Faculty, staff and students are invited to attend a presentation by Dave Portnoy
about rape awareness and teach self-defense moves at 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 7, in the
Drake Knapp Center. The seminar is sponsored by Empower, Panhel and the Student Activities
Board. Walker Organizes
Effort to Support School Sales Tax
David Walker, the Dwight D. Opperman professor of law, is leading an effort in the
Drake community to express support for and to urge others to support the school sales
tax.
"The University is an active member of the Greater Des Moines community and
we are and want to be a leader in it," Walker said. "What we intend to
do is express ourselves individually, as members of the Drake community, and not
just institutionally. The way we have in mind to do this is to publish a letter (currently
in draft form) with as many members of the Drake community as want to do so 'signing
it,' in a full-page advertisement in The Des Moines Register before the Nov. 23 election.
The Drake community includes not only faculty but also administrative and support
staff and all employees. Students may be interested in expressing their support,
too."
Supporters of this effort include Faculty Senate President Dan Spencer; Don Adams,
executive assistant to President Maxwell; and Ron Troyer, dean of the College of
Arts and Sciences.
The Register ad is expected to cost at least $2,750. Some members of the Drake community
already have made contributions to help pay for the ad, but additional donations
are needed, Walker said.
Anyone who wishes to sign the letter or contribute to publishing the ad may send
Walker an e-mail message at david.walker@drake.edu or call him at x1805. Contributions
may be sent to Walker at the Drake Legal Clinic. Checks should be made payable to
Drake University.
"Points we'll be making in the letter include that we at Drake understand, indeed
are dedicated to, the power of education to shape and transform peoples' lives, and
through them, whole communities and society itself," Walker said. "As a
part of that, each of us at Drake is committed to the notion of lifelong learning.
That begins very early, and we therefore have to be concerned with K-12 education.
As Paul Simon said in his Bucksbaum Lecture during President David Maxwell's Inauguration,
'You can't have a healthy higher education unless you have a healthy preparatory
and elementary
education.'"
The letter also will state that the infrastructure needs of the schools in Polk County
are documented and well-known. "In some cases it is stark physical deterioration
of the facility; in others it is more a need for additional classroom space, library
room, and the like; almost everywhere it is a need for room and equipment for students
to learn and become proficient in new technologies," Walker said. "The
statewide price tag is $3 billion, and we know that the state is not going to come
to the aid of the local schools in this way. Indeed, the surplus opponents have counted
on is disappearing with more accurate revenue projections.
"The School Sales Tax is dedicated 100 percent to meeting these needs,"
Walker added. "No one likes a tax, and sales taxes can be criticized as being
regressive; but this sales tax has many, many exemptions, including rent or mortgage
payments; groceries; health care and child care; medicine and drugs; motor fuel;
and others. It is also less expensive than a property tax, which would include huge
interest costs and be paid by both homeowners and, indirectly, by those who rent." Experience
a World of Cultural Diversity
"Windows to the World" is the theme of this year's International Week,
Nov. 8-14. Several campuswide activities will take place that week under the sponsorship
of the International Students Association.
"The 'Windows to the World' theme symbolizes the fact that we're people from
different countries, ready to face the dawn of a new age with our windows wide open
and with different ideas," said Selase Dow, president of ISA. "Most important,
we wish to reflect through our 'windows' the harmony needed for us to live together
in one world."
This is the second year ISA has sponsored a week-long celebration instead of a one-night
event. For the 240 students who belong to ISA, the week offers an opportunity to
teach the campus about international students' diverse cultures.
"We just want to show the Drake community that international students do exist,
and we enjoying sharing what we have with the friends we've made here, our home away
from home," Dow said.
ISA members will kick off the week on Monday, Nov. 8, by wearing traditional attire
from their home countries on International Dress Day. On Tuesday, Nov. 9, international
students will invite their favorite professors and friends to attend a lunch at Hubbell
North Buffet from noon to 1:30 p.m. On Wednesday, Nov. 10, international students
will join the Gilbertson Project, a Drake jazz band, in a Jazz Night performance
in the Olmsted Center lounge from 8 to
11 p.m.
The final event of the week, International Night, will feature a variety show starting
at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, on the Jordan Stage in Sheslow Auditorium in Old
Main. International students will perform traditional dances or songs from their
home countries. There also will be a fashion show.
Following the variety show, an international food fair will be held in Hubbell North
Buffet from 8 to 10 p.m. The evening will end with a semiformal dance starting at
10 p.m. in Parents Hall at Olmsted Center.
All International Week events are open to the public. Tickets for International Night
will be sold throughout the week in Olmsted Center for $10 and can be ordered online
at: www.mac.drake.edu/org/isa.
Tickets at the door will cost $15 for students and adults.
