Netbeans is complaining about this code, which appears on the [IDEA Code Inspections List](http://www.jetbrains.com/idea/documentation/inspections.jsp).

```
 public Date getStartDate()
 {
    return theStartDate;
 }

```

IDEA site says:

> 
> This inspection reports any attempt to return a java.lang.Date or
>  java.lang.Calendar field from a method. Since Date or Calendar are
>  often treated as immutable values but are actually mutable, this
>  construct may result in an object having its state modified
>  unexpectedly. While occasionally useful for performance reasons, this
>  construct is inherently bug-prone.
> 
> 
> 

How else would I return a `Date`?