Wednesday, March 29, 2017 | Volume 212 | Number 127 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.
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Tony Award winner Leslie Odom Jr. to perform at ISU
State Daily series PART 5
By Whitney.Mason and Jill.O’Brien @iowastatedaily.com
LEGISLATION
of the presidents surveyed felt that sexual assault is prevalent at their institution presidents agreed that sexual assault is prevalent at colleges and universities
1 in 3
77%
of the presidents polled agreed that their campus is doing a good job protecting women from sexual assault on campus
*statistics based off college presidents representing 338 public institutions, 262 private institutions, 26 college and university systems and 21 institutions from the for-profit education sector Sexual assault is a complex and horrible issue. It is personal, it is heartbreaking and it is different in every case. But if we ever want to put an end to sexual
assault, we have to stop letting its complexity get in our way. This is the tenth story in a semester-long series where the Daily will publish a multitude of
stories related to sexual assault, including discussions about various resources survivors can obtain if they are comfortable doing so.
— Emily Barske, editor in chief
Understanding a complex climate By Alex.Connor @iowastatedaily.com She described the assault as his 15 minutes of fun. She even counted the days since the incident, which at the time was 914.
Over 2.5 years to work through the legal system, to go through the university, to sit at a podium and face her assaulter. It’s September 2016, and former Iowa State student and sexual assault victim Melissa Maher reads from a prepared statement during the sentencing of her perpetrator,
Patrick Whetstone, who had just accepted a plea deal – guilty on charges of assault with intent to commit sexual assault, an aggravated misdemeanor. While it is typically against the Daily’s policy to identify the victims of sexual assault, Maher’s attorney Andrew Zbaracki said
Maher had consented to the use of her name at the time of the hearing. Whetstone is currently on probation, a registered sex offender and is under the custody of the Iowa director of the Iowa Depart-
CLIMATE p8
Tony Award winner Leslie Odom Jr. will give a lecture titled “Hamilton and the Road to Success: In Words and Music” at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Stephens Auditorium. The event is free for Iowa State students and the public to attend. Odom has been directing, acting and singing for more than a decade, performing in film, television and on Broadway. He was most recently seen on Broadway in the hip-hop musical “Hamilton,” which depicts the life of Alexander Hamilton and the birth of the United States and its democracy. Odom originated the role of Aaron Burr, Hamilton’s confidant, nemesis and eventual assassin. Odom left the Broadway production on July 9, 2016. Odom spoke at the University of Iowa and DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, in a series of events and will perform with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and at the Ravinia Jazz Festival in Highland Park, Illinois, this summer. The lecture will focus on his life and career before, during and after Hamilton, as well as take audience questions and perform songs from the show. His story and performance will shine a light on a lesser known aspect of Iowa State: the music and theater community. “It is incredibly exciting to have a performer of such high acclaim come to Iowa State University,” said Kelly Schaefer, costume designer and professor in Iowa State’s music and theatre department. “Our university is very well known and respected throughout the science and technology files, but not many people on campus are aware of the amazing and award-winning work that is happening in the music and theatre department.” The music and theatre program has been widely recognized, and Schaefer believes that having Odom come is not only an honor, but an opportunity for students to learn firsthand about having a career in performing arts. Doors for the event will open to Iowa State students at 6 p.m. and at 6:30 p.m. for faculty, staff and the public. Seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis, and students must have a valid Iowa State ID in order to enter the event. Seats may not be saved.
Students share identities at diversity event By Lesly.Espinoza @iowastatedaily.com “You don’t know how someone’s identity might have affected someone here at Iowa State University.” Julian Neely, director of diversity and inclusion, shared this message at a Student Government Diversity Committee event called “You Wouldn’t Know This About Me But.” The event took place Tuesday afternoon and gave students a chance to share their unique identities. Inspired by a Lee Mun Wah lecture in January, the Diversity Committee wanted to host a similar activity to bring awareness about the different identities and back-
grounds of some students who aren’t always represented on campus. “I attended the session because I will soon be a part of the new Student Government sessions and I want to be able to learn more about everyone’s experiences here on campus,” John Hoelzer, sophomore in mechanical engineering, said. Margo Foreman, director of equal opportunity, also helped facilitate the conversation about how it’s important for people to share their identities. “We also would like to see how we can help the Iowa State community with any concerns they may have before it becomes a continuous cycle we cannot control,” Neely said.
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There were two activities planned for the evening, one on sharing one’s identity with some different from them and the second one focusing on filling out an anonymous survey about one’s identity to be later distributed. “It’s important for our campus to build a connection with someone so it’s harder for them to stereotype and assume things that are not about another student,” said Emily Tosoni, a committee member who is a senior in political science. The event ended with a short TED Talk by Lee Mun Wah that consisted of his famous simple concept of walking someone home and getting to know others before passing a judgment.
Samantha Vaith/Iowa State Daily
Julian Neely, member of the Student Government Diversity Committee, shakes hand with an attendee Tuesday.
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