DSU Love Notes (Editor Version)

With Valentine’s Day being a little over two weeks from Tuesday, our esteemed advisor, Dr. Blessinger, asked the Times staff to write about what they love about Madison and the Dakota State community. It could be very uncomfortable for those of us who like to guard our emotions. But one of us has to be the first person to take the bold step. I, Dan Crisler, your dear editor, volunteer to be the first jump into the saccharine alligator jaws of love.

First of all, let’s replace “love” with “like.” I know shying away from the word “love” sounds very eight-year-old like of me, but I figure I get a pass here as I am the first one to bare my emotions so you can all laugh and mock me in your offices after you finished reading this.

Anyway, now that that is out of the way, let’s begin.

I like the fact that it is easy to get to know the professors in such a short time. Whereas other (bigger) universities may rely on big lecture halls for the general education courses, I thought it was nice that professors like Dr. John Nelson and Dr. Joe Staudenbaur had a pretty good idea of who I was by the end of my first semester here at DSU.

After taking two of Dr. Kurt Kemper’s history classes in my second semester, I appreciated him informing me of upper level history courses that he was going to teach the following semesters and for trying to adjust his schedule of those courses to accommodate my schedule, even though it never worked out very well.

The three of you may be shuddering at being named in such a sappy article. If I have to bare my soul like this, then I’ll make sure that a select few of you will feel as uncomfortable as I am writing this. Actually, I liked all of the professors I have taken, but I still want to keep some of my dignity.

All right, now moving to a slightly more manly, but still saccharine, subject.

In a bigger university, I’m sure a non-athlete like me would have never have had much to do with anyone in the athletic department. But due to the smaller campus, I had the opportunity to talk extensively with assistant men’s basketball Matt Garner, who was also the Higbie resident director a couple of years ago. Here, he and I talked extensively about baseball, specifically my St. Louis Cardinals and his Chicago Cubs (he’s also a lapsed Cardinals fan).

This led to me writing baseball updates to him and his dad, head coach Gary Garner (who is far more sensible than his son in staying a Cardinals fan). Despite my bloviating ego that made itself more prominent in successive e-mails, they have never told me to shut up. I’m sure that their receptive nature to my ego has contributed to my inflated self-esteem I am feeling right now (a far cry from where it was my freshman year).

There, five victims have been targeted in this love letter. For those faculty who are reading this in horror, wondering if they will be dragged out to the stage, rest assured that you will be spared. But I thank you anyway for making my academic experience enlightening and, dare I say, fun (at times).

If the above text were shorter, I would mention other things I like about Madison, like how I enjoy going to McDonald’s for sausage biscuits on those rare mornings in which I am functional and breakfast is not over. But that would be much too long.

So ends the sappiest letter I hope to ever write targeting anyone unrelated to me who is not a significant other.

Featured photo taken from Wikimedia Commons