Sept. 23, 2020

THE TIMES-DELPHIC The weekly student newspaper of Drake University Vol. 140 | No. 5 | Sep. 23, 2020

FEATURES

SPORTS

COMMENTARY

Nearly half of public schools in the U.S. don’t have proper ventilation systems, raising COVID concerns amongst administrators and parents.

With remote learning now underway, international students must cope with adjusted class schedules and practicing for athletics on their own time.

One student documents her experience having COVID-19 on campus and challenges the idea that the blame for contracting COVID should be placed on students.

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Polk County Democrats host drive-in Steak Fry timesdelphic.com

POLK COUNTY DEMOCRATS invited attendees to decorate their cars and gave awards to the most decked out vehicles.

Trish Richards Copy Editor trish.richards@drake.edu

In an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus, the very first “drive-in edition” of the Polk County Democrats’ annual Steak Fry was held on Sept. 12.

The event took place on a grass field in Water Works Park.

With the help of numerous volunteers, hundreds of cars were parked in rows to observe the event through the safety of their windshields. Anyone roaming outside of a vehicle, including volunteers, was asked to don a mask for the safety of others.

Attendees dined on steak, chicken or vegan alternative meals while watching video messages from local candidates

and an assortment of political skits and parodies from shows like “Saturday Night Live.”

According to Politico, the steak fry fundraiser tradition formally began in 1987 as the “Harkin Steak Fry,” hosted by former Iowa Senator Tom Harkin. The Harkin Steak Fry drew A-list celebrities from both entertainment and politics. In 2006, future President Barack Obama made his Iowa political debut there as a young senator from Illinois.

After Harkin’s retirement in 2014, the fundraiser dropped the Harkin from the name but continued as the “Polk County Steak Fry” under the guidance of the Polk County Democratic Party.

Sean Bagniewski, chair of the Polk County Democrats, said in his introductory speech

that this year’s event sold over 1000 tickets and drew over 800 vehicles–arguably an impressive turnout, by pandemic standards.

“We just have a great group of gals that are very strong democrats and we believe in supporting local activities.”

“The reason we are all here in cars tonight is because Donald Trump downplayed the coronavirus this spring,” Bagniewski said. “More than 190,000 Americans have paid with their life because of his lies and lack of leadership.”

PHOTO BY TRISH RICHARDS | COPY EDITOR

In his speech, Bagniewski told the crowd that early in the pandemic there had been concern over whether or not the event could even take place.

“After weeks of discussion and planning, more than 150 volunteers…have come together to make one of the great American political events possible again this year,” Bagniewski said. “All of our volunteers, from the parking team all the way to the clean-up team, are wearing face masks and face shields.”

Other notable speakers in live attendance included Iowa State Education Association President Mike Beranek, Democratic Senate candidate Theresa Greenfield and Congresswoman Cindy Axne.

The event’s headliners, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Speaker Nancy

Pelosi and Vice Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris, all appeared remotely with prerecorded speeches.

Democratic Iowans from across the state came to take part in the socially distanced festivities.

Lori Seeley and Sherri Sheid came all the way from Perry with a group of friends to attend the event.

“We just have a great group of gals that are very strong democrats and we believe in supporting local activities,” Seeley said. “We thought this sounded fun: friendship, fellowship, and food.”

Thanks to the efforts of the Polk County Democratic Party, to its many volunteers and hundreds of attendees, the 2020 Drive-In Steak Fry was one for the history books.

Are classrooms really socially distant?

Students, professors discuss their experiences with in-person class

Sophia Lacy Staff Writer sophia.lacy@drake.edu

With students and faculty attending in-person classes, many question if the classrooms are actually set up for social distancing and safety during COVID-19.

Drake University has required all rooms to be cleaned in between classes to ensure the safety of those utilizing the room next. The setup of the classrooms has also been adjusted to help prevent the spread of the virus.

Sophomore Zoe Sax said that the school has done their best given the classroom size, but still doesn’t feel like she is the recommended six feet away from her peers.

“I’m comfortable with the distance because we aren’t super close and we all have masks on not facing each other, so the distance is a small factor,” Sax said.

Chris Snider, an associate professor of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, said he is impressed by what Drake and

the students have done to social distance in class. His only challenge is being able to hear his students occasionally.

“I was initially very worried about my health being on campus, but the precautions Drake is taking make me feel safe here.”

Snider said he teaches in large lecture rooms with chairs that are roped off for social distancing purposes that have helped students easily maneuver through class safely.

“I’ve been impressed with how Drake set up the rooms to be socially distant,” Snider said. “We are all adults here, so it seems like people are respecting each other’s space in my classrooms.”

Jeanette Tran, an assistant professor of English at Drake, said she feels the classrooms are “adequately arranged in

a way that allows for social distancing.”

Tran said her biggest class has seven in-person students in a classroom that would normally sit 22.

“I just wish we had bigger classrooms so I could meet with more students who want in-person instruction at once, but I can’t raise new, more spacious buildings just because of COVID,” Tran said.

Besides professors feeling safe, many students have also felt similarly and appreciative to still have the option to attend classes virtually.

Senior Marisa Morris, said the school has done a good job at limiting the number of students in classrooms and making the classrooms distant.

She enjoys the hybrid learning model because of the great combination of learning styles “even though it’s sometimes confusing when each professor sets things up differently.”

“I was initially very worried about my health being on campus, but the precautions Drake is taking make me feel safe here,” Morris said.

CLASSROOMS now have decreased capacities. Additionally, rows or seats are blocked off in order to encourage social distancing in the classroom. PHOTO BY TRISH RICHARDS | COPY EDITOR

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FEATURES

Features

Sept. 23, 2020 | Page 2

Marching band adjusts to COVID precautions

Grace Altenhofen Features Editor grace.altenhofen@drake.edu

While some activities had an easy transition online to comply with coronavirus precautions, there are some programs where this was not possible. One such program at Drake University is band.

Percussionist Katie Barnhart said that while she chose Drake for its music program, she was not sure that band would even be possible this year due to coronavirus.

“I wasn’t sure if there would be band for most of the summer, but we were told in late summer that we would be trying our best to have band with modifications,” Barnhart said.

Jacob Lish, also a percussionist for Drake, said band was no different than other classes in that students did not know many details about the plan until close to the start of the school year.

“Much like the rest of my classes, everything was in the air until the date set by the university for professors to let everyone know what the plan for class was,” Lish said.

“Music students were sent emails over the summer with all the information needed to ensure a safe and healthy transition back to classes.”

Though the decision was made to continue having band, precautions were put in place to maintain social distancing and avoid the spread of germs.

“We were told that there will be no live concerts, and we would be rehearsing in small groups that were within the capacity of our larger rooms, PPE such as masks, including special masks while playing, and bell covers,” Barnhart said. “We are required to have our own stands and music and as a percussionist, I am only allowed to use my own equipment besides large instruments, which we wipe down. We are also wiping down practice rooms, leaving 30 minutes between occupants, and some spaces have air filters.”

According to mellophone player Jayna Lieberman, marching band has now become ‘standing band’

PRACTICING for their upcoming performance, members of the Drake marching band observe COVID-19 precautions, including special face masks for instruments. PHOTO BY ALLYN BENKOWICH | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

to maintain social distancing.

“Instead of marching around and playing at half time like we usually would, we are standing still and live streaming a performance on Oct. 2,” Lieberman said.

Lieberman said that while she understands the need to meet social distancing requirements, she will miss the ‘marching’ part of marching band.

“There are good and bad things about it,” Lieberman said. “Since we’re just standing, we can focus more on the musicality of the performance and not have to worry about where we are on the field or keeping our steps in time. But I also miss being able to move around and having an actual show and concept to portray was one of my favorite things about marching band.”

Barnhart said she agrees with the decision to have the band stand in place rather than march during performances.

“I don’t mind the change to standing band because I am part of the front ensemble section which doesn’t march,

and I think it was the right choice for maintaining constant distance,” Barnhart said.

However, Lish said he remains unclear about how standing is more socially distant than marching.

“I am still somewhat confused about this, to be honest,” Lish said. “I don’t really understand why standing in one place is better than moving around. In fact, I feel like I am standing closer to others than I ever did last year.”

For brass players like Lieberman, there are some special rules in place to prevent virus spread through spittle.

“We’ve had to get masks with slits in them, bell covers, and for brass players we needed to get a container to hold our spit in instead of emptying it on the floor,” Lieberman said.

However, the need for the special masks for brass players has created a new issue: band members across the country are scrambling to get masks and the supply is short.

“I personally have not

gotten mine yet; since everyone is trying to order them, the online stores are backordered,” Lieberman said. “In the meantime, I’ve gotten a disposable mask and cut a slit in the middle so that I can still play. It is a little more challenging because especially in marching band, we need to quickly put our horns up and down and it’s really hard to do without either accidentally ripping the mask off with the mouthpiece or missing the hole and not being able to start playing in time.”

Lieberman said that in some ways, the changes have been beneficial; because the band does not need to worry about practicing the marching aspect, they are able to have their performance earlier in the year.

“Obviously, no one wanted to just get rid of band altogether,” Lieberman said. “Since we don’t need as much time to learn drill and get the sets lined up with music, we are able to have a performance sooner than we usually would in the year.

Also, because we don’t have as much to learn and we’ll

have a sooner performance, then we are able to start concert band sooner, which I personally like better.”

There was a COVID scare when one of the members of the drumline tested positive for coronavirus, leading the rest of the drumline to quarantine.

“As a member of the drumline, I can say that after an indoor rehearsal because of the rain, one of our members was contacted and told they tested positive for COVID-19 by the university as a part of the random testing initiative,” Lish said.

“They were asymptomatic, which is why they decided to come to class in the first place. Everyone in the room was wearing masks and we were distanced the same way as on the field, but the contact tracing team thought it best to have everyone who attended the rehearsal quarantine in their room, if on campus, or in their off-campus housing.”

However, the show will go on, and the band performance is still planned for Oct. 2 at 4:30 p.m. Viewers can tune in at that time at https://youtu. be/csuz65mpG6I.

Report finds many schools lack proper ventilation systems James Mendez Advertising Manager james.simmons@drake.edu

Nearly half of public schools in the United States don’t have the proper ventilation systems to keep kids safe in the classroom, according to Center for Disease Control guidelines.

The United States Government Accountability Office released a report in June this year showing that 41 percent of public school districts across the country have heating, venting and air conditioning, HVAC, systems that are in need of updates or repairs.

According to Heather Doe, the Iowa Department of Education Communications Director, the state does not keep track of school HVAC infrastructure data, so the exact number of school districts in Iowa that are in need of HVAC system repairs is unknown.

This summer, the Iowa Department of Education and the CDC released guidelines for ‘Return to Learn,’ but scientists and policy experts were at odds about the best approach.

The CDC guidelines to ‘Return to Learn’ for schools list good air quality and open ventilation as one of the primary ways to fight against the spread of COVID-19. The Center’s guidelines instructed local officials and school boards to monitor COVID-19 cases and adapt their return to learn plan based on community needs.

As a primary way to fight back on infections, the CDC website instructs schools to “reinforc[e] everyday preventive actions, ensuring proper ventilation within school facilities,” even if there is no or minimal community spread.

However, Iowa Department of Education guidelines released this

summer were less strict on proper ventilation, masking, and social distancing protocols.

This summer, Governor Kim Reynolds signed an executive order requiring all schools to follow the Department of Education’s guidelines to return to school.

In August, the Iowa State Education Association union filed a lawsuit with Iowa City Schools to protest Reynolds’ executive order.

The President of ISEA, Mike Beranak, said in an August news conference that the lawsuit was to “immediately declare local school districts, not the governor, have the authority to make local decisions affecting the health and safety of their schools.”

The lawsuit was settled in September and ruled in the favor of the State of Iowa.

One major concern about the lack of ventilation systems in Iowa schools, and across

the country, is the increase in community spread of the COVID-19 virus and how that will impact hospital capacities.

State Representative Ruth Ann Gaines, a former Iowa teacher and a National Teachers Hall of Fame inductee, expressed concern about student safety in the classrooms this fall.

“I am an education specialist and I firmly believe that the health of our children comes first,” Gaines said.

“Poor ventilation in some schools will spread the virus and ultimately challenge the health of many of our young students.”

Gaines also expressed concern about hospital capacities in the state as the return to school this fall continues to lead to increased COVID-19 cases.

“I have felt that we opened things up too soon in the state to be able to get a handle on the spread of the virus,”

Gaines said. “The virus will undoubtedly spread with schools and colleges opening with face-to-face instruction.

It would be a tragedy to not have hospital capacity to treat the rise of increased cases in the state.”

However, State Representative and House Education Committee Chairman Cecil Dolecheck did not share Gaines’ concern.

“I think they’ve done as good a job they can,” Dolecheck said. “And in my opinion, a majority of students learn best when they are in a school setting… with an actual teacher in a classroom.”

Dolecheck said that rural districts do not have the same concerns or trends as urban areas in Iowa.

“As far as hospitals go, there’s plenty of capacity built into most rural hospitals to handle any outbreak we may see,” Dolecheck said.

SPORTS

Sports

Sept. 23, 2020 | Page 3

Drake names new college after football player

DRAKE NAMES NEW 2-YEAR COLLEGE AFTER FOOTBALL PLAYER JOHN DEE BRIGHT. The college will be open starting next fall for students seeking an associate’s degree. PHOTO COURTESY OF DRAKE NEWS & EVENTS Alex Lemke Contributing Writer alex.lemke@drake.edu

Drake University announced Sept. 1 that it would be founding a new college: John Dee Bright College.

The John Dee Bright college will offer associates degrees in business, art, science and humanities programs.

The college is on track to open in the fall semester of 2021.

Craig Owens, an English professor at Drake, has been appointed the dean of the college.

Owens has been collaborating with other university staff members on this project since the fall 2019 semester.

“There are dozens of

thoughtful and creative people who are contributing to this project,” Owens said.

“It is a Drake community effort.”

The college is named after former Drake football player John Dee Bright.

Bright was a potential Heisman trophy winner but was injured during a play against Oklahoma State in 1951.

This incident resulted in a broken jaw for Bright and took him out of the running for the prestigious award.

He had a successful career as an educator and coach and did not let his injury distract him in any way.

“His biography attracted us as a model for the college,” Owens said. “Naming the college after him gave us the chance to celebrate his legacy as an educator and we feel like he put on display some of the core attributes that we

hope to foster in the students who come through Bright.”

Drake president Marty Martin has been instrumental in the founding of the college and appointed Owens as the dean.

One of Drake’s goals has been to provide life-long learning through community service, high school programs, and college degrees.

“Instead of thinking of ourselves in these traditional lines, we are now an institution that is embracing and reaching every learner that we can where resources are available,” Martin said.

“We wanted to make sure that Drake becomes even more attainable for even more students than it has been in the past.”

The yearly tuition for the college will be $18,500.

Similar grants and financial aid will be applied compared to Drake.

The first class will start next fall under a regular academic schedule with about 40 students.

“Naming the college after him gave us the chance to celebrate his legacy and display the core attributes we hope to foster in the students who come through Bright.”

Abby Marting is a sophomore at Drake majoring in international business and minoring in Spanish.

She enrolled in associates program classes in high school to receive certain credits before attending Drake.

“It’s a great way for Drake University to diversify their learning plans. We currently have the four-year program, the law school and the pharmacy program and this is a great way to bring even more people to Drake and to get another perspective on learning,” Marting said.

“Having a degree from Drake is a great thing but the price range is out of a lot of people’s budgets. This price makes it a lot more accessible and can also bring more people to our campus.”

Drake’s goal is to exude Bright’s work ethic and commitment to education in the John Dee Bright College.

Through the college, Drake has implemented another opportunity to bring more learners to the campus and add another educational option to the university.

International athletes cope with time difference

INTERNATIONAL ATHLETE MARIA TATARNIKOVA DISCUSSES THE STRUGGLES AND BENEFITS OF ONLINE LEARNING. Tatarnikova studies from home in Poland and has received extensive support from the Drake International Office. PHOTO COURTESY OF DRAKE ATHLETICS Lia Reichmann Contributing Writer lia.reichmann@drake.edu

COVID-19 has had many effects on Americans, from having to stay at home more often to masks being the new social norm to keeping distance from others.

One thing that was an unforeseen effect of the pandemic was its impact on Drake international student athletes who are taking classes online while remaining abroad.

Maria Tatarnikova, a senior women’s tennis player for Drake, is taking all of her classes online in Poland.

Tatarnikova said that

international student-athletes were given the opportunity by the NCAA to stay at home if they felt uncomfortable traveling to the U.S. “I feel more safe here [in Poland],” Tatarnikova said.

“Plus [my tennis] coach was supportive in this case.”

Kendra HossainMorehead, director of Drake’s International Student and

Scholar Services, said that each international student’s path is different so the work they do with students abroad is personalized.

She also mentioned that the ISSS did implement a couple of initiatives to offer support for students taking classes overseas.

According to HossainMorehead, before classes started in August, ISSS held its first ever Virtual International Student Orientation.

In the student orientation topics such as F-1 visa regulation, an overview of Drake’s campus culture, and what to expect with classes whether online or in-person were discussed.

First-year students were also put in remote FirstYear Seminar classes as well as a specific virtual Bulldog Foundations class that is taught by Hossain-Morehead.

“Classes are going pretty well so far,” Tatarnikova said. “There are some disadvantages [to] not being in person, but I would say being online has more advantages.”

According to Tatarnikova some disadvantages from taking classes at home and online include not being albe to “get live feedback” from professors. Rather, she has to “ask many questions via email” and “small group assignments are not the same as in person.”

However, Tatarnikova has enjoyed that she can build

her own schedule and do assignments at her own pace.

She also likes that it is easier to listen to lectures because she can watch the lectures over again.

International students were also given a mentor who answered any questions they had about life at Drake, what the first semester is like, and other questions.

While some international students have found the time difference difficult to deal with, Tatarnikova didn’t, as she said she is more productive in the mornings.

“For one of my classes, I had to wake up at 3 a.m. but now the teacher has allowed me to do live activities offline, which was very nice of her,” Tatarnikova said.

Tatarnikova has also found each of her professors to be “super helpful and supportive, as well as the international office.”

She says the only issue she has been dealing with is through the athletic department; the athletic department was thinking about cutting her scholarship for this semester as she is not coming to campus.

Although it has been stressful to her she is positive they will keep it.

“Overall, I feel better at home, I get to study a lot and be with my family safely because in the U.S. I would be completely alone.”

Tatarnikova said.

Commentary

COMMENTARY

Sept. 23, 2020 | Page 4

Testing Positive on Campus Abby Bankes Staff Writer abby.bankes@drake.edu

Short of spending the semester at my parents’ house and continuing to do classes from my childhood bedroom, I took all the necessary precautions against COVID-19. I didn’t go out and party, took all online courses, wore a mask everywhere, and other than my roommates, I only interacted with the four people living next door. I hardly ever went to the newly renovated Hub (but that could also be because of the less than stellar vegetarian options).

Despite all of this, I still felt a sort of impending doom regarding moving back to the state with the most terrifying COVID numbers in the nation. It was never going to be a question of if I were to contract COVID, but more a question of when. Still, everyone in my life told me that I’d be safe as long as I’m super careful. That was not the case.

My first symptom was a sore throat. I chalked this up to overuse of my voice. Then, a headache. I’d struggled with chronic stress headaches since high school, so this wasn’t incredibly out of the ordinary for me. It’s an insanely stressful time to be alive; of course, my headaches would flare up! Then the next night, I was up all night with fullbody chills and body aches.

I tried to write this off as the result of a wonky GoodwinKirk thermostat, but as I mentally made my way down the list of COVID symptoms, I’d memorized and monitored

myself for over the past six months, my stomach sank.

There was a part of me that knew from that point that something was very wrong.

My roommate also woke up feeling under the weather, but still, in denial, we both decided we just had sinus infections. Without consulting with each other, we essentially stopped leaving our room entirely. I think we both knew that this was something worse than a head cold. That pit in our stomach grew when we found out that someone we’d both been in close contact with had tested positive.

I was sitting in class when I got the news, and immediately all the color drained out of my face. I started shooting off frantic texts to my mom, “I literally just want to come home. I’m not kidding.

Please.” We immediately went to get tested, but we already knew what the test would say deep down.

In the chaos, my name was left off the contact tracing list. When you’ve just found out you have COVID-19, your mind is going a million miles a minute, so this is an entirely understandable mistake. I decided to take the initiative and report my exposure to the University.

Perhaps I’m naïve, but if I were a university administrator, I would make this process very easy.

Apparently, I’m alone in this thought, because reporting a potential exposure to COVID-19 took 30 minutes, three different university offices, one confused public safety officer, 10 minutes on hold, and a mountain of anxiety. After all of that, I was

finally officially quarantined in my dorm as I waited for my test result to come back.

As I waited for my test results, another person who I’d come in even closer contact with tested positive.

It essentially confirmed the result of my test that had been performed the day prior. My roommate and I reached out to the university regarding the level of exposure we’d faced and our symptoms and were moved into Ross Residence Hall the next day to isolate.

I received my positive test about 48 hours later.

University administration would have me think that it was my fault that I got COVID-19. Surely I had defied the Drake Together

Compact somehow, and this could be blamed on my negligence. At universities across the country, the blame has been shifted entirely on the students. We’ve all heard that we need to follow the rules if we want to stay on campus.

However, even students who follow the directions to a tee are contracting COVID-19, and the university continues to take no responsibility for these cases.

It is because of the school’s fears of a financial hit that I got sick. It is because I couldn’t get out of my housing contract that I got sick. It is because my scholarship restricted me from taking a semester off that I got sick.

We as students cannot allow ourselves to believe the lies we’re being told in the slew of increasingly wordy emails. Marty Martin and the rest of the Drake University administration had the option to ensure that the number of cases on Drake’s campus was zero. They chose not to do so due to their own financial interests.

I refuse to blame my friend for going to lunch and unknowingly giving the rest of us COVID. I feel betrayed by my university for putting me in a situation where within 20 days of moving back to campus, I contracted COVID-19. It makes me feel a whole different kind of sick.

SOCIALLY DISTANCE TESTING SITE for COVID-19 tests to be administered.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Black Voices Column Michael Bell Column Lead michael.bell@drake.edu

“We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society.”

-Angela Davis Growing up as an African American male includes all the usual growing up things and more.

I was taught to respect my elders, love my family, embrace my culture and live aware. Black Americans are taught at a young age to be hyper-aware of their clothing, surroundings and disposition.

When I was 12 years old, my family lived in a neighborhood

occupied entirely by white residents. My parents told us not to leave the yard. We were only to check the mail at the end of the driveway when supervised. We had to come inside before sunset.

After returning from a service one evening, I wanted to take out the trash. While heading to dump the garbage outside, I became intrigued with the sky. I stood outside, looking at the sky for twenty minutes. My parents had no idea where I was. They had been both inside and outside looking for me and calling out my name. I didn’t hear them.

Once I came inside, my father grabbed me and said, “Where were you?”

I responded: I was taking out the trash and looking at the stars.

He said, “You know it’s dark out? You can’t do that.

It’s not safe.”

I didn’t understand. He headed to his room and grabbed a black hoodie and boots. He put them on and called out from his room: “You can go outside in a minute.” I stood in the kitchen, which led to the garage doors. A minute or two later, I walked out the door.

Once I left the garage, I stood there and found myself looking up at the sky again.

I thought my dad was still inside. In an instant, a fully covered man came from the

THE TIMES-DELPHIC The student newspaper for Drake University since 1884 RACHEL JAMES, Editor-in-Chief rachel.james@drake.edu JEFF INMAN, Faculty Advisor jeffrey.inman@drake.edu

TARYN RIPPLE, Managing Editor taryn.ripple@drake.edu

EMMA BRUSTKERN, News Editor emma.brustkern@drake.edu

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

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

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

KENDALL HUNT, Sports Editor kendall.hunt@drake.edu ZOE TREIBITZ, Commentary Editor zoe.treibitz@drake.edu

OLIVIA HECKER, Media Manager olivia.hecker@drake.edu JAMES MENDEZ, Advertising Manager james.simmons@drake.edu

ROGER IPSON, Business Manager roger.ipson@drake.edu

road, grabbed me, and ran.

It was my father. I cried and listened as he took off his hood and said, “You’re not safe in this community at night. They don’t see us the same, son.”

The next day we went for a ride, and we had the ‘talk’ common in black families.

He said, “If your mom or I get pulled over while driving, sit still with your hands on your lap, and don’t move unless you’re told to move by an adult.”

I never questioned this advice because I had heard similar directions given to my older sisters when they received their driving licenses. I got that talk just a

few years ago while watching the death of Philando Castille, shown on every major news station.

Black Americans are trained to limit who we are to protect our lives. I must be wise about what I wear, who I look at, what I say. I don’t want to appear threatening because that could change everything. The social model of disability says that what makes someone disabled is not their medical condition, but society’s attitudes and structures.

What makes me a threat is not my color, but the attitudes and structures of America.

America has made being Black a disability.

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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