Articles tagged with "in the news"

FONDAL, HAITI — The little band of American volunteers sat under a tree, panting and sweating from a taste of daily life in the poor rural villages of Haiti. The group, made up mainly of Iowa doctors, nurses and other medical professionals and students, had spent an hour and a half climbing a winding dirt road up a mountain to this remote village. On the way, they’d seen Haitians making the trek while bearing heavy loads of water, fruit, chickens, firewood and homemade charcoal.

When the volunteers finally arrived in town, scores of villagers were already lined up under the hot March sun, waiting for the rare chance to share their health concerns with a doctor. Casey Panko, a University of Iowa nurse helping lead the team, briefed her exhausted colleagues about the ailments they would treat in the small stucco building that would serve as a clinic.

As the governor of the US state of Iowa, and as an "old friend" of President Xi Jinping, I have had the honor to lead a delegation of US governors and Iowa business leaders to China to participate in the second China-US Governors' Forum, hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and celebrate the 30th anniversary of Iowa's sister-state relationship with Hebei province.

On June 9, Iowa City will officially become a Carnaval City. This Saturday, the city will host a Carnaval Celebration leading up to the June event in B1 North Hall from 1-5 p.m.

The event will feature a presentation by Carnaval costume designer Clary Salandy, plantain tasting, recipe discussion, Trinidad Carnaval and African dance demo by Modei Akyea, and a costume workshop. The Daily Iowan spoke with theater Associate Professor Loyce Arthur, the coordinator of the Iowa City Public Engagement Carnaval Arts Project and head of design for the Theater Department.

It’s National Student Employment Week 2013, and this year nine University of Iowa undergraduates demonstrate how students keep a university working. Shuhui Lin, who works in International Programs, was recognized for her leadership and creativity in organizing and promoting a program that orients UI international students to the academic environment and cultural customs of the United States.

Zach Heffernen stumbled into his passion. He was handed a book his freshman year at the University of Iowa focusing on human rights and was hooked from the start.

“It started with my freshman year, the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights had a program called One Treaty, One Book,” he said. “Each incoming freshman received a book about child soldiers in Africa. I wanted to help … I went to Senegal last summer and got involved in other human-rights organizations. It all started with the center.”

Cristina Ortiz remembers growing up as part of the lone Latino family in Leon, Iowa, a tiny town in south central Iowa with less than 2,000 residents.

“My paternal grandparents were Mexican-American migrant workers, and the Latino population in Leon was basically my family,” says the 32-year-old University of Iowa anthropology doctoral student who is pursuing research that includes the Chin Burmese refugee population in Columbus Junction, Iowa, her new home during graduate school.