Here are the top five stories from the past week:

1. 2017 Iowa State graduation commencement takes place 

Family and friends gathered in the south end of Jack Trice Stadium to watch their loved one receive their diploma. A total of 4,322 members of the 2017 class received bachelor’s degrees this weekend. The procession took an impressive 20 minutes. There were multiple speakers who reflected back on the class of 2017 and recognized their accomplishments.

2. Iowa State softball wins back-to-back Big 12 Series’– Iowa State softball has won back-to-back Big 12 Series’ for the first time in 15 years. The second series win comes after a win against Kansas on Saturday. The young team started out 0-11 in the Big 12 season under first year coach Jamie Trachsel. The victory over Kansas on Saturday also clinched a berth into the Big 12 Tournament.

3. Graduate transfer forward commits to Iowa State basketball– The men’s basketball team has found that grabbing big commitments can be challenging. Although, the team did grab a Texas-San Antonio graduate transfer. Jeff Beverly committed to play basketball at Iowa State on Thursday. Beverly is a 6-foot-6 forward and is eligible to play in the upcoming season.

4. Update to Branstad signing the abortion bill into law 

The Iowa Supreme Court issued an emergency order against enforcing the abortion bill into law. A temporary injunction was granted at the request of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland on Friday. The injunction blocks a provision of the law that mandates a three-day waiting period between two appointments before having an abortion. The court will decide whether to extend the injunction by Monday.

5. Board of Regents attains new leadership 

The Iowa Board of Regents voted to approve the new BOR president and president pro-tem last Monday. Mike Richards was elected president and Regent Patricia Cownie was elected president pro-tem. The two will take the places of Regent Bruce Rastetter and Regent Kate Mulholland whose terms expired on April 30. The BOR will have their first reading of proposed Fall 2017 tuition increases this Monday, May 8.