Thursday, March 3, 2016 | Volume 211 | Number 111 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.
StuGov ballots present voting challenges By Zach.Clemens @iowastatedaily.com Student Government elections, which were conducted Tuesday and Wednesday, had a technical issue with some students not receiving their ballots through email.
Raghul Ethiraj, senior in aerospace engineering who is running for president, said he first heard of the issue from someone he represents as a community adviser. He then reached out to a number of other students and found out it was a wider problem than he expected. “I was shocked to hear
this happening,” Ethiraj said. “This is very concerning that some students don’t have a chance to vote.” Ethriaj said he and his running mate, Akol Dok, have tried to reach out to as many students as they can and make a push on social media, but that will only work to a point.
The process of voting changed from previous years. In the past, students logged onto a website, vote. iastate.edu, and voted. This year, students were supposed to receive a personalized email from Qualtrics, a survey company, and students would vote through a personalized link, but some
students never got the email. Alex Rodgers, election commissioner and senior in agricultural and life sciences education, knew about the issue. He said the problem was that when the election commission got the roster of emails from the registrar, it only contained approximately 30,000 emails,
not the entire 36,001 that would encompass the entire student body. He said he believed the issue was that some students had their information private or unlisted. “We were well aware we only had 30,000 emails,
ELECT p8
Harmon Envisions Success Eliza Sibley/Iowa State Daily
New VP for Student Affairs ‘takes time to recognize everyone’ By Rakiah.Bonjour @iowastatedaily.com
W
hen it was announced that Martino Harmon, former associate vice president for Student Affairs would be taking over retiring Tom Hill’s vice president for Student Affairs position, Department of Residence Director Pete Englin was ecstatic. “We’re excited across the division,” Englin said, describing Harmon as “refreshing” and “encouraging.” Englin first met Harmon when the new vice president was interviewing for his former role. A friend of a friend got in touch with Englin to ask if he’d be willing to talk with Harmon. Englin recognized that Harmon knew Iowa State “was a special place” right away, but was more impressed with his ability to care about others. “The part I kept hearing from him was that he cared about student success,” Englin said. “He wanted to help more and more of the students get across the stage and graduate. That’s a part of his fabric, how he’s wired: to help students.” Since his time began at Iowa State in 2013, Harmon has led multiple initiatives to help students. He headed a complete overhaul of the Thielen Student Health Center, even serving as the interim director in 2014. He leads a student success council at Iowa State,
and led the university to involvement with University Innovation Alliance, which is a consortium of 11 universities that share their practices on how to help students who may not do as well as others. He implements new data statistics into his work and revamped how Iowa State handles academic advising to improve students’ ISU experience. Harmon said this new position is exactly what he’s always wanted, but he wasn’t always in a position that fit exactly what he wanted to do. Previously, Harmon was dean of student development at Rhodes State College and dean of admission, retention and student life at Washtenaw Community College. “I remember mentors saying to me, ‘you’re going to be a great vice president of enrollment’ but I had an interest in Student Affairs … and I used to say, ‘no, you know, I really want to be a vice president of Student Affairs that has enrollment in the profile,’” Harmon said. “[I thought] one day I’ll find the right place and I’ll be that.” The right place for Harmon turned out to be Iowa State, where he said he is “blessed to be on this campus” every day. Being a member of the ISU community for nearly three years helped Harmon during his interview process. “Once I started the interviews, I felt very comfortable,”
he said. “I felt like I was talking to family and I was telling them about my background ... and sharing my vision of where I would take the division of Students Affairs once I started.” Harmon said being an insider has certainly helped him prepare for this position, but he said being an insider isn’t always a good thing. “Sometimes you can be an insider and not be as engaged in your division and across other divisions as you should be and I think for me — and I do this for every position I’m in — I really make a strong effort to get to know people to understand the departments,” Harmon said. “Most importantly, I’ve been involved with students, student organizations and attending meetings … Because I did that and I had that process, that made me more comfortable.” Harmon described his working style with the students as “very collaborative,” but Englin said Harmon is concerned with more than just students. “He cares deeply about students and staff,” Englin said. “He pays attention and can articulate what that impact will be, [and] he takes the time to recognize everyone.” Harmon’s concern with the staff is one of his two priorities in his new position. He hopes to fill interim cabinet positions as effective as possible, but recognizes the need for staff
involvement in that process. “We have a lot of interim cabinet members, so we have an opportunity to recruit the team, whether they be existing people or outside people, but listening will help me understand what we need,” Harmon said. “And then to share with people who are interested, ‘here is what my staff is saying, this is what we need, do you fit the characteristics that we are looking for?’” Harmon’s other priority, which he outlined during his interview process, is to listen. “The listening aspect and the understanding of where we are and where people think we need to go [is vital],” Harmon said. He plans to start forums and smaller group discussions with students and individual student leaders. He also said he will have an open-door policy, which he’s had throughout his time as associate vice president. The policy helps him discuss campus needs with students, staff and directors. “To me, that’s the most important part of listening, is understanding the needs but also understanding how to build a team,” Harmon said. “Listening started today … It’s not just the staff; it’s the students. It’s listening to them to understand what their needs are and how we set priorities based on that.” Harmon’s already been listening to concerns and has
ideas on how to address those. He said his big plans with this position are to have a new student life center, a focus on student health and to find solutions to shrinking availability of space. “The most challenging concern is anything that is going to require more space,” Harmon said. “That is the most challenging concern because even if we know that we need to build a new building … that’s a need but it takes a lot of time, a lot of resources, a lot of planning. … Budget is always tough, but it’s about priorities. But space requires a lot of planning and a lot of resources.” Harmon said finding a solution to this problem could require “a lot of creative thinking,” which he’s already begun to do with the plan for a student life center. “My vision is that a student life center would be very comprehensive,” Harmon said, describing the center as being similar to the Memorial Union. “We have a very good Memorial Union. It’s historic, it’s a beautiful building, but really what I think we need is a second space for students that would have key critical services for students.” The services Harmon envisions are different offices for things such as Greek Affairs, Student Activities and Student Counseling Services. He also
MARTINO p3
Solar project aims to lower carbon footprint By Elizabeth.Gray @iowastatedaily.com Here comes the sun. Ames is making plans to build a community solar project of at least one megawatt in scale to reach residents and local businesses, thanks in part to a push from the Ames Progressive Alliance and the Ames Community Solar Initiative. The city’s goal is to lower its carbon footprint and create a more sustainable environment for its residents. “It’s a simple idea with a lot of complexities,” said Betty Baird, community solar project lead for the Ames Progressive Alliance. The Ames City Council has unanimously supported the investigation of the community solar project. The estimated $8,300 study will be conducted to look
at the environmental benefits, financial costs and benefits, the location of the solar plant and possible federal tax benefits. The Ames Progressive Alliance and the Ames Community Solar Initiative are looking at the value of solar power by researching different models for installation that would be best suited for Ames. The installation of the solar project is projected to take place within the 2016-2017 year. “Six months ago the Ames Community Solar Initiative was an idea hovering by itself, and bringing the two organizations together, it has really taken off,” said Matthew Goodman, former city councilman and steering committee secretary for the Ames Progressive Alliance. Installing private solar panels in individuals’ homes is difficult because many homes are unsuitable for panels, and the cost of instal-
lation is about $20,000-$30,000. Community solar provides some solar energy to those who may not be able to privately own it. The Ames Progressive Alliance is a volunteer-based organization that encourages citizens’ involvement by telling local government what kind of initiatives Ames should be taking. “I think the alliance needs those who care about things, to know the power that they have at their finger tips to influence local and state government,” Goodman said. The Ames Progressive Alliance has five specific goals that drive its work: social justice, alternative transportation, environmental resource and renewable energy management, sustainable and equitable economic develop-
SOLAR p8
Courtesy of Mortenson
Ames has begun laying out plans for a community solar project in order to lower the city’s carbon footprint and create a more sustainable enivironment.