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MONDAY
March 21, 2011 | Volume 206 | Number 119 | 40 cents | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890. ™
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Natural disaster
Quake paralyzes Japan ISU Japanese students share their reactions By Torey.Robinson iowastatedaily.com Powerless is how Shun Yoshida describes the way he feels. Yoshida, senior in aerospace engineering, is one of 12 ISU Japanese international students watching the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami in his home country from more than 7,000 miles away. I can’t really give them any help being so far away,” Yoshida said. “I can’t be part of the activities over there that are helping ... I can’t really be a part of the national movement going on over there. It’s frustrating.” Yoshida, originally from Chiba in western Japan, has received the bulk of his information regarding the disaster from American news sources. He first heard of an earthquake in Japan late March 10, and contacted his parents via e-mail to confirm their safety before he went to sleep. Yoshida did not know the magnitude of the earthquake devastation until he woke up Friday morning. “I was kind of shaken up,” Yoshida said. “I tried to reach my friends. I couldn’t reach one of my friends in the northern part [of Japan] that got hit by the earthquake and tsunami, so I was really worried for awhile.” “His mom posted on my [Facebook wall] saying he was OK. That’s the point
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Workers search through the rubble left by the tsunami March 14 in Ofunato, Japan. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami left thousands of Japanese dead or missing, and has left the Japanese people with a nuclear problems. Photo: CNN Wire Service
Nuclear situation begins to stabilize, but worries remain TOKYO — Workers began to see some success in their battle to cool down reactors at the quake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant Sunday, but Japanese officials said they may need to release additional radioactive gas into the air. The plant’s owner, Tokyo Electric Power Co., said electricity was being supplied to a switchboard in reactor No. 2. But officials said they were monitoring reactor No. 3 to determine whether to release gas to reduce mounting pressure in the containment vessel — the steel and concrete shell that insulates radioactive material inside. Power company officials said pressure was higher than previous readings — but stable — Sunday afternoon. And Chief Cabinet Secretary
Yukio Edano said the pressure increase did not require “an immediate release of the air at this moment.” Still, “even in the best scenario, there will be a lot of bumps ahead,” Edano said. There are six reactors at the nuclear plant, where workers have been struggling to stave off a full meltdown since a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami knocked out cooling systems. Workers have injected steam to release pressure in previous operations. The dual disasters, which struck March 11, devastated much of northeastern Japan. On Sunday, the country’s national police said 8,450
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Discuss current policy rather than make hasty decisions By Jessica.Opoien iowastatedaily.com
W
hen disaster strikes, it’s tempting to develop policies based on knee-jerk reactions and a swiftly swayed public opinion. We see it time and time again, from the PATRIOT Act’s post-9/11 approval, to proposed gun control legislation following the Jan. 8 shooting in Tucson, Ariz. Emotions are both strong and unsteady in the wake of a catastrophe, and it’s fair to say policy decisions should not be made during such times of tumult. However, it is this fear and uncertainty that causes us to question the circumstances surrounding a disaster, and if these events that call our worldview into
Student organizations
Clubs provide political platforms
By Hillary.Bassett iowastatedaily.com Participating in one of the 10 political clubs on campus can help a student find more than a political niche, it may lead to a job. Whether an individual wants a career in politics or not, joining a student organization could help him or her stand out from the crowd when looking for that dream job in the future. “I think joining a student organization, political or not, just says ‘I’m a person who is a participant in life,’” said Steven Kravinsky, director of Career Services within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “That, in and of itself, tells an employer that that’s the kind of person you are and that’s the kind of person they want to hire,” Kravinsky said. Students can also gain skills from joining these clubs, which Kravinsky called “soft skills.” This includes building leadership skills, communication skills, interpersonal skills, attention to detail and time management. For students who align themselves with a certain political party, there are three clubs to join on campus that allow for discussion and localized involvement in elections or campaigns. The ISU Democrats is a group promoting the ideas and values
question don’t lead to a productive discussion about current policy, then we may learn nothing from them. The radiation plume from Japan’s Fukushima reactor will likely be too diluted to threaten the health of Californians once it reaches the West Coast, but the danger the Japanese face is very severe, and it has caused Americans to question the safety of nuclear power within their own borders. We have Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and, most recently, Japan’s nuclear crisis, to remind us that nuclear power does not come
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World Water Day
Group to raise funds through meal donation By Elisse.Lorenc iowastatedaily.com
“Basically we’re college Republicans,” said Logan Pals, president of the ISU College Republicans and senior in industrial engineering. “We will be representing Republican matters, we’ll be
Engineers for a Sustainable World will encourage students on campus to give up a meal Tuesday to donate money for World Water Day. Encouraged by Global Fast, ESW plans to use the money raised from meals donated to address World Water Day, an international observation on the importance of this natural resource. “[Global Fast is] an event being put on nationwide where different universities would get students to pledge to fast something for a day,” said Pasha Beresnev, president of ESW and senior in civil engineering. “We’re choosing students to give up their meals since that’s pretty easy,” Beresnev said. “There’s a lot of leftover meals week to week that students have on their meal plans,” Beresnev said. “A lot of students wouldn’t even see a difference if they donated those extra meals, as opposed to what would go to waste.” The group plans to have students sign a pledge, indicating that they agree to donate one meal. Students can sign up at the dining centers, Hawthorn Market or the Memorial Union, where ESW members will collect the extra meals. The group’s goal is to collect a total of $5,000 toward its water project for World
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Jeremy Freeman responds to question about the Second Amendment at the Caucus Cup on March 7 in the Memorial Union. The Iowa State College Republicans won. Photo: Clark Colby/Iowa State Daily
of the Democratic Party, providing students the opportunity to get involved in the political process through collaboration with campaigns. The group also coordinates with speakers and elected officials who host talks or workshops for students.
Recently, the ISU Democrats worked with the ISU College Republicans to host John Avlon and his lecture, “Putting Labels Aside: Not Left, Not Right, Just Forward.” On the other side of the political spectrum sits the ISU College Republicans.