THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER FOR DRAKE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884
THE TIMES DELPHIC DES MOINES, IOWA | MONDAY, NOV. 7, 2011 | VOL. 131, NO. 20 | WWW.TIMESDELPHIC.COM
Bracing for the big chill What cancellations, closings mean for you by Taylor Soule
Staff Writer taylor.soule@drake.edu
As the season of mittens, sweaters and steaming hot cocoa approaches, the Drake University campus will shed its fall exterior, trading puddles for snow piles and fallen leaves for fallen snow. Winter — someone had to say it — is just around the corner, forcing teary-eyed students to trade their shorts, tank tops and flip flops for gloves, coats and scarves. Fortunately, Drake has an army of winter warriors ready to take on the seasonal changes with a dry eye and a plan to prevent campus from transforming into Des Moines’ second Brenton Skating Plaza. The Drake facilities department works year-round to keep campus safe, clear and accessible for all students, a particularly tough task amid the unpredictable Iowa winters, according to Grounds Manager Jeff Bosworth. “I have 11 full-time employees, and we have specific assignments as far as walkways and steps to get everything cleared in a timely manner,” Bosworth said. “The forecasts never seem like they’re exactly right, so we just have to adapt to the changes. Each storm is different in how we go about cleaning campus, whether it’s an ice storm and we’re spreading ice melt depending on a big snow, and we just have to get paths made.” Interim provost Susan Wright said that the winter planning is well thought out. “It depends very much on how much snow, of course, and depending on when it starts,” Wright said. “We have basically everybody devoted to that. They have a plan to which buildings get cleared first, and they have to clear the paths for students. The handicapped accessible routes get the first clearing. They do a great job.” While some students hope for cancellations to finish last-minute homework, others want available classroom
time, making Drake students a particularly tough crowd to please, said Wright. Furthermore, many Drake students use “cancellation” and “closing” interchangeably when, in fact, they are two different decisions in the university’s winter weather plan. A cancellation, Wright said, occurs when classes don’t meet due to weather, but the university, including offices and other operations, remains open. Closing the university, though, requires extreme inclement weather and is avoided if possible. “We try to not to completely close the university unless it would be too dangerous for staff to come in to campus,” Wright said. Closing the university or cancelling classes is not an easy decision for the Drake faculty, and several factors influence the decision. “One of the factors concerning cancellation is whether they can get the walks clear and keep them clear,” Wright said. “If it’s quite windy, it becomes quite difficult to keep the routes clear.” Bosworth is one of the faculty members who is consulted by the university to make the decision of cancelling classes. “They will consult with myself and Mark Chambers, the director of facilities, to get our take on whether we can keep up with the snow that’s coming, but it’s more of a university decision,” Bosworth said. Even if the university closes, Hubbell Dining Hall will remain open. The facilities department takes special care to ensure that students can safely walk from their residence halls to Hubbell, the academic buildings and Olmsted in winter weather. Students must still look for official confirmation of cancellations beyond the ever-repetitive “snow day” Facebook statuses. There are several avenues for students seeking university confirmed cancellation and closing information. “There’s a cancellation line that you can always just call,” Wright said. “As soon as the decision is made, all the local television and radio stations are notified. Our marketing and com-
by Lauren Ehrler
Staff Writer lauren.ehrler@drake.edu
FILE PHOTO
munications people get on and make sure all of that information gets out.” Another concern for Drake students who prefer to bike, skate and scoot to class surrounds the safety of their wheels entering the season of icy surfaces and slippery snow. Though it’s a personal decision, Wright recommends that students exercise caution when weighing their campus transportation options beyond walking — and she said to wear an extra scarf. “As long as things are still clear, and as long as they feel like they’re
not too cold riding a bike, I don’t think there’s anything to stop them,” Wright said. Iowa winters provide an excuse to sport those new mittens, form a firstname basis with the best barista at Starbucks and a chance to use quality judgment. “It’s the responsibility of staff, students and faculty to dress accordingly and wear the appropriate footwear,” Bosworth said. “No flip-flops.”
Making the grade at Drake by Ethan Clevenger
Staff Writer ethan.clevenger@drake.edu
JANET ECKLES | staff photographer
DAN PFEIFLE plays an electric keyboard during Drake’s Got Talent on Friday night. He performed on Pomerantz Stage for the RHA program.
inside
Caucus, students to connect through ad hoc
College stresses are never too few. Around every corner there’s another paper, another assignment and another potential all-nighter. Whether it’s your music major roommate up until 3 a.m. crunching out a paper or the other roommate trying to throw together a presentation, these things surround us. On top of all this, we’re also supposed to juggle the grade point average that seemed so much more within our grasp at the high school level. Or are we? What importance do grades play in our college lives? As it turns out, it’s different from student to student and from school to school, and even from class to class “Grades inside my major are important,” said junior music education major Stephanie Niewohner. “If I don’t do well in an AOI, I don’t worry because I know it’s not what career path I’m taking.” But that isn’t the ultimatum. Even within her major, Niewohner said she found it more important to be “comfortable with (her)self and (her) teaching than grades…for music history.” For some students, the difference between areas of inquiry and majorrelated courses varies. Sophomore Erin Hassanzadeh, a broadcast news and sociology double major, said it’s not that certain classes are more important than others. She said she “just enjoys journalism and sociology classes the most, so it doesn’t seem like work.” She also said that for her, in general, grades are seeming less and less
important. “I won’t put it on a resume, even if it’s a 4.0,” Hassanzadeh said. “It’s important for grad school or if employers ask, so I maintain a GPA, there’s just less stress about it…In journalism, it’s all about hands-on experience and what you can do…an emphasis on internships.” This isn’t the case for all Drake students. Sophomore Allison Tenhouse and other pre-pharmacy majors face an entirely different battle. “My grades in my first two years at Drake are a major factor in whether or not I get into the pharmacy program,” Tenhouse said. “For all prepharmacy majors…the requirement is at least a 3.0 math and science.” Even the other classes can make or break it for students looking at pharmacy. “If my math and science GPA falls right around a 3.0, I want to make sure my overall GPA is as high as it can be,” Tenhouse added. In the education school, Niewohner said that education seems pretty lenient as evidenced by an easier workload than her music courses. But there are other pressures and excuses to get good grades for her, too. “It’s important for me and for my parents,” Niewohner said. “I worked so hard to get here and they worked so hard to get me here…College is also expensive, and I want to make sure that I am doing my best in any class I take because I am paying to take it, so why wouldn’t I want to learn as much as I can from it?”
SEE GRADES, PAGE 2
Student Senate had a large agenda last Thursday night, but by the end of the meeting, it had six new organizations, two ad hoc committees and one allocation to show for it. Students Fighting for Belize, most commonly associated with the Belize Dance Marathon, caused the most discussion among senators. The organization is affiliated with the James Arthur Albert Foundation and the Drake Law School, making senators weary of how closely linked Students Fighting for Belize would be with campus. “I would hope to see… more campus student engagement throughout the year,” Sen. Erin Hogan said. “Whereas right now it feels like something that is happening with the law students in the law school.” The Drake Philosophy Club, Psychology Club and the Ro Chi society — all of which have been operating unofficially on campus — became official organizations by unanimous votes in last Thursday’s session. The Drake Math Club and The French Association also passed by unanimous votes. Two ad hoc committees and members to fill the new spots were also appointed at the session. The first ad hoc committee will evaluate the current function of the QuasiEndowment Fund and suggest improvements to Student Senate. “Its been precedent that we try to spend as much money as we can from that year’s student activities fees,” Student Body President Greg Larson said. “I would encourage us to think long-term.” Treasurer Zach Keller will serve as chair of the committee. Vice President of Student Life Matt Van Hoeck, Vice President of Student Activities Jessica Hamilton and Sens. David Karaz and Adam Lutz will serve on the committee. The second ad hoc committee will work to engage students in the upcoming ABC Republican Presidential Debate, the Iowa Caucus and the November 2012 presidential election. Sen. Sam Pritchard will serve as chair of the committee. Lauren Ehrler, Alex Shaner, Emily Grimm, Sens. Nick Lund, Erin Hogan, Kayleigh Koester, Sean Walsh, Amanda Laurent and Larson will serve on the committee. Senate also voted unanimously to allocate the additional $6,377.16 of the 2010-2011 Quasi Endowment earnings to the Dogtown After Hours event in the spring. Van Hoeck reminded senators that the First-Year Senator run-off election between Joey Gale and Justin Kochanski will wrap up today. The newly elected First-Year Senator will take over the First-Year Interest Committee and will be present for the remaining four Student Senate meetings of the semester. Keller also announced that the two candidates for Drake’s vice president of finance position will be on campus Nov. 8 and 10. They will be available for a meet-and-greet with students between noon and 1:15 p.m. or from 4:45-5:45 p.m. on both days.
Meeting In-Brief: — $6377.16 allocated Dogtown After Hours — Drake Math Club, French Association approved — Drake Philosophy, Psychology Clubs and Rho Chi society approved
NEWS
OPINIONS
FEATURES
SPORTS
SJMC will hold Journalism Days this week
Quiet hours in the halls are creating some noise
Permanent stories — interesting student tattoos
Bulldogs are one win away from PFL title share
PAGE 2
PAGE 3
PAGE 5
PAGE 6