July 2019 Facets

FACETS

JULY 2019

The magazine for women.

Experimental learning center proposals to the Iowa Judicial Branch Age isn’t deterring Landra Reece from having an impact in politics

ISU expands mental health efforts and suicide prevention

FACETS 2 | FACETS | JULY 2019

The magazine for women.

Contributors

MARLYS BARKER ROBBIE SEQUEIRA KYLEE MULLEN LYNN MARR-MOORE RONNA LAWLESS LYN KEREN

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Design

CHELSEA PARKS

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Tribune Editor

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MICHAEL CRUMB

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ONLINE www.amestrib.com/sections/ special-sections/facets Facets is a monthly publication of GateHouse Media Iowa Holdings.

ISU Student Health and Wellness program coordinator look over mental health training that will be available in the fall.

Photo by Lyn Keren/GateHouse Iowa see PAGE 17

ON THE COVER

Carrie Chapman Catt, the founder of the League of Women Voters, was a key figure in the passing of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting women the right to vote. Photo courtesy of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women in Politics see PAGE 14 & 15

FACETS Table of contents Features 6

Ballard junior lands perfect score on ACT

Ballard High School student

10 ISU Experimental Learning Center Proposed to Iowa Judicial Branch

14 Statewide League of Women Voters convention Celebrating 100 years of women’s suffrage

In Brief 4 New radiation therapy option offers accessible cancer treatment at Iowa State University animal hospital 8

Behnken receives exemplary faculty mentor award

9

Age isn’t deterring Landra Reece from having an impact in politics

12 ISU to create assistive technology lab for students with disabilities 16 New mural showcases community at North Grand Mall 17 ISU expands mental health efforts and suicide prevention 18 An advocate for 18 years, Moser reflects on her work to represent Iowa’s homeless

Savor 20 Slow down the calorie counting Personalized diets

22 Lighter and brighter Broccoli Salad

23 Summer Cocktails

Slushy and ultra sweet

FACETS | JULY 2019 | 3

In Brief

New radiation therapy option offers accessible cancer treatment at Iowa State University animal hospital

By Kylee Mullen GateHouse Iowa

S

ampson, a 10-year-old husky, received his final radiation treatment last week at the Iowa State University Hixson-Lied Small Animal Hospital. As he was lying sedated on a table in the new treatment room, his oncology team celebrated his upcoming “graduation.”

He had undergone two treatments in the facility previously for a nasal tumor. According to Chad Johannes, an assistant professor of veterinary clinical services, Sampson would not have been able to receive his treatment if it wasn’t for a new treatment option the hospital opened earlier this spring.

“A nasal tumor isn’t uncommon for dogs to get, especially for long-nose breeds like huskies. Since we can’t get in surgically, we have to use radiation,” Johannes said.

“For a lot of tumors, radiation is the treatment of choice.

We didn’t have this access before, so having this technology here is so important for our pets in the area.”

Known as stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT), the treatment technique delivers high-intensity radiation with “down to the millimeter” precision without significantly affecting the healthy tissue surrounding the tumor. SRT can drastically reduce the side effects associated with radiation therapy, as well as the number of treatments patients must receive.

Johannes said, prior to offering the treatment in February, regional access to radiation treatment facilities was limited to the University of Missouri, University of Minnesota and University of Wisconsin. The nearest SRT sites were at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, and a private practice in Milwaukee.

Chad Johannes, assistant professor of veterinary clinical services, compares Sampson’s CT scan with a scan of his previous treatment, ensuring he is positioned correctly before starting the radiation therapy treatment. Photo by Kylee Mullen/GateHouse Iowa 4 | FACETS | JULY 2019

Ames now has the only facility in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and the Kansas City metropolitan area. That makes SRT a more accessible option for clients throughout the Midwest, who otherwise would not be able to travel a great distance for the treatments.

“For many clients, it is pretty challenging to make that drive, leave their pets there for a period of time, and it really keeps clients from pursuing that therapy,” Johannes said.

“This allows us at Iowa State to provide these treatment options that were not previously available and, hopefully, give our patients more time with their families and a good quality of life.”

During Sampson’s treatment, radiation therapists and an anesthesiologist ensured he was fully sedated and anesthetized before positioning him on the table. It is important for the patient to remain completely still in the exact position they had been in during previous treatments so the high-dose radiation can be delivered to the exact same spot. Once positioned, the staff moves into an adjacent room where a CT scan is taken of the tumor.

Drema Lopez, a radiation therapist at ISU College of Veterinary Medicine, then goes over the CT scan to make sure the patient is in the proper position and the treatment is being directed to the right place without affecting surrounding tissue. She also looks for any changes in the tumor’s growth.

“With Sampson, we were doing the treatment really close to his eyes, and that is something where I am going to make sure we are not including anything that the radiation oncologist doesn’t want in the treatment,” Lopez said.

Sampson, a 10-year-old husky, lies sedated on a table in the new radiation treatment room at the Iowa State University Hixson-Lied Small Animal Hospital.

He received his third radiation treatment for a nasal tumor. Photo by Kylee Mullen/GateHouse Iowa

In Brief NEW RADIATION THERAPY, continued from page 4

“We can also see whether there is tumor growth, which I would point out to the radiation oncologist to see if we need to redesign their treatment plan.”

After the team verifies the pet in the right position, the large radiation machine rotates into place and a pair of heavy doors close to protect anyone outside of the room from radiation. The technicians monitor the patient using a system of cameras and monitors while the machine delivers radiation to the tissues.

It takes a matter of minutes to deliver the treatment before the doors slide open, and the technicians take the pet off of the table and recover it from anesthesia. The pet will either go back home with their families later in the day or the next morning.

“There are a lot of people out there who consider their pets as part of their family, and pets have become such an important part of our lives that we definitely want to do what we can for them just like we would any other member of our family. That’s why it’s so important to offer this service to people that they wouldn’t have been able to get otherwise,” Lopez said.

Since the hospital started offering the treatment option in February, the team has treated 16 pets including dogs, cats and a pet rat. The treatment will ideally extend their lifespan from a matter of months to a year, though each case is different.

“We are fortunate to have this technology here, as it allows us to bring it to our patients not just in Ames, but in all of Iowa and in other states. We are really well positioned to be accessible to a lot of clients,” Johannes said. “It can oftentimes extend the (patient’s) life and give them a better quality of life. Overall, for many tumor types, we can have a positive impact.”

Johannes said SRT can treat a wide range of tumors and pet owners should talk with their primary veterinarian if they are interested in radiation therapy for their pet. Treatment costs range from $2,500 to $9,000 and vary widely depending on the patient’s unique circumstances.

“I always tell patients that they know their pet best, and if they notice any changes in their pet they should see their primary care veterinarian. If their pet is diagnosed with cancer, talk to your vet about options that may be available and we are always here to help,” Johannes said.

“We found that you do need to test over time because a hen’s genetic potential for shell quality is expressed differently as she ages.

This finding lays the groundwork for a new model of evaluating hens that should translate to better selection of future generations of birds with the genetic potential for improved shell quality.”

Wolc’s current research explores genetics related to poultry diseases such as avian influenza.

“The disease caused a big disaster in 2015 when it killed vast numbers of birds in Iowa and elsewhere,” said Wolc. “But typically, a few birds in affected flocks survive and remain healthy.”

She and her team obtained blood samples from survivors to search for genetic markers that could be linked to resistance to the disease.

“We’ve identified one gene that looks promising,” said Wolc.

“Right now, we are cooperating with scientists at the Roslin Institute in Scotland to do laboratory testing to see if that candidate gene can keep the virus from entering the cell.”

“This research has huge implications for the future of egg production,” said Susan Lamont, interim director of the Egg Industry Center at Iowa State and a Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor of Agriculture and Life Sciences in the Department of Animal Science.

“It is really helping bring genomic technologies into animal improvement,” said Lamont. “Improving birds’ natural disease resistance has many benefits for the industry, for consumers and for animal welfare.”

Lamont is working with Wolc to research two other important poultry diseases, caused by E. coli and the Newcastle Disease virus.

“Anna is a wonderful collaborator,” said Lamont. “Among her strengths are her creativity, hard work and intimate knowledge of the poultry genetics industry.”

Wolc is also collaborating on software development to improve breeding program design with Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor Jack Dekkers and Professor Rohan Fernando, both in animal science.

Wolc has been at Iowa State since 2010 when she came to work as a postdoctoral researcher with professor Dekkers.

She is originally from Poland where she earned a bachelor’s and PhD in genetics and animal breeding from Poznan University of Life Sciences and a master’s in theology from the University of Poznan.

Wolc’s initial fascination was (and still is) horses. “But chickens make better subjects for genetics research,” she said. “The good thing about chickens is you can see changes more quickly than other animal species — two generations per year.”

“I like applied research and working on something useful,” said Wolc. “It’s exciting to have the possibility of seeing changes in real things and have impact on animals that are a major source of protein for the human population on a global scale.”

FACETS | JULY 2019 | 5

Feature

Ballard High School junior Emily Huisinga learned recently that she had scored a perfect 36 on the ACT. Huisinga is the daughter of Maureen and Scott Huisinga, of Slater. Photo by Marlys Barker/GateHouse Iowa

Ballard junior lands a perfect score on the ACT

By Marlys Barker GateHouse Iowa

B

allard High School junior Emily Huisinga couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing on the computer screen. She used the words “surprised” and “disbelief” to describe how she was feeling at that moment.

It was several weeks ago and she was looking at her score from taking the ACT (American College Test) for the second time. It was a perfect 36.

“When I saw it online, I just kind of stared at the screen.”

She rarely calls her dad at work, but she called him to share the news. “He thought something was wrong because my voice was shaky.

I’ll always remember that moment,” she said of telling her dad.

“I was kind of giddy the rest of the day,” she admitted.

Huisinga first took the ACT (which students can take multiple times) back in December. The score she got — a 33 — would have satisfied most students. It’s an elite group of students who make it into the 30 and above category. In fact, many universities have cutoffs for scholarships at the 28, 30 and 33 marks. So she’d already made it into the top category of 33-36.

But, Huisinga thought she could do better and wanted to pay the testing cost and give it another try. She took it again in April at Bondurant.

To prepare, she did what she’d done before the first test, practiced

6 | FACETS | JULY 2019

mostly her math skills. “It’d been a while since I’d taken algebra and advanced algebra, so that was the part I needed to review the most.”

After taking the test the second time, she thought she’d done better on the math than her first testing. But on the rest, she thought she probably did about the same.

“I was like, I’m never going to get a 36,” she said.

Never say never, especially when your parents are both “pretty smart,” she said, describing Maureen and Scott Huisinga, of Slater. The Huisinga’s have two other daughters, Kate, a freshman at Ballard, and Rachel, a seventh-grader at Ballard.

“They (her sisters) do well in school too. I know they will both do well (on the ACTs when their time comes),” she said.

Huisinga isn’t sure exactly what led to her perfect score. Some of it is preparation, she said. “I’ve always been in advanced classes. I read a lot. I write a lot. My mom is a math teacher at DMACC and my dad works at Wells Fargo, where he uses a lot of math skills doing statistics and analyses. They have both helped me (along her educational path).”

But getting a 36 is also part luck, she admitted. “I think it depends on the time you take it and the questions you get (on that test that day),” she said.

She still has another year of high school, but Huisinga is already planning for her future. She’s made visits to both Iowa State and

Feature PERFECT SCORE, continued from page 6

Iowa, and wants to study engineering, “something with software and computers,” she said.

Her high school activities include band, choir, chamber choir, tennis and speech.

One thing that made Huisinga feel a little awkward about her big news was telling others. “I wasn’t sure how to tell anyone … without it sounding like I was bragging.”

She didn’t have to tell anyone. Her principal, John Ronca, found out and announced it over the school loudspeaker. And the reaction from fellow students was really fun, she said.

“Even people I didn’t know said, ‘Hey, way to go!’”

Ballard High School junior Emily Huisinga learned recently that she had scored a perfect 36 on the ACT. Huisinga is the daughter of Maureen and Scott Huisinga, of Slater. Photo

by Marlys Barker/GateHouse Iowa

FACETS | JULY 2019 | 7

Feature In Brief

Behnken receives exemplary faculty mentor award

Iowa State University professor and school board member Monic Behnken is a recipient of the exemplary faculty mentor award.

Photo by Lyn Keren/GateHouse Iowa

By Lyn Keren GateHouse Iowa

M

onic Behnken and 18 other Iowa State University faculty members were given the exemplary faculty mentor award for their work.

Behnken is an associate professor in the department of sociology.

She arrived at ISU in 2009 as an adjunct sociology professor and eventually went on a tenure track role to teach in the criminal studies program.

“I’ve never really thought of myself as a traditional academic because I didn’t come to Iowa State how most professors came to Iowa State,” she said. “I didn’t come here thinking I would become a professor.”

Behnken said her favorite part of teaching is creating a relationship built on trust, mutual growth and respect between her and her students.

“I didn’t know, when I came here, how much I would truly care for the students,” said Behnken, who is also a member of the Ames School Board. “I am sincerely invested in their growth and their development. I think when you have the relationship as the base, the other things just fall into place.”

Behnken was nominated by Angela Prince, an assistant professor in the school of education at ISU. Prince was mentored by Behnken, creating a strong professional relationship between the two.

Behnken said Prince studies special education, which overlaps with some of her research that observes how special education is active in school settings.

8 | FACETS | JULY 2019

“We can collaborate on research projects in innovative ways that helps us both grow,” she said. “We have a lot of connections that facilitated a relationship that’s been beneficial to both of us professionally.”

Behnken said she wanted to emphasize that mentoring is not a “one-way avenue” that includes a senior person giving knowledge to the other person and that being the end of the relationship.

“I believe in infinite mentoring,” she said. “I learn from my mentees as much as I hope they learn from me and they disperse that knowledge to their peers.”

That new perspective of mentoring will be taught to students from Behnken as she takes on the role of director of leadership studies. She said this role will help design the vision in which ISU is actively engaging in the process of educating leaders.

“I think I just have a predisposition to favoring mentorship and understanding mentoring and really how we are doing it all the time whether we know we are doing it or not,” she said.

Behnken said leadership and mentoring is important to her because it looks back at the history that brought us to the place we are now and continuing that for others.

“I understand I am only here because of the people who paved a path for me,” she said. “As I move into this role I think mentoring will be a very explicit set of the curriculum because it is an important part of the way in which we are all success in whatever profession we go into.”

In Brief

Age isn’t deterring Landra Reece from having an impact in politics

By Robbie Sequeira GateHouse Iowa

A

t the October 2018 Democratic Party of Iowa Gala in Des Moines, 19-year-old- Landra Reece was in attendance and was drawn to a particular speaker that

night.

The speaker? Cory Booker, who hadn’t officially declared a 2020 presidential bid at the time, but his speech resonated with Reece.

“It was first time I had heard him speak, and I was truly interested in him because of the ideas and hopes he shared regarding our country,” Reece said. “It was before he had announced but I felt like I had to look into this guy more and see what he’s about.

After some research, Reece, who will be voting in her first presidential election, knew she would support Booker in his campaign for the presidency, but she never imagined just how important of a role she would play in the senator’s campaign.

A few months later, Reece was named to Booker’s Iowa Steering Committee team, recruited to provide strategic direction and campaign support for Booker as he looks to win votes during the Feb. 3, 2020, Iowa Caucuses.

“I started to get involved in November when he announced, and then began endorsing him in late-April,” Reece said. “And then when they announced that they were rolling out the steering committee, they asked me to be a part of it to lend a young voice to the campaign. I said yes, because I believe in (Booker) and being a part of that is truly special.”

In her role on the steering committee, Reece is tasked with canvassing, talking and gathering perspectives from Iowa voters pre- and post-Iowa Caucuses, and it’s a responsibility she doesn’t take lightly.

“Being able to make connections, discuss real-issue that are affecting Iowa voters, but most importantly to me, the chance to talk to those other young voices and have those meaningful political conversations.

The world of politics isn’t foreign to the Boone native and Drake junior, having served as Natural Resources Programmer for city of Johnston, a deputy field organizer for state Sen. Nate Boulton, and a former Iowa State Senate page.

Age hasn’t been a deterrent to Reece and her involvement in politics, in fact, it’s a challenge she’s readily accepted.

Reece is currently the youngest member of the Iowa Democratic Party’s State Central Committee and her involvement in politics has steadily progressed throughout high school.

“I would tell committees and organizations that I’m a rural voice, I’m from Boone, and I have a lot of forward-thinking ideas as a young person, I want to be a voice for young people,” Reece said.

For Reece, representation in the political arena is essential, and she encourages her peers and those younger than her to speak up.

“I have conversations with other students or people younger than me, and I’ll say, ‘I know we’re young, but we have to speak up,’” Reece said. “We have to help better our world for us and future generations, and this is our time to do it.”

Landra Reece, a 19-year-old Boone native, was named to 2020 presidential candidate Cory Booker’s Iowa Steering Committee in June.

Photo by Robbie Sequeira/GateHouse Iowa FACETS | JULY 2019 | 9

Feature

Meshallah Muhammad, left, and Mayli Grady, right, collaborate in class while working on proposals for a new learning space in the Iowa Judicial Building in Des Moines. Muhammad and Grady were members of the winning team, The Cherry Sisters.

Contributed photo by Christopher Gannon

ISU students present experimental learning center proposals to the Iowa Judicial Branch

By Kylee Mullen GateHouse Iowa

10 | FACETS | JULY 2019

I

owa State University students recently presented proposals to the Iowa Judicial Branch, turning a soon-to-be-vacant space into an experimental learning center for the public. The proposals may be incorporated into future designs for the space, according to ISU personnel.

The first-ever collaboration between the Iowa Judicial Branch and ISU became a reality due to a conversation between ISU President Wendy Wintersteen and Iowa Chief Justice Mark Cady. Cady mentioned a vision he had for the space, and Wintersteen connected him with the ISU College of Design.

Andrea Quam, associate professor of graphic design, said that is when this design studio was formed.

“We saw this as a perfect opportunity for our students to utilize their individual expertise and their individual majors, to bring their expertise together in an interdisciplinary project,” she said. “We decided to keep the framework for it somewhat open, because we wanted the students on the teams to really drive how they saw the vision and how they were going to craft the proposal.”

The 32-person class was separated into teams of five or six students studying graphic design, interior

design, architecture and industrial design. They worked throughout the spring semester in a design studio led by Quam, Senior Lecturer in Interior Design Pete Evans and Lecturer in Interior Design Michael Ford.

One of the most influential aspects of the project, Quam said, was the opportunity to tour the Colorado Judicial Learning Center in Denver. They looked to the center as a precedent, and they studied its beginnings and how it was designed.

“That was one of the most influential aspects of the process,” Quam said. “We were able to talk to the people who put the Colorado Judicial Center together and really got to develop a good understanding of what was involved in it. It really set up the stage for the project really well and it was a really unique experience.”

From there, the students conducted extensive research to build their understanding of the judicial system and its history before moving on to begin crafting their proposals and presentations.

“We always talk to our students about how they are always going to be working as a member of a team and these teams were larger and they were also interdisciplinary, so it put a new and unique twist on the

JUDICIAL EDU CENTER, continued from page 10

team experience,” Quam said.

Kira Mann, a senior graphic design student as the time of the project, said that working in a team where each contributor had a different skill set presented a big challenge. However, it also helped her prepare for life after graduation.

“I felt that it was one of the primary, real-world experiences I have ever had as a student and, being a graduating senior, I thought that was priceless. Working as a team but also working with people outside your discipline, and then working with a specific client that you had to collect information for — all of those pieces together made something that was really difficult but can be translated into any project I’ll be a part of in the professional world,” Mann said.

They presented their proposals for judging on May 3 to Cady; Michael Gartner, former president of NBC News, former Iowa Board of Regents president and former owner of the Ames Tribune; Steve Sukup, chief financial officer for Sukup Manufacturing; Molly Kottmeyer, counsel to the chief justice; and Jim Evans, director of state judicial facilities.

Feature Mann’s team, The Cherry Sisters, designed interactive consoles where visitors could learn about eight of Iowa’s landmark court cases while engaging with music, sound bites and images. Their project was selected as the first-place winner.

“When I (heard that we won), it was super exciting, rewarding and relieving. We put so much effort and it was kind of a validation for a lot of hard work,” Mann said. “It was something Iowa State University provided us that was so important, and I hope they continue providing that type of experience to other students,” Mann said.

Quam said she is thankful for the opportunity to lead this kind of project, and she is hopeful that other projects will become available to students in the future.

“Really, it was a fantastic project. It was one of those projects where you just can’t recreate the scenario or the situation in the classroom,” she said. “It was just an allaround a fantastic opportunity and I hope we get more like it. Several students expressed that it was the highlight of their educational career at Iowa State, because it was such a challenging and amazing opportunity.”

FACETS | JULY 2019 | 11

In Brief

ISU to create assistive technology lab for students with disabilities

By Lyn Keren GateHouse Iowa

Iowa State University will soon have a lab on campus where students with disabilities will have access to assistive technology resources.

ISU’s Computation Advisory Committee approved a $24,264 funding request to create the physical location on campus. Information Technology Services Interim Vice President Kirsten Constant said the committee evaluates different proposals for how the university’s student technology fee is spent.

ISU President Wendy Wintersteen approved the project at the end of April and the project will begin this summer.

It is expected to be completed in the fall.

ISU Digital Accessibility Coordinator Cindy Wiley is overseeing the lab with the input of several students and employees. The lab will be in a room under 200 square feet and will be located in the Durham Center.

“This summer, we are working with the facilities and

planning people to get the space (ready),” she said. “I think eventually we could have a larger space or an additional space, but this is a place to start.”

Wiley said assistive technology is “anything in a computer that could be used to complete a task.” She said an example of assistive technology is email. When it was first created it was used for deaf people as an assistive technology, but it’s now a mainstream form of communication.

“It really is just that idea of inclusive design and designing for all,” Wiley said. “It’s going to help everybody by making a few changes to things.”

Wiley said many students with disabilities don’t file for accommodations through the university and are using technology they have as their own accommodation.

“The lab will be a way for them to experiment with other technologies they don’t have or own,” she said.

The ISU Assistive Technology Lab will be located in the Durham Center on campus. Photo by Lyn Keren/GateHouse Iowa 12 | FACETS | JULY 2019

In Brief ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY LAB, continued from page 12

In the lab, some of the assistive digital technology will include speech-to-text and text-to-speech tools, a screen reader, a Braille display and screen magnifier.

The lab will also be available for faculty to try the technology in order to adapt their course materials for students with disabilities. “(Faculty) may not know what a test or a quiz would sound like if read by a screen reader,” Wiley said. “Faculty can come in and test with their course materials as well.”

Wiley said the lab’s purpose is much bigger than helping students with disabilities break down an education barrier.

She said she hopes the lab starts a cultural change.

“Students with disabilities tend to go unnoticed, or people ignore them, or faculty sometimes may feel that it is a burden to provide an accommodation,” she said. “(Information Technology) and digital accessibility is approaching this entire cultural change form an inclusive design perspective, which includes accessibility and the field of user experience.”

By bringing in students with disabilities, supportive student groups and faculty, will bring a new interaction between communities that may not have started a conversation otherwise.

“Having faculty and students in the same room will break down those barriers,” she said. “I’m hoping this lab can become an incubator or sorts for those type of relationships.”

With the future of the lab, Constant said this is a test facility and adjustments will be made according to changes in the university.

“Like almost everything we do in the university, we are in the process of continuous improvement,” she said. “It could be that we find that distributed approach would be best (from feedback).”

Constant said the lab will also bring new opportunities professionally and personally to ISU. The department will continue to improve and adapt to changes within the community.

“We will continually work to improve (the lab) and to make sure that it is meeting all the needs as time goes by and everything evolves, technology evolves, our demographic evolves,” she said. “What we do know is that the demographics of our student body is continually changing, and we will need to serve and continue to serve a broad range of people.”

FACETS | JULY 2019 | 13

Feature

Carrie Chapman Catt, the founder of the League of Women Voters, was a key figure in the passing of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting women the right to vote. Photo courtesy of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women in Politics

Statewide League of Women Voters convention in Ames celebrates 100 years of women’s suffrage

By Robbie Sequeira GateHouse Iowa

14 | FACETS | JULY 2019

T

he 2020 U.S. presidential race has a record six female candidates vying for the Democratic presidential nomination, and the 2016 election saw the first woman nominated by a major U.S. political party — ceiling-shattering occasions that might have not been possible without the efforts of suffragists like Carrie Chapman Catt and the League of Women Voters.

On June 7 and 8, the statewide League of Women Voters convention was held at the Iowa State University Alumni Center celebrating the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage and victories along the path. The event featured speakers such as Dr. George Belitsos, Mayor John Haila, Andie Dominick and Carol Hunter of the Des Moines Register.

“It’s an honor to have the statewide convention here in Ames, especially in a year where the political landscape is so

diverse and varied,” said Linda Hagedorn, president of the Ames/Story County League of Women Voters chapter.

The road to the June 4, 1919, passing of the 19th Amendment was paved through the resolution passed at the Seneca Falls Convention in New York, through Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott and previously discredited efforts of black abolitionists like Sojourner Truth and Mary Terrell.

Ratified in 1920 by a margin of one vote in Tennessee, the 19th amendment, which guarantees all American women the right to vote, was the result of a push of secondwave suffragists mentored and motivated by those who came before them to enact a federally mandated voting law.

“There was a strong push to enact suffrage state by state, but Carrie Catt and others thought if you didn’t grant suffrage through a federal amendment that it was going to take an indefinite period until women were fully

WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE, continued from page 14

enfranchised across the country,” said Dr. Karen Kedrowski, director of The Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics. “These efforts were to ensure that the right to vote was absolute, and didn’t vary state-by-state, which could have led to further disenfranchisement depending on what state lines you crossed.”

Historians can point a clear line from the passage of the 19th amendment to the passage of Civil Rights legislation in the 1960s that amplified still-disenfranchised black women and the current movements seeking to offer greater federal protections for gay and transgender Americans.

However, Catt wanted to pave a way to educate and involve women through a political landscape, previously forbidden to them.

“After 1920, Catt started to think about the next steps, such as ‘what do we do to help women who are not accustomed to voting,’” Kedrowski said. “She was very politically astute and she knew voting was a lifelong habit.”

Wanting to increase voting knowledge through education for women, Catt founded the League of Women Voters in Iowa, to educate women on political issues and served as the organization’s honorary president until her death in 1947.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization, and Hagedorn said the lifelong mission of League of Women Voters is thorough voting engagement and education.

“You see that 100 years ago, women were disenfranchised and could not cast a ballot and generally left out of the political process,” Hagedorn said. “So for us, it’s not about choosing a side, it’s about stressing the importance of voting. The importance of having the right to vote and exercising that right.”

Kedrowski researched the effects of Catt’s work with the League and influence of enfranchised women on the political landscape in the 1920 election weren’t seen until 1980s.

“What Catt had expressed was that women would go to the polls in high percentages, and that they would bring their moral persuasion and authority and their role in the home would be expressed in the vote that they cast — especially in the area of children’s welfare and education,” Kedrowski said. “That did not happen. There were some areas of substantial turnout, and then there were area of minute substantial turnout.”

As late as the 1950s, political scientists saw no clear gender-gap in voting, but in 1980, Catt’s estimation of women’s involvement and influence in the political sphere were readily apparently.

According to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, in every presidential election since 1980, the proportion of voting-age females who voted has exceeded the proportion of male adults who voted.

“It took about 50 years to get there, but you start seeing the change Catt felt would emerge,” Kedrowski said. “We can see through research that not only are women the numerical majority of the voters, they also vote at higher rates and are more likely to register to vote.”

In 2019, what’s possible for a woman in politics is continuing to

Feature evolve. The 127 women that serve in Congress is the most since Jeannette Rankin, R-Mont., became the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1916.

The League of Women Voters itself have evolved as well, denouncing problematic and exclusionary rhetoric by Catt and other white women suffragists and opening its organization to all genders, races and orientations.

Though with Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Kirsten Gillibrand, veteran Tulsi Gabbard and author Marianne Williamson all vying to be the first women to be elected U.S. President, the prospect of that has been paved, in part, through the work of Catt and the League of Women Voters, Kedrowski said.

“This is a field, where women who might have been discredited or not taken seriously, are becoming major players in the political landscape,” she said. “The evolution of women and politics from Seneca Falls to the ratification of Nineteenth Amendment to our current landscape is fascinating.”

Wanting to increase voting knowledge through education for women, Catt founded the League of Women Voters in Iowa...

FACETS | JULY 2019 | 15

In Brief

New mural showcases community at North Grand Mall

By Kylee Mullen GateHouse Iowa

A

community-based mural was unveiled in June at North Grand Mall in Ames, featuring colorful designs that showcase Story County.

Lori Bosley, North Grand Mall general manager, said the mural was added to a previously blank wall outside of the mall’s North Grand Cinema, at 2801 Grand Ave. She wanted it to be a focal piece for shoppers, mall-walkers and moviegoers to take photos with.

“We just thought that we had this big, empty wall and a lot of people go by there when they are going to the theater,” Bosley said. “We wanted to do a community piece where people can come and take photos, as just one more aspect of what the mall has.”

She reached out to Kipp Davis, of Ames, who had recently completed another mural outside of the mall’s Inside Golf patio, to see what they could put together. They spent all of March planning the mural’s design and going through rough sketches. Davis started painting the wall at the beginning of May and completed it by the end of the month.

“It was a slow process,” Bosley said. “We wanted to make sure we were representing the mall, and also Ames and Story County. We wanted it to have something there for

everyone and we tried to incorporate as much as we could so that it could be a community mural.”

Davis, who graduated from Iowa State University in December 2018, said he has worked as a freelance artist for 10 years. He works with a combination of realistic and abstract designs, and he’s happy to see his artwork in the community.

“It’s a really good feeling, and I’m definitely blessed to have the opportunity to be able to do this,” Davis said. “I like that I get to go to different communities and businesses and create something that is really personal to them.”

According to Bosley, the mural is one step toward updating and making changes to the mall. She said she hopes it will showcase what the mall has to offer to the community.

“The mall is more than just shopping,” she said. “We do have great shopping, and we also have great entertainment and great food. The mural is one more facet we want people to come out for. We want the mall to be known as a community place to gather and we’ve been making changes for that, and it’s one more thing that the community can come out and enjoy.”

Kipp Davis created a mural outside of the cinema at North Grand Mall in Ames. The design showcases Ames history and attractions. Photo by Kylee Mullen/GateHouse Iowa 16 | FACETS | JULY 2019

In Brief

ISU expands mental health efforts and suicide prevention

I

owa State University Student Health and Wellness is expanding its efforts for mental health promotion and suicide prevention with the help of its new program coordinator.

Student Counseling Services staff psychologist Kristen Sievert said she began looking at suicide prevention happening around campus two years ago.

“My thought was I really want to see a more unified effort coming together as a campus to address mental health and suicide prevention,” she said.

Sievert said a survey that was sent to students, faculty and staff was their first way to see what mental health experiences were like on campus. It also asked what they wanted to see more of that the counseling services could focus and work on.

“A key thing we noticed was this desire for more information on mental health,” she said. “How do we have more spaces on campus to talk about mental health? How do we help student, faculty and staff feel more comfortable about those conversations?”

Sievert and other ISU staff began creating the initial task force that included a wide variety of departments and groups across campus to address these issues.

“We had a core group that was representing different departments on campus and really looking at what mental health looks like on campus,” Sievert said.

She said they began looking at opportunities to apply for a grant that would fund their efforts to work on suicide prevention. Carrie Giese’s position as Student Health and Wellness program director was part of the grant to bring her onto the team as the program director.

Part of Giese’s efforts included the expansion of the original task force. She has now created an assembly of 30 people on the mental health task force made up of staff, therapists, police officers and students. She said she eventually wants to expand these efforts throughout the community, too.

“We are looking to expand a little bit more to get Ames community members involved,” she said. “We just need to get a strong foundation internally before we move (into the community).”

When it comes to community education, Giese said ISU employees and students will be invited this fall to choose from a mix of training formats, including online modules, short-session and day-long workshops, which will focus on mental health promotion and suicide prevention.

Giese said she wants to have online training for incoming first-year students to complete. The training would talk about awareness of someone’s own mental health and how to assist others that may be experiencing mental health issues.

Campus connect training is a four-hour in person training that will address the same topics as the online modules but on a deeper level. Respond training is the daylong workshop that will last eight-hours. Giese said she is targeting that training for faculty and staff.

“The goal is that you could stop any faculty, student or staff on campus, and they would be able to speak to how to pay attention to their own mental health and the basics of assisting someone else,” she said. “We can create an ethos at ISU that everyone is aware of (mental health), everyone knows they have mental health and are feeling less stigmatized to talk about it.”

That ethos, or culture, is the key message Giese said she wants to address to the ISU and Ames community.

“Every student, faculty and staff has mental health,” she said. “It’s not just suicide prevention that we are working on.

Every single person has mental health and how do you build your own resiliency and your own awareness about your mental health and be prepared to help others.”

For DeMarie, Christy and Meadows, along with a host of other LMTs in Ames, in conjunction with years of accreditation and education required and the negative stigmas that have been attached to their profession in recent years — the art of massage therapy is helping and healing.

“It’s one of the most rewarding feelings when you have a client who has been in pain for most of their life, and they tell you after one session that they have never felt better. It’s the desire to help anyone in pain or in stress that motivates me,” said Christy.

By Lyn Keren GateHouse Iowa

ISU Student Health and Wellness program coordinator Carrie Giese (left) and Student Counseling Services staff psychologist Kristen Sievert look over mental health training that will be available in the fall.

Photo by Lyn Keren/GateHouse Iowa

FACETS | JULY 2019 | 17

In Brief

An advocate for 18 years, Moser reflects on her work to represent Iowa’s homeless

By Robbie Sequeira GateHouse Iowa

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n advocate is someone who pleads the cause and interests of those who need it.

As an advocate for the homeless individuals who have shared their stories of struggle, and those that are unspoken for, Carrie Moser has dedicated her career to improving their lives.

“Homelessness is such a complex issue. It’s ever-changing and everevolving, and seeing all the barriers that homeless youth face, gave me the desire to be an advocate for them,” Moser said. “Experiencing homelessness is traumatic and if you don’t share that with people, it’s easy for them to be stigmatized and stereotyped.”

In a career that spanned 18 years of addressing homelessness of all ages and backgrounds in Iowa, Moser finished her duties as executive director of the Emergency Residence Project on May 31.

As Moser embarks on a new chapter of her life with her husband in Rapid City, S.D., she reflected on a career that has seen a transformation in landscape of what the state can do to help Iowa’s destitute and abandoned.

Moser, executive director of ERP since 2016, stressed the

18 | FACETS | JULY 2019

importance of recognizing the barriers that face Iowa’s homeless.

That’s because Moser, herself, experienced short-term homelessness after graduating from the University of Northern Iowa. Moser was in a period of transition between apartments and attributed the support of family and friends and an offer from a friend to stay in their camper as the reason she avoided long-term homelessness.

“I was so embarrassed to talk about my situation with family and friends,” Moser said. “It was a humbling experience to have someone offer for me to stay in their camper, but I recognized the uneasiness, difficulty and shame that I felt when I was in that situation.

“It helped me realize later in my life, everyone’s situation is different, and there’s no one way to fix homelessness.”

In a nine-year spell at YSS from 2002-11, as the transitional living program coordinator, Moser shined a spotlight on youth homelessness and spearheaded efforts to commit funding toward youth homelessness in rural areas.

“The work I did at YSS opened my eyes to the difference in struggles and barriers that the homeless population in Ames and urban areas and those living in rural communities were facing,” Moser said.

Through her experiences, Moser was able to make change at the state level when it came to homelessness.

As a part of the Iowa Council on Homelessness, Moser helped develop best practices for homelessness assistance programs involved in statewide grant applications for funding efforts.

But she’s most proud of helping redefine the statewide coordinated entry process for homeless seeking immediate service. The process soon focused its efforts on providing emergency and housing services to the most vulnerable of the homeless population, instead providing services on a first-come, first-serve basis.

“I am so glad that I was able to be an integral part in developing a coordinated entry system not just in Story County but in the balance of state,” Moser said. “Much like how an emergency room operates, providing services for those vulnerable and most in need is an effective way to help those who need shelter and housing.”

In August 2016, Moser joined Emergency Residence Project, and at the time, the statewide homeless assistance programs operated under a housing ready approach to homelessness, a philosophy that placed homeless individuals into permanent housing only when the household was ready.

Programs soon shifted to a housing-first model that put an emphasis on stable housing as a primary need, and other issues that may affect an individual can be readily addressed once housing is obtained.

“I remember when I first heard the shift to housing first programs and I thought to myself, ‘How is that going to work?” Moser said.

“But the shift has been incredible and it’s worked effectively to end homelessness for a lot of people.”

In her time at the Emergency Residence Project, the shelter expanded its coverage to include five additional counties through the development of its rapid re-housing program, worked on establishing a centralized system for homelessness prevention programming, and

In Brief MOSER, continued from page 18

combined six prevention programs across the Ames community.

“When I first started, the agency was very much in need of changes in programming, and becoming a little more modernized in programming,” Moser said. “Some of my initial goals were to increase housing programming, provide for housing support services, increase the length of time that guests could stay at shelters and incorporate a coordinated entry system so are services were not based on first-come, first serve.”

One of Moser’s life mottos is to leave the world a better place than she found it, and she hopes she’s done that for those who have encountered homelessness in Iowa.

“There are some amazing programs and phenomenal people who are working hard to alleviate homelessness here in Iowa,” Moser said.

“Having the opportunity to cross paths with them has not only made me a better director but a better person.”

On the steps of the Emergency Residency Building, Carrie Moser’s favorite part of the building, she described her work in Ames and Story County as “life-changing.” Photo by Robbie Sequeira/GateHouse Iowa

FACETS | JULY 2019 | 19

Savor

By Nicole Blackwood Chicago Tribune TNS

20 | FACETS | JULY 2019

Slow down the calorie counting: Personalized diets could be the future of healthy eating, study suggests

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eople often speak about fad diets the way they speak about exes: intensely, specifically, intimately. Atkins, Dukan, Paleo, baby food. None last, though lasting is promised, and all feed a cycle of shame for the dieter, who can never seem to make it work.

According to a recent study led by researchers from King’s College London, Massachusetts General Hospital and nutritional science company ZOE: It’s not you, it’s them. The research, which ZOE founder and Kings College professor Tim Spector expect to be peer-reviewed by the end of the year, hints that one-size-fits-all diets are often doomed to fail.

The study measured 1,100 U.K. and U.S. adults, 60% of whom were twins, and their various blood markings (such as blood sugar, fat levels) in response to standardized and chosen meals. Even identical twins in similar environments varied in their responses to the same food. And the usual suspects, including fat and carbohydrates, explained less than 40% of the differences in reactions to food between individuals.

Spector and his team placed their research into an algorithm, which he said can now predict — after an at-home test — how users will respond to any given food with 73% accuracy. As early as next year, Spector said, ZOE plans to package this algorithm into an app that will allow users to search for a food and receive a suggestion of how compatible their choice might be compared to alternatives (for instance, bagel versus croissant).

“This should change consumers’ perception of food and move us away from this old-fashioned idea that it’s all about calories and it’s all about fats,” Spector said. “Our data clearly show that that is just a small proportion of the way people react to foods.” The real answer, the data shows, might relate to the microbiome (the microorganisms in the gut).

But for those living in perpetual post-breakup with fad diets, constant awareness — how a bagel will affect a body — is not necessarily a boon. Chicago therapist Taejah Vemuri, who specializes in working with patients with eating disorders, worries that the science might take

Savor an ironically one-size-fits all approach to the consumer’s response.

“We as a society would benefit from moving away from food rules and toward balance,” Vemuri said. “My hope is that these findings can help people better understand their bodies, (but) I think that it could, for some people, lead to obsession and rigidity.” She described the mindset of eating disorders cyclically: Someone believes they should eat restrictively, fails to, and is shamed into repeating the cycle again. The word for this particular brand of obsessive thinking is orthorexia, the obsession with healthy eating.

Personalization, she said, might still perpetuate the cycle.

Still, Chicago therapist Casey Tanner, who also specializes in eating disorders, believes that personalization goes hand and hand with “intuitive eating,” or an individual’s ability to trust their body’s response to food — for example, feeling ill after drinking milk. She believes that personalized meal plans are ultimately beneficial (she avoids the word “diet”) and though she’s excited about the idea that nutritionists will be able to “know more information earlier” about their client, she hopes that doctors and dietitians will still work to address root issues of struggles with weight.

Northwestern medical professor Dr. Robert Kushner, whose clinical focus is nutrition and weight management, asks that individuals continue to follow the most recent governmental dietary guidelines for now. The idea that individual responses to a diet vary is an old one, he said, though Spector’s study pushes it further. He gave the example of reducing salt for hypertension; though not everyone will benefit, the guidelines are “recommendations for populations.”

“The fact that they might not work for an individual does not make them invalid,” he said. “I think we all believe that one size does not fit all, and that people are going to respond differently to diets. We just don’t have enough information yet to identify in advance who’s going to respond to what diet.”

Claire Mysko, CEO of the National Eating Disorders Association, is encouraged by the data, but believes that part of the danger of Spector’s algorithm could be its proposed accessibility. With an app, individuals would be “on their own,” able to check and recheck their guidelines to their own detriment. She hopes that individuals who struggle with an eating disorder seek help from a professional, as the use of an algorithm would need to be monitored lest individuals fixate on “good” versus “bad” foods.

Spector believes that the algorithm will simply give users the ability to make informed choices, not dictate any particular course of action.

“I certainly don’t believe in a strict division between clean and dirty foods,” Spector said. “Our idea is to not cause anxiety and not cause more orthorexia, (but to) change people’s views on this current trend of demonizing certain foods and only eating a very restrictive diet.”

For now, the verdict? No need to call Paleo back; healthier

alternatives already await, as does the option to seek help if needed. Individual bodies vary, and their diets should too.

“There isn’t a single recommendation we make as physicians that we don’t see heterogeneity or variation in,” Kushner said. “This study is the beginning of a new journey of individualization or personalization for dietary recommendation.”

FACETS | JULY 2019 | 21

Savor

By Ellie Krieger Special to The Washington Post

22 | FACETS | JULY 2019

Lighter and brighter, this broccoli salad delivers on flavor There is a certain broccoli salad that’s been popular at summer picnics and pool parties for decades. Variations abound, but it typically has both sweet and savory elements, a nutty crunch, and a rich, creamy dressing. It also typically happens to contain more bacon and mayonnaise by weight than broccoli, and often a lot of sugar, almost as if mocking the word “salad.”

This recipe achieves a similar taste in a much better-foryou way. It starts with broccoli florets (which are blanched to make them optimally tender) and features toasted nuts, raisins and red onion - just like the classic. But instead of a sugar-sweetened, mayonnaise-heavy dressing, Greek yogurt, mixed with mayonnaise and sweetened lightly with honey, provides a lusciously creamy base in a lighter, more healthful way. And instead of bacon, chopped sun-dried tomatoes add a savory, salty element.

You could add some crisped, crumbled bacon if its omission feels like a dealbreaker, but this way the salad is vegetarian, and acts a fresher tasting counterpoint for any accompanying grilled meats.

BETTER BROCCOLI SALAD 4 servings (makes about 5 cups) From nutritionist and cookbook author Ellie Krieger.

Ingredients 5 cups bite-size (about 1-inch) broccoli florets (about 15 ounces) 1/4 cup unsalted hulled sunflower seeds 1/2 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon honey 1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup raisins 3 tablespoons finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes (oilpacked, or vacuum-packed and rehydrated in warm water) 3 tablespoons finely chopped red onion Steps Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Fill a mixing bowl with water and ice cubes.

Add the broccoli to the pot; once the water returns to a boil, cook for about 2 minutes, until the broccoli has softened slightly but is still bright green and crisp. Drain and transfer immediately to the ice-water bath to cool (and help preserve its color). Drain the broccoli in a colander until it is dry.

Toast the sunflower seeds in a dry skillet over mediumhigh heat, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes, until fragrant and lightly browned. Transfer to a dish to cool.

Stir together the yogurt, mayonnaise, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the broccoli, raisins, sun-dried tomatoes and red onion, tossing gently to incorporate. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to 3 days.

Stir in the toasted sunflower seeds just before serving.

Nutrition: Per serving: 260 calories, 8 g protein, 21 g carbohydrates, 18 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 10 mg cholesterol, 190 mg sodium, 2 g dietary fiber, 11 g sugar --Krieger is a registered dietitian, nutritionist and author who hosts public television’s “Ellie’s Real Good Food.” She blogs and offers a weekly newsletter at elliekrieger.com.

Savor

Summer cocktails to sip on beyond the frozen, slushy and ultra sweet

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ummer cocktails careen toward the frozen, the slushy; the ultra sweet, the too, too fruity. Enjoy the warm weather, or the cool, with these three refreshing, refined alternatives.

THE NEGRONI Named for an Italian count for whom it was made in a bar in Florence about 1919, it improves on the Americano cocktail, adding gin and skipping soda. After one or two, you’ll feel royal and ready for twilight. This recipe is from Salvatore Calabrese’s “Classic Cocktails.”

Ingredients: 1 ounce gin, 1 ounce Campari, 1 ounce sweet vermouth. Combine the ingredients in an oldfashioned glass filled with ice and stir. Garnish with an orange slice, placed in the drink. Add a stirrer and serve immediately.

THE GIMLET Its history is traced to a centuries-old creation that was concocted to keep sailors from getting scurvy, caused by a deficiency of vitamin C. It’s a very tasty way to ensure you receive the requisite L-ascorbic acid and the particular tang of preserved lime juice. The following recipe is from Dale DeGroff’s “The Essential Cocktail.”

Ingredients: 2 ounces of either gin or vodka, threequarters ounce of Rose’s lime juice, and either a cucumber slice, a lime wedge, or both. Combine the gin or vodka and lime juice in a mixing glass with ice and shake well.

Strain into a small cocktail glass or serve over ice in an oldfashioned glass. Garnish with the slice of cucumber or lime wedge.

THE VESPER As Ian Fleming fans will remember, this is introduced in his first James Bond novel, “Casino Royale,” published in 1953. The cocktail’s immortality was assured in the 2006 movie, Daniel Craig’s first and best as Agent 007, thanks to the ethereal Eva Green as Vesper Lynd. There are a few variations. Here’s a recipe from “Mr. Boston Platinum Edition.”

Ingredients: 3 ounces of gin, 1 ounce of vodka, one-half ounce of Lillet Blonde. Stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a twist of orange peel. (Fleming preferred lemon.)

As Salvatore Calabrese notes, adding a bit of tonic water will add the quinine touch of Fleming’s original, since Kina Lillet has gone the way of Le Chiffre.

By Peter M. Gianotti Newsday TNS

FACETS | JULY 2019 | 23