Thursday, March 26, 2015 | Volume 210 | Number 123 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.
Helping Haiti
GSB allots funding for student orgs, itself By Michaela.Ramm @iowastatedaily.com The Government of the Student Body has allocated funding for student organizations on campus that amounted to $1,621,551.25. The 2016 fiscal year’s total budget was $2.5 million, said finance director Abhijit Patwa. Of that, $1,621,551.25 was used to fund various student organizations on campus. Students can also petition to receive funding from the Senate discretionary account, which holds $30,000, throughout next year if they did not receive funding during regular allocations. The events account also holds $23,155.35, which GSB can use to give funding for student events on campus. The executive cabinet budget for next year will have $3,000. The budget was approved unanimously by the Senate with a vote of 30 to 0. Along with regular allocations, the Senate also discussed a bill to give $1,500 to the Government of the Student Body itself. The funding would be used for Big 12 on the Hill, which is an event Iowa State will host next year. The event would host representatives from all Big 12 schools to discuss and lobby on various issues college students face, to U.S. government officials. Amanda Loomis, director of special events, said $1,500 is a rough estimate of what the event would cost. “It’s a large event and requires a large amount of dollars, but we’re only hosting this every 10 years,” Loomis said. “Consider it an investment.” Loomis said the funding is something she wants to be available for whoever will be planning this event so they will have leeway to plan the event. GSB also passed two bills that gave compensation to GSB elected officials. One bill, which would be enacted next year, awarded a halftuition scholarship — equal to half of in-state tuition — and a parking pass to the speaker of the Senate as well as a parking pass to the ViceSpeaker. This bill passed 23-4-2. The second bill offered compensation to the President, VicePresident and Finance Director of GSB. The Vice-President and Finance Director would receive a half-scholarship, including mandatory fees and a parking pass each. The President would receive a full tuition scholarship. The bill passed after a vote on the floor.
Courtesy of Peyton Dugger
Students at the Mission Starfish Haiti school pose for a picture. The school was founded by Silentor Esthil-Henderson, ISU alumnus, to give children in Haiti an education.
ISU alumnus develops school in Haiti to educate young children By Emily.Stearney @iowastatedaily.com
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ilentor Esthil-Henderson, ISU alumnus, first came to the United States from Haiti at 9 years old. Handicapped and malnourished, Tommy Henderson adopted Silentor in order to save his life. “Silentor came to my clinic in LaCroix, Haiti as a frightened, malnourished, handicapped child with a warm and friendly smile and eyes that ... spoke volumes about past suffering,” Henderson said. Silentor had never been to school before he came to the United States. Though he started out in public school, being older than the other students and not knowing English made it difficult to keep up. “Local Catholic schools stepped in and allowed me to put him in private school for $10 a semester,” Henderson said. Silentor’s biological parents had given him up for adoption in order to give him better healthcare and more opportunity. Determined to help Silentor understand this, Henderson frequently
Courtesy of Peyton Dugger
Peyton Dugger, Nevada High School student, went on a mission trip to Haiti and visited the Mission Starfish Haiti school founded by an ISU alumus.
stressed his son’s roots to him throughout his childhood. “He always told me, ‘I took you out of Haiti, I never meant to take Haiti out of you,’” Silentor said. Henderson was eventually able to get Silentor the health-
care the sickly child needed. “After overcoming illness, I went to high school and then to ISU,” Silentor said. “While I was at ISU, I wanted to become a teacher.”
HAITI p8
Bill to ban ‘gay conversion therapy’ Ames fire By Morgan.Kelly @iowastatedaily.com
The Iowa Senate voted along straight party lines to ban therapy practices designed to change the sexual orientation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. The bill is expected to stall in the Republican controlled the House, but if it somehow passes, Iowa would join two other states and the District of Columbia in banning “conversion therapy” practices. The American Psychiatric Association declared homosexuality would no longer be classified as a mental disorder in 1973. In 1998, the organization said it “opposed any psychiatric treatment, such as ‘reparative’ or ‘conversion’ therapy,” according to lgbtqnation.com. Wayne Glass, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Student Services volunteer intern and practicum graduate adviser, said he agreed with the American
Psychiatric Association in that conversion therapy isn’t necessary and doesn’t work. “My friends who have gone through it truly hate themselves and this is a case where the word ‘hate’ really fits,” Glass said. “They were forced into it and came out worse than they went in.” Conversion therapy, sometimes referred to as reparative or sexual reorientation therapy, is a practice based on the idea that people can change their sexual orientation, “converting” from gay to straight. “Obviously we think it’s unethical to push therapy practices on someone who doesn’t want it,” said Tom Chapman, executive director of the Iowa Catholic Conference. “We are just more concerned with some of the definitions in the bill and how it’s currently written up.” In Catholic schools, licensed counselors may have students come to them with a behavior they want to fix or an issue they
are having. Chapman said the counselor may suggest abstinence and this bill could make the suggestion illegal. “That’s the reason people go to counselors,” Chapman said. “They know they have a problem or an issue and they’re seeking change and guidance. Some of the language in the bill is just too broad at this point.” Brad Freihoefer, director of LGBTSS, said he has worked with, and is still working with students who have gone through this type of therapy. “Their stories and experiences are hard to hear,” Freihoefer said. “I find that a lot of the therapy practices confuse sexual orientation with gender identity and expression.” Sexual orientation is defined as the sex of whom one is attracted to romantically and sexually, according to the American Psychiatric Association. Gender identity is defined as a sense of one’s self as male, female or transgender, and gender
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expression is the way a person acts to communicate their gender in their given culture, according to the American Psychiatric Association. “We’ve seen and heard stories where in the therapy sessions they have people practice things like gender roles based on their biological sex,” Freihoefer said. “It’s confusing to the people going through it because it’s not the same thing.” Glass and Freihoefer said they were in agreement that therapy is still around because people have a need to know and understand the unknown, and the myths surrounding sexual orientation and gender roles are still prevalent in society. Freihoefer said myths like “are you born gay?” are still being asked and discussed on a regular basis, which begs the rebuttal, “why does it matter?” “As a human race, we need to become educated, informed and comfortable with the unknown,” Glass said.
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victim identified By Makayla.Tendall @iowastatedaily.com
The State Medical Examiner has identified Xiangyi Wang, who also went by Sonny, as the Ames man who died in a house fire last Sunday night. The fire at 1322 Illinois Ave. started late Sunday night and engulfed the home quickly, causing at least one of the three men in the home to jump from a top story window to escape the fire. Wang, 25, was stuck in the home. The State Medical Examiner’s office said Wang died of inhaling too much smoke and soot. The death was also ruled as accidental.
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