Iowa State markets over 800 student clubs and organizations to prospective students, with a few clubs having historic imprints on the community.

 Some of these clubs are nationally recognized for participating in competitions across the U.S., with Iowa State claiming these achievements and the clubs proudly touting Iowa State’s logo. 

However, a $1 million lawsuit, a petition and two revised trademark guidelines later, some leaders of Iowa State’s student body have unified to try to reach a compromise regarding controversial trademark policies that now limit their ability to use Iowa State’s name and its images.

After consulting with the president and vice president of Student Government and focus groups in 2017, Michael Norton, university counsel for university policy, devised new taglines for the policy. In an official statement released Nov. 26, Norton explained the revisions to the trademark policy.

According to the statement, the updated guidelines allowed students “More independence and freedom to express their own views and interests,” removing Iowa State from making content-based decisions.

Since 2013, a balanced policy has yet to be created that satisfies both students and administration. With the revisions of the trademark policy, student leaders continue to rally and petition for further compromise.

How did the Iowa State community get here?

The Gerlich lawsuit:

When Paul Gerlich, a 2016 alumnus from Iowa State, enrolled in fall 2012, he did not expect to be involved in a lawsuit for most of his college career.

Gerlich became involved with the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), dedicating his time to push marijuana reform in Iowa.

After a controversial t-shirt design containing Cy holding a marijuana leaf was published on the front of the Des Moines Register, it gained the attention of administration. The policy was then updated in the beginning of 2013 to the three-tier system: sponsored, affiliated and registered.

In 2013, the guidelines automatically disapproved designs that promoted, “Drugs and drug paraphernalia that are illegal or unhealthful.”

Eric Cooper, associate professor at Iowa State and adviser for NORML, suspected that at the time, the change specifically targeted NORML.

After a t-shirt design was denied for violating the new guidelines, Gerlich decided to move forward with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) to sue over violation of the First Amendment.

After failing to win a “motion to dismiss” in 2014, Iowa State, Gerlich and Katy Furleigh, an Iowa State alumna, moved forward with the lawsuit.

“This was not something I wanted to do, to have my name associated with this lawsuit with my alma mater,” Gerlich said.

In January 2016, NORML won based on the violation of their First and 14th Amendment rights. Then, Iowa State filed two consecutive “motions to stay,” which were later denied.

In 2017, the university filed an appeal with the Federal Appeals Court in St. Louis, later losing again.

The lawsuit that lasted for the majority of Gerlich’s college career finally ended in 2017, costing Iowa State $1 million in damages and court fees.

After years of battling former administration, Gerlich said he received criticism on his social media and even left NORML due to the massive attention the lawsuit received.

Emilie Githens, who attended Iowa State in 2012-13, claimed the administration was against NORML, even before the lawsuit.

“After a couple years of it, it was so draining and off-putting that I ended up leaving the university,” Githens said.

Githens later attended the University of Iowa, completely leaving NORML behind. After Iowa State made content-based decisions for trademark use, a new guideline surfaced that administrators hoped would protect the university’s brand.

After the lawsuit:

In 2017, the trademark office sought to revise the policy again, inviting a student representative from Student Government to the trademark advisory committee.

Leesha Zimmerman, director of trademark licensing, said a student representative position was added in 2004, but no one showed up to the meetings until Ian Steenhoek, a senior in journalism, was appointed as representative.

By adding a student representative and forming focus groups comprised of students and student leaders, Zimmerman hoped to gain feedback for appropriate revisions.

Steenhoek said he felt like he was in the minority opinion, being the only consistent student in the committee. Steenhoek said it wasn’t enjoyable seeing where the trademark was going, at the time.

“Being a student, you’re the one being impacted by it,” Steenhoek said. “Administrators don’t have to worry about whether or not they can use trademarks. Their departments have access to those.”

After the committee meetings and focus groups, the trademark office unveiled its revised guidelines. Organizations could use “at Iowa State University,” “at Iowa State” or “at ISU,” but the use of Cy was discontinued in any logo.

At the beginning of the fall semester, organizations across campus received notices to change their club names.

With NORML’S history in the community, the organization still makes their voice heard. Lance Leski, a junior in computer science and a member of NORML, stood alongside other organizations concerning the new policy. In the beginning of October, Student Government held a meeting addressing the changes.

“This trademark policy has created a disconnect between the clubs and the university,” Leski said.

Adam Jenke, a senior in civil engineering and president of the Ames Collegiate Chess Club, formerly known as the Iowa State Chess Club, said his club first got a notice on Aug. 8, and originally did not believe the new changes.

After compiling other organizations together into a diplomatic committee, students shared their concerns and formed a plan to get the administrators’ attention in case it was needed.

After release of statement:

With the release of Norton’s statement, many student organizations are still not satisfied.

In the statement, Norton explained that the changes were made not only to protect the university but also to continue having flexibility to serve students. However, the statement said the 2017 policy changes were not directly related to the Gerlich litigation.

Norton said the trademark office is willing to work more with students to find balance while still serving the campus community.

Not all students are convinced of the statement.

Since his freshman year, Arthur Bootsmiller, a senior in mechanical engineering, has been a part of SAE International. Bootsmiller expressed his disappointment with the statement and feels the university doesn’t value student organizations.

“I’ve dedicated a lot of time to do this club and to be brushed aside to say you’re ‘at Iowa State,’ it kind of hurts,” Bootsmiller said.

Other students, like Julian Neely, Student Government president and senior in journalism, said the statement was an open door to collaborate. Neely said the next step is to add more student leadership to committee meetings to brainstorm different solutions.

Neely hopes to meet before the semester ends, depending on schedule conflicts.

As for Jenke, a petition was sent out just before the official release of the statement asking for signatures from student organizations.

“We hope that through our petition the university will take a closer look at what we want as student organizations,” Jenke said. “And possibly they will consult us instead of having to work through Student Government because as of right now they refuse to deal with us.”

For more of the Daily’s coverage on the new trademark policy, visit our Coverage Combined page.

Editor’s Note: This article originally referred to SAE International as the International Society of Automotive Engineers. The article has been updated to reflect the group’s official name. The Daily regrets this error.