Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014 | Volume 210 | Number 6 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.
CAMPUS
OFF-CAMPUS LIVING
Despite assurances, students encounter difficulties in new apartment complex By Emily.Eppens @iowastatedaily.com
Jonathan North/Iowa State Daily
Students of the Tir Asleen Medieval Combat Society practice outside Parks Library on Aug. 26. The Tir Asleen Medievial Combat Society simulates medieval combat using foam weapons and full-contact. The club will be represented at ClubFest on Wednesday.
Unique clubs link students together By Danielle.Ferguson @iowastatedaily.com Battle face on and sword raised, Reeka Girkhunter braced herself to charge the enemy. She and her comrades shouted battle cries as a wall of opponents rushed to attack — with foam weapons, of course. Reeka Girkhunter, otherwise known as Angela Kunkel, fifth year animal ecology and design student, is part of the Tir Asleen Medieval Combat Society. The Tir Asleen Medieval Combat Society is one of multiple special interest clubs and organizations on campus. Students have a chance to peruse a selection of Iowa State’s 800 clubs at ClubFest on Wednesday. Kunkel joined the club after she saw the group practicing outside the Memorial Union her freshman year. “I can’t get away from it,” Kunkel said of the club. “It relieves stress during the semester.” The ISU club is under the international umbrella of Belegarth Medieval Combat Society, a group
that simulates medieval combat. The club can be seen flailing foam-padded swords, clubs, bats and spears Tuesdays in front of Parks Library. Combat is full-contact, but president Kevin Healy said it’s 100 percent safe and veterans train newcomers to help them feel more comfortable when they’re in battle. “I mean, I’ve had some pretty gnarly bruises,” Healy said as he took a break from showing a newcomer how to properly use a shield. “But it doesn’t hurt too bad.” A strike from one of the foam swords feels similar to running into the side of a table. Healy said that most members don’t hit much harder than that, and some hit with a softer touch. For those looking for a less combative hobby, Lynn Giang said she welcomes all who want to learn the art of origami with the Origami Club. She said the club had about 100 members signed up at the end of last year. They rented out a
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Copper Beech hasn’t delivered on its promises, students say. Copper Beech, a sister apartment complex to The Grove, began construction on new apartments this summer. Students were told that their new homes would be finished at the end of the summer semester. “They sold me lies, a whole bunch of lies,” said Thaddaeus Michel, freshman in microbiology. “I hope no one else moves here.” The buildings were not completed at the end of the semester, leaving the complex to pay for students’ board and rent in hotels until the buildings were finished. Students living in the complex also said they were dissatisfied with their apartments and the lack of amenities they were promised. “I thought I was getting a great deal — $580 for all this space, a big old pool they said they were going to have. It’s big and all, it’s just not what I was promised,” Michel said. He also said that he will not consider living at Copper Beech next year when the pool is supposed to be completed. “I was one of the first people to pay my rent and as soon as I paid, they lowered the rent to $510 when I’m paying close to $600. I’m still paying that. They won’t give me any explanation.” Michel said his rent is $580 while his roommate’s rent is $520 a month. Many students have reported broken or unusable amenities, including microwaves, refrigerators and power outlets. “We’ve heard that a few peoples’ air conditioning doesn’t work,” said Michael Jetter, senior in interior design. “When we moved in, we had problems with the microwave and the dishwasher.” “My faucet isn’t working in my bathroom, so I have to use my roommate’s” said Aromal Prasad, a graduate student and Copper Beech tenant. “The outlets were not working when I moved in, but they are fixed now.” Other students claimed that the quality of construction work was very poor in their apartments and they found evidence of construction workers using their bathrooms. “The carpet was still being put in when my roommate arrived at 1 o’clock,” said Alex Garcia, junior in pre-business. “They didn’t tell us and only posted it on Facebook that they had changed the move-in time from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. [The] carpet wasn’t in all the way [and] beer cans in the bathtub. There was a water bottle full of pee on our kitchen floor. “There was debris everywhere — literally everywhere — paint all over the windows. It was just awful,” Garcia said. “They’re really nice apartments
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Students are dissatisfied with... No mail keys or bedroom keys, said blank keys have been ordered No pool, gym, volleyball court Cable and internet not working Missing and low-quality furniture Poor construction work (holes in walls, wood) Evidence of construction workers using bathrooms Beer and pop bottles, muddy footprints left in apartments before move-in Inconsistent information
NOTEBOOK
Cyclones look to progress past opening loss; punter impresses coaches, fans By Alex.Gookin @iowastatedaily.com In the world of Big 12 football, a loss to a Football Championship Subdivision team is like Goliath losing to David. For Iowa State, FCS teams have started looking less like David and more like Goliath. After falling to Northern Iowa in last year’s season opener, Iowa State was determined to not look past three-time defending FCS champions North Dakota State. Coaches, players and fans were all prepared for an NDSU team that is notorious for upset-
ting Football Bowl Subdivision teams. But the Bison did it again and the Cyclones lost 34-14. The 20-point loss was no fluke as North Dakota State came out and played its signature style of football and knocked Iowa State down. Now sitting at 0-1 with their first Big 12 matchup less than a week away, the Cyclones have to erase what happened against the Bison from their minds and start over. “There’s going to be a lot of improvement that you guys are going to see over the next week
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Kelby Wingert/Iowa State Daily