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February 23, 2001 Vol. 53, No. 33


DRAKE STUDENT NAMED TRUMAN SCHOLARSHIP FINALIST

Ajenai S. Clemmons, a junior at Drake University and a legislative assistant to Iowa Rep. Wayne Ford of Des Moines, has been selected as a finalist in the 2001 Truman Scholarship competition.

The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation awards merit-based $30,000 scholarships to college students who plan to pursue careers in government or elsewhere in public service, and wish to attend graduate or professional school to help prepare for their careers.

This year, 589 students were nominated for Truman Scholarships. Clemmons is among the 202 chosen as finalists from 144 colleges and universities. The foundation expects to award 75 to 85 Truman Scholarships this year.

Clemmons, a resident of Greenwood Village, Colo., will be interviewed March 28 in Denver along with several other finalists. If she receives a Truman Scholarship, Clemmons will become the seventh Drake student to be named a Truman Scholar since 1990. Drake's most recent Truman Scholar is Sheila McCoy, a senior from Merrill, Iowa.

"I am elated, excited and a bit nervous moving into this final stage," Clemmons said of her selection as a Truman Scholar finalist. "It is truly an honor to have made it this far, and the tremendous amount of support here at Drake has made the news all the more sweet."

Clemmons has achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 3.7 while majoring in international relations and history.

Professor Archer describes her as "an individual who is incredibly focused and has such a delightful determination to succeed on a variety of fronts." For example, he said, "She organized a forum on racial issues that took place on campus last year and is now planning a follow-up forum this spring. She also tutors children at the Drake Community Center and serves as a legislative assistant to State Rep. Wayne Ford. She doesn't just talk about doing something to end racial disparity, but actually gives of herself to achieve that."

Clemmons is vice president of the Drake Honors Council and cultural chair of the Drake Coalition of Black Students. She also is a member of the executive board of the following organizations: the Committee for Black History Month, the Drake History Society, La Fuerza Latina and the American Association of University Women.
SPECIAL BASKETBALL ACTIVITIES SET FOR SATURDAY

This Saturday, Feb. 24, the Drake men's and women's basketball teams will both be playing their final home games of the season. The women's game vs. Northern Iowa begins at 2:05 p.m., while the men's game against Creighton starts at 7:05 p.m.

The seniors for each team will be recognized prior to their games. Kristin Santa and Kris Horner, along with manager Shaquita Bell, will be honored prior to the women's game. Joey Gaw, Justin Ohl, Lamont Evans and Aaron Thomas will be recognized prior to the men's contest.

In addition, there will be alumni games prior to each game. Former Drake women's basketball players will compete from 12:30 to 1 p.m., while former Drake men's basketball stars will play from 5 to 6 p.m. The alumni will be recognized at halftime of their respective games.

Drake is teaming up with the American Cancer Society for a special promotion to help conquer cancer during the women's and men's basketball games on Saturday, Feb. 24. Fans are asked to pledge a specific amount for every three-point shot the Drake team or teams make on Saturday. The donations will help the American Cancer Society eliminate cancer through research, education, advocacy and service.

In addition, Dolph Pulliam, director of athletic promotions and marketing, will attempt three-point shots at halftime of the women's game, and women's basketball coach Lisa Stone will shoot three-point shots at halftime of the men's game. For each three-pointer they make, money will be donated to the American Cancer Society.
INTERVIEWS SET FOR CANDIDATES VYING FOR DEANSHIP

Campus interviews have been scheduled for three candidates seeking the position of dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. All three will make presentations to the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Robert Hariman, the Ellis and Nelle Levitt distinguished professor of rhetoric and communication studies at Drake, is scheduled to be interviewed on Monday, Feb. 26, and Tuesday, Feb. 27. His faculty presentation will start at 3:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 26, in room 101 of Olin Hall.

Edward Thompson, assistant vice president for academic affairs at California State University-San Marcos, will visit campus for interviews Monday, March 5, and Tuesday, March 6. His presentation to the faculty is set for 3:30 p.m. Monday, March 5, in Bulldog Theater, Olmsted Center.

Jeffrey Buller, acting dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at Georgia Southern University, will be on campus for interviews Monday, March 12, and Tuesday, March 13. His faculty presentation is slated for 3:30 p.m. Monday, March 12, in the upper level conference rooms in Olmsted Center.
MICHIGAN STATE PROF TO SPEAK AT DRAKE THURSDAY

Professor Scott Michaelsen, who heads the doctoral program on Literatures of the Americas at Michigan State University, will speak at Drake University on Thursday, March 1. His lecture, titled "Hybridity Bound," will explore the use of hybridity in current theory and its limitations. The event, which is free and open to the public, will start at 7:30 p.m. in the Honors Lounge of Medbury Hall.

Michaelsen is the author of The Limits of Multiculturalism: Interrogating the Origins of American Anthropology. He also is co-editor of Border Theory: The Limits of Cultural Politics. In addition, he is co-editor of CR: Centennial Review, which focuses on theory-driven investigations of the Americas.

Michaelsen's appearance at Drake is sponsored by the University's Critical Studies of Culture Program.
EXPERT ON GENOCIDE TO SPEAK AT DRAKE FRIDAY

Ervin Staub, author of The Roots of Evil: The Origins of Genocide and Other Group Violence, will speak at Drake University on Friday, March 2. His lecture, titled "The Origins of Ethnic Conflict and Genocide," will start at 8 p.m. in Bulldog Theater in Olmsted Center.

Staub, who teaches psychology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, will be introduced by former Iowa Gov. Robert D. Ray. The lecture, sponsored by Drake University and the U.S. Institute of Peace, is free and open to the public. The U.S. Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan federal institution created and funded by Congress to strengthen the nation's capacity to promote the peaceful resolution of international conflict.

Professor Staub also will be participating in a faculty workshop at Drake on Ethnic Conflict, Accountability and Reconciliation. Approximately 25 faculty from Drake and other Iowa colleges and universities will be involved in the workshop.

Staub's book on The Roots of Evil was the inspiration for a 1998 television series shown on the Discovery Channel and the BBC. The book, published in 1989, explores the roots of the Holocaust, the genocide against the Armenians, the "autogenocide" in Cambodia and the evolution of caring and non-aggressive persons and societies.

Following the Rodney King incident in Los Angeles, Staub created a training program for all police officers in California to reduce the unnecessary use of force. He is now writing a book about raising caring and non-violent children. In addition, he is working on a project in Rwanda on healing, forgiveness and reconciliation in the wake of that country's genocide. Staub also was a co-organizer of an international conference in Sweden in 1997 on "Beyond Lamentation: Options for Preventing Genocidal Violence."

A native of Hungary, Staub earned his bachelor's and doctorate degrees from Stanford University. He taught at Harvard University and has been a visiting professor at Stanford, the University of Hawaii and the London School of Economics and Political Science. He joined the University of Massachusetts in 1971.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS TO SPEAK AT SUPREME COURT BANQUET

U.S. Sen. John Edwards, D-North Carolina, will give the keynote address at Drake Law School's Annual Supreme Court Celebration banquet Saturday, March 3. The speech will follow a 6 p.m. reception and 7 p.m. dinner at the downtown Marriott Hotel.

Sen. Edwards was sworn into office on Jan. 6, 1999, becoming the 51st North Carolinian in history to serve in the U.S. Senate. As a new senator, he quickly emerged as a champion for better schools, saving Social Security and Medicare, and a meaningful Patients' Bill of Rights.

Born in 1953, Edwards grew up in Robbins, a small town in the Piedmont. The first person in his family to go to college, Edwards worked his way through North Carolina State University and graduated with honors in 1974. He earned a law degree with honors in 1977 from the University of North Carolina.

Drake Law School's Supreme Court Celebration honors the Iowa Supreme Court through a series of appellate advocacy competitions that culminate in hypothetical case arguments by Drake law students before the state's highest court. The banquet that caps the festivities brings together students, faculty, staff, alumni, friends and members of the community to announce various awards and achievements and to recognize those who have made significant contributions to the Law School.

In addition to the Saturday banquet, there will be a Drake Journal of Agricultural Law Dinner on Thursday, March 1. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Patty Judge will be the keynote speaker following a 6:30 p.m. reception and 7 p.m. dinner at the Des Moines Club in downtown Des Moines.

For more information about the Supreme Court Celebration as well as reservations, call x3985 or x2057.
FILM FESTIVAL TO FOCUS ON 'WOMEN, CULTURE AND POWER'

A film festival titled "Women, Culture and Power" will be held at Drake University March 5, 7 and 8 under the sponsorship of the University's Women's Studies Program and the Critical Studies of Culture Program.

"The ways in which cultural symbols, social relations and networks of power shape images and experiences of women are the unifying theme of the film festival," said professor
C. Richard King, director of the Critical Studies of Culture Program .

The film festival is free and open to the public. All of the screenings will start at 7 p.m. in various locations on the Drake campus. A Drake faculty member will lead a discussion to accompany each film.

On Monday, March 5, the festival will begin in room 106 of Meredith Hall, with a showing of "I, Doll: The Unauthorized Biography of America's Eleven and a Half Inch Sweetheart." This is a "revelatory new documentary that parallels the history of Barbie with cultural events of the past half-century," according to the Northwest Film Festival Program. "'I, Doll' is as humorous as it is comprehensive." Janet Wirth Cauchon, assistant professor of sociology at Drake, will lead the discussion following the screening.

"Performing the Border, " an intriguing video essay set in the Mexican-U.S. border town of Ciudad Juarez, will be shown on Wednesday, March 7, in room 101 of Meredith Hall.
This video explores the sexualization of the border region through labor division, prostitution and sexual violence in the public sphere. The discussion will be facilitated by Nancy Reincke, associate professor of English, who has taught travel seminars in the border region.

"The Double Burden: Three Generations of Working Mothers" will be shown on Thursday, March 8, in room 102 of Harvey Ingram Hall. "The Double Burden" vividly portrays the lives of three families each with three generations of women who worked outside the home while also raising families. "This film instills tremendous respect for the accomplishments of women and for women of different races, social classes and lifestyles," King said. Vibs Petersen, director of the Women's Studies Program at Drake, will lead the discussion.
LET'S DU LUNCH SET FOR MARCH 7

Polk County Manager Teree Caldwell-Johnson will discuss the county's future growth when she is the featured speaker at Let's DU Lunch on Wednesday, March 7, in the Younkers Tea Room in downtown Des Moines. The luncheon, which is open to the public, is sponsored by Drake University's Central Iowa Alumni Chapter and the Greater Des Moines Partnership.

The Let's DU Lunch series will continue on Wednesday, April 4, when William T. Kerr, chairman and chief executive officer of Meredith Corp., will discuss the future of magazines and television.

Both luncheons will start at 11:30 a.m. in the Younkers Tea Room. The cost is $15 for each lunch. For reservations, call x3152.
SANTA NAMED TO ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT FIRST TEAM

Senior Kristin Santa (Lake Bluff, Ill./Loyola Academy) of the Drake women's basketball team was one of five players named to the 2000 Verizon Academic All-District University Division Women's Basketball first team. Santa is now a finalist for the Verizon Academic All-America team, which will be announced March 13.

Joining Santa on the first team in District VII, which includes universities located in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Alberta and Saskatchewan, are Cara Consuegra and Lindsey Meder of Iowa, Courtney Sims of Wichita State and Jackie Stiles of Southwest Missouri State.

Santa, a pharmacy major with a 3.78 grade-point average, leads the Missouri Valley Conference in assists (4.6) and three-point baskets made per game (2.2), and ranks tied for sixth nationally in free throw percentage (.889). She ranks third in Drake history and ninth in MVC history in career three-pointers made (179), is Drake's all-time leader in career free throw percentage (.838) and ranks eighth in school history in career assists (381) and ninth in career steals (144).

Santa, who set a school record by making at least one three-point basket in 25 straight games, is averaging 11.6 points for Drake, and is approaching the 1,000-point mark for her career (952). Santa was named Tuesday to the MVC Scholar-Athlete first team.

Drake has had seven Academic All-Americans since 1982, including two Academic All-American National Players of the Year (Jan Jensen - 1991; Tricia Wakely - 1996).

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