THE TIMES-DELPHIC The weekly student newspaper of Drake University Vol. 139 | No. 8 | Oct. 23, 2019
FEATURES Drake University’s Equity and Inclusion webpage is getting an update. Learn about the changes and what it means for students. Read more on page 2
SPORTS
OPINIONS
The Drake Bulldogs are on a roll; the football team recently defeated Butler University 42-7 and has a record of 3-3. Read more on page 3
The new movie Joker hit theaters earlier this month; the film has been both a smashing success and a source of controversy. Read more on page 4
timesdelphic.com
AN IMPEACHMENT DIALOGUE EVENT, hosted by the Iowa Caucus Project, offered students a chance to learn about impeachment.
PHOTO COURTESY OF AVERY VANDENBERG
Iowa Caucus Project discusses impeachment
Lizzie Deal Staff Writer lizzie.deal@drake.edu
The Iowa Caucus Project hosted an open impeachment dialogue in hopes of informing students about the impeachment process. The event was held in the Cowles Library Reading Room and provided students with an opportunity to learn and ask questions about impeachment. The dialogue opened with a quick icebreaker to get the attending students engaged, then segued into discussion in pairs about what prior knowledge they had of impeachment and what questions they wanted to get answered over the course of the event. Most students who attended had varying backgrounds with regards to politics, so the conversation allowed
for questions and answers about both broad and specific topics with regards to the impeachment process. “I came in with a pretty good idea of what impeachment was,” said Madeleine Leigh, a sophomore studying Political Science and News. “I thought [the dialogue] would be an interesting look at how the campus as a whole feels about impeachment.” Rachel Paine Caufield, who heads the Iowa Caucus Project, explained to students the basics of the impeachment process, which begins with committees looking into any possible impeachable offenses. After an impeachment inquiry is announced and substantial evidence has been gathered, it is brought before the House of Representatives and put to a vote. If a majority is in favor, then the president is impeached.
After a president is impeached, the evidence is brought to Senate, where traditionally the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court presides over a trial. If twothirds of the Senate votes in favor, the president can then be removed from office and barred from holding any government officer positions again. One topic that was discussed not only by Paine Caufield but in small groups of attendees was what sort of actions actually constitutes as impeachable offenses. The constitution defines that as any acts of treason, bribery, and high crimes and misdemeanors. One common misconception that people have about impeachment is that presidents have to be impeached for doing something that’s illegal. When the constitution was written, the term misdemeanor
didn’t have the criminal connotation that it has now, but rather meant something along the lines of mischief or shenanigans. The inclusion of high crimes and misdemeanors as impeachable offenses, therefore, is more of a catch-all that changes with the times and the opinion of both the House of Representatives and the public. “There’s a lot of misinformation going around about impeachment,” said Samantha Bayne, the Iowa Caucus Project’s Campus Engagement Team Lead. “Many people don’t know that impeachment doesn’t mean immediate trial and conviction, so it was important to provide an open forum for students to talk about impeachment and what it means and spread the information to other students.” After discussing what impeachment means, Paine
Caufield put it in perspective with the current political happenings by explaining that President Trump currently only has an impeachment inquiry open against him. When touching on the matter of the current impeachment process, attendees were careful to keep their own political opinions out of the conversation because of the event’s purpose: to educate students about the process of impeachment in a non-partisan way and encourage all students to engage in the discourse. “The impeachment process is a Constitutional system; it’s existed since the beginning of our country, and it’s rearing its head right now,” Bayne said. “Students should know about current events, one of our main tenets as a university is civic engagement, so students should know what’s going on in their lives and around them.”
Drake University implements new on-campus parking policies Vada Abrahamson Staff Writer vada.abrahamson@drake.edu
Drake University implemented a new parking system this year, including restrictions on where drivers can park and a price increase. Students and faculty have differing opinions on the new system. “They upped the price by $125 and restricted the zones where we can park,” said sophomore Olena Andrushko. “I didn’t think it was worth it to pay for such a small zone.” Many Drake students have withheld from purchasing parking passes and resorted to street parking due to the increase in price. Students are encouraged by the university not to bring cars to campus. For many students, this can cause conflicts with work, internships and other activities. “I didn’t want to keep asking people for rides, I wanted to feel more independent and be able to get a job,” Andrushko said. “I feel like this new parking policy has restricted students’ abilities to do that.” The university does provide each student with free Dart Bus rides with their school ID. They
also give students the option to rent a car through Enterprise and discounted rates for BCycle rides. This is all done in an effort to increase the campus’s sustainability. Students who do not have passes park their cars in nonguaranteed street parking locations. Some students with passes also resort to street parking since lots have been oversold and spots are not always available. “Because I had to park on the street, someone hit my car
and it’s dented very badly,” said Andrushko. “I feel like if it was in a Drake lot maybe public safety could step in and help me somehow.” Many students that live on campus rely on rides from off campus friends or friends with parking passes to give them rides. With the amount of students that did not purchase passes, free spots go fast and many students park far away from campus. The university has specific zones, some of which are
residential and some that are commuter. Professors with parking passes are restricted to the commuter lots while oncampus students are restricted to the residential lots. “Because of the new policy, I bought a pass for the first time,” said Professor Chris Snider, who parks in the Olmsted lot. “In the past I’ve parked on the street and occasionally parked in the lot and just risked that I would not get into any trouble.” The Olmsted lot is a yellow zone commuter lot. It is also
the closest lot to Meredith Hall, where Snider teaches, which is why he chose that lot even though it was the most expensive lot to park in. Olmsted spots run at $250 along with red and green zones, while other commuter lots cost $125. “To me, it seems like students are upset about a lack of parking spots,” Snider said. “In Des Moines, you really need to drive places to do stuff, so I see the frustration students are going through.”
THE ALIBER PARKING LOT is one of many areas in and around campus affected by construction. The work zones can affect how and where students and faculty can park their cars. PHOTO BY VISHVA TUMMALAPALLY| DESIGN EDITOR
twitter: @timesdelphic | instagram: draketimesdelphic | facebook: the times delphic