Friday, Feb. 13, 2015 | Volume 210 | Number 99 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.
Love naturally
Couples join through Outdoor Rec Program By Jessica.Tull @iowastatedaily.com
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here is a list on the corner of Jerry Rupert’s desk, nestled among permit applications and trip logistics. It’s slightly yellowed from age and a bit crinkled from updates. A total of 11 couples’ names are recorded there, their pencil-marked names filling almost half the paper. It is the unofficial marriage list of the Outdoor Recreation Program, and Rupert keeps it within arm’s reach. “We’re averaging about a marriage a year,” Rupert said. He started tracking the trend in his fourth year as assistant director of the program. He has just finished recording the 12th year. In that time, his office has seen 10 marriages and one engagement. “I’m going to be a ‘grandfather’ a third time,” Rupert said, grinning broadly through his graying beard. “And that’s just the Outdoor Rec staff,” he noted, referring to the student employees who supervise the climbing wall and lead trips across the nation. Participants have also proposed during Outdoor Rec trips, and sometimes couples will sign up for that very reason, Rupert explained. But beyond participants passing through, he noticed the staff pairing up in steady, lasting relationships. It happened frequently and consistently. The question is, “why?” “It’s time,” Rupert said with conviction. “You have to spend time with somebody to get to know them.” Staff members teach workshops and lead trips together anywhere from a weekend
Courtesy of Nick Schneider
Newlywed couple Nick and Rachel Schneider backpack Clingman’s Dome Loop on the Appalachian Trail in 2011. The start of their relationship began on an outdoor recreation excursion in Southern Illinois.
to a week at a time, he said. In woods or canyons where they might not see another group for the duration of the trip, Rec Services staff rely on each other to solve problems and provide support. Comfort levels increase and relationships spring naturally. Scott White understands the phenomenon. He has seen it firsthand. Before joining Iowa State’s Recreation Services as the associate director of business operations and planning, White served as associate director of Recreation Services for 18 years before handing the reins over to Rupert. Before that, he led trips for the Outdoor Recreation Program as a graduate assistant. It was during one of those trips, a weekend canoeing expedition on the Cedar River in July of 1976, that he met his wife, Pam White, now the dean of the College of Human Sciences. The Outdoor Rec Program matchmaking didn’t stop there. “Bruce and Chuck were the first two who ended up marrying — Charlene, but she went by Chuck,” White said, leaning back in his chair and counting off couples on his fingers. “Then Wayne and Carol, and Pete and Jenny, and you do start noticing after a while that people are developing romantic attachments.” White associates the program’s high marriage rate with its number of staff members. “There’s never much more than 30 people working at Outdoor Rec at any one time,” he explained, as opposed to hundreds of student employees working in facility operations or intramural sports during peak periods. It’s a relatively small group of people with similar interests working in close proximity. “You’re kind of matched up with people who like being outside, and who like or certainly don’t mind getting dirty or trashed out
LOVE p4
Courtesy of Nick Schneider
Celebrating the New Year By Tong.Lin @iowastatedaily.com
2015 CSSA T Chinese New Year Celebration coming to MU Sunday
Iowa State Daily
Terigele, graduate student in journalism, performs a traditional dance from her Chinese culture. Chinese Students and Scholars Association will be holding a Chinese Spring Gala on Sunday to celebrate the New Year.
he year of the goat is almost upon us. ISU students will be celebrating the Chinese New Year beginning Thursday. The Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival as it is commonly known, is celebrated from the last day of the last month of the Chinese calendar to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month. Chinese Students and Scholars Association will be holding a Chinese Spring Festival Gala on Sunday to celebrate the new year. The show will start at 6:30 p.m. at the Great Hall of the Memorial Union. The doors will open at 6:00 p.m. and tickets are free to pick up at C4 East Student Office Space in the Memorial Union. The evening will feature 12 shows, performed by a variety of entertainers selected from the association staff and the public. Chinese New Year is not held on the same date each year because it is based on the Chinese lunar calendar. Different regions of China have diverse ways of celebrating, but no matter where it is celebrated, it is a time for people to make wishes and get together with family members. The holiday is considered the biggest in China. “We are all excited to welcome our Chinese New year ... each year, the
CSSA will hold an event for Chinese students and everybody who wants to know about Chinese culture,” said Yurui Li, junior in industrial engineering and vice president of CSSA. “This year, we are trying to do our shows bilingual. We will be performing lion dance, comic dialogue and Chinese music performed with traditional Chinese instruments”. The event will also raffle off a $300 airline voucher, two $100 gift cards and six $50 gift cards to lucky winners. “Parents and elders give younger family members lucky money that is put in a red pocket, so we are handing out ‘lucky money’ as well,” said Xilu Wang, senior in electrical and computer engineering and president of CSSA. Wang said the celebrations gives Chinese students a chance to feel more comfortable at Iowa State. “Red is a lucky color in China and we like to wear red clothes on New Year. We are far away from our home country, so this event will give us Chinese students a chance to have fun with each other and reduce homesickness,” Wang said. “As the president and a Chinese student, I really hope that people can join us. I am sure it will be a great time.” Chinese Students and Scholars Association gets financial support from Wells Fargo Downton Branch, Joy Travel, Lithia Volkswagen of DSM and Causey Law P.L.L.C. More information can be found at www.isucssa.org.