Friday, March 27, 2015 | Volume 210 | Number 124 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.
Taking caution I
owa State boasts more than 1,700 laboratories on campus. Many of them house hazardous chemicals, harmful bacteria or other toxic materials, requiring stringent practices to keep campus safe.
New powdered alcohol may be banned in Iowa By Elaine.Godfrey @iowastatedaily.com What happens when you dehydrate a vapor-sorbable carbohydrate base down to an extremely low moisture content and mix it with ethanol? You get powdered alcohol — and a lot of opposition. This creation, called “Palcohol,” was approved just two weeks ago by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, and legislation has already been proposed to ban it in the state of Iowa. The controversial product was created by Mark Phillips for
the company Lipsmark. Phillips said he saw a need for a new kind of alcohol because carrying bottles of liquor while on a hike or biking trip is “totally impractical.” “When I hike, kayak, backpack, whatever, I like to have a drink when I reach my destination,” Phillips said in an informational video on the Palcohol website. “So I created Palcohol, which is so light and easy to pack.” Palcohol comes in a package similar in size and form to a drink pouch, with each bag containing one shot of alcohol in powdered form. Consumers add six ounces of water — or any liquid they want — and shake the bag to create a
Family of the Year applications available By Danielle.Ferguson @iowastatedaily.com Think your family is full of Cyclone spirit? Iowa State is in search of the most enthusiastic Cyclone Nation family to be Family of the Year for the 2015 Cyclone Family Weekend in September. Applications for the families are open until Tuesday and should be sent via email to Carrie Giese, clgiese@iastate.edu and Taylor Paulson, tmp@iastate.edu. Families must have a family member currently enrolled full time at Iowa State. The Cyclone Family Weekend Committee will contact students of the finalist families for interviews in April. Essay prompts on the application include: Describe a unique situation in which your family has supported you and/or Iowa State University. How has your family members’ experience at Iowa State impacted your family? Describe an example of how
your family demonstrates Cyclone Spirit. Family of the Year will be selected this spring and honored during Cyclone Family Weekend on Sept. 25 to 27, 2015. Last year’s Family of the Year was the Steffes family of western Iowa. The family grew up in Templeton for much of their lives and moved to Carroll in 1998, according to Iowa State’s Family Weekend pamphlet. Joe Steffes graduated from Iowa State in 2001 with a degree in agriculture business, according to the pamphlet, and Shari Steffes works as a chiropractic assistant in Carroll. Scott Steffes graduated from Iowa State in 2003 with a degree in architecture. Tony Steffes was also an ISU grad, receiving a degree in finance in 2006. Jill Steffes will graduate this spring with a degree in history and secondary education. Apply for Family Weekend Family of the Year at www.familyweekend.iastate.edu.
mixed drink. There are currently five versions of the product that Phillips plans to have in stores by summer: vodka, Puerto Rican rum, cosmopolitan mix, margarita mix (called Powderita) and Lemon Drop mix. These might seem like a convenient alternative to bottled alcohol, but there are still too many unknowns, said Robert Bailey, public information officer for the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division. That’s why Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division introduced a bill to ban Palcohol in Iowa.
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By Vanessa.Franklin @iowastatedaily.com Last November, a bioterror bacteria escaped from a Tulane University laboratory, causing two rhesus macaque monkeys from the Tulane National Primate Research Center in Louisiana to fall ill. The incident raised questions about laboratory safety on campuses nationwide. The bacterium, called burkholderia pseudomallei, is said to have escaped from a biosafety level 3 laboratory, which is the second highest containment level for labs. It is possible for the bacterium to spread to humans and animals through contact with contaminated soil or water.
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African Night festival to be held Saturday By Lindsay.Greifzu @iowastatedaily.com The African Students Association will host African Night, its biggest event of the year, on Saturday. The theme, “A Cultural Embrace,” aims to showcase the rich African culture with the help of African Students Association members. ISU students in the club use this night as a way to celebrate their culture and heritage. The goal of ASA is to provide opportunities for leadership through the sharing of diverse social, cultural, educational and recreational activities that motivate and refresh students’ mindsets to enhance learning.
A traditional dinner will be served at Memorial Lutheran Church, 2288 Lincoln Way in Ames at 5:30 p.m. The association will provide Halal meat dishes and foods from all different regions of Africa. The main event, taking place in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union at 7 p.m., will include live performances, poetry, play production, a fashion show and more. The ASA dance team will perform African dances, and the fashion show will exhibit dress from different regions of Africa as well. Tickets are $8 at the door, and the event is open to anyone who wants to learn more about African culture.
Global Gala to celebrate ISU cultures By Adam.Sodders @iowastatedaily.com Diversity, dance, food and fashion of the many cultures at Iowa State will be celebrated for the 10th annual Global Gala on Friday. The Global Gala will take place in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union. Doors open at 6 p.m. with dinner beginning at 6:30 p.m. The gala is free and open to the public. “Global [Gala] is an annual event dedicated to honoring numerous cultures from all over the world,” said Victor Theng, multicultural awareness codirector for the ISU Student Union Board. Theng said there would be a focus on song, dance and dress from the various cultures represented by ISU students. The gala will host an array of multicultural events, presentations and performances. Multicultural clubs and student organizations will present and perform to help celebrate the diverse cultures present at Iowa State. There will be multiple dance
Courtesy of Jonathan Laczniak
Students enjoy complimentary refreshments while waiting for the start of the ninth annual Global Gala on March 28, 2014. This year’s event will take place on Friday.
groups and clubs in attendance, including the Motion Sickness Dance Team, Bollywood Dance Club, Celtic Dance Society, Bangladeshi Community of ISU and ISU Bhangra. Cyclone Breakers, Tap Iowa State, Anupam Singh and ISU Raas are also scheduled to perform. The Global Gala is one of Iowa State’s largest celebrations of diversity. The college hosts many other diversity events as well, including the recent Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnic-
ity and the upcoming African Night celebration. There are multiple students at Iowa State who come from different parts of the world. Of the 28,893 undergraduate students at Iowa State during the 2014 fall semester, 3,980 were from outside the U.S., and represented 110 countries. There are also different races/ethnicities represented at Iowa State, with an estimated 12 percent of students of a different race or ethnicity than white enrolled in the 2014 fall semester.