Tuesday, March 7, 2017
IDS Indiana Daily Student | idsnews.com
SWIMMING AND DIVING
Coach retires after decades in Big Ten swimming By Ben Portnoy bmportno@iu.edu | @bportnoy15
IU swimming and diving associate head coach Dennis Dale has spent more than three decades as a coach in the Big Ten, but his storied career is coming to a close. With his brief stint at IU winding down and the longtime coach set to retire at the end of the season, Dale’s coworkers and swimmers alike are reflecting on the mark Dennis Dale he left both in and out of the pool. “He’s just a great guy,” IU Coach Ray Looze said. “He’s a legend. He’s one of the greatest Big Ten swimming coaches that’s ever been in the conference.” Dale, who is in his third year as an assistant with the Hoosiers, will retire at the end of this season. He spent 29 years as the men’s head coach at Minnesota prior to arriving at IU in 2014. Junior swimmer Blake Pieroni said Dale has been a great mentor for him in his life away from the pool. “He’s a huge proponent of grades and all kinds of getting a good GPA and getting into life after swimming, which I know helps people,” Pieroni said. Dale began his coaching career at Burnsville High School in Burnsville, Minnesota, where he won four state
championships. In 1985, he moved on to his alma mater, Minnesota, where he brought the program to heights it hadn’t reached since the 1920s. In his time with the Golden Gophers, Dale led the team to seven Big Ten Championships, including the program’s first since 1926. He also coached 181 Academic All-Big Ten honorees and 31 Academic All-Americans. Despite all the success through the decades, Dale’s time at Minnesota abruptly ended after the 20132014 season. After 29 years, one of the most important figures in Minnesota swimming and diving history was unceremoniously relieved of his duties. “Leaving the University of Minnesota as a coach, under the conditions I left, was extremely painful and hurtful,” Dale said. “And I thought, ‘How can they treat people this way?’ I was angry, mad and hurt. That part, you know, hasn’t gone away.” According to Dale, Minnesota never gave him a reason for his release. He said the school told him it was not firing him, but it would not renew his contract. A Minnesota spokesperson could not provide details surrounding Dale’s departure from the school further than his dates of employment. After parting ways with Minnesota, Dale said he seriously SEE DALE, PAGE 6
One in five American households, like graduate student David Silverstein’s, identify as interfaith homes.
Only 20 percent of the previous generation was raised in such households, but 27 percent of millennials, like Silverstein, are. 87%
81%
80%
19%
20%
73%
27% 13%
SILENT GENERATION
BABY BOOMERS
GEN. X
MILLENNIAL
Raised with single religious background Raised by two people with different religions
Silverstein said he wouldn’t ever let religion stand in the way of a potential relationship. Americans say “shared religious beliefs” is in the bottom three “very important” qualities for successful relationships. Shared interests Satisfying sexual relationship Sharing household chores Adequate income Shared religious beliefs Having children
66% 63%
61%
46% 44%
41%
Agreement on politics
16%
Most people surveyed said their parents shared equally in their religious upbringing, but usually the mother was mainly responsible. COURTESY PHOTO
Those from interfaith households are more likely to adopt the mother’s religion.
Public relations director and senior Annie Skertic, chief engineer and sophomore Nick Kinney, production director and senior Collin Thomas, and special events director and junior Mike Higgins answer audience questions about putting on live performances at a radio station. The WIUX panel was part of the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System awards in New York City where the station won four awards.
Ultimately, the study made clear that many Americans adopt a religious identity different than their parents’ faith.
WIUX takes home 4 titles in national broadcasting awards By Sanya Ali siali@indiana.edu | @siali13
WIUX Pure Student Radio took home a variety of awards after being nominated in 17 categories as part of the 77th annual Intercollegiate Broadcasting Systems awards. IBS announced the winners during its national conference Saturday in New York City. WIUX took home top honors in four categories — “Best News Interview” for junior Justice Eiden’s TEDx, “Best Comedy Program” for “Radio Ha Ha,” “Best Giveaway Item” and “Best Chief Engineer,” awarded to sophomore Nick Kinney. Senior Collin Thomas, WIUX’s production director, who was nominated in the category of “Best Production Director,” said there is
NOW!
ctfernan@indiana.edu | @christinetfern
For graduate student David Silverstein, most Christmases are spent eating Chinese take-out with his family. However, for one Christmas in middle school, Silverstein found himself decorating a Christmas tree and exchanging gifts at his grandmother’s house. While he was raised Jewish, Silverstein’s mother had grown up as a Lutheran. Celebrating Christmas at his grandmother’s house was Silverstein’s first introduction to his Christian roots. “I definitely identify as Jewish, but it was so cool to be pulled into this new side of my family’s religious history that I never really understood or knew existed before,” Silverstein said. More Americans like Silverstein have been growing up in interfaith homes in recent years, according to a 2016 Pew Research Center study. While only 20 percent of the previous generation was raised in such households, 27 percent of the millennial generation is being raised in interfaith homes. Forty-four percent of Americans says shared religious beliefs are “very important” in a marriage, according to the same study. The Interfaith Families Project, headquartered in Washington, D.C., seeks to promote this growth and to support interfaith families. Matthew McGrath, IFFP member and Indiana native, said most people only ask about the challenges of an interfaith family, but he wants to change that narrative. He said raising his children in a household that celebrates his Catholicism and his wife’s Judaism has strengthened his family. “Celebrating both sides has taught us about inclusion and uniting as a family,” he said. “It’s helped us bridge gaps and understand one another.” While Silverstein does not identify as Lutheran, he said having his mother as a source of information about Christianity has helped him understand other religions and other people. “I think any opportunity you have to understand a different group of people, even if they’re not a group you identify as, expands your perspective of the world,” he said. Lutheranism and Judaism emphasize similar core values of doing good and serving others, Silverstein said. Both religions influenced his value system. As a result, he said he would be open to raising an interfaith family of his own in the future. “I don’t think I’d ever let religion stand in the way of a potential relationship,” he said. “I’m happy to celebrate the differences instead of feeling put off by them.” Susan Katz Miller, author of “Being Both: Embracing Two Religions in One Interfaith Family,” also grew up with Christian and Jewish parents. However, her parents decided to raise her Jewish because interfaith households were so SEE INTERFAITH, PAGE 6 ROSE BYTHROW | IDS
Above photo David Silverstein grew up in an interfaith family, and his Lutheran mom converted to Judiasm for his dad. Silverstein is a graduate student in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs and hopes to manage an opera company when he graduates.
a lot of excitement at WIUX following the weekend. “The IBS conference is always a great opportunity for the people in our organization to be recognized for the awesome work they do with WIUX and for the community,” Thomas said in an email. “It was a fantastic experience to go out to New York and stand up with the best people in college radio, and we’re all really proud to have been able to represent WIUX on that stage.” Senior Annie Skertic, public relations director for WIUX, was one of four WIUX staffers who appeared on a panel during the conference. Skertic said not only is it an honor to be nominated for the large-scale awards but to have the
AN EVENING WITH
E ON SAL
SOURCE PEW RESEARCH CENTER GRAPHICS BY EMILY ABSHIRE | IDS
By Christine Fernando
SEE WIUX, PAGE 6
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