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DES MOINES, IOWA | THURSDAY, DEC. 8, 2011 | VOL. 131, NO. 26 | WWW.TIMESDELPHIC.COM
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER FOR DRAKE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884
THE TIMES DELPHIC
insideNEWS FEATURESOPINIONS SPORTS
PAGE 2 PAGE 3 PAGE 5 PAGE 6
A junior earns Internet fame with YouTube video
The sophomore diaries go abroad
Are you hip to the mainstream jive?
Top 8 ways to survive finals week
Drake students welcome GOP debate
On Saturday, Drake students will have a unique opportunity offered to them. Besides being privy to witness-ing the ABC-Des Moines Register-Republican Party of Iowa Debate, they can also vote in the very first Drake Straw Poll.
Sophomore Sam Pritchard, chair of the Student Senate ad hoc com-mittee said the idea of a straw poll came out of conversations he had with Eric Baker, an intern for the Re-publican Party of Iowa and a mem-ber of the ad hoc committee.
Pritchard said that the committee was looking for an overarching theme for the events this week, and that is when the two had a “light bulb” mo-ment.
The poll, which will be conducted on Dec. 10, will be sent out campus-wide via an email with a link to a Qualtrics online survey. Students will have until 11:59 p.m. that night to cast their ballot.
Usually, students are asked to vote through blueView, but Pritchard said
an ID number would have been re-quired for each candidate.
This straw poll, is the first of it’s kind on a campus-wide scale. Pritchard said the closest event took place at Illinois State University last month, with only about 400 student participants.
Pritchard said the straw poll would serve a few purposes.
“It gives a reason for campaigns and candidates to take our student events seriously, and gives them a reason to meet with students and campaign a bit on campus,” he said. Pritchard added that it would allow campaigns to become “fired up.”
He said it also gives students a way to feel actively involved in the debate. He expects about 1,200 votes to be totaled in the poll. This number is based off of the votes that are usually calculated in other elections on cam-pus. With about a third of campus ex-pected to vote, Pritchard said he feels the poll will be taken seriously.
Besides the straw poll, the Election 2012 ad hoc committee has a flurry of events planned for this Saturday.
Starting at 10 a.m. in Olmsted, there will be “Pancakes and Politics.” Students can take the opportunity to
eat pancakes and talk to people in-volved with campaigns and possibly a candidate or two. Pritchard said this event was going to be a more re-laxed atmosphere for those directly involved in the debate to get to know students at Drake.
“We hope that students can shake some hands, take some pictures and just really have a low-key event,” he said. Students are urged to pay atten-tion to the Student Senate’s Twitter account (@DrakeStuSenate) for up-dates on who is in attendance at this particular event.
There will be facility tours of the Knapp Center and the Performing Arts Hall, which will hold the press-room and spin room respectively.
Then, at 7 p.m., the debate watch-ing parties will open up in Meredith and Harvey Ingham.
“We really want it to be like a sporting event — high energy — be-ing able to watch with a lot of your friends and peers,” Pritchard said.
On a personal level, Pritchard said he is excited for the pre-debate show where the all-male, a cappella group Brocal Chords will be singing the national anthem.
Pritchard is also excited for all
events that are happening, and en-courages students to attend all of the events and pay attention to social media this week for updates on every-thing that is going on.
“It (the straw poll) will give the Drake University student body an option to express their opinion in a strong way,” he said. “It’s something that is important to students, and we want students to be involved and en-gaged.”
He also advises students to be smart this weekend.
“This is a huge opportunity for Drake University,” he said. “Be re-sponsible, be respectful, and essen-tially show the world what Drake has to offer.”
As of last Dec. 3, the Beta Delta chapter of Pi Kappa Phi ended its 17-year hiatus and become an of-ficially chartered fraternity at Drake University.
Originating in 1949, but disband-ing in 1994, the men of Pi Kappa Phi recognized the need to resurrect the fraternity to make their status as a na-tional brotherhood official. After over two years of countless hours of work,
volunteering and fervent recruiting, the men of “Pi Kapp” can call them-selves the chartering class.
So what exactly does chartering entail, and why is it so important?
Senior Pi Kappa Phi president Benjamin Hoffman said that charter-ing is a way of making the chapter official on a national level. The men had to prove their commitment and dedication by passing written tests about the history of the fraternity, organizing philanthropy events, de-signing protocols and meeting regu-lations.
Sophomore Shardul Soni is also a
member of the fraternity.“Now that we have been char-
tered, we are considered an active chapter on campus and can get the full potential out of the fraternity by going to active-member-only events, touching base with more alumni, and focusing on other goals for the frater-nity,“ Soni said.
Members said that as a newly chartered chapter, the fraternity will have more opportunities around campus and will be able to make its name well known. The chapter will still maintain the fraternity’s sig-nature friendly, easy-going attitude
while adhering to the high standards it has set.
When a fraternity is relatively new on campus, it would seem much harder to recruit new members, but this is not the case. All of the current members of Pi Kapp will be able to call themselves founding fathers, which was a huge pull for the rushing class. Many men were intrigued by the idea of being able to help build a fraternity from the ground up.
Because the new members were
by Kathryn KrissStaff [email protected]
Students asked to participate in electronic ballot system
The re-newed house on the block
Campus-wide straw poll being held The political atmosphere isn’t for all
Catching a glimpse of Republi-can presidential candidates, or maybe even the next president of the United States, will be possible this weekend.
Drake will host all of the poten-tial 2012 Republucan presidential candidates for a debate in Sheslow Auditorium this Saturday, and a few lucky students have received tickets to attend the event.
However, despite Drake’s push to increase publicity for the event, do students actually care about the de-bate on campus? Or have looming final tests and projects eclipsed the event’s importance?
While some students jumped on the opportunity to gain first-hand experience working with ABC, many others are still in the dark about what is really going on this Saturday.
“I know that the debate is some-time this weekend, but I honestly don’t even know where it’s being held,” said first-year actuarial sci-ence major Jessica Narr. “I just never sought out anything about the de-bate, so I’ve only really heard about it through my Drake email.”
Narr isn’t alone when it comes to not knowing much about the debates. Though most students are conscious of the event being hosted at Drake, only a few are aware of any addition-al information.
“I know that the caucus is being held in Iowa, and that a debate is go-ing to be on campus, but that’s about it,” said junior biology major Laura Jones. “Because I’m a science major, politics and current events are rarely brought up in class, and I haven’t seen any posters or flyers hanging around campus for the event.”
Peter Ryan, a second-year phar-macy student, also said he thinks that Drake could be doing more to in-crease the event’s publicity.
“I think Drake has done a good job promoting the event electroni-cally — the home page of the Drake website is dedicated to it — and stu-dents have received emails from the university,” Ryan said. “However, I still think it would be a good idea to put up paper posters.”
Other students, however, could not be more excited about being so in
by Kelsey JohnsonStaff [email protected]
by Lauren HorschManaging/News [email protected]
SEE POLITICS, PAGE 2
-
SEE PIKAPP, PAGE 2
JOEY GALE | photo editorRepublican presidential candidates will be on campus this weekend to participate in the ABC Debate.
courtesy of ALLY CARROLL PHOTOGRAPHY
Stay connected with the Debate
TD staff live blog at timesdelphic.com
Follow @DrakeStuSenate and @TimesDelphic
Use #IowaDebates
A hipster by definition is al-most impossible to define by the mere fact that hipster cul-ture constantly changes as the underground goes mainstream.
Many recognize hipsters as the individuals who
wear skinny jeans, a cardigan and thick-
rimmed glasses, someone who listens to weird, obscure music that no one has heard of and that represents an ever-chang-ing counter-
culture. “A hipster is
the very essence of cool,” junior Eng-
lish major Zac Pace said. “Someone so cool they don’t
even know they’re cool and clear-ly aren’t trying. You can always find a hipster in their natural habi-tat of overpriced coffee shops and pretentious T-shirt stores.”
Cities like New York, Minneapo-lis and even Chicago are known to be populated by hipsters who listen to underground music, wear retro clothing and ride their bikes every-where. Now Des Moines may be no New York City, but if looking, one can still find an underground culture.
Sprinkled throughout Drake’s campus, one might find a hipster or two sporting skinny jeans, ironic T-shirts and black-rimmed glasses, but getting one to admit to being a hipster is a little more difficult. Since the early beginnings of the hipster culture, self-labeling has been taboo.
“Very few people are willing to self-identify as hipster,” said Matthew Garite, an adjunct professor of Eng-lish. “It is taboo. Although recently, more are willing to accept the label.”
Garite teaches “The Hipster: A
Cultural History of Cool” as part of the first-year seminar program. The course explores a history of counter-culture from the early movements in the 1940s leading up to the present.
Garite describes hipsters as in-dividuals that are committed to the counter-culture politically, aestheti-cally and musically.
“I think that a lot of the hipster culture in Des Moines is rooted in some of the bar and nightlife scenes downtown rather than anchored to the campus,” Garite said. “But, even
here at Drake, I see some interesting students that register to me as hip-sters.”
One key aspect of hipster sensibil-ity is a retro style or an attempt to re-cycle the look and sound of previous generations, Garite said.
Today, there seems to be two types of hipsters: the original and the faux hipster, said first-year Charlie Dixon, a student in Garite’s FYS. Dixon grew up near the east side of Milwaukee, which exposed him early on to hip-ster culture, although he notes that Garite’s FYS has since broadened his definition of a hipster.
“The faux hipsters have contrib-uted next to nothing in the advance-ment of culture; they are essentially leeches,” Dixon said. “They listen to a certain thing because it’s the ‘in’ thing. The original is much more hid-den from the mainstream’s eye. They usually create the new art, music, film
that the faux hipster blows up be-cause it’s underground and drops it as soon as it gets popular.”
The hipster culture generally receives negative connotations for lack of perceived societal and sub-cultural contributions, as a result of faux hipsters. While faux hipsters merely wear or copy the fashions of com-panies like Ur-ban Outfitters, a true hipster is committed to avoiding sup-port for corpo-rate companies. They’d rather check out thrift stores and vin-tage boutiques for fashions from earlier times.
“Specific fashion mar-kets and sounds have been evolving for decades, and hipster culture is always changing as these become more widely accessible, moving onto something new,” Garite said.
So, what should one look for next in this ev-er-evolving hipster cul-ture? Garite suggested that ‘80s and ‘90s style electro-dance music may make a comeback, and with vinyl becom-ing too mainstream, true hipsters are kick-ing it retro-style with a cassette-based under-ground.
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“
THE TIMES-DELPHIC NEWS THURSDAY, DEC. 8, 2011 | PAGE 2
news
FOR BREAKING DRAKE NEWS, CHECK OUT WWW.TWITTER.COM/TIMESDELPHIC
My Facebook page is exploding. It’s like I get to feel like I’m famous
—MATT HAUPERT, DRAKE JUNIOR | PAGE 5
quotedayof the
by Catherine MoedeStaff [email protected]
FYS examines the culture of hipstersA culture that thrives out of the ‘mainstream’
Security responded to Jewett Residence Hall on a welfare check for a reported illness. Security contacted the individual, who was a male Drake student. The student advised security that he had drank too much alcohol earlier that day and that’s why he was sick. The student denied medical services. Security notified the dean of students of this incident.
IN DENIAL2:56 a.m. Nov. 22
10:15 a.m. Nov. 21A Drake employee was approached by two un-identified individuals. They gave the Drake em-ployee a wallet and stated that they found it in front of Cartwright Hall. The Drake employee turned the wallet over to security. Security contacted the owner of the wallet. The owner came to the security office and the wallet was returned.
6:30 p.m. Nov. 21While on routine patrol, security observed a group of unidentified male juveniles stand-ing around a facilities vehicle. The vehicle was parked in front of 1229 25th St. Security then noticed various clothing items and tow-els thrown on the ground near the vehicle. As security started to approach the juveniles, they began to walk away and shout obscenities. Secu-rity did make contact with one of the juveniles. He admitted that some of others had thrown those items from the vehicle. The juveniles were advised that they were not allowed on Drake property and would be prosecuted for trespass-ing if they returned.
SEND YOUR STORY IDEAS TO [email protected]
WHAT: Random Night Dinner
WHERE: Medbury Honors Lounge
WHEN: Today, Dec. 8, 6 p.m.
> CAMPUS CALENDAR
WHAT: Pancakes and Politics
WHERE: Olmsted Student Center
WHEN: Saturday, Dec. 10, 10 a.m.
WHAT: Debate Watching Parties
WHERE: Meredith 101, Harvey-Ingham 104
WHEN: Saturday, Dec. 10, 7 p.m.
FROM PIKAPP, PAGE 2
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officially starting the chapter, they could design it however they wanted. First-year Matt Wright is one of those founding members.
“Pi Kapp was something that I could help mold into what I think a fraternity can look like, Wright said. “I could be a founding father, yes, but Pi Kapp is something that can really be a catalyst for change, and I wanted in before the ball really got rolling.”
Now that the initial push for recruitment is done, the brothers can focus on molding the fraternity into what they want it to be and building its reputation. Hoffman said he hopes that now that the recruiting is done for found-ing fathers, the chapter will be able to recruit based on its lifestyle, philanthropy and high academic standards.
The men go out of their way to make sure their philanthropy event stays true to the cause. Instead of focusing on crowd-pleasers like T-shirt sales, they prefer a more hands-on experi-ence.
Pi Kappa Phi’s yearly philanthropy event is called PUSH America, and it benefits children with disabilities. PUSH America works to raise awareness and fundraise money for things like
wheelchair ramps. The men also spend time at Camp Sun-
nyside, a weekend retreat for children with disabilities. Instead of fundraising around campus, the men along with anybody else who wants to get involved go to Camp Sunnyside to work with the kids and help them have a good time.
The men said they like being able to see the effects of their hard work first-hand. They strive to keep their philanthropy events as true to the cause as possible, taking a more hands-on approach to educate instead of entertain.
The chapter is slowly making its name known on campus with a strong performance at Sweetheart Sing, a close second place at the Adam Emmenecker group challenge at Jethro’s and the highest collective grade point average among Greek houses last spring. The chapter would like to get more integrated on campus by getting closer to it and is looking to purchase a house on Greek Street. Members continue to stand out as a different breed and say that they’re not a frat but a fraternity. It is only through the dedication and hard work of past and current members that Pi Kappa Phi has become the nationally recognized fraternity it is today.
JOEY GALE | photo editor
touch with such a huge current event. Tay-lor Rookaird, a first-year public relations major, has the opportunity to work with a national corporation before she has even taken her first collegiate final exams.
“I got involved with the debate because it seemed like an awesome opportunity, especially for a first-year,” Rookaird said. “I remember being on a tour when I was checking out the school, and my tour guide was telling me about how Drake had host-ed them before, and also that students were hired as interns. Since then, I knew that getting involved with the debates would be an awesome opportunity that wouldn’t come around very often.”
Even though some Drake students aren’t giving this weekend’s debate their undivided attention, that doesn’t mean they are completely unconnected from the event. A pancake breakfast with possible special guests is scheduled for Saturday, and public screenings of the debate will be held around campus, complete with free food.
“I think there is enough word for peo-ple who are interested to seek out events,” Jones said. “I really do think this an awe-some event for our campus and really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for people wanting to get involved.”
FROM POLITICS, PAGE 2
”“A hipster is the very essence of cool
- Junior Zac Pace
opinions&editorialsPower through those finals and have a great winter break! See you all in 2012.
PAGE 3 | THURSDAY, DEC. 8, 2011 OPINIONS & EDITORIALS THE TIMES-DELPHIC
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. Emailed letters can be sent to [email protected].
LETTERS & SUBMISSION POLICY
The Times-Delphic is a student newspaper published semi-weekly during the regular academic year and is produced by undergraduate students at Drake University. The opinions of staff editorials reflect the institutional opinion of the newspaper based on current staff opinions and the newspaper’s traditions. These opinions do not necessarily reflect those of individual employees of the paper, Drake University or members of the student body. All other opinions appearing throughout the paper are those of the author or artist named within the column or cartoon. The newsroom and business office of The Times-Delphic are located in Meredith Hall, Room 124. The Times-Delphic is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press. The editor-in-chief sits on the Board of Student Communications.
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THE TIMES-DELPHICTHE STUDENT NEWSPAPER
FOR DRAKE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884
BENNETT HANSEN, Digital [email protected]
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I would like to offer a counter-argu-ment for the opinion piece published by Benjamin Levine on Nov. 13. In his piece, he writes:
“I don’t even need to do any research on the agency (National Endowment for the Arts) to know that it needs to be sliced from the federal budget.”
I believe that his self-professed igno-rance displayed in this sentence under-mines his whole argument. This is the equivalent of saying, “I don’t understand the war in Iraq, and I don’t feel like learn-ing about it, so the government should eliminate military spending.”
Ignorance of a subject does not give someone authority to write about it in a beneficial way.
I think if the writer had taken the time to learn about the NEA, then he would have discovered that the vast majority of the projects it endorses are community-building endeavors that are seldom politically charged. Often, com-munities are able to experience great ar-tistic opportunities that they would miss out on if the organization were cut from our budget.
In 2005, the NEA provided $45,000 to support the American Classical Or-chestra in Norwalk, Conn., as a learn-ing grant for its Classical Music for Kids program. This program has helped over 850,000 young students learn about clas-sical music, and the theme of the year followed Thomas Jefferson’s life and con-nection with music.
In 2010, The NEA granted $30,000 to the American Folk Festival in Bangor, Maine. This yearly festival celebrates mul-ticultural heritage, and the grant delivers a wide variety of art to the small Maine community. In addition to inspiring an audience of about 168,000 people, the event generated $9.8 million in revenue for Bangor.
These are just a couple of examples of how the NEA has positively impacted communities. Surprisingly, it doesn’t ad-here to a “radical, liberal agenda.” In fact, the American Classical Orchestra’s project celebrates the life of Thomas Jef-ferson, an influential conservative histori-cal figure. In addition, the American Folk Festival Grant generated roughly $9.8 million for a small community.
Of course, the NEA has been the target of scrutiny due to corruption, and I believe eliminating this corruption is of the utmost importance. But for the most part, the NEA strengthens our nation’s culture. Levine argues that government should have no influence in the arts. In an ideal world, I would agree that ultimate artistic freedom could be achieved with no ties or pressures by organizations. But ours is not an ideal world; art costs money to produce.
It is prudent to cut back on use-less spending and demand transpar-ency from government organizations, but eliminating the NEA sends a message
that art is useless or trivial. This couldn’t be further from the truth; art is integral to our culture. It brings communities togeth-er, fosters excellence in education and can
even improve the economy. A nation that promotes the arts embraces the richness of its past and invests in a more beautiful future for its citizens.
”
“There are just a couple examples of how the NEA has positively i m p a c t e d communities. Surprisingly, they don’t adhere to a ‘ra d i c a l l y, liberal agenda.’
STEPHANIE WERNING | COLUMNIST Werning is a junior graphic design major and can be contacted [email protected]
A case for the National Endowment for the Arts
Our Two CentsSTAFF EDITORIAL
Over 500 students at the Foam Dance, more students than seating at the International Cooking Show and a packed house for Preston Pugmire.
Do these seem like poorly at-tended events to you?
In response to the article “Discussion over SAB alloca-tions dominate senate meeting” and the comment left below on the website, “One issue that seems to be reoccurring is a concern for lack of attendance,” SAB events this semester have been highly attended, and at-tendance has been higher than in previous years. I am proud of what SAB has done this year and the steps it has taken to bring innovative events. We also do many surveys, and students have given high ratings to each of our events. We always take any comments into consider-ation and do event evaluations following each event. We as an organization only want to pro-vide the best for students. If stu-dents have any concern about student activities, they can
reach out to me or stop by my office hours. I have a minimum of 12 per a week and always ap-preciate hearing from my peers.
The other concern at the senate meeting and in the comment provided online was based around the price of the NACA conference. I would first like to state that Student Senate has allocated well over $14,000 in student activity fees to organi-zations who then use that mon-ey to attend conferences, pay for transportation to tournaments or other competitions. While $4,000 may seem like a large amount of money to spend on two conferences, there is a large savings that is made, around $4,200. We save a large sum of money by booking artists and acts at this conference because of different discounts we receive at the conference. We also gain information and insight from the educational session in addi-tion to meeting other program-ming boards. In the response to the online comment that states, “it allows b-list talent to get
pushed through the college cir-cuit,” we make sure to see each artists’ showcase before book-ing them at NACA. That being said, we only book those artists who we believe students would enjoy seeing. Additionally, we have had local bands play on campus, as questioned in the comment online.
While I appreciate hearing students voice their concerns around the senate table and online, I do encourage students to attend SAB events to see the strides that are being made with student activities. If you have any questions, I encourage you to email me at [email protected]. As your vice president of student activities, I want to ensure that you have a great experience at your Drake events.
-Jessica Hamilton
Hamilton is the president of SAB and can be contacted at [email protected]
Letter to the Editor...
Study NOW. This may seem excessive or unnecessar y, but if you have
a comprehensive final, chances are that you forgot most of what was on your previous exams. Spend 20 minutes or so each day looking over old tests.
Get some sleep. Studies show that you r e m e m b e r more by getting
at least a few hours of sleep before an exam than by pulling an all-nighter. How much are you really learning during those last few hours before the exam anyway?
Focus. If you have a final in every class, focus on the finals that will
be the most difficult, first. Then move onto the others that won’t be too difficult later in your studying.
Be disciplined. Just because you probably don’t have m u c h
homework this last week doesn’t mean you should goof off. Giving up one week of your life for studying diligently won’t seem so bad compared to staying another semester because you had to retake all the classes you failed the first time around.
Organize. Find out when your finals are, what you need on the exam to
get your desired grade and about how long you think you will need to study in order to do well.
Take care of yourself. This time more than ever make sure to feed
your body well and to exercise. You will perform better if you are alert and well.
Take it one final at a time. When you are taking one final, don’t
worry about the final coming up next. Focus on the test at hand and only on that.
Be realistic. Finals can be stressful, but you need to
be real with yourself. Are you pushing yourself too hard for a grade you know you won’t get? Know that there are times when a final isn’t going to go as well as you hope. Study hard, rest well and relax when you go to take the final. That is all you can do.
ERYN SWAIN | COLUMNIST Swain is a junior marketing and writing double major and can be contacted at [email protected]
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Top 8 Finals Edition
• Wehaven’theardofanyonewithticketstothedebate.Ifanyofusgotticketswe’dbetellingeveryone,sowhyhaven’tweheardfromanyoftheluckyoneswithtickets?
• Winter has definitely arrived. We werequestioningwhyitwasstillniceout,butnowit’ssocoldithurts.
• Sorry for the security reports, or the lackthereof. Finals must be making studentsbehave.
To be certain, the race for the Republi-can presidential nomination has been any-thing but dull. One of the greatest reasons for this has been the numerous, nationally televised debates. Writing on the subject, Wolf Blitzer claimed: “Presidential histo-rians may write one day that this was the year of the debate.”
From Tim Pawlenty’s early timidity on attacking Mitt Romney, Rick Perry’s recent “…oops” moment and Newt Gingrich’s strong debate performances, the GOP de-bates have undoubtedly shaped the course of the nomination race. It would be fair to say that the candidate who wins the nomi-nation will be a strong debater, due to the influence they have had thus far.
This Saturday, Drake will have the wonderful opportunity to take part in this important process. Drake will host a Re-publican presidential debate in Sheslow Auditorium, which will be televised nation-ally on ABC and hosted by Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos. Drake students will be involved in the debates in various ways. The Brocal Chords — an a capella group on campus — is singing the national anthem, and 25 students will be
interning with various media outlets, in-cluding ABC. Yet there will be three other kinds of participation that students will take part in that are equally important: de-bate watching parties, an online straw poll and “Pancakes & Politics.”
Sophomore Sam Pritchard, the com-munity outreach senator-at-large, was selected as the chair of the Election 2012 ad hoc committee and has played an ac-tive role in planning the debate watching parties, as well as the straw poll.
“The idea to host these parties came from the lack of debate tickets available to students,” Pritchard said. “(We) expect at least 300 students to fill these lecture halls during our parties.” Food will be provided for those students that attend.
There are two different places that Drake students can watch the debates: Meredith 101 and Harvey Ingham 104. Doors will open at 7 p.m. for both parties, and the debate begins at 8 p.m.
“Our hope is that students will attend these parties, watch the debate, then vote for their favorite candidate so that their voice can be heard,” Pritchard said, tying the debate watching parties to the straw poll that will take place online on Saturday.
The online straw poll will serve as a measure of which candidates Drake stu-dents support most at this point in the race. Each student will receive an email with a
unique link that they can follow to vote for his or her favorite candidate.
According to the Drake Student Sen-ate website: “Students will receive an email in their inbox linking them to the Straw Poll. They may vote before, during or after the debate. Polls close Saturday, Dec. 10th at 11:59 p.m.”
However, the event that will kick off the busy Saturday of presidential politics — “Pancakes & Politics” — starts bright and early at 10 a.m. in Olmsted Center. It is another way that the Student Senate and the Election 2012 ad hoc committee is trying to facilitate student involvement in the political process. Senate’s website describes the event as an opportunity for students to “talk politics with campaign staff, media personalities and maybe even some special guests” that are going to be announced via twitter by Student Senate (@DrakeStuSenate).
If Wolf Blitzer’s prediction comes true — and this year is remembered as the “year of the debate” — then Drake will have the honor of participating in such an important process. Pritchard and Student Senate are hoping for high student par-ticipation. Make sure to attend and check out all of the events in order to show that Drake students are concerned with na-tional issues.
featuresFEATURESTHE TIMES-DELPHIC THURSDAY, DEC. 8, 2011 | PAGE 4
don’tmissthisSodexo Late Night BreakfastHubbell South Dining HallSunday, Dec. 11 from 10:30 p.m.-12 a.m.
by Ben LevineStaff [email protected]
Activities set to involve students in debates
illustration by Nicole Dyar
GOPDEBATE
Political satire hits DSM stage
Everybody, especially college students, can appreciate a good political satire. It can be found in shows such as “Saturday Night Live,” “The Colbert Report” and any late-night talk show. Now, it can be found in musical form.
“Caucus! The Musical (Episode 2012: The GOP Strikes Back)” was written by Rob-ert John Ford, directed by Ron Ziegler and produced by Right Brain Productions. The show was first put on eight years ago and has transitioned from an all-Democratic cast to a mixed cast in 2008 to now being an all-Repub-lican cast because only the Republicans have a contested caucus this year. Since its start in 2004, the show has become increasing popu-lar. The Washington Post called it “the hottest new musical in the country.”
It is the story of a farmer and his family and a group of presidential candidates who are desperately trying to win their endorse-ments. The farmer and his family are depicted as typical Iowans, described by Ford as “sane, grounded and conscientious characters.”
The candidates, on the other hand, are where the satire comes into play. Each of the four characters who play presidential can-didates are based off of real life candidates. Much about the caucus process is learned through their desperate attempts to win the family over as well as the role that Iowa plays in the presidential nomination process and election as a whole.
When Ford was asked how “Caucus! The Musical” is relatable to Drake students and why they should attend, he said that “the hu-mor is very similar to what you would find in ‘The Daily Show’ or ‘The Colbert Report.’”
Ford also talked about how the musical is
targeted at a young, politically savvy audience. This surely describes many students at Drake.
Ford explained that it is beneficial for stu-dents to attend because many haven’t been involved in the caucus process and may not be familiar with it. This play gives those stu-dents an “educational primer” on how the process works, and their roles in it all. First-year Drake student Mackenzie Kirkman said that she is more familiar than most with how the caucus process works because her mother was involved with the caucus in 2008 for President Barack Obama. She said that she will consider seeing the musical.
There is a lot of thought and purpose be-hind this production, according to Ford.
“One of the statements I try to make is that even though Iowa may not be representa-tive of the country as a whole, we take the task of selecting our political leaders very seriously,” Ford added.
This musical is an amusing and creative way to look at the Iowa caucuses. It provides insight into how the caucus process works and how Iowa plays a large role in the presidential nomination process.
“(The musical is) part educational, part truth and a lot of satire,” Ford said. “What’s not to love?”
If you are interested in going, the musical will be held at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines from today through Dec. 31. Tickets can be purchased by calling the box office at (515)-246-2300, or they can be bought at tick-etmaster.com. For more information about this production, Right Brain Productions or Ford, go to http://robertjohnford.com/cau-cus.html
The silence that crept upon Drake University last year has vanished thanks to the return of Harold Dudley.
The Des Moines native is known around campus for his jolly chuckle and public opera singing. While many students recognize his voice, not all know why Dud-ley was silenced last year.
Dudley joined the Iowa Army Na-tional Guard before coming to Drake. At the beginning of August 2010, Dudley was deployed to Afghanistan.
“You choose to give your life away,” Dudley said. “That’s a real choice.”
Dudley served for one year in Afghani-stan before returning to Drake for this school year.
Brad Harris, a senior history major from Spring Hill, Iowa, noticed the dis-appearance of Dudley. He was happy to hear the return of Dudley’s voice at the beginning of the school year.
“At the return of this school year, I
wasn’t fully aware that he would be back,” Harris, 22, said. “But the moment I heard his voice, which you can distinguish just about everywhere, I knew he was back. It was a happy moment for me because it was something that I had heard every-day during my freshman and sophomore years.”
Last year, a First-Year Seminar class called “Finding your Place at Drake” did a service project around Dudley. The stu-dents sent Dudley a care package to show him that his presence at Drake was missed, but that they supported what he was doing overseas.
Amanda Wagner, a 20-year-old soph-omore from Sussex, Wis., was in this FYS class. The actuarial science major recalled how well known Dudley was on campus.
“Over 100 personal notes to Harold written by staff and students were included in the care package,” Wagner said. “It be-came aware to me that even though many people may not know Harold personally, his personality and jolly singing around campus is recognized by almost all Drake students. It brightens people’s days.”
Dudley said his public singing is not just specialized to Drake. He publicly sang while he was in Afghanistan and even sang the national anthem to President Obama during his time there.
The 24-year-old fifth-year vocal per-formance major said that his mom and sister inspire his public singing. He said that they would sing wherever they went to get through hard times and bring themselves happiness. Yet, Dudley never realized the impact his singing had on others. Recent-ly, while eating ice cream at a Coldstone Creamery, Dudley caught recognition of the impact of his singing.
“I sang opera to the girl I was with, and one of the Coldstone girls behind he coun-ter started crying. I had no idea how much it would affect her,” Dudley said.
Dudley’s voice can also be heard in the Drake Community Choir. The choir is compromised of students, alumni and community members.
Becca Lewis, who hails from Andover, Minn., joined choir for the joy of mak-ing beautiful music. The pre-pharmacy sophomore said that Dudley stands out in
the choir because of the effect he has on others.
“His laugh carries and it makes every-one smile,” Lewis, 19, said. “It’s rare to see him without a smile on his face, showing how much he enjoys what he does. I can’t imagine how his singing could not bright-en anyone’s day.”
There is a Facebook group dedicated to Dudley’s voice. The group is titled “Everything was going wrong. Then I heard Harold sing.” Over 350 people have “liked” the group.
Whether he is serving overseas, sing-ing in the choir or just bringing a smile to someone’s face, Dudley said that he always does what he believes is right.
“Sometimes it’s as simple as holding the door, sometimes it’s as simple as walk-ing with somebody to talk with them and see how they’re doing, sometimes it’s tak-ing somebody by the hand and dancing with them in the street,” Dudley said. “It’s the small things.”
Dudley’s close friend Kristen Hem-mings said that Dudley brings “pure joy and comfort” to the people on Drake’s
campus. The senior public relations ma-jor said that she tries to follow Dudley’s example.
“I try to follow Harold’s examples by leading my life more like his,” Hemmings said. “He lives in the moment and takes time to listen to and understand people.”
Wagner said she thinks Dudley’s ac-tions should be recognized.
“Harold deserves recognition for his honor, courage, service and commitment,” Wagner said. “Harold is the kind of person that isn’t acting for his own accord, but for the sake that it is what he knows is right.”
Dudley said he would continue to sing wherever he goes, even though sometimes he develops a fear because he knows his public singing can make some people un-comfortable.
“It is when we feel fear that we have to push past it,” Dudley said.
Dudley added that every once in a while he does get a “thank you” for his singing, and he said that it is much appreci-ated.
Make a difference, spreading joy through songby Brenna DohertyStaff [email protected]
by Emily WarnerStaff [email protected]
PAGE 5 THURSDAY, DEC. 8, 2011 FEATURES THE TIMES-DELPHIC
Drake student goes viral with YouTube hit
In case you missed it, Drake junior Matt Haupert has gone viral. Haupert’s video “Aaron Rodgers Tribute - I Could Be Your Jordy” has over 40,000 YouTube views and has been highlighted on major news and sports sites. The Times-Delphic sat down with Haupert to get the behind-the-scenes details on his recent claim to fame.
Mountains of papers, hours of study-ing and numerous finals stand between Drake students and their desired month-long winter break. With so many assign-ments to complete and only 24 hours in a day, students are looking for quick and easy ways to survive the end-of-semester turbulence.
Instead of drinking large amounts of caffeine, college students are increasingly relying on prescription drugs like Adderall and Ritalin to help them study, researchers said.
According to an article on Drugs.com, Adderall contains a number of different amphetamines that stimulate the body and alter chemicals in the brain to increase attentiveness and awareness of surround-ings. Hyperactive individuals take the
prescription drug to help them function in their everyday activities. But for college stu-dents, such stimulants have non-medical purposes.
Some students report that using stim-ulant medications makes them feel more motivated and eager to hit the books dur-ing finals week. They claim they are less likely to procrastinate on their work after taking the drug.
According to a 2009 National Survey on Drug Use in Health: “Full-time college students between the ages of 18 and 22 are twice as likely as their counterparts who are not full-time college students to have used Adderall non-medically in the past year.”
Since then, statistics for non-medical prescription drug use among college stu-dents have continued to rise nationwide.
However, faculty members say that the use of stimulants appears to be far less prevalent on Drake’s campus.
“Studies have documented misuse of stimulant medications among college stu-
dents, but I have not personally seen this at Drake,” said Cheryl Clarke, assistant professor of pharmacy practice. “I’m sure we’re not immune to this danger, though.”
Some students have heard otherwise. “I’ve definitely heard of a couple in-
stances of Adderall use recently,” sopho-more Kaila Wechsler said. “As finals come around, you hear about it more.”
Some students said they believe that taking over-the-counter medicines for aca-demic purposes is relatively harmless — so long as the drugs are used in moderation.
“If it’s something that helps you fo-cus, I feel like it’s not that big of a deal,” Wechsler said. “It definitely shouldn’t be used frequently, but every once in a while shouldn’t hurt.”
However, many students aren’t aware that occasional use could lead to severe consequences.
Adderall and other stimulant medi-cations are known to be highly addictive, a fact that Renae Chesnut, the associate
dean of the college of pharmacy and health sciences, said shouldn’t be taken lightly.
“Sometimes people think that medi-cations are safe because they have been approved by the Federal Drug Admin-istration, and that they are therefore dif-ferent than illicit drugs,” Chesnut said. “However, they are addictive, and among other side effects, can cause serious cardiac problems. I would discourage anyone from using this potentially harmful medication without having a prescription.”
Even more serious than the potential health risks are the legal implications of having stimulant medications without a prescription. Because Adderall is classi-fied as a controlled substance, possessing the drug without a prescription or with an intention to distribute is considered a seri-ous misdemeanor in Iowa. According to the governor’s office of drug control policy, first offense violators can be issued a fine or up to a year of imprisonment, while subse-
quent offenses receive more. Drake also has its own penalties for
drug possession. Students can be fined, given probation, removed from their resi-dence hall or subjected to a drug and alco-hol assessment if caught with prescription drugs that aren’t theirs.
To avoid these serious outcomes, Chesnut advises students to drop the Ad-derall and de-stress in healthier ways dur-ing finals week.
“Eat healthy, get plenty of sleep and maintain an exercise regime,” she said. “Take frequent, short study breaks and use relaxation techniques if you start to feel stressed.”
Clarke also said that the dangers of Adderall are not worth it.
“Taking a medication which may cause adverse effects could do much more harm than good to not just your health, but your grades as well,” Clarke said.
by Paige ZidekStaff [email protected]
by Elizabeth RobinsonFeatures and Opinions [email protected]
Use of Adderall during finals week
JOEY GALE| photo editor
Q: A:
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It was me and my friend from high school, Payton Sterba, and we formed a two-person comedy band in high school, and we’ve been making songs and videos. We figured the Packers are undefeated, Aaron Rodgers is having a great season and he’s one of the greatest players in the NFL, so we thought we’d do a tribute to him. First, we wanted to do a rap, but then we realized we don’t have a lot of rapping ability. So we de-cided we wanted to do a praise and worship video about how much we love Aaron Rodgers. We thought it would be funny, so that’s why we picked that genre.
We had the idea for a long time to do a Packers video. Last season, we went to the Packers/Giants game where they won big, so we were super excited after that. We were planning our next album and wanted to make a song about the Packers. We had that idea and both kind of forgot about it. But then we kind of brought the idea back up this semester when the Packers got really good, and we were like “we’re missing a big op-portunity if we don’t put it up right now.” We saw all these other videos that weren’t even that original, so we thought we could do something at least that good and make a little bit of attention for our band. So the week before Thanksgiving break, we planned to do it over break and thought it would be good to do it then since they’re undefeated.
We finished the video the Saturday of break (Nov. 26) and then came back to school on Sunday. He finished up some editing with music on the computer, so the video didn’t get posted until last Friday night. Saturday (Dec. 3), it had around 300 views, and we were like “this is so cool,” and all our friends were watching it. Then by the next day, it jumped up to around 2,000, and there was an article that said “watch creepy fans Packers video.” But then the next day, it jumped up to close to 20,000, and it was on the Sports Illustrated web-site, ESPN’s website, CNN online and ESPN tweeted about it. There are tons of comments, tons of likes and all these people are saying things about how this is like reinvigorating their crush on Aar-on Rodgers.
We have two other videos online and some live performances. To put this in perspective, our next highest view count has about 2,200 views and that has been up for a year. Now, our Aaron Rodgers video has around 40,000 views. It’s defi-nitely our most popular song so far.
Now, my Facebook page is exploding. It’s like I get to feel like I’m famous. We’re going to carry on with the plan we’ve had, and we’re hoping this will get us more attention. Our other CD is full of songs with similar humor, and we’re working on our next CD. We’re working on it slowly, doing it song by song, and over Christmas break we’re hopefully getting a video done.
Why did you want to make a video like this? When did you decide to do this?
How did this whole video gain such popularity?
Have you ever had a video become this popular? What has it been like having a video that’s this popular?
photo from YOUTUBE
THE TIMES-DELPHIC SPORTS THURSDAY, DEC. 8, 2011 | PAGE 6
sportsThe women’s basketball squad faces a critical stretch in their non-conference sschedule. After taking on North Dakota State on Thursday, the Bulldogs will have to take on Wisconsin, Saint Louis and Iowa all on the road. Drake will then close out their non-conference season at home against Loyola-Chicago. Good luck.
DID YOUKNOW?
FILE PHOTO
With Missouri Valley Conference play just over three weeks away, the Drake women’s basketball team is ready to flex its defensive muscle. Aiming for 40 minutes of consistent defense, the Bulldogs look to enter MVC play on a streak of notable wins.
Tonight’s contest against North Da-kota State (5 p.m., Knapp Center) is just the beginning of a critical stretch of games for Drake. Currently 2-4 on the season, the Bulldogs will look to knock down the first domino in a line of dif-ficult opponents when they take on the Bison.
“They’re another tough team,” sophomore guard Alyssa Marschner said.
Marschner, who recorded a career-high 10 points against North Dakota last Thursday, will likely see consider-able court time in upcoming games.
At 2-6 overall, the Bison boast two players averaging double-digit scoring this season. One of those players, Abby Plucker, averages almost 10 rebounds alongside 11.3 points per game. Prac-ticing this week with defensive improve-ment in mind, the Bulldogs will likely
focus on guarding Plucker both in the paint and on the glass.
Alongside Marschner, Drake fea-tures several promising young players in redshirt freshman guard Carly Gren-fell and freshman guard Kyndal Clark. Clark, who was recently named MVC Newcomer of the Week, will likely see significant playing time as well.
Entering December’s key stretch of games, the Bulldogs will look to topple Big Ten powerhouses Wisconsin and Iowa. Drake faces the Badgers in Mad-ison, Wis., on Sunday.
Following the Dec. 18 game at Saint Louis, Drake will again set its sights on a Big Ten opponent.
The Bulldogs take on the 5-3 Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City on Dec. 20. A favorite for Io-wa’s Big Four title, the Hawkeyes’ deep lineup includes several players who rou-tinely reach double digits in scoring.
Drake will likely focus its defensive efforts on the Hawkeyes’ leading scorer, Jaime Printy, who averages almost 18 points per game.
With an important month of 2011-12 Drake Basketball just underway, the Bulldogs hope their defensive efforts translate into a win over North Dakota State in tonight’s contest.
“As long as we stick to our guns and play tough defense and stick to our transitions on offense, I think our team can do well and get another ‘W,’” Marschner said.
On the offensive front, the Bulldogs have already buckled down in pursuit of quick, statement-making starts.
“It’s something that we’ve been working on a lot,” senior forward Ra-chael Hackbarth said following last Thursday’s 70-64 win over North Da-kota.
Hackbarth leads Drake in scoring with 16.6 points per game.
With a Dec. 31 game at MVC ri-val Creighton just around the corner, Drake hopes to enter Omaha, Neb., with a winning record and a winning game plan on New Year’s Eve.
Bulldogs brace for tough December stretch
by Taylor SouleStaff [email protected]
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
“
”
As long as we stick to our guns and play tough defense and stick to our transitions on offense, I think our team can do well and get another ‘W’.
- sophomore Alyssa Marschner
FILE PHOTO
MEN’S BASKETBALL
by Matt MoranCopy [email protected]
Drake looks to gain momentum heading into tough early-season MVC slate
by the numbers
5-3The Bulldogs’ record this
year. Their best start since
the 2008-09 season
34.2The combined scoring
averages of Rayvonte Rice
and Ben Simons
0.6The assist/turnover ratio for
Drake this season
21-3The combined record of the
three opponents that have
beaten Drake this year
3Times in the last 13 months
that the Bulldogs have lost a
game by 43 or more
by the numbers
17.3Rachael Hackbarth’s
scoring average, good for
third in the MVC
55.8%Stephanie Running’s field
goal percentage, placing her
in the top ten of the MVC
18-8The combined record of the
four opponents that have
beaten Drake this year
+ 4.5The team rebounding
margin for the Bulldogs
this season
59.3Points per game average
for Drake this season
Women’s Basketball
Men’s Basketball
Catch their game TONIGHT against
North Dakota State
5 p.m.Knapp Center
As the fall semester winds down for Drake students, the men’s college bas-ketball season heats up. The Bulldogs are 5-3 heading into tonight’s game against Eastern Michigan (8:05 p.m., Knapp Center). Including tonight’s contest, Drake has three more non-conference games in December before the start of the Missouri Valley Confer-ence season. Here’s a look at the Bull-dogs’ opponents during the month-long winter break:
Tonight, Eastern Michigan – Drake is coming off a narrow two-point win over Air Force last Saturday. The Bull-dogs survived two missed 3-point at-tempts by Air Force in the game’s final possession to escape with the win. East-ern Michigan’s leading scorer is Darrell Lampley, who averages 16.8 points per game.
Dec. 17, @ Iowa – The Bulldogs have already notched a win against Iowa State this season, and Drake would love nothing more than to take down its Big Ten in-state rival. The Hawkeyes have been rebuilding for the past few seasons, but they are sure to put a competitive squad on the court. Drake has fared well against BCS programs this season, suffering close losses to Mississippi and Virginia in addition to the win against the Cyclones.
Dec. 21, Central Arkansas – The high-scoring Bears were 4-3 heading into last night’s contest against Hender-son State. UCA has produced outputs of 107 points, 90 points (twice) and 88 points this season.
Dec. 28, Indiana State – The Bull-dogs will be tested right away in MVC play when they host the defending State Farm MVC Champion Sycamores. This NCAA tournament-tested squad is led by sophomore Jake Odum, and the team is primed to make another run
at the title this season.Dec. 31, @ Missouri State – The road
doesn’t get any easier for Drake. After hosting Indiana State, the Bulldogs hit the road to Springfield, Mo., to face the defending MVC regular-season cham-pion Bears. Granted, Missouri State has lost plenty of its talent, but it still returns last season’s MVC Larry Bird Player of the Year award winner in Kyle Weems.
Jan. 3, @ Creighton – Creighton is making its way into the national spot-light as sophomore Doug McDermott continues to turn heads by filling up stat sheets each game. The Bluejays are ranked No. 17 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll this week. The pre-season MVC favorite is undefeated and is rolling into conference play.
Jan. 7, Northern Iowa – If the Bull-dogs find a way to beat the Hawkeyes, Drake has its first chance at defeating all three Iowa schools to capture Big Four bragging rights. The Panthers are never a push-over, and UNI would love noth-
ing more than to avenge last season’s loss at the Knapp Center.
Jan. 10, Bradley – The Braves knocked Drake out of the State Farm MVC Championship last season in the play-in round. The Bulldogs get a shot at redemption.
Jan. 13, @ Evansville – The Purple Aces have had quite the non-confer-ence schedule, and the team that has been “on the verge” the past couple of seasons could be turning the corner. An early-season win over Butler and games against North Carolina and Indiana will toughen this squad up for MVC play.
Jan. 15, Illinois State – This gritty Redbird squad nearly pulled off an upset against Illinois, dropping a four-point decision in the title game of the Cancun Challenge. Illinois State also defeated Rutgers in that tournament.
Drake will hit the road for three pivotal non-conference games
1. Creighton (17) 7-02. Northern Iowa 7-13. Indiana St. 6-24. Wichita St. 5-25. Missouri St. 4-26. Illinois St. 5-37. Drake 5-38. Evansville 3-39. Bradley 3-410. Southern Ill. 1-3
* No conference games played yet
How the rest of the MVC is doing:
1. Northern Iowa 5-22. Bradley 6-33. Missouri St. 3-24. Illinois St. 4-35. Creighton 4-3
6. Indiana St. 4-37. Wichita St. 3-48. Southern Ill. 2-49. Drake 2-410. Evansville 2-6
How the rest of the MVC is doing:
* No conference games played yet
Catch their game TONIGHT against Eastern Michigan
8:05 p.m.Knapp Center
PAGE 7 | THURSDAY, DEC. 8, 2011 SPORTS THE TIMES-DELPHIC
Five adjustments for the rest of the men’s season
Only eight games into the season, and your Drake Bulldogs have already experienced both high and low points. Yes, the win over Iowa State was exhila-rating, but the team failed to capitalize on that momentum and turn it into wins in St. Thomas at the Paradise Jam, with some promising efforts against Ole Miss and Virginia ultimately ending in disap-pointing losses. The Bulldogs followed that up by receiving a walloping at Taco Bell Arena against the Boise State Bron-cos and a late-game collapse against Air Force on Saturday that almost resulted in a loss. If the Bulldogs want to progress, win some games and make some noise come conference season, here are the five things that need to change:
Avoid 40+ point losses like the one in Boise.
Blowouts like these are demoralizing to both players and fans. Bad losses such as these can kill any positive feeling and momentum built earlier. What’s espe-cially galling is that not only did we beat this team last year at home, but Boise State was picked bottom of the Moun-tain West Conference. Losses like this and the ones to St. John’s and at Iowa State last year cannot happen, and with good coaching, it shouldn’t. As Coach K said after Duke received a shellacking at Ohio State last Tuesday: “Sometimes you coach how to not to lose by 30.”
Be competitive on the road.The Bulldogs under head coach
Mark Phelps are 10-26 in true road games (not counting neutral site tourna-ments like the Paradise Jam). Any de-cent team can go .500 or a little above at home; it is the ability to consistently win games on the road that separates the mediocre teams from contenders. If the Bulldogs want to compete in the Missouri Valley Conference, they will have win at least four conference games on the road in addition to making the
Knapp Center a fortress.
Utilization of the post players. This is a spot where the coaching
staff needs to make adjustments more than the players. Half of the reason our team lacks post scoring is because red-shirt junior Jordan Clarke and redshirt senior Kraidon Woods aren’t consistent-ly getting the ball in spots where they are a threat to score. Adjustments need to be made by the coaches to get these athletic big men the ball without their backs to the basket so that the rest of the offense opens up.
Return to the Iowa State game plan. The game against the Cyclones was
probably the best game I have witnessed in my time here. The reason the Bull-dogs were able to pull off the upset was a surprisingly good game plan. To get back to winning ways, the coaching staff needs to return to the aspects of that game that brought them the win, mainly rebounding and attacking the basket. Rebounding the ball is especially critical for the Bulldogs, who have an absolutely atrocious rebounding margin under Phelps and consistently get outplayed on the boards. The rebounding margin against ISU was only -1, which was ac-tually good considering the Cyclones are a bigger team. In contrast, the Bulldogs were outrebounded 42-24 against Boise State. Need I say more? In addition, Drake’s guards need to attack the basket more. Redshirt freshman Karl Madison has been doing a good job of penetrat-ing but has backed off a little recently. Sophomore Rayvonte Rice, senior Kurt Alexander, redshirt freshman Jeremy Jeffers and Madison are all capable of getting in the lane and creating scoring opportunities for themselves or others.
Find some late-game poise. The Bulldogs almost handed the Air
Force Falcons a road win on Saturday
with some questionable decisions in the closing moments. To start, it would be nice if the players followed the first les-son about breaking a press that a middle school team would know: don’t inbound the ball to the corner. Air Force nearly ate the Bulldogs alive with their press late in the game Saturday due to some bad decisions, and a more athletic team that puts on the press will undoubtedly cause more problems if adjustments aren’t made. Second, get the ball to your key players with the game on the line, such as junior Ben Simons or Rice, not the inexperienced redshirt sophomore Da-vid Smith. Finally, the last Air Force pos-session was almost catastrophic — two good open looks from beyond the arc that would have won the game. There’s five seconds left in a two-point game; do not allow a clean look from 3-point land no matter what. A good team with good coaches is better prepared for late game defense.
With these adjustments, I’m confi-dent the Bulldogs could reach the 20-win mark and finish at least in the top half of the Valley. Hopefully, the coaches are already working on improvements for these last non-conference games. Lastly, kudos to assistant coach Stan Johnson for showing some much-needed fire and passion by repeatedly getting off the bench for the coaching staff. Stan, you look like head coach material.
BLAKE MILLER | COLUMNIST Miller is a sophomore radio-television producing major and can be contacted at [email protected]
Nothing says “Happy Thanksgiving” like sunshine and your toes in the sand. Over the holiday break, the Drake women’s basketball team packed up for a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Cancun, Mex-ico. Although we were there for business, we made room for fun as well. From this incredible opportunity, I not only gained unforgettable memories, a sun-tan and stories to share, but I gained an entire new perspec-tive on how privileged we are as Division I athletes.
We may not have had a cor-nucopia of turkey, mashed po-tatoes and stuffing to feast on like most families on Thanks-giving, but what we experi-enced is something not many people can say they have. And it’s not at all about bragging rights; it’s about being grateful for what the collegiate athletic world has to offer. Obviously, bringing home a couple of wins would have made the trip even better. However, in retro-spect, the opportunity to play two extremely talented teams was valuable in itself. If you
don’t think there’s a way to see the good even in disappointing situations, I would have to dis-agree with you.
Someone tell me how play-ing basketball in a transformed ballroom isn’t awesome? As we ended practice the day before our departure, and the main-tenance crew began tearing down the bleachers, I got to thinking. You must love playing the game if you can compete in a next-to-empty gym and still be excited. That’s what it’s all about though — being ex-cited. Better yet, it’s about be-ing excited in knowing that ev-ery practice, game or trip is an opportunity that only a handful of people will encounter first-hand.
I recently read a blog ex-cerpt written by Sherri Coale, the head women’s basketball coach at Oklahoma. The best thing I took from her writing was that “toughness isn’t ascer-tained, it’s revealed.”
Boy, is that true. Until you are placed in a certain situa-tion, you never know who will fold or who will persevere.
Sports in general can reveal a lot about someone. I guess the point I’m trying to make is that more than just toughness can be revealed through col-lege athletics. I believe a huge part of that is simply recogniz-ing the little things. When that happens, it’s hard to not be thankful.
In some sense, it’s sad that it took a five-day trip to Mex-ico to really spark my realiza-tions. I’ve been aware of the small percentage of people in the world that play Division I basketball. I’ve been aware of all the perks that come with it. I’ve been aware that we play in front of the best fans in the Valley. But did I ever fully come to terms with the significance behind it? Not quite. We can complain about our long days at the gym, our short breaks (or lack thereof) and busy sched-ules all we want. I’m guilty of it myself. It’s so easy to find things to nitpick when in all reality we are some of the luckiest people out there.
It’s something to think about.
The sophomore diaries: Looking back on Cancun
CARLY GRENFELL | COLUMNIST Grenfell is a sophomore public relations and management double major and can be contacted at [email protected]
RYAN HUNT | COLUMNIST Hunt is a senior history major and can be contacted at [email protected]
CROSS COUNTRY
Arguably the women’s cross-coun-try team’s most valuable player, Mariel Fulton is the new kid on the block. As a freshman, Fulton led her team in the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championships by placing 29th, in the Bradley Classic by placing 43rd and in the Walt Disney Classic by placing 11th.
Out of Louisville, Colo., Fulton is an international business major here at Drake. In addition to running cross-country, Fulton runs distance for the
women’s track and field squad. In her first collegiate track season, she plans to run the 1,500-meter run for indoor and to step up the distance for outdoor season with 5,000-meter races.
The women’s cross-country team boasted only one senior and two juniors on the roster of 15, but Fulton enjoys the youth on the team.
“Its kind of fun being a young team because we get to grow together and experience everything from freshman to senior year,” Fulton said.
With enthusiasm and a constant smile on her face, Fulton shows up to practice with running on her mind and love for her team in her heart.
“I love my teammates; we get along really well,” Fulton said. “My room-mate Katie (Gross) is one of my best friends, and she is on the team.”
Head Coach Dan Hostager, a graduate of Northern Iowa, has been coaching the Bulldogs for eight years. During his tenure as head coach, Hos-tager has coached countless successful runners, and he said that Fulton is next in line.
Fulton said she enjoys running for such a knowledgeable coach.
“He is an interesting character, but he is really awesome,” Fulton said. “He is really relaxed and individualized. He is also good at not pushing us past our limits because he wants us healthy.”
Health is at the top of Fulton’s agenda as well.
“My No. 1 goal is to stay healthy as I improve, but I would like the team to improve a lot because it would be nice to have the team perform well,” Fulton said.
Successful indoor and outdoor track seasons are on the horizon for Fulton. The indoor track season kicks off to-morrow with the Iowa State Holliday Preview in Ames.
by Rodney SpearsStaff [email protected]
Freshman Fulton already having immediate impact
EDUARDO ZAMARRIPA | sports editor
FRESHMAN MARIEL FULTON poses for a photo inside of Meredith Hall.
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Well, the college football regular sea-son is over, and the bowl games are set. The exciting 2011 season will officially end on Jan. 9 in New Orleans with a re-match of one of the most boring games of the season. It was no surprise; every-one tuned into this college football sea-son expected a rematch after both Ala-bama and LSU won their final regular season games. Even an unexpected loss in the Southeastern Conference cham-pionship game to Georgia couldn’t have kept the Tigers out of the BCS National Championship game. But, when the fi-nal BCS rankings came through on Sun-day night, it still stung to see Oklahoma State occupy the third spot, making it official that the Crimson Tide will get a chance to avenge its 9-6 overtime loss to LSU that happened in early November.
OK, these are still the two best teams in the country; I’m not going to sit here and argue that. But this national cham-pionship game just makes no sense. Let’s take a look at it from all the angles.
ALABAMAIf the Crimson Tide were unable
to take down the Tigers back on Nov. 5, why would it be able to in January? Both teams were coming off their bye weeks back then and had the same 1-2 rankings that they do now. Remember how overtime went down? Alabama got the ball first and was unable to put in any points from LSU’s 25-yard line.
This isn’t the NFL, where LSU won the coin toss and three plays later kicked the game-winning field goal. Both teams get their shot no matter what, and Alabama blew its chance and gave the rest of the season (so we thought back then) to LSU in the first overtime. Did I mention this meeting took place in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and the national championship is in New Orleans?
FANSEvery time one of those fancy suited,
ex-Division-I-football-player-turned-broadcaster utters that famous cliché, “Well, everyone wants to see the two best teams play for the title,” I cringe. They were also the two best teams the first time they met and managed to put 15 points on the scoreboard. I frankly don’t want to see it again. Why wouldn’t fans want to see someone else take a shot at undefeated LSU? Someone like Oklahoma State, that puts up almost 50 points a game, second in all of the FBS. Or someone like Stanford, with the lead-ing Heisman candidate calling the plays, Andrew Luck. Or what about Oregon? Sure the Ducks and the Tigers have also already met this season, but when that game ended, there were 67 points on the board. And Oregon’s only other loss was on the road to a USC team that might’ve won the Pac-12, been ranked in the top five and been playing for a BCS bowl themselves if they weren’t on probation
this season. Oh, and don’t let me forget, the Ducks actually won their conference title game, something that ‘Bama didn’t even qualify for. There are three other legitimate contenders that I’m sure the fans would rather see than this rematch of the two best teams.
ECONOMYRemember back in 2007, when
Ohio State was in LSU’s position and everyone thought that Michigan would get its chance to face them in the title game? But then at the last second, Flor-ida got into the national championship game because it was further apart, and that matchup was to raise more money not only in the city the game was played, but also across the nation in television ratings. I guess that logic doesn’t apply when we’re dealing with the almighty SEC. It would even be different if it was still this match-up, but played in, say, the Rose Bowl out in California. However, the game will be played in LSU’s back-yard, and it’s not a far drive from those pesky ‘Bama fans.
THE BCSOooohhhhh, the BCS. What a head
scratcher. How is it that Oklahoma State finished below Alabama in the BCS? What about the system’s silly little algo-rithm gave Alabama the upper hand? Sure its defense is only giving up 8.8 points per game, best in the FBS, but the
Crimson Tide haven’t played a Big 12 offensive-minded team putting up 49.3 points a game. Oklahoma State was the outright Big 12 champion. The Big 12 is ranked higher in the computers than the SEC overall. Alabama didn’t even qualify to contend for the SEC title. That alone should be enough to overpower the Crimson Tide. Both teams have one loss. Sure, Alabama’s was to No. 1 ranked LSU and Oklahoma State’s was to an unranked Iowa State team, but lets dig a little deeper. Alabama’s loss came at home in single overtime. Oklahoma State’s came on the road on a short week, in double overtime. Oh, and two Oklahoma State women’s basketball coaches had died in a tragic plane crash the day before. Fast forward to this week-end. Oklahoma State beats Oklahoma 44-10 while Alabama is sitting on the couch. Case closed. I would love to see an Oklahoma State vs. LSU national championship game.
THE WHAT IF’s…OK, so LSU beats Alabama in an-
other close (but boring) game, let’s say 13-10. It’s clear LSU deserves to be crowned champions, alone at 14-0. But what if Oklahoma State routes No. 4 Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl, 34-7? Or even vice versa? Would you be truly sat-isfied not seeing either of those teams get a shot to give the Tigers a loss? What about the truly dreaded outcome of an
Alabama victory? Really? They’d be national champions? After coming out of the same conference that LSU won, having one less win than the Tigers, and each team having a loss to each other. Cue Vancouver Canucks riots; everyone would finally completely lose faith in the BCS.
I could think of plenty more reasons that this year’s national championship matchup is wrong, but I’d hate to lay out more reasons for them not to play this game than the amount of total points we will see on the scoreboard when this fan-tastic year of college football comes to a messy end in New Orleans.
The Bowl Championship Series continues frustrating fans
THE TIMES-DELPHIC AD THURSDAY, DEC. 8, 2011 | PAGE 8
