1.31.14

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Friday, Jan. 31, 2014 | Volume 209 | Number 89 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.

By Lissandra.Villa @iowastatedaily.com Iowa State’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws stated it plans to appeal the rejection it received from Iowa State’s Trademark Licensing Office on June 10, 2013, a decision that arguably falls in the gray area between trademark law and free speech. NORML ISU has run into a roadblock in the process of getting its latest T-shirt design approved by the trademark office. This design was submitted after Iowa State’s “Guidelines for University Trademark Use by Student and Campus Organizations” was revised on Jan. 16, 2013. Iowa State’s Trademark Licensing Office was established in 1984, making the university one of the first to experiment with trademark offices. This office requires recognized student organizations to get approval before using any of the university marks, including terms such as “ISU,” “Iowa State,” “Iowa State University” and “Cyclones.” It also has authority over images of Cy and the ISU logo. The language in the guidelines was updated last January to reflect that no designs with university marks suggesting the promotion of “dangerous, illegal or unhealthy products, actions or behaviors” and “drugs and

It kind of looked like Cy was endorsing our cause, and then that’s where it kind of all started.”

Trademark v. free speech

Paul Gerlich, President of NORML ISU

NORML ISU to appeal T-shirt design rejection

Blake Lanser/Iowa State Daily

Mike Bankers, a junior in industrial engineering and management, talks with students about NORML, the ISU chapter. NORML advocates for changes concerning marijuana laws.

drug paraphernalia that are illegal or unhealthful” would be approved. NORML ISU, founded in spring 2012, is an organization aimed specifically at advocating for a change in marijuana laws. “Speech advocating

for the reform of marijuana laws is right in the heart of what the First Amendment most forcefully protects,” said Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center. Iowa State University

— a public university and therefore a government agency — must recognize the First Amendment, LoMonte said. Initially, NORML ISU had a T-shirt design approved by the university, which included an im-

age of Cy the mascot and a cannabis leaf. A picture featuring the design was used in The Des Moines Register in November 2012, after which the university received negative public feedback. “It kind of looked

like Cy was endorsing our cause, and then that’s where it kind of all started,” said Paul Gerlich, president of NORML ISU. “From there, we were told that we could no longer

NORML ISU p3 >>

Emily Hecht/Iowa State Daily

New facility makes ISU the ‘envy of College of Agriculture schools’

Hansen center offers ‘endless possibilities’ By Mackensie.Moore @iowastatedaily.com

The newest addition to Iowa State’s campus, the Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center, isn’t just a dirt arena for rodeos and cattle auctions. It is capable of much more.

In May 2013, construction began on the Hansen facility. Built using donations made to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the project cost more than $7 million. Inclement weather at the beginning of the process delayed construction, pushing the initial opening date from October to January. While people were able to view the pavilion in December, some improvements were still being made. “It was really wet at the beginning of construction, which pushed dead-

lines back, but everyone worked hard and it all came together really well,” said Lynn Burnett, facilities planning and management construction manager for the Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center. At the start of the 2014 spring semester, the building opened to the public. The learning facility has multiple restrooms, a serving kitchen for events, an indoor arena capable of seating more than 800 people, two

HANSEN p3 >>

Jen Hao Wong/Iowa State Daily

The Hansen facility has the option to put a plastic flooring over the dirt floor to create a space usable for banquets and events, in addition to the training and competitions to be held there.

Researcher talks of fraud origin By Makayla.Tendall @iowastatedaily.com In a letter written in late September to Charlotte Bronson, associate vice president for research, Dr. Dong-Pyou Han said he was “very ashamed” after admitting to falsifying AIDS vaccine research and would resign from his position. Han was a member of Dr. Michael Cho’s research team which had obtained millions of dollars in federal grants to research possible AIDS vaccines. “What we were trying to do is to develop immunogens that can infuse neutralizing antibodies against HIV-1,” said Cho. Han said that the problem began as early as August 2009 when he realized rabbit blood samples that had been sent in for testing had been contaminated by human sera while Han had been working with both samples at the same time. Though Han found that the data from the samples was wrong and had been compromised, he said he felt he could not tell Dr. Cho. “At that time, I was afraid because the data was presented to our collaborators and others,” Han said. In the letter, Han wrote that when he examined the uncontaminated samples, the neutralizing activity was either very weak or non-existent. Han said he “manipulated their activity … to look better.” “In order to show the neutralizing activity continuously” in all samples, Han then spiked rabbit blood with human antibodies so it seemed as if the rabbit antibodies were defending against the HIV virus. Han then sent these samples to some other research organization so they would be able to duplicate the results. In November, Han signed a voluntary exclusionary agreement with the United States Department of Health and Human Services as well as with Iowa State and other facilities involved in the research. Han agreed to exclude himself from contracting with and advising for any sort of government agency. “I have regretted deeply the fact that I did and did not tell it,” Han said about his misconduct. “I was foolish, coward, and not frank.” As for whether or not research will continue, “Certainly, we will be more cautious in interpreting results,” Cho said.


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