times-delphic 01/24/2010
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Official Independent Student Newspaper of Drake University - Des Moines, IA.TRANSCRIPT
Spike may soon enter the ranks of famous dogs such as Rin-Tin-Tin or Benji.
The mascot of Drake Univer-sity recently secured fifth place at the 2010 College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Champion-ship in Disney World. The bodacious bulldog traveled to Orlando after ty-
ing for fourth place in a video submis-sion contest.
The first video was composed of Spike dancing, cheering and surf-ing the crowd. The two-minute film propelled the canine to the Sunshine State, a strong showing for a Drake mascot program that has existed for only three years.
“It was cool to be there and expe-rience this,” said a mascot team mem-
SEE SPIKE, PAGE 2
Drake University Vice Provost John Burney, known for his engaging role-playing classes, will be leaving in June. He will be taking the positions of Vice President for Academic Af-fairs, Dean and Professor of History at Doane College.
Burney spent nearly seven years at Drake, first as Dean of Arts & Sci-ences and later as Vice Provost. One of his goals involved incorporating a unique form of teaching into his courses.
Professor William Lewis was Bur-ney’s co-instructor last year for the honors course “Developing Democ-racy.”
“The most important thing about Burney is that he is an administra-tor who really cares about teaching,”
Lewis said. “He wants the teaching to be as effective as it can be so the students can get the most out of the experience.”
Burney’s teaching style is on dis-play in his course that teaches stu-dents aspects of the French Revolu-tion. Lewis said students take on the roles of late 1700s nobles and peasants, among others.
“You don’t want to be the king,” Lewis said.
Drake Presi-dent David Maxwell noted Burney’s con-tributions to Drake in an announce-ment last week.
“John’s distinctive expertise, par-ticularly in curriculum development and assessment, has been immensely valuable in moving the university for-ward to keep the promise of our mis-sion,” Maxwell said. “We will miss his contributions and his collegiality.”
Students returned to cam-pus last week to find a relocat-ed late-night food stop.
Construction began over winter break on the previous home of Spike’s, the C-Store and Cool Beans. Hubbell North, the new name of the building, is going to become an improved, on-campus din-ing experience for students.
“It will include an expand-ed Spike’s on the upper level, as well as a spectacular view of the Helmick Commons and Quad Creek,” President Da-vid Maxwell said in an e-mail sent to faculty and students.
Some of the changes will include a new menu with ap-petizers and a late-night grill option. Plans for the previous
home of Cool Beans include moveable tables, booths and a multipurpose stage.
“Cool Beans used to be the cafeteria in the 1950s,” Cam-pus Advancement Senator Greg Larson said. “It is excit-ing that we are going back to that with this renovation.”
The downstairs will be an extension of Olmsted, ac-cording to Larson. Designs for the lower level include study rooms and space for pool ta-bles.
Construction crews have torn out the asbestos in the building in preparation for construction. Larson says con-struction is expected to con-tinue until July 31. Hubbell North will open for the 2010 fall semester.
Students can still grab late-night snacks at the relo-cated Spike’s and C-Store. But
Spike’s now shares lower level Olmsted with Terrace Court, while the C-Store is located near Pomerantz Stage on the southwest side of the building.
“It’s inconvenient,” fresh-man Asmita Gauchan said. “Spike’s used to be a bridge-walk away before.”
Freshman Diane Olsen agrees and said the added con-gestion takes away from the Olmsted eating experience.
“Lunch is even busier than before,” Olsen said. “They have opened three checkouts for lunch, but it is still crazier than normal.”
Other students are not sure what to make of Spike’s tem-porary home.
“It’s weird,” sophomore Emma Sorensen said. “Spike’s was small, so at night it seemed full. Here it is just vast.” n
DES MOINES, IOWA • Monday, January 25, 2010 • VOL. 128, NO. 23 • www.timesdelphic.com
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER FOR DRAKE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884
THE TIMES-DELPHIC
PAGE 3 OPINIONS PAGE 6 SPORTS PAGE 7 SPORTS
OUR TWO CENTS MEN’S BASKETBALL DOUBLE TEAM
Drake beat Wichita State 78-64 Saturday afternoon.
What’s the TD staff complaining about this week?
INSI
DE
WH
AT’S
PAGE 4 FEATURES
The Drake men’s tennis doubles pair of Ballivian and Bracho dominate.
HELPING HAITIA look into how the country has united in the earthquake relief effort.
photos by SARAH ANDREWS | Photo/Design Editor
HUBBELL NORTH construction is now underway, moving Spike’s and the C-STORE to the Olmsted Center. Construction will conclude on July 31.
SEE BURNEY, PAGE 2
by JENNIFER MATASEKStaff Writer
Student reports assault Friday morning
Hubbell North renovation begins
Spike’s, C-Store move to Olmsted, students crave construction completion
Hubbell Dining Hall opens. The top floor houses the main dining hall, seating 400 students. The first floor contained a snack shop, soda fountain and bakery with seating for 125–175 students.
THE HISTORY OF HUBBELL1954
1966
Renovations to the Hubbell were added on the south end of the building, becoming the new dining hall. The second floor became a coffee shop/student lounge area.
#iowadeathstorm10 Burney to leave Drake
photos by SARAH ANDREWS | Photo/Design Editor
AN ICE STORM struck Des Moines early Wednesday morning, forcing Drake to suspend classes on the second day of the semester. At first, classes were delayed until 10 a.m. Provost Michael Renner said that Drake Facilities tried to clean the pathways by then, but were unable to complete the task as the storm picked up around 9 a.m. The storm left buildings, sidewalks and trees covered in thick and slick ice. Classes resumed Thursday morning.
by MATT NELSONStaff Writer
(Twitter talk for Wednesday’s ice storm)
RANDOM FACT
The black, blue and red mural that graces Upper Olmsted was originally in the 1954 dining hall. It was painted by Stuart Davis.
Vice provost leaves after seven years at the university
JOHN BURNEY
SEE ASSAULT, PAGE 2
Spike gets fifth at nationalsby MATT NELSON
Staff [email protected]
A Drake University male stu-dent was attacked early Friday morning while he and his girl-friend were traveling to his house on the 1100 block of 26th St., ac-cording to the Des Moines Police Department.
First-year pharmacy student Daniel Ricci told Des Moines po-lice that a teenage male suspect at-tacked him, punching him twice in the head and once in the hand.
The police report states that Ricci and his girlfriend, first-year pharmacy student Kendall White, noticed a group of three women and one man following them as they walked south on 26th St. to-ward his home on Cottage Grove Ave.
When the couple turned, head-ing west on Cottage Grove Ave., the group walked faster toward them.
“When they got in front of his house, the male walked up without saying anything and punched him three times,” according to the po-lice report.
When White pulled out her phone and began to dial 911, the report stated that one of the fe-males said, “Let’s go, she’s calling the cops.” The group then fled, heading south on 26th St.
Officers searched the area when they arrived but found no suspects.
Ricci sustained minor injuries including swelling and bruising to his right eye, but is in stable con-dition, according to the police re-
by MARY BESS BOLLINGSports Editor
”“THE TIMES-DELPHIC NEWS MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2010 PAGE 2
PAGETWOEveryone loves Spikes. When we get to be there and see a mas-cot cheering you on, it’s more fun!
— BEN SABAL, SEE PAGE 2
SEND YOUR STORY IDEAS TO [email protected] FOR BREAKING DRAKE NEWS, CHECK OUT WWW.TWITTER.COM/TDBREAKINGNEWS
DAYQUOTE
of the
ORVILLE VERNON BURTON, a Civil War historian, serves as the Burroughs distinguished professor of southern history and culture at Coastal Carolina University. He is the author or editor of eight books, including “The Age of Lincoln” and “Slavery and America.” His research and teaching interests include the American South, especially race relations, family, community, politics, religion and the intersection of humanities and social sciences.
The lecture is part of Cowles Library’s Citizens Arise! initiative, which includes a national traveling exhibit about Lincoln on display at the library through Feb. 8.
“Abraham Lincoln: A Man for His Time, a Man for All Times,” features the president’s written and spoken messages, enhanced by Civil War-era photographs, letters and images.
The exhibit, which is open during regular library hours, was organized by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in New York City and made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Supported by a Prairie Meadows Community Betterment Grant
DRAKE UNIVERSITY PRESENTS
The Age of LincolnThursday, Feb. 4, 7 p.m.
Cowles Library Reading Room, Drake UniversityThe lecture is free and open to the public.
Call 271-3776 for more information.
For more information, visit http://citizensarise.drake.edu
Drake University’s Chamber Choir went in-ternational over winter break as the group trav-eled to England from Jan. 1 to Jan. 10 to share their music overseas.
The 27 choir members who took part in the trip were conducted by Aimee Beckmann-Collier, director of choral studies, and accompanied by Eric Saylor, associate professor of music history.
Beckmann-Collier asked Saylor to be the cul-tural guide because his main area of expertise is British Music.
Drake choral students have toured interna-tionally since 1992, and Drake choirs previously traveled to England in 2002 and 2006.
Saylor, who also accompanied the choir to England in 2006, believes it is important for the students to understand the history of the songs and the places where they perform.
“It makes them more informed musicians,” Saylor said. “It provides them not only with a sense of cultural and musical contexts of the works they sing, but also what the significance was at the time they were created and why they re-main significant today.”
President of Drake Chamber Choir Max Ma-
her said he felt that members not only came to sing but also to bring music to other nations.
“We have a responsibility as global citizens at Drake to give back to the world, and what better way to do that than through choral music-mak-ing?” Maher said. “The power music has to tran-scend differences cannot be paralleled.”
Saylor said England was chosen this year be-cause of its storied musical history and culture.
Some of the performance locations included St. Nicholas Parish Church in Witham, Chapel of St. John’s College at Cambridge University and the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in Lon-don.
The students wrote journals and posted pic-tures online between performances and sightsee-ing.
The choir received warm welcomes and audi-ences were highly responsive to their music, mem-bers said.
“It is extremely important to bring music to other nations because it provides common ground we can come together on,” choir member and freshman Sheila Brassel said. “Music is something we can all relate to.” n
Chamber Choir shares gift of song at historic sites in England
by STEPHANIE SANYOURStaff Writer
SPIKE raises school spirit by pumping up the crowd of students. Aside from games, the mascot also appears at local fundraisers and other community events.
photo by EMILY TOZER | Staff Photographer
FROM ASSAULT, PAGE 1
professors showcased his creativity. In 2009, he collaborated with Charles Nelson, associate professor of physics and astronomy, to write and perform a song for Provost Ron Troyer’s retire-ment party. The song was entitled, “A Provost Named Ron,” and was sung to the tune of “A Boy Named Sue.” Nelson composed the music while Burney wrote the lyrics. One line in the song was, “Well my provost stepped down when I was VP/and he didn’t leave much for Wanda and me/Just a contingency budget and an emp-ty Coke can…”
“It was fun,” Nelson said, smiling at the memory. “He likes to perform and he likes to be lighthearted about things. I think this fits in
with his role playing that he did in his classes, and he’s very much promoting to the faculty that Drake should use that.”
Provost Michael Renner said in a campus announcement how Burney has influenced the Drake community:
“The faculty efforts he has coordinated to integrate curriculum and assessment will have a lasting impact at Drake that will continue far beyond his departure,” Renner said. “Although I wish he would stay at Drake, I recognize the combination of personal and professional op-portunity represented by a move to Doane, and wish him every success in his new endeavor.” n
FROM BURNEY, PAGE 1
ber. “It feels really good to have built this pro-gram and have success in a short amount of time.”
Spike showed off his talent in a short skit entitled “A Tribute to 2009.” In the perfor-mance, Spike poses as a Charlie’s Angel in honor of the late Farah Fawcett. Other show-cases include Michael Jackson’s dance moves, cleaning a jersey with Oxi-Clean and reenact-ing the final scene of “Dirty Dancing.” Unfor-tunately, the enjoyment is abruptly ended by the unwelcome appearance of Michael Vick.
Mascots had 90 seconds for the skit, with only a minute to set up and leave the stage. Routines were judged on use of props, level of crowd involvement and creativity. The judges were a panel of experts including a profession-al mascot and the Universal Cheer Associa-tion’s director of mascot programs, according
to a Drake press release.Mascot team members said they prepared
the skit after viewing a sample DVD other teams had used in the past.
“We wanted to do something classical, something current and something that they could have a lot of fun with,” said a mascot team member.
Spike appears at many different locations throughout the course of the year, including charity runs or walks, elementary school ap-pearances and office parties. He makes more than 50 appearances a year outside of sport-ing events, said a mascot team member. That number is expected to grow as the program expands.
“Everyone loves Spike,” sophomore foot-ball player Ben Sabal said. “When we get to be there and see a mascot cheering you on, it’s more fun.”
Lassie, you better watch it. n
FROM SPIKE, PAGE 1
port.Des Moines police reported that the victim
was sober at the time of the assault.Dean of Students Sentwali Bakari sent an e-
mail at 2:23 p.m. Friday, warning students to be careful, especially when walking at night.
According to the e-mail, Des Moines police and campus security will continue to investigate the incident. n
Spike takes Disney World by storm
Vice Provost Burney moves to Doane for new history position
CHAMBER CHOIR poses in front of Parliament, just one of the many sights of their trip.
photo courtesy of SHEILA BRASSEL
Assault raises concern
SECURITY TIPS•Travel in groups•Be aware of your surroundings•Keep phone handy•Avoid poorly lit areas
It’s the first week of classes in the second semester, and as you walk into your his-tory class you look up and see that per-son you hooked up with at the end of last
semester and say quietly under your breath, “Aww, fudge,” or something along those lines. You go to find a seat as far away as possible and count down the minutes until class is done. But it really doesn’t need to be like that.
With Drake being such a small campus, you are bound to have a class with a one-night stand, hookup or ex-boyfriend or -girlfriend. This has the potential to be awkward for ev-eryone involved. But instead of stalking your hookup’s class list and reorganizing your schedule, take a deep breath. Being in a class with someone you have been with is not the end of the world. Chances are, if you have not had a class with this person yet, you will by the time you gra-date—there is no point in changing your life around. No one should control your life here at Drake, especially someone from a silly hookup. Eleanor Roosevelt said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” The best thing to do is hold your head up high, look your best and try not to be too awkward. If you are lucky enough to not have a class said person, you will inevitably end up seeing them around campus or out at West End.
If you don’t know what to say, you don’t have to say anything at all, just smile and be polite. If you are not rude, they will have nothing bad to say about you and they will end up being the one who is looking like a fool with their pants on the ground. (Sorry, I just had to fit that in somewhere.)
It doesn’t matter if you are male or female, things can be un-comfortable for both parties and sometimes feelings just refuse to go away. So here are my best tips for making this semester enjoy-able (or bearable):
Step one: Always look your best. When you look good, you feel good, and teachers also appreciate when you don’t look like
you just rolled out of bed. Step two, sit near the front of the class, or wherever you feel like you can focus best and try to have the person be out of your view so you can just concen-trate on class and doing your best—success is the best form of revenge. Lastly, be yourself and be nice to the other person. (Better yet, make a joke out of it, the class will be that much better.) You are here at Drake to get an education, and everything else—i.e. hooking up—are perks of the college experience.
If you still have feelings for the person you hooked up with, you can try and revive them
or just let it go because there are plenty of fish in the sea. But if you still have feelings for an ex in your class, you may want to talk to them about it just to clear everything up in case you have to work together in a study group or for a proj-ect.
The moral of the story is to never let someone control what classes you take or how you feel. You deserve the best educa-tion and all the best in life. Like they always say,
“What doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger.” So stick through that class—it will pay off in the end.
OPINIONS & EDITORIALSMONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2010PAGE 3 THE TIMES-DELPHIC
OPINIONS&EDITORIALSDon’t forget to go to class! Enrollment verification is moved to this week for Monday and Wednesday classes.
THE TIMES-DELPHICTHE STUDENT NEWSPAPER
FOR DRAKE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884
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LIFE: LIVING IT FROM EXPERIENCE
JEN CALDER
COLUMNIST
Awkward encountersGetting past past hookups
Instead of stalking your hookup’s class list and reorganizing your sched-ule—take a deep breath. Being in a class with someone you have been with is very doable.
Calder is a sophomore public relations major and can be contacted at [email protected].
Here are the opinions that are floating around our newsroom:
• Non-Iowan freshmen: The annoying, dangerous and untimely weather pattern, disguised in the subsequent beauty of branches glazed in ice and sparkling by lamplight, is an Iowa natural wonder known as an ice storm. Although we’re blessed with only one or two per year, a virtual hell breaks loose on this campus when they strike. There was no shortage of wiping out this week, but we can, in all seriousness, thank Drake Facilities for their outstanding work in clearing the pathways. While city streets and sidewalks remained coated in the transparent death trap of ice, Drake, for the most part, remained clear. Thank you.
• So, did anyone notice the sentence in the Hubbell story on page one that so nonchalantly said, “Construction crews have torn out the asbestos in the building in preparation for construction”? Uh, what? We all know the food at Hubbell is just stellar, but with the added flavor and nutrition of asbestos, we can be reassured that we were dining well. That’s just awesome.
• The freshmen’s favorite Spike’s has a new, temporary home in the basement of Olmsted—a tragedy in the eyes of TD staffers. Spike’s convenient Quad location is a rite of passage for any university Padawan. It’s such a shame that they’ll have to trek an extra 75 yards to satisfy their carb cravings. Maybe with the extra walking distance, we can eliminate the “freshman 15” and change it to the “freshman 14.”
Our Two Cents
What’s the TD staff complaining about this week?
STAFF EDITORIAL
Over break my mom went to prison. To the Fort Leavenworth Military Disciplinary Barracks, D building, just down the hall from solitary
confinement, to be specific. She hates the uni-form, but is getting along great and has already made friends with several sex offenders. They have great senses of humor, I hear.
She didn’t actually commit any crimes (re-cently)—she started working there as the barber instructor for one of the educational programs. Strangely, I find this situation more frightening than if she were imprisoned there; she’s sur-rounded by a bunch of battle-hardened former marines turned murderers, who are allowed to carry scissors, straight razors and caustic chemi-cals. But it’s alright; she has a rape whistle for protection. Somehow, she’s dead serious when she says it is her dream job, and that she has wanted this job longer than I have been alive.
Seeing my mom get giddy over a new job, even one that involves a prison, has made me think about my future employment. I’ve already talked about my haphazard post-graduation plans in this column. But in this case, I mean my long-term future employment. I always assumed that I would get a job eventually and then sit there about 40 years, retire with my significant other and live out our golden years doing as we pleased. Looking at my mom’s example, though, I don’t know if I can expect that, or if I even really want that.
I don’t think the economy or the Social Secu-rity system will ever recover to a point that will allow me to retire at 65 and live out these golden
years doing as I please. I will most likely be working well past the retirement age just to support myself, but who is to say that I won’t want that? People are living longer every year, and if I were to retire at 65, with luck, I could live 30 more years. That is a long time to be unemployed and bored. Sixty-five is also not the same senile and decrepit age it once was. I mean, Sigourney Weaver is 60, and dare I say, still attractive. Unless I de-cide to torture my body with fast food or pickle my brain with drugs and laziness, I’ve got a long and productive life ahead of me.
Furthermore, the prospect of working at the same job for 40 years, as many people in our parents’ generation have, is frankly painful to
me. I don’t mean to offend anyone, but that seems like stagnation, not meaningful employment. Call me capri-cious, but there are scarcely any subjects that I think could hold my rapt attention for 40 years. Maybe this is just me, or maybe it is a trend in our gen-eration, but I want to enjoy my work, be challenged by it, and engaged by it, not a slave to it. I understand the need for sta-
bility that goes along with having a family and legitimate responsibilities, but my happiness is just as important as my bank account. I don’t know if I will have a job in biochemistry or poli-tics like my majors suggest. I may end up as a
high school teacher, a gardener, an engineer, an interpreter or all four. I cannot say for certain, but I do know that I’ll be happy with my job(s).
The final part of this future is the significant other. I often refer to my mom as “The Widow Rajewski,” partly to emphasize the more stern aspects of her personality. When I was younger I threatened to run away. She packed my bags for me and dropped me off at the police station to “save them the trouble.” But I mostly call her that because, well, she’s a widow. She’s been one for the better part of 12 years, and to be fair, she has dated since my dad died, but I don’t think being widowed was part of her retirement plan. This shows that my expectation of being mar-ried and getting to spend the rest of my life with him or her is not something that can be taken for granted. Unlike the other points, I can’t find a silver lining to this one. I’m sorry.
But I can’t end my column on a bleak note like that, so I have to say that the typical Ameri-can dream is great for most people, but not for everyone. I would also venture to bet that that dream is slowly changing, but change isn’t a bad thing, not always. We might all live to be 100 years old and never have had the same job for more than 7 years, or we might spend 40 years teaching felons to cut hair, but the point is that our futures are not and should not be formulaic. Embrace uncertainty and blaze your own path.
Mom’s new occupation brings up concerns about future
The American Dream isn’t identical for everyone
ALEX RAJEWSKI
COLUMNIST
Rajewski is a senior biochemistry, cell and molecular biology major and can be contacted at
SENIOR YEAR
I have to say that the typical American dream is great for most people, but not for everyone. I would also venture to bet that the dream is slowly changing, but change isn’t a bad thing, not always.
THE TIMES-DELPHIC FEATURES MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2010 PAGE 4
FEATURES DON’T. MISS. THIS.Martin Luther King, Jr. CelebrationKeynote address by Dr. Bakari R. Sentwali, reception to followTonight in Parents Hall @ 7 p.m.
campus>>What’s going on?
TODAY
LECTURECelebration MLK
Jr. Keynote address & performance by
Drake Gospel Choir
WHEREOlmsted Parents Hall
WHEN7 p.m.
TUESDAY
DEBATEHigh school teams
debate over the tenth amendment
WHERECowels Library Read-
ing Room
WHEN7 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
PERFORMANCEDrake String Ensemble
play premiere of Forrest Pierce’s
“Jasmine Arrow Sutra”
WHERESheslow Auditorium
WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
calendar
PERFORMANCEAsst. prof of low brass and assistant director
of bands Grady McGrannahan on
tromboneWHERE
Performing Arts Center in FACWHEN8 p.m.
INFO SESSIONHear all about the 3-week, 6-credit
summer seminar in China
WHEREOlin 343
WHEN4 p.m.
INFO SESSIONSpring activities fair 60 student groups
& 30 volunteer orgs available for info
WHEREParents Hall
WHEN: 5-7 p.m.
The disaster in Haiti has received extensive coverage since the 7.0 magnitude earthquake affected thousands of people last Tuesday. With all the stories about the disaster and the pain that resulted, the good news about the people coming together to help this country in need has sometimes been overshadowed.
In a Jan. 13, speech, President Obama is-sues a full U.S. aid pledge. Following this call to action, hundreds of organizations are do-nating food, supplies and anything else needed to Haiti and they couldn’t do it without dona-
tions from people all over the United States. The American Red Cross pledged an initial $1 million for food, water, temporary shelter and medical supplies. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush have combined their organi-zations and will donate 100 percent of their profits for relief efforts. UNICEF is accepting donations for the children. Mercy Corps sent a team of emergency responders to assess dam-age and to help fulfill the immediate needs for survivors. Even Ben Stiller’s campaign, Still-strong, is temporarily diverting all donations to Haiti relief support. The United Nations Population Fund is working to ensure personal hygiene for women and girls by sending soap, toilet paper and disposable diapers.
The easiest way to help is by texting. Ac-cording to the Washington Post, U.S. cell phone users have donated $22 million to Haiti earthquake relief via text. When you text the word HAITI or SAVE to 20222, $10 is do-nated to the organization and is added to your cell phone bill.
From texting to volunteering, people all around the U.S. have come together in order to help the people of Haiti. You can help, too ,by donating to the organizations above, either online or by texting, or by joining a Facebook group. The volunteers, the donations and all the people coming together to help the citi-zens of Haiti are something should be in our thoughts. n
HELPING HAITI
Give money, time and aid to disaster relief
“The Lovely Bones” was destined to be a masterpiece. The problem is, it isn’t.
Here are reasons why it should have been a masterpiece. Academy Award-winning director Peter Jackson, who brought us “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, directed the film. It is based upon the widely acclaimed bestselling novel of the same name by Alice Sebold. The cast includes an onslaught of Oscar winners and nominees including Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon and Stanley Tucci.
There is only one reason why Jackson’s new movie isn’t a masterpiece. Quite simply, if you haven’t read Sebold’s book, the film itself holds no meaning.
In her novel, Sebold masters elegant prose. She creates lush characters and a rich environ-ment for them to live in. Emotions and thoughts flood the book with brilliant craftsmanship. Unfortunately, the overall human experience of the novel has been lost in translation in Jack-son’s interpretation of “The Lovely Bones.”
The plot is intriguing either way. In a sleepy Pennsylvania town, 14-year-old Susie Salmon is murdered. While her family tries to cope with her death, her killer remains at large.
As Susie spends her allotted time in the “in-between” (the land between the living and the dead), we are able to bear witness to the rela-tionships of those still living. The tension in the film and the book is built upon these relation-ships as the characters try to go on living their lives without Susie.
The cast is near perfect. Wahlberg’s char-acter of Susie’s father is supposed to carry the film. Instead, he’s mauled over by the impec-cable performances of Weisz as Susie’s mother and Sarandon as Susie’s grandmother. Tucci is practically unrecognizable as he steps into the role of Susie’s killer, sending a chill up your spine with every nuance of his character. New-
comer Saoirse Ronan helps bring Susie to life, a character that is essentially dead for the dura-tion of the film. It’s all very interesting in theo-ry, but could have been better if the screenplay was not such a convoluted mess.
While audiences have come to expect a lot from Jackson as a director, his version of Se-bold’s novel is lacking in many areas. For the average viewer, the things that made the book so wonderful do not really make sense in the movie. There is little that can be done visually to bring Sebold’s words to life. Jackson’s adap-tation is unfortunately lifeless—much like Susie herself. n
ARTS. LIVING. MOVIES. MUSIC. WEEKEND.
by HEATHER HALLStaff Writer
by MATTHEW H. SMITHStaff Writer
MOVIE: Lovely Bones | VERDICT:
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YOUNG BOY FROM LA ROMANA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC living in a Haitian dominant community, working in the sugar cane fields and living off $1 a day.
photo by SARAH ANDREWS | Photo Editor
>>HOW CAN YOU DONATE?
George W. Bush put it simply when he said, “Just send your cash.” It best offers aid groups the flexibility to provide what they need as the problems in Haiti evolve in the coming weeks and months.
via webYele Haiti Foundation: yele.orgAmerican Red Cross: redcross.orgClinton Bush Haiti Fund: clintonbushhaitifund.orgU.N. World Food Pro-gramme: wfp.org/donate/haiti
via other meansiTunes: purchase the “Hope for Haiti Now album: ($7.99)cnn.com/IMPACT: a compiled list of other ways you can send your donations or take action
via text (will appear on your cell phone bill)Red Cross: Text HAITI to 90999 ($10 donation)UNICEF: Text UNICEF to 20222 ($10 donation)Clinton Foundation: Text HAITI to 20222 ($10 donation)
New Years resolutions, a beginning of the year tradition second in popularity only to hangovers, are inter-esting in that they are both common and easily overlooked. For example, does anyone ever stop to ask why exactly we make these winter vows? The tradition of the New Year’s resolutions dates back to 153 B.C. Janus, a mythical king of early Rome, was associated with the beginning of the calendar. With two faces, Janus would look back on past events and at the same time, forward to the future. Janus soon became the ancient symbol for resolutions, and as such, many Romans sought forgiveness from their enemies and exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year (Janus eventually came to be called January).
In present day, a majority of individuals still resolve, each January 1, to accomplish a goal of some kind over the coming year. The resolutions often concern the improvement of personal health: by losing weight, exercising more, eating better, drinking less alcohol, or quitting smoking. Other resolutions may be aimed at improving the environment, saving money, or some other positive goal. The effectiveness of these resolutions tends to vary as well, depending on how the individual goes about fulfilling their commitment.
Research shows that while 52 percent of participants in a resolution study were confi-dent that they would achieve their goals, only 12 percent actually did. Men were shown to achieve their goal 22 percent more often when they set small measurable goals, such as “drop one pound a week,” instead of just resolving to “lose weight,” while women succeeded 10 percent more when they made their goals public and got support from their friends.
Here at Drake, the majority of students seem to approach New Years resolutions about as seriously as they approach the legal drinking age. Many students, when asked what their reso-lution for 2010 were either claimed not to have made one or made one up on the spot. At any rate, the responses were fairly typical: “lose weight,” “get better grades,” “stop fighting with parents” and similar resolutions seemed to be the gold standard.
FEATURESMONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2010PAGE 5 THE TIMES-DELPHIC
Out with the old, in with the newby CHARLES GARMAN
Staff [email protected]
Hello 2010
>>Common New-Year’s resolutions
Lose weightQuit smoking
Save money
THE TIMES-DELPHIC SPORTS MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2010 PAGE 6
SPORTSSTELLAR STATSFrank Wiseler tied a Knapp Center record for assists against Wichita State Saturday.
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SPIKE’S ARMY BARRACKSThere are some big games for Spike’s Army faithfuls to get out
and support the Bulldogs this weekend, complete with a white-out on Saturday at the Knapp Center.
• Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. Men’s basketball travels to Cedar Falls to take on MVC leader Northern Iowa.
• Friday at 7:35 p.m. Women’s basketball will face off against Creighton in Omaha. A two-hour drive is manageable, so plan to hit the road with the team at the end of the week.
• Saturday at 10 a.m. Women’s tennis will match up in a dual against Kansas at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.
WHITE-OUT AT THE KNAPP CENTER!
• Saturday at 7:05 p.m. Men’s basketball will rest up from the Wednesday game in order to compete against border rival Creighton this weekend. Fans are encouraged to wear white.
• Saturday at 10 a.m. The women’s tennis team will host Kan-sas State at the tennis center.
Resume Critiques Tomorrow
Get Ready
Bring your resume to be professionally reviewed
Be prepared for the Career Fair February 4, 2010, 3 – 6 PM Olmsted Center
All majors welcome! Tuesday, January 26, 2010 9 AM – 4 PM Upper Olmsted Center
Professional & Career Development Services
Bulldogs down Shockers with 78-64 win
FRESHMAN STEPHANIE RUNNING prepares to make a pass during the Bradley game. Sunday’s match ended in a loss after a half-court shot with one second left.
photo by EMILY TOZER |Staff Photographer
The only thing the Drake women’s basketball team could do was watch as the final seconds of the game ticked away. Some couldn’t even manage to do that. The disappointment on their faces was evident.
Northern Iowa came into Friday night’s game at the Knapp Center ready to fight and the Bulldogs could do nothing to stop them. Drake dropped their first home game of the season 59-46 and fell to 11-6 and 4-3 in Missouri Valley Conference games.
“Every game you lose is a hard game,” Drake senior forward Monique’ Jones said after the game. “It’s a tough loss.”
Despite coming out strong to a 12-5 lead, the Bulldogs couldn’t keep the Panthers at bay for very long. Northern Iowa accelerated to end the first half on a 23-5 run.
A Jones layup ended an 11:55 scoring drought for Drake with 1:09 remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs committed eight turnovers in that same stretch.
“I think we just let up,” Jones said. “We stopped attacking. I think we just stopped being the aggressive team.”
Jones’ 11 points and six rebounds were both highs for the Bulldogs.
While Drake kept the turnover total at 16, the opportunistic Panthers (7-10, 3-3 MVC) capitalized on Bulldog mistakes, tallying 22 points off turnovers.
The Panthers were driven by leading scorer Jacqui Kalin, who collected a game-high 14 points, and their second leading scorer Lizzie Boeck, who totaled 13 points on the night. As a team, Northern Iowa shot 42.1 percent from the floor.
The Bulldogs hit only 26.9 percent of their shots
in the first half. The team finished the game shooting 32 percent, a season low. Heading into the game, Drake was first in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 44.6 field goal percentage.
Drake Head Coach Amy Stephens was visibly frustrated with the team’s offensive struggles.
“We took a double-barreled shotgun and shot ourselves in the foot,” Stephens said. “We got down three points and you would’ve thought we were down 20.”
On the defensive end, Stephens was slightly more pleased with the Bulldogs’ effort. Drake forced 14 Northern Iowa turnovers, including seven steals.
“I thought the defense, with the exception of our rebounding, was pretty solid,” Stephens said.
The Bulldogs were edged in rebounding for the first time in five games as Northern Iowa won the contest on the boards convincingly, 41-28. Panther forward Erin Brocka hauled in 14 rebounds to lead both teams. Brocka leads the Panthers in rebounds this season.
“They just out-scrapped us,” Jones said. “They hustled after every ball. They were diving on the floor.”
Drake senior Jordann Plummer hit a free throw to cap off an 8-0 run early in the second half that narrowed the margin to 31-26 with 15:54 still to play.
Northern Iowa Head Coach Tanya Warren said one of the Panthers’ focuses heading into the contest was to limit Plummer by making her uncomfortable. Plummer, Drake’s leading scorer with 16.3 points per game average, was held to only 3-of-11 shooting for nine points.
The Bulldog leader collected her fifth foul with 7:39 remaining in the second half. Drake would face double-digit margins for the remainder of the game.
“Our team is just not in a good place right now and the only ones who are going to make it better are us,” Stephens said.
Stephens said the Bulldogs had to expect opposing teams to play them especially hard because of the program’s history of success and post-season appearances.
“Every night, Drake gets everybody’s best shot,” Stephens said. “Everybody in this league is going to give us their best shot.” n
by TIM WEIDEMANStaff Writer
Scoring drought dooms the Bulldogs in both weekend match-ups
Drake braves Bradley after loss to UNI panthers
Sophomore point guard Frank Wiseler had a Knapp Center record 12 assists to lead Drake to a convincing 78-64 win over Wichita State Saturday. It was the fifth straight victory for the Bulldogs after losing four to start the conference season.
“We’re playing well right now,” Head Coach Mark Phelps said. “We got some nice momentum going and we have to keep improving.”
Senior Josh Young led all scorers in the game with 20 points, converting on all 11 of his free throw attempts.
“(Young) is the guy we want at the line,” Phelps said.
Wichita State was coming off a key win over Missouri Valley leader Northern Iowa on Tuesday, but did not have an answer for the red-hot Bulldogs. Phelps said that it was Wiseler and the other guards that got the ball rolling.
“Frank played a heck of a game,” he said. “Our guards were able to get into the paint and make good decisions.”
Drake locked down on defense to start the game, as Wichita State managed only three points in the first 10:01. The Shockers chipped away and cut the Bulldog lead to 28-21 with 3:30 remaining in the half, but an 8-3 run by the Bulldogs gave Drake a double-digit halftime lead for the third straight game.
“We’ve come a long way defensively,” Young said. “Our coaches did a great job scouting.”
Wichita State battled back in the second half to cut the lead to 55-48 with 7:36 left to play. Young responded with a three that killed the rally and sent the Knapp Center into a frenzy.
A basket by the Shockers’ Toure’ Murry made it 66-60 with 2:49 left, but Young drew the fifth foul from Murry on the next possession
and made both free throws. Wichita State would not get any closer.
“They beat us pretty good last time, but we’re coming together as a team,” freshman center Seth VanDeest said, referring to a 61-38 loss at Wichita State earlier this season.
Drake had four players score in double figures, with VanDeest contributing 17 points. Junior Ryan Wedel and senior Adam Templeton had 13 apiece.
Wiseler had nine points in addition to his passing efforts. Phelps said he could not have been happier with his sophomore point guard.
“Frank has great vision and basketball IQ,” he said. “It’s exciting to think about how good he could be down the road.”
Wiseler has seen more playing time due to an injury to senior point guard Craig Stanley. Templeton said that the team has plenty of confidence in his abilities.
“(Wiseler) has handled it great,” he said. “He has stepped in and played more minutes and done a great job.”
Templeton led Drake in rebounding with nine. Coming off being named the Missouri Valley Player of the Week, Templeton continued his productive play. He says it is difficult being an undersized power forward at times, but welcomes the challenge.
“It’s tough boxing out 7-foot players and guys that have 40 pounds on me,” he said with a laugh. “But that’s part of my role.”
Drake shot 55 percent from the field, including 53.8 percent from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs made 81.8 percent of their free throw attempts. The Shockers only managed 39.3 percent from the field.
Drake moved to 10-11 on the season. Wichita State fell to 17-4 and 6-3 in the Valley.
The Bulldogs continue a tough stretch in the conference as they travel to Northern Iowa on Wednesday and host Creighton on Saturday. n
by MATT MORANStaff Writer
SOPHOMORE POINT GUARD FRANK WISELER surveys the court as he faces off against a Wichita State defender. Saturday’s win brought Drake to 5-4 record in the MVC.
photo by EMILY TOZER |Staff Photographer
SPORTSMONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2010PAGE 7 THE TIMES-DELPHIC
The Drake track and field team began its spring campaign on Friday at the two-day Iowa State Open in Ames. Head Coach Na-tasha Brown said it was a strong performance from the entire squad.
“It was a challenge to be indoors for the first time,” Brown said. “You have to fight for position differently because it’s a shorter track. But overall, our team did really well.”
The meet was the Bulldogs’ first since early December and featured formidable regional opponents such as Butler and host Iowa State.
Senior runner Jeff Grassmeyer said that he was pleased the results, but did not think that anyone ran quite as fast as they hoped for.
“I like to call it a ‘rust buster,’” Grassmeyer said. “Since it’s the first indoor race for most of us coming off of Christmas break, we haven’t done much as far as workouts. So it’s some-what of a basic indicator of where we’re at.”
Brown also said that most of the runners were restricted to running on treadmills over break due to weather, so there will be an ad-justment period.
Perhaps the most impressive finishes for the Bulldogs came in the mile. In the wom-en’s event, junior Casey McDermott finished fifth with a time of 5:04.07. Teammate Katie Coomer finished in 5:14.68, good enough for 12th place in the field of 50.
“Casey McDermott is an amazing athlete,” Brown said. “She looked solid and smooth.”
In the men’s mile, Grassmeyer finished 12th with a time of 4:17.33. Sophomore Colin Hagan and junior Adam Oestreich also ran the mile and finished in 4:27.37 and 4:42.16, respectively.
Grassmeyer beat the weather to prepare for the indoor season by escaping the Midwest.
“I had a pretty solid winter of training en-tering the indoor season,” Grassmeyer said. “I was able to get away from the weather by traveling to New Zealand for a few weeks with some teammates and that helped a lot.”
Drake also had some impressive perfor-mances in field events. Junior Ari Curtis placed third in the women’s long jump Anthony Pett-away finished fifth in the men’s long jump, and Tyse Samani took third in the women’s high jump.
But perhaps the most interesting perfor-mance of the day goes to senior Drake long jumper Josh Bangert. Bangert leaped an im-pressive 6.98 meters in his first attempt and then fouled on each of his next two. On his fourth jump, he injured his hamstring and was unable to attempt his next three jumps.
Regardless, Bangert’s first jump of 6.98 meters was good enough for sixth place al-though he only recorded one of a possible six scores.
Freshman Owen Sadewasser was also a bright spot for the Bulldogs, posting a 1.9-me-ter jump in the non seeded men’s high jump, good enough for third. Simply getting to the meet might have been Sadewasser’s most dif-ficult task Saturday.
After having bus problems, Sadewasser made it to ISU just in time for a short warm-up before his event.
Brown said the meet was just a first step in what is hopefully a successful season.
“We have nothing but high expectations, both team and individual,” Grassmeyer said. “Last year, we didn’t finish as well at (the Mis-souri Valley) conference meet as we would have liked to, so a goal is definitely to improve on that finish as a team.” n
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Doubles team garners early national ranking
Drake hits the ground running at Iowa State
by JACK THUMSERStaff Writer
DRAKE TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETES found their stride in Ames this weekend at the indoor Iowa State Open. Next weekend’s meets include UNI and Kansas.
FILE PHOTO
THE DRAKE DOUBLES TENNIS TEAM made up of sophomore Cesar Bracho and junior Mauricio Ballivian earned a preseason national ranking of 39th. The duo paired up to compete for the first time this fall, though they’ve known each other for over 10 years.
photo by SARAH ANDREWS | Photo/Design Editor
The tennis ball hangs in the air for only a second. Sophomore Cesar Bracho is leaning for-ward, feet leaving the ground for only a second as his arm charges the ball.
His opponent barely manages to float a shot casually over the net. Junior Mauricio Ballivian smashes the ball before it has a chance to de-scend to the cement, with no chance of a return. Game, set, match.
With four wins and zero losses, the duo took the doubles crown at the Drake Invitational last fall. Four months later, Ballivian and Bracho are ranked 2nd in the region and 39th in the country by the Intercollegiate Tennis Associa-tion. Despite a perfect record prior to the spring season, these two are just getting warmed up.
In early September, Bracho and Balliv-ian approached first-year Head Coach Jimmy Borendame with the idea of uniting as a doubles team—a duo that had never played together be-fore. While other coaches were reuniting play-ers from previous seasons, Borendame took a chance on his first major lineup decision as the head coach of the Bulldogs.
After watching and analyzing each player’s game, Borendame saw that Bracho’s gargan-tuan serve combined with Ballivian’s uncanny touch at the net would cause problems for not only teams in the Missouri Valley Conference, but for the rest of the nation.
“After they won the Drake Invite I thought they had the potential to be ranked, but I didn’t think we’d start off this early in the preseason,” he said. Borendame believes the duo’s contin-ued success will rely on more than each player’s raw talent.
Ballivian and Bracho possess a strong cama-raderie not found in many Division I doubles teams. The pair has a long history together play-ing high-level tennis in South America.
“Me and Bracho met 10 years ago, maybe more,” Ballivian said. “We travel around South America together playing tournaments.”
The teammates have played each other on several occasions, with both players’ aggressive style forcing the other to improve his versatility.
Borendame is hoping to use the duo’s versa-tility and aggressive play to improve their rank-ing as the season begins. While most doubles teams rely on the standard one player up, one player back positioning, Borendame is hoping to keep Drake’s opponents on their toes by switch-ing to the rarely used two back and “Australian” positioning.
“It’s fairly unorthodox, but it is a style that suits Mauricio and Cesar very well.”
Borendame believes that micromanaging his doubles will be the key to victories over other top-ranked teams.
“I don’t want to keep it the same for too long,” he said. “I want to keep the other teams uncomfortable.”
Despite their national ranking in doubles, both Ballivian and Bracho are hoping to benefit the team in singles as well as doubles during the season.
“At the beginning of the year Mauricio, coach and I sat down together and talked about trying to get ranked in singles and doubles,” Bracho said.
The duo hopes that being highly ranked in both will help lead the team to their fourth NCAA tournament appearance in five years.
“The overall goal is to be ranked as a team” said Ballivian. “If Bracho and I can get wins in both then we will bring a lot to the team.” n
by DOMINIC JOHNSONStaff Writer
THE TIMES-DELPHIC ADVERTISEMENT MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2010 PAGE 8