The Times-Delphic (03.07.18)

THE TIMES-DELPHIC Wed., March 7, 2018

Volume 137, No. 19

www.timesdelphic.com

JOHN ALTENDORF of Students for Life pitches why the group deserves be approved. The Student Senate meeting attracted a large crowd of sudents both for and against the formation. PHOTO BY IAN KLEIN | STAFF WRITER

PHOTO BY JAKE BULLINGTON | DIGITAL EDITOR

STUDENT SENATE

Senate approves pro-life group in controversial vote Ian Klein Staff Writer ian.klein@drake.edu

At its weekly meeting on March 2, the student senate voted to approve the creation of a “prolife” organization at Drake.

CLIO CULLISON of Voice for Choice expresses opposition to the formation of the organization Students for Life. PHOTO BY IAN KLEIN | STAFF WRITER

The approval of Drake University Students for Life brought a myriad of praise and concerns from student senators and members of campus organizations whose primary focus is reproductive rights.

Present at the senate meeting were more than 40 individuals that had expressed interest in Drake University Students for Life. Also in attendance at the meeting were representatives from Student Activists for Gender Equality (SAGE) and Drake University Voice for Choice, groups that seek to advocate for choice in regards to reproductive health.

Students for Life had initially met the standards for campus organizations set forth by the Student Affairs Committee, which is led by Student Affairs Sen. Kollin Crompton, before seeking approval from the senate.

Crompton recommended that senators set personal beliefs aside when discussing whether or not Students for Life should be approved.

Similarly, Professor Jennifer McCrickerd, who agreed to be an

adviser for the group but was not in attendance at the meeting, sent a message to student senators that “there is no need for you to set aside your personal beliefs to support this club.” McCrickerd herself does not identify as prolife.

John Altendorf, a first-year student, spoke on behalf of Students for Life in front of the senate. Altendorf shared with senators the group’s mission statement, which says, “Drake University Students for Life club was inspired by a desire to transform our culture into one that upholds the dignity of every human life, from conception until natural death.”

Concerned senators pressed Altendorf to provide more information on the affiliations of Students for Life. The senate motion states that “Students for Life is not associated with any national, statewide or local groups.”

School of Journalism and Mass Communication Sen. Jake Bullington questioned Altendorf on the validity of the clause, noting that Students for Life

uses the same name and logo as the national Students for Life organization.

Altendorf asserted that the club is an independent group.

“We are not affiliated with that group. We can get support from that group if we have questions, because they are kind of the mother-group that started the Students for Life organization,” Altendorf said.

Altendorf said the group may consider receiving “materials and resources” from the national Students for Life group in the future.

The same concern was echoed

by Clio Cullison, co-president of Drake University Voice for Choice, who was in attendance at the senate meeting.

“Students for Life in its national form is pushing misinformation intended to encourage people to join their organization and discourage them from making a safe, legal, medical decision that should be no one else’s choice,” Cullison said.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

CAMPUS NEWS

New concentration allows merger of science and humanities Ashley Flaws Staff Writer ashley.flaws@drake.edu The interdisciplinary study of the humanities and sciences concentration (ISHS) has been introduced this semester as an option for Drake students in addition to their majors and coursework.

The concentration aims to integrate sciences with the humanities and generate discussion about how these disciplines can relate to each other and add to the understanding of each other in the classroom and a real world setting.

Milan Sherman, associate professor of mathematics at Drake, said that this concentration complements the areas of inquiry required at Drake because the goal is to make students more wellrounded in multiple disciplines, but he said this concentration will take students deeper.

“Ultimately, the vision of this program is the vision of Drake,

which is that preparation includes a liberal arts dimension that gives you a broader perspective than simply ‘I know how to code or write a proof or how to solve a math problem,’” Sherman said.

Sherman is one of several professors from disciplines including English, mathematics, chemistry, philosophy and sociology who met for a weeklong brainstorming session during the summer of 2015 to lay the groundwork for this concentration.

The faculty members were able to develop a plan and come up with learning objectives and outcomes, as well as suggest possible courses that could count toward this concentration.

Martin Roth, associate professor of philosophy at Drake and the director of the ISHS concentration, said that this concentration was developed to complement recent STEM initiatives Drake has taken.

“One of the things that inspired not only an exploration into such a concentration but

ultimately its development was this sense that Drake has over the last few years, especially, invested heavily in STEM,” Roth said. “A lot of money is being dedicated toward STEM, and with that is the assumption that it will position Drake to look more attractive to STEM related majors. Students might want to come to Drake to study STEM related topics.”

The ISHS concentration was approved in the fall of 2017, and several courses being offered this semester now have attributes that will count toward the concentration. Roth said it is an 18-credit concentration that will consist of two main courses: ISHS 100, themes in the interdisciplinary study of the humanities and sciences, as an introductory course and ISHS 199, an independent project that each student will take on that will engage them with the interrelation of sciences and the humanities.

The concentration will also require 12 credits of elective courses that have been

identified as counting toward the concentration. These courses include ART 70 or CHEM 70, art and chemistry, MATH 17, spirit of mathematics, and SCSS 178 or HONR 160, gender, technology and embodiment.

Sherman said that by including a variety of disciplines in this concentration, students can develop an appreciation for an area of study outside of their own.

“It comes from a perspective that math is not this static, inert body of formulas and procedures that I think a lot of people have,” Sherman said. “It’s a human creation. We’re creating this; we’re constructing this mathematics. It’s very creative, but a lot of people don’t get that perspective. A course like [MATH 17] is to allow students to understand that perspective of mathematics as well.”

Roth said that although the concentration is just getting started, he hopes it will eventually be a way for students to think about the connections between

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the sciences and humanities throughout their four years at Drake.

“The hope is that students would leave feeling as though they were conversant in a number of science and humanities fields and feel like they can speak intelligently and draw from these different fields and see how they might relate to each other in ways that make a kind of sense that’s illuminating, that’s productive, that’s useful,” Roth said.

If interested in this concentration, students can be on the lookout for ISHS 100, which will be offered at least once a year or for other courses that can count toward the ISHS concentration.

For more information or to officially declare the ISHS concentration, students can contact Roth at martin.roth@ drake.edu to set up a meeting.

02 | news

March 7, 2018

NEWS CAMPUS NEWS

Drake gets accredited by Higher Learning Commission Accreditation status will last for another 10-year period, administrators say Jacob Reynolds News Editor jacob.reynolds@drake.edu @jreyredsox96 Drake has been accredited for an additional ten years by the Higher Learning Commission, according to a Drake press release on Feb. 22.

This process has been going on for the past several years and has been led by English professor Craig Owens and director of institutional research and academic assessment Kevin Saunders. Owens said the motto throughout the process has been “small footprint, big impact.”

“We did our best to integrate the work of accreditation reaffirmation into the routines of individuals, offices, departments and administrative structures already in place at Drake,” Owens said. “While each year, there were approximately 25 individuals whose responsibilities as members of accreditation oversight groups increased significantly.”

Drake provost Sue Mattison said the process was timeconsuming and strenuous for all involved.

“This is an incredibly timeintensive process that requires

input from every unit on campus,” Mattison said. “The product of these past five years is a selfstudy document–an assurance document–that demonstrates with evidence the quality of Drake as a university.”

Members of the HLC went to Drake this past October to examine the institution, which took much preparation ahead of time.

“By fall 2016, we had begun assembling a team responsible for hosting and facilitating the site visit, which required not only working closely with university representatives who would be meeting with the site team visitors, but reserving rooms, arranging transportation and accommodation,” among other things, Owens said.

Mattison also said Drake trustees were involved in the process and showed “solid commitment” to the university’s quality.

Over the past 100 years, Drake has been continuously accredited by a commission.

“To have an external agency validate what we at Drake say is true about the quality of the institution is incredibly meaningful,” Mattison said.

Mattison said the continous accreditation has allowed Drake

to pursue opportunities not afforded to other universities.

Because of Drake’s longstanding strength as an institution, the school was allowed the option to take part in a unique aspect of the accreditation process called the Quality Initiative (QI), Mattison said. The QI is an opportunity for the campus to try a high-risk initiative.

“The university developed a plan to address a pervasive problem that challenges all of higher education and society at large to create a more welcoming and inclusive campus through self-assessment and thoughtful change,” Mattison said.

One result from this has been the creation of Dr. Erin Lain’s position, Associate Provost for Student Equity and Inclusion, and she “has been working to develop infrastructure and processes to support increased diversity and a more welcoming campus,” Mattison said.

Overall, the HLC praised Drake for its reputation as a mission-driven university with an excellent reputation, strong academic programs, committed and accomplished faculty and dedicated staff. It also made mention of the sound and transparent fiscal stewardship,

improved initiatives in the area of diversity and inclusion, and improvements in communication, transparency and accountability.

A couple of areas the HLC noted Drake could improve on are the process of record-keeping pertaining to performance reviews and employee qualifications, for which Mattison said a plan “is being developed, and progress will be reported to the HLC.” The HLC’s approval for the accreditation of Drake is important in a couple of ways, Mattison said.

“Reaffirmation of accreditation

is external validation that the University is meeting high standards of institutional practice,” she said.

Owens echoed similar sentiments.

“It’s impossible to overstate the importance of comprehensive institutional accreditation, particularly at a time when students, their family, and governments are so keenly examining the quality of America’s institutions of higher education,” Owens said.

DRAKE UNIVERSITY’S banner in front of the Old Main building is displayed.

PHOTO BY HILARY PADAVAN | PHOTO EDITOR

CAMPUS NEWS

Mold problems bother, displace students in residence halls Cheyann Neads Contributing Writer cheyann.neads@drake.edu Moving into a college dorm calls for organizational bins, new roommate conversations and sometimes, in Drake’s case, a mold inspection.

Drake University residence halls have so far experienced 15 reported incidents since the beginning of the fall 2017 semester, causing many students to move into other dorm rooms throughout the 2017-2018 academic year.

The growth of the natural fungi occurs when moisture, air and an organic matter (wood, paper or fibers) combine, said Drake’s

director of environmental health and safety Chris Nickell, who has been in the position since August 2015.

“Our staff takes concerns over potential mold growth seriously.

As part of our protocol, I am notified of any mold complaints and ensure a visual inspection occurs,” Nickel said in an email.

“If present, the mold is removed using a special process for mold remediation that my office has approved.

The appropriate treatment includes removal using a biocide, which eliminates bacteria, viruses and fungus and acts as a growth inhibitor.”

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, health effects and

symptoms associated with mold exposures include allergic reactions, asthma and other respiratory complaints.

The Office of Residence Life decides whether or not the student has the option to move rooms, whether that be to another floor or to an entirely different residence hall. The decisions are made on a case by case basis while a lot of factors are considered, Nickell said.

In some cases, students have experienced moving dorm rooms at semester due to the mold in their rooms. First-year news and graphic design double major Nick Ellis is one of the few.

“It was cold outside, hot in our room and the curtain was

down, so it was hot and cold with no air flow, so evidently that’s the perfect condition to produce mold,” Ellis said.

With black mold appearing in his window two weeks before fall semester finals, Ellis said he quickly reported the incident and received help from Drake to move up from the ground floor of Herriott Hall.

“The employee took a picture of it, filed a report to get it get it taken care of, and then I was told to move to the fourth floor for spring semester,” Ellis said.

Another student, first-year journalism student Ryan LeFort, has come in contact with mold growth twice, with the first time causing a move.

“Honestly I don’t know where else I can go at this point, and I already moved once and am already settled in. … I just don’t think it’s a good idea to keep moving room to room finding places to go, because it looks like it (the mold) is just going to follow me wherever I go,” LeFort said.

With another incident of mold growth appearing on his window, LeFort said he is going to be reaching out to Drake to report it to receive a room cleaning.

“I honestly don’t think that the university is doing a bad job of handling the problem. I think it’s more so just a big problem that we’re not very well equipped for,” LeFort said.

NATIONAL NEWS

Online therapy tries to curb stigma of mental health Maddie Topliff Staff Writer maddie.topliff@drake.edu A New York-based mental health care provider is taking on traditional therapy, making counseling more accessible for college students while simultaneously challenging the stigmas that comes along with counseling.

Last August, co-founders Brandon and Cassie Christensen launched Modern Therapy, a “telehealth” service that allows

professional help to be only a text, email or call away.

Cassie comes from a background of private practice, a background that made her realize there was a more efficient way to communicate with patients that varied from traditional sit-down sessions.

Private practice therapy is also expensive, Brandon said. Outof-pocket costs have the ability to easily run $80-$250 an hour.

Modern Therapy, on the other hand, starts at $25 per week for unlimited emails and text messages. The low costs happen

THERAPY is typically associated with a notebook and pen. However, an online therapy typically ditches these instruments and instead uses emails and text messages. PHOTO BY MADDIE TOPLIFF | STAFF WRITER

to align perfectly with the ideals of the company.

“Our mission as a company is to make mental healthcare more affordable, more accessible, and a little less scary,” Brandon said.

Accessibility can become an obstacle right away with private practice. Cassie mentioned that it can take anywhere from two weeks to around a month in order to get started. With Modern Therapy, individuals can start working with a therapist within 48 hours.

College students may need that heightened accessibility, and Modern Therapy has been able to assist with that.

“It really opened my eyes when I started working with my college kids back on a weekly basis,” Cassie said, addressing that long breaks in treatment caused by school weren’t beneficial to her college clients’ ideal mental health progress.

One of the largest misconceptions about therapy is the clientele, historian of Drake University’s To Write Love On Her Arms Sarah Antongiovanni said.

“Anyone at any time in their life can go through any of these issues, and it doesn’t mean that there’s something wrong with you,” Antongiovanni said. “A lot

of times it’s the idea that if you’ve asked for help, you’re weak.”

Dr. Greg Lengel, a psychology professor at Drake, said that these stigmas come from lack of education in addition to one’s personal backgrounds and beliefs.

“I believe much of the stigma related to seeking help for mental health issues stem from a few issues,” Lengel said. “First, there is a lack of information and accurate media portrayals of mental illness and psychotherapy. In addition, personal, familial, and cultural beliefs and norms can shape and bias one’s opinion about mental health treatment. For example, someone who believes that a depressed or anxious male should “man up” and “deal with it” on his own might stigmatize someone seeking help—or, if personally affected by depression or anxiety, might avoid seeking help or self-medicate in a maladaptive manner.”

Both on-campus organizations like TWLOHA and off-campus companies like Modern Therapy are both available to help combat stigmas and assist Drake students in dealing with whatever problems they find themselves facing, whether they have a diagnosable mental illness or not.

“There’s a lot of people who could benefit from (therapy) who

haven’t tried it because they think that you need to be mentally ill in order to work with a therapist,” Brandon said. “And that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Although the online therapy format is still a new practice, there is published research that proves its effectiveness. 9,764 clients participated in a study published in Volume 26 of the Journal of Technology of Human Services, stating that the effects of face-toface therapy and online therapy were found to be “quite similar.”

The Journal also states that the studies and review of similar academic work “provide strong support for the adoption of online psychological interventions as a legitimate therapeutic activity and suggest several insights in regard to its application.”

“For anyone who’s never tried therapy, it’s a great way to get your feet wet,” Brandon said.

“I would absolutely encourage students of Drake University to give it a try.”

Cassie agreed.

“No one is ever alone in feeling like sometimes school is a little too much for them to deal with.”

Brandon said to visit moderntherapy.online to learn more information.

news | 03

March 7, 2018

NEWS CAMPUS NEWS

Journalism school Snapchat gives branding to Meredith Abbey Fouts Contributing Writer abbey.fouts@drake.edu Although social media is primarily used for entertainment, Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communications has found a way to utilize this growing trend for the benefit of its students: a Drake SJMC Snapchat.

Like that of an individual Snapchat account, the Drake SJMC account is used as a way of communicating with other students on a platform already being utilized.

Chris Snider, associate professor specializing in social media, founded the program in 2015.

“We just wanted another way to reach students and to really kind of see if we could get students to follow us there,” Snider said.

The Drake SJMC Snapchat connects current and prospective students with events occurring on the Drake campus and in Meredith Hall.

“For the most part, we try to be entertaining, but know that occasionally there is something important that we could put out there,” Snider said.

Autumn Meyer, senior writing and digital media production major, has been working for the

Drake SJMC Snapchat for a year.

As one of the main faces on the Snapchat account, Meyer has been recognized around campus as the “Snapchat Girl” and has even had a fan in Chicago. “(The Drake SJMC Snapchat) has given me experience with social media, which is a relevant thing in today’s culture,” Meyer said.

The Snapchat account works on producing at least one snap story every week, as to encourage student participation in activities.

Story ideas are created by students involved in the Snapchat team, including Kylee Bateman, Luc Pham and Malik Metivier, during meetings or by Snider himself, wanting to cover a specific topic such as holidays or special events occurring on campus. Snapchat is known for being spontaneous, so scripts are usually not written when filming these stories.

“Since it’s not live, you can try it any number of times,” Meyer said.

Typically, the snap stories start with a selfie, an introduction of the topic and then work their way into engaging with students and professors asking them relevant questions about the story being filmed.

“You might get a chance to be featured on it and people all over campus will see,” Meyer said.

Mackenzie Ekern, first year

public relations and writing major, started following the Drake SJMC Snapchat during Welcome Weekend.

“It has lots of humor and so when I’m going through my day, I can just go on the Snapchat and watch it,” Ekern said.

One of the most popular stories featured in past posts

was that of a professor ugly selfie contest, where professors would try to take as ugly of a selfie as they could.

“We’d pit one against the other,” Snider said, believing it to be a humorous way to engage students and faculty members.

Students wanting to get involved in the Drake SJMC

Snapchat can email Snider directly, providing examples of videos recorded by the student or video ideas. Neither of the two materials are required for submission, as Snider is willing to work with anyone wanting to be a part of the team.

A POSTER IN MEREDITH HALL tells students to check out the social media pages for the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, which includes Snapchat. PHOTO BY JACOB REYNOLDS | NEWS EDITOR

STUDENT SENATE

Pro-life organization approved 15-5; on-campus parking also discussed CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “The words that Students for Life perpetuate mean the difference between being educated and making an uninformed medical decision for students based on misinformation, fear and not science,” Cullison continued.

Senators expressed concern for the potential for religiouslymotivated messages and how the group will respond to criticism from the public.

Community Outreach Sen. Bakari Caldwell, who was not present for the meeting, had a pre-written statement for the senate regarding the group.

“Any organization or office or student which plans to limit the voices and choices of the

women at our school and the women within our community does not align with what I read the various mission statements, vision statements and inclusion statements on campus to say,” Caldwell wrote.

Caldwell’s sentiments resonated with other senators who were concerned that the Students for Life group would be less inclusive for women.

Lauren Carroll, who is a firstyear student and was present at the meeting, supports Students for Life.

“I think this organization can provide education to people from a perspective that isn’t always heard on campus,” Carroll said.

“The goal of this organization is not to press beliefs on anyone else, but to simply allow others who

are interested the opportunity to take a look at perspectives other than their own on issues as

“I think anyone on Drake’s campus should be able to advocate for their beliefs.”

Kollin Crompton Student Senator

controversial as this.”

Crompton concurred

with

Carroll’s thoughts.

“I think anyone on Drake’s campus should be able to advocate for their beliefs, as long as they stay within the code of conduct,” he said. “I value diversity on Drake’s campus, and sadly we saw that not everyone does. Diversity includes diversity of thought.”

The Senate voted 15-5 in favor of approving the club.

In other senate news, Director for Campus Public Safety Scott Law, gave senators updates regarding campus parking. Law said the University is “four years behind on maintenance for most of our parking lots” and that the cost of a parking pass will need to increase in order to fund these maintenance procedures. Law also noted that parking fees have

not changed since 2008.

The current plan is to have a graduated increase in parking passes over a three-year span.

Commuter parking rates would increase from $160 per year currently to $250 per year in 2021, while resident parking rates would increase from $250 per year in 2019 to $275 per year in 2021.

The parking committee at Drake will meet next week, and Law asked that students email him with any questions or concerns regarding parking which can be incorporated in the discussion at the meeting.

Student Senate meets weekly on Thursday nights at 9 p.m. in Room 201 of Cowles Library.

04 | opinions

March 7, 2018

OPINIONS ALBUM REVIEW

Haley Heynderickx’s debut album is beautiful, ethereal folk

“I NEED TO START A GARDEN” is the debut album from self-proclaimed “doom folk” singer-songwriter Haley Heynderickx. The record was recorded and distributed by Mama Bird Recording Company. PHOTO TAKEN FROM MAMA BIRD RECORDING COMPANY

Parker Klyn Opinions Editor parker.klyn@drake.edu @parkerklyn I could’ve sworn it was a harp. The deft string-plucking of Portland folk singer-songwriter Haley Heynderickx is heavenly, almost to the point that we can imagine her as an old-fashioned Greek painting of a woman with a lyre or an Egyptian carving of the town lutist.

In reality, the instrument is simple classical guitar, but it’s played with such elegance that

the listener is transported to an Enlightenment tavern or a Rocky Mountain campground, depending on the song.

Heynderickx’s debut album, “I Need To Start A Garden”, is filled with moments of such intense beauty that it can be almost difficult to listen to. The instrumentals are spare, as Heynderickx finds power in the negative space between guitar and vocals.

She calls it doom folk, which is interesting, because I don’t hear much despondence or despair in her songs. I believe she gets that term from the fact that these songs aren’t here to necessarily comfort the listener with accessible chord progressions and sticky hooks; they are meant to challenge the listener with music that is meant to be focused on.

Opener “No Face” is a track with palpable vulnerability. “Face me entirely, tell me what’s wrong here,” Heynderickx pleads; she wonders if it’s the “bridge of her nose”, the “backs of her skin”, or the “pull of her hips”

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that’s causing a disconnect with someone she cares about. This cut, and many others on the album, are reminiscent of some of the more grounded moments in seminal singer-songwriter Bat For Lashes’ discography.

Others evoke early Bon Iver, with their mix of organic and synthetic instrumentation coupled with impressionistic, curious lyrics. “The Bug Collector” has these beautiful, tangible horn passages and rubbery string bass, and Heynderickx is deft with her songwriting on this track; blissful harmonies happen, but only for one word at a time (“morning”, “evening”). By resisting a potential urge to spread those harmonies out, the chorus becomes much more rewarding.

Heynderickx even deals with modern classical and ambient vocal music. “Show You a Body,” a particular highlight, glides along with ethereal piano arpeggios that remind me of recent Brian Eno. In contrast, “Untitled God Song” is very tangible and grounded; it sounds

like Heynderickx is closing down a bar with her somber tale. It’s a bona fide torch song, complete with a pained instrumental breakdown reflecting her inner conflicts in trying to identify who her God really is.

Occasionally, the sparseness of the music makes engagement difficult. “Jo” meanders along with an almost emo-style guitar line, but it only really sticks when the bass and percussion is inserted into the mix. Album centerpiece “Worth It”, an eightminute double track, took a few listens to really apply itself, especially after the up-tempo first half is replaced by a much more low-key instrumental passage that takes over five minutes to resolve itself.

It almost feels as if Heynderickx gains musical confidence as the album moves forward. Doowop throwback “Oom Sha La La” sticks out from her usual composed nature. The chorus is pure soul bliss, as the four-part harmonies remind me of early Fleet Foxes. Heynderickx has

been very open with her struggles in finishing this album, and when that anxiety comes to a head, she finds another solution. “I need to start a garden!” she screams at the album’s climax, giving the record its title, “because making this song up is just as hard.”

That’s funny, because aside from that moment, the album’s unassuming eighttrack, 31-minute runtime and Heynderickx’s elegance in her vocals and arrangements would make the listener believe that this was a record that required decision-making on cut tracks, not extra effort to fill out the tracklist.

It’s clear that Heynderickx is a perfectionist, but not in the way that we might think singersongwriters would be. Instead of paining over the perfect lyric or the prettiest chord, “I Need To Start A Garden” focuses on evoking a feeling, a mood, a place.

That’s what folk music is about.

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opinions | 05

March 7, 2018

OPINIONS FILM REVIEW

New Netflix film “Mute” shows promise, but lacks cohesion Since then Jones has directed three other movies, none of which are nearly as good as his debut.

Source Code came out in 2011, and I thought had potential and some good moments, but didn’t do anything with it. Warcraft (2016) was passable at best, though I admit I was not the ideal audience, as I have played very little of the game. And, of course, “Mute” was released on Feb. 23 to immense critical failure.

But I cannot say that I agree with all the panning that “Mute” is getting, but for some reason, I’ve been having a lot of trouble trying to describe my thoughts on this film. I have plenty of opinions, but it’s not like other movies where I can easily put those opinions to paper.

I’ll admit, there were some major glaring problems. The world in which this movie takes place is almost entirely

Leo McGrath Contributing Writer leo.mcgrath@drake.edu

Netflix’s track record with their original movies has been undeniably poor. Out of over 50 movies, there are only two I’ve seen that I would consider well-made; those being Okja and Beasts of No Nation. For the most part, I don’t get too upset about Netflix making bad movies, since they have plenty of other content always at the ready.

But recently they released an original that I was truly invested in. This movie was “Mute”. It is about a man without the ability to speak who must traverse through the underbelly of a neo-futuristic Berlin to find his lost girlfriend.

There was one reason I was excited for this movie, and one reason alone: it was set up as a spiritual successor to my favorite movie of all time, “Moon”.

For those of you who don’t know, “Moon” is a 2009 science fiction film about a man serving alone on a lunar station that provides the majority of Earth’s energy. It was the first film

by Duncan Jones, who both wrote and directed it, and it was received to overall praise, though little commercial success, only barely breaking even on its budget of five million dollars.

“MUTE” is the fourth feature film from director Duncan Jones. It was released to Netflix on February 23. PHOTO TAKEN FROM NETFLIX

unexplained. It likely takes place sometime around the year 2060, as its events occur a short time after those of “Moon.” “Moon”’s technology felt futuristic, but also worn, and it never felt obtrusively different than what we can see today.

But the technology in “Mute” is far more advanced. It ended up feeling more like a successor to “Blade Runner” than “Moon.”

This makes sense in the story, as the characters are on the massively populated Earth, rather than the next-to-uninhabited “Moon”.

The characters themselves were mostly well done. The main character, Leo, is played by Alexander Skarsgård, and though he is my least favorite Skarsgård, I thought he played his part well.

The only other big name actor was Paul Rudd, playing one of the most unlikable characters he has ever done.

The story of “Mute” is a fairly common one, where a man has to go fight a bunch of people to find his loved one. But, personally, I found that it played on this story in positive ways.

Take the action, for example.

Most movies that follow this basic plot are likely to feature a lot of intense action, like Taken or Sleepless. “Mute”, on the other hand, shows almost no gratuitous scenes of people punching or shooting each other. Any acts of violence by Leo are a result of either pure necessity or pure rage, which serves to make his character motivation far more relatable.

Which, for a character who cannot speak, is a hard thing to do. Obviously, all of his character development was provided either by those around him or his actions and mannerisms.

And Leo was already a complex character. The movie is set in a

technologically advanced future, but Leo is Amish, and tends to shy away from the devices that define his time. But over the course of the movie, as he becomes increasingly desperate to find his girlfriend, he finds himself becoming more and more dependent on technology, up until the point where he becomes one with the machine.

What I appreciated most about “Mute” was the fact that Leo was not portrayed as supremely capable person. Though not helpless, he does not display the prowess of John Wick or Liam Neeson. Also, he is clearly not familiar with the people and places he was forced to find over the course of the movie. It allowed the viewer to learn things at the same time as Leo, and not need any excessive exposition.

By far my biggest complaint with “Mute” is the same reason that I was drawn to it in the first place. It is set in the same universe as “Moon”, and it is easy to see for those who have watched both movies. But the problem is that it the fact that they are in the same world does not impact either story. Scenes with any information regarding “Moon” are basically just easter eggs, and it only made me think of a better movie that could have been made.

I really wanted to like “Mute”.

I’ve been waiting for this movie for years, and watching Jones fail several times only made me want to like it more. Like Source Code, it had a lot of promise, but was ultimately unable to put it all to good use. If nothing else, I was entertained by it, and I found enough good in it to maybe give it another shot in the future.

SPORTS

Drake women’s basketball players epitomize “student-athlete”

Katie Moon Contributing Writer katherine.moon@drake.edu

The talent that has been on the Drake Women’s basketball team for the past two years has been incredible. With back to back undefeated conference seasons, the team has definitely proven that they are worthy of going back to the NCAA tournament. These have been seasons for the record books.

After the Loyola Chicago win, the Bulldogs have now won 39 consecutive MVC regular season games. This represents the longest conference winning streak over the MVC/Gateway conference eras.

While I was growing up, I went to Drake Women’s Basketball Camp every summer for several years. When you’re a camper, you look up to the players and practically idolize them.

The young girls that have been going to camp for the past few years have some amazing young women to look up to.

Head coach Jennie Baranczyk joined Drake Women’s basketball before the 2012-13 season began. Hired into the program as the youngest Division I head coach seemed risky but it turned out to be a genius move by the University. She relates well to student athletes in this age range.

She really shaped the program and used the ladies’ talents and created a style of basketball that the fans love.

Baranczyk, a wife and mom of three kids, is family-centered.

At away games, she is sure to let the players spend time with their families. She consistently emphasizes the importance of family, and sometimes brings her husband and three kids along with her on away trips. Baranczyk’s children add humor and joy to the atmosphere during long bus trips and meals. They have developed close relationships with all of the players.

In addition to being great athletes, the Drake Women’s Basketball team are amazing humans. They are just as smart off the court as they are on the court. Even more, they are some of the nicest young women you will ever meet.

Throughout their successful seasons, they remain down to earth and humble. They continue to work hard academically and know their grades won’t just be handed to them. In the 201617 season, the team GPA was a robust 3.6, ranked 9th in Division I. Sara Rhine has been an amazing asset for Drake Women’s Basketball the past few seasons.

She averages 15.3 points per game, 6 rebounds per game and an 80 percentage free throw percentage. Rhine was named Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year in 2016, a title that has been won by a Drake Women’s Basketball player every single year since 2014.

Last year, Becca Hittner was also named Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year. She averages 15.4 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per game, and an 87.4 free throw percentage. She has also started all 28 of the games she has played in.

Other stand-out players include freshman point guard Maddie Monahan, sophomore swingman Brenni Rose, sharpshooter Paige Greiner (the lone senior) and consistent post presence Becca Jonas.

One thing that is reflected in both the men’s and women’s basketball teams is their enthusiasm. Because they are all so passionate about the game, they get excited when something happens, whether it helps or hurts them. Baranczyk is as active as any of the players with her intensity.

At the end of each game, the players are given two to three minutes to thank everyone for coming. They go into the crowd to hand out high-fives and even have short conversations with the fans. They are always sure to remember what the fans do for them.

There’s only one more obstacle in the way of their secondstraight NCAA Tournament berth. Despite their pristine conference record, they still likely have to win the Missouri Valley conference tournament in Moline, IL to advance to the

NCAA tournament, where they are projected as a 14 seed by ESPN’s Bracketology.

Still, since they’ve dominated the conference recently, they are the clear favorites. To the Drake Women’s Basketball Team: thank you for being such amazing student-athletes, and good luck during the conference tournament.

DRAKE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL has now won a Missouri Valley record 39 straight conference games. They will play the winner of Valparaiso and Loyola on Friday. PHOTO BY MADDIE TOPLIFF | STAFF WRITER

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March 7, 2018

OPINIONS TV REVIEW

Netflix’s “Queer Eye” reboot is as good as reality TV gets

Parker Klyn Opinions Editor parker.klyn@drake.edu @parkerklyn “Last time, we were fighting for tolerance; this time, we’re fighting for acceptance.” This proclamation is one of the first things we hear out of the new Fab Five, from the reboot of “Queer Eye”.

The original, from 2003, with its extended title “Queer Eye For The Straight Guy”, was a cultural phenomenon. It had millions of viewers, and many of the original Fab Five became stars as a result.

It was really one of the first times that gay men were not only allowed into the cultural zeitgeist, but embraced as funny, caring and ultra-charismatic.

While this new Fab Five doesn’t quite reach those heights, the stories that “Queer Eye” produces are much more tangible and heartfelt this time around. “Queer Eye”’s premise goes like this: straight men are “nominated” by their friends and family to receive transformations (read: makeovers) from the Fab Five, a group of gay men.

Each of the Fab Five has their specialty: Bobby is the interior design expert, Karamo talks about life choices and confidence, Antoni teaches how to cook, Tan picks out the wardrobe and Jonathan is in charge of grooming.

They all play their roles really well, but the best moments come when multiple members are together; their charisma and energy turns scenes like

mattress shopping and beginner boxing training into can’t-miss television.

Like the original “Queer Eye”, these men are far and away the best parts of the show. As the season progresses, we begin to see individual traits stand out, and they develop just as well as they would on a good sitcom.

Karamo, who seems kind but generic at first, opens up about a police prank that goes wrong, creating one of the most fascinating scenes in an instant.

Tan relates to a fellow South Asian man as they laugh about their strict immigrant parents.

Jonathan – easily the show’s highlight, with his beautiful long hair and piercing eyes – starts off seeming like he might end up cringeworthy or too extra, but his unrelenting positivity and support is genuinely uplifting.

The best example is in the season premiere, where we meet Tom, a 57-year-old overweight car enthusiast from rural Georgia.

He’s a guy that everyone around him adores, but he just doesn’t have the motivation or confidence to take care of himself. “Y’all might be able to dress me up, but you can’t fix ugly,” is Tom’s refrain.

Yet when his beard is being styled and skin care products are being provided for him, Jonathan tells him, straight-up, that he looks “sexy.” And Tom believes it. That’s a near-impossible thing to do to someone who said that he hadn’t had self-confidence in about 12 years.

The subjects on the eightepisode season are varied; it would have been easy to take eight generic, middle-aged white dudes and transform them as best they could. Young and old, rich and poor, the subjects are more diverse than on the show’s original run. But a common refrain between all of them is that they are so sad to see the Fab Five leave after they are done. That means they did their job.

A lot has changed in the last 15 years. According to the Pew Research center, support for gay marriage has literally doubled

since the show’s original run, from 30 percent of adults to 62 percent.

So, with this change, what is the role of a show like “Queer Eye”?

Getting away from questions about the “necessity” or “essentiality” of art (“Queer Eye” is, after all, a reality show), it is easy to wonder why we needed another show that exclusively painted gay men as having traditionally feminine traits.

But these men are varied.

Karamo is an amateur boxer.

Bobby is an expert in carpentry.

They may dress impeccably and be open about their sexualities, but the fact that these men are gay is rarely the focus of the show.

That’s the goal, right?

Representation shouldn’t mean patronizing tokenism. It should mean accepting, without even thinking about it, that these people are just that: people.

Despite our progression in society, some of the subjects in

this show talked about how they didn’t have any queer friends; one had never even knowingly talked to a gay person before.

“Queer Eye” proves that reality television can be essential art; the real moments, those that aren’t scripted, are funnier and more heartfelt than any screenplay.

“QUEER EYE” is a reboot of the early-aughts reality show “Queer Eye For The Straight Guy.” It was released on Netflix on February 7th. PHOTO TAKEN FROM NETFLIX

POLITICS

Effective gun control exists not in a ban, but in the details

Ellie Hilscher Contributing Writer ellie.hilscher@drake.edu

On this past Valentine’s day, the biggest school shooting of

this year occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Nikolas Cruz, 19, slaughtered 17 people. Both students and staff were included.

I was devastated by this news as soon as it came out. Yet, at the same time thinking “here it goes again.” Why is this becoming a new normal? In fact, why has this been a “new normal” for the past few years? I personally am against guns, but please note this does not mean that I want to ban them.

I’m growing up in an era where students can go buy a gun anywhere. They can use those guns for harm and destroy lives.

Children have been killed, and will never see their parents again.

Do people not understand that?

Why haven’t we drawn the line?

In 2015 alone, there were 372 shootings that killed 475 people and wounded another 1,870. Fast forward to this year.

There have been 18 school shootings in the U.S. since the start of the year.

This does not include the recent shooting at Central Michigan University which left two dead. People want to politicize this subject, yet shouldn’t the fact that children should go to school safely just be a common rule for both parties? Our world is going backwards in history.

This isn’t an issue that deals with just people with mental health issues, this deals with

everyone and anyone who can buy an automatic weapon. This is about making those automatic weapons, and bump stocks extremely hard to get.

Age is also a huge factor in my opinion. People should be at least 21 to access a gun. We can’t drink until 21, so why should we be able to buy weapons that can be used in a mass shooting? That just doesn’t make sense.

I get the fact that some people enjoy shooting guns, but they can use any other kind besides the AR-15 or an automatic rifle for target shooting.

AR-15’s have been seen and traced as the weapon of choice in mass shooting scenarios, but we still have easy access to them? I’m

not saying ban the guns.

I’m saying how about we put as much effort as we do into buying a new car and approving that, but with guns. Have them do tests, multiple safety units, and stop selling AR-15’s.

I do believe AR-15’s should be banned, but not all guns. I wanted to rephrase that so people understand that. Republican, democrat, or independent – our kids should be safe at public schools. We can’t have any more children die. It’s 2018, and we desperately need change.

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March 7, 2018

FEATURES POLITICS

The state of the gun control, safety debate at Drake Caitlin Clement Staff Writer caitlin.clement@drake.edu Drake University is known for its political voice on topics discussed in government, but with the recent gun control debate following the Florida shooting, the campus atmosphere around the subject has been a mixed debate.

Ryan Skotzke, a member of Drake College Republicans, said most of the debate on gun control he’s seen in the news and media has come from extremists in both the Democratic and Republican Parties.

“It seems that the extreme sides are the ones that are talking the loudest,” Skotzke said. “It’s either ban all the guns or give guns to all the teachers, and neither of which I think are a really great solution.”

There hasn’t been much public opinion raised about the situation on Drake’s campus recently.

Conversations on the topic seem to happen in more private settings among friends as there is no current activism on campus for this issue.

Josh Hughes, a member of the political organization Drake Democrats, is pro-gun control and believes to lower gun violence the nation needs a proposed ban on assault weapons nationally.

“It’s something that our country has done before in the late ‘90s. We banned all assault

weapons nationwide and we saw crime and murder rates all drastically drop because of that, because it works,” Hughes said.

Skotzke gives what he believes to be the general stance on the issue within Drake College Republicans although it a topic they are still mulling over as a group.

“I think for a lot of us [College Republicans] our stance is to sort of maintain the status quo,” Skotzke said . “Keep protecting the Second Amendment, enforce the laws we have on the books and do those sorts of things.”

Iowa law states that all those who wish to carry a gun must obtain a “permit to carry,” which includes background checks of the individual and the completion of a firearm safety training.

Josh Dorsch, President of Young Americans for Liberty on campus, got more into the problems he found in the statistical data and statements made in the media surrounding this national debate. He started off by bringing up the debate that gun culture leads to higher homicide rates.

“If you look at the countries and states with high rates of guns per capita or high gun ownership rates they actually have lower gun homicide rates,” Dorsch said.

Dorsch identifies as utilitarian before he is a rights supporter, believing that natural rights and individual liberties maximize overall utility.

“I don’t start with the idea

that we all have natural rights and [because] gun rights is one of them, therefore we can’t pass gun control,” said Dorsch. “[Instead] I say that gun control would fail and has failed and that’s why I am against it.”

When asked about how they feel towards their overall safety on Drake’s campus in relation to possible gun violence and active shooter situations, both Dorsch and Skotzke felt unsure of Public Safety’s ability to protect the students in such an event with Drake’s no gun policy.

Hughes opinion differed in that Drake’s no gun policy was the best course of action the university could take without investing a substantial amount of funding and take away from the education students would receive. He does not think this course of action is the solution to total prevention of gun violence.

“We can’t just have these gun free zones in a gun country, we need to have a gun free country where people don’t have access to these weapons of mass murder,” Hughes said.

Scott Law, the Executive Director of Campus Public Safety, gave the rundown of what procedures have been put in place at Drake in response to recent shootings and gun violence in the U.S. When Law first arrived on campus five years ago, Drake already had an active shooter protocol that is federally recognized as Run, Hide, Fight­: a

plan implemented in many high schools across the country as well. In the last couple of years, in response to recent shootings, Drake has increased its active shooter training with faculty and staff.

“Drake’s done a lot to develop our active shooter protocol and policy. We work closely with the Des Moines Police Department… we have a substation right behind us. Thursday, Friday, Saturday evening we have a Des Moines police officer on campus dedicated to the campus,” Law said.

On duty Des Moines police officers are allowed to carry firearms on campus. In addition, the local police perform drills and walk-throughs of the schools to familiarize themselves with the best exits and entrances of each building and the layout in the event of an emergency. This gives them a three to five minute reaction time to emergencies on campus.

Law also mentioned a long term, 18-month planning process during J-term of 2019.

They plan on performing an emergency response drill on campus. However, this would not specifically be in response to an active shooter. It would only test Drake’s response in an emergency situation.

“As far as gun violence specifically, at Drake we have a procedure with the introduction of our card access system, which we did four and a half years ago, we have the ability to lock the

campus down at the push of a button,” Law said.

Law is working continuously with Marty Martin to improve and update the procedures and drills Drake has put in place in the event that gun violence or an active shooter were to occur on Drake’s campus.

POLITICS

Drake, Iowa political leaders respond to gun legislation Maddie Topliff Staff Writer maddie.topliff@drake.edu In Iowa, the Republican Party currently harnesses control of the House of Representatives, Senate and governor seat. However, Iowa also remains as one of only six states in the country that does not explicitly state the right to bear arms in its state constitution. The other five states are Minnesota, California, Maryland, New Jersey and New York, a list that isolates Iowa as the only state that voted red in the 2016 election.

However, Iowa legislators may soon have their chance to amend the constitution.

Iowa Rep. Matt Windschitl (R, District 17) is currently managing House Joint Resolution 13, which was introduced to the House and referred to the Judiciary committee on April 3, 2017. The joint resolution bill proposes to amend Article I of the state’s constitution.

The proposed addition to Article I would give the people of Iowa the “right to acquire, keep, possess, transport, carry, transfer, and use arms...for all legitimate purposes.” The bill also states that any infringement upon the

listed rights after ratification must be subject to “strict scrutiny,” the most rigorous form of standard judicial review.

This certain terminology is worrisome to economics and strategic political communications major Morgan Garner.

“I am concerned about the language of the law that states that ‘any and all restrictions of this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny,’” Garner said. This language could pose an issue to future “common sense gun laws” that might protect children in schools or other threatened groups.”

Sen. Brad Zaun (R, District 20) is currently the floor manager for Senate Study Bill 3155, which is the Senate committee of Judiciary’s version of the Housebased bill. The subcommittee consisting of Zaun, Sen. Jason Schultz (R, District 9) and Sen. Tony Bisignano (D, District 17) recommended the amendment and passage on Feb. 8, 2018.

One day after the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Parkland, Fla.’s Majory Stoneman Douglas High School, a different piece of firearms legislation failed to advance. Zaun’s judiciary committee agreed on Feb. 15 to

not vote on a bill that had to power to repeal Iowa’s requirement to possess a permit in order to acquire and carry a weapon, according to an article from The Associated Press.

Zaun said the timing of the shooting combined with pushback from some GOP legislators negated the bill’s chances of passing.

Josh Hughes said there’s a

certain element of insensitivity and futility for Republican legislators to pursue such legislation in the wake of a mass shooting, especially when this certain amendment won’t able to be ratified until after the proceedings of the 2020 election.

In addition, the second amendment of the U.S. Constitution already gives Iowans the right to bear arms in

accordance with the Supremacy Clause.

Garner echoed Hughes’ sentiments, adding that Iowa “should be concerned that it does not send a message that it is a regressive state with overly protective gun laws.”

Six lobbyists have declared their support for the House Joint Resolution.

GUN LEGISLATION is making its way through the Iowa Senate and House of Representatives, calling into question laws currently in place in Iowa. PHOTO COURTESY OF JIM BOWEN

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March 7, 2018

FEATURES CULTURE

Marginalization within an already marginalized community Tuma Haji Staff Writer tumaorthegap.haji@drake.edu Marginalization can still be an issue in groups who are already marginalized from a larger group.

Lesbians and queer women may feel marginalized within the LGBTQ community due to gay men being the forefront of the movement. Often, gay men are given more platform in media such as films and media to speak for the larger LGBTQ community.

Vice President of Communications for Rainbow Union Zoey Hanna said media portrayal of LGBTQ people is evolving to embrace and envelop more sexualities.

“There’s a lot of identities that are coming out, queer women, queer women of color, etc., but we’re still slowly expanding our scope in the media from gay men, particularly gay white men, who’ve been portrayed in the media for years.” Hanna said.

Campus engagement librarian Sam Becker agreed with the concept that gay men are at the forefront of the LGBTQ community.

“I think it comes back to the way that genders and sexuality can intersect,” Becker said.

“I think there is definitely prevalent sexism within the queer community. White gay men are

often the figures used to represent queerness.”

Becker stressed that she does not believe gay men at the forefront results from an ill intent to overshadow queer women.

“But, there is still definitely [an issue] in making one group more visible, and as rhetoric around marriage equality and the rights of queer people have changed, it’s often times been at the forefront of what we talk about, what we think about and who is talking for us,” Becker said.

Becker said she would desperately try to find films with queer women while she was a young girl struggling with her sexuality.

“It’s like we don’t exist, but we do,” Becker said.

President of Rainbow Union Isabelle Barrett said that the societal intersectionality between gender and sexuality are a factor in gay men overshadowing lesbian and queer women.

“I think it has to do with the historical inferiority of being feminine or fem, and I’m not sure how long ago this happened but when it changed from GLBT to LGBTQ+, in putting L first, that I think was like a step towards making queer rights and queer issues a feminist one,” Barrett said.

Hanna said that stigmas

and stereotypes presented in the media suggest that queer women are aggressive and unloving.

She said that queer and lesbian women were, and to an extent still are, portrayed as unfeminine,

“butch” individuals with short hair. She attributed microaggressive phrases like “you’re a lesbian, but you’re so pretty” as a result of those stigmas.

“Queer women are seen as

super masculine because they like women and that [interest in women] is seen as a masculine quality,” Hanna said.

Rainbow Union encourages any students who identify with

CAMPUS EVENT

Performance groups gave students the song and dance Ellie Detweiler Staff Writer ellie.detweiler@drake.edu The Student Activities Board (SAB) hosted the second Student Organizational Showcase on Pomerantz Stage on last week, highlighting a diverse group of Drake University organizations to inform students on opportunities for involvement.

Groups showcased included the Student Activists for Gender Equity (SAGE), Brocal Chords, Drake University African Students Association, Drake University Spoken Word, Fermata the Blue, Iowa State University National Pan-Hellenic Council, Blue Crew Dance Club, D+ Improv Troupe and Drake University Rainbow Union.

Students received free pizza and were encouraged throughout the night to sign up for the various organizations on sheets provided in the back of the room.

Delia Koolick, a sophomore psychology major, is the campus impact co-chair.

“The main goal was to foster campus collaborations and to

showcase organizations that aren’t necessarily showcased,” Koolick said. “I’m excited for organizations…like African Students Association, Rainbow Union and the National Panhellenic Council to have the chance to become a central and more popular organization at Drake.”

The nine groups were given give up to 10 minutes to perform or interact with the audience of students, and they gave out information on what their organization is and how students can get involved.

Cade Martin, a junior digital media production and rhetoric, media and social change double major, has been involved with the Brocal Chords for two and a half years.

“We’ve always loved being part of these organizational events because we think it’s cool to be a part of campus,” Martin said. “The best part of being in a performing group is to perform.”

The Brocal Chords performed four songs, including a new song, “Little Lion Man,” originally by Mumford and Sons, and featured a solo by sophomore Hagen

Maurer.

The African Students Association began the night with a Kahoot game on the cultural understandings of Africa and spoke on its mission to inform students on the culture, history and politics in Africa. The members promoted their events for Africa Week, which will be held this week, and Africa Night, being held next month.

The Blue Crew Dance Club danced to Walk the Moon’s “Shut Up and Dance” and, after technical difficulties, the audience vocally continued the song while the six members completed their dance.

Zoe Hanna, the Rainbow Union vice president of communications, performed the song “Fine!” by Mal Blum with her ukulele, and the President of Rainbow Union, Isabelle Barrett, performed spoken word on existing as a person, not a gender.

Together, they announced events on Pride Week from March 26-30 at Drake.

A coming out panel featuring faculty members is to be held on Monday, followed by an open mic night at Mars Cafe on Tuesday.

Their popular drag show will be held on Wednesday in Parents Hall South. Thursday is a queer themed honors trivia and Friday, along with Wednesday, will feature tabling “Donuts and Dental Dams” in the Olmsted Breezeway.

Three SAGE members performed excerpts from “The Vagina Monologues,” a collection of various women’s stories aimed to end of the violence against women worldwide.

Five members of the D+ Improv Troupe performed a montage, beginning with the prompt provided by audience members of two exes meeting at funeral.

Sarah Rosales, a Drake student, introduced Drake’s Spoken Word organization on campus and performed three poems, “We The People,” “Why is it…?” and “Ode to Planned Parenthood” touching on topics of immigration, minority scholarships and equal rights in America.

“I think it’s important because it really shows students what these different groups are able to do and is a captivating way to

get them interested in coming to future events/possibly even joining,” Rosales said. “It’s one thing to read/see a sign up sheet, but another to see a group in action.”

Fermata the Blue, Drake’s coed a cappella group that meets twice a week to practice, sang Bruno Mars’ “Marry You,” Neon Trees’ “Animals” and Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”

To close the night, four members of the National Panhellenic Council performed a unity stroll and expressed the focus on education, mental and physical health in minority communities adopted by their nine sororities and fraternities.

Students were encouraged to attend the next SAB partnership with Best Buddies and the Disabilities Action and Awareness Committee on Wednesday, featuring speaker Anastasia Somoza in Parents Hall.

THE BLUE CREW DANCE CLUB performed a routine featuring “Shut Up and Dance with Me” by Walk the Moon at the Student Organizational Showcase. Drake students sang along to the song and filled in the missing lyrics after technical difficulties transpired in the middle of their set. PHOTO BY ELLIE DETWEILER | STAFF WRITER

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March 7, 2018

FEATURES STUDENT LIFE

CAMPUS EVENT

Event looks to educate about racism

PHOTO BY HALLIE O’NEILL | DIGITAL EDITOR

Phong Ly Staff Writer phong.ly@drake.edu

Humans of

This week: Peyton Johnson Hallie O’Neill Digital Editor hallie.oneill@drake.edu Underneath the “special skills” criterion on sophomore Peyton Johnson’s acting resume, she writes, “can tell a good story.” So, as proof, she told me a story about her future.

“If I was to ever have to change my name or develop a stage name, I would be called Danger Johnson,” Johnson said. “And just imagine the surprise of everyone when this beautiful, young lady is sitting there—and it’s me, I’m the beautiful young lady—and I’m in this huge, beautiful gown, and they’re like, ‘And the Tony for the best leading lady in a new musical is … Danger Johnson!’”

Johnson tends to set high goals for herself. She’s currently earning her BFA in musical theater with a concentration in leadership, and she’s building a simultaneous major in fine arts management, as well as a directing concentration—neither of which currently exist in Drake’s curriculum.

“I realize I stand out, and I realize I’m different. I get up on stage and I’m short and I’m black and I have blonde hair and I dress like I don’t give a damn, because I don’t.”

Peyton Johnson

Her passion for performing, she said, began at birth. She’s “always been dramatic” and comfortable on a stage. She credits some of her flamboyance to her mother, whom she calls every single day.

“I realize I stand out, and I realize I’m different,” Johnson said. “I get up on a stage, and I’m short, and I’m black, and I have blonde hair, and I dress like I don’t give a damn, because I don’t.”

Her dream role is Elle Woods

from the popular musical Legally Blonde. She has the blonde hair, the voice and she loves the story—it seems like the perfect fit.

However, Johnson is well aware of the roles she can and can’t play as a black woman.

“I have a lot of ambition, and I have a lot of similar voice parts to these (roles), but growing up, and allowing people to tell me I’ll never be able to play Elle Woods … you can’t play that because you don’t look like that, you can’t play that because your body type’s not like that,” Johnson said. “I internalize some of that.”

She hopes to push against casting stereotypes in what she calls her “passion project,” which would ideally take form as a cabaret titled, “Blonde B*tches I’ll Never Get to Play: An Intimate Evening with Peyton Johnson on Race and Theater.”

In the future, she hopes to be an advocate for young women of color in the world of theater.

For now, she said, her mom continues to remind her that she’s only 19 years old. She has a few more years before she can begin working her way through the New York theater scene.

Johnson’s most recent endeavor is High School Girls, a band for which she recently became the lead singer. The band, also comprised of Drake sophomores Jack Miles, Grant Blume, Adam Lathan and Tyler Manke, played their first show at the end of January and just played their first headlining show on March 2.

“I’ve never had these types of things accessible to me,” Johnson said. “I’ve wanted a band for so long, ever since I was a little girl.

People would always write me off, but these guys embraced me.”

The band, which she hopes to schedule a Des Moines summer concert series with, should keep her occupied for the time being; plus, she’s a resident assistant and a member of Drake Theatre People.

I find it worthy to note that over the course of this single interview, Johnson mentioned wanting to be the voice of a Disney princess, a Tony, Emmy and/or Oscar winner, a Broadway star, a speed skater, a law student, a pop star, a teacher, a theater director, a choreographer and a recording artist. It’s safe to say she’s pretty confident in her ability to shoot for the stars.

“Des Moines is my oyster,” Johnson said, “and I am a pearl, and I’m just twinkling and shining.”

The Drake African Students Association (ASA) launched their campaign “I am not a prop!” last Wednesday to bring awareness about the use of African residents as ‘props’ in photos, posts and other media.

Room CR311, Upper Olmsted was packed with people. Kemi Mugangala, one of the panelists for the night, was happy with the turn out.

“We did not expect that many people to show up,” Mugangala said.

As a disclaimer, Mugangala said that the purpose of the event was not to “bash” any certain individual for their action.

Over winter break, one of the students on the Uganda January Term (J-term) trip posted a controversial photo with a young African girl on Instagram, addressing her using the word “monkey.” The post quickly generated a lot of backlash, especially from the AfricanAmerican community at Drake.

Despite the great turn out, Mugangala said she would have liked it better if more caucasians students were taking part in the discussion. She also noticed that the individual who made the controversial post was there.

“I honestly just want to commend her for her bravery for showing up,” Mugangala said.

Braimad Tayo Lawal, one of the panelists for the event and a senior at Drake, said that using the word “monkey” to describe Africans is racist because the word dates back to when white colonizers putt African slaves in “zoo settings” and exploited them for free labor.

“Because Africans were one with nature, the white people were using words like apes, gorillas, monkeys to describe Africans, ” Lawal said. “And that is almost equivalent to calling a black person a n***, in my opinion, and that’s very offensive.”

Lawal said that the incident over J-term motivated ASA to host the event, but the problem itself is bigger than just the

individual who did the post.

“We don’t want people to go to an African country and use the kids there as props just to get more likes on Instagram,” Lawal said.

According to the “I’m not a prop” Facebook event page, the purpose of the event was to bring awareness about the use of African people to support the image of the benevolent white savior and poor African women and children. ASA declares, “They are not props; We are not props; I am not a prop.”

For most of the events, members of ASA took turns facilitating discussions about appropriate intercultural interactions and the importance of cultural awareness both while abroad and in the U.S. Tirfiya Musa, a member of ASA, said that events like “I’m not a prop” are especially important to campuses like Drake.

“Drake University is a PWI, which means it’s a predominately white institution. And so, a lot of white students (who) go here

don’t necessarily come from backgrounds where they interact with a lot of diversity,” Musa said.

“It’s not all about the student that did the post but more so about the chance for people to come and listen to what we have to say about why it affects us negatively and why these kinds of things should not happen.”

Musa also emphasized that Drake needs to do better in terms of how they react to these situations and educate their students. She said the event was a first step to help the school recognize that this is a problem.

“I believe that once you know better, you do better,” Musa said.

As a student-run organization on campus, ASA declared its mission is to educate the Drake community about the culture and tradition of the continent of Africa, celebrate diversity and promote cultural understanding and appreciation of Africa on Drake’s campus.

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR GODFRIED ASANTA spoke to students who attended the I Am Not A Prop event hosted by the African Students Association. PHOTO TAKEN FROM LIVESTREAM OF EVENT

10 | sports

March 7, 2018

SPORTS NFL DRAFT OPINION

Saquon Barkley is the Cleveland Browns’ only hope NFL Top Draft Picks #1 Cleveland Browns

#2 New York Giants

#3 Indianapolis Colts

#4 Cleveland Browns

#5 Denver Broncos

#6 New York Jets

#7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

#8 Chicago Bears

#9 San Francisco 49ers #10 Oakland Raiders #11 Miami Dolphins

#12 Cincinnati Bengals

#13 Washington Football Team #14 Green Bay Packers

#15 Arizona Cardinals

#16 Baltimore Ravens

#17 Los Angeles Chargers

#18 Seattle Seahawks

#19 Dallas Cowboys

Josh Cook Sports Editor joshua.cook@drake.edu @jcook_25 Saquon Barkley is hands down the most talented player in this draft.

He finished in the top three of every combine event he participated in, is drawing comparisons to Barry Sanders (his childhood idol), just about messed around and won a Heisman last year, and it looking like he’ll be the number one pick.

Unless. Unless the Browns browntown all over themselves as they have done so consistently.

They’ve come out as very publicly fond of Saquon and are said to be ready to pick him #1 overall in this year’s draft.

But what if they don’t? What if they get confident and think he’ll still be there at #4 when they pick AGAIN? The Browns have a special opportunity to do in this draft what no one has really seen before -- pick two long-term franchise players in the first 10 minutes.

They have the #1 and #4 picks this year, and they’ll clearly look to add weapons to what is, in all honestly, actually a developing core of players.

It just makes me so scared for them. There’s four things that could happen.

1) They draft Barkley, get has an incredible career and maybe the Browns hit .500 sometime in the next 5 years (reasonable).

2) They draft Barkley and he doesn’t pan out--whether he just falls off, gets injured or just doesn’t live up to the hype (unlikely).

3) They don’t draft him with #1 and he goes to someone else at either 2 or 3 before they have another shot at him. He will then for sure go on to have a hall-offame career and beat the Browns in their chase for another winless season.

4) They don’t draft Barkley #1 and they fill what they see as a major need (like quarterback, because they’re the Browns), and Barkley is still there at #4 (doubtful from all whisperings).

No matter who they pick, if the Browns pick a QB with another top 4 pick, it’s not going to go well.

If they take someone like Quenton Nelson from Notre Dame (who is being called a no-brainer all-pro Guard) to establish their offensive line -could be a good risk.

Say they do take Nelson and lock down another Guard spot on their o-line, if Barkley is still there at four and they’re able to get him, he’ll run for 7,000 yards as a rooke (a stretch, that’s a lot of yards).

Back to the whole quarterback thing, I’m really scared for the Browns.

They’re going to take Barkley.

They have to. If they don’t, honestly Goodell should kick them out of the league immediately and bring the Oilers back.

They have DishoneKizer (pictured to the right). He played fairly well, for being the quarterback of the Browns.

If he can stay healthy and develop for a few years while handing off to Barkley, the Browns could have a serious offense (watch out for Corey Coleman at WR for the Browns, he’s electric).

But this is where it gets really scary. The Browns haven’t taken a QB in the first round since Johnny Manziel way back before all of that went down. They should be scared (I mean, they just took Kizer in the second round of last year’s draft). but then I heard rumblings.

The Browns really like Baker Mayfield -- of course they do. He fits the mold of the guys they love to bring in to end their careers.

I’m honestly very confused how the Browns can look into taking Mayfield and not have violent

RUNNING UP HIS STOCK With a historic performance at the combine, scouts are saying re-evaluations have him as the unanymous number one pick in this year’s draft. Will the Browns mess that up? PHOTO BY CHRIS SPON

REVOLVING SLINGERS The Browns made a highly risky pick when they took Johnny Manziel (right) in the first round of the 2014 draft. They haven’t used a 1st round since then, but did use a 2nd rouder on DeShone Kizer (left) last year. Now, however, it seems that they’re interested in possibly take Mayfield (below) in this draft. (Photos by Erick Drost (above photos) and BoBak Ha’Eri) flashbacks of all the drama that took place when Johnny Football was in town.

Now, Baker seems like a nice kid -- looks to have his head on more straight that Manziel did coming out of school.

However, if the Browns mess this up, they’re going to be very, very mad at themselves. Don’t pick Baker Mayfield number one (or number four for that matter).

You know what you should do the Browns? Draft Saquon Barkley, get him a real nice linemen two picks later.

After that, play 16 full games without throwing the ball once and I’ll bet you do better than 1-15.

If anyone will ever be able to truly take the Browns to the SuperBowl, it’s Saquon Barkley.

He can hang clean over 400 pounds. Mayfield wears polos.

sports | 11

March 7, 2018

SPORTS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Drake Women’s finish undefeated conference schedule again

HISTORY IN THE MAKING Drake fans celebrate during another Bulldog win en route to an 18-0 conference record for the second season in a row. The Drake Women’s basketball team is 50-4 in conference the last three years. PHOTO BY MADDIE TOPLIFF

MVC Final Standings 1. Drake 2. Missouri State 3. Northern Iowa 4. Southern Illinois 5. Indiana State 6. Illinois State 7. Bradley 8. Loyola 9. Valparaiso 10. Evansville

18-0 15-3 13-5 11-7 9-9 8-10 6-12 5-13 5-13 0-18

Josh Cook Sports Editor joshua.cook@drake.edu @jcook_25 50 wins and four losses. The the Bulldog’s conference record over the last three seasons.

The women’s team closed out their season this week with two road games against Loyola and Valparaiso.

Loyola Drake took on the Ramblers on March 1st in Chicago. It was actually Loyola that got off to a

strong start, outscoring Drake 2320 in the first quarter.

After that, the Bulldogs outscored Loyola 77-30 to complete a 97-53 road win.

Becca Hittner provided 25 points, 5 assists, 4 steals, 3 blocks and 3 rebounds, contributing with an all-around solid basketball game.

Maddy Dean and Sara Rhine also played strongly, Dean had 17 points while Rhine had 15 - both grabbed 8 rebounds on the night.

The Drake bench outscored Loyola’s bench by a score of 4510. The depth the Bulldogs have

on their roster is a strong point fo the team. It seems like any combination of Drake players is just always the better five on the court.

Valparaiso The Bulldogs then traveled to Indiana to take on Valparaiso in the final conference game of the year.

Drake got out to a blistering start and ended the first quarter already up 22 points.

Sara Rhine played really well, again, scoring 25 points on 10 of 13 from the field in just 19 minutes of playing time.

Becca Jonas also had a strong outing against Valpo, racking up a 13 point and 11 rebound doubledouble in only 17 minutes on the court.

MVC Tournament Drake will, oddly enough, play the winner of tomorrow night’s first round game (Loyola vs Valparaiso) in what will be their tournament debut with a firstround-bye.

Drake, being the no. 1 seed, has a clear path to the championship game where they’ll try to earn another NCAA tournament bid.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Bulldogs loses early, tight game to Bradley in 1st round; Loyola wins MVC bid

THEY’LL GET BACK UP After a dissapointing first round loss in the MVC tournament, the Bulldogs will look to bring in underclassmen to replace the talented senior class. PHOTO BY JD PELEGRINO Maddie Topliff Staff Writer maddie.topliff@drake.edu @TopDog_30 Drake University’s men’s basketball team came to the end of their 2017-18 season over the weekend when Bradley knocked them out of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament quarterfinals, besting the Bulldogs in a heartwrencher; 6361.

The Braves moved on to the semifinals – a game the Bulldogs haven’t seen since 2008–and lost to Loyola-Chicago, who earned their bid to the Big Dance.

In Friday’s loss, Drake’s seniors scored the majority of the 61 points, with Reed Timmer leading the way at 18.

Timmer’s effort was built on by fellow senior class members Ore Arogundade (2), C.J. Rivers (4), Graham Woodward (9), and De’Antae McMurray (9).

This season of basketball gave a hopeful glimpse of a plentiful future for the Bulldogs under Niko Medved.

The team improved their record from seven wins last season to 16 wins this season, making a noticeable difference in play, especially during home games. The Bulldogs aquired 10 of their 16 wins in front of home-

town Knapp Center crowds.

Reed Timmer was historic this season, becoming Drake men’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing 1,800 points a few weeks ago, among other accomplishments.

On March 26, 2017, Minnesota native Niko Medved was named the new head coach of Drake men’s basketball, a known champion of promoting and yielding excellence both on and off the basketball court.

Having gotten used to playing under different leadership, the upperclassmen had the opportunity to choose whether to try and adapt to Medved’s style or be stubborn.

They chose wisely.

“We chose to go all in with this coaching staff, and the coaching staff went all in on us,” junior forward Nick McGlynn said.

A new coaching staff and a new season fosters new goals, and McGlynn shared that the team “had goals that exceeded expectations out of anyone outside our locker room.”

Losing in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament wasn’t the ideal end to the Bulldogs’ season, but returning players like McGlynn hope to take the season’s spark and continue to build off their own success.

The Bulldogs will usher in a new senior class of leadership

this upcoming season as Kory Kuenstling, Casey Schlatter and Nick McGlynn all step up to the plate to lead both the current players, as well as the incoming freshmen.

McGlynn said he has a responsibility to be a leader and is looking to learn from the outgoing seniors’ persistence in order to inspire others with his style of play and attitude.

“I want to lead the team that’s coming in. . . to have good team chemistry and to have success on the court.”

While two consecutive firstround exits in the conference tournament is not what the Bulldogs hoped for after a much improved season, it’s a much different environment around the men’s program than was this time last year.

While Kuenstling, Schlatter and McGlynn will step into leadership roles next season, Drake needs to re-stock in terms of back-court talent to replace this year’s seniors.

Medved and Drake was sold as a dynamite pairing in terms of recruitment, and there have already been a handful of signings this year.

Next season will be crucial for the projection of the program.

12 | sports

March 7, 2018

SPORTS eSPORTS

Drake eSports team now competing in League of Legends

WORLDS galso known as the World Championship, is the top tier League of Legends event in ... the world. With millions upon millions of players, there is no pleathora of available seats at the events. PHOTO BY GABRIEL GAGNE Dillon Chaney Contributing Writer dillon.chaney@drake.edu

A group of students at Drake University have formed their own sports team, but instead of competing on a field or court, they play on their computers. “eSports, for those who don’t know, is basically just competitive gaming,” said Vaughn Hommerding, a member of Drake University’s League of Legends team.

“It has many similarities to your traditional sports, you practice, watch film, and compete for the love of the game. It’s also quite different in a lot of ways, but I think that’s what makes it interesting and why so many people all over the world are so into eSports.” eSports have quickly become a

billion-dollar industry by finding a massive, global audience.

“People forget that unlike the NFL or NBA, eSports has a worldwide audience. I mean, for World’s last year, they sold out the Bird’s Nest, which is a stadium that’s supposed to be for stuff like the Olympics,” said Evan Hoffman, another player on the team.

The industry can boast some impressive statistics to back up their claims of legitimacy as well.

“I think it was last year that Riot Games (the creators of League of Legends, a popular game in the eSports scene) earned more revenue than the NHL and NBA combined,” said Sam Kirkendall, manager of the team.

While profit margins are absolutely there, and soaring, the growth of eSports can be seen anywhere.

With apps like Twitch and

Mixer, fans can watch their favorite players whenever they compete – even on the go.

“In many ways, eSports have become hard to separate from the things people typically tend to think of when they hear the word ‘sport.’”

“Across the country, we’re seeing high school students that are being scouted and offered scholarships to come play video games in the same way they would to come play football or basketball. And we’re seeing professionals with salaries exceeding $2 million,” Kirkendall said.

The eSports industry is thriving all around the globe, and that can be seen right here on Drake’s campus.

While the team has yet to be officially recognized as part of the athletic program, they have found a way to organize and compete in tournaments against other

collegiate rosters.

Right now, the team is focused on one primary game, League of Legends.

The game features a five-onfive match in which each player assumes the role of different ‘champion’ with unique abilities.

There are tons of characters to choose from and each fit a unique style of play.

The teams must work together through careful coordination and strategy to defeat their opponents and take their base.

“We’re actually part of an official championship sponsored

by Riot Games. It’s a part of something called ULOL, which means University League of Legends. Basically, once a week, there’s a department at Riot responsible for setting up a match against other college teams in our region,” explained Hommerding.

“Right now we’re 2-2, which, all things considered, I’m

extremely proud of. My optimistic goal for the season was to finish with a positive record, and I think that’s definitely something we can do,” Hommerding said.

In addition to weekly matches, the team reviews past games to analyze what went wrong, how they can improve next time and organizes scrimmages to hone their skills.

Drake’s players rank among some of the very best in the world, with their two star players being ranked in the diamond tier, which consists of the top 1% of players globally.

The team’s manager said that their next match is set for this weekend.

“Hopefully, this time next week, we’ll be sitting on a 3-2 record”, Kirkendall said.

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LEAGUE of legends is the most popular game on the planet. With 67 million monthly players, LOL draws more eyes (and money) than all other computer/console games. PHOTO BY DOWNLOADSOURCE.FR

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