Times-Delphic 09/19/18

The Times-Delphic Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018

Volume 138, No. 4

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Features: Drake’s Fall Festival Sophia Weber Contributing Writer sophia.weber@drake.edu

VOCALIST PEYTON JOHNSON from “The Alums” performs for the annual Fall Festival at Drake Univeristy. PHOTO BY GRACE HULIN | PHOTO EDITO

sexual assault reported on campus Kim Bates Staff Writer kim.bates@drake.edu @kimbates

Trigger Warning: Sensitive topic dealing with sexual assault.

Drake University students recently received an email titled “Timely Warning: Notification of a Campus Crime.” This Timely Warning detailed that a sexual assault had occured on the Drake University campus along with information for safety. It’s no secret that universities have sexual assaults, we have been witnessing the fight against sexual assault on college campuses for years.

Sexual assault is a difficult topic that not many people want or know how to discuss. Drake University has several resources to help their students with handling the topic or event of sexual assault.

Title IX is a law that came into place in 1972 that states you cannot discriminate based on sex in educational activities or opportunities. Recently, it includes sexual harassment, assault and violence.

Students can report sexual assaults, harassment and violence on the Title IX page on the Drake University website. Students can also report to Public Safety or any mandatory reporter on campus (i.e. professor, RA or administrator).

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Reporting to any of these resources would make the University aware of the situation. Students can also report to Polk County Crisis and Advocacy.

“I think the biggest myth I see is the fear,” said Katie Overberg, the Title IX coordinator. “I think there are more people out there who need our services but are afraid to come forward because they think we might take it out of their hands or force them to go into a formal process when that’s not what they want. The formal process is there for any student who wants to use it. The biggest thing I want them [students] to know is they’ve got choices if they come to me or Lynne [Cornelius].”

There are several programs on campus that allow students to acquire help and to help other students. These programs include Define the Line, Respect the Line, Mentors in Violence Prevention and Violence Intervention Partner.

These programs supply confidential resources to share your story and get the help you may want or need.

The Drake Counseling Center is another resource that is free and confidential.

Drake’s sexual violence numbers have remained consistent, according to Scott Law, the director for Campus Public Safety.

Drake’s 2016 Annual Security and Fire Report showed that nine rape cases and two fondling

cases have occurred on and off campus involving Drake students.

However, only a small number of students make a report.

“When you take our numbers and compare them to universities with similar size and make-up, our numbers are pretty consistent, and I think, realistically, Drake puts forth a lot of effort ... to try and make sure our students feel comfortable reporting issues to us,” Law said.

Drake University offers several options when it comes to approaching students and survivors with this difficult topic. Survivors can have a conversation with a VIP, or start an investigation with Public Safety. Cornelius, Law and Overberg’s goals were in sync: getting the students help when they need it.

DRAKE STUDENT walking on the sidewalk near Hubble. PHOTO BY

HANNAH

Fall is a favorite season for many of the Drake student body.

The Student Action Board (SAB) helped welcome fall to Drake’s campus this past Friday with their Fall Festival Event.

From 4-6 p.m. this past Friday, Helmick Commons was filled with giant inflatable slides, different on campus groups painting windows, live music and the ever welcoming smell of corn dogs. The event’s mission is to bring fun and school spirit into the Drake community to kick off the fall semester. The event had dozens of students walking around the festival enjoying free food and fall festivities.

Sarah-Rose Ballard, SAB’s Spirit Co Chair, was excited about the festival.

“I loved the fact that we were able to bring different kinds of inflatables than we have in the past and that so many students loved them,” she said. “I also loved the window painting because it is so cool to see the different organizations on the windows of a central building on campus, and to see so many students having fun.”

The Fall Festival was a way to get much of the student body excited for fall and the semester.

If you missed the festival you can still check out the window art on Meredith that different on campus organizations painted.

Mark Elliot, a junior at Drake, enjoyed the inflatables at the festival.

“My friend, Sam, and I decided to race on a few of the obstacle courses and I loved how I beat him everytime,” Elliot laughed.

There can be a kind of melancholy that fills the air when the leaves start to fall but the Fall Fest could be a great way to welcome the season.

If you went to the Fall Festival and thought that planning or helping out with an on campus event like this was something you would be interested in, the Student Activities Board (SAB) currently has their general committee applications out. SAB advocates that it’s a great way to get involved on Drake’s campus and to meet great new people outside of your major.

MCCOY| STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

LGBTQ+ communities experience life in Des Moines Elizabeth Hennessey Contributing Writer elizabeth.hennessey@drake.edu @elizabethhenne2

The Human Rights Campaign gave the city of Des Moines a score of 97 out of 100 for laws, policies and services for the inclusivity of LGBTQ community. The score is broken down into categories of non- discrimination laws, public employees, municipal services, and law enforcements relationship with the LGBTQ community. Des Moines received 93 out of the 100 points available and was given four bonus points.

Organizations like One Iowa, The Project and Downtown Disciples exist within Des Moines for the purpose of helping and advocating for the LGBTQ community.

According to their mission statement, One Iowa is a“ statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) organization preserving and

advancing equality for LGBTQ individuals through grassroots efforts, advocacy and education.”

One Iowa is based out of Des Moines and advocates for the LGBTQ community by educating and training Iowans.

Unlike One Iowa, The Project is a health care service that specializes in HIV services.

“The goal of The Project of PHC is to provide confidential, free or low cost services to help people living with HIV move through the stages of HIV medical care,” according to the official statement on the PHC website.

Downtown Disciples, which is is a progressive Christian organization that meets at different places for their gathering and worship.

According to the Downtown Disciples’ website, “Downtown Disciples is a progressive Christian community and urban ministry, ‘doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly’ together in Des Moines, Iowa. We are LGBTQ + affirming and we proclaim

MEMBERS OF RAINBOW UNION on the front porch of the CAYA house PHOTO BY JAMIE FLANAGAN

#BlackLivesMatter.”

When it comes to the social life of the LGBTQ community in Des Moines, a lot of it is geared toward adults. Bars like The Blazing Saddle, The Garden

Nightclub and Lime Lounge are all geared towards individuals 21 years of age and up. The youth of the community are left with few places to gather, such as local GayStraight Alliances (GSAs) and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 >>

02 | News

Sept. 19, 2018

News

mass shootings, gun crime concerns Celia Brocker Contributing Writer celia.brocker@drake.edu

Mass shootings seem to be occurring frequently in the United States, with a recent incident occurring on Sept. 6 in Cincinnati.

Three people were killed and two were injured in the attack last Thursday before police shot the gunman, Omar Santa Perez. After the attack, Cincinnati joined nine other cities who have experienced mass shootings this month. Six more people are dead after a shooting in Bakersfield, California (including the gunman and his wife) on Wednesday, Sept. 13.

Although Iowa has some of the lowest gun death rates in the nation (2,253 deaths from 2007 to 2016), gun crimes are still prominent. According to the Center for American Progress, gun theft occurs every five hours, and firearms are the most common method used to commit suicide in the state.

It is the law in Iowa that individuals must obtain a permit from state law enforcement before purchasing a handgun; however, some advocate that the new law passed in 2017 has weakened

Iowa’s gun control. For example, the law makes it legal to carry a concealed and loaded weapon in buildings, and decreases safety training requirements for a concealed carry permit.

Japan is a popular example of a country with low gun-violence fatalities, and that is largely due to their laws regarding firearms.

To buy a gun in Japan, a person must attend a day-long class, pass a written test, have a 95 percent accuracy on a shooting range, pass a mental health evaluation and pass a background check. Japanese citizens cannot own a handgun; shotguns and air rifles only. They also have to renew their permit every three years. While 127 million people live in Japan, yearly gun deaths rarely reach more than 10 individuals, and mass shootings are rare.

Cheryl Thomas, the communicator for Iowans for Gun Safety, has stated that while the group supports the 2nd Amendment, they also support stricter methods to keep guns out of the wrong hands and taking a closer look at the types of weapons citizens are allowed to own.

“It’s clear we have a problem,” Thomas told IowaWatch.org in 2013. “Law enforcement officers

MAP showing where gun violence related incidents in the United States have occured in 2018.

GRAPHIC COURTESY OF GUNVIOLENCEARCHIVE.ORG

are being outgunned. When parents have to bury their children, there’s something that has to be done.”

A representative from Iowa Gun Owners (a non-profit organization in West Des Moines) was unable to comment at this time.

Drake’s policy on weapons and dangerous substances is as

follows, “the use or possession of firearms, ammunition, explosives, fireworks, incendiary devices, BB guns, imitation guns or any dangerous weapons, substance or material on campus is prohibited except as expressly authorized by Drake University.”

Several Drake students

Enrollment down for major Iowa state schools Sabina Idriz Contributing Writer sabina.idriz@drake.edu

The number of students enrolled in major state schools in Iowa is decreasing. For two of Iowa’s three public universities, the drops are intentional by the school, but there has been an observable enrollment decline throughout the entire state.

An Iowa College Student Aid report analyzing enrollment at all Iowa college institutions from fall 2016 to fall 2017 saw a negative change of 5.02 percent. There are 5 percent fewer enrolled students; which is the equivalent to every 1 in 20 students.

Drake previously had a decrease in enrollment as well.

The University had 5,001 students enrolled for the fall 2016 semester, while in fall of 2017, there were 4,904 students. This is a decrease of nearly 100; however, the following year, there were no shortage of applicants. On March 5, the admissions office reported receiving 6,587 first-year undergraduate applications for this semester, a 38.7 percent increase compared to 2016. This was the highest number of potential Drake students in recorded history.

Iowa’s public universities -- the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa -- all expect to see a decline in enrollment for this current semester. The University of Iowa and Iowa State University have intentionally minimized their student body according to the Iowa Board of Regents, citing efforts to focus on retaining students and increasing graduation rates. UNI, however, has been unsuccessfully attempting to grow in enrollment.

Sophomore Komel Shahid transferred to Drake this year from the University of Iowa.

“I knew I wasn’t focusing as well as I would have if I had gone to a smaller school, being on a big campus it’s easier to get distracted and I was focused more on friendships and hanging out with people,” Shahid said. “It’s not like I didn’t study, but I felt like I would’ve gotten a better education here, especially with more one-onone relationships with teachers.”

Drake stands out from many schools for its student to faculty ratio. For every 11 students, there is one faculty member. This makes it easier for students to seek out help from teachers. On average, 54.5 percent of Drake classes have less than 20 students, which also sets it apart from other schools. Bigger

schools can often have lectures with over a hundred students in their seats, making it difficult for any one student to raise their hand and ask a question or to stop in and ask the professors for help outside of class.

“Office hours aren’t as intimidating here,” Shahid said.

In comparison, the student to faculty ratio at Iowa State University is 19 to one faculty member and only 28.7 percent of its classes have less than 20 students.

“Drake feels more communitybased and close-knit,” said Caleb Kinseth Peterson, a first-year student.

Financial assistance is a significant deciding factor for prospective students. Drake offers a tuition guarantee to incoming classes, meaning each class will have a fixed tuition cost and know how much they will have to pay every year. Drake also gives out scholarships and grants to help students make their way through college.

“I received a huge scholarship on top of two others that made it more affordable for me to go to Drake,” Peterson said. “I also stayed in-state because it’s far more expensive to go out-of-state.”

In-state tuition is less costly

and some students can choose to commute to their campus if they live close by, saving additional expenses that would have been spent on dorms. Out-of-state tuition is steadily rising, but so is in-state tuition.

The Iowa Department of Education recorded a 4.7 percent tuition increase from the fall 2016 to fall 2017 semesters at Iowa’s community colleges. The Chronicle of Higher Education showed that for those same semesters, Drake itself saw an 11 percent tuition increase, Iowa State University 5.1 percent, the University of Northern Iowa 4.7 percent and the University of Iowa 7.7 percent. Students have to pay more every year to receive the same education.

It’s not just Iowa suffering from this drop. The state of Mississippi reported a similar decline, and the University of Central Oklahoma’s enrollment fell over 10 percent from four years previously to the spring 2018 semester. It remains undetermined if trends will change in the future, but as tuition rates continue to rise, it is unlikely for enrollment rates to increase.

“There are 5 percent fewer enrolled students;

which is the equivalent to every

1 in 20 students.”

CLASSROOM MAKEUP of what classes may look like and how they would be affected with five percent fewer students enrolled.

GRAPHIC BY ELLIE DETWEILER | GRAPHICS EDITOR

advocate for an increase in gun control, such as Liz Dohrn. “Other countries have proven ways to stop mass shootings,” Dohrn said.

For more information about Iowa’s gun laws, go to the Amerucan Progess website.

LGBTQ+ communities experience life in Des Moines >> CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

college organizations to attend and find a community.

On campus, Drake has one organization geared towards LGBTQ students, which is the Rainbow Union (RU). The club meets Wednesday nights at the CAYA “come as you are” house, where the goal is to advocate for, educate and create a social space for LGBTQ students. Another organization, One Voice, existed alongside RU but has since been absorbed into RU. One Voice was seen as an advocacy organization while RU served as a social club.

We’re still trying to figure out our purpose “We’re still trying to figure out our purpose,” RU President Isabelle Barrett said. “As president right now, the platform I ran on was, we need to get back to those advocacy roots, because we don’t have the luxury of just hanging out on this campus. We know that in the student health center, you have to mark male or female and they won’t be good about your pronouns. We can do something about that and we can have community and we can bond over the changes we are making.”

Although there are laws and policies in place to prevent discrimination, Des Moines has those who oppose the LGBTQ community. Safe spaces can be found in classrooms and at CAYA house, but there is a need for a place for youth to gather.

“I think what our community needs to continue doing and be more deliberate about is to find each other in organizations like this and going and taking over places and just inserting ourselves into those places and making them queer friendly,” Barrett said.

Sept. 19, 2018

03 | Features

Features Indigenous Peoples’ Day Recognized Ivy Beckenholdt Managing Editor ivy.beckenholdt@drake.edu @IvyBeckenholdt

The Lost Nation - the Ioway is a documentary about a dramatic true tale of two brothers’ struggle to save their people from the inevitable American conquest. PHOTO COURTESY OF AMAZON

Student Senate has passed a resolution to begin officially recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day. According to Student Body President Jose Garcia-Fuerte, different universities, cities and states across the U.S. have begun to recognize and substitute Indigenous Peoples’ Day for Columbus Day. “We all agreed on the fact that Drake as a whole has never done anything to either observe, acknowledge or recognize the efforts and previous ownership of this land by the indigenous people,” Garcia-Fuerte said. “So, we decided to do this at Drake - not only do we owe it to our overall mission, but to the indigenous people that lived here before us.”

According to Garcia-Fuerte, the resolution was passed “with the intention of observing and respecting the land stolen from the Báxoǰe (Ioway), Sauk (Sac) and Meskwaki (Fox) peoples.”

Student Senators Maegan Valencia, Rebecca Perl, Runal Patel and Jose Garcia-Fuerte have been working with the Director of Student Engagement, Equity and Inclusion, Tony Tyler, to formulate programming this semester.

“We have been working closely with United Way and we are planning on having a movie screening and facilitated discussion on the documentary “Lost Nation: the Ioway”,” Perl said. “It’s about the Ioway tribe that was on this land and their history, which is not commonly explored at Drake.”

Perl shared that this event will be on Oct. 22 in Sussman Theater at 7 p.m.

In order to provide more education on this topic, Student Senate is speaking with Timothy Knepper, a philosophy professor.

Knepper conducts a lecture on the Lakota religious beliefs and practices and has opened up the lecture to be a part of the programming.

“It was really cool to see the Drake faculty wanting to engage and to know that we have support behind us,” Valencia said.

Student Senate began working on this programming in the summer and has reached out to the alumni network in order to connect with indigenous or Native American alumni, such as Alex Piedras, Director of Multicultural and Community Outreach at Grand View University.

According to Garcia-Fuerte, they reached out to get a perspective on how to appropriately and respectively move forward with the project and to find opportunities for collaboration.

Valencia states that this is an opportunity for students to see the Drake space in a different way.

“My hope for it is that it will make people think about the land that we exist and operate on just a little bit more past our event and to always be conscious of the space, what we do on the space and how we respect the land,” Valencia said.

According to Perl, this programming may help students recognize a system of inequality.

“I hope students can be held accountable for perpetuating a system of colonization,” Perl said.

“Even if it was your ancestors who colonized this land, you still have to recognize that you play into the system every single day.

In recognizing that, one can also identify ways to start dismantling that system.”

Perl also advocated for the awareness to stop cultural appropriation of indigenous people. Halloween has been a time where some have dressed up as an indigenous person in the past; furthermore, Perl wants people to be mindful that culture is not a costume.

Garcia-Fuerte states that this program marks the transition of a cultural shift in the way people think and talk about indigenous people.

“They should be treated just like any other human being, and we have seen many instances where that is not the case,” Garcia-Fuerte said.”

fraternity, sorority bid day arrives Ashley Delarm Contributing Writer ashley.delarm@drake.edu @ashleydelarm

When a sea of glitter floods the sidewalks on campus, it can only mean one thing: bid day has finally arrived. Bid day is the last day of rush week and Drake FSL (Fraternity and Sorority Life) recruitment on campus. On this day, prospective members receive bids to join chapters, and immediately following signing and accepting their bid, participate in their new chapter’s bid day activities. It is a time filled with celebrations, introductions and pictures to cherish.

For some people, bid day has absolutely no effect on their lives aside from the few days of social media spam, but for others, it means everything. Not only is it a celebratory end to an exhausting week, but it’s a haven for many in their confusing new world.

For incoming first-years, college can be daunting being in a new environment with new people and a new routine. A fraternity or sorority can become a student’s forever home that provides them with love and loyalty, sympathy and understanding and inspiration and opportunity, no matter where that may be.

Though rush week begins only a few days after first-year students arrive on campus, for prospective new members, it can feel like an eternity. Many students have been excitedly observing FSL for years

now, anxious for their opportunity to join.

“We all had to sit on our envelopes for five or so minutes so there was a lot of suspense with that,” Liza Vinyon, a current first-year and new Delta Gamma, said.“But probably the best part was opening up the envelope, seeing what house you got into, and then getting to go outside and run and celebrate with your chapter.”

I did not want to rush social.

I walked into the FSL Expo and I was just there to have a laugh. But by the end of it, I was in awe However, bid day is not only for the women. Anthony Adame, a first-year student, and new Sigma Phi Epsilon, reflected on his pre-recruitment thoughts. “My expectations going into rush week were kind of low,” Adame said.

“I did not want to rush social. I walked into the FSL Expo and I

was just there to have a laugh. By the end of it, I was in awe. They made me feel like I was already one of them during the very first conversation.”

Now that it has finally arrived, many of these members, both new and old, could not be more excited for the years to come with their new brothers and sisters. Maddie Topliff, a sophomore who joined Delta Gamma her first year, shared how the experience was special from the perspective of welcoming the new members.

“It was fun being on the other side of things and being able to see all the excitement without being nervous like I was last year,” Topliff said. “I’m wholeheartedly happy for them.”

Many FSL members in recent days have poured out positivity and praise when explaining their experiences so far. Feeling welcomed, supported and excited to have and make lifelong friends, Drake FSL is now a part of their identities that they proudly wear.

“I’ve never really felt like I had a place to call home until they came along,” Anthony said.

With the stress and anticipation associated with rush week out of the way, many of the new members of Drake’s fraternities and sororities can now relax and get to know their new homes and families with a lifetime of support ahead of them. Drake University’s bid day 2018 has come and gone and for many, in place of anxiety and anticipation left happiness and excitement.

Liza Vinyon (left) and Maddie Topliff (right) celebrate bid day at the Delta Gamma house. PHOTO COURTESY OF FSL

Anthony Adame(right) and fellow first-year Sigma Phi Epsilon Austin Ash (left) celebrate at their chapter’s house on bid day. PHOTO COURTESY OF FSL

04 | Features

Sept 19, 2018

Features

new additions arrive at drake Phong Ly Features Editor phong.ly@drake.edu @originalphong

Drake’s campus this year has been subject to new changes, from the new sand volleyball court to the two new hammock lounges.

Jose Garcia-Fuerte, Student Body President, stated that these changes derived from the need that he saw from Drake students.

The newly elected student body president indicated that he saw the need for rental cars right away when he officially came into the office, so he helped push it forward. According to GarciaFuerte, Drake’s partnership with Enterprise had been in the works before he took over.

“Drake students basically own Iowa as far as internships and jobs go,” Garcia-Fuerte said. “And a lot of those students don’t necessarily have a car or access to one.”

Enterprise (Enterprise RentA-Car)is an American car rental company with its headquarters in Clayton, Missouri. The company was ranked 21st on Forbes list of “Largest Private Companies in America in 2008.” According to their website, their CarShare service is now available at more than 130 universities, 40 dedicated government programs and 500 businesses in 35 U.S. States, Canada and the UK. Garcia-Fuerte said that with the partnership sealed, Drake students

and staff members can now use rental cars at a much lower rate per hour. Any of Drake staff member, student or faculty that wants to rent a car has the ability to do so and they can complete their registration for free online.

“The first annual fee is waived and the only thing that they pay is for whatever you use,” GarciaFuerte said. “Which I think it’s like five bucks an hour.”

Currently, Drake University is provided with three cars. At the moment, they are stationed right outside of Morehouse residence hall, in the Olmsted parking lot.

There have been plans to get more of these cars at Drake.

“We’ve already seen students use them a ton so three cars is not nearly enough,” Garcia-Fuerte said.

Student Senate is also looking for a student supervisor or student manager for the entire car rental Jose Garcia-Fuerte, the Student Body President, took a photo with one of the rental cars provided by Enterprise. PHOTO system here at Drake. This COURTESY OF DRAKE STUDENT SENATE opportunity is open for students who “From an environmentalist Life Center if they need to, but want experience in management or universities to see the potential administration. They will also get places they could bring their perspective, the harm that the hammocks are already provided in slack does to trees long-term is each lounge. a chance to become an ambassador product to.

“I got to thinking, students not something that we want to for Enterprise and promote the The new Student Body around Drake love to hammock, promote,” Garcia-Fuerte said. company’s CarShare service.

President is content with the results Garcia-Fuerte thinks that of the new addition to campus.

For the hammock lounges, but there is not necessarily the the idea was brought to Garcia- correct or appropriate space to do Nido Structures’ product was He also has imminent plans for perfect because it provides a safe the university, which include the Fuerte by his predecessor, Nathan so here,” Garcia-Fuerte said.

Drake students have been a “intentional space” for students declaration of Indigenous People’s Paulson. Paulson shared the information about Nido Structures, known to hammock in between to hammock. There are two Day at Drake and a mental health which eventually became the trees, but the student body president structures in campus right now, taskforce. company that provided us with the suggested such an act might have, each are designed to hold up to hammock lounges. Nido Structures unintentionally, caused damage to eight hammocks. Students can check out hammocks at the Student was reaching out to different the trees.

Humans of drake: Brittany Freeman busy in high school, where she volunteered with the National Honors Society and Key Club.

It makes me remember I have a house, running water, food, everything I need, so I need to help more people who don’t have the opportunity

BRITTANY FREEMAN, is a sophomore at Drake University, student ambassador, president of Nextcourse Food Recovery and a member of Drake Mentor’s for Violence Prevention Program. PHOTO BY CARSON REICHARDT | ONLINE CONTENT MANAGER Carson Reichardt Online Content Manager carson.reichardt@drake.edu @carsonjsr1998

College life typically provides students with access to a wide variety of resources and

opportunities. From obvious perks such as a degree and advisors to help them reach their goals, to less thought-of benefits like always having a room to sleep in, students receive benefits in many ways.

For Brittany Freeman, these perks are an incentive to give back to the community around her.

Freeman, a sophomore, dedicates much of her free time to service work. She serves as a Student Learning Ambassador, president of Nextcourse Food Recovery, and a member of Drake’s Mentors in Violence Prevention program.

Even before working with these campus organizations, she was

“A lot of my service work had a lot to do with going to places, doing the work, and then leaving.

It didn’t involve any education or reflection,” Freeman said. “This year I’m working as a Service Learning Ambassador, really talking about intentional service work on campus and making sure we’re doing a lot of stuff so Drake students are leaving as engaged citizens.”

Her decision to get involved at Drake had a simple rationale.

“At a university like Drake, I have the resources now, and I don’t know where I’ll ever have them again. I’ve never been a passive person; if someone else can do it, it might as well be me. I don’t want to sit around waiting for someone else to do it when I could just do it now.”

Freeman originally began her academic career as a psychology major, but she soon switched after realizing that psychology’s “individualistic perspective” didn’t quite sit right with her.

“Thinking about the bottom-up perspective wasn’t enough,” she said. “I took a sociology class, and I started to see how big systems and structures affect the individual.

All the systems and structures that we have in place are really affecting people more than we like

to give them credit for. After I took the perspective, you can’t get that away; you can’t stop analyzing and critiquing. And I don’t want to take that away. I know it can take the fun away from things, but if you’re not looking at every situation you’re in with a critical point of view, you’re going to sit in a harmful perspective.”

While interning at Anawim housing, a nonprofit organization focused on homelessness outreach and affordable housing, Freeman was able to see the impact of the work she was doing first-hand, when a woman they’d been helping was approved for housing.

“I’ll never forget the moment she was given the keys to her house,” Freeman said. “She had a few young children, and her eyes lit up, her face lit up. She hugged the person who was in charge.”

That experience caused Freeman to look at the problem of homelessness in a new light.

“It makes me remember I have a house, running water, food, I have everything I need, and I need to help more people like her who don’t have the opportunity,” she said. “We don’t always need to give people cash; we can give empathy. That’s something I’ve really tried to do with my work in Des Moines and my work in life.

Just being a better human is really what it’s about. We all have room to grow.”

Freeman’s approach to her work, as well as her general attitude towards service, are shown in an analogy she shared called “The Starfish Thrower.”

“Someone was throwing starfish back into the ocean on a beach. A man came up to that person and said, ‘Why are you doing that? You know it’s never going to make a difference.’ And she said, ‘It makes a difference for that starfish.’ The more I can make a difference for one person, that makes it all worth it in the end.”

Sept. 19, 2018

05 | Sports

Sports Drake dominates Missouri S&T at home; now 1-1

Quarterback Grant Kraemer throws 14 for 16 with 359 yards and 6 touchdowns JD Pelegrino Sports Editor john.pelegrino@drake.edu @jddontdrop

In a bounce back effort from last week versus Montana, the Drake Bulldogs pounced on the Missouri S&T Miners.

The Bulldogs exemplified their offensive dominance as well as defensive patience and aggression.

All around, Drake played a fine game of football and consequently for the Miners, were difficult to be stopped.

The Bulldogs got into an offensive rhythm from the second they walked out onto the field. The first drive of the game started out with two back-to-back one-yard rushes by running back Braeden Hartwig, followed by a 13-yard catch by the reliable WR Devin Cates on third down. The very next play, quarterback Grant Kraemer connected on a 58-yard pass to running back Drew Lauer. Lauer took the ball all the way to the end zone with nobody to beat.

“We had been working on that play ever since the start of camp,” Lauer said. “We knew we were going to run it the first down of the next series. We just went for it.”

This was the first score of the seven touchdowns throughout the game for Drake. After Drake scored, the Miners took to the field to put up seven points of their own.

On the first play, defensive tackle Nathan Clayberg sacked Miner quarterback Tyler Swart for a loss of seven yards. The Miners went three-and-out and sent the rock back to the Bulldogs.

Kraemer hustled back out onto the field with his offensive unit.

He called the cadence and took his regular drop back, threw the ball to an open wide receiver, Mitch McFarlane, and 65 yards later, McFarlane reached the end zone.

The drive contained one play and it went for a touchdown. That was

the second touchdown passing for Kraemer over 50 yards at that point in the game, and from there the game began to get away from the Miners.

After forcing the Miners to punt yet again, Kraemer dropped back and launched a deep pass intended for the deep-threat WR Steven Doran, but the fall was intercepted by the Miners. Kraemer jogged off the field to the coaches awaiting him on the sideline and simply laughed it off.

This is the point where WR Devin Cates started to heat things up. Cates capped the Bulldogs offensive drive with a 6-yard TD catch. This would be the first of Cates’ two touchdown grabs. This put the Bulldogs up 21-0.

The Miners responded to the next drive with a touchdown of their own. Miner RB Aaron Moya scored on a 3-yard touchdown rush.

The Miners were only able to get six points up on the board however, due to a blocked PAT courtesy of the Bulldogs’ special teams unit.

After trading a couple of punts, the Bulldogs got the ball back with 4:19 left in the second quarter. RB Lauer rushed the ball, but was met by the defense before being able to cross the line of scrimmage, losing one yard and getting tackled on the Drake 23-yard line. On secondand-11, Kraemer found Lauer through the air and the connection resulted in 73 yards receiving for the QB-RB duo. Lauer got hit and weaved his way through the defense, fighting for every yard all the way down to the Missouri S&T 5-yard line.

“I was thinking, score! I’ll admit, I was tired,” Lauer said.

“They’re gonna give me some crap about not scoring, but man it was fun, it was awesome.”

Kraemer connected with Cates for the second time in the first half, scoring a 6-yard touchdown. The Miners punted the next drive and the Bulldogs ran down the clock

DRAKE RUNNING BACKS Drew Lauer and Braeden Hartwig celebrate after Lauer’s 58-yard touchdown reception in the win against Missouri S&T on Saturday, Sept. 15. PHOTO BY JD PELEGRINO | SPORTS EDITOR

to end the first half. The Bulldogs had the lead at the end of the first half 28-6.

The Bulldogs scored touchdowns on offense and defense in the second half. Kraemer completed a third touchdown pass 50 yards or longer going over the top for a 50-yard connection to Doran.

The next score in the game came from Kraemer’s sixth and final touchdown pass of the game on a 12-yard pass to McFarlane. Having kicker Danny Donley make all six PATs in the game, this had put the Bulldogs up 42-6 on the Miners.

After throwing his sixth touchdown pass of the game and ultimately securing the Bulldogs’ victory, Kraemer was pulled by head coach Rick Fox to protect the QB and to give other QBs reps.

Kraemer finished the game with completing 87 percent of his passes.

Kraemer went 14 for 16 for six touchdowns and one interception.

This game will be hard for even Kraemer to beat moving forward in the season.

“When you have everybody as a weapon, it’s just tough to defend,” Kraemer said. “And I mean, you kind of saw that. Mitch with two touchdowns, Devin with two touchdowns, Steven a touchdown, Drew with another one.”

Kraemer boasted about the talent of his offense and how they have the potential to make a run at conference this year. He joked about how “now [they] just have to give the tight ends some love.”

Following Kraemer’s exodus from the game, Donley nailed a 38-yard field goal to contribute three more points to the growing score. Less than one minute later, safety Will Warner intercepted the second-string QB Brennan Simms of the Miners and returned it 26 yards to the house for his second touchdown of the season.

The only touchdown the

Bulldogs forfeited to the Miners was on a punt return that Miners Rod Chapman returned 82 yards in the closing seconds of the game to finish 52-12 Bulldogs. This is exactly what the Bulldogs were hoping for going into this week, according to Kraemer.

“It’s just a matter of us just getting some momentum going into the bye week, because we’re 0-0 right now,” Kraemer said.

“This doesn’t help us get into the playoffs. We just have to be great going into conference and get ready for Jacksonville now.”

The Bulldogs will head into their bye week before taking a trip to Jacksonville (1-1) to face their first PFL game of the season. The game will be held in Jacksonville on Saturday, Sept. 29 at 12 p.m.

Drake dominates Missouri S&T at home; now 1-1 Erin O’Boyle Contributing Writer erin.oboyle@drake.edu @erin_oboyle1

The Drake Men’s Soccer team traveled to Kalamazzo, Michigan to face the Western Michigan Broncos on Sept. 9. Coming off a loss two days before at home, the Bulldogs were ready to get back on track, but never gained the momentum to secure the win. The Broncos scored in the 33rd minute, and then scored again at the 61st minute after a free kick. The Bulldogs were looking at a shut-out before sophomore Ryan Johnston’s first career goal at the 83rd minute.

Junior defensive player Scott Misselhorn said that he was most excited to travel to Tulsa University to face the Golden Hurricanes. This is the first time the current men’s soccer team has faced the Golden Hurricanes, seeing as the Bulldogs and Hurricanes have not met since the 2013 season. However, there is one player who is more familiar with how Tulsa plays. Junior transfer student Cole Poppen played his first two years of college soccer at Tulsa University before transferring to Drake.

The Bulldogs were coming off a two-game losing streak as they headed into two games on the road.

Tulsa, ranked No. 23 in the country, was anticipated to be a tough match. However, the Bulldogs have already proven this season that rank doesn’t mean everything.

Many advocate that what matters most is how you play the game.

On Saturday afternoon in Oklahoma, they defeated the Golden Hurricanes in overtime, 2-1. This is the Bulldog’s 3rd upset of the season resulting in

FIRST-YEAR D/M Antonio Melendez passes the ball off to a teammate during the Drake vs. Oral Roberts game on Aug. 24, 2018. The Bulldogs fell to Oral Roberts 0-1 in the first home game of the season. COURTESY OF DRAKE ATHLETICS | PHOTO BY CHRIS DONAHUE

more attention being placed on this year’s team. The Bulldogs defeated No.9 ranked Butler on their home turf in Indianapolis at the end of August, and then bested the No. 20 ranked University of Illinois at Chicago shortly after.

At halftime against Tulsa, the two teams were tied 1-1 and stayed that way all of the second quarter which resulted in overtime play. In the 93rd minute, the deal was sealed when none other than former Hurricane turned Bulldog,

Cole Poppen, scored off a penalty kick to make the final score 2-1.

Poppen has been a valuable asset to Drake’s team this year along with Lucas Bartlett, a transfer student from Loyola Chicago.

Drake will face Bartlett’s former team a week after the Tulsa game.

The Loyola game is scheduled for Sept. 22 at the Loyola Soccer Park in Chicago where the Bulldogs will play their first Conference game of the season. The game will begin at 7 p.m. and will be broadcasted on

ESPN3.

With conference play starting in a week, the Drake men’s soccer team looks to buckle down and focus on the goal at hand: winning the MVC tournament and advancing to the NCAA tournament.

Catch the Bulldogs as they engage conference rival Loyola SATURDAY, SEPT. 22 7 p.m.

Tune in on ESPN 3

06 | Sports

Sept. 19, 2018

Sports Drake volleyball goes 2-1 at the Mizzou Invitational Hannah Cohen Staff Writer hannah.cohen@drake.edu @seamammals

After defeating Ohio and Texas A&M CC and losing the third game to Mizzou this past weekend, Drake volleyball places second in the Mizzou Invitational. With an 11-2 season record, the team headed to Kansas on Tuesday, Sept.

18 to play KU in their last preconference game before returning to their conference homestand.

“There were two teams at the tournament this weekend that were going to be a toss up and we came together as a team and we got those two wins which are pretty big for our program,” junior setter Paige Aspinwall said.

We’ve talked a lot about going from being the hunted to go back to being the hunter

Drake began the tournament with a five-set battle against Ohio.

Drake came up for the win after a one-set deficit and took the next two and the final with a 3-2 win, thanks to the team’s cohesiveness, senior outside hitter Grace Schofield said.

“I think that our serve receive overall was pretty strong and that’s something that we work on every day,” Schofield said. “To see that coincide on the court was really nice. We had a couple hitters stand out and do really well. Gillian Gergen (middle blocker) had a good weekend and so did Emily Plock (outside hitter).”

Schofield, Gergen, Plock and Cathryn Cheek (outside hitter) aided the Bulldogs in their first two wins, Schofield with a total of 28 kills and five aces. In the loss to Mizzou, Plock led the team with eight kills and one block. Now, Schofield said the team is ready to step up their game for conference season.

“We’ve talked a lot about going from being the hunted to go back to being the hunter,” Schofield said.

“Getting to go in [to the Kansas matches looking for an upset] we get to play without any of the pressure and really enjoy the game of volleyball.”

Despite the challenge, Plock recalled that their game against Mizzou taught them a lot and prepared them well for the

SENIOR OH Cathryn Cheek goes for the attack on the ball during the Drake vs. Iowa game on Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018 during the Hotel Renovo-Wildwood Lodge Invitational. COURTESY OF DRAKE ATHLETICS | PHOTO BY CHRIS DONAHUE

upcoming road. She feels confident that they know what they need to do as a team to score on offense against higher-level and larger schools like KU and Mizzou.

“This year we’re working super hard as a team and nothing is ever good enough for us which is kind of frustrating at times but good for our team to get better,” Plock said.

“We just have a lot of potential

and it’s cool to see that throughout practice and games.”

The team will return home for their first conference game against University of Northern Iowa (UNI) in the Knapp Center on Friday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. As the first game in their conference run, Aspinwall and Plock said they would love to have a large and supportive crowd since entrance is free for students.

Aspinwall added that the in-state rival UNI has an edge on Drake but a loud crowd would help them get the win.

“Come to our game Friday,” Aspinwall said. “We’re looking to pull an upset and it’d be amazing to have a bunch of fans there for us.”

Women’s soccer falls to South Dakota 0-1

SOPHOMORE M/F Rebecca Corbett pushes the ball out of Drake territory into Marquette’s zone during the 1-2 loss at home on Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018. COURTESY OF DRAKE ATHLETICS Drake Lohse Contributing Writer drake.lohse@drake.edu

The Drake women’s soccer team spent all of Thursday night locked in a defensive battle against the Coyotes of South Dakota. Even despite their record of 2-5, most of the team has spent the last week with a positive attitude.

“I’d say right now, we’re pretty excited,” senior Shannan Stuerer said.“We had a grind going through the first portion of our season. We were always on the road, we were playing really tough teams.”

That positive energy translated to the field Thursday night.

Sophomore forward Hannah Bormann took the first shooting attempt for the Bulldogs but missed high. The Coyotes were quick to respond with an attempt of their own, but Kelsie Stone saved an ontarget strike. The Bulldogs spent the entire first half creating more shot opportunities with physical

offensive play, but to no avail.

Three more attempts were denied

by South Dakota’s goalkeeper, one from junior Annie Schmitz and two from first-year Olivia Bruce. At the end of the first half, the score was knotted right where it began at 0-0.

The grueling half of play coupled with the short break from action did nothing to curb the attack of the Bulldogs. Again, they matched their assertive offensive team play with rigid defensive stances. Again, South Dakota’s goalkeeper Parker Rytz kept her clean sheet intact, denying a pair of good shots, including a dagger from first-year Rebecca Corbett.

In the 71st minute of play, the Coyotes finally found an opening in Drake’s staunch defensive front. With an assist from Joana Zanin, Maddison Sullivan snuck the game’s first and only goal past Drake’s Kelsie Stone. The Coyote’s highlight was not without encouraging sights; Sullivan’s shot

just barely rolled into the net and was met with a strong effort from Stone on her way to stop it. Half an inch made all the difference.

My dad is a huge Drake soccer fanatic.

Just knowing that they’re there, just makes every moment that much sweeter.

Drake’s hunger was apparent on paper: the Bulldogs outshot the Coyotes 15-4. An extreme sense of effort from the Bulldogs could be

felt from the stands, highlighted by an end-to-end hustle late in the game from Drake’s Vanessa Kavan to save a ball from rolling out of play.

In the end, Drake’s efforts fell short, as South Dakota (4-2-2) earned its second all-time victory over Drake.

Drake hosted Western Illinois at Cownie Soccer Complex on Sunday, Sept. 16 for Family Night.

The Bulldogs were looking to keep their energy high, and did indeed, despite the tough loss to South Dakota.

The Bulldogs defeated Western Illinois 2-1. Drake goals were scored by senior forward Tawny Carroll (assist by senior defenseman Linda Fiorito) and sophomore forward Hannah Bormann (assist by redshirt-junior midfielder Vanessa Kavan).

“I’m really excited,” Fiorito said. “My dad is a huge Drake soccer fanatic. Just knowing that

they’re there, just makes every moment that much sweeter.”

The Bulldogs face the Omaha Mavericks tonight in Omaha, Nebraska. The game will kick-off at 6 p.m. The Bulldogs will be looking to get one last win before starting their seven-game run into conference

Catch the Bulldogs TONIGHT as they face off against Omaha Mavericks 7 p.m. in Omaha, Nebraska

Sept. 19, 2018

07 | Commentary

Commentary

Here comes fall festivities Hallie Keiper Staff Writer hallie.keiper@drake.edu @hallie.keiper

Fall is here! Can’t you tell by this 85-degree weather we’re having? As much as I love my summer clothes and the sun beating on my face, I am constantly stuck inside studying now. I’d kind of like to put on a sweater or some sweatpants, or maybe both, don’t judge.

There are plenty of different activities to complete during the autumn season, and I am here to provide you with merely a starter list. Some are pretty basic, some more uncommon, but all a-maizeing! Yes, I said it.

If you’re in the mood for some food, well I’m with you, but here are some great fall ideas to help you get in the mindset.

Cook up some hot soup!

Butternut squash, turkey and rice, chili, you name it. Serve with some grilled cheese or a hot panini, and you’re good to go.

Stir up some apple cider with cinnamon sticks and maple syrup.

Trust me, it’s good.

Bake Pinterest worthy confections. I’ll be the first one to admit I stink at baking, but grab a friend who can whisk and knead and there’s no way you’ll fail.

My friend, a self-certified baking expert, suggests trying Apple Pie Cookies, Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, or Apple Cider Doughnuts. Personally, I’m a sucker for some homemade apple crisp.

Ruin your teeth by biting into a flavorful caramel apple. It’s 100 percent worth it.

Donate your extra food to a local food pantry or homeless shelter, or volunteer at one. Any

help they can get this time of year is greatly appreciated and will make your soul thrive.

After you’ve filled up your stomach with tasty treats, you might feel the need to wash it down with a pumpkin spice latte.

We don’t judge, it’s a fall tradition.

Enjoy these other traditional (or, sure, basic) ideas.

Get lost in a corn maze. To spice it up (pun intended), bring a group of friends and play tag or hide and seek throughout the maze. Just watch out for little kiddos!

Do a cannonball into a pile of autumn leaves. Even better, if you live next to a family or older resident, offer to rake their yard for them before you enjoy your jump.

Pick out some tasty apples and ripe pumpkins at an apple orchard or pumpkin patch. Just like many of the activities on this list, this activity makes for a great date.

Wear a cozy sweater. Bonus points for the sweater being a couple sizes too large for you and causing people to confuse you for a blanket when you sit on their futon.

It’s sweater weather, baby!

Celebrate football season.

Whether you have a favorite high school, college or professional team, try to tailgate beforehand and then cheer them on to the win. On days without games, grab a couple of buddies and start a pickup game outside.

Cuddle with your favorite people around a bonfire. Don’t forget the s’mores, of course. Life hack: Had a summer romance that just ended? Burn their stuff! Instant cathartic relief.

Succumb to the pressure, buy a pumpkin spice something or another. Don’t like pumpkin? Grab a hot cocoa and just pretend, I won’t tell.

Autumn is the perfect time to unleash your artsiest self. If you mess up, I give you permission to

blame me.

Create your own bird feeder.

You can make it out of many different materials and food, some fall favorites being multicolor corn, pine cones, and pumpkins.

Design some spooky Halloween decorations. They can range from easy, small crafts that can be created and hung in a dorm room, or larger for students with apartments and houses. As for all crafts and baking, the best place I know to find spine-chilling ideas is Pinterest.

Fashion a DIY Halloween costume, perhaps matching ones with your significant other or a bestie. Some of my personal favorites that I’ve seen have been a luminous jellyfish (made with a clear umbrella and bright, glowin-the-dark streamers), a group of Wizard of Oz characters, and a Flo/ Mayhem duo.

Carve (or paint) a pumpkin.

Decide if you’re more Lucy or Linus and whether or not you want to “kill” your pumpkin, then get those creative juices flowing and construct the craziest, creepiest or coolest pumpkin creations possible.

Go for a bike ride. As you feel the air rush by your face and observe the beauty around you, you’ll forget you’re even exercising. Don’t forget a helmet.

Train for the Turkey Trot.

Walking or running, it doesn’t matter, but you can use those same bike trails, or just explore campus and Des Moines on foot to prepare for this exciting 5K. Hike through the woods to hear the crunch of leaves beneath you and behold the magnificent, bright colors of the season. Try coming back every week on the same day to observe how fast the surroundings change as winter approaches.

For those who read the first three list items and ran out of

breath (I feel you), don’t worry.

Grab some buddies and pals, a projector, blankets and a white sheet. Snuggle up close and watch your favorite movies outside in the crisp autumn air.

Not all of fall is beautiful and innocent; in fact, it can often be a fairly eerie time of the year. For all of you that are more daring than me, go ahead and check these off.

Brave a haunted house. Be forewarned though, the more frightened you appear to be, the more they will attempt to frighten you. I know from personal experience.

Visit a graveyard. If you go at night, especially on the Friday the 13th that is approaching, you deserve a medal for your bravery, in my opinion.

Watch scary movies. I’d give you some recommendations, but the movie Coraline terrifies me, so the extent of my scary movie knowledge is limited. Nothing a quick Google search couldn’t fix.

Scaredy cat like me? No problem!

Try these classics: Halloweentown, Twitches or Ghostbusters.

Visit a graveyard. If you go at night, especially on the Friday the 13th that is approaching, you deserve a medal for your bravery Looking for something fall-like to do on campus? Look no further than this list!

Taste of Des Moines: Sept. 18 from 3 - 4:30 p.m. in Parents Hall.

St. Catherine of Siena’s Apple

Orchard Excursion: Sept. 22 from 6 - 9 p.m., meet at St. Catherine’s.

Free Movie Friday’s Halloween Showing of Hereditary: Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. (actually a Wednesday) in Sussman.

DU Good Day: Sept. 22 from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. at Meals for the Heartland.

Fall spirit is not limited to Drake’s campus either. Bike around town, take the D.A.R.T. bus or carpool with friends to experience these autumn gems in the Des Moines area.

Walk, run or bike around Gray’s Lake, especially around sundown.

Breathe in the fresh air and renew your energy.

Check off pumpkin patch, corn maze, hayride and much more at Howell’s Pumpkin Patch in Cumming, IA. Shop for your fall favorites and pet all the cute dogs at the Des Moines Farmers Market, every Saturday (until Oct. 27) from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. in downtown Des Moines.

Celebrate El Día de los Muertos festivities: Oct. 28 from 12 - 4 p.m., Des Moines Art Center.

Explore 300+ exhibitors at the Fall Arts & Crafts Show: Sept. 28 30, Iowa State Fairgrounds.

Experience Oktoberfest: Sept.

28 - 29, near Des Moines’ court district.

No doubt, I could have taken up the entire newspaper with more lists of ideas for fall fun. I narrowed down my original list to include my very favorites and the components I believe are the most practical for my fellow broke college students.

Even if you complete no activities from these lists, I sincerely hope you take time to enjoy the autumn season in whichever way feels best for you, relax a little and enjoy some gourd times (sorry, it had to be done).

08 | Commentary

Sept. 19, 2018

Commentary

We need to talk about Kavanaugh The Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that a woman’s right to privacy extends to her decision to have an abortion. As a woman, the possibility of Roe being overturned scares me, and as a human it makes me livid. The overturning of Roe v.

Wade is also not in America’s best interest. A survey by Axios found that 71 percent of Americans are against overturning it.

The issue of Kavanaugh’s nomination is not just troubling to me. Another survey showed 48 percent of Americans are against Kavanaugh’s nomination, and by the second day of the confirmation hearings, at least 146 arrests were made by the U.S. Capitol Police.

Protests were held both inside and outside of the court. Citizens hoping for a change carried signs reading things like, ‘Kava-Nope’ and ‘Protect Roe,’ and those inside the court chanted and interrupted the senators repeatedly.

I also find it troubling that the Trump administration has been able to block over 100,000 documents of Kavanaugh’s records during the Bush administration from being released using presidential privilege. Many are demanding for their release, and I agree with them. Those meant to rule on his nomination should have access to this information to help them decide if he is fit to make important decisions regarding the laws of our country. The night before the first day of the hearing, 42,000 documents were released without warning, drawing complaints from

Sabina Idriz Contributing Writer sabina.idriz@drake.edu @lifelonglock

“Can you think of any laws that give the government power to make decisions about the male body?”

“I’m not aware ... I’m not thinking of any right now, senator.”

So went the exchange between Senator Kamala Harris and soon to be Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh, at his confirmation hearing. This line of questioning came about after Harris asked him questions about Roe v. Wade, a landmark case.

Many are predicting Kavanaugh will be the final voice needed for the Supreme Court to overturn it.

The confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh were held on Sept. 4-7. Kavanaugh was nominated by President Trump to take over for Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, who retired after 30 years of working for the court. Although Kennedy was a Republican, he steadfastly declined to overturn Roe v. Wade. With Kavanaugh, all bets are off. He declined to say whether he believed Roe was correctly decided, simply stating it is “precedent.” In a 2003 memo, he also wrote, “I am not sure that all legal scholars refer to Roe as the settled law of the land at the Supreme Court level since Court can always overrule its precedent.”

JUDGE BRETT KAVANAUGH has been undergoing intense questioning from the Senate in order to get approved as the newest Supreme Court Justice. There has been a lot of controvery surrounding the issue. PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

many senators who said there was no way they could read the documents in time.

Recently, an anonymous sexual assault allegation against Kavanaugh was reported to the FBI. An individual who went to high school with him described being assaulted at an event 30 years ago. Kavanaugh has denied the allegations, and even if more were to come out, I am not convinced it would change the course of

Resistance within the Trump Administration Max Brown Contributing Writer max.brown@drake.edu @maxbrown

On Sept. 5, the New York Times published a testimonial written by an anonymous “senior official” within the Trump administration.

The official claims that they and like-minded staff within the administration are fighting to “keep the boat afloat” by supporting actions that reflect traditional Republican values, such as a robust defense, free market economy and deregulation, while fighting the president’s more questionable or misguided actions and erratic behavior.

The official lists their grievances and those of other White House staff: Trump’s frequent, seemingly random flip-flops on the issues, his praise of autocratic leaders such as Vladimir Putin of Russia and Kim Jong-Un of North Korea and his hostility toward other democratic nations, such as Germany.

This official says that they and other members of the administration do what they believe is right, even if Trump doesn’t agree. Despite Trump’s open admiration and trust of Putin, Trump’s national security

team expelled Russian diplomats and imposed sanctions against the country after the attempted murder of a former Russian spy on British soil.

The article closes by reassuring readers that “the adults are still in the room,” and asking for Americans to shun political labels and put the good of the nation first.

For good measure, the official also quotes John McCain, the beloved Republican senator, war hero and rival of Trump who passed away on Aug. 25.

It is very tempting to take this message to heart, to abandon identity politics and come together as one country, especially considering the loss of a senator and soldier, well-respected on both sides of the aisle, who sacrificed so much for his country. However, this article does not come without drawbacks.

While the author claims that their message is a bipartisan one, parts of it seem to encourage voters to remember those moderate “stable state” Republicans come election day. The unpopularity of the Trump administration has created a real chance that Republicans will lose many seats to Democrats in the upcoming house election. Prominent Republicans,

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perhaps fearing their reelection prospects could be damaged by Trump’s baggage, tweeted praising globalization and open borders, two things questioned by traditional Republicans and loathed by Trump.

A cynic could easily infer that this op-ed was meant to distance Trump from the Republican party by portraying him as a sort of “blind idiot god” who reasonable Republicans simply tiptoe around and will continue to come November. Is this a true bipartisan message, or Republican damage control in response to Trump’s damage to the brand?

Trump and his supporters often talk about a “Deep State”: a shadowy body unelected, longserving government bureaucrats coordinating their positions to push political agendas. Goals often attributed to this deep state are to increase federal power (usually in a leftward direction) and undermine conservative, anti-establishment actors like Trump. Trump has called the deep state by name in writing, and he has long promised to “drain the swamp” of its figures.

Recent years have given birth to a distressing rise in public acceptance of baseless, harmful conspiracy theories. “Pizzagate,” the theory that the Clinton family

things. Our current President has faced numerous sexual assault allegations, and he is one of the most powerful men in the country.

Soon, Kavanaugh will be confirmed in by the Senate. It’s almost inevitable at this point. The Judiciary Committee is scheduled to make a vote on the 20th and if they vote in favor of Kavanaugh’s appointing as Justice, the vote will go on to the entire Senate.

It remains to be seen how

Kavanaugh’s near certain position as Justice will affect our laws and country, but every decision that is made has its consequences.

The butterfly effect posits that a butterfly, with a single beat of its wings, creates ripples that lead to bigger effects. Even the smallest of actions can have large consequences, and I can only hope the best for the Supreme Court and America.

and other democratic figures were running a child trafficking ring out of U.S. restaurants, lead one believer to open fire on the Comet Ping Pong restaurant in December 2016.

QAnon, a 4chan user claiming to have top-secret Q clearance, has theorized that the Trump administration is secretly fighting to stop a child sex trafficking ring run by politicians and celebrities.

QAnon also mentions the “deep state” attempting to subvert Trump’s efforts. The Reddit page for the theory, r/greatawakening, had over 70,000 subscribers before it was banned on Sept. 12.

In a time when everything that goes wrong in the Trump administration is blamed both

by Trump and his followers on secretive actors who seek to shut down his agenda, an op-ed admitting to doing just that steers dangerously close to legitimizing these theories.

But this is not to say that the Times made a mistake in publishing the article. This testimony, although possibly tinted by partisan bias, gives us a glimpse into the chaotic, turnoveraddled Trump administration.

Trump himself should approve, given his stated disgust for deep state operatives moving undetected, frequent criticism of the Obama administration’s lack of transparency. Now he and the public know exactly what his people think of him.

The Trump administration is not a new phenomenon in American

politics. It is nothing more than the logical progression of nearly 20 years of two-party dominance and toxic elitism. This day-to-day toxicity would still exist under a Clinton or Jeb Bush presidency.

Trump is not a cause of the country’s ills but rather is a symptom, perhaps a terminal one, of what duopoly and elitism have done. “Democrat” and “Republican” have become labels used to shut political opponents rather than ideological descriptors.

Relatively moderate political figures are treated like they belong in league with Hitler and Stalin if they don’t agree with someone’s politics.

Trump was elected partially in response to years of seemingly status-quo republicans and democrats. In this regard, the official is correct in being concerned about what “we as a nation have allowed him to do to us.”

The best we can hope for is that the official is true to their word and have seen the error in their ways and now want the best for all Americans, but we must also be prepared for the possibility that, underneath the calls for unity, they are simply holding up their side of the status-quo.

Corrections Sept. 05, 2018 Edition

Why do we write? (Page 10) - Photo by Shreeya Sapkota | Contributing photographer.

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.

LETTERS & SUBMISSION POLICY The Times-Delphic strives to represent student views as accurately and honestly as possible. We rely on readers to provide us with criticism, comments and new ideas so that we can continue to serve the interests of the students in the fairest possible way. We encourage interested readers to submit letters to the editor. Letters must include the author’s name and phone number. Unsigned letters will not be published. Deadlines for guest submissions are noon Sunday for the Wednesday edition. The Times-Delphic reserves the right to edit letters and submissions for space and in the interest of taste. Letters and submissions reflect only the opinions of the authors and should be limited to 250 words.

Emailed letters can be sent to lorien.macenulty@drake.edu.

ADVERTISING POLICY The Times-Delphic’s business office is located at 2507 University Avenue, 124 Meredith Hall, Des Moines, IA 50311.

The Times-Delphic is published on Wednesdays during the university’s fall and spring academic terms. The newspaper is distributed for free around the Drake University campus. All advertising information is to be submitted noon Sunday for the Wednesday edition. Advertisements can be designed by The Times-Delphic or submitted via e-mail. We accept cash and check. A 10 percent discount is offered for prepayment on advertisements. The business office can be contacted at 515-271-2148.

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