Jan. 29, 2020

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D I GU 4 ON GE I T PA C LE ON

THE TIMES-DELPHIC The weekly student newspaper of Drake University

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Vol. 139 | No. 14 | Jan. 29, 2020

FEATURES

SPORTS

COMMENTARY

Drake will be offering an artificial intelligence major starting in the 2020 fall semester.

The men’s tennis team at Drake began their spring season this month.

Read up on their record so far.

Little Women was released in December of 2019. Learn how the film spotlights female creativity.

Read more on page 2

Read more on page 6

Read more on page 7

Remembering the Holocaust timesdelphic.com

Drake offers Heritage and Holocaust study abroad opportunity

THE WARSAW UPRISING MONUMENT is a memorial in Warsaw, Poland dedicated to an uprising against German occupation in the summer of 1944.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DOROTHY PISARSKI

Cameron Bolton Staff Writer cameron.bolton@drake.edu

Drake University will be starting a Heritage and Holocaust study abroad this year.

The class will fly to Munich and travel to Warsaw, making several different stops along the way. It is scheduled to take place during the summer of 2020 from May 19 to June 1.

The instructors for the course will be Dorothy Pisarski, associate professor of advertising, and Jarad Bernstein, director of communications.

“When I’ve taken students to Europe on past trips, I’ve always had a day to go to Auschwitz and Birkenau,” said

Pisarski, who has previously taken students to Europe, Asia and South America. “And every time the students say that was the most important day of the whole trip. With that in mind, we started to say, why shouldn’t we have a trip like [Heritage and Holocaust]?”

“If you’re lucky enough, meeting a survivor whose moved here. All of those are possible, but there’s something when you take it the next step and travel to the places where the atrocities occurred. That brings it, the full picture, to life.”

Pisarski’s father was a Holocaust survivor and Bernstein’s grandfather was a U.S. soldier who liberated a concentration camp.

Bernstein is also a former president of the Jewish federation of greater Des Moines and is still involved with the Jewish community.

The two trip leaders feel a responsibility and passion for making sure that the stories are told and retold and continue because there are important lessons to be learned from the Holocaust.

Pisarski says the class will be a mix of learning the history of the Holocaust by actually being at places where it took place and bringing many different facets together as the class has to focus on politics, sociology,

religion, and many other things.

Pisarski also said that she and Bernstein need to determine what information people have and what misinformation people have and then go from there.

“So, some of these things you can learn from a book, going on the web, watching documentaries,” Bernstein said.

“If you’re lucky enough, meeting a survivor whose moved here.

All of those are possible, but there’s something when you take it the next step and travel to the places where the atrocities occurred. That brings it, the full picture, to life.”

Pisarski said that [she and Bernstein] are expecting students to have a different perspective on everything.

Bernstein added that something

as simple as traveling to another country with a group of fellow students in a class environment can be a positive experience for students.

But at a very base level, learning the history of the Holocaust in a very academic way, in a very personal way, that’s different from reading a book or going to a museum.

“And that can include questioning some previously held beliefs,” Pisarski said.

“It can include looking at the world at large and identifying other places in the world where atrocities are taking place now.

And exploring that through the lens of what did we learn or what are we ignoring from what we should have learned from the Holocaust.”

Car goes up in flames on 31st Street near campus Caleb Lillquist Staff Writer caleb.lillquist@drake.edu

On Jan. 27 at 9:50 p.m., Drake students walking near the Subway parking lot got a glimpse of a fireball engulfing a white van.

After taking out their phones to call 911, the lit up street was soon illuminated by red and blue flashing lights of Des Moines police officers and firefighters trying to fight off the blaze.

Students immediately took to social media and alerted the TD. None of the officers, students or firefighters know exactly what the cause of the fire was or what chain of events caused it, but it

is certain that so far no one has claimed to own the white van involved in the vehicular fire.

“Even the plates were burnt to a crisp,” said a Des Moines firefighter responding to the scene.

Nearby students who witnessed the fiery scene before their eyes at one point saw the van explode. The incident is still under investigation.

No students were harmed in this incident.

This is an ongoing investigation; the Times-Delphic will continue to look into the situation and will update students if more pertinent information comes to light involving the Drake community.

A WHITE VAN in the Subway parking lot caught on fire Monday night. The cause is still unknown and under investigation. PHOTO COURTESY OF CALEB LILLQUIST

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FEATURES

FEATURES

JAN. 29, 2020 | Page 2

Drake to offer new Artificial Intelligence major

AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MAJOR will be offered starting Fall of 2020. Very few universities offer an AI major. PHOTO BY MCCADE GOWDY| STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Lizzie Deal Staff Writer lizzie.deal@drake.edu

To keep up with evolving technology and jobs a taskforce of faculty members has devised a new program of study to be implemented f e a t u r i n g artificial intelligence, known as AI. The Board of Trustees recently met to vote on the proposed major and will be open for enrollment in the fall of 2020.

Artificial intelligence isn’t a common major. In fact, very few universities can claim to have a program strictly for AI. The program here will set itself apart from others by taking a broader, more interdisciplinary approach to the subject.

“Most of the AI programs are some kind of track or specialization in computer science,” Professor Alanah Mitchell, Co-Chair of the program’s development, said. “[Ours] combines math and computer science with business, law, humanities and art. It’s a lot of areas working together, so you’ll get the technical and math foundations and statistics, but you’ll also understand how that makes sense in a business, and legally what are

the requirements that we need to think about. Also, you’ll be thinking about the humanistic and philosophy perspectives of what that means to be artificially intelligent and even the role that art plays in terms of human-computer interaction.”

The idea for the major initially stemmed from a working group that was looking at artificial intelligence and jobs that are robot-proof and could not be replaced by AI, Mitchell said.

After establishing the idea, faculty from all of the different disciplines that the major will contain met to research background information and create the foundations of the curriculum. All of the information was then compiled into a twenty-page document proposing the program that the Board of Trustees will then vote on.

“There’s a lot of different phases that you go through [when creating a major], but particularly in this case because it’s so interdisciplinary, it’s faculty from lots of different areas getting together,” Mitchell said. “You do some background work to see what other universities are doing, and maybe if there’s a gap or something that we could address better. I think

particularly at Drake, we’ve done a really good job with professional preparedness programs that combine that liberal arts background, and so I think that makes a lot of sense for us to put out this AI program.”

“I see the AI major as an initiative that looks to incorporate the things that Drake already does well: education, humanities, philosophy, business, and technology within a curriculum with a vision for the future in artificial intelligence.”

The proposed AI program would offer not just a major and minor, but three different concentrations as well that are aligned with its goal of being an interdisciplinary field of study.

“This major is meant to prepare students to live and work in a world of AI, and thus the knowledge and skills students acquire will be relevant to a variety of fields,” Professor Martin Roth, Co-Chair of the program’s development, said. “This aspect of the major is reflected

in three concentration options: computer science and AI, business and AI, and humanities and AI. Our program reflects the belief that AI isn’t a discipline but a complex phenomenon that needs to be studied from a variety of disciplinary perspectives.”

Because of the distinctive look at AI that the major would offer, Professor Timothy Urness, who helped to develop the program, hopes the major will set Drake apart from other universities and possibly put Drake on the radar of prospective students who might not have considered it an option previously.

“I think that the AI major will benefit Drake by providing a unique and practical learning experience that combines areas of the humanities, philosophy, business and technology,” Urness said. “The ultimate goal is to provide an educational experience for students that will prepare them to be leaders in a future that increasingly utilizes artificial intelligence. That is, we want our students to develop skills that are reflective, inspirational, entrepreneurial, and valuable and can’t simply be replaced with AI in the future. Thus,

a university that can provide this kind of education should be attractive to prospective students as well as the community going forward.”

The AI major will also fit with Drake’s mission statement by providing students with an “exceptional learning environment,” preparing them to lead “meaningful lives” and for “professional accomplishments,” Urness says. With this in mind, the major is also built to evolve as technology evolves to keep students prepared to face changes in the world and the workplace.

“The future is certainly going to involve elements of technology and artificial intelligence, and it’s the responsibility of the university to prepare students to thrive after they graduate,” Urness said. “I think that it’s important for Drake to continue to develop curriculum that delivers on the promise reflected in the mission statement. I see the AI major as an initiative that looks to incorporate the things that Drake already does well: education, humanities, philosophy, business, and technology within a curriculum with a vision for the future in artificial intelligence.”

Students and alumni grapple with student loan debt post Drake

Rebecca Hickok Staff Writer rebecca.hickok@drake.edu

According to Forbes, 75% of private non-profit college graduates who took out student loans are in debt.

Of those 75%, debt is $15% higher than 2008, averaging at $32,300. Drake is no exception to this raise in debt, with undergraduate full-time tuition at $42,694 for the 2019-2020 academic year, with an additional $10,848 for room and board.

Despite the prices of tuition raising each year, Drake University placed 68 of 183 institutions for the U.S. News ranking of Best Value Schools.

Junior Digital Media Production major, Leah Berkheimer chose Drake University because the size was right for her, and her mom went to Drake. However, she doesn’t feel much stress about student loans. Her mom takes out the Parent Plus Loan, so she feels that most of the stress is on her mom.

“I feel like my parents really tried to educate me and prepare me for what having loans is like,” Berkheimer said, “so high school didn’t really help me that much.”

As national student debt rises, many high schools have

increased interest in teaching about financial literacy in regard to continuing education, according to a 2019 New York Times article.

Berkheimer expressed her gratitude for her parent’s knowledge saying, “I think that I would’ve been significantly less prepared for the responsibility of student loans if I hadn’t had the help of my parents.”

Berkheimer reported that her high school didn’t educate much on student loans. The only thing she felt that was explained to her was how credit cards worked.

Berkheimer feels a little relief about her future because of the job placement rate Drake has earned. In 2018, Drake University’s job placement rate was 89.2%.

Corey Bird graduated in 2013 from Drake University, receiving his Juris Doctorate Degree. He graduated from University of Wisconsin with a degree in Zoology, and chose Drake University for graduate school because he received a partial academic scholarship. He chose to become an attorney because he thought he would be good at it and make a good living.

“Even with the massive loans, I thought it [college education] was better than no education,” Bird said.

STUDENT LOAN DEBT is a growing issue for college graduates. For this reason, some politicians have proposed eliminating student debt. GRAPHIC BY VISHVA TUMMALAPALLY | DESIGN EDITOR

After practicing law for three years, Bird started a business c unrelated to law.

Bird said that education enabled him and his wife to start a successful business while having the tools to be attorneys if it didn’t work out.

“I had zero education on loans and paying them back,” Bird said. “I had no appreciation for what I was getting into.”

While studying at the University of Wisconsin and Drake University, Bird didn’t worry too much about his future of paying loans back.

However, he did work as when he could, especially during the summer, with loans being the main reason he worked.

“Even though the loans are absurdly high, I think I have a much better life than if I didn’t go to college and incur student loan debt,” Bird said.

Drake Student Accounts offers an online program to students called GradReady at Drake, which provides assessments, education, and plans to students.

This helps student to prepare how to pay for

college, how to obtain good credit, and how to plan for after college. The after college planning includes plans for paying back student loans, paying for car and mortgage.

To learn more about the GradReady program, visit the Drake University Student Accounts website under Financial Literacy.

For questions about Drake Student Loans the Student Accounts office may be reached at (515) 271-3174 or stuacct@drake.edu.

ELECTION GUIDE

JAN. 29, 2020 | Page 4

ELECTION GUIDE

Top Information Voters Need Going into Caucus Day The Times-Delphic selected which candidates to cover based on the most recent debate participants, candidates in alphabetical order. Questions came from Washington Post interviews and key questions voters have. Information found through multiple articles and interviews. CANDIDATE PHOTOS COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Former Vice President Joe Biden • Believes that student loan debt should be handled by expanding existing debtrelief programs • Do they support a wealth tax? No • Thinks that the United States should consider universal basic income? No • Paid family leave should be longer than 12 weeks/fewer than 12 weeks/12 weeks?

• Supports achieving Medicare-for-all through a single-payer system? No • Plan on expanding nuclear power plants and reliance on nuclear energy? Yes, in an effort to combat climate change but needs more research

Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg Believes that student loan debt should be canceled for some people Do they support a wealth tax? No Thinks that the United States should consider universal basic income? No Paid family leave should be longer than 12 weeks/fewer than 12 weeks/12 weeks?

Supports achieving Medicare-for-all through a single-payer system? No • Plan on expanding nuclear power plants and reliance on nuclear energy? Thinks there should not be an expansion of new plants at the moment • • • •

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar • Believes that student loan debt should be reduced through the refinancing of student loans, expanded Pell grants, and free one and two-year degrees • Do they support a wealth tax? Unclear, but has said she is open to it • Thinks that the United States should consider universal basic income? No • Paid family leave should be longer than 12 weeks/fewer than 12 weeks/12 weeks?

• Supports achieving Medicare-for-all through a single-payer system? No • Plan on expanding nuclear power plants and reliance on nuclear energy? Unclear, but says she would not expand until she explored better options

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders • • • • • •

Believes that student loan debt should be canceled for everyone Do they support a wealth tax? Yes Thinks that the United States should consider universal basic income? No Paid family leave should be longer than 12 weeks/fewer than 12 weeks/12 weeks?

Supports achieving Medicare-for-all through a single-payer system? Yes Plan on expanding nuclear power plants and reliance on nuclear energy? No, wants to phase out use and find different solution

Billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer Believes that student loan debt should be alleviated in other ways.

Do they support a wealth tax? Yes Thinks that the United States should consider universal basic income? No Paid family leave should be longer than 12 weeks/fewer than 12 weeks/12 weeks?

Supports achieving Medicare-for-all through a single-payer system? Opposes Medicare- for-all, but would expand coverage • Plan on expanding nuclear power plants and reliance on nuclear energy? Thinks there should be no new plants at this time • • • • •

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren • Believes that student loan debt should be canceled to reduce the wealth gap and stimulate to middle class home purchases and small businesses.

• Do they support a wealth tax? Yes • Thinks that the United States should consider universal basic income? Open to the idea • Paid family leave should be longer than 12 weeks/fewer than 12 weeks/12 weeks?

• Supports achieving Medicare-for-all through a single-payer system? Yes • Plan on expanding nuclear power plants and reliance on nuclear energy? No, phase out and replace with renewable energy

President Donald Trump • Current president of the United States. Appointed two Supreme Court justices, withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and in favor of USMCA over NAFTA. • KEY ISSUES: the economy, jobs, immigration, and foreign policy

Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld • Former governor of Massachusetts and in 2016, he ran as vice president for the Libertarian Party ticket.

• KEY ISSUES: expanding nuclear energy and a tax on carbon for climate reform. Forgiving student debt in exchange for public service.

Keeping the government out of private lives

Former Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh • Served one term in the House.

• Staunchly supported Mr. Trump in 2016 but has since broken with the president.

• KEY ISSUES: Reducing the national debt; restraining executive power; securing the border.

NEWS

JAN. 29, 2020 | Page 5

NEWS

Drake hosts democratic presidential debate

SIX PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES came to Drake University for the seventh democratic presidential debate hosted by CNN and the Des Moines Register.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DRAKE UNIVERSITY

Cameron Bolton Staff Writer cameron.bolton@drake.edu

Drake University hosted a nationally-televised live Democratic presidential candidate debate on Jan. 14 in Sheslow Auditorium.

The debate was sponsored

by CNN, the Democratic National Committee and the Des Moines Register.

The candidates who qualified for the debate were Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar.

“I thought it was really exciting, just being someone who’s not from Iowa and seeing how big politics is here and what a draw this campus has,” sophomore Meredith Miklos, a double major in both environmental science and writing said. “It was really exciting to see that we could attract something like such a big national debate and I think it was very informative and watching it in full instead of sporadically like I do kind of at home I think will help me make my decision on who to vote for in the primaries.”

The Democratic National Committee controlled

ticketing for the event.

Priority for the limited number of tickets made available to members of the Drake community was given to the students.

All of those who attended the debate were required to arrive at least 90 minutes before the broadcast.

Attendees also needed to remain in Sheslow Auditorium for the entirety of the program.

Those who did not receive a ticket had the option of going to multiple watch parties.

Olmsted had watch parties for both Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar supporters.

Another watch party was held in Cartwright Hall, which was located right across the street from Sheslow Auditorium.

“I thought it was really cool, I think that it was a useful event to help me have a better grasp on who I’m going to caucus for,” double major in law, politics and society, junior Alexus Kreft, said. “It was the first one that I’d watched in full this year… I wished I had gotten to see it in person, but it was cool just to watch internally.”

Kreft also said that having the debate on Drake’s campus was something to be proud of.

Kreft knew that some

people have issues with a lot of university resources and attention going toward something that doesn’t directly impact the students’ day-to-day life at the university but that Drake’s part of politics in this country was beneficial.

“I thought it was a cool thing to talk with my friends,” Kreft said. “To say ‘Hey, look I can go to this place where even though we’re pretty small, [Drake is] pretty mighty and we have this power on a national stage.’ So I thought that was pretty good to talk about.”

Mock caucus prepares students for the real deal

The Iowa Caucus Project holds a trial run for the upcoming caucuses Cameron Bolton Staff Writer cameron.bolton@drake.edu

On Jan. 27, Drake University held a mock caucus in Olmsted Center. The purpose of the event was to educate students on how the caucus process works before the actual caucus happens.

The mock caucus was brought to the campus by the Iowa Caucus Project, along with the Student Senate, Drake Democrats and College Republicans.

The mock Republican caucus was scheduled to start at 6 pm, while the Democratic caucus was to begin at 7 pm.

“More than anything else, we recognized that the rules of procedures of caucus can be confusing to people who have never done it before,” said Rachel Paine Caufield, professor of political science and director of the Iowa Caucus project. “And so there are always some college students who are a little hesitant to participate because they don’t know what to expect. So the mock caucus is a way to give people an opportunity to learn about the rules and get a better idea of what they can expect when they walk into their caucus location.”

The Republican caucus was called to order by John Altendorf, who had been appointed by the Iowa Caucus Project to be the temporary chair.

Altendorf explained that they had gathered to do a straw poll to elect two precinct people to the county central committee to elect delegates, alternates, and junior delegates to the county

commission convention. As well as to discuss and submit platform issues for the county convention.

Altendorf explained that at that time, what would happen in the country precinct caucus is that a Lincoln bag would be passed around for donations.

Then it was time to elect a permanent caucus chair.

Altendorf was nominated by himself and was elected due to there being no other nominations.

Next, the precinct secretary was elected, and sophomore Tanner Halleran was voted on due to once again having no other nominations. Halleran’s function was to take a record of the event.

“There is something that is unique and special about a caucus process... having a process by which you engage each other, you persuade each other”

The surrogates for Republican candidates then gave a 3 to 5 minute speech to convince attendees about why they should support their candidate.

The candidates were Donald Trump, Bill Weld and Joe Walsh; only Trump and Walsh had surrogates. They went in the alphabetical order of the candidates’ last name.

Once the surrogates were done speaking, the caucus goers then voted. Trump came in first, Weld second, and Walsh third.

“Because the Republicans have an incumbent, it’s really

DRAKE STUDENTS who attended the mock caucus rally around live mascot Griff at the event.

PHOTO BY ALE DIAZ | DRAKE UNIVERSITY

not as big of a deal, that is why we’re not hearing about Republican candidates like we’re hearing about Democratic ones,” Halleran said. “But they are still promoting it.”

The events of Democratic caucus play out a little differently than the Republican caucus.

As Halleran announced to the crowd, in a traditional caucus, they would elect the chair first, but for the nature of the event, he will serve as the chair for the Democratic caucus.

The support secretaries joined him. For a normal caucus, there would only be one secretary, but since they had a lot of people there, they were going to need some extra help counting.

Halleran explained that the purpose of the caucus is to elect delegates, alternates, and people to committees at the county level. Then was the

point where they would elect the officers serving.

The precinct captains for any candidate still in the race were given three minutes to give a speech about why their candidate should be elected.

The precinct captain for Tom Steyer was his daughter Evelyn Steyer.

“I think that having mock caucus is a very good idea, and I particularly think that preparing young people to feel empowered at the caucus is great,” Steyer said in an interview before the event.

When the speeches ended, the attendees broke out into separate groups for each candidate.

After the number of people in each group was tallied, the candidates were then further narrowed down to just Warren and Buttigieg groups; Warren ended up winning.

Halleran said there would be several more events that

would happen on caucus night that wasn’t done for the mock caucus.

“I think [the caucus is] incredibly important,” said Caulfield. “There is something that is unique and special about a caucus process, about ...having a process by which you engage each other, you persuade each other, you actively talk about issues and candidates and the things that you care about, what your priorities are. And I think that kind of interaction is really valuable. It’s something that we don’t do too often in American life and so learning how to do it... But I also think it makes students a lot more confident when they go into their caucus location on Monday night. That they know how to manage the process.”

COMMENTARY

COMMENTARY

JAN. 29, 2020 | Page 7

Little Women film illuminates female creativity Celia Brocker Commentary Editor celia.brocker@drake.edu

In this time where remakes are extremely popular among film companies, the more skeptical audience member may wonder why we need another re-imagining of Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” when there are several other adaptations of Alcott’s novel.

Well for one, why is it normal to sit through several reiterations of the same superheroes movies, but not a piece of classic American literature?

There have been 3 liveaction versions of SpiderMan in the past decade and we’re approaching our 4th film-version of Batman, but there’s too many adaptations of Little Women?

The difference is that society is accustomed to catering the creativity of men instead of women, something as relevant now as it is in Little Women.

No one can complain about something that is good. And this movie is good.

The film’s success is largely due to the creative genius of Greta Gerwig, director of the 2017 coming-of-age film Lady Bird.

“Little Women” is also a coming of age story, and Gerwig surrounds childhood with a loving embrace, basking all the scenes from the characters’ childhood in a warm golden light while the scenes that take place in adulthood are encased with a colder gray style that appears when childhood innocence

has faded from the characters eyes.

Gerwig also uses sound to show the utopia that is created within a family.

Everyone in the March family is always talking over one another, multiple conversations happening at the same time which establishes the close relationships between the characters.

Another part of the film’s success is due to the actors, all of whom fit their roles perfectly - Saorise Ronan shines as Jo, the feisty heroine who is determined to do things in her own way.

Florence Pugh brings childish turned refined Amy to life in the way other adaptations have neglected to do, portraying her ambition as well as her elegance and finally does justice to perhaps the most misunderstood character of her time.

“It’s clear the film is not something to be tolerated - rather, it is an exceptional piece of art despite it not being the first adaption.”

Emma Watson plays the most traditional March sister and shows that there is as much strength to motherhood as pursuing a career.

Eliza Scanlen steals every scene as shy musician

LITTLE WOMEN was first published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869, and has been adapted for film seven times. PHOTO COURTESY OF FLIKR

Beth, and the genuine sweetness she brings makes the tragedy of Beth as heartbreaking as ever.

Laura Dern is the film’s rock, which is very fitting for the character Marmee.

Timothee Chalamet portrays boy next door Laurie with a playful eagerness that comes straight from the novel’s pages. And who could forget Meryl Streep, who plays Aunt March as spectacularly as she’s played anything.

The film is as much a love letter to Alcott herself as it is an adaptation of her novel.

Alcott based the story and characters on her real family, and she herself bares many similarities to her protagonist Jo - both were tomboys, writers, and had no desire to get married.

But while she married Jo off in her novel, Alcott herself never married. Through the whole story Jo says she doesn’t want to get married, but she does anyway.

So why then does her heroine go down that path?

The common theory has been that she was pressured by her publisher to end the novel that way, something Gerwig includes in her film.

In the movie, Jo is shown battling with her editor over the end of her story. The editor insists if her main character isn’t married no one will buy her novel. This is juxtaposed with Jo running to her last minute love interest in the rain where they share a romantic moment.

These side-by-side scenes imply that she doesn’t

actually marry her happy ending is her novel being published, her hard work and persistent writing finally being rewarded.

It’s clear the film is not something to be tolerated rather, it is an exceptional piece of art despite it not being the first adaption.

We need stories like “Little Women,” if only so we can escape the harsh, violent world filmmakers love to adapt and lose ourselves in a film that celebrates the bonds of friendship and family, and is a joyful experience instead of disheartening one.

No one says it better than Alcott herself, highlighted as the opening shot of Little Women - “I’ve had lots of troubles, so I write jolly tales.”

Weekly horoscope: what your sign is doing during the caucus Laurel Cramer Staff Writer laurel.cramer@drake.edu

Aries You’re standing on a table in your childhood lunchroom and screaming about how your candidate is the best.

There are veins popping out of your neck as you try to pull the attention to you. You are stubborn and passionate about your opinion and are making sure that the Taurus You are ready to convince the undecided to side with you.

The plan you’ve been working on for the past few days is about to pay off. Whipping out your Tupperware— you are passing out cookies, brownies, and juice. Anything to sweeten the deal with your candidate.

Gemini You drive 40 minutes to caucus in a precinct where no one knows you. You’ve been pretending to support a candidate for months now, even changing your Facebook profile to include one of their themed filters so you’d fit in.

Now in the room of strangers, you feel free to stand in any corner, unjudged.

Cancer You are quickly wiping away tears because you see your crush is caucusing for someone else. You had thought it was a perfect match.

Well, at least you’re the same party. Try not to let it get you down, Cancer. You know the most important thing is that you picked a candidate that was right for you.

Leo You’re 100% ready to endorse your candidate. You come in wearing their campaign

t-shirt, complete with button, hat and even a fanny pack.

There is no way anyone will doubt which team you’re no.

You’re loud and proud in the way you show your candidate some support.

Virgo You’ve done the research, read all the articles, and now the time has come. You feel good about your decision because it wasn’t one you made lightly. You think about how important your vote is to the world.

Libra Libra, you are talking earnestly to every caucuser while taking as many handouts as possible. After touring around each station and seeing what cool free stuff you can ammas, you pick your spot. You knew from the beginning, but it’s more about the journey and the stuff you get along the way.

THE TIMES-DELPHIC The student newspaper for Drake University since 1884 RACHEL JAMES, Editor-in-Chief rachel.james@drake.edu JILL VAN WYKE, Faculty Advisor jill.vanwyke@drake.edu

LEXI MUELLER, Managing Editor lexi.mueller@drake.edu

TARYN RIPPLE, News Editor taryn.ripple@drake.edu

AUTUMN OSIA, Photo Editor autumn.osia@drake.edu

EMMA BRUSTKERN, Features Editor emma.brustkern@drake.edu

MAX BROWN, Digital Editor max.brown@drake.edu

KENDALL HUNT, Sports Editor kendall.hunt@drake.edu CELIA BROCKER, Opinions Editor celia.brocker@drake.edu

PHONG LY, Digital Editor phong.ly@drake.edu VISHVA TUMMALAPALLY Design Editor vishva.tummalapally@drake.edu

ANNA WONDRASEK, Business Manager anna.wondrasek@drake.edu

KIM BATES, Media Manager kim.bates@drake.edu

Scorpio You satellite caucused a while ago. You’re too cool to actually stand in the lines and deal with all of the screaming and shouting. You’re watching the caucus updates while cooking a meal in your robe and face mask at home— a full glass of wine in hand.

Sagittarius You’ve spent some time with every candidate. You just don’t want to feel tied down when there are so many options in Iowa. You think about all the rallies you’ve attended. Sag just pick a side already. The clock’s ticking and once you commit you actually will feel better.

Capricorn There’s one minute till they close the doors, but you just ran up with a proof of address and now are wildly looking around to figure out where you need to go. It’s better late

than never to exercise your political right. We know you care, even if you weren’t the most prepared.

Aquarius You are trying to convince everyone in your corner to hold hands while going around and sharing their favorite fact about their candidate one by one. Security is asking how you managed to get an acoustic guitar into the building and telling you if you play kumbayah you will be forced to leave.

Pisces What’s caucusing? You moved to Fairfield, Iowa and joined the Mariana Williamson cult.

You are sending positive beams to the rest of caucusgoers, though. You and the other happy warriors don’t feel the need to go and fight in society.

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SPORTS

JAN. 29, 2020 | Page 6

SPORTS

Men’s Tennis Starts Season With Tough Lineup

DRAKE MEN’S TENNIS OPENED THEIR SPRING SEASON ON JANUARY 17. The men’s team started strong against Western Michigan, clinching a 4-3 victory over the defending MAC Tournament Champions, but have since fallen to three more top teams, including Northern Illinois, Gonzaga, and Arkansas.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DRAKE ATHLETICS

Erin O’Boyle Contributing Writer erin.oboyle@drake.edu

After back to back wins at the Summit League Championship two years in a row, the Drake Men’s Tennis team began their 2020 season earlier this month at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center in Des Moines.

The Bulldogs are coming into this season with two Summit League Championships under their belt.

Even more impressive is the fact that the Drake Men’s tennis team has only been a member of the Summit League for two years, thus securing their place as top

dogs in this conference since day one.

However, the success of past team does ensure the team’s record going forward.

As every team that has gone before them has done, they must prove themselves match after match.

With only two members of the championship team returning, Barny Thorold and Finley Hall, this year’s team is full of young talent who have the unique opportunity to leave their mark on the Drake tennis program from the very start of their college careers.

The Bulldogs started their regular season play at home on January 17th with a win against Western Michigan.

In Doubles play, Drake clenched the win at No. 3 consisting of freshmen Oliver

Johansson and Matija Matic.

However, No. 1 and No. 2 doubles fell to Western Michigan, giving the Broncos the doubles point and a lead of 1-0 going into singles play.

In an impressive show of strength, the Bulldogs won all singles matches except for the No. 1 singles match.

Their success in the singles portion of the competition, allowed the Bulldogs to claim the overall win with a score of 4-3 over Western Michigan.

Starting off the season with a win, the Drake Men’s tennis team headed into a double header the next day at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.

The first match of the day began at noon against Northern Illinois. Again, freshmen Johansson and Matic were the only team for

Drake to win in the doubles portion of play, thus giving NIU the point.

At No. 2 singles, Johansson defeated his opponent in set scores of 6-3, 6-3. No. 3 singles, junior Finley Hall, was also victorious with set scores of 6-4, 7-5.

Finally, at No. 4 singles sophomore Reid Jarvis finished with set scores of 6-2,6-2. With three wins in singles and the doubles point, NIU gave the Bulldogs their first loss of 3-4.

Later that evening, the Drake tennis team faced Gonzaga at home. The Bulldogs were able to take the doubles point right away with wins at No. 2 Doubles and No. 3 Doubles.

Singles play proved more difficult with three of the six

singles matches going into a third tiebreaker set. The only win in singles play was freshman Oliver Johansson at No. 3 singles. No. 2 singles, No. 4 singles, and No. 6 singles were all sent to a third set as a tiebreaker.

Unfortunately, the Bulldogs all lost their tiebreaker sets, giving Gonzaga the overall win with a score of 5-2.

After their first weekend of regular season play, the Bulldogs finished with a 1-2 record. Going into their second weekend of play and their last weekend before the spring semester begins, the Bulldogs will travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, for matches against Arkansas, Middle Tennessee, and Wichita State.

The End of the Line - Chicago Bears’ Season Concludes

BEARS RECORD AN 8-8 SEASON. Finishing 3rd in the NFC North, the Bears now look ahead for next year’s competition in both the NFD and AFC South Divisions.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKI COMMONS

Gather around, children, as we laugh, cry and remember the Bears season together. It’s what head coach Matt Nagy would have wanted. He didn’t die or anything; there’s just no more Bears football until August. Let’s get caught up.

Previously on Bears football Wow, we haven’t chatted since the Bears played the Lions on Thanksgiving exactly two months ago. How have you been? Now that pleasantries are out of the way, we can dive in.

Let’s see if the Bears performed like I thought they would when I left you in November: “We play the Cowboys, the Packers, the Chiefs and then the Vikings. My guess is that we will barely beat out the Cowboys and beat the Vikings to rule out the season. I think we’ll end 8-8, which won’t totally knock us out playoff contention as long as the rest of the NFC helps us out. Let me

know if you believe differently.”

Pretty good prediction, if I do say so myself.

The first week of December, Chicago hosted the Dallas Cowboys at home and won by a touchdown 31-24. It didn’t end up as close as I thought it would, so kudos to the Bears.

Then, as expected, we took two weeks of losses when we faced the Packers and Chiefs.

Luckily, the Packers aren’t headed to the Super Bowl, so the loss doesn’t hurt as bad when I look back on it.

Then, we finished the season 8-8 by beating the Vikings in Minnesota just like last year. Except this time, we weren’t headed to the playoffs afterward. Bummer. The good news? 8-8 isn’t a losing record.

Take that, haters.

Cleaning house Two days after the season ended — New Years Eve, I might add — the front office said goodbye to four coaches: the

offensive line coach, the tight ends coach, the assistant special teams coach, and most notably, the offensive coordinator who came as a packaged deal with Nagy at the start of the 2018 season. Personally, I think the assistant special teams coach firing was for show, but how do the other firings stack up?

Let’s talk about that for a second. How much blame can we levy onto our offensive coordinators when our quarterbacks play incredibly mediocre football just one year after a playoff run?

Apparently a lot, but I feel bad for the guy. I would have given him one more year and seen if he could work out the kinks with Mitchell Trubisky.

But I don’t have the money.

The axing of the offensive line and tight ends coaches made the most sense to me, as both parties have been experiencing problems for a handful of years now, even before Nagy arrived.

Beefing up the offensive line may help Trubisky both execute in and escape the pocket for more dynamic play next year.

And giving him another open man or two as passing options wouldn’t hurt either, as they figure the TE spot out.

The Pro Bowl The NFC narrowly lost the Pro Bowl last weekend 3338, but three Bears were in attendance including Coradelle Patterson, Kyle Fuller and Eddie Jackson. Thinking there should have been a fourth? You wouldn’t be alone.

Twitter went crazy after WR Allen Robinson II wasn’t selected alongside his teammates. He caught for over 1,100 yards last season, which equates to roughly a third of

all Trubisky yards thrown. It’s not like the Pro Bowl really means anything to viewers like you or me, but announcers and staticians use number of Pro Bowl selections as meat every time. Maybe next year.

What now?

Before we depart, there are a few odds and ends to mention.

As of the middle of this month, Bill Lazor is our new offensive coordinator. Most of his past experience entails serving as a quarterbacks coach, but he has also served in the role of offensive coordinator for both the Cincinnati Bengals and the Miami Dolphins. I have mixed feelings, so I guess we can just wait and see what happens.

Long-time guard Kyle Long retired this month, which didn’t surprise that many. Long has been injury ridden for a couple of years now and needs to take care of himself and heal beyond the football field. He was a staple name, and we will miss his matchups with brother Chris Long from the Eagles.

The NFL 100 team was released as a way to count down to the new year, and the Bears notched 10 of 100 spots on the list; pretty impressive, if you ask me. My favorite pick

was hands-down WR Devin Hester, the player that made me love football as a child. One player I was surprised not to see included was Jay Culter. Just kidding.

Lastly, we are still are roughly three months away from the NFL draft, so now we wait and see how the Bears use their salary cap space come draft time. Expect to see something from me in April.

Maddie’s Monster of the Year It has to go to RB David Montgomery. The rookie was incredible this year, tackling the tough runs like our good friend Matt Forte used to. Plus, he yields from Iowa State, so I have a soft spot for him. Here’s to lots more years in Chicago, David.

See you soon We’re in for an interesting 2020 season as we take on both the NFC and AFC South divisions. As always, we’re hoping for a Super Bowl run, but who knows what will happen between now and then?

If anything crazy goes down, you know you can count on me to let you know sometime this semester.

Thanks for reading, and as always, Beardown.

SPORTS RECAP Men’s Scores

Women’s Scores

Basketball: Beat Missouri State (Record 14-6) Tennis: Fell to Wichita State 1-4 (Record 1-4) Track and Field: Victor Peka won the 60 and 200 meters.

Adam Fog won the 1,000 meter

Basketball: Beat Bradley (Record 13-5) Tennis: Defeated South Dakota 5-2 (Record 2-1) Track and Field: Keaton Kester placed second in the 60 meter