Men’s basketball: Cyclones poised for season shake-up in Kansas SPORTS.p6 >>
FRIDAY
February 11, 2011 | Volume 206 | Number 98 | 40 cents | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890. ™
online
facebook.com/iowastatedaily
iowastatedaily.com
iowastatedaily
Unrest
Egyptian President Mubarak refuses to step down ISU student still hopeful for country to move on, new Egypt to emerge
Delegation to VP offered as concession
By John.Lonsdale iowastatedaily.com
By CNN Wire Staff
The Egypt in Youssef Hanna’s heart is strong. It is a country that hasn’t experienced a government’s corruption or any of the sadness that has been caused by a cabinet with the worst of intentions. But the Egypt in Youssef Hanna’s heart doesn’t exist yet. Hanna, 28, graduate in computer science, knows only of the country
shaped by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year term. “We have been treated like secondclass citizens for a Hanna whole long time,” Hanna said. “We would like to be treated like humans.” Mubarak was sworn into office in 1981, only two years before Hanna was born in Cairo. Five years ago, Hanna came to
Iowa State to study after attending the American University in Cairo. Each day he was in school, he would go to where the heart of the uprising in Egypt would occur: Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo. Living only a kilometer away from the presidential palace, Hanna and his family, like most Egyptian families, lived in an apartment about 15 kilometers outside Cairo. His parents still live there; and af-
HANNA.p10 >>
CAIRO — Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stubbornly clung to the presidency late Thursday night, refusing in a highly anticipated speech to step down by saying he does not take orders from anyone outside Egypt. However, Mubarak said he would “delegate powers” to Vice President Omar Suleiman according to the Constitution — a major concession from the man who has
Guns
ruled Egypt with an iron fist for 30 years. After the speech, parliamentary speaker Ahmed Fathi Mubarak Srour told staterun Nile TV that Mubarak’s move had put the authority for the day-to-day running of the government in Suleiman’s
MUBARAK.p10 >>
Sports complex
University addresses drainage By Jake.Lovett iowastatedaily.com
Graphic: Eric Ensey/Iowa State Daily
Firearm frenzy
Student organization promotes campus carrying By Hilary.Bassett iowastatedaily.com The nation watched closely as the people of Tucson, Ariz., suffered through a shooting that not only ended in six people killed and 12 wounded, but with a debate about gun rights that can be felt on the ISU campus. Last semester, a new student organization, Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, was started by Anthony Taylor, junior in software engineering, as a way to change the ISU policy on weapons. ISU policy reads, “Weapons are not permitted on the campus except for purposes of law enforcement and as specifically authorized for purposes of instruction, research or service.” Students for Concealed Carry on Campus is a national organization that began shortly after the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007 and is now found on many campuses across the United States. The group is a “national, non-partisan, grassroots organization composed of more than 43,000 college students, professors, college employees, parents of college students and concerned citizens,” according to its website. After approaching Eric Cooper, associate professor of psychology, about advising Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, Taylor began the process of approval and recruitment. With only seven members, a constitution yet to be approved and no set meetings, the club has a long road ahead of it, but that doesn’t keep members from setting goals. “All we’re talking about is changing the fact that people who are allowed to defend themselves anywhere else in the state are allowed to do so when going to class,” Taylor said. “It’s really more about the precaution.” Students for Concealed Carry on Campus has two key goals, according to the organization’s national website. The first is to work with state legislators and school administrators to allow college students the right to carry concealed on campus. The second is to edu-
GROUP.p10 >>
cate the public in order to dispel the everyday myths and misconceptions traditionally associated with concealed carry on campus. “What I’ve found is the majority of people just haven’t made a decision on the issue because they don’t know enough about it,” Taylor said. “So educating the public would be the best thing.” Group members participate in one annual event April 4. Students nationwide wear an empty holster to class to further raise awareness on what they are trying to achieve.
ISU gun policy Authorized uses: The possession or use of weapons is prohibited on campus and in the course of university-related activities unless authorized through the Firearms and Other Weapons Application process. Definition: Weapons include any pistol, revolver, shotgun, machine gun, rifle or other firearm, BB or pellet gun, Taser or stun gun, bomb, grenade, mine or other explosive or incendiary device, ammunition, archery equipment, dagger, stiletto, switchblade knife or knife having a blade exceeding five inches in length. Residents of university housing may possess knives having a blade exceeding five inches for cooking purposes.
Information from the ISU Policy Library
Restricted May issue - 8 Permissive May issue - 2 No permit required - 3
Permits issued rises as result of ‘shall-issue’ gun legislation By Addie.Olson iowastatedaily.com
August brought dramatic amounts of rainfall to Ames, resulting in flooding and damages. The residents of Ash Avenue are worried that may happen again, particularly if the proposed Cyclone Sports Complex does not address the area’s current drainage situation. In August, the space east of the Towers residence halls, already saturated with rainfall, spilled water over Ash Avenue and into yards and homes along the street. The university and ISU athletics department want to construct the facility — to house the soccer, softball and track teams — on that space, and are working with the city to improve drainage in the area. “That’s what they don’t want to see get worse,” said John Joiner, director of Ames Public Works. “And they want to see, since they’re starting from scratch in this area, what can be done to make it better.” Joiner said the university did not have to work with the city on this project, and could have installed a plan independently. However, Warren Madden, vice president of business and finance, said the university is working to meet city and Department of Natural Resources standards for storm sewer and sanitary sewer management at the site. “The city standards and the DNR standards sort of lead you down a path that we’re hoping will actually do a better job of managing the water on that site,” Madden said. Original plans for the complex brought concerns from the community about drainage and flooding. Revised plans released by the university on Tuesday feature an area for “floodwater detention,” illustrating the university’s addressing of the situation. Flooding is the major reason the ISU soccer team will move to the new facility after its current home flooded in August. The ISU soccer complex resides in the flood plain north of Maple-Willow-Larch halls, ruling that location out for the new complex. Prior to plans for the complex being released in December, the city had no set plans to address the Ash Avenue drainage situation. For the city, the complex arrives as a chance to improve the drainage situation along Ash Avenue. “We would have approached Iowa State to see what we could have done to make that situation better,” Joiner said. “It just happened to be a convenience and a coincidence.”
Imagine living in a time when all men carried guns snugly in their holsters, arguments were settled by simply drawing pistols and criminals were taken out with a single round. Imagine the same scenes playing out at a Campustown bar or during a gas station holdup. Although these scenarios might seem unlikely, they are possible under Iowa’s new “shall-issue” gun law. The law entitles almost anyone without previous commitment to a mental health institution or a serious criminal record to carry a concealed weapons permit. Under Iowa’s former “may-issue” law, sheriffs had the discretion to refuse concealed weapons permits to applicants they felt were unfit. Story County Sheriff Paul Fitzgerald has already run into problems with applicants who are under criminal investigation but have no current convictions. “We also have an individual who is known to be an abuser in his home, but he has no criminal history, so we can’t deny someone we know to be violent a gun,” Fitzgerald said. He also said a detailed written statement outlining why someone should not own a gun is now needed to refuse a permit. “The sheriff no longer has any discretionary authority to issue permits,” he said. “I can deny it, but it has to be a very specific reason.” Fitzgerald also said there has been a huge increase in the number of permits issued since the legislation became effective Jan. 1. Story County Capt. Barry Thomas said a total of 429 permits were issued in Story County last year. The first month of the legislation almost matched this number, with 416 permits being issued in January alone. Some businesses feel threatened by the upsurge in people who are now able to carry weapons. The sheriffs and police chiefs of several counties across Iowa are encouraging businesses to ban guns from their premises. Shall issue - 37 Ames has not yet seen this No-issue - 2 push, but it’s possible that Campustown properties and
Darwin Day celebrates the 202nd anniversary Saturday of the birth of scientist Charles Darwin, best known for his work on evolution sciences. Brian Gress, senior in psychology and vice president of ISU’s Atheist and Agnostic Society, said he couldn’t be happier with the attention Darwin Day has received during the last few years. “Many of the celebrations throughout the country have been organized by either atheist or secular groups, but they benefit everyone in
PERMITS.p3 >>
EVOLUTION.p3 >>
Information courtesy of the NRA. Graphic: Kenyon Shafer/Iowa State Daily
Darwin
Day promotes scientific achievements By Thane.Himes iowastatedaily.com