Friday, Jan. 29, 2016 | Volume 211 | Number 87 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.
Equality candidates selected Finalists to visit campus, speak at open forum By Alex.Hanson @iowastatedaily.com
Courtesy of Rodney White/Des Moines Register
Republican presidential candidates take the stage at the GOP primetime debate Thursday night in Des Moines. From left, Rand Paul, Chris Christie, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush and John Kasich all participated in the event. Donald Trump skipped the debate and accused moderator Megyn Kelly of being biased against him.
The final countdown Five takeaways from the Republican debate By Alex.Hanson @iowastatedaily.com DES MOINES — Four days until Iowa kicks off voting for the 2016 cycle, Republican candidates for president had one last chance to convince voters why caucusgoers should turn out for them Monday night. Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, John Kasich and Rand Paul participated in the event. Donald Trump was missing — who decided to skip out on the debate. Here are five takeaways from the event, which ran two hours on Fox News Channel from the Iowa Events Center in downtown Des Moines. 1. Trump absent from debate “The elephant not in the room,” as moderator Megyn Kelly put it,
was front-runner Donald Trump skipping the debate. Trump, accusing Kelly of being “biased against him,” opted to skip out on the final debate before voting and hosted an event about 10 minutes away at Drake University in Des Moines. Fox issued a statement shortly before the debate saying Trump did offer to appear at the event, but only if the network would donate $5 million to charities — which they refused to do. Cruz was asked from the start about Trump’s absence, but he instead, as a joke, lobbed insults at the other candidates and said the “Donald Trump portion” of the debate is over. “Let me say this: I’m a maniac, and everyone on this stage is stupid, fat and ugly, and Ben, you’re a terrible surgeon,” Cruz joked. He added that he still does not plan to reciprocate and personal attacks from Trump and campaign. Bush also joked, saying he and Trump have “always had a loving relationship.” Carson was the only candidate
on stage without any political experience, which he said he was glad to talk about. “We need people who think outside of the box and can solve problems,” Carson said. 2. Rubio and Cruz called out on immigration Before a commercial break, Fox teased “something you’ve never seen before” on immigration, then played several soundbites from Rubio talking about the issue. Several past clips showed Rubio saying an “earned pathway to citizenship” is code for “amnesty,” which Rubio says he does not support now. Rubio co-sponsored a bill in the Senate that would offer a pathway to citizenship, but Rubio later backed off. At the debate, Rubio argued that the language and timing was important. He pointed to a bill in the Senate that he said was “amnesty” in 2009, but his bill was tougher. Bush went after Rubio — the two have gone after each other
Protesters gather at debate Community members call for wage increase
The Daily wants to #teach students how to caucus By Maddy.Arnold @iowastatedaily.com
By Michaela.Ramm @iowastatedaily.com Outside of the GOP Debate in Des Moines on Thursday, protesters braved the cold to take on a controversial issue in the U.S. economy. The movement called Fight for 15 braved the 30-degree weather Thursday night to call for a raise in the minimum wage to $15 an hour. More than 100 individuals gathered outside of the Iowa Events Center in downtown Des Moines to make their wants known, chanting “What do we want? 15. If we don’t get it, shake down.” Several organizations were present at the event, as well as community members. Matthew Covington, a Des Moines resident and member of the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, was another body gathered in the crowd outside the events center. “I’m very much supportive of the Fight for 15 movement, especially for the 35 or 36 workers who went on strike this morning and this afternoon who are risking their jobs for at least $15 an hour,” Covington said. Fight for 15 is an international workers strike that works to reform the country’s wage system and spreads its message by organizing events across the country. “$7.25 is a poverty wage,” Covington said. “People can’t put food on the table. Even single adults struggle to make ends
DEBATE p8
Four finalists have been selected as candidates in the search to be Iowa State’s director of equal opportunity. The new director will oversee all aspects of equal opportunity and affirmative action programs, from ensuring university compliance with laws and regulations to investigating and resolving complaints, according to Iowa State. The finalists, listed below, will all visit campus and take part in a one hour open forum that is open to the public. Sharon Abraham, who is currently director of the office of diversity and affirmative action at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, will visit campus on Monday, Feb. 1. The open forum is scheduled at 3 p.m. in 2019 Morrill Hall. Ellyn Bartges, who is currently director of the office for institutional equity and access at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, will visit campus on Monday, Feb. 8. The open forum is scheduled for 3 p.m. in 2019 Morrill Hall. Margo Foreman, who is currently associate director of the Office of Equal Opportunity at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis, will visit campus on Thursday, Feb. 11. The open forum is scheduled at 3 p.m. in 1213 Hoover Hall. Jyl Shaffer, who is currently Title IX coordinator at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, will visit campus on Monday, Feb. 15. The open forum is scheduled for 3 p.m. in 2019 Morrill Hall. Dawn Bratsch-Prince, associate provost for faculty, and Calli Sanders, senior associate athletics director for sports administration, have been leading a seven-member search committee. Spelman and Johnson Group is assisting with the search. Mary Sirna, administrative adviser for ISU police, has been serving as interim equal opportunity director since October. Once selected, the new director will report to the president’s office.
Michaela Ramm/Iowa State Daily
Protesters gather outside of the GOP Debate in Des Moines on Thursday, calling for a minimum wage increase to $15 an hour.
meet unless it’s at $15 or above really. It’s long overdue to raise the wage.” Lauren Salgadon, a student at Augsburg in Minneapolis, traveled to Des Moines in solidarity for the cause. “I think everyone deserves a standard of living, which means everything that one needs and not just necessarily wants,” she said. The location of the event was no mistake, as well. The organizers were hoping to gain the attention of the Republican candidates inside the events center, as well as the other presidential hopefuls not present. “Any candidate at this point, we just want to be heard and we want to know whether any candidate or not is going to back us up,” Salgadon said. However, Covington said the workers who planned to strike happened to coincide with the debate and was not planned. Covington said he knew that
very few candidates support the increase in minimum wage. However, he said the more momentum and public support shown for that, it’ll show them it’s not only politically feasible but the right thing to do. Covington said he was hoping the protest would catch attention not only of the candidates, but of voters across the nation. The Des Moines Register reported earlier in the day that about 150 fast food, child care and other minimum wage workers demonstrated in the city over the noon hour as well. The crowd marched at a McDonald’s on University Avenue before moving to the Iowa Events Center in the evening. Salgadon said she was surprised by the turnout at the event. “It’s such a big turnout, but it’s exciting that we’re all here supporting one another,” she said. Check the Iowa State Daily website for more coverage on the GOP debate.
We are just days away from participating in our first-in-thenation caucus and helping to decide the nominees for our next president. As characterized by the countless visits from candidates to our city in recent weeks, now is obviously a special time in our state. But will ISU students choose to participate? For many students here at Iowa State, it is the first time they get to participate in this political phenomenon called the Iowa Caucuses. Whether students are from out-of-state, just became old enough to vote or are overwhelmed by the whole process, the Iowa Caucus can be difficult to understand. From what The Daily has observed, many students feel intimidated by politics in the United States. Unfortunately, many students feel as if they do not know enough to participate in the political process or join in the conversation. Additionally, as a newspaper, The Daily’s sole purpose is to serve its community by informing and educating readers. After hearing that students may be unaware or confused by the caucus process, we decided that it was our responsibility to help out. As a result of these reasons, The Daily wanted to help students learn about and get involved with the Iowa Caucuses. The question then became: but how?
Iowa State Daily
The Iowa State Daily will host a mock caucus from 10 p.m. to midnight Friday at the Memorial Union.
At the start of this school year, The Daily created the firstever political team, reporters and an editor devoted to covering politics and government in a new and consistent way. But now that the students know about the politics, do they know about the process of the Iowa Caucuses? That’s how the idea of The Daily’s #TeachMeHowtoCaucus event came about. We partnered with the ISU College Democrats and ISU College Republicans to put on a mock caucus and show students step-by-step of what to expect Monday night. Additionally, students can participate in caucus trivia to learn just why Iowa’s first-in-thenation status is such an important event Mock caucuses will take place every half hour between 10 p.m. and 12 a.m. Friday night in the Pioneer Room of the Memorial Union at ISU AfterDark. We hope to see you there.