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An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890
02.20.2020 Vol. 220 No. 101
Sewing Her Way to Success The blooming fashion career of Lauren Hansen
BY TANA.GAMAD @iowastatedaily.com Pin-pricked fingers and late nights are a staple in the silk-wrapped, hand-beaded universe of Lauren Hansen. From folding out paper clothes for her stuffed animals to spending hundreds of hours on the makings of hundred-dollar couture pieces, this young, self-taught designer has evolved along with her work in the most stunning of ways. Taking a needle to cloth for the first time at age seven to quilt with her grandmother was the very first step for Hansen, a freshman in apparel, merchandising and design. This was followed by a renewed dedication to the art with a Jo-Ann’s sewing class in 2014, resulting in handing out numerous pajama pants and circle skirts to friends and family. Since then, a cascade of clothing projects has worked its way into her hands time and time again to weave themselves into the very fabric of her being. “The very first thing that I made myself was [put] together with random fabric from a COURTESY OF LAUREN HANSEN tub I found at a garage sale and lace curtains,” Lauren Hansen at her first self-produced Hansen said. “It was this dress I puzzle-pieced together without knowing how to drape, and fashion show, “On Runway,” at The Hall in Des Moines on Thursday. the skirt was a horrible material, but I did it
anyway. You just have to keep going.” With love for making visual art in general, Hansen directed her focus into fashion through middle school and high school. After joining the Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), she threw herself into designing her very first four-piece collection and now releases annual collections, racking up accolades and exposure along the way. With a sense of pride and in an almost giddy manner, Hansen discussed her progress. “I became a featured designer at Omaha Fashion Week the first time I showed there at age 16, which was pretty cool,” Hansen said. “I’ve been doing shows since then, and now I’m 14 shows deep and still going.” During this time, her love of craft shone through after learning to hand bead from watching YouTube videos. Now, a mainstay feature in her brand’s aesthetic, the product of tedious handiwork decorates almost all of her pieces in intricate patterns. “I like doing tedious work,” Hansen said. “I think it’s because I have this thing where I always have to do something with my hands. [Hand beading] became my art form.” A Story City native, Hansen looks at reaching outside of living in the middle of Iowa and having a broader outlook in life as something that informs her designs. “Getting to know more cultures, more people and more kinds of things that are out there all affect the way I design,” Hansen said. Primarily a formal wear designer, Hansen’s
FASHION
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Student Government debates funding for Latin Dance Club BY CASSIE.LEHMANN @iowastatedaily.com Student Government began its meeting searching for quorum before moving on to reviewing funding requests Wednesday night. The Descarga Latin Dance club requested their travel and registration expenses to the Chicago Salsa and Bachata Festival in April to be covered by the Senate Discretionary account of $641.49. Finance committee member Sen. Kaitlyn Roling, senior in chemical engineering, and Sen. Morgan Fritz, sophomore in political science, said they had concerns about funding the bill. “Past the point of the workshops, it turns
into a very large dance party,” Roling said. “I have one point that’s even explicitly mentioned that it’s the biggest rave in Chicago. I’m not sure if this is something we want to be funding.” Sen. Fritz continued the opposing argument. “I think if [Student Government] funds this, we have to recognize that while yes, there are workshops for this event, this is also paying for concert tickets,” Fritz said. Sen. Ian Searles, senior in geology, defended the bill and mentioned that although the conference isn’t deemed to be a “traditional” conference, there are still educational benefits for the club to attend. “I would also like just to say that multiple
people have said if it were the ballroom club, we wouldn’t have a problem funding it,” Searles said. “So I would like to ask us, why are we so inclined to fund ballroom, but when it’s a Latin dance club, we have a problem with it? Is that not an inherent bias there? As soon as there is some cultural dance club, we have a problem and spend 30 minutes debating a $600 funding request from a $16,000 budget. That seems like an issue to me.” With a vote of 23-0-0, the bill passed. Additionally, Senate reviewed a bill to fund the Healthy Walk event on April 1. Student Government will be handing out snacks and drinks during the mile-long walk. The bill passed with a vote of 23-0-0.
THURSDAY
COURTESY OF CHILD CARE & FAMILY SERVICES Iowa State has created a task force due to a lack of high-quality affordable child care on campus.
Task force to examine amount of child care on campus BY MORRGAN.ZMOLEK @iowastatedaily.com Iowa State is tackling the lack of high-quality affordable child care available on campus with the help of a task force formed last fall. This task force was given the assignment of seeking out both short-term and longterm implementations that would aid in this issue. A report on those findings is expected to be published next month. Kristi Darr, interim vice president of university human resources; Carolyn Cutrona, graduate college associate dean; and Dawn Bratsch-Prince, associate provost for faculty, are all co-chairs working on the task force. “As the task force works through its recommendations, we have been focusing on creating strong community partnerships and talking about how to sustain the momentum from the group,” Darr said. “Appropriately addressing the child care needs is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It will take a collaborative effort over a long period of time to address the needs that we have as a community.” The task force is reviewing recommendations from the Graduate and Professional Student Senate, a report compiled by a faculty experience workgroup, and input from the University Child Care Committee and Iowa State’s child care and family resources offi ce, including its 2015 feasibility study. Child care access also was a common issue identified in the 2017 campus climate survey. In addition, there was a student survey sent out this month by child care and family resources that students who are soon-to-be parents or who already have a child are encouraged to complete so that the task force can have as much data possible about the population of student parents. The survey should take no more than 10 to 15 minutes. Participation in this sur vey is voluntary, and respondents’ answers will be kept completely anonymous and confidential. Individuals who complete the survey have the option to be entered into a drawing for one of eight $25 Visa gift cards.
CHILDCARE
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