PROTESTS: Latest updates on uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East
MONDAY
NEWS.p3 >>
February 28, 2011 | Volume 206 | Number 109 | 40 cents | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890. ™
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Board of Regents
Branstad nominates major donor By Tyler.Kingkade iowastatedaily.com The co-founder of one of the nation’s largest ethanol companies, who donated more than $162,000 to Gov. Terry Branstad’s 2010 campaign, might sit on the Board of Regents, overseeing the Rastetter budgets of Iowa’s public universities. On Friday afternoon, Branstad named Bruce Rastetter, CEO of Amesbased Hawkeye Energy Holdings; Katie Mulholland, superintendent of Linn-Mar Mulholland Community School District and Nicole Carroll, a lawyer, as his appointments for the Board of Regents. The three would first have to be confirmed by the Democratic-controlled Iowa Senate. Rastetter played a significant role in politics as he provided the seed money, estimated to be around $374,025, for the American
POLITICS.p16 >>
Research
Study finds reasons for confessions By Brandon.Hallmark iowastatedaily.com “Throughout history, there are cases of people who falsely confessed, going back at least as far as the Salem Witch Trials. False confessions are not a new phenomenon,” said an associate professor at Iowa State. What is new is a study conducted by ISU psychology professors that attempts to answer questions about why innocent suspects will confess to crimes. In an interrogation, suspects are put under pressure to confess to a crime, even if they didn’t commit it. Generally, interrogated suspects are believed by police to be the one who committed the crime as evidence may indicate that person is guilty. As a result, the more the suspect denies the accusation, the more pressure interrogators will put on them to confess. “The minute you give the police what they want, which is that confession, they’re going to stop pressuring you,” said Stephanie Madon, associate professor of psychology. “Essentially, you can put a stop to the immediate aversiveness by confessing.”
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Campus
Cafes work to further sustainability By Elisse.Lorenc iowastatedaily.com A variety of green initiatives are implemented when students come to purchase lunch, a snack or their morning coffee at their cafe of choice. Kristi Patel, assistant director of retail operations, lists several initiatives, including the 35-cent discount for students who bring their own tumbler. “[The 35-cent discount] didn’t really catch on until last April, where we really did a big marketing push,” Patel said. “We looked to figure out how many coffee cups we were buying over a year’s time, and it was almost half a million cups, and to us that was a big ‘Wow, we need to use this information to market to our customers that these are all the cups that are going to the landfill,’ and if you bring in your own tumbler, you’re preventing one extra cup from the landfill, you’re saving money and you’re also being more green.” If students don’t bring their own tumblers, cafes like the one located at Hawthorn serve coffee to students in cups made of 10 percent recycled materials, and the sleeves are made
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MEN’S BASKETBALL VICTORY:
Cyclone Alley celebrates Cyclone fans cheer at the end of the game against Nebraska on Saturday at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones beat the Cornhuskers in overtime 83-82. Photo: Zhenru Zhang/Iowa State Daily
see SPORTS.p10 >>
Equality
Program encourages election runs By Hilary.Bassett iowastatedaily.com On June 10, Iowa State University will host a one-day workshop giving people, namely women, the opportunity to follow one of two tracks that deal with either running for office or getting more involved in politics and public service. Ready to Run is a program that began at Rutgers University in New Jersey as a way to encourage and train women to run for office at many different levels. From its start in 1998 until now, New Jersey has climbed from the bottom third in the nation for electing women to the legislature to number 11. In 2007, Ready to Run went national, and Iowa State’s Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women in Politics was offered a grant to start their own program because of Iowa’s low ranking among the nation. Iowa, along with Mississippi, Vermont and Delaware, has never sent a woman to the U.S. Congress, but both Vermont and Delaware have elected a woman governor, which Iowa has yet to do. Women are also underrepresented in Iowa’s legislature. Ready to Run is open to both
Number of women in Iowa House 16%
22% 25%
Number of women in Iowa Senate
Number of women in Iowa Senate Moriah Smith/Iowa State Daily
women and men, from high school students to senior citizens, who are either interested in running for office or just want to become more politically active. “We really have a big push in ours that if you don’t want to run for office, then get involved with a local or county board or commission,” said Dianne Bystrom, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women in Politics. Many of the goals set for Ready to Run come from Rutgers, but Iowa has tweaked those goals a little to better fit Iowa. “One of the things that we are really concerned about in Iowa is that we really target all levels of
office,” Bystrom said. “Other campaign schools are concerned really with just the state legislature and U.S. Congress, but we kind of feel in Iowa that we want to be very broad in our approach, and so we also have sessions for people who might be interested in school board.” Some topics that are covered include message development, fundraising and developing a campaign, but with the changing times come new topics that need covering. This year the workshop will be adding the topic of issue-advocacy as well as an emphasis on social media. But some goals have not been
fully realized in the past two workshops. “I would really like to get more students involved,” Bystrom said. In 2009, there were only five ISU students out of 60 and between 10 to 15 students overall. This year, the Catt Center has added a new incentive for students to participate. When the students pay and show up to the workshop, they will be guaranteed a $50 scholarship. The workshop costs $75 for those who register by May 28th and $100 for any forms turned in after the initial date. The registration form can be found online on the Catt Center’s website.