Volleyball: Iowa State prepares for an unfamiliar opponent
SPORTS.p5 >>
November 30, 2010 | Volume 206 | Number 66 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.
TUESDAY
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Struggling departments await task force’s findings Grim finances grip LAS, as students’ demands soar By Thane.Himes iowastatedaily.com Midterm budget cuts for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences are unlikely, predicted ISU President Gregory Geoffroy at the LAS open forum earlier this month, but the college has already been struggling for the last several years. “It’s painful,” said Michael Whiteford, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “Having no midterm cuts is obviously great, but over the years, nothing has been spared. A budget cut is always a hard thing, but it’s painful be-
cause there hasn’t been a year without a budget cut since 2001. “It’s the accumulation of the cuts that have taken their toll.” The college’s budget cuts over the years have resulted in larger classes, somewhat fewer class choices, and the struggle for LAS to grant tenure for professors. One thing that makes resources seem so limited is the growing expectations of students. “With tuition in public universities increasing, students expect more of a bang for their many bucks,” Whiteford said. “The problem is that tuition is increasing simply because support from the state has been going down over the years. There just aren’t that many other options,” he said. “With the budget that we have now, the
question must be brought up of whether we provide students with a basic college education or whether we have the resources to prepare students for the real world, which is changing at a much faster rate than ever before. It’s been a question that we still haven’t found a real answer for yet.” Another problem is the cost of new technology, which is constantly improving. “These days, equipment has to be state-ofthe-art,” Whiteford said. “Unfortunately, most of the technology that students require comes out with newer versions or updates faster than we can acquire the money to keep up with it.” While the low budget is cause for concern, Whiteford said, not everything is as bad as it could be. “With modern technology, it’s far easier
Language program
Fatalities
University responds to
deaths of
students
2010 timeline of deaths
2010
Publicity skews perception of student death frequency By Kaitlin.York iowastatedaily.com
January Jon Lacina January
February March Tyler Danielson March 13
April Travis “TJ” Good April 13
Raven Gileau April 25
May June July
Daniel Breuer July 8
Record numbers of students are attending Iowa State this semester. With a rise in enrollment, this allows the number of accidents and deaths to rise, too. Many recent deaths have been made more public than others. Jon Lacina, Raven Gileau, Jonathan Brown and Sam Kruger are all examples. “I think there have been a number of student deaths recently, but I wouldn’t say that that necessarily means there is a trend or that they have been increasing,” said Keith Robinder, assistant dean of students. Since June, there have been eight ISU student deaths. The leading cause of death is auto accidents. Over the last 10 years, there have been 28 deaths due to auto accidents. It is unknown whether alcohol was involved. Robinder explained that Iowa State may have a high number in the beginning of the year, but then there are times when several months go by without any deaths. “It will then even out, and that’s when it’s hard to say if there is a trend or increase in deaths,” Robinder said. From 2001 to 2002 there were 13 deaths. Eight were caused by unrelated auto accidents. “Death happens all the time, and we’ve just had a lot of things that are very public and have
drawn a lot of attention, but that doesn’t mean that there is an increase,” Robinder said. Accidents are not controllable; therefore the Dean of Students office is always prepared for a student death. When a student dies, the office takes it seriously and immediately reaches out to provide the services the family or students need. “We are looking at how the campus responds when a member of our community dies,” Robinder said. “There is a commitment to care for the students who are here who were friends or colleagues or classmates with the student that passes.” If a student is enrolled at Iowa State and dies, the school will always be notified because of issues with U-bills and classes. There is an on-call system that the “deanon-call” responds to and is connected to the family that calls. He or she proceeds to handle the administrative details and tries to facilitate the process as much as possible for the family. “We don’t have a standard cookie-cutter approach because every incident is so unique and different, and the grieving process is totally different for each family,” Robinder said. The deaths that remain private are chosen to remain so by the parents. If it happens over the summer or far away from campus, those usually don’t make the news, but the Dean of Students office still treats them the same.
October
Key Jonathan Brown October 7
Other Accident Medical Unknown
Sam Kruger October 8
Auto Accident
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ENGLISH.p12 >>
Retirement
Professor reflects on ‘challenges’
RECRUITING.p12 >>
MILITARY.p12 >>
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Graphics: Kenyon Shafer/Iowa State Daily
Lobbying group seeks students ISU Ambassadors are going full force with their lobbying efforts this year and are trying to recruit interested students. Jessica Bruning, director of ISU Ambassadors and junior in political science, said they are encouraging any interested student groups to get involved with training day. This year’s training day will be at 7 p.m. Thursday in Carver 001. “Sen. [Herman] Quirmbach, Rep. [Lisa] Heddens, and UNI’s legislative liaison Joe Murphy will
Transitioning from high school to college can be daunting for American students. But international have the additional challenge of a language barrier as they transition to Iowa State. Imagine attending a college where the language spoken is not your first language and you have difficulty understanding it. That is the reality for some of ISU’s international students, who make up nearly 12 percent of the total student body — 3,327 students. “A lot of international students come from Latin American countries, Europe and Asia. We also have a few students who come from several countries in Africa on occasion,” said Mary Barratt, senior lecturer of English. At Iowa State, the English department offers international students courses to support academic English skills. The curriculum consists of reading and writing, listening and speaking, grammar and pronunciation. Students must pass the English Placement Test (TOEFL), which is required before they can register for regular classes at Iowa State.
been connecting with new legislators by writing letters introducing themselves. When spring session starts, they may have an opportunity to sit in on educational committee meetings in order to understand what they are up against. “When we actually go to lobby, we request to speak to a certain legislator at the door to the chambers,” Bruning said, “and if they are willing to speak with us, they will come out of the chamber, speak with us for a few minutes while we make our case, and
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all be speaking and providing tips on lobbying as well as giving us some insight as to where the universities stand in terms of funding and the political climate we will be dealing with,” Bruning said. Lobbying primarily takes place in February and March, and the group would like to make sure that it has a strong group to represent Iowa State. The main project being worked on is the Regents’ Day at the Capitol. Students from the University of Northern Iowa, University of Iowa and Iowa State join and go to the Capitol with a common goal in mind:
By Jaleesa.Epps iowastatedaily.com
From helicopter flights to special operations, Lt. Col. Keith W. Morgan has experienced a lot in his 29-year career with the U.S. Air Force. Morgan, adjunct assistant professor of air force aerospace studies, had his retirement ceremony Monday. In 1981, Morgan attended the U.S. Air Force Academy under the nomination of Sen. Charles Grassley. He was commissioned into the U.S. Air Force in 1985. Morgan’s father was in the U.S. Marine Corps, but his family was not his motivation for joining the military. “It was more of the challenge that drew me to the military and the Air Force Academy,” Morgan said. “I was challenged to see if I could do it.” Morgan was a gymnast, so the physical aspect of training did not worry him. “[My preparation for entering the academy was] mainly getting my grades up,” Morgan said. Morgan moved throughout his career with the Air Force including to places such as the Philippines, England, Germany, North Dakota and Hawaii. “I like to move around,” Morgan said. His favorite countries that he stayed in were Germany, England and Thailand. He said being in the military builds close bonds to others. “It keeps them going when it’s tough times. Others around you are counting on you, and you know that they’d do the same for you,” Morgan said. Morgan came to Iowa State to be closer to family after learning his mother had been diagnosed with cancer.
ISU Ambassadors
By Michaela.Sickmann iowastatedaily.com
Program helps students learn fluent English
By Molly.Halferty iowastatedaily.com
9
F
September
15
20 iscal 00 Year 20 01 01 20 -02 02 20 03 03 20 -04 04 20 -05 05 20 -06 06 20 -07 07 20 08 08 20 -09 09 20 10 10 -1 1
Lucas Farlinger July 21
Number of Students
Deaths since 2000-01 school year August
and faster for us to respond to student needs,” Whiteford said. “Keeping up with what the students need means that we can have money flow in the right direction.” This semester, the college has commissioned the Blue Sky Taskforce, consisting of faculty from nearly every department in the college, to brainstorm ideas on how to reorganize the college to make it more financially efficient. “While nothing they say will be definite, it will be helpful to look at new ideas to answer the question of how to provide as high a quality of an education as we can while not going financially overboard,” Whiteford said. “I’m looking forward to hearing what the committee’s answers will be.” The Blue Sky Taskforce’s final report is due Wednesday.
“Usually something along the lines of supporting regent universities, and lobby the legislators on this topic,” Bruning said. “We invite student organizations to attend to show the legislators that their support is going to worthwhile projects that make an impact on the community, state, nation and world.” This year, Bruning said, the group has been working a lot with student debt. The state of Iowa has some of the highest debt in the nation. Ambassadors are able to formulate an argument and present it to the legislature. Ambassadors have already