Talk:Luther College (Iowa)/Archive 1

Archive 1

Decorah picture

Is there any relevance to the picture of Decorah?

Good question...I am sure there are better photos to represent Luther College. Just removing the photo would also make sense.

Any objections to the removal? HybridFusion 05:46, 20 October 2005 (UTC)

neutrality

This article reads like an admissions brochure (the campus is a "delightful mix of old and new")

I went through and tried to strip out a lot of this POV/peacock language and put in some more information on academics, adding cites all the way. Try it on for size and see that the world doesn't collapse when the article reads NPOV. I have rated the article as C-class on the WP:UNI/ASSESS guidelines since it lacks photos of campus and is missing major sections from WP:UNIGUIDE. Madcoverboy (talk) 20:30, 15 September 2008 (UTC)

I think the page lost its neutral POV again ("among the most beautiful in the area" and "students stay busy" sound like admissions brochures, and they mysteriously appeared after a group of edits last July from an IP in Deocrah...). It's probably worth checking it over again...which I might do when I stop being lazy. :) RMo (talk) 23:33, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

Quite true. I removed a bunch, but it's still pretty bad in some areas, expecially music. Iulus Ascanius (talk) 02:24, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

This article still seems to read like it was written by a college flack. I threw up a template warning, but don't have enough interest to edit. 98.246.154.230 (talk) 17:29, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

Drew Curtis

Not many people have heard of Cheryl Brown either, but that doesn't mean she's not a semifamous alum. Drew Curtis has done numerous radio+TV interviews, and is certainly better-known than several of the alums already mentioned on the page. Just because the user at 24.196.82.58 hasn't heard of him doesn't mean he should keep deleting him. I'm trying to avoid an editwar by taking this to the talk page.

I think he should be mentioned on the page. His website has an Alexa rank of 760. I had heard of him before I went to Luther and while at Luther. I have also had his name mentioned to me by several non-Luther, non-computer people who enjoy the website. Is there a way to set up a pole in order to settle this? I can't find any information on Wikipedia about what a 'famous' person needs to do. Manus Celer Dei 15:00, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

To be fair, if I reverted right now it would be more than 24 hours since my first revert. And I've given my reasons each time; it's not like I've been reverting without explanation. But anyway, like I said, I've never heard of this guy or his website. And I know I'm only one person, but it's not like I've been living under a rock or something. I don't recall ever hearing his name while at Luther or since then. Not in my two CS classes, not from my many friends who were also computer people, not in the alumni magazine, nowhere. Which means that a lot of other people haven't heard of him either. It's not like he founded a well-known site like Yahoo, Google, or Amazon. Even Wikipedia and Craigslist have been mentioned in the mainstream media; not Fark.com, from what I've read. In addition, it's worth noting that the co-founder of one of my favorite websites, Scott Chitwood of TheForce.Net, is not listed on the Wikipedia page for famous alumni of Texas A&M, his alma mater. And TFN has also been mentioned in the mainstream media.

As far as what a person needs to do to be considered famous, I figure they should fall into at least one of several categories, such as political leaders, alumni who are famous within the relevant community (here, the Luther community), people whose accomplishments would be well known to a wider audience, or people who, though perhaps not immediately recognizable, made significant contributions to society. So here, the political leaders are obvious. Weston Noble falls into at least the second and fourth categories, if not the third as well. Marty Haugen is at least well known within the Luther community, as well as in the Lutheran church. Eric Cutler is also well known in the Luther community and is an award-winning opera singer. I'll admit that Cheryl Brown is the only one on the list (aside from Curtis) that I had never heard of. But she falls into the third category: people see Miss Iowa and Miss America competitor and they immediately know what that means.

Drew Curtis, imho, falls into none of these categories. He's not a politician. Based on my experience, he's not famous within the Luther community (just because some members may have heard of him doesn't make him famous). I don't see his accomplishment, Fark.com, as being well known to a wide audience, certainly not like the Miss America pageant. I know my first reaction to seeing "Drew Curtis, founder of Fark.com" was something to the effect of "Fark.com? What the h*ll is that?" (Though I don't mean to diss him or the site.) And I imagine most people would react similarly. Finally, I frankly don't see Fark.com as a significant contribution to society. When I think of significant contributions, I think of things like medical research, technological advancement, achievements in the arts or in government, etc. I don't think of websites whose names are euphemisms for the word "f*ck" or that post pictures of squirrels with balls. I'm not a prude, and I have nothing against Drew Curtis or his website. I actually think the picture of the squirrel is quite funny. I just don't think his accomplishment or his fame compare to the rest of the people on that list.

I'm not going to immediately delete him again. I'd like to see what other people think, although I doubt that many will bother. Based on what I've said here, I don't think Drew Curtis is a famous Luther alum. However, you mentioned that he's been on TV and radio. What shows? If it was something like Today or Good Morning America, as opposed to a 2-minute piece on the midday local news in his viewing area, I might find that convincing.

--24.196.82.58 21:37, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

The three revert rule specifically states that you cannot use the "technicalities" to circumvent it. Drew Curtis IS notable, I attend Luther currently and have heard his name mentioned frequently. Fark is an extremely popular webpage (though I myself don't really see why) that generates a lot of traffic. Please leave Mr Curtis on the page. Thanks. EdwinHJ | Talk

The policy says that you can't make a fourth revert just outside of 24 hours in order to "game" the system. The rule is that you can't revert three times within 24 hours, and had I reverted at the time of my last post, it would have been my third revert total, but not within a 24 timespan. I understand the policy. Regardless, I agreed with the decision to move this onto the talk page. I'm still skeptical that Drew Curtis is or should be considered a "famous alum," but I'm willing to let it go. I have more important things to do than argue about it. I would still like to hear some other people's opinions, though, and I would still be interested to know what TV shows he was on. (Btw, Edwin, it would be nice if you could word your response as an opinion (i.e., "I think he's famous and should be left on the page"), rather than issue a directive.)

--24.196.82.58 05:05, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

He's been interviewed on Sirius once, writes a column for FHM: here, etc. A full list of press mentions of Drew and Fark.com from February 5, 2006-present is available here

Mormon/Salt Lake Tabernacle

I think it's best to refer to it as the "Mormon Tabernacle." I understand that it is technically named "Salt Lake Tabernacle," but I think "Mormon Tabernacle" provides a better understanding for people unfamiliar with the building as to what it is. When people see "Mormon Tabernacle," they think of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Indeed, it's notable that the Choir's name refers to the "Mormon Tabernacle," not the "Salt Lake Tabernacle," and the association with the Choir is especially appropriate and important here, given that we're talking about places where Nordic Choir has sung. And anyway, Wikipedia recognizes both as legitmate names of the building. I understand that, among Mormons, it might make more sense to refer to the Salt Lake City institutions by the name of the city, since there are temples in multiple cities. But for non-Mormons, the reference to "Mormon" institutions (Temple, Tabernacle, etc.) provides a helpful frame of reference.

Etc.

To Slimskies: Please stop adding the "Luther College Men's Club" to the page. I'm sorry, but details about you and a bunch of your friends getting together are not useful or relevant information to be placed on Luther's Wikipedia listing, let alone a momentous event to be mentioned as part of the college's history. None of the official student organizations are listed here, and even if they were, just because you and your friends called yourselves a "men's club" doesn't mean you're an actual club that deserves mention. In case you haven't noticed, Wikipedia has rightfully questioned the "notability" of your article, "Luther College Men's Club", and has noted that by placing a banner on the listing. I suggest you take the hint and remove the entire article, before they do, but even if you don't, please stop adding it to the main Luther entry. As a Luther alum, I understand the fond memories that you obviously have of your time at Luther and the friends you made there. I have many fond memories as well. But they belong on a personal website that you're free to create, not on Wikipedia. Thanks for understanding.

To the guy who changed "language houses" to "Prairie houses": What do you mean by "Prairie houses"? Luther does not provide any Prairie houses for students to live in, or any other houses except the language houses (and College Apartments/Married Student Housing). The Baker Village units are not technically houses (maybe townhouses), and they're already listed anyway. I suppose it could be a reference to Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie School of architecture, but Luther does not have any examples of that either.

The language houses were discontinued and they are now know as the Prairie Houses. see [1] EdwinHJ | Talk 06:33, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

Oh, I wasn't aware of that. Have to say I'm disappointed to see the language houses go, but oh well. You needn't revert both of my edits though. It doesn't take much to change one word... 66.188.129.235 18:44, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Luther logo helmet head.gif

Image:Luther logo helmet head.gif is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 21:36, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Luther logo.gif

Image:Luther logo.gif is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 21:37, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

PRJS

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Dubious claim of 1979 graduation for Dagfinn Høybråten

This seems unlikely. There's no evidence that he has ever lived in the US. Dagfinn Høybråten contains an unsourced claim that he was awarded an honourary degree from Luther in 2005. I'm not sure that honourary degrees qualify one for inclusion on alumni lists, but if that's why he is listed then the claim needs to be sourced, the date should be corrected, and we should specify that this is an honourary degree. Meters (talk) 23:48, 27 June 2016 (UTC)

Michael Osterholm may be a somewhat similar case, since his article states he received an honourary doctorate from Luther. It's possible he also received an undergraduate degree here since his work history starts in 1975, when he supposedly graduated Luther. Meters (talk) 00:01, 28 June 2016 (UTC)

Yup, found a ref for Osterholm's undergrad degree here. Meters (talk) 00:03, 28 June 2016 (UTC)

I do not view recipients of honorary degrees as alumni unless they have also received an academic degree. Per ALUMNI, "All alumni meeting these criteria are to be included on an alumni list, regardless of how much time they have spent on a school roll, from one day to several years, and whether or not they graduated." Since someone who has only received an honorary degree has not spent even one day on the rolls, they would not qualify. For an institution where the receipt of an honorary (btw, that spelling should be used. American subject, American English) was a notable honor (e.g. Harvard, Stanford, MIT) beyond the School, I could see a list of recipients. For this school, not so much. John from Idegon (talk) 00:55, 28 June 2016 (UTC)

• Comment – I saw Meters' comment on John's page. Here is a few for Dagfinn: He's listed in the Class of 1979 Alumni notes, The U.S. Embassy website says he attended at least one year (doesn't say when; also received an honorary degree in 2005), this article says he's a 1979 graduate and received the honorary degree in '05. There was a book by collegefinder.com that listed him as a '79 graduate, but I'm not sure reliable it is. Corkythehornetfan 02:35, 28 June 2016 (UTC)

Very good. Thanks for the quick responses. I'll add one of the refs (and no worries, I wouldn't spell "honourary" that way in an American article). Meters (talk) 03:34, 28 June 2016 (UTC)

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