Times-Delphic

Page 1

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER FOR DRAKE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884

THE TIMES-DELPHIC DES MOINES, IOWA • Monday, September 14, 2009 • VOL. 128, NO. 2 • www.timesdelphic.com

WHAT’S

INSIDE

UNDEFEATED

SIFE LEADS

OUR TWO CENTS

UGANDA

DRAKE FOOTBALL BEAT MARIST 34-6 ON SATURDAY.

SIFE attended a business conference in Kansas City, Mo. last weekend.

See what’s making news in The TimesDelphic newsroom this week.

Over the summer, students traveled to Uganda for a class on local issues.

PAGE 7 SPORTS

PAGE 2 NEWS

PAGE 3 OPINIONS

PAGE 4 FEATURES

FREEDOM WRITERS

Freedom Writers share their inspirational stories by KRISTEN SMITH

Staff Writer kristen.smith@drake.edu

The Drake University Writers and Critics Series hosted three “Freedom Writer” teachers last Wednesday. Three high school teachers in Iowa have applied the Freedom Writer techniques that Erin Grunwell implemented in her classroom 15 years ago. Grunwell was a novice high

school teacher in Long Beach, Calif. Her unorthodox methods for teaching troubled teens worked so well that she founded the Freedom Writers Foundation to “promote innovative teaching.” Emily Bollinger, Cody Cochran and Katie Williams, all members of the foundation, contributed to the book “Teaching Hope: Stories from the Freedom Writer Teachers.” The book is a collection of 150 stories from teachers across

the United States and Canada. It was written in honor of the 10th anniversary of “The Freedom Writers Diary,” which is composed of journals from Grunwell’s students. The Freedom Riders, participants in the famous bus rides of the civil rights movement, inspired Grunwell’s students to dub themselves the Freedom Writers. Bollinger said the main purpose of both the Freedom Writers Diary and Teaching Hope is to

show that everyone has a voice and that words have power. “Even though ‘Teaching Hope’ was written by teachers, it’s all about the students,” Bollinger said. A few of Bollinger’s students from Theodore Roosevelt High School in Des Moines shared their classmates’ and their own stories at the presentation. The students’ narratives were very similar to the memoirs of the original writers. The stories

included problems of gang violence, abuse and homelessness. The students led the entire audience in Grunwell’s famous “Step to the Line” activity. Standing in a circle around a taped line on the floor, they asked anyone who had flown in an airplane to step to the line. Every person stepped to the line.

SEE FREEDOM WRITERS, PAGE 2

JANIE JONES

HOLLYWOOD COMES TO

DRAKE

Students participate as extras in “Janie Jones” by KENSIE SMITH

Copy Editor mackensie.smith@drake.edu

Lights, camera, action! On Sept. 9, Hollywood came to Drake in the form of rock & roll. While it was not a big break into acting, about 200 students seized their 15 minutes of fame as extras in the upcoming film, “Janie Jones”. A mass of students arrived at the Harmon Fine Arts Center prior to 3 p.m. call time, toting extra clothes and wide smiles. “I’m an actor and this is a fun process,” Tony Dimiglio (AS4), one of the extras, said. When Dimiglio graduates in May, he plans to push his acting career to

the next level by moving to Hollywood. Filming Janie Jones offered the perfect opportunity to jumpstart his career. “This will be my movie debut, and if I get a line, that would be awesome,” Dimiglio said. ACME casting company organized the 400 extras, along with a small squad of security and a tech crew. The crowd was expected to cheer, oooh and ahhh at the staged fight that took place in the Fine Arts Center. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance,” Alicia Atwell (PP2) said. “I might not necessarily be famous, but one day you could rent it and be like, ‘Hey kids, that’s me.’” Producer Steven Ritchie said the Performing Arts Stage in the Fine Arts

Center was the perfect setting for the intended scene. Unfortunately, the stage will not be associated with Drake, but will appear to be the University of Kansas. Ritchie said that the scene sets the plot for an onslaught of events after a young girl (actor Abigail Breslin) is dropped off by her mother at a rock concert. Unbeknownst to him, Breslin is the rocker’s daughter. The turn of events thrusts him into the adventure of fatherhood while staying on tour. Altercation and change is sure to develop out of the father-daughter relationship in the “dramady,” as Ritchie called it. A few students reported seeing the enchanting 13-year-old Abigail Breslin, best known for her roles in “Little Miss

Sunshine” and “My Sister’s Keeper.” Others reported speaking with Britney Snow, one of the stars of “Hairspray.” And why would a movie want to be filmed here, in our beautiful, but cornenveloped state? “The amphitheater location was just what we were looking for,” Ritchie said. He praised the Drake administration and the city of Des Moines for their cooperation. “Janie Jones” had already filmed other scenes at the local Redwood Motel, on Hubbell Ave. and the BP Gas Station on S.E. 14th St., according to the Des Moines Register. Ritchie anticipated the “Janie Jones” release date to be summer 2010.

STUDENT SENATE

Olson calls for tree planted in deceased student’s honor by ERIKA SEVIGNY

Staff Writer erika.sevigny@drake.edu

photo by TYLER O’NEIL | Relays Editor

CREW MEMBERS work on the set of “Janie Jones” in the Fine Arts Center on Wednesday. There, students had the opportunity to be extras in the film.

FOR A FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT OF BEING AN EXTRA IN “JANIE JONES,” SEE KRISTIN KOWALSKI’S STORY ON PAGE 5.

In their third meeting of the 200910 school year, Student Senate directed attention to a number of smaller issues in preparation for the appointment of Senate committee members next week. President Ben Olson (AS4) said that Senate’s activity will pick up significantly following the appointment of more than 45 additional students to committees. The open positions were filled this past week through a series of interviews conducted by Olson and Vice President Ben Cooper (AS3). “We had 70 applications for about 45 spots,” Cooper said. “The applicants were excellent, and it was very difficult to make the decisions. We’re extremely excited about the appointments and are looking forward to a very productive year.” Cooper added that the opportunity to serve on Senate committees is limited to a set number of students by the Senate bylaws, despite the high volume of qualified applicants. “The quality of the applicants for Senate committees signifies that Drake continues to recruit great leaders. Many of the first-year students that applied for positions occupied impressive leadership positions in their high schools,” Olson said. Senators also received an update from the Campus Technology Committee student representative

about the committee’s search for a new Computer Management System (CMS). Kristen Corns (AS, J2), undergraduate representative for the committee, said that the group is looking for input from student users or anyone with expertise in computer systems to help the committee choose a new system. “Drake’s current CMS is not campuswide,” Corns said. “Instead, each college has their own. Implementing a new system would utilize resources in a much more effective manner, and would make getting information to students much less complicating. An improved system would be more user-friendly and change the way student organizations update information on the web.” Dean of Students Sentwali Bakari explained the university’s plans for combating the H1N1 virus and the actions being taken to help Drake students stay healthy this flu season. Bakari also notified senators that statistics on fall enrollment and freshmansophomore retention rates will be officially released in the upcoming week. President Olson announced plans to honor first-year student Victorya VanPelt (AS1), who passed away last week. As is tradition in honoring the death of a student, a tree will be planted on campus in her memory. Olson is working with her family to create a commemorative plaque to be featured at the base of the tree. Dean Bakari will accompany four Drake students to attend Van-Pelt’s funeral this coming week in Little Rock, Ark.


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