WHITE OUT Drake fans flocked to the men’s basketball game Saturday night. PAGE 8 SPORTS
THE TIMES-DELPHIC THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER FOR DRAKE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884
DES MOINES, IOWA • Monday, February 1, 2009 • VOL. 128, NO. 25 • www.timesdelphic.com
Date set for hazing trial by MATT VASILOGAMBROS Editor-in-Chief times.delphic@drake.edu
The two Drake University students charged in the Phi Delta Theta fraternity hazing will go to trial on Feb. 16. Junior Skylar Otto and sophomore Joseph Hatchett were charged with hazing causing serious injury—a serious misdemeanor in Iowa that, if they are found guilty, could lead to a substantial fine or over one year of imprison-
ment. In the early hours of Nov. 8, first-year Nate Erickson was rushed to the hospital after medics found him unresponsive and “nearly unable to breathe by himself,” according to the Des Moines police report. Police reports indicate his blood alcohol content was .500—nearly six times the .08 legal limit in Iowa. Otto and Hatchett will appear before the court on Tuesday for their second pretrial conference. n
Senate debates text-alert system, no decision made by STEPHANIE SANYOUR
Staff Writer stephanie.sanyour@drake.edu
photo courtesy of teamvp2010.com
BOB VANDER PLAATS visited Drake University last Wednesday to discuss a book he wrote about his son.
Iowa gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats shares ‘Light’ Vander Plaats asked the audience to see him as a teacher, father and a person who has faced unforeseen difficulties, instead of focusing on his political career. He shared his family’s personal struggles to enlighten students about the importance of emWith the Iowa gubernatorial election of bracing the situations they are placed 2010 quickly approaching, Republican canin. didate Bob Vander Plaats spoke with Drake Senior Ashley Pospeschil was introstudents on Jan. 27, discussing his campaign duced to Vander Plaats through her strategies and personal story of struggle. pastor. She believes he is worthy of the The event was made possible through position of governor and is now workthe efforts of the Drake College Republicans ing as his political consultant. chapter. “I am confident he is a man who is “Every time I hear Bob speak, I know he is strong in his convictions, and one who meaning what he says,” said freshman Emily is looking out for the interests of othLofgren, who organized the event. “He is the ers,” Pospeschil said. “He is not going to kind of leader we need to lead Iowa. He cares make promises he will break.” about the issues many voters care about.” Sophomore Loren Pavel attended Vander Plaats earned both his master’s and the event and was impressed by Vander specialist’s degrees from Drake. He worked as Plaats’ honesty and candidacy platform. an educator for 11 years and later became the “He handled the opposition very CEO of Opportunities Unlimited, an organi“LIGHT FROM LUCAS” well and was charismatic,” Pavel said. zation that administers rehabilitative services “I’m excited to see him elected. Vander Plaats’ main goal to young people with disabilities. This organization hits close to home for Vander Plaats, for the event was to inspire students to make a conscious whose 16-year-old son Lucas has partial pachygeria lissen- effort to live their lives to the fullest.” “All of us have talents, gifts and abilities, and we need cephaly, a disease that inhibits his ability to speak or walk. “Lucas has taught me so much about parenting, mar- to give our best, especially when we see that a need exists,” riage, the nature of suffering, unconditional love and the Vander Plaats said. “I encourage you like crazy to let your value of everyday life,” Vander Plaats said in an excerpt light shine.” n from his book, “Light from Lucas.” by JACKIE WALLENTIN News Editor tdnews@drake.edu
Senate met last Thursday to discuss previous and upcoming events, to propose ideas for the school closing system and to make a final decision about the removal of the Organizational Council senator. At the Jan. 21 meeting, the most debated topic of the evening was the school closing alert system. The university currently uses Drake Alert, a voluntary service that informs faculty, students and staff through e-mail, text messages or voicemail about severe weather, building evacuations or other emergencies requiring immediate action. This system, however, does not provide information about school cancellations or closings. Sen. Greg Larson contacted Provost Michael Renner about implementing a voluntary texting service for class cancellations. The majority of Senators voted in favor of the texting service, but Sen. Tyler Boggess feels the service may not be the most effective for school cancellations or closings.
by MARY BESS BOLLING Sports Editor tdsports@drake.edu
TURNING TECHNOLOGIES 4.1
When students returned to Drake in the fall, some found that they had an unexpected $42 fee added to their accounts. Drake’s Office of Information Technology implemented a new ver-
sion of audience response hardware for courses. The new system, Turning Technologies 4.1, requires students to buy smaller editions of the hardware commonly referred to as a clicker. “You know the saying, ‘What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I understand?’” said sophomore pre-pharmacy major Sarah Moldenhauer. “That’s what the clickers give us. When we are asked to punch in the right answer, it forces us to think about the material.” Though most students acknowledge the effectiveness of the clickers, not all professors use them in the same
mously to remove the position. President Ben Olson also introduced the new Student Senate Web site. The new site includes a blog and quick links to Twitter
SEE SENATE, PAGE 2
VOTE ONLINE Do you want text alerts from the university for weather closings and emergencies?
OIT adds clicker system to classes Some students pay $42 fee on new Turning Technologies clicker
“It does not fix the problem of short-notice cancellations,” Boggess said. Drake has a cancellation line implemented to be aware of cancellations; however, not many students are aware of this system. “Not enough people know about (the line), and it is really easy,” Sen. Ben Urick said. A decision was not made on the texting service and will be addressed at a later date. Senate also addressed whether to find a new candidate for the Organizational Council Senate position or to remove it. Senate voted unani-
way. Moldenhauer first used a clicker in her Introduction to Biology course. This semester she had to invest in a second one; the new version for a statistics course. “We had to buy two and they both serve the same purpose,” Moldenhauer said. “I don’t understand why we couldn’t just use the older version until we graduated.” In pharmacy pre-professional CAPS classes, clickers are mostly used to account for students’ absences. “It does engage us, but when we
SEE CLICKER, PAGE 2
WHAT IS A RESPONSECARD? The ResponseCard RF’s (Radio Frequency), commonly known as a clicker, keypad is used for audience responses. Professors use them for surveys or group quizzes. With 12 keys (1(A) – 10(J), Ch, ?), it weighs only one ounce.