I was thrilled this morning to see this column by college student Colleen Lindsay of The Daily Egyptian at Southern Illinois University Carbondale:
It was the last day of class before Thanksgiving break. During the last few minutes of class, the professor quizzed us about our vacations; were we going home and the like. As a parting comment, he noted that shotgun deer season started on the Friday before break.
For laughs, he asked if any of us were going to hunt. There was only one hand that went up in class. Everyone turned to look at the lone hunter, who happened to be a petite, feminine girl.
The professor stared at me for a few seconds before asking me if I was seriously going to hunt.
I know how you feel, being the only professor I know at my university who went hunting over Thanksgiving break. It seems there just aren't many hunters on college campuses - or at least not many who make it public.The stats from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service suggest otherwise, though: 21 percent of hunters have college degrees (four-year or advanced). But it is true we're the least likely to hunt among people of all education levels.
A college campus can be an intimidating place to talk about hunting, because those who are most vocal about it are often against it.
Thanks, Ms. Lindsay, for speaking out and letting people know who you are - and what you're not.
3 comments:
I think it's great that more women are standing up to be counted as hunters. I'd have to agree that a college campus (or at least some campuses) are probably not very welcoming to those who hunt.
By the same token, there is a list somewhere of the best schools to attend if you hunt. So I suppose it goes both ways.
When I was hunting the pheasant opener earlier this month, I heard the story of a guy who's son went to college in Alaska.
On the kid's first day there, he called his dad, all excited. "Dad, you're not going to believe what I smelled when I got to the dorm!"
The dad, sure the answer was going to be "pot," asked what his son smelled.
"Hoppe's No. 9!"
(And for the benefit of anyone out there who doesn't own a gun, I'll add that Hoppe's is the solvent many of us use to clean our guns.)
I enjoyed reading and sharing that article with my family. When I was her age I probably would have been too shy to admit that I was going hunting!
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