Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013 | Volume 209 | Number 32 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890. | A 2010-11 ACP Pacemaker Award winner
Blame it on the
ALCOHOL Neurologist discusses its effects on mind, body By Makayla.Tendall @iowastatedaily.com Alcohol has a way of jeopardizing the body while also providing certain health benefits, but drinking too much of it does more harm than good. The social aspects of drinking alcohol come with the territory of a college campus setting. The social phenomenon of drinking is more powerful than the genetics aspect when it comes to alcoholism, said Dr. Selden Spencer, neurologist at McFarland Clinic. “This is the concern for the medical community, is that alcoholism is clearly prime time in the adolescent and young adult age,” Spencer said. Drinking often loosens people up.
Courtsey of Thinkstock
The frontal lobes are responsible for the behavioral changes caused by drinking, Spencer said. “It definitely allows people to speak more freely, like liquid courage, it allows people to get out there and be more outgoing,” said Kristin Cardinal, junior in animal science. Alcohol is part of the American culture. A 21st birthday is a right of passage and is highly celebrated amongst young adults, explained Heidi Steckel, junior in apparel, merchandising and design. “You only turn 21 once. Have that be exciting, have that be your day,” Steckel said. Experimenting with the substance is not an unusual college activity, however taking it to a severe level isn’t what the body is suited for, Spencer said.
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Underage students find older friends for alcohol By Ryan.Anderson @iowastatedaily.com
viding alcohol to people under 21 years of age. Three individuals were cited for providing alcohol to underage people. Alec, a senior in kinesiology, said that he has provided alcohol to underage people. Alec turned 21 last February and since then has provided alcohol twice to two close
The Ames Police Department has not cited any businesses for selling alcohol to people under 21 since November 2012, but underage people are still being provided with alcohol. The Police Department investigated minors being provided with alcohol in early September. During the investigation, 11 individuals were arrested for pro-
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Survey shows LGBT acceptance
STUDENT ATTITUDES
TOWARD LGBTQ COMMUNITY ACCEPT AND SUPPORT LGBTQ MEMBER
By Greg.Zwiers @iowastatedaily.com The greek community took a survey in the spring 2013 semester about their acceptance of lesbian, gay bisexual, transgender and questioning students, and were presented the results at the Greek Community Safe Chapter Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday. More than half of the greek community had responded to the survey. Thomas Arce, graduate assistant in educational leadership and policy studies, conducted this survey and compiled the data to present to the greek community. Arce works in the Office of Greek Affairs as the diversity liaison. The survey asked questions to gauge the attitudes that students have about LGBTQ individuals, Arce said. Questions on the survey asked about opinions related to LGBTQ students in the greek community. Students were split into groups to discuss the results and brainstorm how LGBTQ awareness could be raised in the greek community. “We want the students in the community to really drive where we go next,” said Katy Cran, assistant director of Greek Affairs. Cran said college is a great time to explore different conversations, and with the increased enrollment and diversity in the greek community, now is a pinnacle time to bring up LGBTQ awareness. The survey found that 19.1 percent of greek chapters said they have a member who identifies as LGBTQ.
When students were asked about their general acceptance of a potential LGBTQ members, more than 80 percent of both fraternities and sororities said they would accept that member. Acceptance of same sex affection or a date at greek social events was accepted by 66.9 percent of the greek community, with 58.1 percent of fraternity members accepting and 75 percent of sorority members accepting. Only 53.78 percent of fraternity members surveyed said they accept same sex relationships between men. “The whole purpose is that we educate the greek community and the chapters themselves,” Arce said. The survey and presentation are part of a program called the Safe Chapter Initiative. Cran said the Greek Community Safe Chapter Town Hall Meeting was advertised to greek community leaders and at all meetings with people in the greek community. “The next step is to spread awareness, so we developed the safe chapter program for chapters that want to be a part of this,” Arce said. The Safe Chapter Initiative is a presentation Arce designed to mirror the Safe Zone 101 training that Brad Freihoefer, director of the LGBT Student Services office, leads for faculty and staff. Two chapters, a fraternity and a sorority, participated in the Safe Chapter Initiative last spring to test its effectiveness, Arce said. What drew Cran’s attention was that 48.2 percent of those surveyed said
they were willing to become more aware of LGBTQ. Because of that result, Cran said the Office of Greek Affairs felt their next step was to address awareness. “We decided that this would be a great opportunity for us to just bring it to the forefront of some conversation within the greek community,” Cran said. In conversations about diversity in the greek community, the conversation about the LGBTQ community was minimal, Cran said. Students suggested adding programs to chapter meetings to make it easier for members to receive the training and having people tell their stories to bring more of an emotional connection to the topic. Mary Horton, member of Kappa Alpha Theta and senior in biology, said she likes the idea of having programs available for students who want to learn more about the LGBTQ community. “I think it’s really important to encourage the conversation because that’s lacking,” Horton said. Horton said she thinks the topic should be talked about as individuals and as a chapter and that having a panel would be really great. Benjamin Peterson, member of Sigma Lambda Beta and senior in early childhood education, said having people who can come to chapter meetings would be more effective than providing a program that students would have to seek out. “When you hear from peers, it’s more impactful,” Peterson said.
Fraternity
81.6
Sorority
95
Community
88.6
0
20
40
60
80
100
Percentage
ACCEPT WOMEN AND WOMEN RELATIONSHIPS Fraternity
79.4
Sorority
76.4
Community
77.8
0
20
40
60
80
100
Percentage
ACCEPT MEN AND MEN RELATIONSHIPS Fraternity
53.78
Sorority
76.6
Community
65.6
0
20
40
60
80
100
Percentage
Sarah Neighbour/Iowa State Daily
A survey was taken by over half of the greek community to gauge their acceptance of LGBTQ students on campus.
B-Positive mascot encourages campus blood donations By Ryan.Anderson @iowastatedaily.com The annual Fall Blood Drive returns this week. The drive occurrs all week, ending 5 p.m. Thursday. People can donate blood from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Great Hall in the Memorial Union. “It’s a good cause and it helps a lot of lives in many ways,” said Laura Lawler, senior in dietetics and one of the directors of the blood drive. This year the blood drive is using a mascot, B-Positive, as a promotion tool. B-Positive has his own Instagram and Twitter account that students can follow to see what he is doing. “We made him an actual volunteer spot this year,” Lawler said. The blood drive is run by student volunteers and any other people in the community who want to volunteer their time. Those who want to volunteer can go to the
ISU blood drive website. Donating blood is purely voluntary. However, there are certain criteria that must be met in order to donate blood. According to the ISU Blood Drive recommendations, a donor who is over 18 years old must be at least 120 pounds. “You can’t donate blood if you were anywhere in Africa or if you had tattoos or piercings within the last 12 months,” Lawler said. If someone has been anywhere that has high levels of malaria he or she is unable to donate, said Chrissy Jones, one of the directors of the blood drive. There are things that can help prevent sickness and fainting during blood donation. “Drink water. It is a really big deal to stay hydrated,” Jones said. From experience, she has noticed that the more water you drink, the faster the process goes.
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Ellen Williams/Iowa State Daily
Freshman Randa Scaglione rests after donating blood on Tuesday. Donors are given juice and snacks to boost energy after donating. The blood drive will continue throughout this week.