Oct. 21, 2020

THE TIMES-DELPHIC The weekly student newspaper of Drake University Vol. 140 | No. 8 | Oct. 21, 2020

FEATURES

SPORTS

COMMENTARY

Students and families now must cope with the cost of tuition while struggling with job loss and financial uncertainty.

Women’s tennis competed in their first tournament of the season on Oct. 9.

Beat writer dicusses his belief that Trump’s new Black Economic Empowerment Platinum Plan is a political scheme to win over Black voters who have long been forgotten.

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Bulldog Bucks expand into Drake neighborhood

BULLDOG BUCKS aren’t just for the C-Store; they can now be used at participating restaurants in the Drake neighborhood. Restaurants include Fong’s Pizza, Lucky Horse and other businesses to come such as Dough Co Pizza, Kum & Go and Fernando’s Mexican Grill. PHOTO BY ALLYN BENKOWICH | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Matt Deike Contributing Writer matt.deike@drake.edu

Drake University has just launched a new initiative allowing students to spend Bulldog Bucks at local businesses to encourage students to explore the Drake neighborhood.

Bulldog Bucks are an account on students’ ID cards that can be loaded with funds either by students or guests through an online portal. The funds on these are separate from meal plan flex dollars and carry forward from semester to semester as long as the student

has an active Drake ID card.

Participating businesses in the Drake neighborhood include Fong’s Pizza, Lucky Horse and many other businesses coming soon such as Dough Co Pizza, Kum & Go and Fernando’s Mexican Grill.

Drake students cannot use Bulldog Bucks to purchase tobacco, alcohol or gift cards according to the statement released by the Student Services Center.

“I’m personally really excited to see this program launching,” Sara Heijerman, chair of the Student Services operations, said. “This topic comes up every year during orientation. Parents and students are always curious

if they can spend campus funds in the neighborhood and now we can finally answer that this is an option.”

“I think it’s great. I don’t like spending money from my bank account, but if it is already in my Bulldog Bucks account then it is easier for me to spend with good conscience.”

Heijerman said that a survey done by the Drake Community Board in 2017 found that out of 467 respondents, 54% of students indicated that increasing interactions with local businesses would mend the gap between the Drake neighborhood and the university. This created the idea for the new initiative as well as numerous businesses approaching the university to encourage the idea of using campus cards as payment options.

“I believe this is a right step for Drake, as this expands students’ opportunities and gets them into the Drake neighborhood,” junior Kyle

Tekautz said. “Additionally, I think this is a great partnership for Drake to uplift the local businesses that have been [impacted] by the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to limitations with the Hubbell remodel, this gives students another dining option, and may be more accessible to those with dietary restrictions.”

Other students have also voiced excitement.

“I think it’s great,” Mike Straub, a first-year student, said. “I don’t like spending money from my bank account, but if it is already in my Bulldog Bucks account then it is easier for me to spend with good conscience.”

students elect new first-year senator

THE FIRST-YEAR SENATOR is elected each fall by new first-years. The First-Year Senator is responsible for representing first-years through programming and education. Ruwayda Egal was elected to the 34th session of student senate on Sept. 18 after a run-off election. PHOTO BY TRISH RICHARDS | COPY EDITOR

Makayla Castillo Contributing Writer makayla.castillo@drake.edu

When students came onto campus at the beginning of the semester, they knew it was going to look different.

Whether it be something as simple as adjusting to the new Hubbell, or as serious as trying to deal with the surplus of schoolwork during a pandemic on top of the election, many students might feel overwhelmed.

Ruwayda Egal, the newly elected First-Year Senator, wants to help students work through this period of change.

Acquiring this position

is personally important to Egal, who took her reasons for running very seriously.

She states that her reasons for running were because she wanted to expand the diversity of the senate.

“It was something I was so interested in,” Egal said. “I want to make sure everyone is seen, and their voices are heard, and I felt like I could be the person to do it.”

Student Body President Adam Koch also commented on the importance of the First-Year Senator role.

“The First-Year Senator helps connect the concerns of first-year students to the rest of the university,” Koch said.

“In the past, they have worked

to put forward ideas, initiatives and events to help smooth the transition of first-years and connect their issues with solutions.”

“I want to represent everyone and make sure everyone’s voice is heard. I especially want to make sure we have the best first year since our senior year [of high school] was cut so short.”

When talking about her plans and focus for this school year, Egal highlighted that her plans this year are to “represent the first years.”

More specifically, she wants to make sure everyone has a “safe but fun” first-year while, with equal attention, spending time “to focus on mental health, especially during this pandemic.”

To focus on these goals, Egal is planning to be as accessible as possible and wants to have a number of socially distanced events.

Both Egal and Koch reinforced the idea that FirstYear Senator’s main goal is to represent and hear the students of Drake.

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“The First-Year Senator runs a committee specifically made up of first-year students,” Koch said. “The committee acts as a think tank to cover all aspects of the first-year experience.

Additionally, the First-Year Senator holds office hours for any and all first-years to reach out and connect to her.”

Egal plans to do this and more, and hopes her efforts will make a lasting difference on campus.

“I want to represent everyone and make sure everyone’s voice is heard,” Egal said. “I especially want to make sure we have the best first-year since our senior year [of high school] was cut so short.”

FEATURES

Features

Oct. 21, 2020 | Page 2

Coping with the cost of college

Families struggling with tuition costs amid COVID-19 pandemic

MANY STUDENTS ARE STRUGGLING to afford college due to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. PHOTO BY TRISH RICHARDS | COPY EDITOR

Grace Altenhofen Features Editor grace.altenhofen@drake.edu

Of all the uncertainties brought on as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, one in particular is hitting hard for parents of teenagers: paying for college.

According to a survey by Discover Student Loans in May, 68 percent of parents of incoming college students are worried about affording college as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

In the same survey, 53 percent of parents reported concerns that their child was not receiving enough financial aid, and 26 percent said they planned to appeal their student’s financial aid package, both increases from pre-pandemic numbers.

Drake student Lucia Garrett said that while her

parents were not laid off due to the pandemic, it caused strain on their family finances.

“My mom runs her own insurance company that has been experiencing loss,” Garrett said. “I also wasn’t sure how I’d pay rent until I found out that since I didn’t stay on campus, I didn’t have to pay for those months.”

Already in student debt, Garrett said she found herself struggling to afford basic necessities like textbooks for the semester.

“I had a presidential scholarship and a data analytics scholarship, [but] I’ve had to take out over $50,000 in loans I think,” Garrett said. “I struggled a bit to buy textbooks, especially since I didn’t get any income from work since the library shut down.”

Though some students considered taking a gap year in wake of the pandemic,

Garrett said that did not feel like an option to her.

“I’m a senior, so dropping out or transferring didn’t really feel like an option,” Garrett said.

Like Garrett, Drake student Luke Hofmann said he has scholarships that have lessened his financial burden, but he has still had to take out student loans during his time at Drake.

“I received the presidential scholarship when I was accepted into Drake my senior year of high school,” Hofmann said. “I also have now in my senior year received the Noyce Scholarship for STEM educators.”

However, Hofmann’s father was laid off as a result of the pandemic, providing a brief time of uncertainty for his family.

“My dad got laid off due to COVID. However, he very quickly got another job

somewhere else,” Hofmann said. “[But] I did not get as many hours at my summer job as usual due to COVID, so making rent payments this year has been much tighter.”

According to Hofmann, the quality of online education does not match the price students are paying for tuition.

“I think the quality of lessons has dropped significantly, especially classes held online only,” Hofmann said. “I know the professors are doing the best they can, but not being in person will always drop quality.”

Garrett said she feels as though tuition costs should have been lowered this year since most classes have been moved completely online.

“Since even some of my non-fully online classes have online sessions, it really takes away a lot of the experience

of talking with a group and overall feels like a worse experience that doesn’t match the price being paid,” Garrett said.

Garrett said she would like to see Drake do more to help students whose financial situations have worsened as a result of the pandemic. “[Drake should] help with the cost of materials required to learn or help with lost job wages,” Garrett said.

According to Hofmann, what bothers him more than the lack of reduction in tuition is the lack of transparency students saw from Drake at the beginning of the year.

“I think Drake should be releasing frequent, regular and accurate data on the COVID situation at Drake and the surrounding areas,” Hofmann said.

Writing Workshop program adapts to COVID precautions Kyle Keegan Contributing Writer kyle.keegan@drake.edu

“We don’t have a culture of writing on this campus,” Drake University’s Director of the Writing Workshop Jody Swilky said.

This belief led the English professor to take over the university’s writing program 10 years ago, where he and his group of hand-selected tutors oversee the writings of Drake undergraduates, graduates and even faculty.

Since taking over, Swilky has increased the number of tutors and tutees involved in the workshop and has said to be doing ‘four times the amount” of the program’s original workload.

The Writing Workshop opened on Sept. 7. Swilky hopes to see the program’s success continue and for attendance numbers to increase, despite the difficulties imposed by

COVID-19.

“We came back last semester after spring break, and we went online then,” Swilky said. “Fortunately, that was a very good thing for me to do because my tutors got to be trained in-person and online in one semester.”

Senior Allyn Benkowich has been working at the Writing Workshop as a tutor since the fall of her junior year, so she witnessed the program’s early struggles with the pandemic.

“I think it’s good to have someone else’s perspective on your writing.”

“Once we went online, I think we died down even more because people didn’t

know how to do it. People didn’t know how to sign up,” Benkowich said. “You couldn’t just find a link online anywhere. You had to reach out and sign up for something like that.”

Now, the Writing Workshop can be found with a simple Google search of the program’s name.

First-year Ella Schulte, who was required to set up an appointment for her first-year seminar class, enjoyed the simplicity of setting up her appointment.

“It already has all your classes in the system. You just hit submit and get an email right away,” Schulte said.

“The tutor I was with touched base a couple days prior with the Zoom link. It was super easy.”

In-person or not, Swilky tells his tutors to act as the “buffer zone” for their tutees.

“You’re the place where your service is for free. How many things on this campus are for free?” Swilky said.

“And secondly, you’re not grading them, so you’re on their side. You’re trying to help them do a better job.”

Benkowich elaborated on the program’s methods.

“Making it feel like more of a conversation is going to make them feel more comfortable with you talking about their writing,” Benkowich said. “We are here to encourage them, and we are here to work on some things they can improve on.”

Schulte appreciated the feedback she got from her first writing appointment.

“I think it’s good to have someone else’s perspective on your writing,” Schulte said. “When you get into your own style, having an outside perspective on your flow, aside from your professor, is really helpful.”

Swilky believes the work he and the tutors are doing is important.

“I think the fundamentals of a college education and not a vocational education

is reading, writing and research,” Swilky said. “I think we are contributing to improving that on campus, so I think it is honorable and it has an impact.”

Benkowich recalled how vital the Writing Workshop was to her first-year as a Drake student.

“I went to the same tutor for most of my papers because I felt like I really learned a lot from her,” Benkowich said.

“Some might be afraid of a lot of markups on papers, but for me that was really helpful.”

As a student at Drake’s journalism school, Schulte plans to use the workshop for future writing assignments.

“It ended up being really beneficial,” Schulte said. “It alleviates the pressure of having to know what your grade is and instead focuses on working out the paper’s kinks.”

To schedule an appointment, visit https:// library.drake.edu/writingworkshop/.

SPORTS

Sports

Oct. 21, 2020 | Page 3

Blackhawks let go of veteran goalie Corey Crawford Emily Godsey Sports Editor emily.godsey@drake.edu

There are a number of things that scare hockey fans like nothing else: the NHL Draft, the trade deadline and triple overtime.

However, one thing that may send any hockey fans running to the hills is unexpected announcements like the one the Chicago Blackhawks made on Thursday, October 8. The fanproclaimed “rebuilding team” took to Twitter yesterday to reveal one of the most heartwrenching losses they have faced in the last few years (yes, even worse than not making it to Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs).

The tweet read, “SVP/GM Stan Bowman announces the #Blackhawks will not re-sign goaltender Corey Crawford.

‘I had a conversation with Corey earlier today and it was an emotional talk.’”

A thread of the emotionless quote from Stan Bowman ensued, in which he described the Blackhawks commitment to their younger goalies and even referenced that the NHL has been “embracing” youthful goalies as of recent.

As expected, the team’s dedicated fanbase immediately rejected this announcement with mournful messages of love and support for the thirty-five-year-old goalie who had been picked up

by Chicago in the 2003 draft.

Crawford had inarguably led his team to the Stanley Cup championships both in 2013 and 2015; without him in the net – especially in the last few seasons – it is pretty obvious that the Blackhawks wouldn’t have been able to succeed in the ways that they had.

Of course, Crawford (nicknamed “Crow” by the team and its fans) had his fair share of haters throughout the seasons. Many Blackhawks fans had even ventured to call for his removal earlier on based on his rare poor performances. Paired with the hate-filled chants of “Crawford” from opposing teams’ fans whenever he let a goal get past him, it would not be a stretch to consider him to be one of the most unappreciated goalies of our time.

There was a certain love between Corey Crawford and his teammates that cannot go unnoticed. The memories of post game wins when the entire team would line up at the goal and tap their heads against Crawford’s mask, wrap their arms around him, pat him on the back. The celebration after he shut out the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals and led his team to victory, when his entire team hopped over the bench as he ripped off his gear and they finally tackled him into a hug that pushed him up against the glass, helmets and sticks

COREY CRAWFORD HAS LED THE CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS TO TWO STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONSHIPS. The Chicago Blackhawks announced last week that they would not be resigning their starting goalie because of age. He has been a member of the team since he was drafted in 2003. PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKICOMMONS

and gloves all forgotten in the middle of the ice as the losing team skated in disappointment.

Even off the ice, Corey Crawford’s team was constantly supporting him; when Crow got married to his wife, Kristy Muscolino in 2019, many of his teammates were pictured partying with him at the reception.

At the many Halloween parties, there were always pictures of Crawford

(hilariously dressed as Drake, his lookalike, in some instances) with captain Jonathan Toews.

Crow has been such a staple of the Chicago Blackhawks that it is going to be an impossible task to see him in any other jersey.

According to an official NHL announcement, “Crawford is the franchise’s only goalie to win multiple Stanley Cups (2013,2015) and multiple William M. Jennings

Trophies (201213, 2014-15) as the netminder with the fewest goals against in the regular season.”.

Corey Crawford finished his thirteenth and final season playing for the Chicago Blackhawks with a .918 regular season save percentage (a very impressive number, if unfamiliar with the numbers), twenty-six shutouts, and even a gold medal for Team Canada in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Women’s tennis returns to the courts

Drake’s team participates in ITA Tournament at Lifetime Fitness

WOMEN’S TENNIS PARTICIPATES IN THE ITA FALL TOURNAMENT. Drake’s women’s tennis team headed to Lifetime Fitness last weekend to play in their first competitive match of the season. PHOTO COURTESY OF MYUT

Darinka Stepan Contributing Writer darinka.stepan@drake.edu

Women’s tennis was able to participate in the first competition of the season: an ITA tournament at Lifetime Fitness on the weekend of Oct. 9th.

Junior Kelsey Neville and sophomore Kendall Hunt competed in the tournament where the draw started at the round of 16.

Kelsey Neville was the two seed of the tournament, after receiving a bye in the round of 16, she started her tournament off with a win in the quarterfinals. Neville continued onto the semifinals,

but after a tough three set battle, she lost.

When Neville was asked how she felt about the tournament her response was nothing but positive.

“I am super grateful that we got the opportunity to get out and compete again and share the courts with my teammates after a couple weeks of great practice,” Neville said.

Kendall Hunt had a tough first round and lost after a hard fought battle. Hunt moved on to compete in the back draw; her first match in the back draw in the quarter finals was a win, and after her win in the quarter finals, she moved into the semifinals and won her match. Hunt

advanced to the finals of the back draw and won in a grind three set battle.

“We have not been able to compete in awhile, so it was very beneficial to play competitive matches again and build confidence for the upcoming spring season.”

“I think it was a great learning experience for everyone who played,” Hunt said. “We have not been able

to compete in a while, so it was very beneficial to play competitive matches again and build up confidence for the upcoming spring season.”

Junior Daria Walczak was also able to compete in the tournament this weekend and also won her matches.

“I really enjoyed being back on the court with my teammates as well as supporting them,” Walczak said.

Throughout the tournament, the women’s tennis team had the support of their coaches, both head coach Mai-ly Tran and assistant Coach Kristian Lott.

“I was extremely happy to see the girls competing again,” Tran said. “Our

sophomore, Kendall Hunt won 3 out of 4 of her matches.

We were grateful for the opportunity to play and gain some confidence from the experience.”

Lott was also pleased to see players back in their element.

“It was nice to see the team back on the court competing after months of being off,” Lott said. “I thought everyone got better every match they played, and I’m excited to see them continue to make improvements throughout the fall and into the spring season.”