Times-Delphic

The possibility of a January term for Drake students hasn’t been turned down, but the details needed for Faculty-Senate to make a decision aren’t ironed out yet.

In a town hall type meeting Tuesday night, student senators, faculty senators, faculty members and students all weighed in on the issue, coming to no conclusion other than the need for a detailed plan.

The positives of J-term mentioned included study abroad opportunities, internships, research or experiential learning opportunities. Taking one-month classes also would allow students to lighten their loads other semesters.

“A lot of us want opportunities to go abroad, and maybe in our course of study, that’s not an option,” said Samantha Haas, student body president. “Students are seeking out these opportunities … Maybe there’s an independent study project that people wanted to do.”

There are many logistical issues with creating a J-term. The largest questions are what the cost will be, how to make housing options available, how it will affect financial aid, how to tweak the calendar and who gets to participate.

“We like the spirit, but we want to know how it’s going to happen,” said Natalie Adkins, assistant professor of marketing.

Multiple faculty members were concerned that the administration would create a plan that bound professors to responsibilities they didn’t agree to.

“I personally feel like we’re being asked to sign a contract that’s being written in invisible ink,” said Amy Vaughan, assistant professor of statistics.

Kayleigh Koester, fine arts student senator, brought up the idea of having faculty create a list of non-conditionals, things important to them that should be considered by the administration in the

creation of any J-term plan. “Even if you can’t post-approve it, at least you can give it a direction,” she said.

Adkins and Vaughan were concerned about faculty course loads and if adjunct professors would have to be hired to pick up the slack if professors had to teach a January class and give up a spring

insideNEWS FEATURESOPINIONS SPORTS

PAGE 2

How to be eco-friendly, even in death

From the front lines of the Wisconsin protests

Rev up your resume before applying for summer internships

Drake men’s basketball opens MVC tournament tonight

PAGE 3 PAGE 4 PAGE 6

DES MOINES, IOWA | THURSDAY, MAR. 3, 2011 | VOL. 129, NO. 31 | WWW.TIMESDELPHIC.COM

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER FOR DRAKE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884

THE TIMES-DELPHIC

Hamilton to serve as VP student activities, run-off election for VP student life between candidates Van Hoeck and Laurent

After what has been one of the most competitive student senate executive officer elections within recent years, winners were announced for student body president and vice president of student activities. However, the race for vice president of student life will continue into next week after none of the three candidates captured the 50 percent plus one requirement to win. The run-off election will take place Monday for all students on blueView and the results will be announced Tuesday at midnight on Pomerantz Stage.

The race will be between sophomores Amanda Laurent and Matthew Van Hoeck, who were the top vote getters in the election. Laurent received 544 votes, about 45 percent of the total votes cast, while Van Hoeck received 356 votes, about 30 percent. Sophomore Stephen Slade, the third candidate in the race, received 292 votes, about 24 percent.

“I feel strongly about my campaign. I am very confident moving forward,” Laurent said.

Van Hoeck was also optimistic about his campaign but recognized his need to push further ahead in the next race.

“With three candidates, a run-off is expected. I’m coming from the side with less votes, so I have some work to do,” Van Hoeck said.

Junior Greg Larson, current vice president of student activities, handedly defeated sophomore Student Body Treasure Nate Bleadorn for the student body president position.

Larson received 863 votes, roughly 72 percent of the total votes cast. Bleadorn received only 298 votes, around 25 percent.

“I think everyone here ran a great campaign. I’m confident that Greg and all the candidates will do a great job,” Bleadorn said.

Larson is optimistic for Senate in the upcoming year and congratulated all the candidates for running great campaigns.

“I want to congratulate Nate on his efforts,” Larson said, “It’s a good feeling now that it’s over; however, now is just the beginning of the work to come.”

Sophomore Jessica Hamilton won vice president of student activities, the position largely in charge of running the Student Activities Board. Hamilton received 619 votes, roughly 54 percent, while sophomore challenger Michael Riebel received 494 votes, 43 percent of the vote.

“The race was close, but I am looking forward to working with all student organizations to plan activities this upcoming year.” Hamilton said.

by Sean WalshStaff [email protected]

Is J-term too daunting of a task?

photos by CONNOR MCCOURTNEY | photo editor

STUDENT SENATE EXECUTIVE OFFICE CANDIDATES react with friends to the announcement of election results on Tuesday night. Over 1,200 Drake students voted in the elections. Greg Larson (seen on the left, photo top right) won student body president over Nathan Bleadorn with roughly 72 percent of votes cast. Jessica Hamilton (seen middle, in photo top left) was elected VP student activities over Michael Riebel (seen in center, photo bottom right). With the fewest votes of the three candidates running for the position, Stephen Slade was eliminated from the elec-tion for VP student life and a run-off election will take place Monday between Matthew Van Hoeck and Amanda Laurent (seen second from left, bottom left photo).

by Lizze [email protected]

Larson elected student body president

SEE J-TERM PAGE 2

>> What they said:

“We like the spirit, but we want to know how it’s going to happen.”

- Natalie adkiNs, assistaNt Professor of MarketiNg

“A lot of us want opportunities to go abroad, and maybe in our course of study, that’s not an option.”

- saMaNtha haas, studeNt seNate PresideNt

“I think it’s very risky and very naive to think that things are just going to work out later. Make a plan. Don’t ask us to commit to details that you don’t reveal to us.”

- aMy VaughaN, assistaNt Professor of Practice iN statistics

“There’s a bunch of risks and a bunch of rewards.” - kayleigh koester, fiNe arts studeNt seNator

“This issue of who will teach what and when, is a pretty big deal.”

- reNee craMer, director of law, Politics aNd society

Members of Faculty Senate and Student Senate met Tuesday to discuss changing the university’s academic calendar to include the additional term

“

“THE TIMES-DELPHIC NEWS THURSDAY, MAR. 2, 2011 | PAGE 2

news

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We are dealing with a lot of (change) right now. The generational change of being Americanized. We are living in a culture far away from home.

—GURWINDER KAPUR, SOCIOLOGY LECTURER FROM SINGAPORE | PAGE 2

quotedayof the

Calling all prospective editors

Applications are available in SLC and are due March 21. If you have questions, please contact Carol Spaulding-Kruse [email protected].

The Times-Delphic Editor-in-ChiefThe Times-Delphic Business ManagerDUiN Editor-in-ChiefDrake Magazine Editor-in-ChiefPeriphery Editor-in-ChiefDrake Broadcast System President

It is now time to apply for next year’s editorships of these student publications:

7:02 a.m.February 21A staff member reported a computer was stolen out of room # 304 in the Harmon Fine Arts Center.

9:43 p.m. February 23 Security and fire/recue responded to Cartwright Hall based on report of a person down. The male student was alert, breathing, but very lethargic. Vitals were taken and the student was transported to a local hospital.

8:25 a.m. February 24Security responded to Aliber Hall based on report from a male student that a female professor was light headed and having chest pains. Fire/Rescue was also called and the faculty member was transported to a local hospital.

7:41 p.m. February 24Security responded to the Goodwin and Kirk Residence Hall Complex based on report of a solicitor. The magazine salesman was not located but it was determined he made a sale of $45.00 to a female student and then played her a nice song on his ukulele.

1:15 a.m. February 25Security responded to Jewett Residence Hall based on report of harassment. Two female students reported a male student frequently enters their room without permission and even crawled into bed with them. They stated that he has sent them nasty text messages. One of the females stated that he has grabbed her face on different occasions and kisses her and she has repeatedly told him to stop. The male student who also lives in the hall was not located at the time. The Director of Residence Life has been notified.

Security responded to Jewett Residence Hall based on report of an unconscious female locked in a women’s restroom. An underage for drinking female student was found fully clothed and slumped over on the porcelain throne. She admitted to drinking alcohol and evidence of the beverage was found on the floor. Her equilibrium was not at its best and she had to be helped out of the restroom. Fire/Rescue was called and she signed a refusal wavier. She was seen to her room where she was going to spend the night and she would be looked after by another student. Residence Hall staff was present.

QUEEN OF THE THRONE

SECURITY REPORTS

As second semester midterms near, Drake seniors are almost finished with college life. Today the Student Activities Board is holding an event for them and any other students wondering about life after college. Life After College will take place at 7 p.m. on Pomerantz Stage and last about an hour.

The event will feature different speakers from the community there to help students prepare for post-college life. Human resource representatives from Meredith Corporation will be present to talk about what they look for in a resume and how to go about a job search. An insurance and finance segment will go over the importance of savings and how to get insurance.

“The things they will be talking about will be things they don’t necessarily go over in college,”

Jessica Hamilton, SAB Campus Impact Committee Co-Chair said.

A real estate agent will also be in attendance to talk about how to go about starting to search for your first condo or house and purchasing or renting it. They will also go over home values and property prices in different areas students might be interested in living.

Students can also bring their resumes as there will be people there to critique them. Each speaker will last about 15 minutes and afterwards students are encouraged to ask any questions they may have and use the event as a networking opportunity.

There will be snacks provided, giveaways and representatives from the Alumni Office will discuss how students can work with them post-graduation.

Hamilton said they choose this event because it was successful last year and people enjoyed it.

“It’s stuff we don’t usually talk about, and it’s an event we want to continue every year,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton feels SAB events have been going well so far this year.

“I think attendance has been up from previous years, I think our events have been very engaging,” she said. “It’s not lecture based so you can get involved with the program. We’ve been more creative and we’ve worked very well with our budget.”

“Campus Impact events have going really well and the committee has done a great job of bringing a wide variety of events to campus,” Public Relations Committee Co-Chair Amy Garver.

“From cooking shows to Cheap Sex, they’ve been able to educate and entertain the campus through their events.”

2:16 p.m. February 24

by Nichole MittelbrunStaff Writer

SAB event helps students prep for life after college

Speaker shares a different perspective on marriage

Marriage is a sacred entity in nearly all creeds, religions and ethnicities. Included in that is the art of arranged marriage in the Sikh religion, a topic discussed in a seminar last Wednesday night. Des Moines resident Gurwinder Kapur, a devout follower of the Sikh religion, illustrated to the attending students the traditions of arranged marriage.

Sociology Professor Laurie Linhart has been longtime friends with Kapur and recently contacted him to do this seminar for her sociology students.

She said her intentions were “to broaden students’ perspectives not only in Sikh and Indian religion but to understand the concept of arranged marriage.”

Kapur was born and raised in Singapore, Indonesia, but received his college education at the University of Kansas. He now works at Principal Financial in downtown Des Moines.

It is common practice in the United States to choose one’s own lifetime partner in dating to find someone they love and then marry them. Kapur and his family have only known arranged marriage because it is tradition.

“The aura of growing up Sikh is ingrained in us,” Kapur said. “We see our parents, aunts and uncles go into arranged marriages. We see them 20 years down the line and they are still happy.”

Family plays a predominate role in who makes decisions on finance, family matters and also marriage. He explained that there is a patriarchal system where the father is the head of the family, the uncle is next in line and the family must respect the head’s decisions

even if they disagree. This is especially evident when decisions are made about marriage.

After the family decides who their child is going to marry by cross referencing the children’s birth dates, birth times, castes and horoscopes, they begin to plan the wedding. Kapur’s was over seven days long but said it will vary due to the wealthiness of the family. For a Sikh wedding, the bride and the groom cannot see each other until the actual ceremony. The point of the wedding is for both of the families to meet and become one “bigger family.”

Arranged marriage for Sikhs living in America has become more of a struggle in the past because of their loss of direct connection to family. Kapur has even seen a change in his family, especially in how his son treats the issue.

“We are dealing with a lot of (change) right now. The generational change of being Americanized. We are living in a culture far away from home,” Kapur said of his son Hadjid. “Growing up in American schools, his beliefs are going to come from his friends. To accept that my son is different and my decision to let him marry who he wants will be hard, but I have to make it.”

The Sikh culture is still being practiced in a staunch manner by those in the United States and they are very eager to show off their religion to anyone who asks. Kapur offered to Professor Linhart to have any of her students come and visit him at the temple.

He extends this open offer because he would like for non-Sikh Americans “to break their fear of someone who has a turban. To approach them, talk to them and find out that they aren’t much different than you.”

by Tad UnruhStaff [email protected]

semester class. Both were worried professors would have to give up teaching upper-level classes, only to have them taught by less-qualified adjunct professors. Vaughan said having too many adjunct professors messes with accreditation requirements.

“I think, for me, that’d be a deal breaker,” Vaughan said.

Klaus Bartschat, professor of physics and president of faculty senate, thought faculty members were making statements that were “factually questionable.”

“They simply say, ‘It won’t work, boom, done,’” Bartschat said.

Zac Pace broke into the discussion saying he wanted everyone to look at the opportunities a J-term brings.

“I don’t think this is being approached in a positive manner and that’s unsettling for me,” he said.

Bartschat said he wanted

Drake to try a J-term.Koester agreed, wanting

to start with a J-term that minimizes risks with options such as not opening the residence halls to curb costs.

“There’s a bunch of risks and a bunch of rewards,” she said. “Let’s do all of those things on small scales and let’s try it.”

Eric Ferring disagreed with many of the students at the meeting, being the one of the first to say that not all students want a J-term. He also said that if it isn’t feasible for certain schools to give J-term classes, then it would separate the schools even more.

“There are a very large amount of students who aren’t for it,” he said. “Half the people want a longer break. I don’t think that students understand all of the logistics.”

The meeting didn’t come to any conclusion besides consensus that a committee needed to be formed to research how peer institutions run J-terms and to figure out the details.

“This is so frustrating because we want this so bad, but we can’t do anything,” Koester said.

“I think it’s very risky and very naive to think that things are just going to work out later,” Vaughan said. “Make a plan. Don’t ask us to commit to details that you don’t reveal to us.”

FROM J-TERM , PAGE 1

”

“If you want to try it, let it go,” Barischat said. “If it becomes a total disaster then Faculty Senate can say ‘No more J-term.”’

7pm

stag ePomerant z

-Klaus BartschatProfessor of Physics and

President of Faculty Senate

opinions&editorialsSAB’s event “Life After College” went with a paperless promotion technique. Did it work? Find out tonight at 7 p.m. on Pomerantz Stage.

THE TIMES-DELPHICTHE STUDENT NEWSPAPER

FOR DRAKE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884

The Times-Delphic strives to represent student views as accurately and honestly as possible. We rely on readers to provide us with criticism, comments and new ideas so that we can continue to serve the interests of the students in the fairest possible way. We encourage interested readers to submit letters to the editor. Letters must include the author’s name and phone number. Unsigned letters will not be published. Deadlines for guest submissions are noon Tuesday for the Thursday edition and noon Friday for the Monday edition. The Times-Delphic reserves the right to edit letters and submissions for space and in the interest of taste. Letters and submissions reflect only the opinions of the authors and should be limited to 250 words.

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Access additional information and multimedia – including slideshows, videos and interactive features – from The Times-Delphic online.

PAGE 3 | THURSDAY, MAR. 3, 2011 OPINIONS & EDITORIALS THE TIMES-DELPHIC

LIZZIE PINE, [email protected]

JESSICA MATTES, Managing [email protected]

MATT MORAN, Sports [email protected]

CONNOR MCCOURTNEY, Photo [email protected]

KRISTEN SMITH, Copy [email protected]

REED ALLEN, Business [email protected]

JILL VAN WYKE, Faculty [email protected]

ANN SCHNOEBELEN, News [email protected]

KATIE MINNICK, Sports Design [email protected]

KAILA SWAIN, Digital [email protected]

LAUREN HORSCH, Copy [email protected]

MARY HONEYMAN, Ads [email protected]

Dear Editor,

This past Saturday, the House made a decision to make cuts within the fed-eral budget regarding humanitarian assis-tance. As the Senate debates on what stays and what goes, what gets cut and what gets funded, I want to remind senators of what is right and what is wrong.

I am a student at Drake University. I will graduate next year. If there is any-one who is concerned about our growing deficit, it’s me. After all, it will be me and people my age who will have to deal with it down the line. However, even though I believe that cuts need to be made, I also believe those cuts need to be wise.

Cuts to Bush’s PEPFAR initiative (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) and The Global Fund to Fight

AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis make no sense to me whatsoever. Money for these programs make up less than 1 percent of our federal budget, yet, if cut, could kill millions of the world’s most vulnerable people. Cutting this assistance is not go-ing to help reduce the deficit much, but it will have real, immediate and devastat-ing effects for the world’s poorest. It will mean roughly 10 million bed nets to fight malaria will not be provided; 6 million treatments for malaria will not be admin-istered; 4 million people will not be tested for HIV and 60,000 pregnant women who also carry HIV will not receive treat-ments to prevent mother-to-child trans-mission of the deadly virus.

As a member of the ONE Campaign, a non-partisan advocacy organization that aims to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, I stand with two mil-lion like-minded people across the globe, many of whom are Americans distraught by what the House’s cuts mean. It is our moral duty to make sure that in the quest to reduce the deficit, we do not reduce our funding and compassion for the world’s poorest. It is my hope that Senator Coons and Senator Carper remember that as they make decisions on our federal budget this week. If America wants to continue to be a great world leader, it must lead with forward-thinking and a strong sense of right and wrong.

Hilary [email protected]

It’s a brave new world we live in. The politi-cal landscape is being defined more and more by the radical fringes of our discourse and the moderating influences that once helped us achieve peace and progress are being shoved out by political purists and ideologues. This is not news, it has been reported on and discussed at length in newspapers and on cable. It’s just a fact of life. Or at least it was.

On February 25 and 26, my friend Sean Co-nard and I traveled for nearly 10 hours and crossed over 600 miles to join the protests in Madison, Wis. When I arrived, I was completely blown away. The city was so full of energy and spirit I was almost overwhelmed. As we took the bus from where I parked my car to the capi-tol, our arms full of bags and blankets we had brought in order to sleep in the capitol, handfuls of complete strangers expressed their encour-agement and gratitude. They thanked us for just showing up. It was a powerful experience to say the least.

The scene at the capitol itself was indescrib-ably beautiful. The halls were filled with signs, letters and music as we walked past people sleeping on backpacks and coats on our way to our makeshift camp in a corner on the second floor. We joined the protest as soon as we could, and it was nothing like what we expected.

The leaders, if they could even be called that, shouted to the crowd “tell us what democracy looks like!” and the entire building shook as they replied, “this is what democracy looks like.” And they were right.

The organizers who were in control of the microphone repeatedly emphasized that it was “the people’s microphone” and encouraged members of the crowd to come forward and share their stories. Hundreds of people, includ-ing both of us, did just that and we heard from teachers and students, public employees and small business owners, people from the heart of Madison and some from as far as California and Ireland.

What struck me the most was how truly peace-ful and calm the protest really was. Tens of thousands of people had come to protest a truly horrible bill and most of them had every reason to be full of rage and anger, and yet there was very little of that at all, in fact there was almost a reverence for what was going on.

I felt it the most during one of the union processions when a group of firefighters with bagpipes stopped right in the heart of the pro-test and began playing “Amazing Grace.” The entire building grew quite as their music filled the capitol. I was standing just feet away from them as they played and saw many protesters

around me begin to swell up with tears as the song moved them.

This protest was filled with love; these people were not out here to greedily protect their pen-sions and benefits, they were here to make sure that they never lost their right to speak up and be heard. I was down there with them for a good seven hours on Saturday, and by the time I left, my voice was gone and I could barely stand, and yet as I left there were people who had been there when I arrived and were still there as I was leaving, some of them in their 50s, 60s or 70s. As Sean and I walked back to our bags, they stopped us just to say thank you.

This, I hope, is where the future of American politics lies. Regular, working class heroes who don’t see government as the obstacle of free-dom or the tool with which to pursue an ideo-logical agenda, but instead see it as a force to do good, a place where reasonable people can come together and find a solution to any prob-lem with out creating class warfare or cultural divisions.

One of the most moving things that I wit-nessed during my time in Madison was on early Saturday afternoon when an organizer named Bill got on the microphone and asked if there was anyone in the crowd with a decent singing voice who could lead the crowd in the national anthem. As we looked around for someone to raise our hand a man on the second floor bal-cony just started singing, and the whole build-ing joined in. Cops and firemen, teachers and truck drivers, young college students and elder-ly retired workers, all united in their belief in fair government, workers rights and a love for America. These brave patriots were there not because they were angry, not because they were greedy, but because they believed that Wiscon-sin could do better, and that it could eventually be better, and it is that kind of faith is something I would like to see more of in this country.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Greek community responds to Collins’ column

Cutting from the wrong category

First of all, let me be clear. I’m one of those girls with “Social Chair stamped on my forehead.” Well actually, I was one of those girls. I suppose now I’m one of those girls with “Risk Management” stamped on my forehead.

You see, last year, I was social chair for my chapter. Now, I sit as the VP of Risk Management on the Panhellenic Coun-cil. You need a venue in Des Moines? A busing company? The best priced caterer in town? Yeah, I can probably give you a multitude of options. I don’t say this to impress you—you definitely shouldn’t be. Unless I somehow end up pursuing a ca-reer as a wedding planner, these skills will be completely useless outside the shiny Drake bubble. I say this because I want you to know where I’m coming from. I’ve done sorority social events inside and out, literally.

So, here is the deal: This article offends me. It offends my Panhellenic sisters, my chapter and most importantly, Drake Uni-versity. Anyone will tell you that we’ve had our share of issues involving alcohol here at Drake. But the Greek community that I stepped into as a freshman was a com-pletely different world than what I expe-rience now as a junior. I know for a fact that I’m not only speaking for my chap-ter when I say that there have been some pretty drastic changes in order to live up to the values that our organizations were founded on. These changes are slow and steady, but they are there and undeniable. Want some examples? This semester, the women of Alpha Phi brought their dates ice-skating. The men of Sigma Phi Epsi-lon and the women of Delta Gamma went rollerblading. Last fall, Kappa Kappa Gamma took their dates to the Blank Park

Zoo. I could go on, but rather than boring you, I’ll just assure you, the stereotypes so heartily embraced in this article are slowly and surely disappearing on this campus.

I’m not a fun-hater. In fact, defend-ing our risk management policies and our changing social scene isn’t what I’m trying to accomplish in this response. The article is funny, right? It has some cute little anec-dotes and there is that clever thing with the lyrics at the end. But, I ask, what happens when a Drake alum reads this article about pre-gaming, fratfits and solo cups? How about the group of men and women who chose not to join a sorority or fraternity? Or perhaps the visiting high school senior who is considering going through recruit-ment next fall? My guess is, after reading an article embracing a “Thirsty-Thursday Hookup,” they aren’t about to show a lot of respect for the organizations that we represent. The organizations, might I mention, that were founded on leadership, friendship, service and scholarship.

It deeply saddens me that this article was even printed. To find our campus newspaper perpetuating the stereotypes that we try so hard to combat is unbeliev-ably disheartening. Let me clarify, I whole-heartedly believe in the sorority and fra-ternity community. I wouldn’t have spent my much-needed homework time on this response if I didn’t. The thing is, I want people outside the Greek community to see that, too. With articles like “Prepare for the Party” how can we ever expect them to?

Emily [email protected]

Braving the front line of Wisconsin protest

CASEY ERIXON | COLUMNIST Erixon is a sophomore law and political science major and can be contacted at [email protected]

photo by SEAN CONARD | staff photographer

Budget cuts from already small budgets is useless, not helping U.S. deficit

”“Cutting this assistance is not going to help reduce the deficit much, but it will have real, immediate and devastating effects on the world’s poorest.

THE WISCONSIN CAPITOL was packed with protesting Wisconsin residents, carrying signs and camping out in sleeping bags.

MATTHEW T. VASILOGAMBROS

EDUCATION

WORK EXPERIENCE

AWARDS AND HONORS

Drake University

BA in Politics; BAJMC in News/Internet – 3.6/4.0 GPA

1101 25th St. #16Des Moines, IA 50311

mattvas.com(847) 372-0165

[email protected]

Des Moines, Iowa

2007-2011

The Iowa IndependentPolitical Reporter

Des Moines, Iowa

Sept. 2010-Present

>> Write on national and state elections, environmental issues and the Iowa Caucuses

Congress of the United StatesIntern for Rep. Leonard Boswell (IA-3)

Washington, D.C.

Summer 2010

>> Wrote letters, speeches, press releases, reports, columns and e-newsletters on behalf of the congressman>> Represented the Boswell office at Congressional events, briefings and hearings

The Huffington PostCollege Blogger

New York, N.Y.

July 2010-Present

>> Write articles for the College section on education and political issues

The Times-Delphic

Editor-in-Chief

Des Moines, Iowa

2009-2010

>> Oversaw production and finances of 46 issues of the student newspaper for Drake University; designed and laid out the front page; managed a staff of 10 editors and nearly 100 writers; copy edited every story; implemented new social media; articles made national websites>> Newspaper was a finalist for the top national journalism award – ACP Pacemaker; first time in Drake University history

PoliticsDaily.com

Contributor

New York, N.Y.

2009-2010

>> Contributed to the news website, reporting on national education and political issues>> Articles featured on The Washington Post and The Huffington Post websites

Governor of Iowa

Communications Intern

Des Moines, Iowa

Spring 2009

>> Wrote letters, press releases and speeches on behalf of Governor Chet Culver>> Staffed gubernatorial events across Des Moines, while also assisting constituents who visited the governor’s office

Awarded the Drake University Robert D. Woodward Award for investigative reporting May 2, 2010

Drake University Dean’s List for Fall 2008, Fall 2009 & Spring 2010 semesters, President’s List for Spring 2009 semester 2008-2010

Nominated for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Fall 2009

Awarded Top First-Year Student for Drake University Class of 2011 April 18, 2008

Awarded Top Sophomore Student for Drake University Class of 2011 April 17, 2009

Awarded Top Junior Student for Drake University Class of 2011 April 16, 2010

American Broadcasting Company (ABC)

Iowa Caucus Intern

Des Moines, Iowa

Dec. 2007–Jan. 2008

>> Worked under Charles Gibson for “World News Tonight” and Terry Moran for “Nightline”>> Assisted ABC producers in work operations, including delivering show scripts and performing microphone check

Selected as a “Greek of the Week” by The Next Generation Initiative 2011

featuresFEATURESTHE TIMES-DELPHIC THURSDAY, MAR. 3, 2011 | PAGE 4

don’tmissthis VAAD Friday Film Series will continue this Friday at 7 p.m. in the FAC 336.

FILM REVIEW

A movie about a city in Iowa, eh? I don’t know. You say it’s got Ed Helms of “The Hangover” and John C. Reilly from “Step Brothers”? OK, I’ll bite.

“Cedar Rapids,” as many of you may know, is a movie set in Iowa but filmed in Michigan, and is about an insurance sales-man from Wisconsin. Tim Lippe (Helms) is from the small town of Brown Valley, Wis., and works at a small insurance agency. An uber-naïve fellow, Lippe is sent to the bustling metropolis of Cedar Rapids, Iowa to rep-resent his company at a regional insurance convention. There he meets a ragtag group of salesmen (and a saleswoman), forming friendships that radically alter his small town existence and cut free him free from his own inhibitions. Lippe soon discovers that the insurance game is a much wilder and more dangerous affair than he ever could have an-ticipated.

Midwesterners will automatically notice some familiar archetypes in “Cedar Rapids.” Ever since “Fargo,” depictions of folks from the great white north have abundantly relied on “ya’s” and “you betchas.” In “Rapids,” Lippe fits the bill as a gosh-darn simpleton out of place in the “big city.” That’s the small-town guy, for you. Oh well, it’s just the role we were born to play.

Overall, Iowa doesn’t get too much play in the film. The action primarily takes place at a Cedar Rapids hotel (except, of course, for the one scene at a friendly countryside meth party). It’s not really a film about Iowa or in-surance but rather a fish-out-of-water story–except for the fact that the fish tries meth at one point.

To the film’s credit, “Rapids” is not con-descending to country bumpkins; Lippe is presented as more of an anomaly in his town than as a representative of the whole Midwest. In this way, Helms brings heart to “Rapids,” carrying a lot of water for the film. He truly believes that insurance agents

are pretty cool and are a force for good in the face of tragedy. Helms creates a slowly de-volving character, making Lippe very human through his innocuous worldview and how quickly that view is forced to change with the forces of reality. It’s not sappy or schmaltzy; the movie stays funny throughout all of the emotional transformations. That’s the sign of a good comedy–one that’s got heart but doesn’t let the audience know it.

After all, “Rapids” really needs heart when you consider just how raunchy the film is. It’s hard to tell from the trailers, but “Rapids” is chock full of “Superbad”-esque snippets of vulgar one-liners that cause you to laugh while you’re wincing. On that count, all the credit goes to John C. Reilly, who plays the fast-talking, loose cannon from Stevens Point, Wis.

Dean “Deansy” Ziegler. Deansy talks like your dad’s crazy friend or your drunk uncle: a really nice guy who has a flair for over-the-top dirty jokes. Growing up on the Minnesota/Wisconsin border, I can tell you that Reilly has the cheesehead dialect down to a point. It’s scary sometimes how much his little asides remind me of different people that I grew up around, albeit exaggerated versions of those individuals. Helms, too, strikes me as having studied a little bit about Midwestern polite-ness–the kind that doesn’t want to make a fuss, even if your roommate walks in on you sitting on the toilet. For all of the main char-acters’ eccentricities, they are all rooted in re-alistic traits, allowing “Rapids” to be absurd but still highly believable.

A movie about Midwest insurance sales-men may not seem like it has a lot to offer, but “Cedar Rapids” has a lot of pretty nice surprises. It takes from the best elements of the Apatow style of comedy without oversat-urating the film with bromance or sappiness. And although it’s not a wall-to-wall laugh fest, it still delivers a lot of genuine humor, both subtle and outrageous. Even though it pokes fun at stereotypical perceptions of the Mid-west, I think that’s just fine. We should be able to laugh at ourselves, right?

by Frank MerchlewtizStaff [email protected]

‘Cedar Rapids,’ a midwest comedy

photo from Fox Searchlight Pictures

Resume tips for upcoming applicationsSummer internship applications are coming due, polish your resume to company standards

The key components of a re-sume include a header, an educa-tion section, a work experience section, a leadership/activities section, an honors/awards section and a skills section.

For any resume, you must tai-lor what you send to the job you’re applying for. Your objective, your list of experience, all that you in-clude in the resume should match what your potential employer may be seeking. According to Carlyn Crowe who teaches a five-week resume and cover letter course, “You will never have just one re-sume. You may have a template, but you need to match each re-sume to what you’re applying for.”

Work experience is the most important part of the resume.

“A resume functions to gain an interview with a company,” said Annette Watson, the career devel-opment manager in the School of Business. “If they don’t see that you have the skills or experience you are looking for, you may not get a call for an interview.”

Ways to improve a resume are by making small, formatting changes to the content of your resume. Both Crowe and Watson agree that descriptions of past experience should lead off with a powerful action verb such as coordinated, collaborated, led an effort, etc. This makes the experi-ence section of your resume more propelling. According to Crowe, another thing to add to a resume is any type of numbers.

“Anything you can quan-tify will always stand out,” Crowe said.

It is extremely important to have someone proofread your resume prior to sending it out. Grammatical errors and typos are unacceptable. Also make sure to keep a consistent font throughout the entire resume.

“Overall it should be written well, have a good layout, be easy to read and should reflect who you are and your brand,” Crowe said.

by Elizabeth RobinsonStaff [email protected]


EDUCATION

WORK EXPERIENCE

AWARDS AND HONORS

Drake University




[email protected]

Des Moines, Iowa

2007-2011


Des Moines, Iowa

Sept. 2010-Present



Washington, D.C.

Summer 2010



New York, N.Y.

July 2010-Present


The Times-Delphic

Editor-in-Chief

Des Moines, Iowa

2009-2010


PoliticsDaily.com

Contributor

New York, N.Y.

2009-2010


Governor of Iowa


Des Moines, Iowa

Spring 2009









Iowa Caucus Intern

Des Moines, Iowa

Dec. 2007–Jan. 2008



“ALWAYS have somebody read it or proof it for typos and grammatical errors which happens all the time. Make sure it’s error free,” Crowe said. Often time one error will put resumes in the immediate “no” pile. Scanners are often used to locate key words or phrases in a resume. Carefully read the job or internship description will writing your resume and cover letter. On paper, you will appear like the perfect match.

KEEP DATES CONSISTENT. If you use seasons and years for one, use the same for all dates. If you want to be more specific, use months and years. When showing school-year experience, seasons are usually more acceptable.


EDUCATION

WORK EXPERIENCE

AWARDS AND HONORS

Drake University




[email protected]

Des Moines, Iowa

2007-2011


Des Moines, Iowa

Sept. 2010-Present



Washington, D.C.

Summer 2010



New York, N.Y.

July 2010-Present


The Times-Delphic

Editor-in-Chief

Des Moines, Iowa

2009-2010


PoliticsDaily.com

Contributor

New York, N.Y.

2009-2010


Governor of Iowa


Des Moines, Iowa

Spring 2009









Iowa Caucus Intern

Des Moines, Iowa

Dec. 2007–Jan. 2008



ALWAYS KEEP YOUR ADDRESS UPDATED on your resume and cover letter. If a company decides to mail a formal letter inviing you to an interview or offering you a job, you want to make sure it’s going to the right place. It will do you no good to have an interview offer on your parent’s kitchen table, so avoid using permanent addresses.

“WORK EXPERIENCE [is the most important part of a resume],” Watson said. “This section students should spend the most time deciding on how to describe what meaningful work or skills demonstrated.” Job descriptions should start with powerful, impactful verbs. If you no longer work for that company or in that specific position, change all verbs to past tense. When asked what employers look for in a resume, adjunct instructor of journalism Carlyn Crowe responded, “Most look for the experience first.”


EDUCATION

WORK EXPERIENCE

AWARDS AND HONORS

Drake University




[email protected]

Des Moines, Iowa

2007-2011


Des Moines, Iowa

Sept. 2010-Present



Washington, D.C.

Summer 2010



New York, N.Y.

July 2010-Present


The Times-Delphic

Editor-in-Chief

Des Moines, Iowa

2009-2010


PoliticsDaily.com

Contributor

New York, N.Y.

2009-2010


Governor of Iowa


Des Moines, Iowa

Spring 2009









Iowa Caucus Intern

Des Moines, Iowa

Dec. 2007–Jan. 2008




EDUCATION

WORK EXPERIENCE

AWARDS AND HONORS

Drake University




[email protected]

Des Moines, Iowa

2007-2011


Des Moines, Iowa

Sept. 2010-Present



Washington, D.C.

Summer 2010



New York, N.Y.

July 2010-Present


The Times-Delphic

Editor-in-Chief

Des Moines, Iowa

2009-2010


PoliticsDaily.com

Contributor

New York, N.Y.

2009-2010


Governor of Iowa


Des Moines, Iowa

Spring 2009









Iowa Caucus Intern

Des Moines, Iowa

Dec. 2007–Jan. 2008



“FORMAT IS IMPORTANT. Use only one type of font style; use action verbs to begin each line describing work experience; and have someone review your resume before sending out. Try to keep it to one page if possible,” said Annette Watson, the career services manager for both the business school and the school of journalism and mass communication. Format is also important when applying for creative positions within advertising, marketing or other design-oriented fields. Don’t be afraid to get creative within means of course. For more resume advice from Watson, contact her at [email protected].

1000 25th St. Des Moines, IA 50311 janesmith.com

(555) [email protected]

Jane A. Smith

PAGE 5 | THURSDAY, MAR. 3, 2011 FEATURES THE TIMES-DELPHIC

”“No. 77 says that no piece

of paper can be folded more than seven times. “MythBusters” came to the rescue on this one and did indeed prove this is wrong.

Tick, tick, tick. Time is passing and an-swers need to be walked that long way up to the front. A small sweat bead trickles down the forehead of a man struggling over the last right answer. Then, all of a sudden, “Steve Holt!”

It is the sporadic outbursts and inside jokes that make Des Moines Social Club Team Trivia night the place to be. The at-titude floating about the darkened, eclectic Sideshow Lounge room scattered with chairs and local artwork is relaxed. It’s the ultimate oxymoron of competition—a way to wind down, while throwing out witty banter in an attempt to gain the most points.

Along those unhurried lines, the way new teams come and go would send the fantasy footballers into a tizzy. People trade, join and jump teams. There are still the die-hard players, at the same table found recounting questions from weeks past. Team Trivia even happened as snow piled up in the parking lot and the winds swirled past the glass front So-cial Club windows during the last Des Moines snowstorm.

Teams of up to six people toil over ques-tions presented by the question masters. There are five questions in each round and 10 rounds total. Questions typically build on one another, with a point from the previous question giving a clue to the next. The advan-tage to having a weekly team is team member attendance points, which are tracked weekly and paired with trivia question points, cumu-lating each month with a “championship.”

Weekly winning teams are allowed to choose the next week’s beginning topic. Top-ics and team names range from the sporadic to the strange, with names like “Better late than pregnant,” “Steve Holt” and “I wish this mic was a bleep.”

Stephen Brandt, a Drake music educa-tion major, likes to get his trivia on when he can make it. He says it’s a good way to learn things that you would otherwise never think about.

“It’s nice to have teammates from differ-ent backgrounds, because then everyone can bring random knowledge to the table.”

Looking around the room, the variety in ages adds to this variance in knowledge. From young professionals to older retirees, the fluid and crystallized memories combine to form an electric energy for the love of learning.

Trivia nights are not just all brains-to-pen-to-paper. Drinks are available for purchase at the bar, and many teams bring in Jimmy John’s and pizza to snack on. Hold on to the orange ticket on the tables. Random draw-ings of numbers let lucky winners win free beverages and trinkets.

Team Trivia has grown in popularity and the medium sized room is often full to capac-ity. The last Tuesday of every month, double points and championship night, is typically the busiest. Team Trivia will soon move with the Social Club to a temporary location in the downtown Kirkwood Building in March.

Is everyone’s favorite fact source really telling us the truth? What if everything that it has been telling us has been a lie? How many arguments would we have embarrassed ourselves in for quoting this not-so-reputable source? Does the average person really use 150 gallons of water a day for personal use?

Many of these facts seem logical; however, several seem downright unreasonable. For ex-ample, most people would never think that fish can drown or that Atlantic salmon are capable of jumping 15 feet high.

“All the facts are true, that’s why they’re called facts,” fist-year studen Brittany Domagal-ski said.

Snapple was founded by Hyman Golden, Arnold Greenberg and Leonard Marsh in 1972. There are four different types of Snapple avail-able including tea, juice, lemonade and water. Snapple’s “Real Facts” was used as a market-ing campaign to add excitement to purchasing Snapple.

Snapple’s official website boasts the healthy

benefits of the drink but not particularly the Snapple “Real Facts.” Snapple–in its effort to come out with a new marketing campaign– be-gan creating a whole new set of facts so now there are more Snapple facts out there than one could possibly find just by drinking Snapple.

After looking up a numerous Snapple facts online, one can figure which are true. One such Snapple fact said “The Mona Lisa” has no eye-brows. Another claims that frogs never drink. A third fact stated that the eye makes 50 move-ments every second. These were easy enough to check out and, as it turns out, they were ex-actly right. Further researched concluded that blackboard chalk contains no chalk. While be-ing completely true, it still puts as a damper on many of our childhood memories of school.

Delving even further, Wikipedia dispelled some of the facts that were not entirely true. One such fact states: “A duck’s quack doesn’t echo.” The ducks’ quack does echo, it is simply very difficult to distinguish. Fact No. 162 says that the temperature of the sun can reach up to 15 million degrees Fahrenheit, when in reality temperatures can reach up to 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. This is technically a moot point, be-cause the sun can in fact reach up to 15 million degrees, it can just be hotter than that.

Then there are a select few that have out-dated information that is not correct. No. 77 says that no piece of paper can be folded more than seven times. “MythBusters” came to the

rescue on this one and did indeed prove this is wrong. However, this fact is true if paper that the average person can get his or her hands on is used. No. 31 states that the average person will eat an average of eight spiders a year while asleep. This turns out to be an urban legend and

was widely believed for a long time until a 1993 study was done, and its sole purpose was to dis-seminate urban myths. Also, a recent Cracked.com article relayed the same information that there is almost no truth to eating spiders while sleeping.

Public opinion on this matter parallels this. “I think that they are all true,” sophomore

Laura Vollmer said of Snapple caps. “If they weren’t true, people would know, and the com-pany would be discredited.”

People have had a hard time finding fault with the truth behind the caps, which translates to a high level of credibility behind them. That is why, after reading that the silk of a spider is stronger than strands of steel of the same diam-eter, it may have seem believable. Maybe Snap-ple truly is made from the best stuff on Earth like its ad campaign promises.

Parting advice: Use all the random facts in conversations, because they make you seem smarter. If you can back up your facts with just a little bit of evidence, you can win most arguments. After all, 66 percent of statistics are made up on the spot.

Snapple facts: fact or fiction?

by AJ MillerStaff [email protected]

by Kensie SmithStaff [email protected]

Des Moines Social Club hosts Tuesday night trivia

Test Your Trivia

Where: Des Moines Social Club, 1408 Locust St.

When: Every Tuesday, 8-10 p.m.

What good is J-term?

Drake University is taking small steps to-ward a January term, but the idea is far from being finalized. Due to the controversial na-ture of the proposition, many faculty mem-bers have yet to hop on board.

January term, more commonly known as J-term, is a period between the fall and spring semesters when students could take classes on campus. The proposed J-term would be three weeks long and allow students to take one three-credit hour course.

After a unanimous vote in favor of the proposal in the Student Senate, it was then brought to the Faculty Senate for further dis-cussion. The senators exchanged opinions and ideas at an open forum on Tuesday night. Student Body President Samantha Haas ex-pressed Student Senate’s enthusiasm and dedication to passing the bill.

“The Student Senate decision was that the inherent benefits would override the risks involved,” Haas said at the meeting between students, faculty and the two senates.

Student Senate stated that as a whole, the student body is generally in favor of a J-term. Senators mainly stressed that a J-term would be an opening in the busy schedules of Drake students.

“A J-term would provide an opportunity for majors that are strictly regimented,” Sen. Dana Hansen said.

Students in majors with rigid schedules, such as actuarial science and pharmacy, could study abroad during the three-week period instead of during a regular semester. Summer study abroad programs are offered to those who cannot make time during the year, but financial aid does not usually apply to such programs. Also, summer months are a com-mon time for students to get internships and gain experience in their future career fields.

The J-term could be used for research, independent study projects and experiential learning opportunities, said Haas.

The lack of detailed logistics behind the plan has prevented its approval from faculty and administration. The Faculty Senate dis-cussed J-term in two of its meetings, but it is still debating the effects it may have on the

university as a whole. Numerous conflicts have been acknowl-

edged, especially the major “deal breakers,” as the Faculty Senate referred to them. Some deal breakers may cause professors a lack of interest in teaching a J-term course. Faculty members stated that incentives may ensure widespread participation.

Fall and spring semesters would be short-ened from 16 to 15 weeks if the J-term plan is passed. Faculty is specifically concerned about the financial changes that may result from implementation of a J-term. Financial aid may be affected greatly, although official number estimates are not yet available.

Aside from student costs, the university faces potential financial roadblocks. Campus facilities such as residence halls, classrooms, health and counseling services, Cowles Li-brary, the Bell Center, the Knapp Center and general campus maintenance would all re-quire funding throughout the month as well.

According to a report by the Faculty Senate’s January Term Working Group: “When these additional costs for instruc-tion and other items are added up...Thus, it might be necessary to raise overall tu-ition by an additional amount beyond what is already planned, for one year.”

Faculty members expressing unease with the proposal stated that it needed more con-crete details. Amy Vaughan, an associate pro-fessor of practice in statistics at Drake, spoke in favor of J-term at Tuesday’s session, but said that specifics need to be sorted out first.

“We like the spirit, but we’re concerned about the details of it,” said Vaughan.

If the logistics of the proposal become too complicated or irresolvable, the J-term plan may be delayed further.

Given the vast benefits of a J-term, the Student Senate is working with the Faculty Senate to pass the plan. Senators are passion-ate about offering Drake students more op-portunities to be better global citizens, as the university mission statement urges students to be.

“January term is something that provides students so many opportunities that they don’t already have,” said Haas.

by Nicole Scilingo Staff [email protected]

”“It’s nice to have teammates from different backgrounds, because then everyone can bring random knowledge to the table. -Stephen Brandt

Drake University discusses the possibility of a J-Term, but what’s in it for students?

Both the men’s and women’s track and field teams finished in sixth place at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships over the weekend and had several impressive individual performances.

Junior Jon DeGrave sparked the Bulldogs with a dominant victory in the men’s 400-me-ter. DeGrave’s time of 48.57 seconds beat the rest of the competition by nearly four-tenths of a second.

“It was Jon understanding that if he could get in the 48 [seconds] range, he could win the race,” head coach Natasha Brown said. “It was him being a gutsy athlete and came down to the last 50 meters with him powering through and getting tall to the finish.”

DeGrave also finished second in the 200-me-ter dash registering a time of 21.97 seconds.

Sophomore Dan Karys set a personal best in the triple jump with a distance of 48 feet, 5.5 inches. The jump placed him in fourth place against the field.

“Karys peaked to a personal best at the right time,” Brown said. “If we get everybody to their bests, there isn’t much more we can ask from them.

“Drake is a small school without the depth as some of the other schools in the conference. If everyone is at that level we will earn more points in the outdoor [season].”

Freshman Omet Kak also had a fourth place finish in the mile run with a time of 4:14.15.

Juniors Charlie Lapham and Matt Jurysta finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 800-meter. Lapham ran a time of 1:54.00 and Jurysta clocked in at 1:54.99.

The men registered 48 points in the meet.

Indiana State took home the indoor crown with 139.5 team points.

The women’s squad finished the indoor conference meet with three athletes finishing in second.

Senior Ari Curtis came up just short of the 400-meter crown with a time of 55.99 seconds. Senior Beth Hamling followed Curtis across the line in third place with a time of 56.07.

Senior Tyse Samani’s leap of 5 feet, 7 inches was an inch short of the high jump title but was good enough for a second place showing. Sa-mani won the event last year but was bested by senior Amanda Albrecht of Illinois State.

Sophomore Marissa Smith ran a personal-best time of 8.60 seconds in the 60-meter hur-dles, which earned her a second-place finish. Sophomore Sarah Yeager placed sixth with a time of 8.99.

“[Assistant coach] Kevin Henderson has done a tremendous job of breaking down [Smith’s] form and working on the minor de-tails to cut her time,” Brown said. “Technical work with both her and Yeager developed their confidence and resulted in drops in times.”

Senior Casey McDermott wore some tread off her running shoes by competing in the mile, 3,000-meter and 5,000-meter races. McDer-mott finished sixth in the mile, eighth in the 3,000 and ninth in the 5,000.

Senior Kara McCartney ran to a fifth-place finish in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:14.00. Senior Clarissa LaFlora’s time of 2:18.94 was good enough for eighth place.

The women’s team finished with a total of 51 points. Wichita State ran away with the com-petition with 186 points.

“Going into the outdoor season, we expect the athletes to drop a second off their times because of the larger tracks,” Brown said. “I’m excited where we are heading.”

THE TIMES-DELPHIC SPORTS THURSDAY, MAR. 3, 2011 | PAGE 6

sportsDrake guard Rayvonte Rice has grown accustomed to hearing that chant from the Knapp Center crowd, and the rest of the Valley has noticed. The Bulldogs’ leading scorer was named to the MVC All-Freshman and All-Newcomer teams, and earned an honorable mention for the All-MVC team. In the final week of the season, Rice set the Drake freshman scoring record. He is sixth in the Valley averaging 13.8 points per game, and third with 1.4 steals per game.

I don’t know what to expect when Drake squares-off against the Bradley Braves in the first round of the State Farm MVC Tourna-ment tonight. I wish I could say that I knew the favored Bulldogs would easily take care of business over the 10th seed of the Missouri Valley Conference. Bradley has had a pretty bad season mind you, but they have been a lot better as of late. You might want to ask Drake about that, who got pounded by 26 points over the weekend. But it was Bradley’s senior night right? And the Braves couldn’t possibly shoot 63 percent from the field for the second straight game. It was their best shooting performance in the last five years so what are the odds of them doing it two games in a row? No, Bradley will shoot the ball a lot worse, and the Bulldogs will not go 5-of-25 from 3-point range in consecu-tive games, because that killed Drake on the road once again. The Bulldogs have struggled to make threes on the road this year (other than that Southern Illinois game where they made 16 treys and, no, that is not a typo) which is an unusual trend this team is going to have to shake off if they want to make a deep run this year.

But who will actually win the game? Well, Bradley does have Andrew Warren, who fin-ished fourth in the MVC Player of the Year voting and leads the conference in scoring. He dropped 33 points, 11 rebounds and five as-sists against the Bulldogs last Saturday. Yeah, he’s got game. But we have freshman Rayvonte Rice, and well, he might not be player-of-the-year material yet, but I would bet good money he gets his hands on that accolade before his time at Drake is up. There’s no secret to what Drake has to do to beat Bradley (or anyone in this conference). When the Bulldogs are able to get their dribble-drive game going, establish their inside game and open-up their shooters, they can hang with anyone in the MVC. But more often than not, their lack of interior scor-ing and their inability to break down the de-fense stagnates the offense and forces the Bull-dogs to take contested long-range shots without

much ball movement. But let’s not be negative, because, the fact is,

Drake has improved substantially this year. Ju-nior Kurt Alexander has gotten better at break-ing down the defense. Redshirt junior Kraidon Woods dunks the ball (that’s all that has to be said) and has filled in for sophomore Seth VanDeest, who has struggled with injuries all year. Redshirt sophomore Jordan Clarke plays as hard as anyone in college basketball and sophomore Ben Simons continues to improve his all-around game. And when you add all that up, you are left with senior Ryan Wedel and Rice, who will make or break our MVC tourna-ment because they are our best offensive players and because we need them at full strength to wreak havoc.

But not necessarily against Bradley. Against Bradley we just have to shoot the ball better, lock down on Warren and hope the Braves don’t shoot the lights out again. I think Drake will beat the Braves and will then have to take on Wichita State, who has beaten the Bulldogs by 19 at home and by 14 at the Knapp Center. They are too athletic and too big for us. Can we beat them? Of course. That’s the beauty of college basketball. But we would need our big men to really step up and we would need Wedel and Rice to go off for 20 points each. But it’s not impossible. You see, college teams have fair-ly similar levels of talent. This is not the NBA; that is why anyone can beat anyone. I would not be surprised if Drake beats Wichita State, but it would have to be one heck of a performance, because the Shockers rebound like mad men and play defense as hard as anyone. They don’t give up anything easily, so if you want to beat them, you have to beat them yourself, because they are not going to shoot themselves in the foot. And after that, well, Missouri State will probably make it to the final on the other side of the bracket. I don’t believe that nonsense that NFL analysts throw around that you can’t beat a good team three times in a row. That’s crap. In basketball, when you beat a team twice, you have their number. And boy did the Bears own the Shockers this year. So I think Missouri State wins the conference tournament and gets to go dancing for the MVC. But I’m confident Drake will do us proud, and if they can’t make a run, there’s always next year. We do have a bright future in store.

Drake looks to shock the world at MVC tournamentMEN’S BASKETBALL

by Eduardo ZamarripaStaff [email protected]

TD’s basketball beat writer sheds light on the Bulldogs’ chances in St. Louis

photo by CONNOR MCCOURTNEY | photo editor

JUNIOR TRANSFER KURT ALEXANDER uses his speed to get to the bucket. Alexander has provided much-needed depth at point guard this season, and he will have to play a pivotal role if Drake is to advance in the MVC tournament. The Bulldogs take on Bradley tonight at 8:35 p.m. in the first round.

by David JohnsonStaff [email protected]

DeGrave triumphs in 400-meter final to earn lone title for Drake

TRACK & FIELD

>>BULLDOG SPORTSThis weekend in

SOFTBALLTulsa Invitational, Tulsa, Okla.Thursday vs. Tulsa, 5 p.m.Friday vs. North Dakota, 2:30 p.m.Saturday vs. Iowa State, 2:30 p.m.Saturday vs. Ohio State, 4:45 p.m.

MEN’S BASKETBALLState Farm MVC Tournament, St. LouisThursday vs. Bradley, 8:35 p.m.Friday vs. Wichita State*, 6:05 p.m.Saturday, Semi-finals*, 4:05 p.m.Sunday, Championship*, 1:05 p.m.*if necessary

TRACK & FIELDSaturday, Iowa State Last Chance, 8 a.m., Ames, Iowa

WOMEN’S BASKETBALLSaturday vs. Creighton, 2:05 p.m., Knapp Center

TENNISMenSaturday vs. Marquette, 11 a.m., Roger Knapp Tennis CenterSunday vs. Western Illinois, 3 p.m., Roger Knapp Tennis CenterWomenFriday vs. Iowa State, 4 p.m., Roger Knapp Tennis CenterSunday vs. Air Force, 11 a.m., Roger Knapp Tennis Center

>>State Farm MVC Tournament OutlookBEST CASE SCENARIO: Drake continues its late-season surge and its young players finally take the next step, as the Bulldogs’ talent is on display en route to a run to the MVC title game. Drake is favored against its first opponent and would have to play No. 2 Wichita State in the second round. Although the odds are against them, Drake would love nothing

more than to get another shot at the Valley’s top team in the championship, Missouri State, whom the Bulldogs nearly upset twice this season. The third time’s a charm for Drake, as the Bulldogs make an improbable run to the NCAA tournament and bask in the national spotlight.

WORST CASE SCENARIO: In the last game of the regular season last Saturday, Drake lost by 26 to the Valley’s last-place team, Bradley. Fortunately (or unfortunately), the Bulldogs will face the Braves in the first round tonight at 8:35 p.m. Since the first round matchup was already set before Drake took the floor last Saturday, I get the sense that the

Bulldogs didn’t want to show Bradley too much before the tournament. Still, Drake’s worst nightmare would be for All-MVC first-teamer Andrew Warren to take over the game for the Braves, and send the Bulldogs home with an early first-round exit.

compiled by Matt Moran Sports Editor [email protected]

compiled by Matt Moran Sports Editor [email protected]

HE’S A FRESHMAN!

PAGE 7 | THURSDAY, MAR. 3, 2011 SPORTS THE TIMES-DELPHIC

Drake prepares for CU in final game of seasonWOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The Drake women’s tennis team ex-tended its winning streak to five games with a gritty 4-3 win over the North Da-kota Fighting Sioux last Sunday after-noon at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center. Since losing their first three away match-es, the Bulldogs have caught fire in Des Moines to improve their record to 5-3 on the season.

One of the most notable improve-ments in the Bulldogs’ game has come at the opening doubles point, and the team proved it this past Sunday as it swept each doubles match to set the tone early on. Junior Gabby Demos and freshman Klavdija Rebol partnered together at the second doubles slot and wasted no time in getting the first victory for the Bulldogs. The combo rushed out to an 8-4 win over Stephanie Petsis and Hallie Welk of North Dakota.

The tandem of juniors Amanda Aragon and Earlynn Lauer clinched the doubles point at the third slot with an 8-3 win over Chelsey Galipeau and Megan Sween of the Fighting Sioux. With the doubles point already won, junior Jess Aguilera and sophomore Manca Kriz-man were merely fighting over momen-tum at the first singles spot. The match remained close until the very last game, but the Drake duo prevailed in a tie-breaker to take the set 8-7 (5).

Head coach Paul Thomson made only one substitution in the transition to the singles portion of the match, with senior Jessica Labarte taking the role of sixth singles. Despite losing the singles point, the Fighting Sioux weren’t ready to give up the match. North Dakota evened the score in less than an hour, as Aragon of Drake fell 1-6, 0-6 to Stepha-nie Biehn. With the match tied, it was North Dakota who registered the next blow, as freshman Rebol fell in straight sets 3-6, 3-6 to Callie Ronkowski.

Fortunately, Aguilera was there to answer for the Bulldogs with a decisive straight-set win over Welk. Aguilera, one of the Bulldogs’ most consistent play-ers, posted an easy 6-3, 6-2 score over her opponent. With the score tied at two matches apiece and only two matches left, the intensity picked up in the Roger Knapp Tennis Center. Krizman was able to register a 6-3, 6-4 win over Petsis to give the Bulldogs a 3-2 advantage. Both Labarte and Demos were stuck in tight third sets at this point, and it was North Dakota who seemed to be pulling ahead, as Labarte fell 2-6 in the third set to tie

the match up at 3-3.The match rested on the fate of the

second singles match, where Demos was pitted against Erin Kappers of North Dakota. Kappers, who was named to the first team All-Great West Conference last year, had originally held the lead in the match, as she took the first set 7-5. From then, Demos seemed to be in full control

of the match, as the momentum gained from her 6-1 second-set victory trans-ferred into the third set. Demos captured the victory in the final set with a 6-4 vic-tory.

The Bulldogs continue their home stretch tomorrow at 4 p.m. against the Iowa State Cyclones. The match will be held at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.

The Drake women’s basketball team is down to its last game of regular season play before heading into the State Farm Mis-souri Valley Conference Tournament. The team had a strong February, going 5-3 on the month. This Saturday, Creighton will be coming to the Knapp Center to wrap up the regular season.

“If we can figure out how to beat Creighton I will feel really good about our regular season,” head coach Amy Stephens said. “We would’ve really ended the season strong, especially consider-ing injuries and health issues.”

Last Sunday, Drake struggled on the road as it lost to Wichita State for the second time this season. Junior Rachael Hackbarth’s 27 points and 15 rebounds were not enough as the Bulldogs lost 72-58.

The team has been without junior Brittnye McSparron the whole season, lost freshman Carly Grenfell after just a few games and most recently lost freshman Angela Christianson, the team’s third leading scorer, all due to injuries.

“The team is really in good spirits despite all the adversity,” Stephens said. “Now we are just one game away from a good conference season.”

Drake was just 3-5 in January before turning things around in February, going undefeated in the Knapp Center and stealing a game on the road against Bradley.

“Our team is really happy with the second half of our con-ference play,” Hackbarth said. “We have improved a lot from a month ago.”

The team was able to turn play around in games with how they prepared, focusing on better practices and less mental er-rors.

“The difference between January and February was our prac-tices,” Stephens said. “We were harder working, made some de-fensive adjustments and really focused on continuing to get better at every facet of the game.”

A win against Creighton this Saturday at home would give the Bulldogs a 9-9 conference record (15-14 overall). Heading

into the MVC tournament the team could either be a six or seven seed, depending on how Indiana State and Wichita State finish the regular season. The difference between a six and seven seed would be a play-in game, as the seven through 10 seeds all play a first-round game to join the first through sixth seeded teams in the quarterfinals.

“The key heading down this stretch and into the tournament is staying fresh,” Stephens said. “Part of the battle is your mental focus, and it is a long season. We need to keep our legs fresh and keep being excited to play.”

If only the game was all mental, Drake would be in first place in the conference, as everyone is on the same page and keeping a positive mindset despite two consecutive losses. Senior leader Kristin Turk is confident that the past two losses have had no effect on the team, and the players are where they need to be mentally to take on their upcoming opponents.

“This team has a competitive attitude and we don’t want to give up,” Turk said. “If you have a lot of energy and excitement heading into a tournament, everyone has a chance.”

It is very possible that the Bulldogs will get a second shot at Creighton in the tournament. If the Bulldogs finish seventh and win their play-in game and Creighton finishes second, then the teams would meet in the quarterfinals. Because the highest seed that the Bulldogs would be able to achieve for the tournament is a five, the team would be considered an “underdog” in the tournament.

“That ‘Cinderella Story’ is always appealing to athletes,” Hackbarth said. “We could come into the tournament having no pressure and teams might look past us. If they look past us and think about how they beat us in the regular season, we could take it to them and catch them off guard.”

It would be huge for the Bulldogs to get the sixth seed and avoid the play-in game. The sixth seed plays the third seed, which will most likely be Illinois State. The Bulldogs beat the Redbirds by nine points on Feb. 17 at the Knapp Center. Whichever team the Bulldogs draw in the tournament, the team will be ready to channel its true style of play and see what happens.

“We will need to be aggressive and relentless to make a run in the tournament,” Turk said. “Something that we’ve shown we are capable of.”

Over the weekend the Drake men’s golf team took part in a two-tournament road trip across the American Southwest. The team flew out to Palm Desert, Calif., to compete in the Wyoming Desert Classic Friday through Sunday then drove down to Peoria, Ariz., to take part in the Quintero Invitational.

The Bulldogs were hot and cold in their second and third tournaments of the spring season. Senior Ben Freeman led the team throughout the weekend in both tournaments. He was glad to get the chance to get his swing back into shape outside, but said the road trip gave him a lot of time to think about his game.

“It was long. You fly down to California, play a tournament. Go to Arizona and play another tournament,” Freeman said. “You just have to stay focused as much as you can, save as many strokes as you can as long as you shoot well.”

At the Wyoming Desert Classic the team finished 16th overall. Top scorers were Freeman who tied for 21st place, freshman Matt Ohl who tied for 60th, senior Brad Reierson who tied for 78th and senior Cody Schweinefus who tied for 81st.

The team then moved on to Arizona to take part in the Quin-tero Invitational at the Quintero Golf Club in Peoria. The Bull-dogs took on the likes of rival Creighton, North Dakota State and South Dakota in a quad match over Monday and Tuesday. Seniors Freeman and Schweinefus took over the leaderboard early in the day on Monday. They raced out to an early lead and battled each other for the top spot into Tuesday. Freeman ended up with top medalist honors while Schweinefus came in a close second. Schweinefus was hoping to overtake Freeman for the lead, but was happy that they played so well.

“I just took my confidence from the first day and just tried to use it to maintain my focus to catch up to Ben. It didn’t happen,” he said. “It enabled us to come through with the win.”

Their stellar play, backed by the rest of the team, netted the Bulldogs the Quintero Invitational crown. Head coach Scott Bohlender was somewhat optimistic about his team’s win.

“We’re making progress,” he said. “We’re a ways away from an MVC championship. We have to play a lot of golf after that big layover in winter. We’re still trying to figure out where we are.”

Freeman shot a 218 overall and was followed by Schweinefus with a 230, freshman Connor Steele in sixth with a 235 and Rei-erson tied for 10th with a 243.

Bohlender was wary of the effect that the two tournaments in five days had on his squad. He is optimistic they will take it in stride.

“I think we just went through a grind, just played a heck of a lot of golf in five days,” he said. “We were on the golf course from sun up to sun down without practice.

Every day we play on grass we’re going to get better.”

by Dominic JohnsonStaff [email protected]

by Blake MillerStaff [email protected]

by Tad UnruhStaff [email protected]

Demos pushes Drake past North Dakota for fifth-straight win

Drake breezes past competition to prevail at Quintero Invitational

WOMEN’S TENNISMEN’S GOLF

JUNIOR AMBER WOLLSCHLAGER floats the ball into the post. Wollschlager logged a team-high 37 minutes in the team’s 72-58 loss at Wichita State last Sunday, registering five points and six rebounds.

Wichita State trips up Drake for season-sweep last Sunday, but now Bulldogs focus on MVC tournament positioning

photo by CONNOR MCCOURTNEY | photo editor

JUNIOR GABBY DEMOS pumps her fist after earning a point. It was Demos’ victory at No. 2 singles which propelled Drake to a 4-3 victory over North Dakota last Sunday.

photo by CONNOR MCCOURTNEY | staff writer

Freeman captures individual honors with a 216 over three-day tourney

Doubles’ point plays huge part as Bulldogs’ turn-around continues after three losses to open season

THURSDAY, MAR. 3, 2011 | PAGE 8 FEATURESTHE TIMES-DELPHIC

DANIEL PARK plays the violin in the string ensemble. He thinks the concert went pretty well, especially considering the change in conductors.

Drake Symphony Orchestra’s first concert ofthe semester

On Tuesday night, notes from Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” could be heard escaping Sheslow Auditorium. The Drake Symphony Orchestra had a concert of only three songs, but lasted about an hour and a half.

Joseph Giunta stepped in as conductor for Akira Mori, assistant professor of music, who was ill. Giunta is the music director of the Des Moines Symphony.

“Being able to work with him was a really cool experience,” Katie Vergosen said of Giunta. She’d heard of him previously because of his experience of being the conductor. Despite the last-minute changes, she thought it went well.

Sarah Plum, assistant professor of violin and viola, was the soloist of the night. She played “Spring” from “The Four Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi.

“She’s an incredibly phenomenal violin player,” Vergosen said.Violinist Daniel Park also thought Plum did well.“Dr. Plum is a really good performer, so she did great,” he said.Other songs performed were “Overture to Music” for the Royal

Fireworks by George Friedrich Handel, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Chorale Prelude “Wachtet auf, ruft uns die Stimmer” and Symphony No. 2 in D major, op. 43 by Jean Sibelius.

The orchestra practices together twice a week for two hours each, Park said.

“I practice everyday,” Vergosen said. “I probably play at least two hours every day. I would say that’s probably a minimum for sure.”

“I thought that concert went pretty well for the most part,” Park said. “Obviously we could’ve done better, but with the circumstances, with Professor Mori being sick and Giunta taking over, I thought it went pretty well.”

The Drake Symphony Orchestra will have another concert May 3.

PAUL RUTLEDGE plays a first violin part in the Drake String Ensemble (above).DAMON ARRIGONI plays the cello in the Drake Symphony Orchestra (below).

SARAH PLUM was the soloist in the recital. She played “Spring” from Antonio Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons.”

by Lizzie [email protected]

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