OPINIONS
THE TIMES-DELPHIC
Page 5 | SEPT. 24, 2014
PageFive Column
Column
Newspaper promotes marketplace of ideas
If you’re a student here at Drake University, you’ve probably had a meal at Hubbell. You’ve probably had meals you really enjoyed, and meals that might not have been your favorite. Did you ever consider whether or not what you shoveled into your mouth was healthy or not? In my opinion piece from last week, I wrote briefly on the subject of Hubbell Dining Hall and Quad Creek Cafe, discussing the after effects some students suffer from. I briefly touched on the idea that food being served to us might not be helping us all take off those few extra pounds. This week, I’m leaving Quad alone, and focusing my attention on Hubbell. I also did some research. Be prepared to be hit with some hard-hitting facts about your food. I gathered my research from Sodexo’s Drake website. Sodexo provides the food services for Drake. On this website, I clicked the link that talked about Hubbell. The Hubbell page has a link titled Health, and on that page you can find something called the Nutrition Calculator. With this tool, you can search anything that Hubbell serves, and see all of the nutrition facts. That delicious cheese pizza? 250 calories. Those mouth-watering 7-layer bars? An astounding 570. The soups, which are perfect for the Iowa winter soon to come, were relatively slimming. Most of them were under 100 calories. These may be a healthier choice. Salads are something you can’t really look up on the calculator and get an accurate answer. It all depends on how you build it. When building a salad, don’t go crazy with the dressing. The website also had some interesting tips to live by. Take two trips through the line. Look at all the options, and then make your decision. When you do it all in one trip, you often grab everything that looks good, and end up with too much on your plate. They also suggest getting a “real meal.” Don’t just get a bunch of little things. They suggested something like getting a soup, a salad, and then a main dish. Of course, eat more fruits and vegetables — those are always great. Sharing also helps in the attempt to not gain weight. See something you want to try, but are not sure if you’ll really like
Open discussion encouraged Hubbell has healthy options The Times-Delphic serves as an open forum for students, faculty, administrators and the Drake neighborhood. We have always encouraged the insight of our readers and are committed to fostering intelligent conversation about the content published in our weekly paper. This concept was recently put to the test when a reader questioned the printing of an advertisement in our publication. The question became a learning moment for me, as well as my staff, as our knowledge of media law and First Amendment rights was tested. While a student publication does not legally operate under the First Amendment, The Times-Delphic functions under this standard as staff writers and editors transition into the professional world of journalism. Mark Kende, director of the Constitutional Law Center at Drake University, said the United States tends to stray from censorship in lieu of counter speech. The Times-Delphic, too, embraces this idea through free and open expression in all four sections of the publication, including advertisements. We feel this principle contributes to a marketplace of ideas in order to educate students and readers
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about certain issues. Last September, the case Educational Media Company v. Insley reached the Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of two student newspapers, The Cavalier Daily and Collegiate Times, to print alcohol-related ads in their respective publications. The Times-Delphic holds a content-neutral stance on print ads and welcomes the publication of all advertisements, unless the ad promotes illegal activity. “Publications have a First Amendment right to protect advertisements that are legal for your audience to use,” said Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center. Under the Educational Media Company v. Insley Case, alcoholic ads were deemed acceptable for publication because the majority of readers can legally consume alcoholic beverages. While The Times-Delphic openly accepts advertisements, I ask that you the reader act as a responsible and informed individual. “There is no liability or responsibility if the claims of the advertisement turn out to be false,” LoMonte said. If you have questions, ask them. If you are unhappy with the content published, then submit a letter to the editor.
An open dialogue is necessary to ensure The Times-Delphic produces robust content, open to interpretation and welcome to continued conversation.
If you want your voice to be heard by readers, submit a letter to the editor online at www.timesdelphic.com
Courtney Fishman Editor-in-Chief
Fishman is a junior public relations and magazines double major and can be reached at courtney.fishman@ drake.edu
Deadpool deserves honest adaptation It’s official. The comic book anti-hero Deadpool is getting his very own movie, set for 2016. If you’re unsure who that is, I’ll refresh you. Deadpool is a Marvel comic’s character created in 1991 and certainly isn’t your typical protagonist. Deadpool is frequently vulgar and gross. He can’t die, much like Wolverine, so he’ll occasionally get his head or arm cut off, only to put it back on. But, perhaps his most distinguishing feature is that he breaks the fourth wall. For those of you who aren’t smelly geeks like me and actually have a life, that means he’s aware of what’s going on. He knows he’s in a comic book, he knows you’re watching him and he’ll frequently make references to that very fact. He may talk to the author of the comic book or joke about the large speech bubbles popping out of his mouth. Without a doubt, this isn’t your usual comic book character. He’s neither appropriate for children nor is the humor mature enough for adults. But, he has his own distinct identity and people eat it up anyway, including me. So why am I informing you of all this information? You’re probably thinking it’s because comic books are all I talk about and this particular column will be no different. Well… you’re partially wrong. I am more eager to talk
What’s your damage?
about how this movie, and others like it, have and will be handled, than, for instance, ideal casting choices (though we all know it’s going to be Ryan Reynolds.) Deadpool is a violent character. To properly treat the character right and respect the source material the movie needs to be
Ned Leebrick-Stryker Columnist rated R. There’s no ifs, ands or buts. More than likely, though, it will be rated PG-13. See, Deadpool is a character from the X-Men universe and the film itself will take place in the same on-screen continuity that Hugh Jackman and Jennifer Lawrence currently occupy. Also, movies with large budgets, like this one, are bound to have the potential to make
more money and often to make more money when they are PG13. But problems occur when properties like this get “nerfed” or made more appropriate. I don’t believe a story should be weighed down on what came before, in fact, it should try to carve it’s own identity. But it should also try to respect the tone and characters already established. In this situation, an R rating is a must. Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy and Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings adaptations are great examples of respecting source material while finding new ways to implement a creative vision. In Nolan’s case, the concept and themes of the Batman were very much kept alive. Villains were changed and plotlines differed, but at its core, it still had the essence of what Batman stories should be. Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” were faithful to the books, but scenes were cut that were deemed unnecessary and switched some around for pacing. Some characters roles were expanded and even some new scenes were added, all for the good of storytelling. Interestingly enough, a counter example would also be from Peter Jackson. His “Hobbit” series, despite its fans, are the
opposite of changes for the benefit of storytelling. The films are cynically made, with what feels like little passion and more of an attempt to capitalize on Middle Earth one more time. “The Hobbit” was originally a short children’s book by J.R.R Tolkien that could be read in a day. Jackson has expanded that now three, three hour slogs. Subplots are boring, fan service is cheesy, the pacing is sluggish and it ends up feeling utterly pointless. Did Peter Jackson truly have anything to say with these films or where they just studio
it? Share it with a friend, and get something you know you’ll like. This way you don’t eat double the amount of food. Our schedules may get crazy. You might have three classes in a row, which doesn’t give you a lunch break in between. Some students don’t get to eat until 4 p.m. If this applies to you, make sure you bring snacks. Most professors are completely OK with food in the classroom. Just don’t make a mess. Snacking helps so when you actually get time to eat a full meal, you don’t over do it. When you do go to Hubbell, even though it is buffet style, hold off on that second serving. Wait 1520 minutes to make your decision about more food. Your stomach can digest the food you’ve already ate in that time, and then you can make that important decision. So basically, yes, Hubbell can be healthy. It’s all about moderation. As long as you don’t choose the pizza or any fried foods every single time you eat there, you shouldn’t be fine. There are also sources available to help you make healthy decisions. There’s the website I previously mentioned, MyPlate.org, and it helps lots of people with their food choices. You can enter what you ate for the day, or what you are thinking about eating, and it will tell you how many calories you probably took in, and how much of your daily values you’ve also had. Hopefully this article will help you make the right food choices. After all, who wants that freshman 15?
Molly Adamson Columnist
Adamson is a first-year writing major and can be reached at molly. adamson@drake.edu
mandates? I’m leaning towards the latter. Sorry, “Hobbit” fans. My point is, Deadpool deserves a great adaptation. Really, all properties do. We need to respect what’s been established in concurrence with a creative vision from those in a different industry. If Fox can somehow find this article and take heed of my advice, I think we’ll be in for a treat. Don’t disappoint me.
Leebrick-Stryker is a sophomore broadcast news major and can be reached at ned.leebrick-stryker@ drake.edu
Yik Yak negativity provides childish, ‘high school’ environment
Can we be real for two seconds? We’ve all got the propensity to be a little bit mean. Whether that is outward or secretly, we’ve all said something about someone with negativity strapped to it. That being said: Yik Yak has got to stop. I came to Drake University in the fall of 2013, not very comfortable and not very sociable. I barely had any friends by this same time last year. But I was comforted by one notion — how nice and genuine this campus was. So maybe I hadn’t met a group of people I felt I meshed well with, but at least I thought I found a campus filled with people who were at least genuine people. I met so many individuals who were nice and filled with life here. It was the one positive thing I could tell my mother whenever I was on the phone with her. But Yik Yak has decimated that reality for me. Or, I guess, decimated that fantasy.
Yik Yak is disappointing because it allows every single person on this campus to vocalize their mean, hostile thoughts to the public. Anonymous apps weren’t invented when the phrase “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all,” had first come into being. Now it’s “If you don’t have anything nice to say, say it anonymously.” And how depressing is that? Guys, you aren’t in high school anymore. Do you have to carry the bullying concept to college, especially Drake? Just because you turned 18 doesn’t mean you’re exempt from being called a bully. As a matter of fact, it’s not even being a bully. It’s being a bad person. There is more to life than anonymously hurting people. For example, pizza. Why bully someone anonymously when pizza exists? I know a lot of things, but you know who I know that
would never purposefully hurt anyone? Pizza.
Jeff Hersheway Columnist You’re not talking to a brick wall when you’re posting to Yik Yak. You’re posting to an entire interconnected network that thousands of people can look at and judge. Calling a fraternity or sorority
stuck up won’t make you seem any more endearing. Leaving a specific person’s name on Yik Yak won’t get you any closer to a date. And more importantly, hurting people won’t make you feel any less hurt by the world. We’re all struggling. That’s what I, most of you and most of the world forget all the time. Our words carry weight, no matter how innocent they seem when leaving our mouths or fingertips. Next time you’re in Helmick Commons in between classes, look at the people who are walking on the sidewalks around you. You may think that, since you can’t hear anyone talking about their problems out in the open, it’s perfectly silent. It’s not. I can tell you, no matter whose head you sneak a peek into, the anxiety, pain and fear make it deafening. We’re all here, trying our best, a lot of us trying to be the best version of us we can possibly be.
Shed your unconfident skin full of gossip, rude comments and all the insecure imperfections it comes with. We’ve all been hurt or are hurting. As the world famous Disney philosopher Vanessa Hudgens once said, “We’re all in this together.” But for real. Yik Yak is no place to hurt fellow students. I came to Drake and was instantly comforted by the fantasy that everyone here got along, and no one was purposefully mean to one another based upon minor insecurities. I came to Drake to leave high school behind. Let’s make my fantasy a reality. Hersheway is a sophomore advertising and writing double major and can be reached at jeffrey. hersheway@drake.edu