Monday, March 30, 2015 | Volume 210 | Number 125 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.
Community gathers for memorial for ISU alumnus By Jordan.Reding @iowastatedaily.com
“Bob Barker’s Brigade,” a team comprised of one sorority and three fraternities, cross the finish line during the Greek Week bed race.
Jessica Kalahar/IowaStateDaily
GAMES FOR GOOD Greek Week exhibits pride, camaraderie in annual celebration
By Mitchel.Anderson @iowastatedaily.com
I
owa State’s greek organizations flexed their community service prowess during their annual Greek Week celebration this weekend. The majority of events took place Saturday with a day of fundraising and Greek Olympic events in which students formed teams comprised of several houses each. “It’s really cool just to see everyone come together for an actual weekend event. There are always small things going on but this is one of the few times that everyone is here together,” said Dustin Herbert, junior in chemical engineering and member of Tau Kappa Epsilon, which was one of the three houses that formed team Tek-Chi’O-Chi. Although attendees said the week was partially about exhibiting sisterhood and brotherhood within the greek community, there was no shortage of competitiveness. Throughout the week, teams competed in basketball, broomball, volleyball and dodgeball tournaments. Among Saturday’s list of traditional greek olympic events were dizzy duck, live action
Ryan Young/Iowa State Daily
A large group of fans watching a game of Treds reacts after Generation X scores a goal on Wednesday at Lied. Treds was just one of several games played at this year’s Greek Week celebration.
role play, bed racing, dingle dangle donut, tug of war and egg jousting. “I do enjoy all of the events, but if I had to pick one it would be the olympic event [live action role play],” said Chance Wiese, senior in agricultural studies. Contestants at the live action role play event sported intricate war paint and costumes as their supporters displayed their house colors on a flag
on whatever object they could find, whether it was a broom or a hockey stick. Wiese has been involved in Greek Week since his freshman year, after which he chose to be on Greek Week Central Committee where he serves as one of this year’s two general co-chairs. Wiese said the week is more than just fun events and camaraderie. “We also had various community service events that oc-
curred throughout the week. At one of them we assisted with the blood drive, and we also have what’s called Community Drive, where members of the greek community will gather items for shelters around the Ames area,” Wiese said. The Polar Bear Plunge, which raises money for the Special Olympics, is another event the greek community
MEMORIAL p8
African Night celebrates culture
Lecture to discuss the synthetic drug market
By Adam.Sodders @iowastatedaily.com
By Danielle.Ferguson @iowastatedaily.com Director of the Iowa Statewide Poison Control Center Linda Kalin will discuss emerging synthetic drugs and the changing drug market Monday in the Memorial Union. The event is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union. Kalin will also address how to recognize the substances and their symptoms, how the drugs are obtained and used and the impact the substances are having on communities. The event is free and open to the public. If you think you or someone you know has been poisoned, call the poison control hotline at 1-800-222-1222.
GREEK WEEK p8
Many members of the Iowa State and Cornerstone Church community gathered Friday to celebrate the life of Xiangyi “Sonny” Wang, a former Iowa State student who died in a house fire on March 22. Wang, born in Beijing, China, was 25 years old when he died in a house fire at his home in west Ames. A memorial was held for Wang at Cornerstone Church of Ames on Friday. Wang graduated from Iowa State with a degree in criminal justice in 2012. He was working as a realtor at Keller Williams Greater Des Moines Real Estate and was an active member of Cornerstone Church and the Iowa State community. Friends remembered him as someone who loved to cook, play sports and listen to music, but most of all help wherever he could by using his faith. Joel Vint, who was a youth pastor at the Cornerstone Church for seven years and is now a pastor in Des Moines, said he was a close friend of Wang’s. Ving, also Wang’s boss, explained how loving and passionate he felt Wang was. “Sonny had a way of putting life in perspective for us,” Vint said. “He was full of joy and life. Sonny was an up-for-anything type of guy. He had a to-do list, and it was to love and invest in people. “ Vint said Wang was active with the youth members of Cornerstone Church. Wang also greatly influenced two members of the Cornerstone Church youth group: Ryan Carson and Austin Allaire. Carson a sophomore, and Allaire, a senior, both attend Ballard High School. “It’s crazy to see all of the amazing things and the legacy that he is leaving behind here,” Carson said. Carson said Wang was one of his best friends, and that Wang had a way of making others feel important. “Sonny was always trying to help and challenge me,” Carson said. Allaire said he will also remember Wang as a leader and a mentor. “We are going to remember Sonny as being someone who gave his time, resources, talents, and energy to loving other people and to love God,” Allaire said. Sam Houser, a 23-year-old ISU alumnus who attended the memorial, was also good friend of Wang’s. Houser met Wang at the Cornerstone Church, and they worked together at an apartment cleaning job. Houser thought Wang was a very enthusiastic and passionate person. “Sonny’s main focus was Christ. He knew his purpose in life and wanted others to experience that joy,” Houser said. “The dedication and perseverance to his beliefs and what he stood for was really incredible.”
Charlie Coffey/Iowa State Daily
During the 2015 African Night, belly dancers perform an act while showing off their colorful clothing. African Night took place in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union on Saturday and was hosted by African Students Association.
The crowd buzzed as it waited for the opening of the 2015 African Night. People from all over the world filled the Great Hall on Saturday night to watch friends and family perform dance routines, poetry and informative lectures. The event, sponsored by the African Students Association, is the club’s largest event of the year and a way to celebrate African culture and heritage. The event was also meant to celebrate diversity at Iowa State. This year’s theme was “A Cultural Embrace.” The dancers performed with a singer/drummer giving the beat and melody. In the middle of the act, a man with a single-stringed bow instrument joined in with a twanging sound.
Performers used poetry to highlight the violence and aggression Africa has suffered through the centuries from internal and external sources. Tunde Adeleke, director of African and African American Studies program, proved his point by asking, “All Africans in the room, stand up.” Everybody from an African nation stood up, which was the majority of the people attending. Many did not stand up, and in response, Adeleke said, “There are a lot of Africans not standing up.” Adeleke said all people could trace their genetic origin back to Africa, where he says humans first appeared in prehistory. Students at the celebration said they found the show entertaining and informative. “[African Night] gives people insight on African culture,” said Dominique Morris, freshman in
AFRICA p8