College Media Network - Search the largest news resource for college students by college students Jobs and internships for students -

BatesStudent.com: The Bates Student > Forum

Letter to Editor: Arts & Living Section Fails to Adequately Cover Bates Arts

By CAROL DILLEY

DIRECTOR OF DANCE, BATES COLLEGE

|

Published: Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Updated: Wednesday, November 18, 2009

To the Editor:

Since the graduation of Jessica Sawyer ’09 last year, the coverage of the arts in the now ironically named Arts & Living section has fallen off to almost nothing. Jessica apparently took it upon herself to cover the arts rather than arts coverage being a Bates Student priority as we in the arts had hoped. It was very exciting last year to open the paper and get a sense that this community actually was interested in the arts and to hear a student voice on arts events, to see a small reflection of the number of arts events offered every single week on this campus that affect thousands of students, faculty, staff and community members in any given month.  If you have no one on staff with the art bug, perhaps it is time to look for one or two that foster who interest. There are occasional reviews on arts events, but the presence of the arts is greatly diminished. Without the real presence of the arts in the Arts & Living section, it reads more like Sports & Living this semester. Thank you for your attention to this matter of great importance to the many arts focused people on this campus.

 

Carol Dilley

Director of Dance

Bates College

Recommended: Articles that may interest you

7 comments

Annie Connell
Thu Feb 18 2010 14:20
I'd just like to remind several people here that this was published in the Forum section; this is not only "fit to print", but it serves the exact purpose of the Forum section-- to publish opinion.

I second Ms. Dilley's concerns (which were tactfully and respectfully said, ironically quite unlike the poorly worded responses that followed). The Arts and Living section of the Bates Student, more often than not, includes more references to campus drinking culture and lewd jokes than it does to any arts events in the community. I know that there has recently been a push among many people, including staff members, to change this-- some has also come from students previously uninvolved with the paper who are now personally taking initiative to write substantive articles themselves (kudos, Kristen Moreau, for bringing LA art to the Bates Student!). I think the Arts and Living section may be improving, and the staff of the paper is generally attempting to better the quality of reporting. Perhaps this would have been a better response to Ms. Dilley's concerns-- describe all the good work that is done currently and ask if she could recommend a few people who have a more holistic interest in the arts than current writers may.

Sad, though, to see college students who are not only unable to be objective, but are self-involved enough to believe all criticism to be a personal affront.

Andrew Wilcox
Mon Feb 15 2010 15:24
As a former Managing Editor of the Bates Student (specifically the forum section, in which this article appeared), I think this opinion is first of all unfair and secondly unfit to print. If Carol Dilley had any sort of professional decency, she would have contacted the Student first to voice her concerns. At Bates College, we do not value personal attacks, especially those of which are presented publicly. I hope the editors-in-chief take it upon themselves to employ a professional filter upon their article decisions because this is clearly a disgrace and clearly unhelpful to anyone working at the Student.

And Ms. Dilley, poor you!

Anonymous
Tue Feb 9 2010 11:59
Let's recap: Carol Dilley writes an OPINION letter about how poor she thinks the art coverage is and asks for better leadership from the editor, then Edward Sturtevant chimes in to protect his good friend. Maybe you're just a little biased there, Edward. I'm sorry you disagree with the right to an opinion when it hurts your friend's feelings.
Jessie Sawyer
Thu Dec 17 2009 16:06
Ms. Dilley,

First, I must say thank you for your kind words about my work last year on The Student. I am humbled to hear that I left any sort of mark on the Bates community and it was an honor to represent the arts on and off campus.

Feedback from our readers is always welcome as long as it is constructive, however I was disappointed to not only read a personal attack on the arts section and the paper, but to also observe an antagonism between between staff members and readers of differing view points. Any newspaper is supposed to be a forum for discussion and coverage of a breadth of events, and healthy discourse is important, but when name-calling and blame ensues, we only digress from constructive criticism and addressing the real issues and content. This, of course, goes for everyone.

I must stand by Elizabeth Rowley '11, this year's arts & living editor, and stress the hard work that she and every staff member puts into The Student. I know, because I was in her place last year, and trust me, after several late nights in the news room (sometimes as late as 4 a.m.), you would realize that The Student isn't just an extracurricular activity; it is a full time job for the staff. This is easier said than done because our staff also has the responsibilities of a rigorous course load, athletics, and other extracurriculars to juggle. All of our time is basically on a volunteer basis (though staff members are paid a small amount, and in my opinion aren't paid enough, we won't go there). Now, I can't speak for the content of this year's arts section because I am no longer living in the newsroom and I don't get to see every issue of The Student, but I do know that Elizabeth Rowley is a talented individual that deserves a little more respect. I promoted her to assistant editor last year and recommended her for the managing position because she always worked very hard for me, wrote quality articles, and demonstrated an initiative in interviewing sources and generating story ideas that made her stand out from the rest of the pack. She, herself, is very involved in the arts scene at Bates, as are many of the other staff members, so to say that The Student doesn't care about art, is an unfortunate mistake.

Ms. Dilley, I say this not out of disrespect, but out of respect for my peers that I have worked with on The Student. I think you, of course, are entitled to your opinion and I do agree with you that we haven't always been able to cover every event, but it is not out of negligence. For me, there were times when I had to cut articles because of limited space and others when I didn't have enough writers to cover certain events even though I tried to make sure every arts group got attention. So, if you have something you would like covered, I urge you to let Ms. Rowley know in a more respectable way and she will surely do her best to cover it. Better yet, recruit writers for the arts section who are knowledgeable about dance (who, of course, aren't in the recitals being covered and who are capable of writing an unbiased review). The Student would love to cover everything, but sometimes it isn't a matter of interest, but rather available print space and a prioritization of the most timely and newsworthy articles. Our apologies if we haven't covered dance as much as you would have liked in the past and please don't hold a grudge against The Student. The staff members really do work their hardest and try their best given time constraints, a wealth of other commitments, and print space, so please honor their efforts and work ethic. If you have any more criticisms, please try to be more specific and less abrasive toward our staff. Again, that doesn't just go for you. That goes for any articles we publish, writers, readers, staff members, and online comments, as well.

I wish your dance crew and The Student happy holidays and good luck as final exams come to a close. To a happy new year, as well.

Miss all of you at Bates,
Jessie Sawyer

Edward Sturtevant
Sat Nov 28 2009 12:09
Well Mr. Cohen, I can assure that it is not because of any lack of courage in my convictions that I did not put my name down. If putting my name down is what it takes for you to say anything about the actual letter, rather than accusing me of cowardice, then my name is Edward Sturtevant. How do you think this letter reflects on the Ms. Dilley? What basis does she have for such harshness? As a faculty member especially, she could have and should have contacted the newspaper staff directly and tried to engage some sort of constructive dialogue. This isn't the New York Times, these are our fellow classmates and students, and they are willing to help the Bates community. They are a bunch of hard-working, committed young people who take a lot of time out of their schedule to present a newspaper to the student body every week. I can guarantee she would have gotten a lot more accomplished if she had put her faith in the geniality and cooperation of the Bates Student editors, instead of trying to crucify them, drawing counter-productive and unfounded comparisons and criticisms.

If you have anything to say regarding my opinion Mr. Cohen, I welcome a response.

Robert Cohen
Mon Nov 23 2009 19:18
Whether one agrees or disagrees with Ms. Dilley's opinion, at least Ms. Dilley had the courage to identify herself when she submitted her views. I wish that the individual who posted such a vehement response had that same courage of his or her convictions.
Your name
Wed Nov 18 2009 20:03
This professor has her head so far up her own a** its ridiculous. This article is not constructive at all, it is simply an unfounded, cruel swipe, not to mention it is very poorly written. If I was a dance student, I would be horribly embarrassed to be associated with vacuous rudeness. She has obviously not read the section at all this year, which has been excellently managed and accepted very positively by the student body. It would appear that the only person who is disconnected with the arts at Bates is Carol Dilley, who can't seem to extend the scope of her vision beyond her own office.

I also don't see why this article even went to print. The letters to the editor section should be used for responding to specific articles, or for bringing up an issue in the Bates community that actually exists. This is just a narcissistic and uninformed personal attack.

As a professor, this is not Carol Dilley's role. She should be ashamed and embarrassed.







log out