Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014 | Volume 210 | Number 46 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.
Career in fear Actors from Haunted Forest reveal their behind-the-scenes tactics
By Michaela.Ramm @iowastatedaily.com Screams pierced the night, and figures in masks roamed the forest, seeking innocent wanderers as their next prey. No one is actually in danger — unless it’s the danger of wetting themselves. For nearly 15 years, the Haunted Forest in Ames has been a popular attraction for all ages. It has also been a popular activity for those behind the mask. “You get paid to scare people. What’s better than that?” said Megan Beck, junior in industrial engineering and an actor at the Haunted Forest. Lynn and Lee Ballard are brothers who founded the Haunted Forest 15 years ago with their father, Orville Ballard. Since then it has been a family-run business. “It’s an outdoor haunted attraction. It’s about a 20 minute walk through the forest, with a few mazes and rooms,” Lynn said. “Our customers enter the forest, and they are on their own.” Lynn said the Haunted Forest has been a success for many years. “We always draw a big crowd, even after all these years,” Lynn said. “We have people come from a hundred mile radius.” Lynn said the attraction is based on the people who do the scaring. “It’s family-run, but we employ around 40 actors who range from hired personnel to Iowa State students,” Lynn said. Lee Ballard said the attraction would not be the success it is without the actors. “Without them, it would be nothing,” Lee Ballard said. For actors at haunted houses, scaring is an experience that is very different than being scared. Not only do the actors have to scare as many people as possible, but they are required to make sure participants make it through the forest safely. Lee said the actors have creative freedom to use whatever scare tactics they want in the Haunted Forest.
By Matthew.Rezab @iowastatedaily.com
Blake Lanser/Iowa State Daily
The Haunted Forest in Ames is open this weekend for people to come and experience the thrill of wandering through a haunted forest. Many of the actors who scare people visiting the forest are ISU students, who love dressing up and scaring people.
“When we hire them, we tell them that they can do whatever they’d like, and we’ll help them make it happen,” he said. “They bring in all these ideas for costumes and scenes and so on. It’s just amazing how they come to
together. They find a spot in the forest, and they do great things.” The actors find the best features of the job is the creative freedom.
HAUNTED HOUSE p8
Iowa State celebrates 100 years of education By Chrissy.Dittmer @iowastatedaily.com The state of Iowa and Iowa State have a history of being first. The Iowa legislature was the first state to accept the terms of the Morrill Act in 1862, making practical education available in the state through its land-grant university. Iowa Agricultural College, the university’s original name, started when farmers from Sioux County approached Professor P.G. Holden to help them with their seed corn germination rate, initiating Iowa State’s connection to the Iowa community with Extension and Outreach. The Smith-Lever Act, passed 100 years ago, was legislation that created federal, formalized cooperative extension programs. “[Iowa State] kind of did a number of things first,” said Cathann Kress, vice president for Extension and Outreach. The department was the third portion of the land-grant school system along with teaching and research. The extension leg became a part of Iowa Agricultural College in 1903 and is now the second largest program at Iowa State, behind the Col-
GPSS explains, clarifies changes to grants
lege of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Kress said. The mission of Extension and Outreach is simply to pass on knowledge from the land-grant college to people of the state who could utilize its breakthroughs. Kress described early Extension and Outreach as being an expert-driven model. With no Internet to look up answers to agriculture, family sciences and health questions, people turned to the department for answers. “We kind of were the Google,” Kress said. Lyn Brodersen, assistant vice president for Extension and Outreach, said that those founding subjects have now grown to include every college at Iowa State. “We have broadened significantly, and that’s unusual nationwide,” Brodersen said. Kress echoed this by saying Iowa State’s name for the department shows its broad portfolio. The original term, Cooperative Extension, related to agriculture, home economics and 4-H programs. By using the term Extension and Outreach, Iowa State reflects the influence of other disciplines, including design and engineering. “Even 4-H reflects this shift,” Kress said, pointing out programs
Caitlin Ellingson/Iowa State Daily
Cathann Kress is the vice president for Extension and Outreach. Kress works for Iowa State to promote the land-grant goals of teaching, research and service for the public.
in robotics and nanotechnology for Iowa’s youth. In the next 100 years, Extension and Outreach may look more toward three main points that likely were not considered in 1914. “That’s one we’ve been asking ourselves a lot,” Kress said about looking 100 years down the road. The points of interest are demographic trends leading to older, urban and multicultural communities; technology including smartphones, biorenewables and manufacturing; and globalization as it relates to local economies. By having a broad scope in Iowa, nearly one million people directly benefit from the department’s educational programs,
according to the department’s annual report in 2013. Brodersen said students can get involved with Extension and Outreach by applying for internships with the organization and by participating in any programming available. She added that the department can help with a number of questions about landscaping, job opportunities and virtually anything state-wide. “That’s the beauty of what we do,” Kress said. “We can tailor things very specifically to what you need.” Kress also pointed out the possibilities that lay with Extension and Outreach. “I think in Extension and Outreach there are such great opportunities. Everybody can participate and innovate,” Kress said.
The new system of awarding Professional Advancement Grants was clarified for Graduate and Professional Student Senate senators at the monthly meeting Monday. PAGs are grants awarded by GPSS to help offset the cost of attending professional conventions, whether students are traveling to present research or only to attend the convention. The system has been a point of contention and sometimes confusion throughout the semester. The changes to the amount of funds distributed for each award, how awards are distributed and how the application process is conducted have all been met with resistance at one point or another this year. Under the new process, set to go into effect Jan. 15, all awarded applicants will be reimbursed for up to $200 of their travel expenses. The old system awarded research presenters $200, but non-presenters were only reimbursed $120. The number of grants awarded for 2015 is estimated to be 47, or nine percent fewer than 2014 under the new rules. The system has also changed from awarding grants on a firstcome, first-serve basis to a lottery system. They are now awarded on a monthly basis instead of a semester basis, and applications must now be received by the 15th day of the month prior to the month that travel occurs. Cory Kleinheksel, chair for Professional Advancement Grants, said fairness was a major factor in deciding to amend the system. “Before we had applications for August competing against applications for December on a firstcome, first-serve basis,” Kleinheksel said. If an applicant has never received a grant before, they are considered high priority and given first preference when grants are awarded. The senate may consider amending the grant process again at its November meeting based on Senate and constituent feedback. Senate Bill F14-09, allocating more than $9,000 to 14 clubs and organizations, was passed with 89 percent of the vote. No individual club or organization was given more than $800. In other senate business, Michael Crum, vice president for economic development and industry relations, spoke to the Senate about Iowa State’s commitment to help students apply their research to entrepreneurship. The Office of Economic Development and Industry Relations is new this year and works to help external stakeholders connect with and work with the university. Crum said 200 more acres have been annexed for the expansion of the ISU Research Park. “We are currently at about 1,500 employees out there,” Crum said. “We think in 10 to 12 years, a very conservative estimate by a consulting firm we hired, is that we could be at 6,500 to 7,000 employees out there.” Lisa Lorenzen, director of the Office of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer, said the organization’s mission is to commercialize technologies for the public good and encourage graduate students to think about the application of their research. “If you’re going to be an entrepreneur you better think [your research] is great,” Lorenzen said. “If you don’t think it’s great then who else will.” For the full story on the meeting, check the news tab of the Daily’s website.