respect the swans.
The reports of swans attacking students beg the question "Why keep something that causes a nuisance?" The swans do create a picturesque scene for anyone walking along Doane Lake. They are beautiful creatures.
But is creating a mood more important than students’' safety? Some students don't like the swans and have no problem expressing this opinion.
The people interviewed for Question of Week all seemed to dislike, or at least be wary of, the swans. Other students have agreed that having to walk around the swans is a nuisance. The swans sometimes attack those who do not provoke them.
One solution would be to move the swans while they are nesting. The swans would be gone for about two months and would return in time for graduation. Not only could the swans nest in peace, but students could get to class without planning alternative routes.
Another solution would be putting a temporary fence around the lake to keep the swans and students separated. Then the swans wouldn’t bother students who are just trying to walk to class, and the students won’t contemplate creating recipes for swan cordon bleu.
No matter what solution the administration comes up with, the fact remains that something has to be done. Until a solution is found, students should take caution.

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down 04/08/04

• Thumbs up to HLP for bringing world traveller Doug Lansky to campus.
• Thumbs up to nice spring weather.
• Thumbs up to the Forensics team for making the top 25 last weekend.

• Thumbs down to swans attacking unsuspecting students.
• Thumbs down to the Crete children who throw rocks and aggravate the swans.
• Thumbs down to the cafeteria still cutting apples and oranges in half. Yuck.

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down 04/01/04

• Thumbs up to having more than one candidate running for Student Congress president.
• Thumbs up to spring finally blossoming.
• Thumbs up to all the academic and athletic achievements over Spring Break.

• Thumbs down to the agressive swans.
• Thumbs down to the idiots who tease the swans, making them even angrier.
• Thumbs down to the $30 pre-registration fee.