May 4, 2022

THE TIMES-DELPHIC The weekly student newspaper of Drake University Vol. 141 | No. 24 | May 4, 2022 FEATURES

SPORTS

COMMENTARY

Student organizations continued the Relays tradition of painting a square on Painted Street, including Drake’s new Badminton Club.

Our sports editor offers some unsolicited advice for hikers and campers about a few of her favorite parks, such as Zion National Park.

One student talks about how she enjoyed The Happy Return and Bryce Vine’s performances at the Relays Concert on April 29.

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Student senate passes resolution in support of transgender community

It responds to a state law banning transgender women from female school sports

THE DRAKE UNIVERSITY STUDENT SENATE passed a resolution condemning an Iowa law that aims to ban transgender women from competing in female sports in Iowa schools and higher education. The resolution has little power but urges action from Drake and the community. PHOTO BY LIV KLASSEN | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR Gannon Henry Student Senate Beat Writer gannon.henry@drake.edu

On April 21, the Drake University Student Senate passed a resolution declaring their support for the transgender community following the Iowa Legislature’s passage of a bill impacting transgender women in sports.

The resolution, which was written by SJMC Senator Madeleine Leigh, reads, “We, the members of Drake University Student Senate, in accordance with our duties and responsibilities to the Drake community and to promote the ideals of responsible global citizenship, do hereby condemn

transphobia in Iowa, affirm trans members of the Drake community and call on Drake University to act.”

Leigh said that the resolution is in response to the passage of House File 2416, which aims to ban transgender women from competing in female sports at Iowa schools, colleges and universities, including Drake University.

“This bill is clearly an act of hate against the transgender community, and when our state government signs off on these things, and says ‘yes, these are our opinions and this is what we believe should happen in our state,’ it is a statement on their part that transgender people are not welcome here, and further, is a way for them to encourage

transgender people to stop being visible here,” Leigh said.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said that the law addresses an “issue of fairness” in girls’ sports, according to a video published by the Des Moines Register. “...And we want to make sure that they can compete and have the same opportunities,” Reynolds said. “Is there girls’ sports or is there not girls’ sports?”

The student senate resolution is only a public statement and does not guarantee that action will occur, but the statement strongly urges multiple parties on campus to act. “...the Drake University Student Senate alone does not have the power to fight this law and laws like it, but is still

compelled as a representative of and advocate for the student body to call out bigotry in all its forms, to support the transgender community at Drake and to call for action from Drake’s administration and various community members,” reads the resolution.

The resolution includes multiple examples of ways that Drake can further support transgender students, including the modification of the Drake statement of principles to include gender identity.

“What I hope it does is start the conversation, encourage people to recognize things like transgender day of rememberance, the transgender day of visibility, to attend events that celebrate

the transgender community’s identity or potentially even start those events themselves,” Leigh said. “These are ways that the Drake community can become involved, because it’s easier to condemn bigotry from other people than it is to combat that with the love that is necessary to really make people feel supported and make them feel like they’re a part of the community, so I think the most important part of the resolution is the one that encourages the Drake community to embrace and celebrate trangender people.”

Andrew Kennard contributed to this article.

‘the ones’: drake to build university center Andrew Kennard News Editor andrew.kennard@drake.edu

Drake’s $225 million fundraising campaign “The Ones” includes plans to renovate and add to the Olmsted Center to attract more students and incorporate the fine arts into daily life.

This “University Center” would include an expanded bookstore, a food venue, an arts hall, a studio theater and a gallery, Drake President Marty Martin said in an interview following the campaign launch.

Vice President of University Advancement John Smith said these plans are still reliant on the response from donors.

Martin also said the campaign addresses an anticipated decline in undergraduate students starting in 2026.

“A dynamic University Center will enable Drake to stand out in the regional and national market to recruit and retain students,” a promotional handout about the center provided by the Office of Advancement says.

John Pomeroy, a professor of theatre arts at Drake, said plans for the center include essentially two buildings: a student center side and a fine arts side that are joined by a connector building.

“The idea would be that the

upper floor or floors would be more of the meeting space, convention type of spaces that would be traditionally housed in a university center like this,” Pomeroy said. “The first floor is intended to be very open, very free-flowing as far as the physical movement of people and small-group society as they utilize a space like this.”

“I think the hope is that [the Fine Arts Center renovation is] able to just key off immediately after the opening of the new performing arts venue.”

The fine arts side will also accommodate touring productions and include classroom, rehearsal and development spaces, according to Pomeroy. Pomeroy is one of the faculty “champions” who has been involved with the creation of a campaign initiative before launch.

“And so the intent I believe, as far as those rehearsal spaces would be, would be to create spaces that would allow advancement, allow initiative, allow a performing arts

THE UNIVERSITY CENTER is one of seven initiatives within “The Ones” campaign. The TimesDelphic has run a series of articles about the campaign, including stories about individual initiatives: Every Bulldog a Changemaker, University for All, the Darling Institute, the Digital Proficiency Platform and the Center for Public Democracy. PHOTO COURTESY OF DRAKE UNIVERSITY

maker space kind of venue, as opposed to a strictly dedicated, ‘This space is designed and constructed exclusively for music ensembles,’ ” Pomeroy said.

After Drake made a social media post on Instagram about the University Center on Nov. 22, some comments on the post expressed disapproval, saying that fixing up the Fine Arts Center should be a higher priority.

Some comments also expressed concern about potential parking issues that the center could cause, as the promotional design would cover the Olmsted parking lot.

According to Pomeroy,

it would be “extraordinarily difficult” to renovate the Fine Arts Center at this time because of the programs that take place there. He said that Drake is maintaining the Fine Arts Center so it will last until a new performing arts facility opens. Pomeroy also said that it is difficult to raise funds for deferred maintenance.

“I think the hope is that [the Fine Arts Center renovation is] able to key off immediately after the opening of the new performing arts venue,” Pomeroy said.

Pomeroy said that the performing arts are evolving, listing Drake’s recent production

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of Devising for the Future as an example. The Times-Delphic previously reported on the show, a collaborative piece created by the student cast.

“Where the tradition is, here’s a work written by William Shakespeare, and we’re going to produce it in a very traditional manner, in a very historically accurate manner and that type of thing,” Pomeroy said. “We’re still doing that kind of work, but we’re also including a variety of other ideas. And a new venue that has developments that are supportive of that would be very, very beneficial to the university.”

02 | News

May 4, 2022

News

Hands-free driving bills stall in Iowa Legislature

STUDENTS, FACULTY AND STAFF could be required to stick to hands-free and voice commands in most circumstances. PHOTO BY RACHEL JALLOWAY Andrew Kennard News Editor andrew.kennard@drake.edu

As of May 1, the Iowa House and Senate have still not brought bills that would limit the use of electronic devices while driving to full votes on the floor of each chamber.

Rep. Ann Meyer (R-Webster) is the floor manager of a bill that would restrict most uses of electronic devices aside from voice-activated or hands-free use. Meyer said that a poll of legislators showed that the House as a whole supports the bill, but she does not have the votes to get it through the Ways and Means Committee.

“My hope is next year we’re going to have a new makeup, and I will be able to get it through [the committee],” Meyer said.

Sen. Ken Rozenboom (R-Mahaska) is the floor manager of a similar bill in the Senate. He said that by his understanding, Senate leadership “isn’t really interested in passing something here that doesn’t survive in the House.” The Senate Transportation Committee unanimously advanced the

Senate bill on Jan. 31, but it was referred back to the same committee on March 24.

“And you know, our hope is that we in Iowa here can prevent some of these preventable crashes from happening, and this is one step closer towards doing that and ultimately lowering our fatality rate.”

Current law bans texting and driving, but not other uses of electronic devices. Senate File 2141 only allows for voiceactivated or hands-free use and a handful of select situations.

“We see this all the time,” Meyer said in a previous interview on Feb. 7. “When I’m driving down to Des Moines on 35, I see people that don’t even look up from their phone, if I’m passing them on the left. It’s an issue.”

In 2020, 947 crashes took place in Iowa that involved

drivers who were distracted by an electronic device, including four deaths, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. That’s almost 2 percent of all motor vehicle crashes in Iowa in 2020. In an interview on Feb. 11, Sergeant Alex Dinkla with the Iowa State Patrol said statistics for distracted driving are “way far underreported.”

Dinkla said the bill would help officers enforce the distracted driving law because “if we see that device in a hand, we know that you’re not supposed to do that.” He said the current law that prohibits minors from using handheld electronic devices while driving presents another challenge, as it may be difficult for officers to tell what a driver’s age is before making a traffic stop.

The Des Moines Register reported on March 18 that a Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll found that 70 percent of Iowa adults support a ban on handheld electronic device use while driving. 30 states currently prohibit the use of handheld cell phones while driving, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.

“And you know, our hope is that we in Iowa here can prevent some of these preventable crashes from happening, and this is one step closer towards doing that and ultimately lowering our fatality rate,” Dinkla said.

A bill that would ban the use of handheld devices while driving in road work and school zones is also stuck in the House Ways and Means Committee.

Meyer said her goal is to pass the broad ban on device use while driving, with this more limited ban as a backup.

“If we can just ban this in those two zones, to protect kids and to protect construction workers that are on the road, that can be injured, we’ll be doing something,” Meyer said.

In a Feb. 9 interview, Rozenboom said he thinks that banning device use in just school or work zones “falls far short of what we need to do.”

The broader ban doesn’t ban all device usage, though.

It allows drivers to use singletouch or verbal commands to activate or deactivate an electronic device or one of its features. This doesn’t permit drivers to read electronic messages or access video calls,

| STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

non-navigation video content, video streaming or gaming data.

The Senate and House broad bans have other exceptions, including caveats that would allow drivers to view emergency and weather alerts and report emergencies.

The Senate bill allows for access to fleet management systems.

“My hope is next year we’re going to have a new makeup, and I will be able to get it through [the committee].”

The Senate’s bill includes a $45 fine, while the similar bill in the House would increase the scheduled fine to $100, so the chambers would need to reconcile these bills to pass a law. Violators of either bill would also be guilty of a moving violation, which can be considered for the suspension of a driver’s license or for habitual offender status. Under these bills, officers would give warnings to violators of this law until Jan. 1, 2023.

A crash course in the history of sustainability at Drake Mackenzie Swenson Staff Writer mackenzie.swenson@drake.edu

Drake environmental science department chair David Courard-Houri said that there were very few sustainability initiatives on campus when he joined the Drake faculty in 2000.

Drake began single-stream recycling in 2009, and students and faculty established the Next Course food recovery network in 2014. Next Course also partnered with DEAL and Sodexo to begin the Hubbell compost program in 2016, according to Courard-Hauri.

Drake Environmental Action League President Jacob Lish said the residential compost program was established in 2020.

Students in DEAL spearheaded the grant that founded the Sprout Garden to provide fresh food and environmental education to the Drake community in 2013, the Times-Delphic reported.

In that same year, a studentled campaign successfully led Drake to ban plastic water bottle sales at most places on campus, USA Today reported.

All of these initiatives continue to thrive on campus.

Over multiple years, Drake has undertaken water retention projects designed to reduce flooding and mimic water flow in natural systems. These include rain gardens on 27th Street, water storage tanks underneath parking lots—now required by code—and, coming in the fall, two bioswales designed to reduce flooding in the Harvey-Ingham area.

Water from campus ultimately drains into a creek behind the Knapp Center. Some of these projects aim to reduce erosion and pollution of this creek.

“Now, even when it hasn’t rained in a little while, there’s a more constant flow down into the little stream and there’s also less of a flash [flood] when it does rain,” Courard-Hauri said.

“Now you’ll find there are little fish in the stream, frogs and

stuff, so because of the water flow, it’s becoming more like a natural system.”

“Now you’ll find there are little fish in the stream, frogs and stuff, so because of the water flow, it’s becoming more like a natural system.”

In addition to efforts to manage stormwater, Drake has also undertaken initiatives to provide alternative transportation. These include the Olmsted Bike Library, a free pass to the DART bus system and reduced admission to Des Moines’ BCycle program.

Five years ago, Drake joined the Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System, or STARS, an action CourardHauri described as an attempt to increase consistency among “piecemeal” sustainability

efforts.

Through STARS, colleges earn points for engaging in various measures to increase their campus’s sustainability, such as supporting sustainable transportation and minimizing food waste.

Drake earned a bronze STARS rating its first year participating in the program, a rating it continues to hold.

Institutions need a minimum of 25 points to achieve a bronze rating. For reference, institutions scoring platinum, the highest rating, need a minimum of 85 points. Drake has 32 STARS points, according to a document provided to faculty senate in February 2020.

Prior to hiring Sophia Siegal in fall 2020, Drake administration did not include a position dedicated to sustainability. Siegal, who graduated from Drake in 2020 with a B.A. in environmental sustainability and resilience, said that she proposed and wrote the job description for sustainability coordinator. The Drake administration approved

a budget for the position, meaning the University could finally fund initiatives outside of those specified by donors, Siegal said.

“I’ve received so much support from Sophia,” Lish said. “Just her position existing has made it far easier for students across the University to work together on sustainable initiatives... I think it’s really essential for all colleges and universities, frankly, to have a sustainability coordinator or multiple sustainability coordinators. Because every time I walked into Sofia’s office, there were just so many things on that whiteboard of things that were in the works, things that were happening that the University should be proud of and should be advertising.”

Siegel left her position as sustainability coordinator in March of this year after accepting a position in the Chicago area.

Learn about Drake’s Climate Action Plan and the future of sustainability at Drake at timesdelphic.com.

Q & A with campus sustainability leaders: Is sustainability a priority at Drake?

Drake Environmental Action League President Jacob Lish: “We really have the opportunity to be a leader when it comes to sustainability in Des Moines and around Iowa, and right now we’re not successful at being a leader. We’re very much a follower, just kind of doing things often at the will of students. If students want it to

be a thing, then they put in all the effort to make it possible rather than administration saying ‘I want this to be a priority.’ ” Former Sustainability Coordinator Sophia Siegal: “Realistically, we want to change our goals to like 2030 or 2035. Because by 2050, the irreversible damage has been

done. At least that’s what the science is saying.”

“I want to say, ‘Let’s just prioritize [sustainability],’ but if other things are falling apart, like, until something’s urgent, sometimes you don’t see the changes unless you’ve got a lot of money to deal with things way ahead.”

Environmental Science Department Chair David

Courard-Hauri “There are definitely other other universities that are well out ahead of Drake, but I think we’re making progress and so we’re also not a follower.” “[The 2050 goal] is big and it’s tough and I think that it matters, but we could probably do better if we really wanted to.” “[The 2050 goal] is in some ways ambitious and in some

ways underwhelming. There’s a lot that we’re going to have to do to get to net zero. It’s a tall task. 2050 seems like a long way away, but it’s coming up, and each time each of our decadal goals are going to get more difficult, although easier in the sense that technology will be improving.”

03 | Features

Features

May 4, 2022

Bam Bam wins Most Beautiful Bulldog with Up-inspired costume Meghan Holloran Staff Writer meghan.holloran@drake.edu

Drake University hosted the 43rd annual Beautiful Bulldog contest April 25. The event officially kicked off Drake’s Relays week and capped off Drake’s Live mascot, Griff’s, Griff Gives Back campaign.

The Beautiful Bulldog Contest crowns a new bulldog each year as the ‘most beautiful bulldog’ and “the winner then serves a year-long reign as the Drake Relays mascot and the Most Beautiful Bulldog,” according to the Beautiful Bulldog website.

This year’s winner, 5-yearold Bam Bam captured the hearts of audiences with his unique outfit. Bam Bam was dressed as Russell and his owner, Maggie Etsby, dressed as Carl from the hit 2009 movie “Up.” “He loves people, he loves chewing bones, he loves going for short walks, he loves to sunbathe, he loves to cuddle,” said Maggie Etsby, Bam Bam’s owner and Minnesota native, said in a press release.

Ansleigh Ragan, a first-year at Drake University, attended the event and raved about Bam Bam. “I really loved Bam Bam and Scooby,” Ragan said via direct message. “I thought Scooby’s story was heartwarming, and he has an awesome name.

Bam Bam also has an amazing name!”

The Beautiful Bulldog Contest is not only about cute pups and raising adoption awareness. Griff II, the live mascot of Drake University,

BAM BAM THE BULLDOG, a five-year-old pup from Minnesota, won the audience’s hearts and votes at the 43rd annual Beautiful Bulldog Contest in a costume inspired by Russell from the 2009 hit children’s movie “Up”. PHOTO BY MEGHAN HOLLORAN | STAFF WRITER

finished the last day of his Griff Gives Back Campaign, an annual pet food drive benefiting The Pet Project Midwest.

Grifftern Nate Eisenmann, Griff’s part-time handler and social media manager, commented on Griff’s philanthropy and came to a close as the Beautiful Bulldog Contest got underway. Griff’s campaign has collected a lifetime total of 71,000 pounds of dog food.

“Dog and cat food donations were accepted with the goal of 15,000 pounds of food,”

Eisenmann said. “Though we didn’t reach 15,000 pounds, we got very close and still made a sizable donation which benefits pets in the Midwest.”

As winner of the Beautiful Bulldog Contest, Bam Bam had to fulfill his duties as Relays mascot by attending Relays events and will be required to attend the 2023 Beautiful Bulldog Contest to pass the cape and crown off to the next winner.

Eliana Mascarenas, a firstyear at Drake, liked seeing all the adoption awareness

featured at the event.

“I loved the event,” Mascarenas said. “It was a lastminute decision of my friend and I to go to it, and I’m so happy. It was so nice to see and pet all of the dogs that weren’t part of the event but there to advocate for adoption centers.”

Before the event, audience members could browse various pet adoption organizations stationed around the Knapp Center track. Dogs were available for adoption from these agencies, many of which specialized in the care and

adoption of bulldogs.

First-year Sarah Griever went to the contest to experience the contest for herself and because she loves dogs.

“I think my favorite bulldog was the pancake dog because the whole family really committed to the bit, but Bam Bam took my heart with his cute little face,” Griever said.

Catch Bam Bam’s adventures on his Instagram page @ bambam_themeatball.

Student organizations reflect on Painted Street experience Courtney Jackson Staff Writer courtney.jackson@drake.edu

Painted Street has been a tradition during the Drake Relays for years, with many student organizations coming together to paint designs for their organizations every single year.

Drake Tennis Club was one of these organizations that participated in this tradition, with Jack Gruening, a sophomore majoring in marketing, being very excited about this event.

“My favorite part about street painting this year was being able to spend time with fellow club members outside of tennis,” Gruening said. “One thing that I learned was how to effectively collaborate with a team on a large project such as street painting. There isn’t much that I would do differently for street painting. The process went very smooth for Drake Tennis Club.”

Drake Tennis Club’s design was created by their fundraising chair, Cloey Tuttle, and was meant to incorporate the theme for this year, Glow Together.

Another organization that participated this year was the Drake University Badminton Club, with Alyssa Overlin, a sophomore majoring in health science with a leadership minor, saying they really wanted to showcase Drake Badminton Club this year.

“We really wanted to make a square that showcased the Drake Badminton Club,” Overlin said. “Brandon Ng and I have been working on creating this club for about a year now and we finally reached full RSO status last month. It has been an incredible journey and we both have learned so much. Because we are a new club, we wanted to really advertise our club and make sure students know they have the opportunity to be a part of the Drake Badminton

STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS took part in the Relays street painting tradition March 24 . PHOTO BY GRACE ALTENHOFEN | MANAGING EDITOR

Club.”

Brandon Ng, a junior majoring in actuarial science, said his favorite part was getting to participate with other Drake University students.

“From the design process right up to the finishing touches of our square, it was a fulfilling and wonderful moment for the whole

“Being a transfer student from a year ago in the spring, this was my first experience of Painted Street. I loved every

bit of it,” Ng said. “From the design process right up to the finishing touches of our square, it was a fulfilling and wonderful moment for the whole club, but especially for Alyssa and I. This time last year, we were convincing our club’s advisor to journey on this path of setting up a new organization. A year on, we have come full circle. I couldn’t be prouder of how far we’ve come.”

Painted Street has been around for years, but ‘Paint it Black’, a section within Painted Street, was started in 2018, leaving behind a permanent reminder that Drake University is committed to the work of anti-racism.

“The #PaintitBlack Project circle was an installation added

to the end of Painted Street to be re-signed every year as a new tradition, showing that students and other members of the Drake community are committed to the work of antiracism,” Morgan Coleman, Student Body President and one of the co-organizers of this project in 2018, said. “After the street was originally painted black in 2018, organizers and other student leaders decided that we wanted to have a permanent reminder of the events that occurred, so that we could continue to remind folks that there is still work to be done. It is a symbol of the experiences of Black students on this campus, and students of color. It is a symbol of solidarity.

The event is available to all

students. However, students should only sign the circle if they are committed to antiracism, educating themselves, listening to and standing up for Black and Brown folks on this campus.”

These students have loved getting to participate in this activity, getting to better know their fellow students and showing that Drake University pride throughout Relays Week. Feel free to walk along Painted Street, get to know the organizations that are represented below you and remember the memories that are made within these student organizations.

04 | Features

Features

May 4, 2022

Indira Sheumaker, city councilmembers find common ground among conflicts Andrew Kennard News Editor andrew.kennard@drake.edu

In the March 7 meeting of the Des Moines City Council, Indira Sheumaker cast the sole vote against approving the purchase of 11 replacement police vehicles.

While Sheumaker said that she has common ground on police reform with a couple of her colleagues, this wasn’t the last time she would be the only dissent on funding for law enforcement. On March 21, she cast the only vote against the city budget because it increased funding for the Des Moines Police Department. On April 18, she voted against a roughly three-month extension of a short-term security contract.

“I just can’t vote on police funding,” Sheumaker said in an interview. “I ran on defund the police, I still believe in it. I still think that there are better uses for a lot of the funding that we do spend on police.”

At-Large council member Connie Boesen said she has advocated for the expansion of a mental health crisis team that responds to calls.

“I’m saying we can rethink how we do public safety,” Boesen said. “But I definitely do not support, or think that you can get rid of police.”

Sheumaker used to attend city council meetings as an activist protesting police brutality, and she said the council did “everything it could” to silence them. She said that after she was sworn in to the Ward I council seat in January, there was “almost no trust” between her and other council members at the beginning.

“Now it’s like, what do we do, now that she’s up here and has the rights and privileges or a city councilperson?”

Sheumaker said. “And then also, I’m coming in, extremely skeptical, and extremely guarded, and ready sort of to be shut down because I’m used to that.”

Mandelbaum said that since George Floyd’s murder in 2020, the council has seen “essentially the same cohort of

folks speaking for a protracted period of time.”

“That’s not always the most effective way [to cause change],” Mandelbaum said. “But I’m also not sure that changing council action is the main point of those comments either.”

Mandelbaum said that he thinks the public “very much influences city council decisions,” but that it’s very rare for a public commenter to change the course of the meeting. He said that to make decisions, council members need to think about information before the meeting, and that information received at a meeting can lead to future action.

“Just because you’re coming to the meeting does not mean that we’ll just do everything you want because you’re there,” AtLarge councilmember Connie Boesen said. “Because we hear from people from different forums.”

Sheumaker said that she is currently working on creating a peoples’ council within Ward I that could expand to other wards.

“The goal is to get feedback at the level that people can really have that input that doesn’t exist right now,” Sheumaker said. “To say directly that this is what my constituents said because we have an organization of hundreds and thousands of them. That’s the goal. But we’re just sort of building blocks right now.”

Boesen and Mandelbaum separately said that they have had discussions with Sheumaker before her election.

“I think we had engaged, we hadn’t come to agreement on some things, but we’d at least talked through a number of issues,” Mandelbaum said.

“That was a little bit of a foundation for us.”

The role of council rule changes A rule requiring a second was one of a series of changes to the city council rules passed during Sheumaker’s first meeting on the council in January.

Sheumaker said she doesn’t disagree with the rule requiring

a second but said that “at the time it felt very targeted.” She said initial mistrust led to some of the rule changes made by the city council in January.

Boesen and Mandelbaum said that they had never previously served on another board that didn’t require a second for a motion. Boesen said that council members have the same opportunity to speak as they did before.

“We were talking about trying to do a virtual hybrid-type thing for Zoom, and so I started reviewing all the rules again,” Boesen said. “I suggested, and I turned them in in December to change the rules to go [to an hour of time to speak], which I had supported from [the] get go, for public speaking, and that we would add a second, which I felt was just normal course of how you run a meeting.”

Since her election, Sheumaker has made several motions that would have opened items on the agenda to public comment that have failed without a second.

“It’s happening a little bit less often because I’m making less motions,” Sheumaker said.

“Sometimes I will even bring something up to talk about it but I won’t make a motion on it because I know that I’m not going to get any buy-in from that.”

One of the other new rules requires council members to gain the support of a majority to take more than four items off the consent agenda. Boesen said that the council has never had a member take off more than four items off the consent agenda. Mandelbaum said that the rule would keep a member from stalling the meeting.

Sheumaker thinks that this was intended for her.

Boesen also supports a rule that removed the policy that allowed residents to request items to be removed from the consent agenda. Mandelbaum said that this rule conformed with current practice by the council of not granting those requests.

“Well, first of all, I question how many things should be pulled off a consent item

agenda, and it should be a council member that pulls it off,” Boesen said.

Sheumaker opposes both of these rules.

“I think it does run into difficulties when there are five items that you want to talk about that are important,” Sheumaker said. “...I just want to give people the opportunity to say their piece. So if someone sends me things on five consent items, I can’t pull all five off. I have to pick and choose. So I think it’s a little restrictive.”

‘An oversight solution that actually has some power’ Mandelbaum, Sheumaker and Boesen all support the implementation of third-party oversight of the police. All three said that whether the board gets the necessary four votes will depend on the specifics of what is proposed. Sheumaker said the council will work on the board during a work session in May. Sheumaker said she wants an oversight solution that has power but that state law makes it difficult to look at complaints and discipline for police officers.

She said the mayor put forward an accreditation process in response to the request for an investigation.

Mandelbaum said that the lines between the accreditation and investigation have been blurred.

“But [the accreditation] is just kind of like, is our department up to snuff, are we meeting the standards of police departments, versus really looking into the specifics [that] community is worried about, like racial profiling, like deescalation practices, like use of force, things like that,” Sheumaker said.

‘However that comes about, I’m going to be supportive of that’ Around early February, KCCI reported that Sheumaker said, “We need to build a slate for this next election and get these mother f****** out of here” in an online meeting.

Sheumaker said in the interview that in order to

improve relationships and make progress, she doesn’t want to call out any other city council members. However, she said that she wants to work with city council members who share her priorities on certain social issues.

“We still work for kind of the higher classes of Des Moines,” Sheumaker said.

“The developers and the bigger business owners, and [we] aren’t addressing the needs of the most marginalized in our communities. So if we could start doing that, I think that would be helpful, and however that comes about, I’m going to be supportive of that. But if anyone is looking to run, they can reach out to me.”

While Boesen said that Sheumaker’s remark in the online meeting was “disappointing,” Mandelbaum and Boesen both said they are committed to working with her.

“We’ve got way too many things to do in the city and make things better,” Boesen said.

Sheumaker said that she has found common ground in the council on issues of increasing the affordability and density of housing, and with a couple of other members on improving police oversight and accountability.

Mandelbaum said that he and Sheumaker both prioritize housing and counteracting climate change, and Boesen also pointed to housing as an area of agreement with Sheumaker. “...Part of being effective in the job is figuring out where the priorities overlap, and then how you mesh so you can work together on shared priorities, while maybe disagreeing on other pretty fundamental issues,” Mandelbaum said.

“And not having those disagreements spill over and impact your ability to work on shared priorities. And that’s not always easy.”

The other four Des Moines City Council members were unavailable for comment, declined to comment or did not reply to requests for comment.

casey’s opens non-fuel location near drake campus Noah Jolly Staff Writer noah.jolly@drake.edu Andrew Kennard News Editor andrew.kennard@drake.edu

When Greek life student Brennan Matt came to Drake University in 2019, Forest Avenue was in no shortage of late-night dining options.

Students living between campus and 34th Street were steps away from Fong’s Pizza and McDonald’s, both of which would keep their doors open past midnight for hungry customers. Three years and a pandemic later, Fong’s has closed permanently while McDonald’s shuts down its indoor lobby before 9 p.m. nightly.

“Whether it’s a Tuesday night or a Saturday night, students will stay up late,” Matt said. “Quick food options are a necessity for undergraduates.”

Casey’s agrees with Matt’s assessment. The convenience store chain has opened a nonfuel store located at the corner of Forest Avenue and 32nd Street, which will be open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. Casey’s, an Ankeny-based corporation, cited the dense student population as a reason for the decision to omit fuel sales from the store’s services. “...On the fuel piece, we think this is the right store with the right stuff for this community, and it’ll be a great fit, and I think also, obviously if you look at the

space here, this wouldn’t be a parcel where you’d be able to put fuel in, too,” said Katie Petru, director of communications at Casey’s.

The new Casey’s will offer grand opening deals: singletopping pizza slices and medium fountain drinks for $1 apiece, 50-cent donuts and free coffee, the company said in a statement. Customers can also purchase Casey’s pizza, bakery items, and breakfast Toastwich and loaded burritos.

“I mean, the most comparable is a pizza restaurant. And that’s really how we think of ourselves, is Casey’s is like a pizza restaurant in this case,” Petru said. “And so, we think we’ll definitely have a good opportunity to meet the needs of, I’m sure, a lot of hungry students, a lot of just [the] campus community. And even kind of the beaver truck commute that happens from just north here into downtown.”

Ryan Arnold, Drake’s director of community engagement, believes the store brings value to campus and the surrounding neighborhood.

“Our goals are really about adding to the vitality, the vibrancy and sustainability of our neighborhood,” Arnold said.

Dogtown has seen several changes over the past few years, with the addition of a hotel, apartments, a new campus building in the Harkin Institute, renovations to the historic Varsity Cinema, a renovated

THE NEW CASEY’S LOCATION near the campus of Drake University offers snacks, drinks and other necessities–but not fuel, as most locations do. PHOTO BY GRACE ALTENHOFEN | MANAGING EDITOR

Go Fresh Market by Kum & Go and plans for continued development of living, commercial and retail space.

Redevelopment along Forest Avenue has been less noticeable.

An apartment complex was installed across from the old KFC/Taco Bell store which was replaced by a Mexican restaurant, Habanero’s, in 2021. One of Drake’s largest investments in recent years, the Gregory and Suzie Glazer Burt Boys and Girls Club opened its doors in 2019. Across the street from the Boys and Girls Club is the future site of a soccer stadium to be shared by Drake

University and Des Moines Public Schools. The project was approved in late 2019.

Casey’s said in the statement that the chain recently made a $10,000 donation to Roosevelt High School and gave a $50,000 grant to East High School. The Roosevelt donation will help the school complete a new track and field facility, while the East High donation will improve its activities campus, presidents of foundations for the schools said in the same statement.

Casey’s is the fourth-largest convenience store retailer in the United States. Their move to open non-fuel stores comes

after a 2020 Casey’s Investor Day presentation found that 70% of customer’s trips are not fuel-related. The company also rebranded in 2020, dropping “General Stores” from their logo.

For Brennan Matt, the new location brings both promise and a bittersweet nostalgia.

“It feels good heading into my senior year knowing that a late night snack is just a walk around the corner,” Matt said.

“I miss walking from my dorm room in Carpenter to grab a bite at McDonald’s after midnight. I know others feel the same.”

05 | Features

Features

May 4, 2022

A hundred (and two) years of the SJMC: past and present faculty reflect

MEREDITH HALL, home to Drake University’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication, was built in 1965. PHOTO BY JOSHUA BRUER | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Luke Clausen Staff Writer luke.clausen@drake.edu

2022 marked the 102nd year of Drake’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Centennial celebrations were originally planned for April 2020 to mark the school’s achievement.

The COVID-19 pandemic had other ideas. After two years of postponing the centennial, this year finally gave alumni and current and former faculty and staff a chance to come back to Des Moines to celebrate, reconnect and reflect on the past century of journalism at Drake University.

Retiring SJMC dean Kathleen Richardson said mentoring and personal relationships between faculty and students is vital to the success of the SJMC. “[The centennial] is a celebration of the fact that we have survived and thrived over more than 100 years,”

Richardson said. “The true heart of the program is the relation of the personal relationships between the faculty and the students. That has also been a through line in the history of the school. And this is an opportunity for us to celebrate that and to also champion that going forward.”

The SJMC did not exist as its own school until the 1960’s, though students have been studying journalism at Drake long before then, according to former SJMC dean and electronic media professor Herb Strentz.

“A journalism curriculum had its starting point around 1919 but a relatively autonomous school was not established until around 1964 in concert with Meredith funding the construction of Meredith Hall,” Strentz said. “Drake University with its combination of arts and sciences with the mix of so-called ‘professional schools’ is a rarity. Here we are with college enrollments of a few

hundred or so, or a thousand in a university of about 3,000 or so full-time undergrads, and we have academic programs such as journalism that compete well with programs at universities with enrollments of 20,000 to 40,000.”

According to the faculty interviewed, it is a significant achievement for the SJMC to have stayed as strong as it has for so long.

“The interesting thing, the asterisk here, is that it’s in a private school setting. There are a lot of bigger journalism schools in the country. To do it in a private school setting is truly unique because with private schools, it’s hard to get enough students coming in,” former faculty member David Wright said. Wright taught full-time in the SJMC for over three decades, primarily in production, web design and photography as an associate dean and professor.

Drake University’s SJMC is the only accredited journalism

program at a private school in the Midwest, according to the SJMC website. Drake SJMC students win a plethora of awards every year for their work, which can be found under the “Student Awards” section on the SJMC website.

Drake’s home city is primed for learning the skills needed to become a journalist, according to Wright, including opportunities like working for Meredith Corporation, the Des Moines Register or advertising and public relations firms.

“And the other thing that I really think allowed us to survive and do so well for over 100 years now is that we start the students right away,” Wright said. “There’s none of this waiting around until you’re a junior.”

The hundreds of students who have come through Meredith Hall to become journalists are the highlight, according to Pat Prijatel.

Prijatel was the director of the SJMC from 2004-2007 and

a longtime faculty member.

Prijatel also built the magazine media program and the E. T. Meredith Center.

“They come extremely well prepared,” Prijatel said of SJMC students. “They’re smart.

And they work hard. They’re competitive in a good way.

They’re just supportive of one another.”

A website outlining the history, people and places of the SJMC, maintained by SJMC Professor Chris Snider, can be found at www.drakesjmc100. com.

An alumni reunion and centennial celebration was held on April 30 from 5-8 p.m. in Meredith Hall.

A list of who attended the celebration can be found at the website above.

Tickets cost $20 and included alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, hors d’oeuvres, music and fun. A short program at 6 p.m. included toasts to current and former SJMC faculty and staff.

student body president morgan coleman recounts her year in office

“I want people to see the direction senate is heading” Emily Nelson Contributing Writer emily.nelson@drake.edu

Just a year ago, Drake University students elected Morgan Coleman to be the student body president for the 2021-2022 school year, making her the first Black woman to hold the position in Drake’s history.

During this past year, Coleman and the rest of the 35th session of Drake’s student senate have focused on the transparency and visibility of senate’s decisions to ensure Drake is an equitable campus for all students.

Prior to being student body president, Coleman was no stranger to leadership and involvement on this campus.

Being a member of the Board of the Coalition of Black Students, participating in the African Caribbean Students Association, leading firstyears as a resident assistant, mobilizing the #PaintItBlack Movement and serving as the equity and inclusion senator and co-president of Unity Roundtable during the 20202021 school year, Coleman was ready to take on the position of president.

“Those experiences allowed me to work closely with the different multicultural student organizations on campus,” Coleman said. “But it also allowed me to see what the University as a whole was doing in terms of working with

students, staff and individuals in our administration.”

Coleman’s multitude of leadership positions allowed her to naturally gravitate toward the role of Student Body President, especially after connecting with so many different individuals across campus.

“To some degree, student leadership was always on my mind,” Coleman said. “I just never knew how much it was until I decided to run.”

When running for the position, Coleman campaigned on ideals of accessibility, transparency, accountability and representation.

Many of her accomplishments as student body president have allowed for those promises to ring true, even toward the end of her term.

One highlight of her presidency included chairing the open forum series “BLM@ Drake,” where she collaborated with the student senate, faculty senate and Unity Roundtable to address the needs of Black students, faculty and staff on campus.

Another accomplishment was working to pass a resolution allowing Drake’s National PanHellenic Council, Inc. (NPHC) to have the ability to request funding from Drake’s student senate.

As a member of the “Divine Nine,” it was important for Coleman and the rest of the student senate to see financial support from Drake go to the historically Black fraternities and sororities.

SENIOR MORGAN COLEMAN became the first black woman to hold the office of student body president in Drake University history. PHOTO BY LIV KLASSEN | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

This resolution aligns with Coleman’s work—and current and past NPHC leadership’s work—to have equal opportunities for all student organizations on campus.

“It’s always been extremely important to me to make sure there’s equity and access in terms of resources when [multicultural student organizations] are planning events,” Coleman said.

To Coleman, a collective goal of the student senate was making sure students felt their voices were understood and acknowledged. This was aided with the goal of making sure their work was transparent and visible.

With the continuation of live-streamed meetings, Coleman and the rest of senate implemented new initiatives such as creating email accounts for executive members and office hours for students on Starfish to share concerns and connect with members of student senate.

“We’ve been committed to equity and inclusion and making sure student voices are heard, but I’m not the only one doing that,” Coleman said.

“Each of us has worked hard at preserving visibility and

creating a transparent senate.”

To other senate members like current vice president of student life and student body presidentelect Connor Oetzmann, Coleman has consistently been intentional about everything she says and does — and that work is reflected in her accomplishments as student body president.

“Morgan [has] constantly, since the beginning, been adamant about following through on her campaign promises,” Oetzmann said.

“She’s very intentional with whatever she says and does.

That’s been shown in her diligence about finding areas of need or inequality on campus.”

Oetzmann believes that the student senate has created a space where students feel comfortable voicing concerns, mainly due to Coleman’s leadership.

“I knew it would be a great opportunity to work together with Morgan,” Oetzmann said.

“She’s always been someone I’ve admired and looked up to.

There’s so much she’s taught me that I want to carry on in my leadership in terms of creating supportive spaces.”

To both Oetzmann and Coleman, the 35th session of

student senate has been one of the most diverse in their times at Drake in terms of personalities and make-up. With senators of a wide variety of different demographics, interests and life experiences, collaboration has come easy.

“All of our different backgrounds bring not only an added level of equity and inclusion but also an added level of balance,” Coleman said. “It takes all of us to accomplish our goals as a senate.”

While Coleman does celebrate the fact that she is Drake’s first Black woman student body president, she also hopes she is not the last.

“Me being in this position doesn’t eradicate the issues students of color, specifically Black students, face on this campus,” Coleman said. “But I hope all students see the representation our senate is trying to accomplish. I want people to see the direction senate is heading.”

In terms of plans after graduation, Coleman will spend the next year working while waiting to apply to graduate programs where she aims to get a master’s degree in peace and conflict studies or international relations.

06 | Sports

Sports

May 4, 2022

The two national parks you should visit this summer Lia Reichmann Sports Editor lia.reichmann@drake.edu

Hello, I’m back for some unsolicited hiking advice, which I know you all wanted. This week I am going to talk about two of my favorite parks to go hiking and camping in and just general information about them.

Zion National Park was the first national park I went to when I was a freshman in high school and it changed my life.

Zion has everything you’d want in a national park, spectacular views with hikes for all skill levels and the ability to get back to civilization if needed. I would recommend going in late spring to early summer, if you want to avoid the heat of the middle of summer. The weather itself is somewhat temperamental, so I would definitely check the forecast every day.

As for the best hikes to do there are a few classic ones that I would recommend. Angels Landing is one of my all time favorite hikes as it really jump started my love for hiking and exploration. If you have a serious fear of heights, do not do this hike as it has sheer drops on both sides with only chains to hang onto. Walking onto the narrow spine of a mountain formation that juts out in the middle of a canyon was an experience that I will never forget. If you are afraid of heights you can continue past Angels Landing and do part of the West Rim Trail or just explore the area.

Another hike I would recommend doing is Observation Point via Stave Spring Trailhead. This is a more strenuous hike at 9.2 miles outand-back with 2,188 feet of elevation gain. There are views throughout the whole hike as you descend into the canyon.

You get a great view of Zion’s

East Mesa and the Virgin River valley below. I would do this hike late spring or during the fall as snow will still be leftover from the winter and in the summer temperatures rise in the canyon.

The towns around Zion, like Springdale, are a huge tourist attraction. I personally wouldn’t spend too much time around them because not only is everything really expensive, but it’s incredibly crowded.

Use the shuttles available to get in and out of the park, but nothing more. I also wouldn’t recommend staying in a hotel around the area as they will be expensive. Either find an Airbnb nearby, for cheaper or try to camp in the park if that is your thing.

There are three campsites available at Zion, but not all of them are open year-round so make sure you do your research ahead of time. There is a campsite near the south entrance of Springdale, but is often full so I’d arrive really early to grab a spot there.

Honestly, any national park in Utah is amazing. It’s the mecca for outdoor lovers with numerous parks like Arches, Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef. I also highly recommend checking out Canyonlands National Park, which was a pleasant surprise. I went to the Island in the Sky district of the park. I didn’t expect the canyons to be so beautiful and vast, they looked like someone had taken a knife and carved them out. The topography was so interesting and I would try to hit this park if you can.

Another national park I would recommend going to is Yosemite. There is so much to do at Yosemite and you’ll need a few visits to get to everything.

From the picturesque views to the formidable granite icons there is just so much to see.

Like most national parks

THE ABOVE PICTURE is Yosemite Falls with Half Dome in the background, both iconic and recognizable natural features at Yosemite National Park. PHOTO BY LIA REICHMANN | SPORTS EDITOR

Yosemite is extremely crowded, so a reservation is required to drive into the park during peak hours (6 a.m. to 4 p.m.) from May 20 through Sept. 30, 2022.

Because there are millions that come to Yosemite during this time, I’d recommend trying to get off the beaten path and try to camp or head into the back country to avoid crowds. You’ll need a permit to sleep overnight, so make sure you have prepared beforehand. To get the most out of Yosemite, preparation is definitely needed.

If you are planning on camping or backpacking, you have to do research on how to do it safely. Learn all the procedures for putting away food, making a fire, etc. If you don’t do this, not only do you endanger the local wildlife, but other people. Also, as cute as the black bears are, you definitely don’t want them digging through your food so make sure you have bear bags and put away your food in the trees.

The first hike I’d recommend doing at Yosemite is the Sentinel Dome Trail which is not very challenging, but is a good introduction to Yosemite. It is a 2.1 mile out-and-back trail with only 456 feet of elevation gain.

Once you reach Sentinel Dome you get a 360-degree view of the park and can see for miles.

For longer hikes I loved doing Old Big Oak Flat to Yosemite Falls and Glacier Point to Yosemite Valley. Both of these hikes are for more experienced hikers, and you’ll probably need to find water sources throughout, so be aware of that. I backpacked Old Big Oak Flat to Yosemite Falls with one of my parents because we wanted to take our time and enjoy the views. It is a 17.2 mile hike with 4,402 feet of elevation gain so it is a more challenging hike. It is a point-to-point trail so if you backpack in, you need to figure out transportation back to your car–we hitchhiked in someone’s truck bed, which is not too uncommon. It took us about three days to do this, but you can do this at your own pace depending on your schedule.

On this trail you can visit El Capitan, which is a 3,000 feet granite monolith that is one of the most recognizable rock formations in the park. We also went to Eagle Peak for sunrise which was a once in a lifetime opportunity and totally worth the sleep deprivation. The sun rose right in front of us and we

could see the valley start to wake up. The trail heads to Yosemite Falls which is the tallest waterfall in Yosemite and in the U.S. at 2,425 feet. There is a spot of the trail where you can scramble all the way down to the base of the Upper Yosemite Falls. You scramble on massive boulders where you reach a prominent ledge above the valley floor and where you can walk right up the falls. I would not do this if you’ve never scrambled and if you do be aware of the risks.

Both of these national parks are a great introduction to nature and really show the amazing landscapes available in the U.S. National parks force you to appreciate nature and the local wildlife and are a great way to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

The hiking and nature community are really nice people and are always willing to help, so don’t be afraid to ask questions. It is always better to be safer rather than sorry. Appreciate the views at both Yosemite and Zion and make sure you take these steps to preserve it, as with things changing in the environment certain things may not be there for the next generations.

Promising 2022 NFL Draft for Packers fans Lia Reichmann Sports Editor lia.reichmann@drake.edu

I think most Green Bay Packers fans can feel good about our draft haul from the 2022 NFL Draft last weekend. This year the Packers had quite a few draft picks, including two in the first round so I was particularly interested to see what we would do. Most importantly, we didn’t draft another quarterback, thank god.

Although I’m joking about the time the Packers seemingly randomly drafted Jordan Love in the 2020 Draft, I’m glad we didn’t do anything that was too out of left field. Like most Packer fans I did expect us to draft a wide receiver with our 22nd pick–specifically I was thinking Treylon Burks from Arkansas would be great.

However, that did not happen, and although disappointing initially I’m really glad we didn’t try to reach for a wide receiver once our pick rolled around. It would’ve been a waste of a pick if we had taken someone who was clearly 2nd round material, in the first round. Six wide receivers were drafted in the first round, with four of them being selected in the space of five picks.

Our two first rounders can make an immediate impact on our defense. Quay Walker, a 6’ 4” and 241 pound linebacker can be a day one starter. All-Pro linebacker De’vondre Campbell needed more help, as Krys Barnes was not enough.

Devonte Wyatt, who is 6’ 3” and 304 pounds, can finally provide Kenny Clark with more help. Both of these players should be able to start right

away and have the size and strength that the Packers look for.

If we have to rely on our defense a little bit more next year, I’m fine with that as there is a saying that defenses win championships.

Also, remember when the Denver Broncos won the 2016 Super Bowl, the defense was literally dragging Peyton Manning across the finish line.

Manning seemed to hit a wall and it became clear he needed to retire after that season.

Aaron Rodgers hasn’t hit the proverbial quarterback cliff yet, so our playoff aspirations are still quite strong.

Should we have moved in the draft for a wide receiver? I’m not sure honestly. Right now I say no we shouldn’t have, but it all depends on how well our two first rounders perform in the next few years. It is important to note that most receivers and players in the first round often don’t live up to the expectations, something fellow Packers fans and Twitter don’t seem to understand.

The NFL draft is kind of a crapshoot of who you think will be successful. I mean, look at Tom Brady who was drafted in the sixth round at the 199th pick, and has gone on to be the most successful player and potentially the best player in NFL history, as much as it pains me to say.

Now, if the Packers hadn’t gotten a wide receiver in the second round, my feelings on this year’s draft would have been quite different. The Packers moved up in the second round to No. 34 overall and sent Nos. 53 and 59 to the Minnesota Vikings. Once this aggressive move up happened it was pretty

clear that the team was going after a receiver. I personally wanted Christian Watson, who we did draft, so I was really happy with this.

Watson has the athleticism that the Packers and GM Brian Gutekunst often look for. He is 6’ 4” and 208 pounds with a 4.36 second 40-yard dash speed. He can take the top off of defenses taking pressure off the run game, which will be important next year.

He is a deep threat with big play ability and keeps defenses honest. He does need to work on being more consistent with his hands and expanding his route tree, but I think playing with the reigning back-toback NFL MVP will help.

Unlike other receivers that were drafted in the first round, Watson is getting to play with a hall-of-famer in Aaron Rodgers and an established, stable NFL organization.

For me I think this year’s draft was incredibly successful as it filled positions we needed.

Just based on this I’m pleased with how things played out.

We gained more depth in the wide receiver room, which was desperately needed, and on the offensive line with two players that can play multiple positions on the line.

The team also got a few players that can help out in special teams, which was one of the worst in the league last year and screwed us in the playoffs.

Our defense improved and is looking like it could be one of the better squads next year.

Things are promising, but every sports fans knows every year is different and every season plays out differently than you’d expect

AARON RODGERS said the quote on the Pat McAfee Show after the first round. PHOTO COURTESY OF @LAMBEAU.LEAPERS INSTAGRAM

packers draft picks Round 1 Pick No. 22 Linebacker Quay Walker, Georgia Pick No. 28 Defensive Tackle Devonte Wyatt, Georgia Round 2 Pick No. 34 Wide Receiver Christian Watson, North Dakota State Round 3 Pick No. 92 Offensive Tackle Sean Rhyan, UCLA Round 4 Pick No. 132 Wide Receiver Romeo Doubs

Pick No. 140 Guard Zach Tom, Wake Forest Round 5 Pick No. 179 Edge Kingsley Enagbare, South Carolina Round 7 Pick No. 228 Linebacker Tariq Carpenter, Georgia Tech Pick No. 234 Defensive Tackle Jonathan Ford, Miami Pick No. 249 Offensive Tackle Rasheed Walker, Penn State Pick No. 258 Wide Receiver Samori Toure, Nebraska

07 | Commentary

Commentary

May. 4, 2022

Don’t worry, baby: self-care tips to relax

Courtney Jackson Staff Writer courtney.jackson@drake.edu

Self-care is something that helps us to feel better, but it is also something that isn’t talked about enough. Many people still get shamed for wanting some self-care in their lives, and that’s what I am trying to express. So, these tips are something that we all can use.

1. Bubble Baths Baths in general are a way that many people unwind after a hard day, letting themselves soak in the warm bath water after a hard day. Baths can be anything from simple to extravagant. You can add bath bombs, bath salts, bath bars, flower petals and so much more to allow yourself to feel the best version of yourself. This kind of self-care helps me to wind down after a long day and just be able to sit in my thoughts, which is something that we all need to do at times.

2. Face Masks Face masks are so much fun!

You can do face masks to help your skin with all the problems that it may have and even feel better in your own skin. It’s so much fun to find new recipes for homemade face masks and do them with your friends. This is one of my favorite self-care tips because it allows me to be creative and helps my skin feel better. It’s a way for me to help myself feel and look better.

3. Painting Nails Now, getting your nails done is one thing, but painting them at home just adds another layer to the self-care genre. I am a broke college student, so I would rather paint my nails at

IT’S ALRIGHT... sing the Traveling Wilburys. Like John Lennon said, turn off your mind, relax and float downstream. You’ve weathered Dante’s Nine Circles of Hell. Now “treat yo-self” and rack up that water bill. PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

home, which allows me to have control over my own nails. I love being able to just delicately paint my nails and spend that time with myself, even if they don’t turn out 100% every time.

4. Journaling Journaling is something that

allows us to get our feelings out on paper and not hold our feelings inside. This is one of my favorite self-care tips because it has helped me through the hardest times of my life. It allows us to express ourselves creatively, express our feelings

and so much more with the power of words. It can help so much to not bottle our feelings on the inside and express them on the outside.

5. Listening to Music Listening to music has been something that I have just

recently picked up on for selfcare. I love getting in the car and just blasting my music, it helps me to get my feelings out and just free my mind. All you need to do is find the perfect song or playlist, which is something I know we all need help with.

The symposium: how to meet your soulmate

Courtney Jackson Staff Writer courtney.jackson@drake.edu

It feels like nowadays everyone is trying to meet someone. If you’re trying to figure out where the next love of your life will come from, here’s a list of a few ways to meet your next partner in 2022.

1. Dating apps We all know the dating apps that everyone uses. From Hinge to Bumble and even Tinder, everyone is just trying to find a connection by swiping aimlessly. These dating apps are a great way to meet new people and figure out how you’ll connect with others through similar interests and ideas.

You can meet someone based on what they are looking for, whether that be a relationship or something different. These apps can also allow you to meet new friends with a BFF feature on Bumble to swipe through and find your perfect friend group as a young adult.

2. Take a class (outside of just your college classes) Classes within college can be very boring, with most of us not really wanting to attend them most days. Yet, there are fun classes offered around the city such as pottery classes, cooking classes and even dancing classes. Taking these classes that are often offered all around the Des Moines area is a good way to explore new hobbies and meet new people, like that person who might be taking you out on your next coffee date.

3.

Through mutual friends Saying you “met” someone through mutual friends can often be code for “I met them on a dating app and just don’t want that judgment right now.”

Having your friends set you up with someone can be a great idea since they truly know all about you and will find someone who is able to compliment your great qualities. Our friends are the

I WANNA KNOW WHAT LOVE IS... I want Tinder to show me... rather than peacock feathers, we’ve got our faces, our middle-aged dad paunches, our unibrows... well, okay. Just our faces. How does one catch the eye of Cupid? Have some relationship like Cleopatra and Mark Antony? Verlaine and Rimbaud? One writer offers some invaluable advice. PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

people who won’t let us down; they want to see us happy, so ask your friend if they know of anyone single who would be interested in going on a date with your magnificent self.

4. Join an extracurricular around campus Drake University has many different extracurriculars for students to join such as intramural sports teams, music programs, student publications and many other types of clubs.

These are an excellent way to meet people your own age with similar interests to you. Plus, it gives you an excuse to possibly talk to that cute guy from your 9:30 a.m. history class.

5. Social media Meeting someone through social media is very similar to using a dating app, but it can get overwhelming with all the people you see there. When looking to meet someone new, check to make sure you have

mutual friends and similar interests. You can often tell a lot from a person’s social media from what they post, follow and like. Social media is a way I have met countless new friends through apps such as TikTok, Instagram and even Facebook.

So, go ahead and don’t be afraid of sliding into the DMs of that person who looks cute in the photo with their cat. You never know, you might end up living with that person and their

adorable cat someday.

Whether this article was helpful or not, it goes to show that just putting yourself out there is the way to meet new people in 2022. It can be helpful for you to build those lifelong connections such as friendships and relationships. So, don’t be afraid to go out there and just know that one terrible first date doesn’t mean they will all be bad.

08 | Commentary

Commentary

May. 4, 2022

feed your wild side: snacks for college students Courtney Jackson Staff Writer courtney.jackson@drake.edu

College can be stressful enough having to balance classes, studying, internships, work and social life. But sometimes we don’t want to have to think about what we eat or snack on during our free time. So, here are some of the top snacks that every college student needs in their life.

1. Rice Krispy Treats These treats filled with marshmallows and rice are all a girl can want at times. They are the perfect sweet treat to grab on the go or even when you don’t know what to eat for breakfast. I have grabbed these sweet treats in a rush for breakfast because the cereal-based rice counts as breakfast, correct?

2. Flaming Hot Cheetos Now, Cheetos are great in any form, whether that be puff, puff corn, jalapeño, regular or my personal favorite: flaming hot. I love the heat and spice that emits from this treat. It is perfect when you are in the mood for a hot and spicy treat, not just wanting something plain jane.

3. Townhouse Crackers Crackers are a basic snack, but they can be paired with many different treats to give them a different taste. These crackers are the perfect mix of

butter and salt. They are also perfect when it comes to needing a cracker to pair with cheese and meat, dip, jam, pesto and even hummus. But, of course, there is a plethora of toppings to go on these crackers.

4. Fruit Snacks Many people have a favorite type of fruit snack, whether that be Great Value Fruit Smiles, Welch’s Fruit Snacks or even Mott’s Fruit Snacks. These are the perfect gummy snacks that emulate fruit flavors and are a perfect on-the-go snack as well.

5. Chips and Salsa Now it isn’t as good as the restaurants, but store-bought chips and salsa do the trick in a time of need. As college students, we don’t have the money to spend at restaurants all the time, so buying it cheaper can do the trick. This is one of my favorite snacks when I am craving those restaurant-style chips and salsa but my bank account can’t afford it.

6. Pringles Chips Any kind of Pringles chip flavor is good, but my personal favorite is salt and vinegar.

With the many different flavors of chips, they can help calm any craving you have.

7. Chocolate Chip Cookies It doesn’t matter the brand, whether it is crunchy cookies, soft cookies, made-to-bake cookies or many other different kinds. These are perfect for when you are craving those

OREO, OREEEEEEE-O... Wreck-It Ralph isn’t the only guy who knows what’s up. Paint your innards red with Hot Cheetos, inhale an entire can of Pringles like air and make sure to get in your recommended daily fruit intake with Welch’s. Bon appetit. PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

homemade cookies and can do the trick nine times out of ten.

8. Pretzels Twisty and salty treats are perfect on their own, but also in dips. These are the perfect amount of crunch and salt, which makes for a perfect tasty treat.

9. Oreos and Peanut Butter Now, Oreos are great on their own, with the perfect balance of chocolate cookie and creme filling. But they are made ten

times better with the addition of peanut butter. Now, they do make peanut butter Oreos with peanut butter creme, but those aren’t the same. The addition of the peanut butter adds a sort of salty and sweet kick to the already lovely Oreos.

10. Popcorn Microwave popcorn is a perfect midnight snack or even study snack. You can get a multitude of flavors, whether your taste is sweet or salty. It

all depends on your mood and what you are looking to snack on.

Snacks are something that we all love, especially college students. These snacks are more than just food at times, but a stress reliever for many kinds of college students. So, I hope you enjoy all of these snacks and that you can add them to your collection wherever you are.

relays concert: bryce vine was worth his salt Rachel Jalloway Staff Writer rachel.jalloway@drake.edu

The Relays artist is something that is a big hype for all Drake students. There is something about a free concert that really gets bulldogs going –myself included. While I did not know who Bryce Vine was before SAB announced he was the artist, I still felt like a mega fan at the concert.

I was not expecting an opening act to this concert, especially considering the fact that it was scheduled to start late. However, the opener was a nice surprise. Getting to see The Happy Return was great! Much like Vine, I had zero clue as to who they were, but they were a welcome surprise. I especially liked the way in which the lead singer was able to transition between songs–he did so with comedy and made it sound like he knew the people he was performing for.

During the concert, they seemed like they were very happy to be there. While they kept mispronouncing Des Moines, it was done so in a comedic manner- which they made work. They were very good and a new indie artist that I will continue to follow. They were also extremely good when it came to getting the crowd ready for the main performer– Bryce Vine.

Walking into the concert, I had zero expectations for what to expect. It is something that

blew my mind, however! Vine really knows how to get a crowd going. Despite the fact that there was a large gap between the Happy Return and Bryce Vine, the energy never seemed to die. He was able to command the stage in a way that was refreshing and fun, doing so through the way that he was energetic and able to really get people dancing. Much like the opening act, there was comedy that was utilized in a great manner. He was witty and made Drake-specific comments that made me feel like he actually did his research before coming to perform for us.

The music itself was very good for the environment that it was played in–it was very upbeat and sing-along-able.

The lyrics were simple enough that people who did not know the chorus could sing along after one listen, which is something that many appreciate. It made the vibe very good. SAB did a fantastic job when it came to the set-up. It felt like I was going to an actual concert that would be thrown back home.

It is something that made the concert experience more authentic and something great.

Overall, I thought that the concert was something that was fun and worth it. It was a fun experience that I think anyone who went would have enjoyed.

I know that this is a tradition that I will always remember and cherish, and the 2022 concert will be a great first (real) concert.

THE TIMES-DELPHIC The student newspaper for Drake University since 1884 EMMA BRUSTKERN Editor-in-Chief emma.brustkern@drake.edu JEFF INMAN, Faculty Advisor jeffrey.inman@drake.edu

GRACE ALTENHOFEN, Managing Editor grace.altenhofen@drake.edu

ANDREW KENNARD, News Editor andrew.kennard@drake.edu

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

CASSANDRA SCHOENE, Features Editor cassie.schoene@drake.edu

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

LIA REICHMANN, Sports Editor emily.godsey@drake.edu COLIN FRIER, Commentary Editor leo.dicaprio@drake.edu

CAT FARRELL, Media Manager cat.farrell@drake.edu ERIN DUNWALD, Copy Editor erin.dunwald@drake.edu

WELL WORTH THE PRICE OF ADMISSION raves one writer. Well, price? It was free, of course. The price... your soul to Drake. Pay that no mind, though. Employing Seussian diction such as “singalong-able,” our animated author recaps the night. PHOTO BY RACHEL JALLOWAY | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER The Times-Delphic is a student newspaper published weekly during the regular academic year and is produced by undergraduate students at Drake University. The opinions of staff editorials reflect the institutional opinion of the newspaper based on current staff opinions and the newspaper’s traditions. These opinions do not necessarily reflect those of individual employees of the paper, Drake University or members of the student body. All other opinions appearing throughout the paper are those of the author or artist named within the column or cartoon. The newsroom and business office of The Times-Delphic are located in Meredith Hall, Room 124. The Times-Delphic is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press. The editor-in-chief sits on the Board of Student Communications.

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The Times-Delphic strives to represent student views as accurately and honestly as possible. We rely on readers to provide us with criticism, comments and new ideas so that we can continue to serve the interests of the students in the fairest possible way. We encourage interested readers to submit letters to the editor. Letters must include the author’s name and phone number. Unsigned letters will not be published. Deadlines for guest submissions are noon Sunday for the Wednesday edition. The Times-Delphic reserves the right to edit letters and submissions for space and in the interest of taste. Letters and submissions reflect only the opinions of the authors and should be limited to 250 words.

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