Employee flu shot clinic continues through Oct. 14
Agronomy research scientist Roger Hintz receives his flu shot from nurse Beverly Jones, Ames National Laboratory, during the flu shot clinic at State Gym Monday. The free clinic for employees continues through Friday, Oct. 14 (9 a.m.- 4 p.m. weekdays). No appointment is needed; just walk in. Photos by Christopher Gannon.
University honors Jack Trice with year-long centennial commemoration
Over the next year, Iowa State will commemorate Jack Trice, the university's first Black athlete who aspired to use his education to help Black farmers in the South.
Jack Trice in 1923. Photo courtesy of Special Collections and University Archives.
Trice was an Iowa State student of animal husbandry and a member of the Cyclone football and track and field teams. He suffered severe injuries in his second collegiate football game and died in Ames on Oct. 8, 1923. He was 21.
Trice is the namesake of the university's football stadium, the only one at the nation's major college football schools to be named for a Black man.
There will be major centennial programs and events to honor him, including a new sculpture at Jack Trice Stadium, a new name for the street just north of the stadium, a lecture series, a university museums exhibition, a Cyclone football game featuring Jack Trice-era throwback uniforms and a new website, jacktrice100.com. Additional programs and events will be announced over the coming year and posted to the website.
"Jack Trice's legacy of courage, commitment and character is a source of tremendous pride and inspiration for all Iowa Staters," said President Wendy Wintersteen. "This year-long centennial commemoration is an important way to uplift and share the full breadth of Jack's story with a broad audience across Iowa and the nation. It's also an opportunity to recognize our students and student-athletes who exemplify Jack's 'I Will' spirit every day in the classroom, in competition and all across our campus."
Trice, student and athlete
Toyia Younger, senior vice president for student affairs and chair of the commemoration committee, said the programs and events are an opportunity to learn about Trice as more than an athlete.
"This celebration will honor Iowa State University's first Black athlete, but it will also shine a light on what Jack Trice accomplished when he wasn't in uniform," Younger said. "When most people think of Jack, they think of his contribution to ISU athletics. We are excited for people to understand the depth and breadth of the sacrifices and challenges he made to pave the way for others."
Here are the commemoration's major programs:
Artist's rendering of Jack Trice sculpture.
- Art installation. A concrete and bronze sculpture, "Breaking Barriers," by Ivan Toth Depeña of Charlotte, North Carolina, will be installed in the Albaugh Family Plaza outside Jack Trice Stadium later this month. University museums commissioned the sculpture with support from its own Joyce Tomlinson Brewer Fund for Art Acquisition, the office of the president, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the athletics department. University museums shared additional details, including artist renderings.
- Jack Trice Way. The section of South Fourth Street directly north of Jack Trice Stadium, between Beach Avenue and University Boulevard, will be renamed Jack Trice Way. The change will require city action. That action and the installation of new street signs will be announced later.
- Lecture series. The university will host a lecture series this academic year. The series is intended to inspire meaningful conversations about race and the legacy of Jack Trice. Details will be announced later.
- Exhibition, "Honoring Jack Trice." The exhibition will be curated by university museums staff and presented at the Christian Petersen Art Museum's Neva M. Petersen Gallery in Morrill Hall from Jan. 17 to Oct. 10, 2023. Exhibition-related programs and tours, along with additional details, will be announced later.
- Throwback uniforms. Throwback football uniforms will be featured at a Cyclone home game during the 2023 season.
"It is our responsibility, in partnership with the campus community, to keep Jack's courageous story alive for future generations of Cyclones," said athletics director Jamie Pollard. "The centennial anniversary of this tragedy affords all of us the opportunity to encourage meaningful dialogue about personal character and commitment to always doing one's best, by sharing Jack's story well beyond the Iowa State community."
The committee
Serving with Younger on the commemoration committee are:
- Vanessa Baker-Latimer, City of Ames (ex-officio)
- Jordan Brooks, director of equity, inclusion and multicultural student success, College of Design
- Shamaree Brown, senior associate director, athletics
- Doug and Karen Jeske, alumni (ex-officio)
- Jacy Johnson, associate vice president, strategic relations and communications
- Jeff Johnson, president and CEO, ISU Alumni Association
- Nick Joos, senior associate director, athletics
- Tera Jordan, assistant provost for faculty development
- Liz McAllister, director of development, Iowa State University Foundation
- Julian Neely, alumnus and past president of student government
- Sharon Perry-Fantini, vice president for diversity and inclusion
- Ryan Peterson, ISU Foundation communications
- Lynette Pohlman, director, University Museums
- George Trice, alumnus and relative of Jack Trice (ex-officio)
- Jill Wagner, alumna and past president of student government
- Leesha Arunsiripate Zimmerman, director, trademark licensing
Game day includes a substance-free tailgate this weekend
Students, faculty, staff and Iowa State football fans have another option for entertainment before Saturday's kickoff against Kansas State at Jack Trice Stadium.
Student health and wellness is hosting the first "Cardinal and Goal'd" tailgate, beginning three hours before the 6:30 p.m. kickoff on the south lawn of the Alumni Center. It will feature many tailgate staples like food, fun and games -- but without alcohol and other substances.
Tailgating is a time when people express school spirit, which student wellness health promotion coordinator Ryan Doyle wants all students to be able to do. But it can be triggering for those in substance recovery or a time of first experience with substance use, he said. The tailgate serves as a place to meet others who share similar views about substance use, and students can sign up for information on other substance-free events on campus.
"We hope it will be a safe place where students, faculty, staff and others not interested in being around alcohol or those using it can come enjoy some of that game day spirit," Doyle said.
All first-year and transfer students complete the AlcoholEdu program in Canvas.
"Between last year and this year we had north of 3,500 students who said they wanted to be contacted about substance-free events at the school," he noted.
The first 100 attendees will receive a free T-shirt, ISU Recreation Services will provide several tailgate games and Hy-Vee is catering hors d'oeuvres with vegetarian and vegan options. Students are encouraged to walk to the event or take the CyRide Blue No. 3 route to the C.Y. Stephens or Jack Trice Stadium stops. Individuals cannot bring their own food or drink onto Alumni Center property.
Looking ahead
Success is getting students to the tailgate and listening to their feedback, Doyle said. Saturday will be the lone substance-free tailgate this year, but he would like to grow it by involving more departments across campus and having different groups sponsor each home football date.
Iowa State is not alone among universities across the nation developing substance-free options for football games. Collaborating with other colleges could lead to similar options when Cyclone fans travel for away contests, Doyle said.
"Right now, there are about 144 colleges, including Iowa State and Iowa, that have collegiate recovery programs," Doyle said. "I would say more than half have either recovery-focused celebrations or they contribute toward having game day celebrations."
Neurodiversity awareness grows across campus
The differences between how two individuals' brains function and process information is called neurodiversity. The brain may develop or work differently -- which is normal -- in sociability, learning, attention, mood and other mental functions. Neurodiversity includes autism, ADHD and learning disabilities.
Disability Awareness Week
Disability Awareness Week is Oct. 17-21 with events planned each day as well as displays at Parks Library and The Center for LGBTQIA+ Student Success.
Student accessibility services (SAS) launched its Neurodiversity Support Program this fall. It focuses on first-year students, but is available to all students and assists them in developing skills and routines to adjust to college demands.
SAS director Jamie Niman has conducted one-on-one executive function, or self-management, coaching since 2019, meeting weekly with students to work on skills like time management, organization, priority setting and self-advocacy. Graduate students Angelica Castro Bueno and Brenna Klesel also are coaches for the program.
Niman also uses experience prior to coming to Iowa State as a special education instructor to lead neurodiverse improv, which meets every other week. Open to all students, it puts them in situations to interact and make connections. It builds skills, and the interactions often become teachable moments.
"I was having a hard time getting students to provide feedback, so I printed off laminated emojis and had them respond that way," Niman said. "It gave them a way to express themselves and see people with like-minded feelings. It then led to a better discussion where they explained why they felt the way they did."
New additions
Niman expanded the center's neurodiverse offerings with group sessions that use a body double, someone who sits with a person as they work on tasks that might be difficult to complete alone. They can help students stay on task with homework or keep a schedule that includes eating meals. A body double monitors their progress with check-ins. The two-hour sessions three times a week are especially effective for individuals with ADHD.
"It is not a tutor, but the coach is available and adds an accountability piece," Niman said.
SAS also developed self-paced modules in Canvas to help students through the first-year experience. It focuses on three topics:
- Navigating Iowa State
- Adapting to change
- Exploring community and well-being
The modules can be done before the start of the academic year or when challenges arise on campus. Most of the information came from issues raised during one-on-one coaching.
SAS staff also put together short videos of challenging situations for neurodivergent students, such as using CyRide.
"We're trying to take down the barriers they may have as much as possible," Niman said.
Library spaces
Parks Library conducted an anonymous survey in October 2021 of neurodiverse students registered with SAS to identify their needs. Library staff has conducted numerous anonymous student surveys, but this was the first time it included disability identity as a demographic. The results led to increased awareness for study environments that are quiet, lower distraction and include accommodating furniture and spaces.
A webpage under development will outline accessible and sensory-friendly spaces available in the building, and students can use StackMap Explore to find the spaces. There also is an emphasis on keeping tight aisles clear to assist with mobility issues, and the library's noise policy is being reviewed.
"We started to take note of things across the library that individually might sound like a small thing, but it really starts to matter the more you notice and address the issue," said Susan Vega García, library assistant dean. "We are working to raise the awareness of not only library staff but library patrons."
Universal design in instruction
Universal design for learning provides flexibility in ways information is presented, how students demonstrate knowledge and how they are engaged. Examples of universal design can include putting PowerPoint slides online for everyone to access, recording lectures, adding captions, posting to Canvas and testing students' knowledge through methods other than a written test.
Many faculty incorporated universal design in their courses -- without necessarily knowing it -- because of the switch to hybrid learning environments during the pandemic.
"If you design for the needs of neurodivergent students, you help to design for the needs of all students," said Lori Mickle, Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) instructional technology specialist.
CELT developed an accessibility toolkit that helps instructors build their courses with a focus on inclusion and access. It also worked with SAS to form the neurodivergent student support team in January. CELT added more information to its website focusing on accessible design of courses, and SAS provided examples to instructors of accommodations neurodivergent students may require.
CELT also included neurodiversity in one of the scenarios departments can choose to learn about during inclusive classroom training. Mickle said it allows faculty to begin a conversation and learn from peers.
US Cellular service gets a boost around stadium
One of US Cellular's 15 antenna/light poles in a distributed system installed this fall. Photo by Christopher Gannon.
US Cellular completed a project last month to improve cellphone service around Jack Trice Stadium for its customers. In addition to faster service, a goal is to replace the trucks US Cellular parks south and northwest of the stadium during football season that have provided a temporary boost in service.
The project replaced poles and antenna with 15 new light poles with a black shroud, each containing a small cell antenna, creating a more effective distributed antenna system (DAS). The impacted area runs from Center Drive south of Hilton Coliseum to S. 16th Street; and from the west side Iowa State Center lots to the RV lot east of University Boulevard. As the name suggests, the concept behind a DAS is that cellphone customers have more possibilities for a sight line to an antenna, leading to less fading and better speeds in their cellphone service. Ten of the 15 new small cells have 5G and 4G cellular network capacity, with the other five providing exclusively 4G coverage.
Jack Trice Stadium seats more than 60,000 fans, but game day includes thousands more tailgaters who may not have tickets -- but they have cellphones.
US Cellar's contractor completed most of the work; an information technology services team from Iowa State ran fiber from the new poles to IT rooms at Veterinary Medicine and the Stark Performance Center. From those locations, US Cellular could route the signals to existing cell equipment housed in Black Engineering.
ISU Theatre season opens tonight
ISU Theatre's first production of its 2022-23 season, "Polaroid Stories," is a lyrical whirlwind of classical mythology and contemporary storytelling.
Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 6-8 in Fisher Theater. An Oct. 9 matinee begins at 2 p.m. General admission tickets are $20 for adults and free for Iowa State students and youth.
Inspired by Roman poet Ovid's "Metamorphoses" and informed by interviews with young prostitutes and street kids, "Polaroid Stories" conveys psychic disturbance, confusion and longing. The play, written by playwright Naomi lizuka, is a mix of poetry and profanity as young people who are pushed to society's fringe weave a dangerous tale of wild stories, clever lies and universal truths. The play contains adult language and content.
Faculty director Tiffany Johnson, assistant professor of practice in theatre, leads the production. Students are helping lead the design of lighting, costumes, sound and props. Sophomore Ashton Hale, who previously performed in ISU Theatre's "BABA" and "Street Scene," is taking on a new leadership challenge as a first-time associate director.
"It's been incredible to see the effort and commitment brought to the rehearsal space by every single person every night," Hale said. "I was given the privilege to block and work on an entire scene by myself using the knowledge and advice I've gained from the director. It was a wonderful opportunity to see my vision for what I could offer to the show come to life."
Johnson said seeing the cast and crew flourish within a supportive community has been her biggest delight of the production so far.
"I have enjoyed watching this cast and crew of artists not only grow with this piece but also grow from this piece," she said. "Creating community with casts has been something that has become very important to me as a director."
Arts and events
ISU Theatre's first production of the season is "Polaroid Stories" Oct. 6-8. The play blends Roman mythology and real life stories told by street kids.
