Monday, Nov. 10, 2014 | Volume 210 | Number 55 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.
Caitlin Ellingson/Iowa State Daily
A sizzling success
Crowds of people gathered to watch the bacon-eating contest at the Iowa State Bacon Expo. The second annual event took place from 1-5 p.m. on Saturday at the Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center.
Bacon Expo draws crowds of bacon enthusiasts; educates attendees about pork industry By Chrissy.Dittmer @iowastatedaily.com
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he parking lots were full. The lines were buzzing. The second annual Bacon Expo brought in a crowd. The event took place on Saturday afternoon at the Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center, where visitors had the opportunity to learn about the pork industry, see entertainment and, of course, sample bacon. “Since this is our second annual Bacon Expo, we have had a lot better attendance than last year,” said Shelby Fields, security committee member. Fields added that they saw a large spike in ticket sales from community members, rather than students. “That makes us look awesome as a student body,” she said. “Educating people and giving them hands on experience is great.” Visitors started the event with a video explaining the role the pork industry plays in feeding a growing global population with an increasing demand for animal protein. A statistic in the video quoted “by the year 2050 the world will need a 50 percent increase in pork products.” This set a tone of education to the show that some visitors were not expecting. “We thought we’d just eat some bacon, but we’re learning all about pork production,” said Katharine Suski, a visitor attending with her husband Roger, and daughters Anna and Ella. The Suskis, who bought their tickets as soon as they heard about the event, were surprised at how well it was organized. “For a student run event, this is incred-
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Caitlin Ellingson/Iowa State Daily
The ISU Meat Science Club was represented by Kelsey Carlson, left, Emily Usinger and Jennifer Levey. The event helped promote and teach people about the pork industry. In 2050, the world will need 50 percent more pork products.
Caitlin Ellingson/Iowa State Daily
Jackson Sterle, 12, left, and Ashley Smeby, sophomore in agronomy and animal science, educate visitors about the pork industry with live pigs. The educational, family-friendly event attracted people and companies from all across Iowa and the nation.
ROTC training receives top marks By Kelly.McGowan @iowastatedaily.com JOHNSTON, Iowa — Bare feet lined the wall by the Beyer pool as uniformed ROTC cadets sat and listened to Ryan Brady explain rules for the swim portion of the badge competition that took place this weekend on campus and at Camp Dodge. The line was broken in the center by a few pairs of tan army boots worn by ROTC instructors and armed forces members. Amid those, in black boots and with a slightly different, tanner, greener camouflage pattern on his uniform, sat Mike Kitzler, Sgt. Maj. of the German army. Kitzler visited Ames to watch and present awards for the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge competition. Stationed in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, he serves as a liaison officer and advises German commanders and instructors. A secondary part of his job is to make this badge competition available to soldiers. “It’s a visual sign that the German army and American army are very much in cooperation with one another,” said Brady, a senior in history. Kitzler said that competition builds networks, relationships and leadership development. The foreign badge will follow
Sheep study intends to hinder virus in humans By Lauren.Vigar @iowastatedaily.com
Kitzler said that it is difficult to do it all in a weekend. He said that it is an accomplishment to meet the challenging foreign regulations of the competition. “Most of the Americans can’t swim,” Kitzler said. “When I grew up in Germany, my father threw me in the pool and I had to swim.” He said that learning to swim is a part of the German culture at a younger age and noticed at
Respiratory syncytial virus, also known as RSV, is a respiratory virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Every person in the world gets this virus. The virus manifests cold-like symptoms for most people, but it can cause severe pneumonia in infants, especially babies born premature, and in the elderly, said Dr. Mark Ackermann, professor in veterinarian pathology and acting chairman of veterinary clinic science department. Ackermann is using lambs to research possible human treatments for the virus. He developed an interest in researching animal models of human diseases because his father was a pharmacist. “It does two things. It helps a little bit with animals and it helps with human disease conditions,”
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Blake Lanser/Iowa State Daily
Army ROTC held its annual swim testing Saturday at Beyer Hall’s indoor pool. Members of Army ROTC were challenged to swim 100 meters in under four minutes while still in uniform. They then had to remove their unifom without touching the bottom of the pool.
cadets through their career on their dress uniforms. “Many of the awards that cadets receive stay with them only while they are cadets,” said Lt. Col. Richard Smith, professor and chair of the Military Science and Tactics department. “It’s really neat for the cadets to be able to get [this badge] at the jumping off point of their careers.” Participants that earned a badge met minimum requirements for basic testing on Friday, which included an 11X10 meter sprint, flexed arm hang and a
1000 meter run. Saturday was the swim and pistol shoot. The award ceremony, which took place on Sunday, was preceded by a road march during where participants carried 35 pound rucksacks. There was also a first aid and an equipment test. Performance determined if the participant earned a bronze, silver or gold medal. German soldiers must complete this series of tests every year to stay in the army. Their events are spread over many months.