Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015 | Volume 211 | Number 66 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.
Regents approve 2015-2016 tuition, fees By Mitchel.Anderson @iowastatedaily.com The Iowa Board of Regents approved tuition rates and mandatory fees for the 2016-2017 academic year Wednesday in Ames, where they also voted to award two honorary doctorate degrees and to approve several business transactions for capital improvement. The board unanimously voted to approve 2016-2017 tuition rates and mandatory fees for the three regent universities. The University of Iowa will see a 3 percent increase in undergraduate resident tuition after being withheld from the increase Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa saw for the spring 2016 semester. Iowa State and Northern Iowa will not see a tuition in-
crease for the 2016-2017 academic year. In addition to the new tuition rates, mandatory fees will be increased for international students at Iowa State by $500 every year for the next three years. The fee increase will start with the 2016-2017 academic year, totaling $1,500 by the 20182019 academic year. Although the regents unanimously supported the new tuition rates and fees, it wasn’t without some reluctance. “Over time, [university funding] has shifted from 70 percent state support and 30 percent tuition to the opposite, as we all know,” said Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter. “At the end of the day, the universities need the resources to compete and improve programs to maintain quality. Student debt without quality isn’t something that this
board is going to support, so we may have some tough choices to make.” Tuition revenues make up about 61 percent of the combined operating budgets of the regent universities, slightly more than last year. “It’s time to talk to your resident legislator,” said regent Larry McKibben. “It is time to get into their backyards, to get into their town halls and deliver the message.” McKibben also expressed the importance of the three regent universities to the economic community in Iowa. The regents also unanimously approved Iowa State’s request to raze Spangler Geotechnical Lab and Storage Building, which is expected to cost about $250,000. Other approved projects and plans include renovations to the Forker Building, Jack Trice Sta-
Katy Klopfenstein/Iowa State Daily
Student Government President Dan Breitbarth sits in at the regents meeting Wednesday.
dium improvements and renovations to Friley Residence Hall and its dining center. Eugene G. Sukup and Dame DeAnne Julius will be honored with honorary doctorate degrees during fall 2015 commencement, as the board unanimously ap-
proved requests from Iowa State. Sukup will receive his honorary doctorate in science, and Julius will receive hers in humane letters. The next Board of Regents meeting is scheduled for Feb. 24 and 25 at Iowa State.
Senators vote to advocate free speech
The power of a name
By Michaela.Ramm @iowastatedaily.com
students, administration also provided a FAQ document to Student Government leadership. “Student Government and GPSS leadership then actually came with some questions,” Wickert said. Those questions were discussed with either the provost or Associate Provost David Holger. “You can always communicate more,” Wickert said. “But in my experience, we communicated more on this tuition proposal than any other tuition proposal that I’m aware of.” Wickert said that what he and others in the administration heard from students about the proposal was taken into consideration before a final proposal was made. “We actually made a number of aspects of our proposal on the basis of feedback that students had
Student Government voted Wednesday night to clarify the language and policies on free speech, the free-speech zones on campus and on creating a university-based student trade site. A bill advocating free speech on campus was passed by the Senate with a vote of 33-2. This bill initially was meant to expand the free-speech zones on campus, but was revised after a discussion from the senators. Sen. Cole Staudt, an author of the bill, then proposed an amendment that would strike the resolutions to expand the free-speech zone. The amendment was passed unanimously by the senators. The bill was meant to create another zone — meant solely for ISU students, faculty and staff — on the grassy interior area of Central Campus north of the Campanile. However, these groups will not be allowed within 100 feet of a campus building or impede foot traffic in that area. Instead, with Staudt’s amendment, the bill was worded to encourage the administration to create more clear and concise language on university policies. “We will be expanding free speech by clarifying the freespeech zones,” Staudt said. Before discussion on the senate floor, University Counsel Paul Tanaka spoke to the Senate about the issue. Tanaka told the senators to consider what issues they are trying to solve and expressed his own concerns for the bill. “If we’re trying to protect people from what they call ‘offensive speech,’ that is concerning to me,” Tanaka said. “We are trying to foster interaction and this town square culture. It’s concerning when we try to shut that out.” He spoke to the senators about the First Amendment, and how Iowa State encourages the freedom of speech on campus. “As a government agency, we have to protect the First Amendment’s function,” Tanaka said. “But it is not our function to overreach in the marketplace of ideas.” Tanaka said the university, in this marketplace of ideas, is trying to foster interactions on tough issues. “We have an obligation to try to foster those dialogues, even if it makes people uncomfortable,” he said. Student Government Senate discussed and voted down a bill by a vote of 22-10 to fund ITS CySwap an overall allocation of $20,300. ITS CySwap will be an In-
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ISU senior guard Naz Mitrou-Long points to a fan after the game against North Dakota State on Tuesday night. The Cyclones won the game 84-64.
Naz Mitrou-Long honors mom with last name change By Max.Dible @iowastatedaily.com
N
az Long recently chose to do something most people only dream about — change his identity. He didn’t vanish or retreat into shadow. Instead, his change came by way of addition, not subtraction. Specifically, the addition of six letters on the back of his ISU basketball jersey: M-I-T-R-O-U. At 22 years old, Naz Long
became Naz Mitrou-Long. And while it might not seem like much, it made a world of difference to someone who means the world to Naz. “When he first told me, I was speechless, because it’s not something you ask of your kids,” said Naz’s mother, Georgia Mitrou. “When I actually saw it on his jersey, it touched me.” The name Mitrou is of Greek origin, Georgia’s birthplace. It was important to Naz — a Canadian citizen who is half Trinidadian, half Greek and has three siblings as well as six half-siblings — to define himself; to represent every part of who he is while simultaneously thanking his mother for all she’s done. “It means a lot to her. It means
a lot to represent that side of the family, and it’s just a tribute to her,” Naz said. “I could never repay her for everything she’s done for me, but it’s a small token of my appreciation.” The move is something Naz has publicized, making it clear to everyone through both word and action that Mitrou-Long is who he is now. But it wasn’t a “look at me move.” “I don’t think he planned it for years. I think it just happened that he was at the age that he thinks more about what is right and what he should do,” Georgia said. “I know it was something he thought long and hard about and never discussed with anybody. It made me really proud of the young man he’s become.”
Emily Blobaum/Iowa State Daily
Naz hasn’t worn Mitrou-Long on his jersey since his first year playing basketball, long before attending high school in Canada and later in the United States. But now, equipped with the national reputation of a starter on a top-five team, the gesture can create the desired impact and resonate across international borders. “Every year, when I watch him on that stage, it’s still surreal,” said Naz’s father, Jersey Long. “I know there’s a lot of levels left to go, and I hope he has the capability of making it to the highest level.” But just in case he doesn’t, Naz wanted to offer his tribute while still basking in the limelight of NCAA basketball. The strategy has been effec-
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Regents’ tuition hike approval causes outrage By Thomas.Nelson @iowastatedaily.com Iowa State will add a third tier to its tuition rates specifically for international students, and some on campus are not happy about it. “The problem is not that the tuition is being increased, the problem is the way they’ve done it and their justification for it,” said Abhijit Patwa, senior in mechanical engineering. Right now, international students pay out-of-state tuition. International students will soon pay an additional $500 a year for three years, an overall increase of $1,500. “No student input was gathered before. Students were not informed before the proposal,” Patwa said.“They basically went in with their minds made up about proposing this fee, and after the proposal was made is when they come and inform us.”
Two justifications for the increase were that international students require more services, and therefore should pay more than other students, and that the cost of attending Iowa State is still more affordable than other schools, even after the tuition hike. “So it’s basically picking on the most diverse, unorganized and voiceless group on campus. Because you can, they’re not voters,” Patwa said. “The students were obviously in disapproval and therefore I was in disapproval as well,” said Dan Breitbarth, president of Student Government and senior in business economics. “The most frustrating thing was the time frame we were given. I would like to know about it before October.” Breitbarth said that learning about the increase at such a late time hurt the student body’s chances to react.
“Our reaction was untimely, which gave us sort of a setback when it came to providing legitimate argument for reducing or keeping the fees at a flat level,” Breitbarth said. Breitbarth also said he felt the Board of Regents had already made up its mind. “I wish we would’ve known about this when they were likely debating it, you know, months ago,” Breitbarth said. “I can’t say much about the vote because they obviously had their mind set up.” The administration had met with students before presenting the increase in tuition, and made a point to meet with international student leaders on campus. “From the beginning of September to November, there were a series of meetings,” said Jonathan Wickert, senior vice president and provost. In addition to meeting with
formation Technology Services website that President Dan Breitbarth compared to Craigslist. The project is meant to build a