FEATURES
PAGE 5 | THURSDAY, SEPT. 15, 2011
THE TIMES-DELPHIC
SAB presents ‘How-to Tuesdays’ Meagan Flynn
Staff Writer meagan.flynn@drake.edu
On a table lined with Band-Aids, brochures and “how-to” guides, event coordinator Kelly Huting and Student Activities Board representatives made their second “How-to-Tuesdays” debut. The new program, launched this September by SAB, was designed for incoming students just getting used to campus life. Last week’s guide was “how to spice up your space,” which consisted of crafts and decorative dorm room tips. This past Tuesday was “How to live on your own.” Among the brochure tips was showing students how to do laundry. “It’s targeted toward people living on campus,” junior Huting said. “It seems that underclassmen are the ones who have the most adjustments and we wanted to ease that.” SAB came up with the idea in the spring semester and solidified it during the summer. It occurs every Tuesday in September starting at 5 p.m. at the entrance of Hubbell Dining Hall. “I’m really excited for it,” Vice President of SAB Jessica Hamilton said. “It’s an innovative and creative approach to programming.”
Instead of having students sit through a presentation, Huting said they decided to have brochures available at a table so that students could take them as they leave the dining hall. The brochures have been especially successful with last week’s dorm room crafts. “I would say it’s been successful in helping people get ideas about things,” Huting said. “Our aim for the crafts and organization (brochure) was to make (Drake) feel more like home.” Huting designed the program so that it would set up its table during Hubbell’s dinner rush to attract students passing through on their way to eat. According to Hamilton, about 50 students stopped by last Tuesday. “Last week people seemed to enjoy it,” Hamilton said. “It’s a new take that SAB hasn’t done before.” Next week the topic will be “How to stress less.” Huting said this topic seemed suitable since it is around the time that many students will be taking their first big exams. The “stress less” brochures will consist of foods that are good for the brain, soothing music suggestions, how-to guides for yoga and Pilates and a Bell Center schedule to encourage working out to reduce stress.
For now the program will only go through the last Tuesday in September, but Huting said that it may return this spring with improvements. “People have been really receptive to the idea,” Hamilton said. “Hopefully this is something we can do next semester.”
How to... “Stre ss Le ss” @ Hub bell D ining 5-6 p Hall .m.
Prairie is actually a significant part of campus by Catherine Moede
Staff Writer catherine.moede@drake.edu
Drake’s prairie may look like a patch of un-kept weeds, but it is actually a unique educational resource used by many environmental science classes. Located on the north side of Meredith Hall and lying directly across from Cline Hall, the prairie is a visible symbol of natural wildlife on campus. The prairie was started by Nikki Guillot in 2002 as part of the Environmental Taskforce set up by the student government. “We were tasked with drafting proposals for projects that could integrate the environment and academic programs,” Guillot said. The prairie started as a proposed project that would receive funding. After careful researching and planning, it was installed during the fall semester of 2002
with the help of Keith Summerville, assistant professor of environmental science and policy, and Tom Rosburg, professor of biology, among other volunteers. Guillot graduated with a bachelor’s degree in environmental science in 2003. She resides in Lenexa, Kan., working as a stormwater specialist. “I am still passionate about the prairie and bringing the beauty and character of native landscapes to a broader audience,” Guillot said. On Sept. 9, a meeting was held at Drake to discuss the future of the prairie. Among those who attended the meeting were environmental science faculty and students, student senate members and Jolene Schmidt, the director of operations and support services for Drake University. The group discussed the future of the prairie and what could be done to improve the aesthetics. Among the ideas proposed included moving the prairie to another lo-
cation. As it stands, the prairie will stay in its current location, but there are plans to spruce it up a little to make it more visually pleasing. During the discussion it became apparent that faculty and students who are not involved in the environmental science and policy program are generally not aware of the significance of the prairie. Many classes in the environmental science department use the prairie to perform experiments and collect data. Junior Michael Riebel attended the meeting as the buildings and grounds liaison for student senate and was unaware of the educational resources it provided for science students. “Before today I had no idea what the prairie was used for or that it had a significance at all,” Riebel said. “It doesn’t look like much when you are just walking by on campus. Awareness needs to be raised.” In the past few years the prairie has
JOEY GALE | photo editor
Students explore study abroad opportunities by Kelsey Johnson
Staff Writer kelsey.johnson@drake.edu
Students from all academic and personal backgrounds gathered on Monday afternoon to explore study abroad possibilities. Drake’s study abroad program offers students opportunities to travel to over 70 countries through more than 300 unique programs. Jen Hogan, director of study abroad programs, encourages Drake students to go abroad because it is a “great opportunity to stretch their comfort zones academically, personally and professionally.” Jordan Payne, a sophomore international relations and sociology double major, hopes to travel to Chile during the second semester of her junior year. Payne is interested in learning more about Chile’s political system, but overall is most excited about “breaking from the norm.” “I’m a sociology buff and want to break out so I can clearly see our own society,” Payne said. “It’s impossible to really see it from the inside.” Danielle Hefferan, junior environmental science and policy double major, spent last semester working and studying in the Galapagos through the International Partnership for Service-Learning program, which allows students to participate in a volunteer internship on top of taking classes. Hefferan was able to take classes in both biology
and politics while abroad, which correlated with her fields of study. She said her favorite part of her trip had to do with IPSL’s unique volunteer internship. In general, Hefferan thinks students should study abroad to live outside their comfort zones. “(Students) learn how culture works and interact with people from around the world, including the kids from America in your group as well as people you meet while abroad,” she said. “Going makes life a lot more interesting. There is so much more outside our little bubble.” Payne found the study abroad fair helpful. “There was tons of information and lots of opportunities I didn’t know were there, like volunteer work and internships,” she said. “There was a wide range of good information to help students make educated decisions.” Payne also thinks students should utilize all the help Drake provides for students wanting to study abroad. “Jen Hogan is fantastic,” Payne said. “She helps so much and is genuinely excited about your chance. Plus she’s truthful about costs and makes sure you can go.” Hogan hoped students would come to the study abroad fair and realize that there are “tons of possibilities.” “Regardless of your finances or major, study abroad is a possibility,” Hogan said
been somewhat neglected. This school year, however, students and the environmental science faculty members will make a huge effort to clean it up and renew the beauty of the natural wildlife. Rosburg plans to head a committee that will oversee the maintenance of the prairie. Rosburg has contributed to multiple publications concerning wildlife prairies, and in 2009 he was awarded the Prairie Advocate Award by the Iowa Prairie Network. “The prairie represents a natural system,” Rosburg said. “It is not supposed to be 100 percent neat and clean. That’s the educational aspect that we need to show the rest of campus.” Rosburg and the members of the Drake Environmental Action League will work together to clean up the prairie. Plans for the prairie include removing weeds, cutting back the surrounding grass and planting more forbes. Forbes is a type
of plant that is essential to a prairie not only for aesthetics but also to aid in making the soil rich. “Planting more forbes around the edge will make it more like a garden visually,” Rosburg said. The renewal plans will help resolve some of the complaints that have been made about the aesthetics of the prairie. There are also plans to add signs that will explain the historical significance of the prairie so that the Drake community can appreciate the hard work of those who started it and who have maintained it. During Earth Week, DEAL will sponsor activities and include a day devoted to awareness of the prairie.