BULLDOG VICTORY Drake men’s soccer team took home a Bulldog win last Wednesday, defeating the University of Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos, with a come-from-behind victory, 3-2. PAGE 7 SPORTS
THE TIMES-DELPHIC THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER FOR DRAKE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884
Des Moines, Iowa • Monday, Sept. 20, 2010 • Vol. 129, No. 4 • www.timesdelphic.com
New coach on the block Maxwell to decide on e-mail platform change
by Cambria Pardner
Staff Writer cambria.pardner@drake.edu
by Ann Schnoebelen
Staff Writer ann.schnoebelen@drake.edu
Over 30 new committee members and interns were appointed to the Drake University Student Senate at this week’s meeting. “We’re pretty proud of these committee placements,” said Vice President of Student Life Byron Spears. “Hopefully you guys like them, too.” Along with the motion of appointment, Spears read each new Senate member’s name, several of whom were present. New business also included Sen. Michael Riebel’s report from the Technology Department on the “e-mail migration project.” “[The project] would mean getting away from Zimbra and that contract, and moving towards either Gmail or Hotmail platforms,” Riebel said. “They’re the two they’re looking at right now.” The President’s Cabinet, which includes university President David Maxwell along with the university vice presidents, provost, and others, will be making the final decision. But, Riebel said, the department is looking for student feedback and a survey will be sent out via e-mail to measure reactions to a switch. “Make sure you guys fill this one out,” Riebel said. “If you don’t like [the results of the project], don’t complain about it because you had a chance to give your input.” The meeting also featured Vice President for Alumni and Development John Smith as a guest speaker. He thanked the senators for their work at the university, and garnered a few chuckles when he told of his own failed campaign for student body president while a student at Drake. The real purpose of his visit, however, was to inform Senate of an upcoming fundraising initiative and to invite them to a volunteer summit with other members of the faculty and the Board of Trustees. “It’s going to be a four-hour presentation that is going to be filled with a little bit of energy, a little bit of excitement and a narrative of stories,” Smith said. Dean of Students Sentwali Bakari also made a proposal later in the evening that generated a powerful and positive response from the senators. “In light of the recent tragedies that we’ve had, I’m not sure what the mood’s like
SEE SENATE, PAGE 2
Drake Law School celebrates Constitution Day with conversation
photo by CONNOR MCCOURTNEY | Photo Editor
EVAN AUSTIN spent the last four years as the assistant coach of the Wisconsin Badgers. Two weeks ago he made the move to Des Moines to become the head coach of the Bulldogs.
New men’s tennis coach Evan Austin goes from badger to bulldog by Dominic Johnson
Staff Writer dominic.johnson@drake.edu
Drake’s new men’s tennis head coach Evan Austin has a knack for taking unranked teams to the NCAA tournament, and taking those NCAA tournament teams and turning them into some of the best squads in the country. Austin, who spent the last four years as the assistant coach for the Wisconsin Badgers, arrived on the Des Moines, Iowa, campus just two weeks ago, and he is fully prepared to turn the Drake team into a dominant one. Austin has shown an affinity for taking a young, unranked team, like this year’s Bulldog squad, and turning them into a NCAA powerhouse. After graduating from the University of Kentucky, Austin became a coaching pro at a tennis club in Naples, Fla., before he got a call from his old assistant coach, Greg Van Emburgh, who had just received the head coaching position at the University of Wisconsin. “Greg gave me a call when I was the head pro at a tennis club down in Naples, but wanted
to get back into competitive tennis,” Austin said. “His assistant position had opened up and he asked me if I was interested in doing it, and I haven’t really looked back since then.” There he became Van Emburgh’s first assistant coach, and the two took on a tennis program that was treading water in the Big Ten Conference. In just his first year in the college tennis world as an assistant coach, Austin took the young Badger squad to the NCAA tournament’s second round for the first time in school history. With the confidence of tournament success and a new national ranking, he continued to help the team grow and move up in the NCAA Division I rankings. Austin continued to assist heavily with recruiting, increasing the team’s strength. In his fourth and final year at Wisconsin, the Badgers reached the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. “It was great to see a program go from unranked to up there with elite teams,” he said. When Jimmy Borendame left Drake abruptly this August for Middle Tennessee State, Aus-
SEE COACH, PAGE 2
In celebration of Constitution Day, nationally recognized law professors Ian Bartrum, assistant professor, and Miguel Schor, visiting director of the Drake Constitutional Law Center, spoke to a packed room about the Constitution’s influence in America and abroad Friday afternoon in Cartwright Hall. The program titled, “The Constitution as a Conversation” drew upon Bartrum’s and Schor’s expertise in an event designed to celebrate and bring awareness to the importance of a citizen’s input in shaping the Constitution. “The Constitution is a focal point for a much larger conversation,” Bartrum said. “The framers gave us means, not an end, to govern.” Bartrum went on to say that the Founding Fathers of this country purposely left the Constitution vague at times and that society can shape what the Constitution means. To take part in this shaping process, one must be vocal and Bartrum said this then presents the following question: Who gets to take part in conversations that shape the Constitution? Naturally, lawyers and judges primarily engage in conversation about the Constitution but Bartrum said that, “all of us can take part in the conversation and, by doing so, we can shape constitutional meaning.” Bartrum cited the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address and various social movements throughout history, such as the Civil Rights Movement, as cases when people took up causes, had “transformative Constitutional conversations” and made ethical arguments as to why the Constitution should be amended.
“ ” The framers gave us means, not an end, to govern.
–Professor Ian Bartrum
Taking a slightly different angle, Schor, whose research includes comparative constitutionalism and constitutional law, primarily spoke about constitutional design and how the document has a powerful global impact. Schor said the Founding Fathers set a new precedent when they created the Constitution. Even while creating the document, the founders knew that it might need to be altered in the future, Schor said. “The power to amend the Constitution was a breakthrough in constitutional de-
SEE CONSTITUTION, PAGE 2
Students gather for 24 hours of prayer by Becca Mataloni
Staff Writer rebecca.mataloni@drake.edu
Bibles, chairs, devotionals, paint, blankets, journals-silence. That is the sound of prayer. Members of the various Christian organizations on campus gathered Tuesday at 8 p.m. for a
24-hour prayer session that ended Wednesday at 8 p.m. Stations were set up in the Morehouse ballroom where people could pray for Cliffton Murove, Ryan Henderson, the campus and the world, through art. Many students who participated in the event believed it was no coincidence the prayer room was scheduled just days after another
photos by CONNOR MCCOURTNEY | Photo Editor
PRESIDENT MAXWELL spoke at the memorial for Cliffton Murove last Thursday (right). A 24-hour prayer was held last week for students to remember those lost (above).
Drake University student passed. “There was so much emotion,” said Amanda Steele, a member of InterVarsity. “When you walked into the room, you transformed, and it was so peaceful.” A station in the prayer room was devoted to Murove and Henderson. People dipped their thumbs in yellow paint and “lit” a candle painted on a poster in memory of the two men. Stickers covered a map of the world as people prayed for countries who need help with faith. A book placed below the map explained where each country stood on Christianity. There was also a map of campus where people could write prayer requests based off the places on the map. Steele said the purpose of the maps was to pray for the brokenness on campus and in the world. “We want to be united with the other Christian organizations on campus and become one unified group,” she said. Amy Woodside, a member of InterVarsity, said that there are
many stereotypes around campus about the Christian organizations and they want to get away from that and be united as one. Crayons, paint and colored pencils were available at the art station for those who wanted to show their prayers through art. “Prayer is supposed to be natural and conversational,” Woodside said. “This is a way to get out of your comfort zone.” Carliann Conner, a member of Campus Fellowship, said that the art station was a good way for people to profess their faith because some do not have words to express it. In the second year of having a prayer room, members of all Christian organizations were able to come to a peaceful room and unite as one. “I think it’s very peaceful to have a place outside the chaos of class to spend time with God and be encouraged by others who are there for the same reason,” Conner said. “It’s my favorite thing every year. I wish we could have it all the time.”