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FEATURES
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2009
THE TIMES-DELPHIC
STUDENT ORGANIZATION HIGHLIGHT | SAAC
SAAC gets student athletes involved Students sponsoring dodgeball tournament in November by ERIKA SEVIGNY
Staff Writer erika.sevigny@drake.edu
AP PHOTO
Matisyahu sings tonight Reggae artist uses Hebrew as inspiration by ELLEN ROOS
Staff Writer ellen.roos@drake.edu
People’s Court will ring tonight with the sounds of Matisyahu, a Hasidic Jewish musician who uses a Hebrew language as inspiration for his music. The event begins at 7 p.m. The eclectic reggae musician continued his musical evolution into his third album “Light,” as he exercised more creative freedom. “The new record, Light, was made with various producers and writers over a long period of time,” Matisyahu said in an interview with the Times-Delphic. “I used different styles of music with more of a rock feel.” “While we were producing, my guitarist and I would jam as I beatboxed, and then we layered the sounds over each other.” Inspired mostly by Na Nach Nachma (NahNakh-Nakmah), a Hebrew language mantra based off the name of Rebbe Nachman, has given him a new edge. “I found his stories about the seven beggars my main inspiration for this new album,” Matisyahu said. Outside of Nachman’s teachings, Matis finds inspiration in “ideas found within Judaism in the 1800’s and ideas of existentialism.” Raised in a Jewish household in White Plains, N.Y., Matis was reared as a Jewish Reconstructionist and attended Hebrew school in his hometown as a teenager. When he started heavily researching his faith, Matis decided to switch from viewing his faith as a evolving citizenship and opted for the movement led
by Baal Shem Tov. There he found a more personal experience with God. In an Oct. 17 interview with Canada’s Calgary Herald, Matis explained what sparked his religious research. “I was hearing a lot of quotations in Marley’s music that came from the Bible, the Old Testament, the Torah,” he said. “The only time I’d heard these things before was in Hebrew school. In a way, that was sort of pushed upon me; that didn’t relate to my life. But to hear Bob Marley singing these things, it made me think, ‘Where’s this wisdom coming from? Let me investigate it within my own heritage.’” Putting his research to use on his first album, Live at Stubb’s, in 2005 paid off when his live version of the song, “King Without a Crown,” became a Top 40 hit, and the album received positive reviews. Matisyahu went on to release his sophomore album, “Youth,” which presented more of a rock feel than his live album. His most recent work “Light,” sounds like the melodic love child of Marley and the heavens above, wrapped up in a blanket of back beat drums with a down lining of techno beats. After playing a show in Des Moines this July, for the second annual 80/35 Music Festival, Matisyahu will return to Dogtown tonight at People’s Court.
Every other week, 33 Drake student athletes donate an hour of their limited free time to meet and collaborate with one another to promote community service, campus togetherness and student-athlete camaraderie as part of a littleknown student organization called the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). SAAC recently sponsored a box-building challenge at Reggie’s Sleepout this past weekend, challenging other student organizations to see who could make the most creative box. SAAC is comprised of representatives from each of Drake’s 16 athletic teams. They meet every other Wednesday in the Knapp Center. This year, SAAC is focusing its efforts to reach out to the Drake campus and work with other student organizations to bridge the gap between student-athletes and other students. “We are reaching out because we think the Drake community needs to be a family again,” SAAC Co-president Zac Bales-Henry (AS4) said. “At larger universities, athletics is often the life blood of the institution. This is why SAAC has been creating events that are more campusoriented.” Upcoming SAAC outreach events will include a dodgeball tournament, a Drake T-shirt and sweatshirt swap and a student-athlete talent show. The activities will be open to the entire campus. Signup for the Nov. 8 dodgeball tournament begin next week and forms are available in SLC to interested teams. The reigning champions of this annual event are a number of athletes from Drake’s nationally-ranked men’s soccer team. Also, beginning next month, SAAC representatives will canvass campus, handing out coupons for 20 percent off a bookstore
purchase. The intent of the event is to promote blue and white Drake apparel and support Drake athletics over other institutions. The student-athlete talent show is an annual spring event and features acts from each of the athletics teams. Admission will be one donated canned food item to youth shelters in the Des Moines area. “The talent show sheds a light on a side of the student-athletes that you don’t often get to see as they perform dance moves, songs and skits,” Deidra Dirth (AS4), SAAC community service chair, said. “Last year’s was very energetic and entertaining. People were laughing the whole time.” In addition to campuswide events, one of SAAC’s primary goals is to grow and nurture the Drake athletics program, building stronger bonds between the various sports teams. Drake athletes can look forward to the first annual Athletes’ Ball that will take place following the men’s basketball game Dec. 12, along with Sports Business Association (SBA). Proceeds from the ball benefit Toys for Tots. Providing community service opportunities to athletes and giving back to the Des Moines community are also priorities for SAAC. Each semester, SAAC sponsors a community service competition between sports teams, challenging them to have the highest number of community service hours per team member. Drake athletes logged over 600 hours of service last semester, with the women’s soccer team leading the way to accomplish 192 hours of service, nine hours per athlete. “With the busy schedule of a studentathlete, between class, practice and travel, we make volunteering one of our top priorities in our small amount of free time because we want to be able to give back to the community and campus that supports what we do,” Dirth said.
IF YOU’RE GOING Where: People’s Court When: 7 p.m.
photos courtesy of SAAC
MELINDA WEST (B2) carries a box as part of the box-building challenge. West is a member of SAAC, which recently sponsored the challenge during Reggie’s Sleepout last weekend in Drake Stadium.
CC
CAMPUSCALENDAR
TODAY
FRIDAY
POLITICS – Iowa Politics Forum WHAT: Budget and tax issues will be discussed by experts Chris Fox, David Vaught and Ed Wallace.
LECTURE – Gay identity in Madrid WHAT: Brian Adams-Thies addresses the rise of public gay identity in Madrid.
WHERE: Levitt Hall
WHERE: Medbury Honors Lounge
WHEN: 9:45 a.m.
WHEN: 3:30 p.m.
SATURDAY HOLIDAY – Halloween WHAT: Visit the Sleepy Hollow Scream Park. Tour the Castle of Blood or try out the Fog Maze. WHERE: 4051 Dean Ave., Des Moines WHEN: 7p.m.
SUNDAY HOLIDAY – Day of the Dead WHAT: Celebrate at the Des Moines Art Center with live music and traditional refreshments. WHERE: Des Moines Art Center, 4700 Grand Ave. WHEN: 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.