Parlor Talk
It's no coincidence that this column appears opposite the letters to the editor. Taken together, your letters to the Bulletin and my message to you represent a transaction that happens regularly in this magazine: Those of us who produce the Bulletin have certain information we want you to know about Swarthmore, yet we promise that if you will read what we send you, we will pay attention to what you have to say to us.
The letters in this issue show the College's need to have more dialogue with its alumni, and we are determined that the Bulletin should provide a place for that to occur. Since early December, when the Board of Managers acted to restructure the athletics program, College administrators and Board members have received letters and e-mails from more than 1,200 alumni, parents, and friends. The Bulletin itself received an unprecedented 30 letters intended for publication--about four times the usual number.
Editing your letters was difficult; I know--because I did it myself. We could not publish all of them, but those that appear in this edition's expanded letters section not only reflect the range of opinions expressed but represent most of the arguments, objections, and expressions of praise found in your correspondence. (You can read the full text of every letter to the Bulletin on our Web site, (www.swarthmore.edu/bulletin/mar01/letters.html) including those that we did not have space to publish.)
In a personal thank you to all who wrote to the magazine, I expressed gratitude that, no matter what their views, they cared enough about Swarthmore to communicate. Many institutions would be frightened by 1,200 letters--some college magazine editors by even 30--but whether or not we agree with you, we value your passion for Swarthmore.
Some alumni are fairly angry at the College these days. But whatever you think of the athletics decision (or anything else, for that matter), we want the Bulletin to be everyone's magazine. We hope you will find in these pages the same essential experience that every Swarthmorean has known here. When information is presented accurately and fairly and dialogue--no matter how passionate, intense, or fraught with fundamental disagreement--is being conducted with civility, integrity, and mutual respect, everyone benefits.
--Jeffrey Lott
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