The Times-Delphic

The

Times-Delphic

Thursday March 07, 2013

timesdelphic.com

Campus Calendar Thursday

Leadership Styles of Malcom X 3:30-4:30 p.m.

Sussman Theater Advertising Capstone Silent Auction 4-6 p.m.

Olmsted Pomerantz Stage Women’s Basketball vs.

Southern Illinois 7:05 p.m.

Knapp Center Comparison Project: Creative Nonfiction Narratives of Recovery, Discovery and Advocacy 7:30-9 p.m.

Cowles Reading Room

Friday Free Movie Friday: “Les Miserables” 8 p.m.

Sussman Theater

Saturday American Liszt Society, Iowa Chapter 1:30-3 p.m.

Sheslow Auditorium Women’s Basketball vs.

Evansville 2:05 p.m.

Knapp Center Senior Recital, Dana Sloter, clarinet 7:30-9 p.m.

Sheslow Auditorium

2013 Elections

Reining in the executive elections

Explaining the appeal process Kelly Tafoya

Features/Opinion Editor kelly.tafoya@drake.edu

The Student Senate Executive Elections were a mystery up until the results announcement early on March 6.

On campus, to ensure a “free and fair” election, the Election Commission holds candidates accountable for complaints by implementing violations.

After receiving a total of 650 penalty points, Joseph Gale was disqualified from the vice president of student life race early Tuesday morning. The Election Commission began the proceedings for his appeal, which took place on Tuesday, March 5 at 10:15 p.m. in Olmsted.

“This appeal is a very pivotal moment the week of elections,” Gale said. “It more or less comes down to what they rule on this.”

Then at 11:10 p.m., Gale received word that he was back on the ballot, and could once again have a chance to be elected VP of student life.

Gale had three complaints filed against him during this election cycle, Election Commission CoChair Matthew Van Hoeck said.

“He (Gale) was campaigning through email and that was his first violation,” Van Hoeck explained. “The second one was negative campaigning. And then

the last one was ruled as failing to promote a fair and accurate election.”

For Election Commission CoChairs Van Hoeck and Julianne Klampe, it has been a more difficult election cycle than usual.

“Last year there was definitely not as many points allocated to candidates but this cycle has also been more difficult because we’re dealing with bigger issues,” Van Hoeck said. “We’re seeing a lot more code of ethic violation complaints and less of the posting policy complaints and smaller issues like that.”

The appeals process for ethical violation ruling for Gale began Tuesday morning when he submitted a written appeal to the Election Commission for review.

“I didn’t feel the ruling was fair,” Gale said. “I had 24 hours to submit an appeal and then they (members of the Election Commission) re-read it and determine if the appeal is worthy of being looked at again. To prepare for this appeal I did a lot of research and really understood how things like this on a larger scale been dealt with.”

Gale said the ethical violation was over the “like” of a Facebook post by one of Gale’s fraternity brothers supporting his candi-

Appeal, page 2

Junior Music Theatre Recital, Haley Sisler and Molly Nelson 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Sheslow Auditorium Senior Recital, Devin van Holsteijn, saxophone 4:30-6 p.m.

Sheslow Auditorium Senior Musical Theatre Recital, Maura Gillespie 7:30-9 p.m.

Sheslow Auditorium

Inside News

Health Center now offering services in Olmsted PAGE 2

Emma Wilson

Staff Writer emma.wilson@drake.edu

After a whirlwind of candidate disqualifications, reinstatements and Election Commission rulings Drake University Student Senate has its executive officers for the next school year.

Just after the announcement of Joseph Gale’s reinstatement the Election Commission gathered at Pomerantz Stage. Onlookers consisting of current student senators and members of the student body waiting for Election Commission Co-Chair Matt Van Hoeck

to make the announcements of the tentative results. Official results take a day to calculate.

Van Hoeck started with the uncontested races. Vice President of Student Life David Karaz won the student body president position with 868 votes.

Organizational Council Chair Natalie Larson won the Vice President of Student Activities position with 847 votes.

Technology Liaison Joseph Gale won the Vice President of Student Life position with 612 votes.

The three of them will help lead the next session of Student Senate for the 2013-14 school year.

DAVID KARAZ AND NATALIE LARSON wait to hear the results of the Student Senate Elections on March 6. LUKE NANKIVELL | PHOTO EDITOR

Election Time Line Tuesday March 5, 2013 9:30 a.m. Gale files appeal to Election Commission

Sunday 42nd Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition 1-4 p.m.

Anderson Gallery

Tentative results name winners

12 a.m.

3 a.m.

6 a.m.

9 a.m.

12 p.m.

9 p.m.

11:10 p.m.

Gale re-instated as candidate 10 p.m.

11 p.m.

10:15 p.m. Gale’s hearing in Olmsted

12 a.m. Candidate Gale was disqualified

12 a.m.

11:59 p.m.

Polls close

Take a Look

Not your average ‘Fight Club’ gang Katherine Ramsey

Staff Writer katherine.ramsey@drake.edu

Several cars drive up to a deserted church. A group of young men exit and form a ring on the basketball court. Two of them step to the center and circle each other as they prepare to fight. Silence falls in anticipation. They grasp hands. And begin to poke each other in the chest.

This game is called sword fighting, a physical contest in

which opponents clasp hands as they struggle to be the first to touch their partner with a finger protruding from their intertwined fists. However, it is not the game that has become a sensation on Drake University’s campus — it is the players.

First-year computer science major Alex Peterson began sword fighting with his friends in high school when he had the idea to film their battles and turn them into videos.

“The whole point was to be overdramatic and stupid,” Peterson said.

While the idea never took off with his friends in high school, his hallmates at Drake were more than enthusiastic. So with a digital single-lens reflex camera, some costumes and a big idea, Sword Fight Club was born.

The ensuing YouTube videos created by Peterson and his Sword Fight Club have the feel of dramatic mini-documentaries. The

Opinions Being too harsh on students can deter from good work PAGE 3

Features One student’s own personal run-in with catfishing PAGE 4

Sports Men’s basketball to face Bradley in first round of MVC tourney PAGE 6

THE SWORD FIGHT CLUB MEMBER BRIAN ROBINSON is shown in one of the club’s YouTube videos. The club uses fingers instead of metal swords to win in competitions. COURTESY OF SWORD FIGHT CLUB

THE TIMES-DELPHIC |TIMESDELPHIC.COM THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER FOR DRAKE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884

TWITTER @TIMESDELPHIC

FACEBOOK THE TIMES-DELPHIC

introductory scenes, music and cinematography lead the viewer to believe they are watching a serious biopic about a gang when, in fact, it’s just a bunch of kids poking each other on the chest in an empty parking garage.

“Generally the comments we get are that there really is no point but the editing is amazing and it’s fun to watch,” said senior management and marketing double major David Heineman, Peterson’s RA, who initially just wanted to make a hall video like the other floors in the building.

“Then (Alex) came to me with this idea he had from high school,” Heineman said, “but it wasn’t until he showed us the footage that we realized what the video quality would be.”

Peterson is responsible for the production value.

“You don’t necessarily need a good camera to make videos like this, you just need the right one,” Peterson said. Despite his computer science major, he has an eye for filmmaking.

“A lot of it has to do with editing,” Peterson said, “You can make the argument that anybody can edit because if you give two people the same raw footage and the same editing program, given enough time they could make the same result. I’ve just had more practice.”

His practice has paid off. The first videos, “Sword Fight Club”

SWORDS, page 2

Drake University, Des Moines Vol. 132 | No. 35 | March 07, 2013

NEWS

THE TIMES-DELPHIC

MARCH 07, 2013 | Page 2

News Campus Events

Speaker aims to provide new perspective

Muslim-American shares experiences through opposing beliefs Sarah Fulton

Staff Writer sarah.fulton@drake.edu

Aman Ali, 27, told stories of Muslim Americans to an audience of over 50 laughing students Monday night on Pomerantz Stage in Olmsted.

The speech, sponsored by the Student Activities Board, centered around the point that the history of Muslims in America is made up of many different stories.

“There is no one single uniform narrative of Muslims in America,” Ali said.

The stories came from the two road trips Ali, a stand-up comedian, went on in 2010 and 2011 and featured in his blog “30 Mosques in 30 Days.” Ali and his partner Bassam Tariq traveled over 25,000 miles over the course of a year to visit a different mosque on each day of the Ramadan festival.

SWORD, page 1

and “Sword Fight Club 2,” were released in November and December, respectively. These two films currently have a combined 4,452 views on YouTube.

“Feedback has been overwhelmingly good, people want to join our movement,” said firstyear Brian Robinson, a member of the Sword Fight Club.

In order to give the series a more focused direction “Sword Fight Club: Origins” is currently in production leading up to a culmination of the story in “Sword Fight Club 3.”

Their efforts were also featured on CNN. Ali said that when the media asks him whether he is trying to fight the perception of Islam in the United States, he always has the same answer.

“No, we were trying to tell stories about them,” Ali said. “I was more concerned with having an honest conversation. Like other groups we are not exempt to criticism.”

The story that stuck out to President of the Muslim Student Association Nazia Ashraful, was one of the first mosques in the United States was founded in 1908 in North Dakota.

“The whole idea of there being Muslims in North Dakota in 1908 really blew my mind. As (Ali) said, I picture the history of Muslims in American being more recent in the last couple of decades not stretching back as far as the

While the Sword Fight Club storyline is set to end after “Sword Fight Club 3,” the team has other ideas in development.

“Hopefully it leads to other things, either access to more people who are interested in doing a video project or just an audience online,” Peterson said.

It has been a bonding experience for members of the club to walk around campus and see people viewing their videos on their laptops.

“People are watching,” said Peterson, “and we’re excited to see where it leads.”

1800s,” Ashraful said. “That really interested me and opened me up to a whole new idea of Muslims in America.”

Ali said that the experience in North Dakota also opened his eyes about media portrayal of Muslims.

“These people had been here for hundreds of years. We were finding so many stories of Muslims living peaceably with their neighbors but this is not what I was seeing on TV,” Ali said. “This country does not get enough credit for how accepting it is in reality.”

Some stories focused more on Ali’s individual experience. One story was about a Confederate gift shop in Chula, Ga. Ali said that while driving with the CNN crew he spotted a “huge” confederate flag. He pulled over and discovered the gift shop with three men outside of it, who “only had five teeth between them.” Despite the CNN crew’s protest he went into

the gift shop because it was “too racist-ly awesome to pass up.”

However, he discovered that the men were welcoming.

“Here I was the one being prejudicial against these guys thinking they were racist,” Ali said. “The whole idea is the cultural baggage that I bring to the table.”

By telling such stories Ashraful felt that Ali made his point.

“He was not trying to convince us,” Ashraful said. “He just told stories and by doing that he really did convince us of a whole new perspective of what Muslims are like in America.”

First-year Bethany Larson, who attended to fulfill a diversity event requirement for pre-pharmacy, agreed the stories created a great atmosphere.

“It was very casual. He was not reading off a script, he was interacting with the audience,” Larson said.

Larson said at first she was not looking forward to the speech but her mind was quickly changed.

“I think it was interesting and enjoyable. I thought it was going to be boring because I did not really know what it was going to be about, but he made it funny and entertaining,” Larson said.

Ashraful said that she feels it is important for students to attend diversity events to gain understanding.

“A lot of what we learn about religion comes from the media and so not enough people time to learn about the religion from the actual people who practice it,” Ashraful said. “This kind of event is a way to learn about the practicing of Islam through stories and the journey that he went on.”

SWORD FIGHT CLUB MEMBER DAVID HEINEMAN is pictured in one of the group’s YouTube videos. The group has been filming a series of short films about the club and its members. So far, the two videos have a combined 4,452 views on YouTube. More videos are in production. COURTESY OF SWORD FIGHT CLUB

Appeals not a new situation for Election Commission

STUDENTS GATHER ON POMERANTZ STAGE to await the results of the election. JOEY GALE reacts after he won the race for vice president of student life.

Appeal, page 1 dacy.

“The fact that I ‘liked’ it never meant for it to be an endorsement as the EC saw it by any means,” Gale said. “What I found through doing research is that Facebook in and of itself is very unconstructed and almost free of law at this point. In this sense when you look at it, me liking a status and then tying it to an endorsement is a leap of trying to associate the two.”

The Election Commission has dealt with appeals before.

“The last disqualification was the last general election when a Business Senator candidate was disqualified,” Van Hoeck said. “Appeals also have happened in the last few election cycles and basically give the EC a chance to review the contest of the ruling and see if any new evidence is discovered. The changing of a ruling really depends on the candidate, I just advise the EC members to review the bylaws and code of ethics and go in with an open mind. The Election Commission doesn’t ever like to see that (disqualifications and violations)

happening.”

Van Hoeck understands how competitive elections can get, having run in general Student Senate Elections and having served as VP of Student Life himself.

“What I’ve learned (from student elections) is that you have to display your character to the campus and people are always watching.”

Other candidates anxiously anticipated the outcome of the appeal and of the general elections.

“I don’t like that it (the disqualification)

LUKE NANKIVELL | PHOTO EDITOR

had to happen by any means whatsoever,” Josh Duden, Gale’s opponent said. “But the elections were taken a little too far in the wrong direction and that is not best for Drake University and the candidates involved. I respect Joey Gale as a person and leader it was just taken a little too far.”

Gale is the current technology liaison and serves a the advertisement manager for The Times-Delphic.

News Brief

Calling all prospective editors! Health Center nurse now

located in Olmsted Center

Apply to be the editor of DUH Magazine, the newest student publication at Drake. The 2013-14 EIC will have the opportunity to choose the theme, focus, and type of content for the critical thinking magazine. All majors may apply.

Applications are due to BSC co-chair Rebecca Mataloni at rebecca.mataloni@ drake.edu by March 25 at 11:59 p.m.

SEND YOUR STORY IDEAS TO TDNEWSED@GMAIL.COM

The Health Center has expanded its services to have a nurse in Olmsted Center Monday through Thursday. Nurse Mary Beth Olander will be in the former KDRA radio station booth between Pomerantz Stage and the Olmsted Breezeway. The hours of operation are from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Services provided include assessments and referrals for minor illnesses or injuries and answering questions as needed.

Location: Olmsted Center Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Services: assessments and referrals

FOR BREAKING DRAKE NEWS, CHECK OUT WWW.TWITTER.COM/TIMESDELPHIC

OPINIONS & EDITORIALS

Page 3 | MARCH 07, 2013

THE TIMES-DELPHIC

Opinions&Editorials Column

Column

Mice take over residences Porter plays for Greeks Rodent problem hits Drake dorms

Musician appeals to sororities

Katherine Ramsey ILLUSTRATION BY HANNA BARTHOLIC

Olivia O’Hea Columnist They’re scurrying, they’re scratching, they’re climbing in your windows and may even be snatching your people up. They’re mice and they’re everywhere.

With the onset of two consecutive winter storms, the rodent problem is worse than ever. I can’t blame them — I know I wouldn’t stay outside in this weather. However, just because I sympathize doesn’t mean I like them. As a former vegetarian, I have respect for all creatures that grace this planet, yet I don’t think it’s too much to ask that these creatures don’t

rampage my room every time some snow falls.

Stalnaker was hit especially hard this year. One first-year resident, Brittany Fish, reported four sightings in her room. She and her roommate caught three, with the help of the maintenance staff, and one appears to have gone rogue somewhere in the hallway.

What’s a resident to do when they find mice poo littering their futon? Unfortunately there are not many options, unless someone has the phone number for the Pied Piper.

Sticky traps keep the mouse alive, which is great. They also make it almost impossible to remove the mouse from the trap without ripping off its limbs, which is not so great. I’m no sadist, and I can’t imagine many residents want to dismember small, furry animals, so sticky traps are out of the question.

Spring traps kill mice on contact with a swift blow to the neck.

If you find joy in removing bloody, severed carcasses from metal death traps then this is probably

your best bet. If this is the case, though, I would also suggest some serious self-reflection.

As a Stalnaker resident, I too have been victim to the invasion of the rodents. Luckily, my roommate and I found the crack in our wall where the mouse entered and stuffed it with Scotch Brite steel wool. Mice can’t chew through the material and it doubles as a great washcloth for stainless steel!

If you spot a mouse in your room put all food away and contact a residence advisor immediately — they file all of the reports with the maintenance staff. Let’s take back our halls — to arms, citizens, to arms!

O’Hea is a first-year law, politics and society and journalism double major and can be reached at olivia. ohea@drake.edu

Columnist Last October, armed with nothing but a guitar and a good head of hair, musician Scott Porter walked into the Alpha Phi chapter house to perform a show. The room was buzzing as he began to strum his guitar. Girls giggled as he asked how everyone was doing. By the time he finished his set he had over a hundred new fans. Sunday, he returned to Greek street to do it again.

Porter, a singer-songwriter from St. Louis, Mo., never imagined he would be sitting in front of roomfuls of people playing music.

“I wanted to be in the NBA,” Porter said. “But I’m not the tallest guy so that didn’t really work out.”

Porter began learning how to sing and play the guitar before his senior year of high school. However, he didn’t see singing as a viable career choice. Porter had plans to be a basketball coach like his dad.

So he headed to Fontbonne University to play ball and learn how to be a coach.

After a few years he realized that’s not the direction he wanted to go. Porter liked to be in front of a crowd but he wanted a guitar in

his hand, not a basketball.

Today, Porter works as an unsigned artist, treating his operation as a business. Without a label to go through he had to work his connections and get creative.

“It’s amazing how you can just find people that have played music for a long time that don’t necessarily have this label on their back as a big time record producer, but just know how to make good music,” said Porter.

His hard work has paid off. Porter has been able to save enough money to record and produce a new album “800 Miles.”

“I think we made an awesome record so I’m excited for the world to hear it,” said Porter.

Porter says groups like the Goo Goo Dolls, Maroon 5 and Jason Mraz influence him. During his show he played covers of popular songs like “Soul Sister” by Train, “Whistle” by Flo Rida and “My Girl” by the Temptations. He has his new songs into the mix as well.

Some of the favorites in the Phi house from Porter’s new album were “Chill” and “Bride to Be.” Porter may have uncovered a new market. After performing for Alpha Phi he headed down the street to Kappa Kappa Gamma and Kappa Alpha Theta to give preview performances to hopefully book some shows in the future.

“These are the best kind of audiences to perform for, people who are excited to be there and involved in your music,” Porter said. .

Ramsey is a first-year public relations major and can be reached at katherine.ramsey@drake.edu

Column

Professors abandon students by not awarding ‘A’s

Tough grading leads to lack of student respect, motivation

Katherine Hunt Columnist Walking into a brand new class on the first sunshiny day of the new semester, you look around. It’s a nice change from a big lecture hall or that forced AOI class. There are people in this class you’re friends with, and everyone seems friendly enough. Then, a general silence falls upon the room as the clock strikes 2 o’clock. With a flourish, the professor starts directly on

time, not wanting to waste precious moments on breathing. The syllabus looks tough, but that’s college life anyways.

The real problem comes when the professor bluntly states about five minutes into class, “I don’t give out As. If you want an A, good luck, because you will then be one of three people who might get one.” Does this statement sound familiar? To me, I’ve heard this all too many times throughout my academic career, even in high school.

Why some professors say this on the first day, I really don’t know. I mean, it’s hard enough to motivate students to go to class, much less devote their evenings to a course when they can be hanging out with friends or shopping at the mall. But to go and bluntly state that As won’t be handed out?

That’s just wrong. Maybe the people who use this principle believe that this will drive each and every student to excel, but this obvious-

THE TIMES-DELPHIC The student newspaper for Drake University since 1884 LAUREN HORSCH, Editor-in-Chief tdeditorinchief@gmail.com

JILL VAN WYKE, Faculty Advisor jill.vanwyke@drake.edu BAILEY BERG, News Editor tdnewsed@gmail.com TAYLOR SOULE, Sports Editor tdsportsed@gmail.com LUKE NANKIVELL, Photo Editor tdphotoed@gmail.com

SARAH SAGER, Managing Editor tdmanaginged@gmail.com KATELYN PHILIPP, Multimedia Editor tdmultimediaed@gmail.com HANNA BARTHOLIC, Design Editor tddesigneditor@gmail.com ELIZABETH ROBINSON, Relays Editor tdrelays@gmail.com

KELLY TAFOYA, Features/Op-Ed Editor tdfeatsoped@gmail.com

TAYLOR SIEDLIK, Assistant Relays Editor tdrelays@gmail.com

ALEX DANDY, Copy Editor tdcopyed@gmail.com

BRIANNA SHAWHAN, Features Designer tddesigneditor@gmail.com

RACHEL WEEKS, Relays Design Editor tdrelays@gmail.com ERIC BAKER, Business Manager tdbusinessmanager@gmail.com

COURTNEY FISHMAN, Copy Editor tdcopyed@gmail.com JOEY GALE, Ads Manager timesdelphicads@gmail.com

ly backfires. Sure, there will be a couple of students who will pull an all-nighter every night just to maintain a 4.0 GPA, but that’s not the consensus of the student population. Yes, we as students want good grades, but we don’t want to sacrifice everything else in our lives, including other classes and their homework.

In the broad spectrum of things, getting a B, C or even a D once in a while will not destroy a student’s career. After all, I have been told by more than one person in my life, “Ds get degrees.” (That must have been part of the whole ‘D+’ campaign, but I digress.) In all seriousness though, not being on the President’s List one semester will not hurt anyone. Sure, your GPA may be a 3.9 instead of a 4.0 when you graduate, but the longer a person is out of college, the less the coursework matters. Employers want real world experience more than anything and only take

college coursework as a substitute since students are so new to the “real world.”

For me personally, being told on the first day of a brand new class that I probably won’t get an A unless I give up my social life, career and my hand to carpal tunnel, my mind immediately checks out of the class. I give an average effort to the class and Facebook on while the professor talks. If the professor doesn’t want to even give his or her students the chance to excel, then fine. We won’t excel, and we will become your desired class of only a few high achievers scattered amongst the average students that apparently the rest of us are.

If professors really want to get students motivated, get students involved. Share the love of a course or the material behind it.

Be unique. Be different, but don’t be cruel. Use memorable in-class examples like Professor Lou Ann

Simpson’s BUSL 060 course, or better yet, talk to the students on an equal level like Dean Randall Blum in BUS 001 to 004. Yes, we students may not have a degree yet, but that’s why we’re here.

Professors can’t truly expect us to become young, successful professionals unless we’re seen and treated as such.

So, until those professors who don’t give As understand that students just want to be respected and given a chance, I will be on Facebook and Twitter with the same lack of respect and demotivation that was just shown towards me by the lecturer in front of the white board.

Hunt is a senior marketing and management double major and can be reached at katherine.hunt@drake. edu

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.

LETTERS & SUBMISSION POLICY

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 tdeditorinchief@gmail.com.

ADVERTISING POLICY

The Times-Delphic’s business office is located at 2507 University Avenue, 124B Meredith Hall, Des Moines, IA 50311.

The Times-Delphic is published on Mondays and Thursdays during the university’s fall and spring academic terms.

The newspaper is distributed for free around the Drake campus. All advertising information is to be submitted noon Tuesday for the Thursday edition, and noon Friday for the Monday edition. Advertisements can be designed by The Times-Delphic or submitted via e-mail. We accept cash and check. A 10 percent discount is offered for prepayment on advertisements. The business office can be contacted at 515-271-2148.

© The Times-Delphic

FEATURES

THE TIMES-DELPHIC

MARCH 07, 2013 | Page 4

Features Take a Look

Take a Look

Tales from Students create own reality show hunting Theater majors develop ‘Friends without Benefits’ season

Emily Hecker

Staff Writer emily.hecker@drake.edu

It’s that time of year again, not Drake Relays or Christmas, but hunting season. Iowa has become a huge hunting attraction for those who enjoy recreational shooting. Davis Horton, a firstyear environmental science major, considers Iowa “a white-tail deer hunter’s paradise.”

Horton said a few years ago the biggest white-tail deer ever shot was conquered in Iowa, and that’s how the state became such a popular place for killing “trophyclass” animals.

Although hunting can be seen as dangerous, it can be very fulfilling to the adventure-seeking outdoorsmen.

“There is no experience like killing a deer or any other kind of wild game. It’s an adrenaline rush, it gets your heart pounding, and it is all-around very emotional,” Horton said. “The most enjoyable part for me is being able to kill a big deer and get the head mounted so that you can keep it as a memory forever.”

Fellow first-year, Layton Mikkalson, shares a similar passion for hunting and is also aware of Iowa’s great population for whitetail deer.

“My dad has always taken me along on hunting and fishing trips ever since I can remember and I have always loved it,” Mikkalson said. “I’ve hunted geese, ducks, turkeys, white-tail deer, black bear, crow, raccoon, coyote and rabbits.”

Horton tends to take a different route with his hunting, though.

“Most of the time I bow hunt and shotgun hunt for white-tail deer, but I also enjoy pheasant hunting, coyote hunting and rabbit hunting with my friends,” he said.

But how does someone know where to hunt?

“The best place to hunt is really anywhere there is wild game.

You can go to public hunting areas and kill many types of wild game.

However, if you own private land with a lot of timber, crop fields and water sources, then those are the best places you can possibly hunt for all kinds of different animals,” Horton said.

As for Mikkalson, he said he would love to go hunt different types of geese in the Southern Flyway in Texas, or hunt caribou, elk, moose or brown bears in Canada and Alaska.

“As long as you are with great hunting partners, you’re going to have a good time,” he said.

State News

Kelly Hendricks

to promote themselves for their future acting careers. Haupert describes what they have put together as a “bro-mantic comedy.”

It seems like just about anyone “The idea for the show is that can get a reality show these days. there are two great friends and But a good roommates who have reality show? lousy luck with That can be girls and decide hard to come to heterosexuby.

“I’ve been really ally date each Senior theother, which is ater major pleasantly surprised just as potentially Matt Haupert actually. Our first complicating as and his friend it sounds,” said episode has roughly Jesse SwatlingSwatling-Holcomb.

Holcomb from 2,000 views right The biggest Hope College in now, which isn’t challenge in filmMichigan, have ing “Friends withstarted a real- going to beat out Benefits” came ity show, cur- Gangnam Style with the distance rently a web anytime soon, but since Haupert is series entitled currently in Iowa “Friends with- seeing as we started and Swatlingout Benefits.” the whole project just Holcomb is in Haupert because we wanted Michigan. Deterand Swatlingmined to make Holcomb were to do something their dream come r o o m m a t e s creative together.” true, they hustled when they through filming worked togeth— Jesse Swatling-Holcomb, Hope in just a few short er at a theater days.

College student company dur“Since we had ing the sumabout 35 minutes mer. They both of footage to shoot said something in only a couple about them just days, our sched“clicked.” Since they ule was pretty are both into theater and comedy, ridiculous, there was one day that they decided to pursue a show we shot from 9 a.m. to 5 a.m., and Staff Writer kelly.hendricks@drake.edu

MATT HAUPERT poses with a television camera. LUKE NANKIVELL | PHOTO EDITOR then woke up again at 8 a.m. to get started again,” Haupert said.

Haupert and Swatling-Holcomb say they are happy with their publicity so far.

“I’ve been really pleasantly surprised actually. Our first episode has roughly 2,000 views right now, which isn’t going to beat out ‘Gangnam Style’ anytime soon, but seeing as we started the whole project just because we wanted to do something creative together, it’s absolutely thrilling for me,” Swatling-Holcomb said.

Haupert said there are a total of six episodes so far and although

the taping is done, the footage is still being edited. Since everything had to be done so quickly, the boys said there is a lot of improvising, but that’s what makes the show what it is. There isn’t a set plot as it varies each episode.

As of now, the show is being shared on YouTube (FWB2013) and on their Facebook page (facebook.com/FWB2013), but on Friday it will be shown on TV for the first time on a Minneapolis network with the potential to be featured every Friday night as part of a variety show.

Thriving art culture resides at Drake, Des Moines Avery Gregurich

Staff Writer avery.gregurich@drake.edu

Resting squarely in the heart of the Midwest, one might assume that Des Moines would have a deficient art culture for whatever reason. This assumption, however, couldn’t be further from the truth.

Downtown Des Moines plays host to several highly regarded art attractions. The most expansive and perhaps the most frequented is the Papajohn Sculpture Park located between Locust Street and Grand Avenue. The park has been open since September of 2009.

Twenty-seven artistic works call this nearly four and a half acre park a permanent home.

The Des Moines Art Center, the organization in charge of the sculpture park, has been around since 1948. It is also located in

downtown Des Moines on Grand Associate Art History ProfesAvenue, in the close vicinity of sor Maura Lyons mirrored Pink’s the park. The permanent collec- feelings about the thriving Des tion holds paintings and modern Moines art culture, stating that it art, as well as mixed media. Works of art on display come from many well-known artists, including Edward Hopper, Claude Monet and Andy Warhol.

Senior graphic design and drawing major Hannah Pink believes that Drake University students and Des Moines residents are privileged — Hannah Pink, Drake senior to have these art attractions.

“We are very fortunate to have an art center and beautiful sculpture garden in Des has become “more active in the Moines, which many American cit- last couple of years.” ies lack,” Pink said.

Along with the well-known art

SEND YOUR STORY IDEAS TO TDFEATSOPSED@GMAIL.COM

focal points, Lyons also listed a few newer additions into the Des Moines art culture, such as the Fluxx Gallery and Thee EYE Gallery. Both of these galleries are located in the East Village.

These galleries show the works of up and coming Iowan artists. She also said the most accessible and most attended art event is the Des Moines Art Festival that occurs in late June every year. It presents visual and performance art as well as live music for a weekend in the downtown area.

Not all of the art culture is centered in downtown Des Moines, however. There are several outlets for art right on or near campus. The largest is the Anderson

“We are very fortunate to have an art center and beautiful sculpture garden in Des Moines, which many American cities lack.”

Gallery in the Fine Arts Center, which recently housed the exhibition “Magpie Tendencies” by Jennifer Angus. It is reopening March 10 with the 42nd Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition. Along with the Anderson Gallery, Mars Café just off campus also occasionally displays artwork from Drake students or other Des Moines artists.

Pink also hinted at a large piece of art that most students don’t take particular note of.

“We have this huge street painting tradition that we do every year but it’s not something that is viewed by most people as a work of art,” Pink said.

Lyons agreed with this statement, describing the mural as an “ongoing tradition” that changes each year with the new designs.

“It’s a changing example of public art,” Lyons said.

VISIT TIMESDELPHIC.COM TO SEE THE LATEST NEWS BRIEFS

FEATURES

Page 5 | MARCH 07, 2013

THE TIMES-DELPHIC

PageFive Take a Look

One student’s own ‘catfishing’ story Online romance revealed to be fifteen-year-old girl, damaged trust Emily Hecker

Staff Writer emily.hecker@drake.edu

It’s safe to say pretty much everyone has seen, or at least heard of, the new TV phenomenon, “Catfish.” For some, these types of situations are purely comical to watch from afar, but for others, they hit real close to home.

Take Grant Haase, sophomore, for instance: he got a friend request from a boy named Shane, who he deemed very cute. As they began chatting, things heated up quickly.

“It started my freshman year around April. I received a friend request from someone I didn’t know that had a few mutual friends. We started chatting, he was cute, he thought I was cute,” Haase said.

As things progressed, the two exchanged numbers and the connection became more than just friendly. Haase, who said he is pretty liberal with adding friends on Facebook and is aware of fake

profiles, didn’t question Shane’s truthfulness much. He said Shane was unlike anyone he’d talked to before and the only time he was hesitant about their chatting was when Shane claimed he didn’t have Skype.

Shane, a supposed 20-year-old from Iowa with a rough background, had stolen Haase’s heart.

“It was very emotional because I felt such a connection,” Haase said. It felt amazing. I fell in love, I really did. We were making all these plans, he was going to fly out to visit me.”

By this time, it was July and Haase was back home in Wisconsin when the two decided to finally meet up.

“Everything was great ... and then I remember one evening it was around one in the morning and I get this phone call. It sounded like he was crying,” Grant said.

“I’ll never forget it.”

Shane said he just couldn’t do it anymore and spilled his guts to Haase. Shane was actually a

15-year-old girl named Jenna.

Haase said he didn’t want to believe this because the pictures really did seem to fit the voice.

“I was so angry and disappointed, just all these emotions running through my head. I wanted to throw something, I just wanted to scream,” Haase said.

Heartbroken, Haase blocked “him” on Facebook and eventually had to move on. Jenna continued texting him and even called him one night saying she genuinely liked him.

“Sorry, but I genuinely liked Shane,” Haase said.

Although Haase said Jenna single-handedly destroyed the trust he had for any man, he ended up meeting someone new. They did meet on Facebook, but Skyped right away to confirm each other’s existence. The two now have a secure relationship.

Haase’s advice for online chatting: “First and foremost, be smart. It’s very easy to get caught up.”

ILLUSTRATION BY KELLY TAFOYA

Take a Look

Lifeguards take precautions to keep pool safe

Audits, in-services and certification required of all guards

THE BELL CENTER POOL is open every day and employs lifeguards to keep the pool area safe. To be a lifeguard one must be Red Cross certified in lifeguarding. LUKE NANKIVELL | PHOTO EDITOR Kelly Hendricks

Staff Writer kelly.hendricks@drake.edu

Tired of the elliptical or treadmill, but it’s just too snowy to get your cardio on in the cold? Well, the Bell Center pool is open all year long, even when the temperatures outside are in the negatives.

However, this wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for the campus lifeguards devotedly watching over students as they hit the deck.

And lifeguarding at Drake University isn’t easy. First-year campus lifeguard, AnaEliza Chelf, says to become a Bell Center lifeguard, it is required to be American Red Cross certified in lifeguarding, first aid and AEDs (automated external defibrillators).

Fellow first-year lifeguard

Catherine DeFino says the job takes a lot of focus.

“A normal shift requires me to be there 15 minutes before the pool opens,” DeFino said. “First, I have to make sure all the chemicals are safe to swim in, so I do a quick test. I take the temperature of the pool as well. After I make sure that the pool is safe, I unlock the doors to let the patrons inside.”

The job also entails taking attendance of how many people use the pool as well as putting in and taking out the pool vacuum for the first and last shifts of the day.

Both girls were lifeguards prior to college and decided to apply

to be on the Bell Center pool staff once they got to Drake.

“One thing I did not anticipate when I decided to lifeguard at Drake was the amount of professors I would see in their swimsuits.”

— Catherine DeFino, Drake first-year

To make sure all the lifeguards are ready for emergency situa-

tions, they have audits. This can be different at certain facilities, but at Drake they are called inservices, and they take place at the beginning of each semester.

“During in-services, we practice scenarios of possible emergencies at the pool including active and passive victims,” DeFino said.

Chelf said there are also scenarios on the Red Cross exam to prepare lifeguards for possible emergencies.

There aren’t too many emergencies in Drake’s pool, though.

“It’s mostly lap swimmers and most of them are pretty decent swimmers, so it’s not a huge concern that there will be a problem,” De-

fino said.

Defino and Chelf each enjoy their job and like getting to talk to the swimmers as they come and go. Having good conversations while they are watching the swimmers can make their shifts go by quicker. Some things, however, can make the shift seem like an eternity.

“One thing I did not anticipate when I decided to lifeguard at Drake was the amount of professors I would see in their swimsuits,” DeFino said. “I currently have three of my professors that come fairly regularly, and it always makes for an awkward situation.”

Check it out>>> Thursday >MISS Representation: Documentary Film >Fleur Cinema >5:30 p.m.

Friday >The Untamed Shrews >Funny Bone Comedy Club >7:30 p.m.

Saturday >Iowa Humanities Festival >Salsibury House and Gardens >9 a.m.-6 p.m.

Sunday >The High Crest >El Bait Shop >8-11 p.m.

<<<This week in DSM

SPORTS

THE TIMES-DELPHIC

MARCH 07, 2013 | Page 6

Sports Men’s Basketball

Underdog Drake awaits Bradley in first round Tad Unruh

Staff Writer tad.unruh@drake.edu

Arch Madness is once again upon us. While the sights of spring have yet to show across campus, the squeak of rubber soles on hardwood reigns supreme. Drake will travel to St. Louis for the annual Arch Madness tournament held in the downtown Scottrade Center. At the end of the tournament on Sunday, one Missouri Valley Conference team secures a spot in the Big Dance.

Drake is seeded ninth in the MVC, and will play tonight at 6 p.m. against eighth-seeded Bradley.

This is the tenth meeting of the schools in MVC tournament play with Bradley leading the series by a slim margin of 5-4. This is the third season in a row that both teams will meet in the opening round.

“Well we know them pretty well,” said redshirt senior Jordan Clarke. “(We have) probably played them more than any other team. We just have to execute our game plan.”

Drake comes in with a balanced scoring effort with all five of the Drake starters averaging at least nine points per game.

Senior Ben Simons leads the team with 14.4 points per game.

Right behind are seniors Jordan Clarke, averaging 9.6 points and 8.6 rebounds, and Chris Hines with an average of 9.6 points.

Redshirt junior Seth VanDeest averages 9.5 points per game, and Richard Carter sits close behind at 9.0 points per game.

Drake head coach Mark Phelps is wary of the Braves’ high-energy backcourt.

“They have two outstanding guards (Dyricus) Simms-Edwards and (Walt) Lemon Jr.,” Phelps said. “They do a terrific job and that’s what makes their teams go.

They’ve got other good players, but those guys obviously stand out. They are really disruptive on the defensive end and are in attack mode on the offensive end.”

Lemon Jr. averages 15.5 points per game, and Simms-Edwards averages 12.5 points. Both Braves have wreaked havoc for the Bulldogs in their first two meetings of the season.

The season series was split with the Bulldogs and the Braves each winning a game at their home court.

The first meeting, played in Peoria, Ill., was the conference opener between the two schools in late December. Bradley got the best of Drake, winning 67-57.

The Bulldogs struggled tremendously throughout the game, shooting only 33.9 percent from the floor and 18.5 percent from three-point range while committing 17 turnovers.

The Braves’ back court was extremely hot, as Lemon Jr. scored 23 and Simms-Edwards poured in 20.

Drake used extra time to fend off Bradley 92-84 in the MVC foes’

second meeting in the Knapp Center.

The Bulldogs shot much better from the floor with a 39.7 percent clip and 32 percent from beyond the arc.

Drake got much needed help from senior leaders Clarke, amassing 20 points. Simons and Hines added 14 and 12 points, respectively.

The Braves backcourt still troubled the Bulldogs, though.

Lemon Jr. scored 19 points, SimmsEdwards finished with 15. Senior Will Egolf battled with Clarke extensively, tallying 21 points of his own.

Drake was on a three-game win streak starting with the overtime win against Bradley until Southern Illinois stole away Senior Night.

Phelps was positive about gaining momentum.

“It was disappointing, the loss Saturday, for sure, but I think more on their (the players) minds was the way they were playing last several games,” Phelps said.

“We won three in a row the last several games on Saturday. We ended up playing against a team that was playing very well. I think our confidence is going to be fine.”

The Bulldogs have to slow down Lemon Jr. in the paint and not allow him to stretch the offense with the three-ball on Thursday.

Lemon Jr. plays the most minutes for Bradley and tiring him out early will benefit the Bulldogs.

Drake must take care of the ball in transition and score on the break, tiring out the Braves’ backcourt.

If Drake is able to beat the Braves, it will run into the MVC’s top seed and regular season champion Creighton.

The Bluejays doused the Bulldogs in Omaha by a 91-61 margin on Jan. 8. Drake upended then-No. 17 Creighton 74-69 in the Knapp Center on Jan. 23.

Simons feels anything can happen in March, especially if the team gets on a roll in the first game.

“We know Creighton is a really good team,” Simons said. “They are playing a lot better than they had been. Hopefully we can get a game under our belt. (Once we) get used to playing in the Scottrade Center, we’ll be fine.”

If the Bulldogs pull off that upset, they play the winner of the Evansville and Indiana State matchup.

The other side of the bracket is a roll of the dice, especially with the up-and-down nature of the Missouri Valley Conference.

The Bulldogs, even after playing 30 games this season, are still ready to deliver tonight.

“There is no fatigue when you have one game before you could go home,” Clarke said. “You get over that pretty quickly. If you are a basketball player and love the game, you just have to go do what you’ve got to do.”

REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE JEREMY JEFFERS (top) shoots a layup against Southern Illinois on March 2.

FRESHMAN MICAH MASON (bottom) drives to the hoop agaisnt a pair of Southern Illinois defenders in the same game. The Bulldogs face Bradley in the first round of the MVC tournament tonight. JOEL VENZKE | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Column

Bulldogs ready to surprise Valley faithful It’s show time now. Two more conference games to close out the back nine of conference play and, at last, it’s tourney time. But first thing first — a quick recap of the Creighton game last Sunday. We had a great week of practice that left us feeling confident and fully equipped to throw an aggressive game plan at the Bluejays. The first time we faced Creighton, they came out gunning and we never recovered. This time was a completely different story. We were up seven at half. The game came down to the final few seconds, and unfortunately, we came up one point short. There’s no doubt we should have won. However, our team continues to grow more and more each day. We are playing some of our best basketball (but

still have a lot more in us). I can’t help but be excited that we are starting to peak at the right time!

These next two games are huge.

With the Missouri Valley Conference tournament right around the corner, all a team wants and needs is momentum. We have to continue to build off the Creighton loss and let it carry us into Arch Madness. I think we can do that most importantly through two more solid weeks of practice. It’s easy to grow complacent at this point in the season. It is a long, long season. But this is also the time of the month where teams separate themselves from each other. We can go one of two directions: up or down — I’m all for going up! I might add that even by stringing together solid practices, we won’t

SEND YOUR STORY IDEAS TO TDSPORTSED@GMAIL.COM

Carly Grenfell Columnist go far if we don’t believe we can.

I know that we can compete and beat every team in our league.

But we need an entire team on the same page to do so. Trust and believe when I say we are all on that

page.

There is something about March that gets college hoops fanatics going crazy. It is one of the best times of the year, in my mind!

So, if you are a college basketball fan, take your excitement, and multiply it by about five and add a few doses of game day jitters. That is the best I can describe how we players feel, even though it hardly does it much justice. It’s all about keeping your season alive, and it takes your best performances to do so. That sure does sound like a lot of pressure. Well, for the Bulldogs, not necessarily. That’s the beauty of being an underdog.

Ideally, yes, it would be awesome if we had won more conference games. But that’s not the situation we’re facing this year. Now, it’s

about playing the best basketball we’ve ever played. If that happens, then anything can happen.

It’s our time to shine. I truly believe that. I wish I could begin to describe how much fun our run in the tournament was last year. It was by far one of the best weeks of basketball I’ve experienced, and we didn’t even win it all. I can hardly imagine what that win will feel like, but we are going for it.

There is no reason we can’t make some noise this year. Stay tuned, Bulldog fans.

Grenfell is a junior public relations and management double major and can be reached at carly.grenfell@ drake.edu

FOR BREAKING DRAKE NEWS, CHECK OUT WWW.TWITTER.COM/TIMESDELPHIC

SPORTS

Page 7 | MARCH 07, 2013

THE TIMES-DELPHIC

PageSeven Women’s Tennis

Tennis top priority for Van Genechten A

Taylor Soule

Sports Editor tdsportsed@gmail.com

Freshman Evy Van Genechten traveled 4,358 miles from her home in Antwerp, Belgium to play tennis at Drake. Now halfway through her first spring season as a Bulldog, Van Genechten sat down with The Times-Delphic to discuss her improvements, her favorite players and her wish to try boxing.

Q A

Times-Delphic: When and how did you start playing tennis?

Evy Van Genechten: I started playing tennis when I was about 4-and-a-half, 5 years old, so, a long time ago. Basically, I started playing tennis just because my dad played tennis, not professional but just recreational. So, I started playing tennis at my tennis club where I still play in Belgium, and I started, basically, with just recreational tennis, in small groups. I loved it.

Q A

TD: When did you know you wanted to play tennis in college?

EVG: Basically, relatively soon, when I was about 8 years old, I started to play tournaments, and I already knew that I wanted to do more than just play recreational tournaments or just play smaller tournaments.

Q A

TD: How does playing tennis in the U.S. differ from playing in Belgium?

EVG: The style of playing here is totally different. In Europe, we just play more aggressive, and here, players just more think about, “How should I play?” It’s more technical over here. In Europe, we just play really aggressive, really hard. We focus mainly on our groundstrokes. Here, it’s more like variation, and people think more about, “OK, I have to play against that person. She plays like that, so I have to play more like that.”

Q A

TD: Did you have to adjust to playing on a new surface when you arrived in the U.S.?

EVG: In Belgium, we basically have all kinds of surfaces, so in my tennis club, we have hard court inside, and during the summer, we play on clay. Of course, it depends because in Belgium, if it rains during the summer, we play on hard court. Sometimes, if I play (a) tournament in Belgium, I have to play on carpet. That’s another surface. I also played on grass in the Netherlands, so there are all kinds of surfaces in Belgium. Basically, I was used to playing on hard court because of my tennis club.

Q

TD: How do you stay connected to the tennis community in Belgium?

EVG: They call me sometimes, and I stay connected to my coach and my physical coach. My physical coach and my other two coaches, they told me, “If you have any questions, call me,” and I talk to my friends, just in general, on a daily basis.

Q A

TD: What motivates you to play tennis every day?

EVG: It’s my passion just because I started really early, and it’s the only sport I play. I didn’t play any other sports when I was younger. Basically, I just love the game. In Belgium, when my friends used to go out, I said, “No, I have to play (in a) tournament tomorrow,” so in my entire life, tennis is just my priority. I love the game. That’s just why.

Q A

TD: Do you prefer singles or doubles and why?

EVG: I prefer singles. Everyone knows it, especially Coach (Paul Thomson). You’re the only one who is responsible in singles, and in doubles, you have to rely on other people. Also, I know you have to play volleys in singles, too, but I just prefer to play groundstrokes and just prefer to rely on my groundstrokes because I know they’re more consistent than my volleys. So, that’s why I prefer singles, because I prefer groundstrokes, and you’re the only one you’re responsible for. You have control of everything in singles.

Q A

TD: Who are your favorite professional players?

EVG: My favorite professional players, of course, would be Kim Clijsters. Now, it’s kind of weird, I prefer players who have the opposite style of playing that I have. So, Justine Henin was a player who used to play with a lot of variation. A slice, a volley, she could do everything. That’s basically the opposite of how I play. I love to play a slice or a drop shot, but basically, I don’t trust my volleys. I prefer my groundstrokes. So, that’s basically the opposite. Those are really the kind of players I look up to. For instance, like a (Samantha) Stosur or a (Francesca) Schiavone or a Na Li. They know how to play with variation. They can play a drop shot or a slice. Those are the players I just love. Not like a (Maria) Sharapova, who just basically plays only groundstrokes.

Q A

TD: If you weren’t playing tennis, what sport do you think you would be playing?

EVG: I have never tried it, but I am kind of a fan of boxing.

If I had the chance, my dad would allow me to do it, but my mom is kind of protective. I know Kim Clijsters, as practice, she used to box just because of footwork. It’s really good for your footwork. So, I asked my dad a couple times last year whether I could start boxing because it’s good for your footwork, and my dad said, “Yeah, OK, it’s fine by me, you can do that,” but my mom said, “No, what if something happens, or you can’t play tennis anymore?” I would probably try that, and I would probably try basketball or something. When I

was a kid, I used to play with my brothers.

Q A

TD: Why did you choose Drake?

EVG: Basically, because I was looking for a university that offered me the best combination between tennis and between my studies because that’s the reason I came to the United States. In Belgium, it’s really hard (to) combine them. I didn’t want to give up my tennis or my studies, and it’s really hard to combine university with tennis in Belgium, so I came to the United States because of those two reasons, to combine it. Drake offered me the best school for both. Of course, the school is really good, and it gave me the best combination between those two of all the universities that contacted me.

Q A

TD: What’s the best part of playing for Drake women’s tennis?

EVG: The best part of playing here is the team, of course, just the support from people you get here. Also, I really love the teachers here. They’re really engaged with everything that’s going on around them. For instance, my accounting teacher, she came up to me yesterday and started talking, basically, about her daughter that used to play tennis, too. Other teachers, too, they come up to you and just start talking like, “Hey, how’s it going? Who do you have to play?

Where do you have to play this weekend?” Everyone is so engaged with everything that’s going on here, and that’s just the thing that I love about Drake.

Q A

TD: How do you act as a leader on your team?

EVG: Right now, Ali (Patterson), the senior, is kind of our team leader. She behaves like an assistant coach, which is really good for us, but I think we all, as individuals, try to stand up as a leader on a specific part. I come in quite a lot on my own just practice, and I want to reflect that to the whole team, so that’s what my goal is, to make sure that other people come in on their own to practice on their own.

That’s basically what I do on the team to motivate people to come in on their own. Sometimes, I just say, “Hey, come.

Let’s go. Do you have class tomorrow at 5? No? OK, let’s come in and just hit and just practice.”

Q A

TD: How has your game improved in the early stages of your Drake career?

EVG: I can say that my volleys improved because in Belgium, I sometimes would have to play doubles, but mainly I played singles. Here, you just have to play doubles every time. I knew that this was going to happen, that my volleys would improve, so that’s really good. And just, my consistency improved, also, because, of course, in Belgium, I couldn’t practice that much because of my school. So, here, I practice on a daily basis, so I am much more consistent than I used to be in Belgium.

FRESHMAN EVY VAN GENECHTEN (left) prepares to serve at the Drake Fall Invitational on Sept. 14 at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center. FRESHMAN EVY VAN GENECHTEN (right) prepares to hit a backhand in singles action at the Drake Fall Invitational on Sept. 14 at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center. Van Genechten hails from Antwerp, Belgium. TAYLOR SOULE | SPORTS EDITOR

Track and Field

Westrum, Curtis pace Drake at Iowa State Qualifier Taylor Soule

Sports Editor tdsportsed@gmail.com

Senior sprinter Whitney Westrum and junior thrower Andy Curtis paced the Drake track and field team at the Iowa State Qualifier on Saturday in Ames.

In women’s sprints action, Westrum clocked a season-best time of 56.09 in the 400 meters to take fourth place.

She credited the win to improved technique. “(Head) coach Natasha (KaiserBrown) and I have been working on me getting out faster in the first 200 meters and after that focusing on surging through the break point for the next 100 meters,” Westrum said in an email.

“After that, it’s just all about fin-

ishing through the line. The last 100 meters is always ugly. I just have to make it through the finish line.”

With the excitement of her ISU Qualifier performance still lingering, Westrum awaits the chance to improve her time outdoors.

“It just keeps the race in your head for the next training period,” Westrum said. “(It) helps me remember what I’m working towards. A 56-second (time) is not even close to where I want to be, but it gives (me) that fire in my stomach that I need for outdoor season.”

Four Bulldog hurdlers completed the Drake lineup on Saturday.

Senior Sarah Yeager led the way with a time of 8.41 in the 60-meter hurdles to finish third. Yeager recorded an identical time to win

the Missouri Valley Conference Championship on Feb. 24.

Senior Marissa Smith crossed the finish line just 0.05 seconds after Smith to finish fourth on Saturday. Senior Briana IsomBrummer clocked 8.80 seconds to claim eighth place. Freshman Destani Welch finished ninth in 9.05 seconds to complete the Drake women’s action.

In men’s throwing competition, Curtis registered a toss of 57-7.50 to finish seventh.

After a season-best toss at the MVC Championship, Curtis lacked time to train and recoup from soreness. Despite setbacks, he boasted a “consistent” performance at the ISU Qualifier.

“I had some slip-ups,” Curtis said. “I was kind of sore throughout the week from conference,

competing, and we didn’t have as much training time between conference and that meet that I wasn’t able to compete at the same level. But, technically, I kept some things pretty sound. I was pretty consistent through the meet.”

Senior Isaac Twombly recorded another staggering toss on Saturday, just 11 days after winning the MVC Championship. Twombly registered a weight throw of 638.25 to earn a trip to the March 8-9 NCAA Indoor Championship in Fayetteville, Ark. The Bulldogs open outdoor season on March 22-23 at the Arizona State Invitational in Tempe, Ariz.

As the outdoor season approaches, Curtis awaits the chance to test his training in the hammer throw.

“I am really excited for outdoor because, technically, the weight

throw is going to be very similar to the hammer throw, so we should be looking at good things there for both Isaac (Twombly) and I,” Curtis said. “I’ve gotten stronger through the indoor season, technically and lifting-wise, so I am feeling really, really strong about outdoor.”

Curtis hopes his improved strength translates into a regionals berth. Regionals will open on May 23.

“As a throwing unit, I want to see all the upperclassmen throwers make it to regionals,” Curtis said. “I think that is very doable and would be a good goal. Personally, I have got about 200 feet as a goal.”

ADVERTISEMENT

THE TIMES-DELPHIC

MARCH 07, 2013 | Page 8

Sophomore V.I.P Open House TOMORROW, 3/8 | 12-3PM | DWV

RECEIVE A T-SHIRT & FREE FOOD FROM BUFFALO WILD WINGS WHEN YOU ATTEND + Enter to win a flat screen TV, 1 of 2 iPad minis, Keurig Brewing System with coffee, $300 gift card or Beats by Dre Headphones

DRAKEWESTVILLAGE.COM 1315 31st Street Suite F | 515 . 255 .0370 limited time only. while supplies last.

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK