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AN UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH

Lani Tons/Iowa State Daily

Joi Latson, sophomore in global resource systems, asks senators at the Student Government meeting Wednesday in the Memorial Union to respond to offensive Yik-Yak comments regarding diversity and inclusion at Iowa State.

Staudt discusses issues

StuGov lacks diversity 62 percent of senators sworn in Monday are white men By Zach.Clemens @iowastatedaily.com

By Christie.Smith @iowastatedaily.com

Student Government has faced issues with diversity and inclusion throughout the last year, with accusations that students with diverse, international and female backgrounds are underrepresented becoming inflamed recently. Students at Iowa State are varied and multicultural, coming from every state in the nation and more than 100 countries around the world. International students and underrepresented groups comprise more than 23 percent of the student population. Women comprise 43 percent. Student Government’s goal is to be the voice of the students, and there is evidence that it is difficult for students from diverse backgrounds to feel represented. The Senate did not have representative demographics of the student population during the 2015-16 school year, and the new Senate is even less diverse. Of the 35 senators sworn in on Monday, 62 percent are white men, and only 14 percent of the senators are women. More multicultural men are on the Senate than women, six senators to five. While the Senate is not exactly gender equal, the Student Government Diversity Committee for the 2015-16 session is 100 percent women. Representing different races, cultures and abilities, the Diversity Committee plans events and reaches out to different multicultural groups to create understanding and inclusion. Jazmin Murguia, director of student diversity under former President Dan Breitbarth, said she believed Student Government demographic numbers probably reflect campus population, but some members of the committee disagreed. Sen. Jane Kersch said she feels like most groups are underrepresented. “Definitely the disabled [are underrepresented],” said Laura Wiederholt, junior in biology and member of the Diversity Committee. More than a decade ago, however, there was representation for the disabled population at Iowa State. Student Government — then known as GSB — had four specialty seats for specific groups on campus. American ethnic minority, disabled, non-traditional and international students all had a specific seat. In 2001, a referendum was placed before the student population to remove the specialty seats from the Senate. The referendum

Three days post-inauguration Student Government President Cole Staudt delivered a State of the Student Body address at the Iowa State Alumni Center on Thursday night. Staudt reiterated the goals he built his campaign on —medical amnesty, the Dead Week policy and diversity— and addressed other issues such as overcrowding, drunk driving and sexual assault. “It is our duty to leave Iowa State a better place than when we got here,” Staudt said. Although Staudt addressed several important issues on campus, he said the most important issue ISU students faced is understanding and accepting one another. “We have so many students who do not feel comfortable at Iowa State,” Staudt said. Staudt described a photo on social media of a truck near campus with the words “white power” written on it. “It doesn’t matter why it was written,” he said. “The fact that it was written is unacceptable.” In order to succeed at Iowa State, he said students must feel safe and welcome. Staudt said through education and discussion with respect we can progress. Staudt’s comments came just a day after Leaders United for a Change spoke at an open forum during Student Government Senate’s first session. Members of LUCHA spoke about racism and exclusion on campus and asked Staudt directly what he planned to do about marginalized groups at Iowa State. In his address Thursday, Staudt said he and Vice President Cody West will expand Student Government’s Diversity Committee and

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Iowa State Daily

Laura Wiederholt, junior in biology, represents the Diversity Committee.

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LUCHA calls for action By Makayla.Tendall @iowastatedaily.com Leaders United for a Changewants more action and less conversation from ISU administrators and other student organizations as it relates to campus diversity and inclusion. The group, formally known as Latinos United for a Change and Students Against Bigotry, came to the first meeting of the new Student Government body on Wednesday night. Provost Jonathan Wickert was speaking at the meeting when the group came in. LUCHA members Jonathan Webb, Maria Alcivar and Wesley Harris did not respond to phone calls and emails on Thursday. Maurice Washington, LUCHA member, asked to speak later in the day but would not answer when called. Monica Diaz, who helped organize the demonstration at the meeting, said she did not want to comment. Only member Joi Latson commented but said she didn’t know the exact reason for demonstrating. During the meeting, LUCHA members passed out printouts of bigoted comments they found on Iowa State’s Yik Yak and a list of grievances and demands they made for the university administration after an open forum that took place in the fall. Cole Staudt, Student Government president, said LUCHA members were asking for action and asked for more communication on what direct plans administrators have been putting into place. “They’ve told us their experiences; now it’s our turn to take some action,” Staudt said of LUCHA. Staudt said it is his goal to become the point of communication between student organizations and administrators.

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Board of Regents, Iowa State: Tuition increase likely Rastetter: Funding levels are ‘very disappointing’ By Alex.Hanson @iowastatedaily.com The Iowa Board of Regents said Thursday that they will start immediately discussing a tuition hike

at Iowa’s public universities now that state lawmakers are likely to allocate well under the requested funding increase. The Regents requested over a $20 million increase for all three schools, including $8.2 million for Iowa State. Gov. Terry Branstad’s budget recommended just under $8 million total. Regent university presidents have said the requested increases are needed to avoid a tuition hike. State lawmakers now look likely

to approve an increase well below the $20 million. The legislature’s Education Appropriation Subcommittee have decided to give an additional $2.218 million for Iowa State, $2.781 million for Northern Iowa and $1.3 million for Iowa — just under $6.3 million. Rastetter said talks will begin immediately to possibly increase tuition for the coming fall. “Making sure Iowa students and families can afford to attend

Iowa’s public universities needs to be more of a priority for the legislature,” Rastetter said. “Investing now protects Iowa’s future.” Iowa State President Steven Leath provided a statement to the Daily on Thursday afternoon: “As a result of the funding level voted today by the legislature’s education appropriations subcommittee, we will be proposing tuition increases to take effect during the 2016-17 academic year,” Leath said. “We are examining all areas of

tuition: undergraduate, graduate, resident and nonresident as well as the possibility of differential tuition levels for our more expensive programs.” Leath said Iowa State does not have a specific amount of increase, but within 30 days, they will submit a recommendation to the Board of Regents. “We are sensitive to the needs of students and families who will

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