(bonus friendship points if you know where the quote in the subject line's from...)
I vote open. With any exclusive group, you run the risk of eventually weeding down the membership until there is no diversity. A lack of diversity can stunt actual growth in many ways. The DA in OotP is an excellent example of how diversity of personality, of background, of intelligence, and of perspective can transform a rag-tag group of students into capable fighting machines.
We have people like Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione, who are no strangers to fighting against Voldemort and his minions. They are the ones with experience, with know-how, and with the resourcefulness to actually do some research on various methods of Defense(whether it be reading books or thinking back over previous experiences). We have older students, like Fred, George, The Gryffindor Quidditch Girls, Cho, Marietta, etc, who are older than the Trio, and who can add some of their more advanced classroom knowledge to the mix. And then we have students from the other Houses -- Terry Boot, Michael Corner, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Susan Bones, Ernie MacMillian, just to name a few of the top of my head -- who bring in other personalities and ways of thinking into the group.
I think it was wrong of the DA or exclude all the Slytherins. Clearly, not all of them joined the Inquisitorial Squad, and in HBP we see that not even all of Harry's classmates in Slytherin are LV-sympathizers (I'm thinking in particular of Blaise Zabini here). Plus, Slytherins have skill sets that most members of the other Houses do not, traits that are (somewhat) decisively Slytherin traits- resourcefulness, cunning, ambition, determination, stealth, subtlety, etc. These students could add immensely to the already vibrant mix of the DA as it stands now, yet the DA is lacking some of those traits and perspectives which are absolutely crucial in a wartime setting.
Even our staunch, definitive DA members possess traits that could have landed them in another House: Harry with his Slytherin-esque resourcefulness and determination; Hermione with her sharp Ravenclaw mind; Neville and his Hufflepuff work ethic and loyalty. To exclude someone simply on the basis of House bias or perceived qualities is a disservice to the excluded and a missed opportunity for the DA to grow and expand.
However, just because the DA is open doesn't mean we can be cavalier about membership. I completely agree with Jackie, Jennifer and Jordan about having strict responsibilities once you have committed to becoming a member of the DA. With the Ministry ever curious as to what goes on behind closed school doors, we simply cannot take the risk of spilling our secrets out into the open for any little bug of a reporter to get a wiff of. I definitely think there should be some kind of binding, magical contract that must be signed/taken/pledged before one's membership becomes official. If a potential member refuses to make the necessary committment to the DA, then by no means should they be allowed entrance. However, the contract should be straight-forward and honestly presented, and done in such a manner that the potential member knows what is expected of them, what the consequences are if they choose to break their word, and what they as the applicant should expect of the group as a whole. And obviously, the contract should be presented before the applicant is officially granted entrance into the DA.
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
Open (because no one else has the minerals...at least, not yet...)
Date: 2006-10-27 03:30 am (UTC)I vote open. With any exclusive group, you run the risk of eventually weeding down the membership until there is no diversity. A lack of diversity can stunt actual growth in many ways. The DA in OotP is an excellent example of how diversity of personality, of background, of intelligence, and of perspective can transform a rag-tag group of students into capable fighting machines.
We have people like Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione, who are no strangers to fighting against Voldemort and his minions. They are the ones with experience, with know-how, and with the resourcefulness to actually do some research on various methods of Defense(whether it be reading books or thinking back over previous experiences). We have older students, like Fred, George, The Gryffindor Quidditch Girls, Cho, Marietta, etc, who are older than the Trio, and who can add some of their more advanced classroom knowledge to the mix. And then we have students from the other Houses -- Terry Boot, Michael Corner, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Susan Bones, Ernie MacMillian, just to name a few of the top of my head -- who bring in other personalities and ways of thinking into the group.
I think it was wrong of the DA or exclude all the Slytherins. Clearly, not all of them joined the Inquisitorial Squad, and in HBP we see that not even all of Harry's classmates in Slytherin are LV-sympathizers (I'm thinking in particular of Blaise Zabini here). Plus, Slytherins have skill sets that most members of the other Houses do not, traits that are (somewhat) decisively Slytherin traits- resourcefulness, cunning, ambition, determination, stealth, subtlety, etc. These students could add immensely to the already vibrant mix of the DA as it stands now, yet the DA is lacking some of those traits and perspectives which are absolutely crucial in a wartime setting.
Even our staunch, definitive DA members possess traits that could have landed them in another House: Harry with his Slytherin-esque resourcefulness and determination; Hermione with her sharp Ravenclaw mind; Neville and his Hufflepuff work ethic and loyalty. To exclude someone simply on the basis of House bias or perceived qualities is a disservice to the excluded and a missed opportunity for the DA to grow and expand.
However, just because the DA is open doesn't mean we can be cavalier about membership. I completely agree with Jackie, Jennifer and Jordan about having strict responsibilities once you have committed to becoming a member of the DA. With the Ministry ever curious as to what goes on behind closed school doors, we simply cannot take the risk of spilling our secrets out into the open for any little bug of a reporter to get a wiff of. I definitely think there should be some kind of binding, magical contract that must be signed/taken/pledged before one's membership becomes official. If a potential member refuses to make the necessary committment to the DA, then by no means should they be allowed entrance. However, the contract should be straight-forward and honestly presented, and done in such a manner that the potential member knows what is expected of them, what the consequences are if they choose to break their word, and what they as the applicant should expect of the group as a whole. And obviously, the contract should be presented before the applicant is officially granted entrance into the DA.
(I challenge thee to a duel...)