Jane Elliott to present 'eye-opening experience' about prejudice Jane Elliott to present 'eye-opening experience' about prejudice Elliott is best known for the "Brown Eyes, Blue Eyes" experiment in which she divided her third-grade class in Riceville, Iowa, into two groups based on eye color in 1970. The children with blue eyes were told they were better than the children with brown eyes. While the blue-eyed children were encouraged in their studies and given special privileges, the brown-eyed children were told not to use the drinking fountain and not to play with the blue-eyed children. Elliott then altered the experiment so that the brown-eyed students received preferential treatment. The study was designed to give students a first-hand experience of what it felt like to be discriminated against. "Jane Elliott is a highly respected expert who will help us understand the anatomy of prejudice and develop behavioral change strategies that address the concrete manifestations of prejudice," said Drake University President David Maxwell. Elliott's appearance demonstrates Drake's commitment to an environment that embraces diversity. This event has campus-wide support and sponsors include Drake Student Activities Campus Programming Committee, Coalition of Black Students, La Fuerza Latina, Office of the President, Office of the Dean of Students and Drake Weekend, Residence Hall Association, School of Education and Center for the Humanities. The events, which are free and open to the public, are designed to raise awareness and funds for the victims of the Sudanese government-sponsored genocide happening in Darfur. A silent auction, offering items donated by local businesses, will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 5, in Parents Hall, Olmsted Center. "Date for Darfur," a date auction featuring Drake athletes Klayton Korver, Ashley Anklam and others, will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 6, on Pomerantz Stage, Olmsted Center. The week's events culminate from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, at the "Dodge for Darfur" dodgeball tournament at Drake Fieldhouse. In addition, the students will be selling donuts and t-shirts on campus in Meredith Hall each morning throughout the week. All proceeds from the week's activities will be donated to the American Red Cross to help provide aid for Darfurians in refugee camps in Sudan. Carter first learned about the atrocities in Darfur in a Drake class about the United Nations, taught by Debra DeLaet, associate professor of politics and international relations. Bowlin, who was an active member in Drake's Hurricane Katrina fundraising efforts last September, approached Carter early this fall about organizing a campus event. The two students agreed that Darfur was a worthy cause and enlisted support from campus groups and community businesses. "I don't feel like we are here just to read about the news; we're on campus and we have the responsibility to take action and help the lives of people who are desperate," Bowlin said. Drake for Darfur is being co-sponsored by Drake's Campus Crusade for Christ, Center for Global Citizenship, National Pan-hellenic Council, Residence Hall Association and student athletes. The program includes "Un Cantate de Noel" by Arthur Honegger and the "Many Moods of Christmas, Suite 1," by Robert Shaw and Russell Bennett. Randal Buikema, who is teaching at Drake this year, will be the guest conductor. The fall concert season will conclude with a Drake Symphony Orchestra performance under the direction of guest conductor Clarence Padilla at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12, on the Jordan Stage in Sheslow Auditorium. The orchestra will feature Robert Meunier in the Concertino for Xylophone and Orchestra by Toshiro Mayuzumi. The program also includes music by Copland, Milhaud and Hanson. Both concerts are free and open to the public. Ehrhart, who served as Drake Relays director from 1969-2000, was recognized for his contributions on and off the track. He was a high school and college track and field coach for 34 years, including 31 seasons in the collegiate ranks. Before coming to Drake in 1969, he guided the track program at his alma mater, Northwestern University, for nine seasons. During his tenure as director of Drake Relays, the number of events expanded from 49 in his first year to more than 100 events. In addition, the number of college teams and participants also more than tripled from 2,763 athletes in 1970 to a record 9,185 entries in 2000. Under Ehrhart's coaching, Drake track and cross country teams won nine Missouri Valley Conference championships, including six in indoor track, two in cross country and one in outdoor track. No team in the history of the MVC has dominated the league's indoor track and field championships by winning those six team titles in a row. Ehrhart also coached 23 NCAA All-Americans, 12 at Northwestern and 11 at Drake including 1970 NCAA decathlon champion Rick Wanamaker and standout sprinter Kevin Little, a two-time All-American at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships in 1989 and 1990. "It was really a resounding success -- more successful than I could have imagined," said Dolph Pulliam, director of community outreach and development. Pulliam worked with the Des Moines Community Development Department to coordinate the fundraiser. Every participating office or organization received a box and a list of requested food items. Once the boxes were full, staff members at LRI, which provides mailing services for the University, collected them from dozens of locations across campus. In the coming weeks, the Community Development Department, volunteers and members of Drake's Sigma Chi fraternity will sort the donated items and provide 1,000 families of varying sizes with enough food for the holidays. "It's a very stressful time of the year for low-income families," said Marci Rafdal, community services administrator for the Des Moines Community Development Department. "We think it's very important to provide food -- not just for the holiday dinner but for the holidays." Additional volunteers are needed to help sort the collected food. For details, contact Rafdal at 515-283-4180 or at The play focuses on Elly, Gayle and Jen as they decide to have scotch for breakfast one morning, setting the scene for a day of dark revelations and unforeseen events. An unintended pregnancy, a creepy coworker and a controlling housemate are catalysts for a discussion of sex, morality and power in this darkly comedic work. The women explore the difficulties of making decisions for themselves and are left to wonder about the choices they have made. This play, which contains smoking and adult situations, is produced by special arrangement with Samuel French Inc. Drake's production of "Sunday on the Rocks" will run for six performances Dec. 7-10 in Studio 55 of the Harmon Fine Arts Center, 25th Street and Carpenter Avenue. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, with 2 p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free, but patrons are asked to reserve tickets in advance due to limited seating. Tickets may be obtained through the Drake Fine Arts Center Box Office at x3841. Toys collected through the drive will be donated to children in the Des Moines area. Donated toys must be brand new and unopened, and need to be delivered to a collection site by Dec. 17. PRSSA has placed two drop-boxes on campus, one in the Student Life Center in Olmsted, and one at the University Bookstore on 31st and Forest. "Please consider this community service opportunity, as it is unfortunate that some children in Central Iowa would not otherwise receive gifts this holiday season," said Tiffany Shaheen, Drake PRSSA president. Faculty, staff and students also are involved in Drake's annual Christmas Wish Tree Program. This year, the Christmas tree in Olmsted Center was decorated with ornaments containing wishes from 16 needy families. All of the ornaments were claimed last week and the wrapped gifts are due at the Student Life Center in Olmsted Center on Wednesday, Dec. 6. Rather, Evans was inspired by last fall's launch of the video iPod, and he set out this semester to teach students about the related legal issues as well as the technical skills of creating podcasts and building blogs with sound, photo and video content. "The idea was to get students blogging and see what they could do with it," Evans said. But with an ever-changing landscape of Web technology, the class has constantly evolved to keep up the pace. The dilemma that surfaces time and again, Evans said, is how to introduce new technology without compromising content. In other words, how do you cut through all the crap? With that principle in mind, Evans and his students devoted themselves to staying on the pulse of new technology and, likewise, examining how people interact with the Web. Throughout the semester, they have critically evaluated various podsites and blogspots in addition to building their own. One student has even been able to cash in on advertising on his blog, which spurred an opportunity for the class to talk about ethics and copyright in terms of a real-world application. Produced independently by the 12 students enrolled in the class, the blogs range in topic from gaming to grammar. Evans allowed students total leeway in subject matter and blog design and construction. Three weeks before the end of the semester, Evans e-mailed the students in the class and asked for feedback and suggestions about topics they thought still remained to be covered. "This class is much more than just podcasting and blogging, and that's why I find it extremely useful," responded Ian Stewart, a junior from Westwood Hills, Kan. "I think the class should be called something like 'Advances in Web Technology' or something of that nature. It's important and valuable knowledge for our generation to have moving into the workplace." Even so, the course's future at Drake is unclear. "It's pretty much outlived itself," Evans said. "It was a terrific stepping stone, and now it needs to be in every class we teach." In the spirit of the season, the Cowles Library staff members have assembled a list to help those struggling to find good holiday gift ideas. Good books are a great gift; and this list represents books that the staff personally recommends for readers young and old. Check out the list of titles, with links for more information about the books from the Drake Libraries' catalog or Amazon.com at Featuring an interdisciplinary mix of faculty, God's Dad consists of Mark Ferrara, executive director of the Chinese Cultural Exchange Program; Tim Knepper, assistant professor of philosophy; and Charles Nelson, assistant professor of physics and astronomy. The laidback group was formerly called the James Nevin Band and played its first public performance in November to a crowd of 75 or so at downtown Des Moines' Vaudeville Mews. "It's really hard to describe our style. We don't really sound like any band that I know," Nelson said. "We just have fun -- but we're not going to quit our day jobs or anything." Creative Vision's goal is to empower high-risk youth and young adults by giving them alternatives to their current lifestyles through jobs, education and support services. Volunteers will be preparing and serving meals in two-hour shifts from 2:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Students may sign up for one or more shifts in the breezeway of Olmsted until Wednesday, Dec. 6. 10K Day will take place on the 10th of every month, offering students the chance to volunteer and earn hours toward The 10,000 Hours concert in the spring. This year's concert will take place on Drake's campus. The 10,000 Hours Show is a project to recruit and reward community volunteers by producing a concert for which admission is volunteer service. Now in its fourth year, the project has featured such popular rock acts as Ben Folds, Guster and Cake. The event, which is free and open to faculty, students and staff, is part of Carol Spaulding-Kruse's seminar for first-year students titled Talking With the Enemy: Dialogue in an Age of Polarization. The purpose of the course is to explore different types of dialogue models. The Community Dialogue is the final project for the class. Participants are expected to share personal anecdotes and discuss legal consideration and moral dilemmas surrounding gay marriage. "This dialogue is not a debate and will not follow a debate format," said Spaulding-Kruse, associate professor of English. "Instead, participants will be encouraged to speak from personal experience and from a personal perspective on a variety of talking points provided by the student facilitators. While persuasion may take place, the real goal is to listen to and learn from one another. Dialogue sponsors themselves hold varying views on the issue and encourage a healthy variety of perspectives." Ugandan-born Jimmy Senteza, associate professor of finance, has organized the new course - the first that Drake has offered in Africa. The course involves a 21-day journey to Uganda that will examine globalization from the perspective of a sub-Saharan African country where the term can mean grinding poverty or opportunity. For more information about the course, visit This year 194 faculty and staff and 17 retirees contributed to the campaign, which was coordinated by Dolph Pulliam, director of community outreach and development, and Jan Wise, director of student leadership and service programs. |
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