EASY CHICKEN RECIPES
IOWA STATE DAILY
Discover new ways to reinvent a rotisserie chicken for quick, student friendly meals. PAGE 8 An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.
DAILY DOES THE RODEO
The ISU Rodeo Club hosted Cyclone Stampede this weekend. Learn more about the last student-run rodeo in the United States. MORE TONIGHT WEDNESDAY 10.04.2017 No. 032 Vol 213
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A look inside Iowa State
CHRIS JORGENSEN/IOWA STATE DAILY Above: Petrina Jackson is the head of the Special Collections and University Archives at Iowa State. Left: The freshman beanie was a hat that freshmen were required to wear on campus. At the end of the year there would be a big bonfire in which freshmen threw their hats in as a tradition. Middle: Housed in the university archives is a letter that Jack Trice wrote before the game in which he sustained injuries that would later cause his death. Right: This is the death mask – a mold of a deceased person’s face– of Margaret Stanton.
BY EMILY.BARSKE @iowastatedaily.com When walking up the stairs in Parks Library, you might notice notations on the stairs letting you know that Special Collections is on the fourth floor, and that food and drinks are not allowed. That policy is meant to help protect some 3,000 artifacts, manuscripts and collections taking up much of the southwest corner of that level.
The items housed there tell the stories of Iowa State and its people. The materials are used for classes, preservation and research purposes. Petrina Jackson, head of Special Collections and University Archives, who has worked at Iowa State Special Collections since April 2016, showed the Daily a few items of significance. The last letter from Jack Trice, the first black athlete at Iowa State, before being killed in the football game resides in the collections. Trice writes: “The honor of my race, family and self is at stake. Everyone is expecting me to do big things. I will.” There is a death mask of Margaret Stanton, who is also memorialized by the Campanile. Death masks are a mold of the deceased person’s face and showed prestige of a person if they had one. In 1916, freshmen were required to wear beanies on their heads. The beanies were typically burned in a ceremonial bonfire after students’ freshman year, but one survived those fires and made its way to the university archives.
Minutes from the Board of Trustees — now the Board of Regents — document the university’s decision to be co-ed and allow students of color to be admitted. Special book weights and supports are used to ensure the quality of the book does not deteriorate. The greatest barrier, Jackson said, is getting people to know about Special Collections because people have referred to the archives as the “hidden jewels of the university.” However, they don’t want to be hidden and want people to use the research materials, Jackson said. “Even though they (the items) are rare and unique, they are meant to be used,” Jackson said. “We don’t want people to be at arm’s length.” On Oct. 4, the Society of American Archivists celebrates #AskAnArchivist Day, which is meant for the public to ask questions of archivists to better understand the role of archives. The Daily sat down with Jackson to ask about Iowa State’s archives. Q: On the way up here, we noticed the signage on the stairs. Is that new?
A: That’s a new phenomenon. As you know in other parts of the library, people can eat and drink. But we discourage food here because of the special collections — because those are one-of-a-kind and rare items. If they’re damaged or damaged
permanently, that’s it and there’s no coming back from that. We want students, staff, whomever to be as comfortable as possible in the library … but we try to be a little more strict on this floor in order to protect the items that we’re trying to preserve permanently. … We collect things that will last for generations and generations to come. Q: What is your job like?
A: As head of Special Collections, University Archives, I help manage the big picture and make contact with stakeholders be they in the library, or in the campus community or even outside of that to get donors in. And when I say donors, I mean people who have collection materials that fit our collections. Of course we document the history of the university, we document agriculture and rural life ... and we have a strong life sciences collection, engineering. It compliments the major areas of study at the university. Q: Is everyone on staff here considered an archivist or what makes the distinction?
A: No, everyone is not considered an archivist. To be considered an archivist, everybody has to go to library school — and this is generally speaking, there are some exceptions. So, for
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