>>Create your own Homecoming story See Page 8 The
Times-Delphic timesdelphic.com
Monday October 1, 2012
Campus News
Student Senate
Bulldogs DU Can your grade change Good across with a plus or minus? the country Alec Hamilton
Austin Cannon
Staff Writer alec.hamilton@drake.edu
Plus-minus grading may be coming to Drake University, but not in the near future. Bruce Gilbert, a representative from Faculty Senate, gave a short presentation on plus-minus grading to Student Senate on Thursday. The topic was not discussed during the meeting but will be in the upcoming weeks. The topic was briefly explored last year, and surveys sent out among the faculty and staff. More information gathering and discussion is needed, but the topic could come to a vote at Faculty Senate as early as November. Nothing would be implemented until the fall semester of next year. However, only Faculty Senate has the power to formally vote and implement a change, with Student Senate only giving their opinion. Even if Drake chooses to implement plus-minus grading, it would be difficult and wouldn’t be university-
Staff Writer austin.cannon@drake.edu
Luke Nankivell| photo editor
A PLUS-MINUS GRADING SCALE is in the works for Drake University. Faculty Senate is discussing the matter and brought the proposal to Student Senate. wide. “We have no ability to coerce any professor into doing anything in terms of setting their grading standards,” Gilbert said. “If we established plus-minus and a professor used the old system, there’s no way to change that.”
In the next month, expect some type of campus meeting, probably town hall style, as a forum for students and faculty to voice their opinions. Student Senate passed numerous motions Thursday. Senate approved the
establishment of a Drake chapter of the International Trombone Association. The chapter will not collect dues, but it will fundraise to bring numerous musicians to Drake. Advocates for the
>> SENATE, page 2
On Saturday, Sept. 29, cities across the country united to celebrate DU Good Day. Throughout the nation, alumni, family and friends of Drake University came together to volunteer and make a difference. In 2011, over 250 people volunteered at twelve sites in the United States. This year, led by members of the National Alumni Association, there were over 300 volunteers and 13 cities involved with DU Good Day 2012. This year, groups helped with outside organizations through landscaping, construction, picking up litter, cleaning riverbanks, working in food banks and much more. Bryan Klopack, a 2006 Drake graduate, led the event in the Washington, D.C. area, where he and his group assisted an area organization by landscaping and working on necessary home improvements at a local group home.
“We are working with SOME (So Others Might Eat), which is a communitybased organization in the D.C. that offers a comprehensive, holistic approach to caring for the homeless and extremely poor citizens of our city,” Klopack said. Saturday also marked the first-ever DU Good Day in New York City and Los Angeles. In New York, volunteers worked with the Central Park Conservancy, helping keep Central Park clean by picking up litter and trash. The Los Angeles area volunteers worked with the Doris Cantlay Center, an organization that provides services to families in need. Led by 1981 graduate David Beall, volunteers painted the lobby of the center and prepared bags of groceries for distribution. In Chicago, Mary Pat Rooney, a 2008 graduate, linked her education with her current occupation. “I work for a nonprofit here in Chicago and thought
>> DU GOOD, page 2
Campus Events
Overnight event cause for celebration Emily Sadecki
Staff Writer emily.sadecki@drake.edu
Drake University gave students another reason to celebrate Friday night. On Friday from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., Olmsted Center was transformed into an intersection of live entertainment, arts and craft projects, mini-golf and even hip-hop instruc-
tion. The event was free for all students. “The idea is just to get a bunch of different organizations on campus together in a cumulative event,” said sophomore Abbey Barrow, Student Activities Board campus impact member. Represented groups included Alpha Phi Omega, Colleges Against Cancer, SAB, Residence Hall Association
and Habitat Against Humanity. Fellow SAB member, junior Nicole Germann, recognizes a benefit of events like this. “There are a bunch of different organizations here. It is another way for them to market themselves,” Germann said. She also noted
>> CELEBRATE, page 2
Jeremy Leong | staff photographer
STUDENTS LEARN SOME DANCE MOVES (left) at Celebrate Drake on Friday night. A DRAKE STUDENT (above) plays some mini-golf in Olmsted during Celebrate Drake.
Campus Calendar
Check it out>>> Monday > Homecoming Comedian, Josh Wolf > 8 p.m. > Parents Hall North
Wednesday
Tuesday > Homecoming Movie, Hunger Games > 8 p.m. > Helmick Commons
THE TIMES-DELPHIC |TIMESDELPHIC.COM THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER FOR DRAKE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884
> First Year Election Starts > 12:01 a.m. through Wednesday 11:59 p.m. > Blueview
> Homecoming Carnival > 4 p.m. > Helmick Commons
> Men’s Soccer vs. Western Ill. > 7 p.m. > Cownie Soccer Complex
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Drake University, Des Moines Vol. 132 | No. 9 | Oct. 1, 2012