Issuu

death “Every time I talk to them, it is like saying goodbye.”

fear

“The whole country is like a prison where people can’t really move freely from one point to anther.”

persecution “It has been a life of humiliation for all people.”

Editor’s note: For the protection of the source and her family, the source’s name has been changed.

By Katelynn.McCollough @iowastatedaily.com Maha knows fear. Its what wakes her in the middle of the night and possesses her to check Facebook and go through the news. Then she tries to go back to sleep. For Maha, she described this as part of her daily routine for the past two years.

When Maha wakes in the middle of the night it is because she is worried about her family’s safety and trying to find out if their neighborhood was targeted in any recent attacks. Maha is here as an ISU student, but her family is still back home, in Syria. While she was growing up in Syria, her parents would never speak against the government out of fear. Openly criticizing the regime with friends was unthinkable, and even now as a student at Iowa State, more than 6,000 miles from her native nation, Maha is afraid. Maha asked to have her name, year in school, area of study and even the last time she

visited Syria remain unpublished. She fears that the regime would use such information to track down and persecute her family who remain in her home country. “Parents can’t talk to their children about the government,” Maha said in a telephone interview with the Daily. “Nobody would dare to think about criticizing the government because you will just disappear. You can’t trust even friends, very close friends. People will tell.” After speaking to the Daily last Friday, Maha found out that her sister’s apartment in

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City codes cause greeks to worry over house funds By Delaney.Vierkandt @iowastatedaily.com After a meeting with Ames City Council on Tuesday night, it was brought to attention that the Iowa State Greek houses were not following specific housing and fire codes. “It was just a situation

where it slipped through the cracks, and it was something that was brought to the attention of the new fire chief,” said Benjamin Freese, president of the Interfraternity Council. The new codes brought worry to some Greek members, including Drew Sherman, member of Acacia.

“Obviously, if we weren’t able to live in the chapter facility, and if we had to pay for all the costs that the city’s expecting us to take, that’s something that financially is tough for college students like us,” said Sherman. “As an organization, it’s extremely difficult to deal with.” Sherman also stated that

asking any organization to raise that much money is nearly impossible. Hilary Kletscher, Government of the Student Body vice president and member of Alpha Gamma Delta, said she feels that there is still a lot more conversation to be had about the topic, but it is subject to change if

the codes pass. “If we are not exempt from rental code, it will definitely mean that sororities will have to make renovations, just as fraternities do, and it’ll change the number of women that we can have living in our homes and

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Iowa’s senators point out lack of compromise on farm bill By Zoe.Woods @iowastatedaily.com The months of September and October are a crucial time period for the farm bill and the United States. By the end of September, the current farm bill is set to expire. Within the House of Representatives, a new form of the bill has been passed and has been sent to the Senate to be voted on. Next week, the House is expected to vote on a new food stamps bill. The Senate cut $4 billion in nutrition programs during 10 years; however, the House wants to cut $40 billion, which Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said is unacceptable. “However, it looks like the House may just have to vote on that and get it out of their system,” Harkin said. “And then appoint Tom Reed and we can get together in Congress. Hopefully we can work this out and keep the nutrition cuts at the level we bipartisanly agreed upon here in the Senate, which is around $4 billion over 10 years.”

History of the farm bill ■■ First created during the Great Depression ■■ The first farm bill was then known as the Agriculture Adjustment Act ■■ In 1938, Congress created a more permanent farm bill requiring an update every five years. ■■ Between the years of 1965 and 2008 there have been 10 farm bills

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the biggest difference the Senate and the House will need to work out will be the level of expenditure for food stamps. “[In] the case of the House-Senate savings and the case of the House agriculture committee savings, it’d be $20 billion, and [in] the case of a bill that might come up on the floor of the Senate of $40 billion in savings, so you’ve got to find some sort of compromise between that 4 [billion] and 20 or that 4 and 40,” Grassley said. “I think it can be done.” Grassley says it is critical for the

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Zoë Woods/ Iowa State Daily

Sen. Tom Harkin, right, speaks Sunday at his 36th Annual Steak Fry. The farm bill in Congress has divided the Senate and House, in which Harkin hopes bipartisan agreement can be found.