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STUDENTS STAGE WALKOUT
Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016 | Volume 212 | Number 63 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.
Alec Giljohann/Iowa State Daily
ISU President Steven Leath addresses the Student Government on Oct. 5.
Regents will audit Leath’s travel with weapons By Alex.Hanson @iowastatedaily.com Iowa State has asked the Board of Regents to expand its internal audit of President Steven Leath’s use of university-owned aircraft, including whether Leath violated the university’s firearms and weapons policy, a school spokesperson said Wednesday. The board is already conducting a comprehensive audit of ISU’s Flight Service, including Leath’s mixed use of school-owned planes for personal and business use. Megan Landolt, a communications assistant to President Leath, said that as new questions have been asked, the school has asked to the board to look at areas of concern. Leath and the school have maintained that several trips using school aircraft have included hunting outings with potential school donors. Iowa State’s weapons policy prohibits “the unauthorized transportation, use or storage of any firearms, weapons and/or explosives,” but does allow for a request to be submitted to allow for the transportation of weapons. The request is submitted in writing and approved by either The Office of Risk Management or The Department of Public Safety. The questions about transportation of weapons have been raised by the Iowa-based blogger Bleeding Heartland. The blog said it submitted an open records request to Iowa State on the subject, including requests by Leath and any passengers to transport weapons, but Iowa State said it had no such records earlier in November. The Daily asked The Office of the President if Leath transported any weapons, including firearms for hunting, and if so, whether or not Leath followed the correct ISU policy to get permission to do so. Landolt said the school would not comment until the audit findings are reported, because it may “jeopardize the integrity of the audit.” Leath’s hunting outings have been highlighted in news reports during an ongoing look into his use of university-owned aircraft. In one report by the Associated Press, school records on the aircraft show that Leath flew for donor meetings that included hunting trips, including with Bill Dougherty, who Leath called his “best friend” and “hunting buddy;” Pete Brownell, an NRA board member; Ames real-estate agent Dean Hunziker; and professional bowhunter John Dudley and his wife, Sharon. Hunziker told the AP on one trip, the group, which included nowVice President-elect Mike Pence and wealthy Indiana businessman Steve Hageman, shot doves and had a barbecue. Another trip with Hunziker and Hageman included shooting ducks. Landolt said they audit all users of university-owned aircraft, not just Leath. During the Board of Regents meeting on Oct. 20, Chief Audit Executive Todd Stewart told board members that their preliminary investigation found Leath’s travel did not conflict with any university policy and that the plane purchases followed board policy. The board then voted for a more comprehensive review, including an audit of each individual flight by the ISU Flight Service since Leath joined Iowa State as president in 2012. The school has said “President Leath welcomes the full audit, will fully cooperate and is committed to adhering to university and board policies.”
Emily Blobaum/Iowa State Daily
Army ROTC trains in uncharted territory By Emily.Schroer @iowastatedaily.com The Iowa State Army ROTC has the opportunity — though it’s more of a requirement — to swim with vests and rifles on their backs in a water training program once every semester. The biannual event took place Wednesday in the Beyer Hall swimming pool. “It’s essentially a compilation of four to five events,” said Cole Barbee, senior cadet, second lieutenant and platoon leader. “One event [is to] tread water for 10 minutes or so. The cadets are not supposed to touch the ground [at all].”
Another event is swimming for five continuous minutes without treading. The third involves a gear-ditch lane where the cadets put on a combat vest. While they are submerged underwater, they have to unclip the vest and get rid of the rifle before they get to the top, Barbee said. “If they fail to do that, they will have another opportunity to do so, and if they fail it, it’s a no-go for that [event],” he said. Those who are placed in the fourth event are given a vest and rifle and are told to swim 15 meters, nearly 50 feet, as fast as they possibly can; while swim-
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Jenny Bakke/Iowa State Daily
Jenny Bakke/Iowa State Daily
More than 100 Army ROTC cadets participated in the annual Combat Water Survival Training on Wednesday at Beyer Hall.
‘Suck it up’ bill targets universities By Chris.Anderson @iowastatedaily.com The unexpected end to a divisive election has led to controversy on both sides of the aisle. One member of the Iowa House of Representatives has proposed a bill dubbed the “Suck it up, Buttercup” bill for the upcoming legislative session in January. The idea has since gained a large amount of attention, both positive and negative. The bill was proposed by state Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton. Any universities that fund grief counseling or other services, besides those already in place for the purpose of reducing election-related grief, should receive budget cuts double that of the money spent on the previously mentioned services, Kaufmann said. “I heard all these reports across the country of schools spending all this money on cry groups and coloring groups,” Kaufmann said. “To me, that’s not how we should be preparing
college students for adult life. It was more of a preventative measure than a reactive measure.” He also made it clear that he felt existing counseling measures should remain in place for those who need them. Rather, this was a preventative measure to keep schools from spending money on “coddling.” “Unfortunately life ain’t sensitive, and I’m trying to show students that,” Kaufmann said. Kaufmann didn’t accuse any Iowa schools of wasteful spending on post-election grief, however, he said the bill was motivated by stories he has heard from other schools. “I just wanted to fire off the warning shot, politically speaking, that that’s not going to fly in Iowa,” Kaufmann said. Another section he would like to add to the bill would increase the penalty for protesting on the interstate or anywhere it could prove dangerous to others. The safety of his constituents, many of whom were held up by protesters on Interstate 80, inspired this part of the bill. For Kaufmann, the goal of his
Courtesy of Iowa House Republicans
Iowa Rep. Bobby Kaufmann proposed a “Suck it up, Buttercup” bill, which would cause any university that funds election-related grief counseling to receive budget cuts.
proposal is clear. “What I’m specifically talking about is spending new dollars that are intended to coddle people who simply cannot handle the results of an election,” Kaufmann said. To others, this proposal is not such a no-brainer. Catherine Crist, the Iowa Democratic Party Disabilities Caucus chair,
sharply criticized Kaufmann and his proposal. “For many, the election results heightened or exacerbated pre-existing medical and mental health conditions … to deny services simply because they need to ‘suck it up’ is extremely callous,” Crist said in a statement.
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StuGov passes tuition increase resolution By Linda.Black @iowastatedaily.com Student Government passed a resolution Wednesday night in response to a proposal to raise tuition at Iowa State. The proposal, which the Board of Regents will have a final vote on in December, would raise tuition for all students, but also set a differential tuition rate with five upper division undergraduate programs, including animal science, biology, computer science, industrial design and natural resource and ecology management.
Tyler Coffey/Iowa State Daily
Speaker Danielle Nygard speaks at the Sept. 21 Student Government meeting in the Memorial Union.
The university as a whole is proposing a 2 percent tuition increase for in-state students,
a 3 percent tuition increase for out-of-state students and an entirely new funding plan that
differentiates among the majors, as explained in the bill. “Students won’t see paying it off when they pursue their careers,” Student Government President Cole Staudt said. “They will see what price is wanted now. Passing this resolution isn’t saying we support it. It is saying we want the time spent on the issue.” As the discussion during Wednesday’s meeting continued, views started to differ on the benefit of passing the resolution. “ISU has fallen in prestige — I think this resolu-
tion lessens the burden on international students,” said Sen. Cody Woodruff. Sen. Koki Tomoeda, who abstained in first voting of passing, later changed his vote to a no, and argued that without numbers, making a definite decision would be difficult to do. “I feel like I needed to represent all of my constituents,” Tomoeda said. “I thought I should say no. I do want to review.” Sen. Maria Archevald furthered the discussion by questioning the seri-
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