Thursday, October 6, 2016 | Volume 212 | Number 33 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.
Leath on plane use: ‘I regret all of this’ By Alex.Hanson @iowastatedaily.com Iowa State President Steven Leath said Wednesday he “regrets” his use of university-owned aircraft for both personal and business use because of the negative image he says it has brought to the school. Leath’s comments come after two weeks of revelations that he used two university-owned planes for the mixed use, and in one incident, caused $12,000 in damage after a hard landing at an Illinois airport in July 2015. “I regret all of this,” Leath said
Wednesday during an interview with the Iowa State Daily in his office. “I don’t like to bring any negative image to the university. The fact that there has been all kinds of articles written about this makes me sad.” The use of the school planes has raised questions on if Leath potentially violated Iowa State policy or state law barring the use of university property for personal use. Leath’s plane use was revealed following an Associated Press report on Sept. 23. “There was no attempt to hide this,” Leath said. “If you tell the [flight] tower, the FAA and your boss ... I didn’t think [the incident] was worthy of a press release, but
probably, in hindsight, I should have told more people. But it wasn’t any attempt to hide it, because I did tell a fair number of people.” Leath ultimately reimbursed the school for the use of the plane in accordance to rates set by the ISU Flight Service, he said, but his trips always included a business component. As for the hard landing that caused about $12,000 in damage, Leath said the incident and damage “wasn’t a huge deal” — comparing it to damaging a university-owned car by hitting a deer. “It wasn’t like it was a big complicated fix, and I think that got lost
in all this other stuff,” Leath said. “I told flight services, they processed it just like they would any other minor damage on the plane. I told the FAA, I told the tower, I told [Iowa Board of Regents President] Bruce [Rastetter].” Leath also said the plane sat at the Bloomington, Ill., airport for several weeks because the part that needed to be replaced was backordered. He said that specific trip included a meeting with a “critically important” potential donor, but it fell during the July 4 holiday. He said it was the longest vacation he’s taken since becoming president in 2012, but it still included a big chunk of
work time. “Our policy allows for you to go on business trip and take personal time, but the university pays for the travel portion, not hotels or meals when you’re on personal time,” Leath said. Since the trip included personal time while he flew the school’s plane, he decided to reimburse for the entire trip, Leath said. The AP reported that the rate for reimbursement may have been well under what is typically charged, but Leath said the rate he paid was set by the ISU Flight Service. The AP reported Tuesday that
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SHATTERING STIGMAS
Alec Giljohann/Iowa State Daily
President Steven Leath addresses Student Government over his use of a school plane.
Regents will review travel, equipment By Alex.Hanson @iowastatedaily.com
Emily Blobaum/Iowa State Daily
The Iowa Board of Regents will conduct a review of policies regarding use of equipment and travel at Iowa’s public universities, the board announced Wednesday — almost two weeks after news of Iowa State President Steven Leath’s use of university-owned aircraft. Board of Regents Executive Director Robert Donley said they “will review the policies to ensure they are clear and consistent, and that policies and state law were followed.” The review will “also will certify that existing internal controls are adequate and appropriate,” the statement said. Once the review is complete, findings will be shared with the board. An update of the review will be shared at the Oct. 19-20 meeting. The news of a review comes after questions about Leath’s use of two university-owned, which he used to mix both personal business with official university business. Board of Regents spokesperson Josh Lehman said that Donley thought a review was the right course of action following reports and inquiries received. Regents Chief Audit Executive Todd Stewart and his staff will lead the review.
StuGov passes resolution seeking inquiry By Alex.Connor @iowastatedaily.com and Emily.Barske @iowastatedaily.com Student Government passed a resolution Wednesday night that asks the Iowa Board of Regents to formally look into President Steven Leath’s past and current use of the university aircraft. The resolution follows inquiries surrounding Leath’s use of universityowned aircraft for both personal and business use. Leath apologized to senators on Wednesday, saying he wants to move on from the negativity. The Iowa Board of Regents also announced Wednesday afternoon that it plans to make sure policies are “clear and consistent” and that state law was followed. Sens. Abhijit Patwa, Cody Woodruff, Maria Archevald and Jane Kersch introduced the resolution, which would also urge that the Office of University Counsel release a statement clarifying whether state laws and university polices were violated and that the Division of University Services clarify university policy on the use of the Iowa State’s airplanes. “If President Leath has nothing to hide ... I’m sure he will welcome this
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Paige has Bardet-Biedl syndrome, a disorder that causes her retinas to gradually deteriorate. She can see shapes, shadows and silhouettes, but has no depth perception. In addition, she cannot see at all in extreme dark or bright environments.
Students share disabilities but are far from disabled By Emily.Blobaum @iowastatedaily.com Paige Maystadt and Lauren Berglund don’t like to dwell on the things they aren’t able to do. “Society and TV and books tell people who are ablebodied to feel sorry for people with disabilities, that those people need to be pitied upon and they have horrible lives,” said Berglund, sophomore in child, adult and family services. “I don’t see myself as broken. This is the way that I am.” Maystadt, junior in animal science, added that she has a disability but is not disabled. “I can still do things,” she said. “I can do most of what other people can do, I just have to do them a different way.” Both Maystadt and Berglund have a lot in common. They’re both from small-town Iowa. They live in Emily Blobaum/Iowa State Daily the same apartment. Paige Maystadt rides a Quarter Horse named Oliver. Maystadt has They each have their been around horses since she was 4 years old. own dogs. And they’re both blind. “[People] expect that blind people can’t do things,” Berglund said. “They don’t realize we can do just about anything we want to.”
HORSE HIGH
Maystadt walks down a dark, dusty horse barn, her guide dog, Charley, by her side and her friend, Brienna Ross, also a junior in animal science, close behind. She takes a deep breath and inhales the scent of hay, manure and leather. “I love the smell of horses. I wish they could make it a perfume,” she said. She turns a corner and approaches Ross’s buckskin Quarter Horse named Oliver. A smile immediately spreads across her face. “I get a horse high every time I’m around them,” Maystadt said. “I get all excited and I’ll start talking really fast and I’ll have a good feeling inside me.” Emily Blobaum/Iowa State Daily Ross hands Maystadt Paige Maystadt kisses Oliver, a Quarter Horse owned by her a brush and she begins friend Brienna Ross. Maystadt hopes to use her animal science to groom Oliver, slowly major to someday become a veterinarian. moving her hand in circular motions, taking brief pauses to run her fingers through his mane. “I think he’s clean,” she said 10 minutes later. Maystadt is eager to ride again. She hasn’t been on a horse since mid-August. Maystadt mounts Oliver and they begin to walk in a circle. She smiles again, and it doesn’t leave until she dismounts half an hour later. “It’s a whole different world with horses — they just get you,” she said. “When you get on a horse everything else just melts away.” After she returns home, she puts her hands up to her face and breathes in. “I can sniff my hands five hours later, and they still smell Emily Blobaum/Iowa State Daily like horses.”
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Lauren Berglund was born with oculocutaneous albinism, a condition that causes a lack of pigment in her skin, hair and eyes. She uses photography as a way to capture the details she can’t see normally.