LetsGoDU

DU Hockey Player Embroiled In PC Controversy
See-Saw-athon Ends In Drunken Disarray & Injuries

During the Spring Quarter, many DU Hockey players' thoughts turn to beer, broads and softball as they try and regain some semblance of a "normal" collegiate social life away from the constant pressure of being a Division I athlete.

DU Junior defenseman and WCHA All-Academic team member Zack Blom has spent the past year writing Editorials for the University of Denver's fishwrap called The Clarion. He has tackled such diverse issues as global warming, racism and relationships.

However it was a snappy little piece on Springtime Activities at DU that drew howls of politically correct laced protest from Lisa Ingafield and DU's Health Cordinator Katie Dunker in a sharply worded Letter to the Editor.

Dear Clarion,

In response to the "Balancing work and See-saw-athon" article recently published, we'd like to briefly express our disappointment in the nature of a particular description used within the piece.

This article gave several pieces of sound advice regarding how students can enjoy spring quarter at DU. However, referencing that "Ladies, leave the pumps at home because Driscoll lawn's soft grass can't be expected to hold a heel, no matter how anorexic you might be," was in poor taste.

Mr. Blom, who wrote the article, apparently lacks the understanding of what it means to be slender versus anorexic. While I respect Mr. Blom's right to use descriptive language, making light of a serious mental health illness that plagues college campuses, DU being no exception, was out of line. In our society, men and women are constantly bombarded with images of what is "attractive" and "normal." By including a sexist and thoughtless sentence in this article the Clarion has shown little tact and is simply fulfilling the careless social constructs created by mass media. We expect more from the Clarion staff. In the future-stick to descriptive adjectives that do not stigmatize segments of our campus population.

Sincerely,

Katie Dunker, Health Promotion Coordinator, and Lisa Ingarfield

Turns out young Mr. Blom was on to something about the dangers of the See-saw-athon because this breathless account of a charity event gone horribly wrong appeared in this week's Clarion.

This year's See-saw-athon was scheduled to run from noon Thursday to noon Friday. However, a serious injury and multiple underage intoxicated students caused Gamma Phi Beta to shut down the festivities at around 2 a.m. on Friday morning.

Carter Harrison, 21, a junior Chi Phi, was one of the students involved in the string of events that led to See-saw-athon's closure; after apparantly suffering a back injury, Harrison was taken to the hospital via ambulance.

"I feel terrible that Gamma Phi Beta and all the organization entrants' work was cut short because I was injured. That is something that I never intended to happen," said Harrison. "It was just an accident, and they happen, that's all I can say."

A Clarion reporter who was at the scene of the See-saw-athon event on Thursday evening and into the early hours of Friday morning saw incidents take place that led to the closing down of the event.

At approximately 9:30 a.m. an underage female was throwing up on herself in front of the Driscoll university center where numerous people were entering and exiting to use the bathrooms. The DU student was surrounded by three Campus Safety officers and was later transported by ambulance to a local hospital.

Also, there were reports of multiple male and female students falling off the see-saws. When Gamma Phi Beta sorority members walked around and told students the event had been shut down, a few fights broke out in front of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house. At least five police cars showed up at the scene but no arrests were reportedly made.