Mars Cafe hosts a charity event to support education and Haiti relief. PAGE 4 FEATURES
THE TIMES-DELPHIC THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER FOR DRAKE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884
DES MOINES, IOWA • Thursday, March 25, 2010 • VOL. 128, NO. 37 • www.timesdelphic.com
Pharmacy School reverts back to 2008 admissions standards
A GAP IN
Exception is made for current sophomore pre-pharmacy majors by MARY BESS BOLLING Sports Editor tdsports@drake.edu
After reviewing written communications, the Drake University Doctor of Pharmacy program will make an exception for this year’s sophomore pre-pharmacy class, reverting back to admissions criteria outlined in the first acceptance letter students received in 2008. The change back to the old admissions requirements will affect the final decision for the class, allowing admission to any student who meets the GPA requirements and completes the required coursework and interview portion. Sophomore pre-pharmacy student Taylor Wypyszinski, who was initially wait-listed, said that the change is the right decision for the school. “I appreciate what they’re doing,” Wypyszinski said. “My faith is restored in the pharmacy program and the university.” The change back to the original criteria came after a review of all written communications with this year’s sophomore pre-pharmacy class, conducted by Raylene Rospond, dean of the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. She then took that information to the admissions committee. The committee decided to revert back to the criteria they thought was clearly stated in the communications to the class. This decision disregarded this year’s newly implemented written assessment and the 120-student cap set on Drake’s program by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.
SEE PHARMACY, PAGE 2
COMMUNICATION illustration by SARAH ANDREWS | Photo/Design Editor
Student Senate discusses decrease in the Board of Student Communication’s funding by 2 percent, cites budget surplus by RACHEL KAUFFOLD
Staff Writer rachel.kauffold@drake.edu
Senate has rarely seen a crowd like the one they saw at their prebreak meeting on March 11. Not only was the gallery full, but four professors, including School of Journalism and Mass Communication Director Kathleen Richardson, were present to hear and voice opinions on the latest major proposal on the Senate table: to transfer 2 percent of student activity fees from the Board of Student Communications (BSC) to the Student Development Fund. The BSC, which funds all Drake publications such as The Times-Delphic, Drake Magazine and the Drake Broadcasting System, currently receives 27 percent of the “baseline,” the
total amount gathered from the payments of student activity fees. The Student Development Fund, which provides one-time funding throughout the school year, currently receives 10 percent of the baseline.
This proposal, to be discussed and voted on tonight, was heavily questioned by senators, students and faculty at the meeting. The numbers that influenced this proposal were presented by auditor Cory Vancura to Senate at the
Drake student selected as a Truman Scholarship finalist
beginning of the meeting. This report stated that the BSC had over $13,000 left in their budget at the end of last year, and their reserve fund was already at its capacity of $30,000. In contrast, the Student Development Fund has been depleted each of the past few years. The SDF sits at approximately $3,500. “The whole purpose of the student activity fees is that, ideally, they are used in the year that students pay them,” said Vancura. Journalism Senator Tyler Boggess reasoned why this change was necessary. “What we’re trying to do is balance the budget,” Boggess explained, “to take what we see as an overage year after year to a fund that never has enough money year
SEE SENATE, PAGE 2
>>BSC BUDGET CHANGE TOWN HALL MEETING >TONIGHT 7–9 p.m. Olmsted 312/313 Student Senate is hosting a town hall meeting open to all students to discuss the proposed Board of Student Communications budget 2 percent budget reduction.
Nussbaum challenges Drake students to discover one’s self by AARON RUGGLES
Staff Writer aaron.ruggles@drake.edu
Noted philosopher and intellectual Martha Nussbaum delivered a free public lecture entitled, “Liberty of Conscience: The Attack on Equal Respect” on Monday at Sheslow Auditorium. President David Maxwell introduced Nussbaum’s lecture as being important to Drake University by honoring the university’s mission statement and presenting students with an Engaged Citizen opportunity. Nussbaum is a former professor at Harvard, Brown and Oxford universities, a research adviser at the World Institute for Development Economics
Research and a published author of 15 books. “These are rare opportunities,” professor Tim Knepper of the philosophy and religion department said. “Nussbaum is routinely recognized among the top living American philosophers. I urged students to take advantage.” Nussbaum’s lecture displayed the complex searching that is involved when finding one’s self, and explored both the religious and nonreligious aspects that play into the difficult process. The cultivation of our conscience is the process of finding our way through life and finding meaning. All human beings need access to
SEE NUSSBAUM, PAGE 2
photo by SARAH ANDREWS | Photo/Design Editor
Junior Brittney Miller was one of 176 selected by CORI CLARK
Staff Writer corinne.clark@drake.edu
On March 10, junior Brittney Miller participated in a final interview for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship. The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation started in 1975 to award scholarships to students who demonstrate leadership potential and plan to pursue a career in public service, according to the scholarship Web site. Drake University originally nominated Miller in October 2009. Miller then went on to complete a lengthy application that included writing a public policy proposal. “It was really hard thinking of a policy you would be able to write extensively about, then argue for and against the proposal and why it is a pressing matter,” Miller said. Miller wrote about after-school programs in Iowa,
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one of which she has worked for in The Boys and Girls Clubs of America. After-school programs are in high demand in Iowa with little funding, Miller says. After-school programs are important to Miller after a shocking experience while volunteering, when she was one of just three volunteers for a group of 60 children. Miller says it was devastating to serve the children hot dogs as their only source of nutrients. Miller’s interest in public service and community involvement started in her hometown of Duluth, Minn. She has always been active in the community, and her work against discrimination and toward a more inclusive environment earned her the city’s Community Peacemaker Award. A few weeks after applications were accepted, Miller received an e-mail from the Truman Foundation and read that she was one of the 176 finalists from 122 differ-
TAND OUT
SEE MILLER, PAGE 2
photo by ABBEY ELMER| Staff Photographer
MARTHA NUSSBAUM, a famous philosopher who taught at Harvard, Brown and Oxford universities, spoke Monday night at Sheslow.