Monday, Aug. 25, 2014 | Volume 210 | Number 1 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.
WELCOME
Daily editor welcomes freshmen
FERGUSON
By Stephen.Koenigsfeld @iowastatedaily.com
Tiffany Herring/Iowa State Daily
Sophomore Jared Ingram and senior Kendra White are members of the ISU track and field team and were raised in and near Ferguson, where Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer Aug. 9. Ingram and White joined and contributed to the protests that occurred in Ferguson and downtown St. Louis.
Inside Ferguson Two ISU students return to college, leave home in violent turmoil By Chris.Wolff @iowastatedaily.com Kendra White, a senior in chemistry and a member of the ISU track and field team, left Florissant, a St. Louis suburb, and headed back to college just like thousands of students do each and every year. As White was leaving, her little brother cried and asked if he could go to college with his sister. What makes her story different from many other students’ situations is that White’s 13-year old brother wanted to go to college with his big sister to escape the area that in recent weeks had resembled a war zone: Ferguson. “It worries me,” White said of leaving Florissant to move back to Ames. “When I left my brother crying, he was holding on to me and wouldn’t let me out of the door and was like, ‘Can I move where you’re going?’ ... he was saying ‘I’ll pack
my stuff.’ “I worry about it because my brother could be walking down West Florissant [Street] with his friends to get snacks or whatever and something could pop off again and he’s stuck right there in the middle of it alone. That’s a dangerous situation.” The towns of Ferguson and Florissant, which share a school district, meet on West Florissant Street, a name which may be more familiar after the past few weeks of news coverage. The previously anonymous St. Louis suburb of Ferguson became a national news story Aug. 9 amid the controversy that followed Michael Brown’s death. Brown, an unarmed African-American man, was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer on West Florissant Street. Worrying about her brother wasn’t the first time White had been worried in the aftermath of Brown’s death. She worried for Brown’s family, though she didn’t know them personally. She worried about her own family, knowing that Brown’s fate could have easily been her own fate. “It hit home when I realized [where Brown was
shot is] literally five minutes down the street,” White said. “It hurt for me to see Mike Brown’s mother. That really hits home because that could be my mother. “I live in FergusonFlorissant. This is literally my community. To just see his mom crying — that made me cry. That could be my mom, or my aunt crying about my cousin. It hurts me just because it is so close to home.” Brown was shot and killed by a police officer after the officer confronted Brown in the street and Brown allegedly reached into the officer’s vehicle and tried to grab his gun. Brown then ran from the officer, who got out of his car and told Brown to stop. Brown then allegedly turned around and charged at the officer before being shot. Community members, however, claim that Brown was complying with the officer, had his hands up and was surrendering to the officer. In the days following the shooting, details of the incident were not released, causing outrage among Ferguson citizens. The tension built up and protests turned violent on a nightly basis from Aug. 10 to 13. Once again, White had
reason to worry. Her community was looted and vandalized. The local Kwik Trip was burned to the ground. Protesters were shot with rubber bullets and arrested. “Two of my cousins both work at the Wal-Mart that was broken into and he sent me a Snapchat of a video and it was just people rushing in,” White said. “So I called him and he said they were both getting out of there because he was like ‘I’m not staying for this because there is going to be shootings and stuff like that.’ “As soon as they got out of Wal-Mart, that’s when the shooting[s] started happening.” The violence in the days following Brown’s death was largely attributed to the lack of information the police department released, White said. “When the police weren’t giving any answers, I knew something was going to happen,” White said. “The people were already angry and then you’re not giving them answers? You just knew something was going to happen. I knew it would be hell on West Florissant [Street].” Jared Ingram, a sopho-
I was an incoming freshman three years ago and I know you’ve already had a plethora of information thrown at you, ranging from class schedules and CyRide routes to Destination Iowa State and the all-you-can-eat buffet at Union Drive Marketplace. I know the lecture rooms filled to the brim with students in LeBaron or Kildee halls might make you feel like you’re just another lost body among a hundred others. I know about the anxiety of bicyclists flying past you as you listen to your Pandora stations on your way to class. But, as you find your way around campus, finding shortcuts to your classes or realizing when the right and wrong time to go to the Memorial Union for lunch is, life will become a little easier. Your freshman year will be an unforgettable one. It will provide you with memories and relationships you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life. At Iowa State, there is always something going on. From that exciting first week of school to dreaded finals week in May, there’s going to be a lot to take in. Maybe you’ll find yourself at midfield of Jack Trice Stadium after an upset win. Or maybe you’ll find yourself among a band of your housemates, clinching your teeth as you watch another thrilling ISU basketball game. Maybe you’ll find yourself at North Grand Mall, realizing you got on the Blue North bus instead of the Red West. Or perhaps you’ll have that euphoric feeling of relief as you hand in your final paper of the semester. Soon, you’ll find yourself where you belong, whether that’s with the marching band, the Government of the Student Body or working on the solar car in the garage of Sweeney Hall. Without a doubt, you’re in one of the most beautiful places in the nation. This university will teach you more than you can ever imagine, in and out of the classroom. Enjoy your adventure, class of 2018, and welcome to Iowa State University.
FERGUSON p10 Kelby Wingert/Iowa State Daily
Stephen Koenigsfeld, senior in journalism and mass communication, is the Daily’s editor-in-chief for the 2014-15 school year.
VEISHEA
A changing tradition Ames residents feel effects of lost event, plan ‘new’ Veishea By Makayla.Tendall @iowastatedaily.com The students who witnessed and participated in the riot during Veishea 2014 are now filling the bars and restaurants on Welch and Stanton avenues, where the riot occurred. Many freshmen, who only read about and saw images of the destruction, are being invited to unofficial Veishea events on Facebook for the second week of April in 2015 to replace the 92year tradition. Students, administrators and alumni are asking what happens when the tradition dies but unofficial traditions live on. Tom Hill, senior vice presi-
dent for student affairs, headed the Veishea Task Force and found that the recommendations by both the 1992 and 2004 task forces mirrored the concerns of the 2014 task force. “Both said if it happens again, they should discontinue,” Hill said of the 1992 report. “Well, it happened again. We didn’t discontinue it.” The Veishea Task Force made its recommendation to discontinue the event to President Steven Leath, who announced Aug. 7 his decision to discontinue the event and retire the name. The countless implications of canceling the event — the end of traditional activities with which thousands of alumni identified, the celebration of the university, the loss of scholarships on which some students relied and the end of hands-on professional training for students through the organization
VEISHEA p10
Iowa State Daily
On Aug. 7, President Leath announced that the Veishea name would be retired and Veishea itself discontinued. Ames residents and ISU students both keenly feel the loss of the weeklong event, which has been a mainstay on campus and in Ames for 92 years.