Times Delphic

Page 1

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER FOR DRAKE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884

THE TIMES-DELPHIC WHAT’S

INSIDE

DES MOINES, IOWA • Monday, October 26, 2009 • VOL. 128, NO. 12 • www.timesdelphic.com

FOOTBALL

OUR TWO CENTS

LIGHTS

GARRETT WEBB

Drake is now 6-1 after beating Davidson Saturday afternoon 21-16.

What are TD staff members complaining about this week?

Q&A with the artist who performed in Des Moines last week.

An athletic profile of the senior captain of the Drake men’s soccer team.

PAGE 6 SPORTS

PAGE 3 OPINIONS

PAGE 4 FEATURES

PAGE 7 SPORTS

Olson to refer Cooper to Judicial Committee

photo by SARAH ANDREWS | Photo Editor

VICE PRESIDENT OF STUDENT LIFE BEN COOPER (AS3) (LEFT) will be referred to the Senate Judicial Committee by STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT BEN OLSON (AS4) (RIGHT).

President Ben Olson drops the impeachment motion in light of Senate’s reactions by ERIN HOGAN News Editor tdnews@drake.edu

Student Body President Ben Olson (AS4) announced Thursday that he will refer Vice President of Student Life Ben Cooper (AS3) to the Senate judicial committee for alleged misconduct. Olson said the allegations include senate bylaw violations under the description of the duties of vice president of student life and nonacademic student handbook conduct violations. Olson said he would not provide any further details until after the judicial committee handled the matter. Referrals to the committee are usually not made public to the entire Senate, Olson said, but he felt the need to address the issue after the events that transpired prior to the last meeting on Oct. 15. For the past several weeks, President Olson

27TH STREET RECAP Sept. 22 – Drake administration sends e-mail to students that parking on the east side of 27th Street will be banned and posts “No Parking” signs, eliminating 30 to 40 parking spots. Sept. 23 – Parking ban takes effect at 6 a.m. Sept. 28 – Bridgette Huntley (L2) speaks out against the ban at the Des Moines City Council meeting. The City Council reverses the ban and rescinds all tickets issued under the ban. The council plans to discuss the matter further at its Oct. 12 meeting.

has met with a group of six senior senators, Dean of Students Sentwali Bakari, fellow executive officer Tisleen Singh (J4) and Cooper himself to address concerns he had about Cooper’s leadership. Olson said several senators expressed similar concerns and made additional allegations against Cooper. “There have been a number of senators at this point that have contacted me, wanting to refer him to judicial,” Olson said. The traditional senate protocol for senator misconduct is for the issue to be reported to an executive officer, who has the authority to refer the accused to the judicial committee for a hearing. After Olson requested that Cooper step down from his seat and Cooper refused, Olson approached Senator Samantha Haas (AS3), chair of the judicial committee, to discuss the concerns, Haas said. “He said that sometimes issues are outside the scope of the judicial committee, and after

we discussed the bylaw options, it seemed that it would be better if the matter were brought before the whole Senate,” Haas said. The chair said she was concerned about “five people deciding something that obviously the whole Senate has a stake in and has an opinion on.” Olson proceeded to draft a motion to impeach Cooper. He e-mailed the proposed Senate agenda for the Oct. 15 meeting, which included previous notice of the motion, to each member of the governing body. When a motion is filed as previous notice, it is placed on the agenda to notify senators that it will be debated and voted on at a future meeting. Notice of the motion seemed to catch many senators off guard. “I’ve never taken issue with Cooper in the last few months,” Senator Emily Krstulic (E3) said. “It’s kind of surprising.” Many senators felt they had been left out of assessing Cooper’s alleged misconduct, specifi-

cally the meetings Olson had with various senators outside of the full senate meeting. Prior to Thursday night’s meeting, senators discussed the matter in assorted groups. The Times-Delphic was told that five senators had drafted letters of resignation they planned to submit if Cooper was impeached. Olson removed the motion before the official agenda was created and distributed Thursday night. He brought up the matter during “speakers and issues,” passing his gavel over to Parliamentarian Jourdan Fenster (J2) to oversee the speaking order. “It was never my intention or goal to deceive any of you,” Olson said as he began his address to the organization. He asked senators to share how they felt about how the matter was handled.

SEE SENATE, PAGE 2

Reggie’s Sleepout draws 1,200 participants by TIFFANY KRAUSE

Staff Writer tiffany.krause@drake.edu

The rain may have soaked through the makeshift cardboard shelters, but it could not dampen the spirits of the 1,200 Reggie’s Sleepout participants gathered in Drake Stadium this weekend. Roosevelt High School sophomores Samantha Watkins and Aubrey McCrorey said they slept in a small box, and joked about the close sleeping quarters. “It’s a good thing we’re very good friends,” McCrorey said. Reggie’s Sleepout is a fundraiser that benefits the Iowa Homeless

Youth Centers. Participants sleep in tents or cardboard boxes in the stadium, collecting donations beforehand for sacrificing their warm bed for a night. Brad Whipple, a director at Iowa Homeless Youth Centers, said the event is not your typical, $100-per-plate black-tie fundraiser. It gives people a first hand experience of homelessness. Ankeny resident Rich Rondeau said the rainy weather only added to his experience. He said the event gives people a real world sense of the challenges facing homeless youth. Rondeau was one of the adult chaperones of 30 students from Our Lady’s Immaculate

Heart Youth Ministries. Part of homelessness is the early wake-up call. Whipple said people had to leave the stadium by 7 a.m., which is the typical policy in a homeless shelter. People of all ages participate in the sleepout. Whipple said last year’s youngest participant was 4 years old and the oldest was 73. The wide range reflects the reality of homelessness. “Homelessness doesn’t have a demographic,” Whipple said. Reggie’s Sleepout offers more than a night in the cold. With all the activities and entertainment, Whipple said he is not sure many people sleep at all. Texas Hold

‘Em, Bingo, movies and an education program about homelessness kept the group busy and distracted from the dreary weather. Volunteers served a warm meal to all participants and Shy of a Dozen, a men’s a cappella group from Iowa State University, performed Saturday in the Fieldhouse. Reggie’s Sleepout is named in honor of Des Moines teen Reggie Kelsey. He aged out of the foster care system in 2001 and was found dead in the Des Moines River two months later. This year was the fourth annual tribute to the young man.

Oct. 1 – Huntley asks Student Senate to draft a resolution opposing the parking ban. Oct. 8 – Senator Megan Hutcheson (B3) presents Resolution SS [091008] “Expressing Lack of Support for the Parking Ban on 27th Street.” Senate passes the resolution. Oct. 9 – The university drops its request to the city council for the parking ban on 27th Street. ERIN HOGAN | News Editor

photo by TIFFANY KRAUSE | Staff Photographer

1,200 PEOPLE participated in Reggie’s Sleepout – a fundraiser for the Iowa Homeless Youth Centers – on the football field Saturday night.


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