An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890
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02.03.2020 Vol. 220 No. 088
A guide to caucus night BY JAKE.WEBSTER @iowastatedaily.com Iowans from all four corners of the state will caucus Monday, taking the first steps towards choosing presidential nominees and signaling the beginning of the end of more than a year of primary campaigning. “If we win in Iowa, we go on to New Hampshire with momentum, we go onto Nevada, we go onto every state across the country, and Iowa is going to lead the way,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ campaign. Every Democratic presidential candidate who has won the Iowa caucuses in the 21st century has gone on to win the party’s presidential nomination. Iowa is the first electoral contest in the Democratic presidential nominating calendar, followed by New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, with the ordering of the last two states flipped on the Republican side. The Republican Party in Nevada and South Carolina canceled their caucuses and primaries, respectively, in solidarity with President Donald Trump.
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE? Any resident of Iowa who is eligible to vote in the 2020 general election on Nov. 3, 2020, and registered with the party of the caucus they wish to participate in is eligible to take part in the caucuses. People must be at their caucus site before 7 p.m. in order to participate.
Student Wellness to encourage positive sexual health on campus BY AVERY.STAKER @iowastatedaily.com
DESIGN BY BROOKLYN WILLIAMS The Iowa caucuses will take place at 7 p.m. Monday across Iowa. Iowa is the first state to caucus in the country.
People who have not yet registered to vote or need to change their party may do so at their designated caucus sites. People can check their voter registration status on the Iowa Secretary of State’s website at https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/voterreg/regtovote/search.aspx.
In Ames, the Oakwood City Church is the only caucus site for Republican caucusgoers. Donald Trump Jr. is scheduled to speak on his father’s behalf at this caucus
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Issues with campus accessibility Few options for deaf and hard of hearing students BY MARAGARET.TROUP @iowastatedaily.com Accessibility for deaf and hard of hearing students around campus may be lacking in multiple ways. Those who identify with the deaf and the hard of hearing community have spoken out about the lack of resources needed to more effectively understand what is going on, both in class and out. Iowa State currently offers American Sign Language (ASL) classes that range from levels 101 to 490. The problem lies in the fact that ASL 101 is a prerequisite for all other ASL classes, meaning that if students are unable to reserve a spot in ASL 101 during fall semesters, they miss out on the chance to learn ASL for the entire year. Since ASL 101 is an introductory class, it is only available to students in the fall. It is one of the most popular classes held at Iowa State, and, as such, it fills up incredibly quickly. This could be a disadvantage to not only the deaf and hard of hearing students that want or need to learn ASL to function, but it can also be an inconvenience for those who happen to have last names at the end of the alphabet or who qualify as a underclassmen, as these
MONDAY
COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Hearing aids come in a variety of forms, but all are able to help those who are deaf or hard of hearing. Accessibility is lacking for deaf and hard of hearing students.
students do not have as high a priority when it comes to choosing classes. Lexie O’Brien, senior in microbiology, tells of her experience with being hard of hearing on campus. “It took me six months to get my diagnosis, so I didn’t have official paperwork yet,” O’Brien said. “I asked my Spanish teacher if he would wear my microphone, and he said no so many times. I cried in front of the whole
class. It gave me anxiety every time I had to introduce my microphone to a new teacher.” O’Brien and other hard of hearing students commonly wear a “Roger Pen” that is given to them through the student disability office once they have the proper paperwork. This device contains two parts: one microphone that the speaker wears and an earpiece that the listener wears. The microphone then transmits what the speaker is saying into the ear of the listener. There are some solutions that can help both deaf and hard of hearing students understand speakers better, O’Brien said. When speaking, always face towards the person you are addressing. Whether the listener is hearing or hard of hearing, it will be easier to understand what the speaker is saying if they directly face the listener. When speaking, do not cover your mouth with your hands. This makes it more difficult to both hear what the speaker is saying and to lip-read. When speaking, try not to mumble or talk at the same time as another person. Both of these make it exceptionally difficult for deaf, hard of hearing and hearing people to understand what is being said.
Student Wellness is looking out for students and creating positive sexual health messages by placing contraceptives and sexual resources around campus. Students looking for information on sexual health can find everything they need on the Student Wellness website. The site contains information on resources for LGBTQIA+ students, including an article written by the Human Rights Campaign entitled “Safer Sex for Trans Bodies,” safer sex practices, STI testing, healthy relationships and sexual misconduct. Student Wellness highly values viewing sexual health as an interconnected web of various parts and not simply disease prevention and contraception. Student Wellness’ goal is to keep Iowa State students safe and healthy, and no part of the web is less important than the others; programs like the LGBTQIA+ Center for Student Success, Condom Availability and ACCESS share the spotlight in protecting students. The Condom Availability Program stationed condom dispensers in various student hubs around campus. State Gym and Lied Recreation Center each have two dispensers located by their male and female locker rooms. The Memorial Union has dispensers in each of its first floor restrooms and one in its gender-neutral restroom on the second floor. Other contraceptives and safe-sex items, like dental dams (thin sheets of latex that are made for protection during oral sex) and lubricants, can be picked up for free at Thielen or the Student Wellness Center in A37 Friley Hall. The website details ways to receive affordable HIV and STI testing on campus and in the Ames community. The Thielen Student Health Center offers free, confidential testing for students. To schedule an appointment, students can call (515) 294-5801. Thielen can refer students to Planned Parenthood, Informed Choice or Ames Primary Health Care, all of which have affordable, confidential testing, not only for HIV and STIs but for urinary tract infections, bacterial vaginosis and yeast infections as well. For information and resources on sexual misconduct, the website has a tab on ACCESS (Assault Care Center Extending Shelter and Support). The page has information on how to identify sexual misconduct and how to deal with the aftermath. Students can call ACCESS at (515) 292-0500 to set up an appointment with a trained advocate to discuss options. Everything discussed is completely protected by law, and the advocate cannot disclose any information without the student’s permission. Student Wellness also has resources for students to interact with other students, including Peer Wellness Educators, Cyde Kicks and Student Health Wellness Ambassadors. In these programs, students are trained to engage with other students on improving healthy behavior. For more information, students can call Student Wellness at (515) 294-1099, email at studentwellness.iastate.edu or visit the office in A37 Friley Hall. Students can also follow Student Wellness on all social media @BeWellISU.