Inside Iowa State: Iowa State University

INSIDE IOWA STATE
August 31, 2001

Comedian kicks off theme year celebration with free show

by Steve Sullivan
A former student who's gone on to fame as a comedian and a central campus cookout for students will kick off Iowa State's 2001 celebration, "Challenging students to become their best."

Comedian Jake Johannsen, an Ames native and former ISU student, will perform at 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 6, in Stephens Auditorium. The show is free; the public is invited. Frozen ice treats will be given away outside of Stephens Auditorium from 6:30 to 7 p.m. and theme buttons will be handed out. Students also will have the opportunity to win theme T-shirts.

Johannsen is a frequent guest on Late Night with David Letterman and Politically Incorrect. He also has had two HBO specials. As an Iowa State student, Johannsen changed his major three times between 1978 and 1982. He participated in the ISU Honors Program.

The free cookout for students will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m Friday, Sept. 7, on central campus. Books and football tickets will be given away, and students will have the chance to meet Iowa State campus officials, including coaches and student leaders.

The yearlong celebration will include lectures, community visits, building dedications and special events. Theme-related lecture events include Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Walesa speaking on leadership; Julie Stoffer and Justin Deabler, two former cast members of MTV's Real World program; and a series on the music business that will feature rap artist Chuck D. Several events surrounding student-related buildings also are slated, including ground-breakings for the new College of Business building and phase II of the Engineering Teaching and Research Complex, and the opening of the remodeled Student Answer Center in Beardshear Hall. A calendar of theme-related events will be online all year at http://www.iastate.edu/~saff/challenge.