The Daily Iowan — 05.01.24

IOWA AT THE EPICENTER OF WOMEN’S SPORTS

‘Women in sports’ is our semester-ending edition

Sabine Martin Executive Editor sabine-martin@uiowa.edu

When planning front-page stories for The Daily Iowan ’s weekly newspaper in June last year, we didn’t anticipate what the biggest story would be. It was women’s basketball.

After the University of Iowa called our campus a destination for women’s sports in an ad campaign, it only made sense to take that and run with it. This print edition goes even further than

documenting women’s sports, but puts a magnifying glass to profiles of women who are making change in the county and a deep look into how a policy could affect gender equality in the Iowa Legislature. This year was transformative for the popularity and growth of collegiate women’s and high school girl’s sports, which the DI hopes to capture in this special edition.

The weight of wrestling

Iowa women’s wrestlers advocate against cutting weight.

Kenna Roering Sports Editor

mckenna-roering@uiowa.edu

For centuries, the pressure to “make weight” has been a norm in wrestling.

The number on the scale determines one’s ability to compete and live out their dream on the mat. Weighing in an ounce over the athlete’s specified weight class on meet day is all it takes to impede a wrestler from competition. However, focusing too much on what the scale says can be detrimental to an athlete’s physical and mental wellbeing.

That’s why you won’t hear anyone use the term “cutting weight” inside the Iowa women’s wrestling room. Instead, head coach Clarissa Chun and staff preach weight management.

“Our coaches are huge advocates for not cutting weight, or, you know, losing an absurd amount of weight to compete,” Iowa women’s wrestler Kylie Welker said. “We have nutritionists, we can meet with psychologists, like, all of those kinds of resources, which is nice.”

Ella Schmit, a 143-pounder on the Iowa roster, said she and her Hawkeye teammates stay in the range of five percent of their body weight and “keep that under control the whole season.” Welker said the Iowa coaches are “straightforward” with their policies around weight management. If an athlete is too heavy or their weight is out of control “to the point where it would be considered dangerous,” Welker said the coaches will pull the wrestler aside and have a one-on-one conversation.

Across the state border in Illinois, staff at North Central College have instilled the same mindset into their women’s wrestlers, staying away from the term “cutting weight.”

Cardinal head wrestling coach Joe Norton said every wrestler in their lineup last season — besides a 101-pounder who was already at the lowest allowable weight per NCAA rules — was competing for at least one class above their minimum wrestling weight.

“We’d like them to just come in and be big and strong and feeling good and coming in focused on developing and getting better at wrestling instead of focusing on losing weight,” Norton said.

After three wrestlers died in 1997 within 32 days of one another because of dangerous weight loss practices, the NCAA enacted today’s current rules. There is a weight certification process that every wrestler must go through before the season starts. This includes a bodyweight assessment, a urine-specific gravity test to confirm a hydrated state, and a body composition test. According to the NCAA, the primary purpose of the weight certification program is to “assist

wrestlers in determining the weight class that is best for them.” Athletes will also receive a personal weight loss descent plan to follow if needed. The NCAA states a wrestler cannot lose more than 1.5 percent of their weight per week.

The NCAA’s minimum body fat percentage requirements are 5 percent for men and 12 percent for women. After much debate if 12 percent minimum body fat is too low for women, Norton said next season the minimum body fat percentage is moving to 17 percent, so, “by law, girls won’t be allowed to cut as much weight even if they wanted to.”

Physician Andy Peterson, who specializes in pediatrics and sports medicine and takes care of men’s and women’s wrestlers at Iowa, told USA Today in March that the general rule high school wrestlers follow is a minimum 7 percent body fat percentage for boys and 14 percent for girls.

Women naturally store more body fat than men, so having too low of body fat can cause an athlete to experience the female athlete triad — a complex disorder first coined by the American College of Sports Medicine in 1992. This disorder involves menstrual dysfunction, low energy availability, and decreased bone mineral density, or BMD.

Emma Calow, a visiting assistant professor in the UI’s Sports Media and Culture Program, was a former elite badminton player and now looks at the sociocultural studies of women in sports.

Welker said she wishes more people would realize the “difference between the female side and the male side of weight management.” Welker said she knows men’s wrestlers who will lose eight to 10 pounds during practice, and she loses two to three pounds “on a good day.”

‘The worst part of the sport’

Welker, who deems herself a strong advocate for not cutting weight, has felt the direct impacts that rapid weight loss can have on an athlete.

When Welker was in high school, she cut from 160 to 136 pounds. She was forcing herself to work out four times a day and water loading, drinking double her body weight in ounces up until a day before weigh-ins.

She was physically and mentally drained, and her focus at practice was to see how much weight she could lose instead of perfecting her craft. Welker’s passion for the sport was quickly fading.

“It was a huge toll mentally and physically, especially during that age because your bodies are changing during that time,” Welker said.

“For you to be limiting yourself from food and all that stuff, it really changes you.”

Heading into the 2021 Last Chance U.S. Olympic Trials Qualifier, Welker decided to bump up a weight class and compete at 68 kg — the equivalent of about 150 pounds. She qualified for the Olympic Trials and then bumped up another weight class to 76 kg, or about 167 pounds.

As draining as cutting weight was, gaining it wasn’t a smooth transition either for Welker.

“It was still hard for me because

mentally I would put a number on different items of food like, ‘Oh, this food weighs this much or this food weighs this much,’” Welker said.

She ended up winning the challenge tournament at 76 kg at the Olympic Trials, eventually falling in the best-of-three championship series to five-time World champion and two-time Olympian Adeline Gray. At 17 years old, Welker was selected as the U.S. Olympic alternate. Since making the jump to 76 kg, a more natural and healthier weight for Welker, she said she has “not cut a single pound.” In March, Welker won the 170-pound national championship and clinched the team title for the Hawkeyes in their inaugural season. Norton’s squad at North Central College finished second in the nation.

Schmit has a similar story, as she said she started having more success on the mat as soon as she “stopped taking [cutting weight] so seriously.”

“I’ve fallen in love with the sport all over again because I don’t have to do that,” Welker said of cutting weight. “And that’s honestly, like, arguably the worst part of the sport. I can eat a full meal before I go to bed and weigh in the next day and be fine, and not a lot of wrestlers can say that.”

For one high school wrestler in Central Iowa, who the DI granted anonymity, the pressure on her to cut weight heightened this past season when she had to cut five pounds. While she it was not “that big of a difference,” it made her feel “super tired and honestly not very happy.”

To cut weight, she said she would wear layers and “drill as much as possible” at practice. She would stay an extra hour after practice to run, bike, and jump rope, among other things.

She also said she would eat and drink less when cutting. If she had to lose a pound in a day, she “would probably just not eat a lot and then sleep the weight off.”

If it was any more than a pound, she said she would not eat anything and get a workout in.

“It definitely paints the picture of yourself in your head to be negative, and it carries throughout wrestling season,” she said.

Tasha Tavares, a sports dietitian who works with athletes at Rutgers, told USA Today that when a

wrestler has decreased glycogen numbers from not eating, it affects the central nervous system, causing “brain fog, irritability, and fatigue.”

Calow said athletes involved in aesthetic sports, such as dancing, wrestling, and gymnastics, are 80 percent more likely to develop eating disorders, and it’s important to know the difference between disordered eating and an eating disorder.

In terms of a wrestler, disordered eating may include weight control behaviors like fasting, strict dieting, excessive exercise, and using weight loss supplements. These behaviors are not necessarily meeting the clinical criteria for eating disorders, which are “serious and often fatal illnesses that are associated with severe disturbances in people’s eating behaviors and related thoughts and emotions,” according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

Calow also referenced a 2004 study by Vikki Krane, who received her doctorate in exercise and sport science with a concentration in sport psychology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

The study touches on the female athlete paradox, which Calow described as the pressure put on female athletes to look a certain way.

“In other words, because they are women, they weren’t strong enough to meet what it means to be an athlete,” Calow said. “But then simultaneously, they’re having to meet the standards of what a woman’s body, quote-unquote, should look like in the wider society.”

In season, the high schooler from Central Iowa would weigh herself in the morning, before practice, after practice, and before she went to bed. Even though she’s out of season right now, she said she still weighs herself one to three times a day “out of habit.”

She said her love for the sport and winning keeps her motivated, but anytime she wanted to quit, it was because she was cutting weight.

The high schooler said she’s never received weight management advice from a trainer and got all her tactics from her coach.

“I think if a wrestler has to cut weight that more coaches and health professionals need to know about it, so it isn’t one coach trying to advise an athlete,” she said.

The NCAA states that coaches and medical personnel have an obligation to report unsafe or illegal weight loss practices or weight management violations. While the Iowa High School Athletic Association, IHSAA, also has guidelines set around weight management, Alexis Slade, an assistant girl’s wrestling coach at Southeast Polk High School, told the DI that high schools “don’t provide really any resources” and it’s up to the coaches and their knowledge about weight management to help the athletes.

According to the IHSAA, all high school wrestlers must have their body composition assessed before the season and have it entered into the online weight management system to be eligible to compete.

“I feel like we just have much more resources in college in terms of just knowledge that the coaching staff has, the knowledge that [wrestlers] have, all the training staff we have access to, better nutrition and nutritionists, what we’re doing in the weight room and stuff,” Norton said.

Managing Editor, Enterprise and Design Marandah Mangra-Dutcher marandah-mangra-dutcher@ uiowa.edu

Managing Editor, Visuals Ayrton Breckenridge ayrton-breckenridge@uiowa.edu Politics Editor Liam Halawith liam-halawith@uiowa.edu News Editors Isabelle Foland isabelle-foland@uiowa.edu Jack Moore jack-moore@uiowa.edu Sports Editor Kenna Roering mckenna-roering@uiowa.edu

Cody Blissett | The Daily Iowan

An official holds up Iowa 170-pound Kylie Welker’s arm after she defeated North Central College Yelena Makoyed during the second day of the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships at Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids on March 9. Welker defeated the three-time defending champion by technical fall, 11-0.

Grace Smith | The Daily Iowan Iowa’s NCAA No. 4 143-pound Ella Schmit prepares to take the mat during the Iowa Duals between NCAA-ranked No. 1 Iowa women’s wrestling, NAIAranked No. 1 Life University, and Missouri Valley at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City on Jan. 21. The Hawkeyes defeated the Big Reds, 42-0, and the Running Eagles, 35-6.

Schmit

Norton

Welker

Female leadership growth at UI

In the last decade, women have held over 50 percent of administrative UI positions.

Isabelle Foland News Editor isabelle-foland@uiowa.edu

When Sarah Hansen first started work ing at the University of Iowa 25 years ago, she didn’t had her sights set on her current position as the vice president for student life. In her time at the UI, Hansen has con sistently worked in some sort of division or department that related to student life. She started in Health Promotion and Health Education — now known as Student Well ness — and eventually worked her way up from an entry-level position to being selected as the vice president for student life in April 2020.

“I think I got here by doing good work where I was each time, and I just kept get ting new opportunities,” Hansen said.

Hansen is one of six women administra tors on the president’s cabinet, which has 13 total members, not including President Barbara Wilson. According to the cabinet’s website, cabinet members are institutional leaders who provide advice to the presi dent on strategic and operational matters.

Currently, eight of the UI’s 12 colleges are led by women deans. This follows a trend of more representation in adminis trative and executive positions.

According to a 2023 report from the UI on workforce demographics, women made up just under 39 percent of execu tive, administrative, and managerial staff in 2013. A decade later, women made up just over 50 percent of that group.

This data follows a national trend. From 2002 to 2022, the percentage of women in administrative positions in higher educa tion in the U.S. increased from 43 percent to 51 percent, according to the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources.

Wilson said the UI does not have any hiring initiatives that specifically target women but rather that the university hires the best fit for a job and has a diverse view of what leadership can look like.

“I think that’s important that it’s not just a one-time thing to sort of say ‘There, we did it,’” Wilson said. “It’s finding the best people for these jobs and then thinking expansively about what leadership looks like and how it gets manifested on our campus.”

Wilson, who started her position as the UI’s president in July 2021, is the university’s third female president. In 2021, five Big Ten universities had female presidents, including Wilson.

Having women in administrative and non-administrative positions in a university is important, as it can give younger women several role models to look up to, said Karen Agee, president of the Iowa branch of the American Association of University Women.

Often, the higher a position ranks in a university, the less visible and accessible that person is to the student body, so it is important to have female representation in all areas of a university, Agee said.

“Women faculty and women depart ment heads are giving students probably the likeliest opportunity to view a woman administration,” Agee said.

University of Iowa President Barbara Wilson

unique to any one institution and are felt by women in any workforce, she said.

“It’s here no matter where you are, I think,” Hansen said. “Certainly I have more tools at my disposal to be able to make decisions now than folks who might not have the leverage that I have, but I think it’s everywhere for women.”

Shreya Reddy contributed to this report.

WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP ON THE UI CAMPUS

Six of the 13 people on the president’s cabinet are women.

According to the 2023 UI workforce demographics report, women made up over 66 percent of the total workforce of nearly 20,000 at the university. In 2013, that number was 64 percent out of over 16,000 members.

In 2023, women made up nearly 36 percent of tenure or tenure-track faculty and 54 percent of non-tenure-track faculty, according to the workforce demographics report. In 2013, women made up nearly 33 percent of tenure or tenure-track faculty and just under 49 percent of non-tenuretrack faculty.

Agee also said it is important to have women represented in positions that inform the executives and administrators of a university, such as the state board of regents. At the April 24 Iowa Board of Regents meeting, Sherry Bates was unanimously voted to serve as the regent’s president until 2026. Additionally, the regents selected Greta Rouse was unanimously selected to serve as the board’s President Pro Term at the April 24 meeting.

Hiring more female representation in leadership positions also ensures a broader range of viewpoints and experiences are being represented in university decisions, Hansen said.

“Even as I’ve kind of put together my senior team, I’ve tried to find people who have strengths that I don’t and who have identities and perspectives and histories that I don’t,” Hansen said. “Because I know that they’re going to help me see things that I don’t see, and help me make better decisions.”

Female representation in the student body at the UI has also grown over the past decade. In fall 2022, women made up around 55 percent of the total student body, and men made up around 43 percent. In fall 2013, women made up about 51 percent of the student body, with men comprising approximately 49 percent of the total.

While there has been positive growth in recent years for female representation in the UI’s workforce, this has not come without difficulties. Hansen said while she did not find it difficult to find leadership opportunities in higher education, there have been stereotypes placed on her because she is a woman.

“I’ve been called mean when I was direct, or I’ve had people say that I don’t like them if I’m direct,” Hansen said. “I’ve never really heard that said about a man.” Hansen said these experiences have taught her to be more assertive and not allow herself to be spoken over by her male counterparts. These experiences are not

Barbara Wilson University of Iowa President

Sarah Hansen Vice President for Student Life

Denise Jamieson Vice president for medical affairs and Dean of the UI Carver College of Medicine

Beth Goetz Iowa’s athletic director

Lynette Marshall President and CEO of the UI Center for Advancement

Liz Tovar Associate vice president for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Laura McLeran Associate vice president for administrative affairs and senior advisor to the president

Number of women in administrative roles rise at the UI Some departmental positions have fewer women in roles since 2018.

Source: University of Iowa

Cody Blissett | The Daily Iowan

observes a Board of Regents meeting in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on Nov. 15.

OPINIONS

Women athletes deserve better

Women athletes are receiving lackluster respect.

DI Editorial Board daily-iowan@uiowa.edu

As students of the University of Iowa, we have had a front-row seat to the explosive growth of women’s basketball this year. No longer is Iowa known just for pigs and corn — Caitlin Clark and the rest of the Iowa women’s basketball team have helped put our state and women’s basketball on the map.

At The Daily Iowan, we have seen our pageviews and social media output reach new heights, with an outpouring of love from basketball fans across the U.S. Simultaneously, we also see the sheer amount of vile, sexist hatred these athletes receive.

You would think that one of the best collegiate basketball players of all time would be exempt from Victorian-era commentary telling her she “belongs in the kitchen.”

You would be wrong.

Across platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and X, formerly known as Twitter, Clark and other women’s basketball players are constantly brought down. From their physical appearance to their status as women, these players face extreme scrutiny that men don’t encounter.

The public — or at least a vocal fraction of the public on social media — feel entitled to know everything about these players and their personal lives. Massive magazines like People are running stories and posting on social media to give the public details about Clark’s boyfriend, former Iowa basketball player Connor McCaffery.

The narrative surrounding Clark should be focused on her ability to pass and shoot a basketball. Instead, it has turned into countless people demanding information about her private life or spewing hatred toward her because she is a woman.

It’s one thing when improper commentary comes from strangers on the internet. It’s another when it’s coming from a member of the press.

On April 18, Clark was present at her first press conference for the Indiana Fever after being the No. 1 pick for the WNBA draft this year. During the conference, Gregg Doyel, a columnist from the Indianapolis Star, held his hands in a heart shape — the same that Clark does toward her parents during games.

“I like that you’re here,” Doyel began. “Start doing it to me and we’ll get along just fine,” he said about the heart gesture.

At best, it was an incredibly awkward interaction. At worst, it’s a gross display of power coming from a seasoned male professional in the media industry to a 22-year-old woman.

Doyel would later apologize online, writing a piece in the Indianapolis Star

COLUMN

Do not show kids anti-abortion videos

The “Meet Baby Olivia” video is deceptive propoganda.

Iowa schools should not show their young students’ anti-abortion rights propaganda.

Lawmakers in the Iowa Senate moved a bill forward on March 18, House File 2617, that would require K-12 schools to show fetal development videos, specifically referring to the “Meet Baby Olivia” video. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reported that Sen. Jeff Taylor, R-Sioux Center, proposed removing the reference to the “Meet Baby Olivia” video in the bill. However, it doesn’t ban schools from showing pro-life propaganda with inaccurate portrayals on fetal development.

The “Meet Baby Olivia” video was not made by scientists or with scientific accuracy. It wasn’t made to educate people; it was made to scare them away from abortion as a concept.

If kids are going to learn about the procedure, they need to know why it’s a vital medical option for women.

Live Action, a nonprofit anti-abortion rights organization based in Virginia, produced “Meet Baby Olivia” with a wildly inaccurate timeline of fetal development that medical experts have pointed out, according to The Washington Post

to Clark explaining his actions. He states that he is “sort of known locally, sigh, for having awkward conversations with people before asking brashly conversational questions.”

He then explained that this “awkwardness” was previously appropriate because he solely spoke to men.

The excuse was ultimately lackluster and dismissive of any complex meaning behind his comments, but it does point to a broader trend that must be addressed: Women athletes are not being respected for their talents and proficiency in their respective sports.

Over the past year, women’s basketball has grown at an exponential rate. From broken attendance numbers, viewership record after viewership record, and immense potential for growth in the WNBA, these athletes continue to prove that women’s basketball is a sport to be reckoned with.

While the public reaction to Doyel’s comments was overwhelmingly in support of Clark, the instance holds deeper implications surrounding inappropriate media coverage.

Because of Clark’s prominence in the national sphere, her experience is prime for highlighting this issue. However, compared to other women athletes, Clark only receives fraction of this improper conduct. For women athletes of color, these comments are much worse.

When Angel Reese and the rest of LSU’s team played Iowa in 2023 during the championship game, the difference in commentary between Reese and Clark was beyond apparent. Where Clark’s energy and commentary were

“growing the game,” Reese was coined as “classless.”

“I’ve been through so much. I’ve seen so much. I’ve been attacked so many times,” Reese said during a post-game press conference after LSU’s loss to Iowa in the 2024 NCAA Elite Eight game.

This instance points to an overarching trend in all of athletics — athletes of color are generally treated worse than white athletes.

During last year’s Final Four game where Iowa beat South Carolina in the NCAA Tournament, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley pointed out the unfair rhetoric being used to describe her team by national media outlets.

“The truth about our team? That’s a good question. We’re not bar fighters. We’re not thugs. We’re not monkeys. We’re not street fighters,” Staley said after the game. “Don’t judge us by the color of our skin. Judge us by how we approach the game.”

This unequal rhetoric between athletes of color and their white peers has been observed in detail. A study from sports research firm RunRepeat in partnership with the Professional Footballers’ Association found that English-language soccer commentators focused on physical prowess for players with darker skin tones while highlighting the intelligence of players with lighter skin tones. Media institutions and other commentators set the bar for how teams and players are received.

Fair, equitable coverage of all women athletes must be a priority for journalistic organizations that are covering these sports. Women as a whole deserve better.

The video displays development traits that are two weeks earlier than the timeline of a typical pregnancy, which should not be exposed to kids simply for being incorrect.

If schools are going to educate children, it must be scientifically accurate content produced and approved by objective medical experts, not from a group that has a clear stance to restrict women’s right to their bodily autonomy.

According to its website Live Action is against abortion in any case, including rape, incest, and lifesaving scenarios.

Teaching about the harm of abortion but not about how abortions can save lives shows a clear bias and intentional distortion of education.

Stories about life-saving abortions should be taught instead. For example, the Washington Post published a story about Mylissa Farmer, who got a life-saving abortion and became an activist protesting against state abortion bans. Kids — especially little girls — should be protected from biased education that could impact a choice about their own bodies. Children should not have to contemplate such an intense future decision.

Allowing polarizing, unscientific videos like “Meet Baby Olivia” to be shown will create an even more divided and uninformed society. Ever since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, legislation to completely abolish abortion has been further pushed across the nation.

While the law is not fully in effect, language in the law allows the Iowa Board of Medicine to make rules to enforce the ban, as reported by The Des Moines Register

Lawmakers want to teach little girls that they must carry the weight of their unwanted pregnancies, even in cases of sexual assault or incest. “Meet Baby Olivia” puts forth the idea that women’s lives are less important than the mere possibility of life.

Live Action does not rely on scientific legitimacy, so showing these kids their propaganda piece would be a true testament to how broken our education system is. Iowa’s children deserve to have a scientifically accurate understanding of fetal development and the importance of female anatomy.

As women’s basketball grows, so does racism

We

call out the double standards against Black women athletes.

Jordan Coates Opinions Columnist jordan-coates@uiowa.edu

Women’s basketball has recently gained a massive amount of attention and recognition. Despite this, a double standard still exists when evaluating and comparing the performance of female athletes.

This is especially evident when comparing the fan response to Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, two highly talented basketball players subject to vastly different levels of scrutiny and judgment.

While Clark receives widespread praise and media attention for her exceptional skills, Reese’s achievements have largely gone unnoticed. This double standard highlights the need for a fairer and more equitable evaluation of female athletes in the world of sports.

According to NBC News, “Reese’s turmoil began when, near the end of LSU’s victory over Iowa in last year’s title game, she approached Iowa star Caitlin Clark and waved

an open hand across her face, a move popularized by WWE star John Cena to mean ‘You can’t see me.’ Reese then pointed to her ring finger indicating that she would earn a championship ring.”

Reese received major backlash and death threats for this gesture, while Clark had made a similar gesture earlier in the tournament and was praised as the “Queen of Clapbacks.”

The backlash against Reese is a direct byproduct of specific discrimination against Black women called “misogynoir,” a term created by writer and activist Moya Bailey to describe the intersection of race and sex discrimination Black women experience.

Fans on X, formerly known as Twitter, immediately called out Reese’s actions as “classless,” with podcaster Keith Olbermann calling Reese an “f-ing idiot,” despite Clark engaging in the exact same behavior.

So, we must ask ourselves: Who is allowed to participate in what behaviors, and and why is that the case?

As writer Sumiko Wilson phrases it, “when Black women use their voices, the lightheartedness tends to disappear and the professional consequences and impact to their reputations can be significant. So who is actually allowed to engage?”

According to Janelle Joseph, assistant professor at the

University of Toronto and founder of the Indigeneity, Diaspora, Equity, and Anti-Racism in Sport Research Lab, Reese’s villainization demonstrates that Black women and girls are called out for their actions while white women and girls are protected because of perceived innocence.

Numerically, the double standard in women’s sports presents itself in the individual earnings of each player and the sponsorships they receive. In the WMBA, Clark will have a starting salary of $76,535 and earn roughly $338,000 by the end of her fourth season, whereas Reese will earn about $13,000 less. In sponsorships, Reese earns around $1.4 million less than Clark despite having a larger number of sponsors.

It needs to be said that Clark is not the problem here. But neither is Reese. The problem is that those who engage with women’s basketball and sports, in general, are too willing to demonize Black women for the same behavior displayed by their white — and often male — counterparts. Instead of trying to spin the patriarchal narrative of pitting women against each other in every way, sports fans need to let women, specifically Black women, play the sport they are more than qualified to play. Talented athletes should not be scrutinized based on how strangers think women should behave.

EDITORIAL POLICY STAFF

reflect the opinions of the

and are not necessarily those of the Editorial Board, The Daily Iowan, or other organizations

the author may be involved.

EDITORIALS reflect

or the University of Iowa.

Ayrton Breckenridge | The Daily Iowan

Iowa guard Caitlin Clark answers questions from reporters after the NCAA Championship game between No. 1 Iowa and No. 1 South Carolina at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 7. The Gamecocks defeated the Hawkeyes, 87-75.

Natalie Nye Opinions Columnist natalie-nye@uiowa.edu

‘MORE THAN A MOMENT’

The Daily Iowan, in partnership with the Daily Iowan Documentary Workshop and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, went behindthe-scenes with the Iowa women’s basketball team and its historic season through the NCAA Tournament for the upcoming photo essay book, “More Than a Moment.”

FIND “MORE THAN A MOMENT”

The book “More Than a Moment” was created by the Daily Iowan Documentary Workshop, University of Iowa journalism school, and The Daily Iowan. The book documents the 2023-24 Iowa women’s basketball season, and can be ordered at dailyiowan.com/book.

Grace Smith and Ayrton Breckenridge | The Daily Iowan

(Above) Iowa guards Caitlin Clark, Sydney Affolter, Taylor McCabe, and Gabbie Marshall sit during halftime of an NCAA Tournament Second Round game between No. 1 Iowa and No. 8 West Virginia at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City on March 24. The Hawkeyes defeated the Mountaineers, 64-54. Iowa went to the National Championship game and faced South Carolina. (Below) Affolter poses for a promotional video at the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland on April 3. For the second time in program history, the Hawkeyes were national runner-ups. (Bottom left) Iowa forward Hannah Stuelke walks off an airplane before a basketball game between No. 2 Iowa and No. 18 Ohio State at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on Jan. 20. The Hawkeyes lost their first match to the Buckeyes in the regular season, but won the home game on senior night. (Bottom right) Clark sits in her hotel room before the team’s matchup against UConn at the Westin Hotel in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 5. The Hawkeyes defeated the Huskies, 71-69. Clark was drafted to the Indiana Fever following the end of the season.

From reinstating to rebuilding

Four years after the squad was initially cut and eventually reinstated with the help of a Title IX lawsuit, the team has rebounded to newfound success.

Matt McGowan Sports Reporter matthew-r-mcgowan@uiowa.edu

Four years have passed since former University of Iowa athletics director Gary Barta announced that University of Iowa Athletics would cut four varsity sports. The Daily Iowan has spent the past several months tracking down the student-athletes whose NCAA careers were forced to move elsewhere or were stopped altogether. The following story is the final of a four-part series documenting the lives of some of these athletes since that point.

Former Iowa swimmer Christina Kaufman can’t help but wonder how her legacy will be remembered. She thinks back to last year at the Tippie College of Business, where she was one of the school’s top student leaders, but she can’t forget her two seasons as a swimmer for the Hawkeyes.

When she walks past the pool at the University of Iowa Campus Recreation and Wellness Center, Kaufman finds tangible evidence that her actions will last long past her graduation.

Back in September 2020, Kaufman, alongside teammates Sage Ohlensehlen, Kelsey Drake, and Alexa Puccini, were four of six plaintiffs who sued the UI, accusing it of violating Title IX — a 1972 federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in public education — when it cut the women’s team that August.

“[The Iowa women’s team] is swimming because of what I did, and they don’t even know that,” the 23-year-old Kaufman said. “But it makes me feel good that I did do that. And now there’s girls having a blast on this team, there’s a coach who has a job … that wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for what I did.”

This legal action was the spark plug for eventual reinstatement that February. For Kaufman, the decision wasn’t enough for her to continue the sport, but for teammate Anna Pfeiffer, the opportunity offered a much-needed homecoming.

The revival of the program was far from simple, and the aftermath wasn’t perfect. Nevertheless, more than 50 years after its creation, Title IX wouldn’t go unnoticed in the place where it was first implemented.

Dedication amid depletion

Graduating from Hinsdale Central High School in Illinois, Kaufman was initially hesitant about going to Iowa. The school was both her parents’ alma mater, but she wanted to chart her own path. Kaufman had interest from Vanderbilt, but Iowa had a men’s team, which the Commodores lacked.

“It wasn’t a separated practice, it was the boys and I in the same lane,” she said of Iowa. “They really pushed you when you’re training, it makes the environment more fun. Boys are goofier.”

Wanting to compete in this atmosphere, Kaufman accepted a walk-on offer from the Hawkeyes with the goal of making it on the traveling roster. By wintertime, Kaufman was not only competing on road meets but swimming collegiate-best times in the Big Ten Championships that February. Her career was only starting, and it appeared on track for success.

The same could be said for Pfeiffer, who joined the team the following season after an impressive career at Dubuque High School, where she earned four allstate nods. After Barta made the fateful announcement on Aug. 21, 2021, both thought they wouldn’t compete again.

As a walk-on, Kaufman never gave much credence to transferring, and for

Pfeiffer, the financial burden of having to transfer schools proved too much. But the pair didn’t lack motivation.

“Honestly, I don’t think anyone after being cut wanted to wear the Hawkeye logo,” Kaufman said. “But we were doing it for our coaches and for each other. Competing was more than competing for Iowa.”

Pfeiffer recounted how after Iowa athletic department officials departed the room that day, then-head coach Marc Long delivered a speech. Mixing a few curse words, Long emphasized that no matter what choice an athlete made that season, it would be 100 percent backed by the coaching staff.

Two months into the 2020-21 season, Pfeiffer’s future plans shifted. After swimming a personal-best time in the 200-meter backstroke in an intrasquad meet right before fall break, she realized that her love of competitive swimming didn’t have a price tag.

“So then I decided to reopen my mind and reach back out to schools that I had called … I love the sport too much just to stop, I know I can do more,” she said.

Meanwhile, Kaufman found herself inside a lawyer’s office that September, listening intently as an attorney explained how she and her teammates’ Iowa careers could be saved. An email was sent out to the entire roster asking if they would like to sign the legal document, and Kaufman was encouraged by her parents to put pen to paper.

With coordinating assistance from then-Hawkeye assistant coach Brian Schrader, Pfeiffer transferred to Missouri State in January and would arrive on campus the following season. That choice became more complex in the ensuing months. In December of that year, federal judge Stephanie Rose found the swimmers would have a “fair chance” of winning the lawsuit, and two months later, the university officially reinstated the program.

Barta delivered the news to the wom en’s team by stopping by the pool and pulling the women’s squad into the team meeting room before practice. Pfeiffer remembered the contrast of the scene — the eerie silence of the room juxtaposed by the boisterous hollering of the men’s team training outside. Both teams were preparing for the Big Ten Championships later that month, and for Pfeiffer, the news was met with mixed emotions.

“[I was] definitely happy, definitely sad, confused, because I had already committed to a school,” she said. “Definitely angry at the timing, because we’re trying to prepare for a championship.”

The Hawkeyes placed eighth in swimming when the conference championships concluded on Feb. 27, 2021, but Pfeiffer

also remembers having to watch Michigan State endure its final Big Ten competition. The Spartans’ men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams were cut in October 2020 and had not been successful with their reinstatement efforts.

“It was like, ‘Oh, a week ago we were in your spot, but now we’re not,’” she said. “It almost felt guilty going to Big Tens and seeing them, knowing they were still fighting.”

After wrapping up the season at the NCAA Championships in North Carolina, the Hawkeyes would face an uphill battle entering the 2021-22 campaign. Long and the rest of the coaching staff had departed.

The head coach was offered the job but declined, citing a commitment to be with his family. The roster was sliced in half, with only 12 athletes on the roster that fall.

Without the coaching staff that recruited her and most of the teammates she came to know in her career, Kaufman didn’t feel the same desire she once felt. Her actions helped save the program from extinction, but Kaufman decided not to be a part of its future. But she wasn’t alone — Puccini transferred to Arizona while Ohlensehlen and Drake graduated.

“I knew it would be weird going back to a different coach, not having a lot of my close friends, not having the guys,” she said. “It would just be weird.”

Over 350 miles away in Springfield, Missouri, Pfeiffer also felt somewhat out of place. She said her new teammates and coaching staff were more than welcoming of her, but she couldn’t push Iowa out of the rearview mirror. Whether it be a text from a Hawkeye teammate or a social media video of students rushing the field at Kinnick Stadium when Iowa football topped Penn State, her old stomping grounds kept calling.

“[My Iowa teammates] were like, ‘We still love it here, we miss you. We wish you were here,’” she said. “So that was always ringing in the back of my mind, I’m a small-town girl.”

That December, Iowa’s roster grew to 13 when Pfeiffer transferred back to Iowa City. Still, without a full roster, winning a meet was practically impossible since the Hawkeyes didn’t field an athlete in some events. At the same time, the absence of their male counterparts was also glaring, but not

“I obviously miss the men’s team … but being around the girls, they don’t give me a reason to miss them when we’re at practice,” Pfeiffer said.

Under new head coach Nathan Mundt, the Hawkeyes have catapulted themselves to newfound success. Their five wins this season were more than the team had in their last three, combined.

At the same time, the team makes sure to uphold tradition. After every home meet, the team gathers in the diving well to sing the school fight song, not just treading water but thrashing arms to make the biggest splashes possible — no goggles allowed.

“I will take it to my grave that if they ever stopped this, I would be so furious with them,” Pfeiffer said with a smile. “It’s like a giant wave pool out there.”

As new waves of first-years entered the program, the memory of the team’s initial discontinuation faded. Pfeiffer said she’s shockingly met some teammates who were unaware that the squad had been eliminated in the first place.

“In a way, we don’t want to tell them the whole story,” Pfeiffer said. “All the emotions and everything. Obviously, they know we’re rebuilding … but as a team, we have to move on in order to be successful.”

Iowa’s r ecent history o f T itle I X

One year after then-President Richard Nixon signed Title IX into law, Christine Grant became Iowa’s first women’s athletics director — a position she held until her retirement in 2000. Before that job, Grant served as the president of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, testifying before Congress that Title IX must also apply to athletics. After Grant’s departure, Iowa Athletics integrated into one department, which Barta was hired to lead in 2006.

In the lawsuit, titled Ohlensehlen v. Iowa , Barta and the Iowa athletic department were accused of not being in compliance with Title IX before cutting the women’s swimming and diving program, as the university was not in compliance with Title IX’s first prong: The number of female and male student-athlete opportunities must be proportional to their respective makeup of the university population.

The other two prongs of Title IX include a continual historical practice of expanding athletic opportunities for female athletes and to accommodate the interests of female athletes.

A school only needs to follow one of these prongs. Iowa Senior Associate Director Lyla Clerry said the university continues to rely on the first prong for its compliance.

Title IX requires counting any female athlete — not a male practice player — on the roster, regardless of whether they joined the team past the first day of competition or were withheld from playing due to injury or academics.

Even though there is no definitive Title IX policy of how close the proportions must be, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights defines satisfactory proportionality as “when the number of opportunities that would be required to achieve proportionality would not be sufficient to sustain a viable team.”

The university settled the lawsuit in October 2021, paying nearly $400,000 in damages, continuing the women’s program for at least seven years, and adding a women’s wrestling team, whose first season of intercollegiate competition in 2023-24 resulted in a national title.

In addition, Tulane University sport law professor Gabriel Feldman monitored Iowa’s Title IX compliance in an annual Gender Equity Monitoring Report. His findings would span from the 2021-22 to the 2023-24 academic years.

Collected from official rosters, Feldman’s 2021-22 report found that Iowa women faced a 3.4 percent disparity in athletic participation, making up more than 52.4 percent of the athlete population but 55.9 percent of the undergraduate population.

Despite the disparity, Feldman noted female participation would “substantially increase” the following year with the addition of a women’s wrestling roster and a roster increase to the women’s swimming and diving team, so the UI would be in compliance with the first prong.

In Feldman’s most recent report, released on Oct. 1, 2023, he tallied that Iowa women made up 54.6 percent of athletes, but 56.2 percent of the university’s population — a disparity of 1.6 percent, which he said would be in compliance with the first prong. Based on online rosters at Hawkeye Athletics, these rosters have increased by 10 and three, respectively.

Feldman’s third and final report will be released to the public on Oct. 1, 2024.

Hannah Kinson | The Daily Iowan

Iowa’s Christina Kaufman competes in the 200-meter butterfly during a swim meet at the Campus for Recreation and Wellness Center between Iowa and Rutgers on Nov. 8, 2019. Kaufman finished fourth with a time of 2:11.17.

Long

Pfeiffer

Kaufman

Mundt

Iowa strikes gender balance law

Without a gender balance law, the number of women in government could decline.

Roxy Ekberg Politics Reporter roxy-ekberg@uiowa.edu

Despite a desire to run for office and clear qualifications, Megan Alter questioned her place in the process when she ran for Iowa City City Council in 2019. Now a city councilor, Alter began her political career on the Iowa City Housing and Community Development Commission and credits the panel as a pipeline to a higher office. Alter decided to run for city council because of her time serving on the commission and the skills she gained overseeing policies related to the city’s provision of housing, jobs, and services for low and moderate-income residents. However, Alter said she still needed to be convinced that she was qualified to run for city council.

“I have seen it time and time again, about women needing to feel qualified and way overqualified in comparison to some other people,” Alter said. “It does take women more nudging, and I had a lot of really, really good supportive people who were like, ‘You would be really good at this, go for it.’ But there was a lot of like, ‘What am I doing?’”

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 2096 into law in April, which repealed the requirement that Iowa’s boards and commissions have a balanced number of men and women. Alter is one of thousands of women who are now ever-present in Iowa politics and government after the state in 1987 became one of the first to enact a law requiring state and local boards and commissions to have a balance of men and women.

Experts fear these recent gains will be lost and suggest a new law will result in fewer women participating in state and local government.

While at her job as a senior manager at ACT in 2017, Alter attended a presentation by 50-50 in 2020 — a bipartisan group of Iowa women aiming to have 50 percent of seats in the state legislature inhabited by women by 2020. Alter said she was struck by the group’s message, which gave her the “spark” to run for city council.

In her first run for an at-large seat on the Iowa City City Council in 2019, Alter lost to Janice Weiner and Laura Bergus. Two years later, Alter ran again and won, and has served on the city council since 2021.

Women hold power in the highest echelons of state government, from Reynolds becoming the first female governor in 2017 to Rita Hart taking the helm of the Iowa Democratic Party in 2023. Republicans say the requirement is no longer necessary with women saturating the state’s leadership roles, but Democrats say the law is imperative to ensuring women have a seat at the table.

After expanding the gender balance requirement to local boards in 2009, gender balance skyrocketed on city and county boards and commissions. According to data from Iowa State University’s Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women in Politics, the percentage of women serving in cities rose from 13 percent to 61 percent and from 12 percent to 62 percent in Iowa counties.

Before the repeal, Iowa was one of nine states to have legislation requiring or encouraging gender balance on state and local boards and commissions. Many of these statutes are being targeted in the courts. Research indicates a legislator’s gender influences their policy priorities. Evidence from the research shows that as more women are elected to office, there is an increase in policy that reflects the priorities of families, women, and ethnic and racial minorities, and an emphasis on quality of life.

Iowa court rules law unconstitutional

Iowa lawmakers’ repeal of the law followed a January ruling that stated requiring gender balance on the State Judicial Nominating Commission was unconstitutional.

Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

U.S. District Judge Stephanie Rose, chief judge for the Southern District of Iowa, issued her ruling against the state on Jan. 11, which immediately blocked enforcement of the law.

“This is not to say that gender discrimination does not exist — it plainly does across the spectrum of jobs in this country — but the evidence presented to the court does not establish this fact in this commission, in this state, in this time,” Rose wrote in her ruling.

The Pacific Legal Foundation — a national firm focusing on government overreach — has brought forth similar cases in Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, and Louisiana.

When signing the repeal into law on April 3, Reynolds was joined by Hurley and the attorneys who represented him. The firm continues to pursue removing genderbalance laws across the U.S.

Terese Grant, co-president of the Iowa League of Women Voters, said the repeal of the gender balance requirement was not a shock because of the ruling that the law was unconstitutional.

“Once I heard that, I thought gender balance was going to be gone,” Grant said.

“It was just very, very, very disappointing that [the repeal] also happened in Iowa.”

Women lead Iowa politics

Proponents of the repeal argue it is no longer necessary, as women are already leading Iowa politics.

Iowa is led by a female governor and attorney general, and both chambers have women in the leadership ranks with House Democrats led entirely by women.

Replacing former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Reynolds became the first woman to serve as governor of Iowa in 2017. In midterm elections the following year, Reynolds won to become Iowa’s first elected female governor.

The repeal is part of Reynolds’ broader changes to Iowa’s system of boards and commissions, which she announced as a legislative priority during her Condition of the State Address in January. Iowa lawmakers recently approved a bill that would eliminate 67 of Iowa’s 256 boards and commissions. The bill is awaiting final approval from Reynolds.

“I believe that our focus should always be

Hurley challenged the gender balance requirement on the panel, which makes recommendations to the governor for judges to serve on Iowa’s appellate courts. The organization argued enforcing gender balance was unconstitutional and in violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th

on appointing the most qualified people,”

Reynolds said in an April 3 news release.

“That includes engaged citizens with a genuine interest in serving their state or local community, as well as individuals with valuable experience that directly relates to the position. This approach ensures that boards and commissions at all levels of government are effective and that each one serves Iowans well. That’s exactly what this bill aims to

accomplish.”

When asking for comment, The Daily Iowan was pointed to Reynolds’ past statements.

Sen. Annette Sweeney, R-Buckeye, voted against extending the gender balance requirement to local boards and commissions in 2009 and voted in February to repeal the law.

“I look at it as empowering women because we are not getting a position on the board and commission just because of our gender,” Sweeney said. “We are going to get the position for a particular board because of our merits.”

Sweeney said the repeal will not affect women’s presence in politics, as there is no gender-balance requirements in politics or running for office, and women are starting to be more involved in the political scene.

In cities with a population over 10,000, Iowa ranks 39 out of all 50 states for women holding office in a local governing body in 2024, according to data from the Center for American Women and Politics. In Iowa, 28.9 percent of municipal officeholders are women.

With women making up only 29.3 percent of the Iowa Legislature in 2024, the state ranks 35th in the nation for the percentage of women holding a seat in state legislatures, according to the center.

Upon the election of U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, in 2014, Iowa was the second-tolast state in the nation to elect a woman to Congress.

Since then, the number of women representing Iowa on the federal delegation has picked up. Today, half of Iowa’s four members of Congress are women.

Democrats: repeal comes too soon

Some Democrats say the repeal of the law will hamper women’s progress in politics.

House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, is the first woman to lead the chamber’s Democrats after the House Democratic caucus elected her to the position in 2021. Now, House Democrats host an entirely female leadership team.

Konfrst got her start in government on a commission. In the early 2000s, Konfrst served on a county consolidation commission tasked with deciding whether to combine Polk County and Des Moines governments. She said the commission gave her the chance to glimpse into government work.

“Women really get their feet wet in the government process on those boards and commissions,” Konfrst said. “Now, I think women are ready to run for office right now and don’t need that experience, but it serves oftentimes for women to help get more comfortable with the process.”

Konfrst said women deserve a voice at the table, especially in Iowa’s boards and commissions. Republicans also cited difficulties that some boards and commissions have with obtaining gender balance. State law allows appointing officials to fill a seat after giving a good faith attempt to obtain a gender balance for three months.

“Women’s voices deserve to have equal access and an equal place at the table as men’s when it comes to the work that these important boards and commissions do,” Konfrst said. “So, I don’t understand why in 2024 we’re just throwing up our hands and saying, ‘I give up.’ It seems to me that we should just try harder to bring balance.”

State Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, D-Windsor Heights, said there wasn’t a single woman among the Iowa Senate

Democrats who felt like the genderbalance requirement is no longer needed and there is still a “boy’s club mentality” in politics.

“The women in my chamber told stories about women they knew and served with a long time ago who fought for those changes,” Trone Garriott said in an interview with the DI . “It felt very much like hardwon changes that people worked very hard on to make sure it happened, and it was kind of like losing their legacy, which was emotionally discouraging for a lot of women in our caucus.”

Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, voted for the repeal of the state law. During a Feb. 20 floor debate on the bill, he said the requirement is no longer needed because women are the most qualified for the roles, so repealing the requirement would allow women-majority boards and commissions.

Experts: repeal could result in less women in government

Iowa State University’s Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics began tracking compliance with the state’s gender-balance law in counties and some of the state’s larger municipalities since it was enacted.

The center’s Gender Balance Project collected data from nine municipal boards and commissions in 2022, reporting that 12 Iowa cities achieved gender balance on all boards and commissions studied.

The report showed women made up 42.96 percent of all reported city board and commission members, and women held 32.38 percent of all reported chair positions.

Center Director Karen Kedrowski, an ISU associate professor of political science, said Iowa’s gender-balance law was unique in the nation when it was first enacted.

Kedrowski said the law successfully increased the percentage of women serving on local boards and commissions, which placed Iowa ahead of other states, but the repeal of the law will cause a slow decrease in the number of women serving in such positions.

“We are falling behind the rest of the nation, not because women are getting elected, but because they’re not,” Kedrowski said. “The numbers of women are not increasing as quickly as they are in other states.”

The Iowa Department of Human Rights reported that women make up more than half of Iowa’s population, outnumbering men in 90 of Iowa’s 99 counties. However, the department said women have historically been underrepresented on local boards and commissions.

The department acknowledged that without some form of effort being made, Iowa’s councils, boards, and commissions may have difficulty finding women to serve.

“Women are just more reluctant and discount their own qualifications and their own achievements compared to men on average, and that contributes to the reason why you don’t see a lot of women stepping forward to run for office,” Kedrowski said. “I would wager that it’s harder to recruit women for certain boards and commissions for the same reason.”

Alter, on the Iowa City City Council, said local electees must work harder to ensure boards and commissions have representatives with a range of perspectives and experience, which includes looking for diversity in gender, background, ethnicity, and other characteristics.

“I wish we were there culturally, socially, and within our own communities where we didn’t have to worry about making sure that there was a balance,” Alter said. “We’re not in a ‘post’ anything world, and to say that we are, that we don’t need that anymore, is dangerous.”

A lawsuit filed by California-based Pacific Legal Foundation on behalf of former state legislator Charles

Ayrton Breckenridge | The Daily Iowan

Iowa Sens. Claire Celsi, D-West Des Moines, and Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, listen to a lawmaker during the first day of the 2024 Iowa legislative session at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines on Jan. 8. Celsi started in the senate in 2019 and Weiner started in 2023.

Sahithi Shankaiagari | The Daily Iowan

Iowa City City councilor Megan Alter poses for a portrait in front of Iowa City City Hall on April 29. Alter has served on city council since 2021.

Reynolds

Sweeney

Ernst

Trone Garriott

Konfrst

From maestro to mentor

As WRAC director, Linda Kroon champions inclusivity and supports staff development.

Emma Jane News Reporter daily-iowan@uiowa.edu

Linda Kroon’s drive to stand up for others began in childhood and propels her work today as the director of the Women’s Resource and Action Center, or WRAC.

Kroon, whose younger brother has Down syndrome, spoke about the prejudice against people who have disabilities in her community at that time.

“Looking back, that was the beginning of my awareness that there are some people in the world who others treat as though they’re less,” Kroon said. “And that’s wrong. My baby brother wasn’t less.”

However, Kroon did not initially pursue advocacy as a career. With aspirations to be a conductor, she earned her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and a graduate degree from the University of Iowa. Her path shifted when her work in music opened her eyes to a local marginalized community.

“I had an opportunity to work with folks who wanted to create a local LGBTQ+ community chorus,” Kroon said. “That brought back my memory of people that other folks might not be treating well.”

Looking to become more involved in advocacy, Kroon began working with WRAC as a volunteer in the late 1980s. She was hired as a staff member in the early 1990s and became the center’s director in 2011.

WRAC was founded in 1971 by women seeking to address shared experiences of oppression and discuss solutions. Kroon said in the years since its formation, the center has expanded its focus to become more inclusive.

“Our mission is greater equity for individuals and communities of all identities with a particular focus on women, but we understand it quite broadly,” Kroon said.

The center offers a variety of resources and services, such as individual counseling, violence prevention programs, leadership development, and diversity and inclusion initiatives.

As part of its violence prevention work, the center partners with the UI Greek Life councils to facilitate mandatory workshops on interpersonal and sexual violence as well as bystander intervention.

“The majority of the work that we do in violence prevention is with that com -

munity,” Kroon said.“Not because that community is a problem, but because that community is a fantastic partner to create change.”

Further emphasizing this mission, the center participates annually in Take Back the Night, a global movement against sexual violence. WRAC hosts an annual Take Back the Night rally on campus, featuring a march for awareness and an opportunity for survivors to speak out.

Morgan Fisher, a UI fourth-year student who has worked with the center as a peer educator and volunteer for two years, helped organize and advertise the 2024 rally.

“I had the opportunity to read my own poems about my own experience of sexual

“Human is the word that I think of when I think of Linda as a director. She helps you explore yourself and your strengths.”

Binh Nguyen WRAC leadership and empowerment programs coordinator

violence,” Fisher wrote in an email to The Daily Iowan . “To see that many people who have either experienced sexual violence or haven’t but are there to support them was really powerful.”

Kroon said the rally also provided an opportunity for the center’s staff take care of one another, acknowledging their work often takes a heavy emotional toll.

Kroon emphasized the importance of supporting staff members as a philosophy. Grounded in the center’s mission and shaped by her early experiences as a conductor. “You can stand in front of an orchestra and wave a baton around, play a bunch of pieces, and the audience claps, and the conductor has not made one note of music. It’s the musicians who make music,” Kroon said. “That’s my concept of leadership. I’m here to support each one of those people in being the best version of themselves.”

IC businesses bask in Caitlin Clark’s impact

In the last three seasons, Clark is estimated to have generated over $80 million in Iowa.

A member of RAYGUN staff works on Hannah Stuelke shirts

her

their supply of Stuelke

Lily Finstad News Reporter

lily-finstad@uiowa.edu

Caitlin Clark has sent waves through the world of women’s sports — and the economy.

The former Iowa women’s basketball guard’s skyrocketing fame generated an abundance of economic possibilities for Iowa City businesses. According to The Common Sense Institute, Clark’s success generated $82.5 million in consumer spending across the state of Iowa over the past three basketball seasons.

Acai shop Everbowl on South Madison Street showcased its support for the women’s basketball team by offering a special discount, manager Madison Law, said. The store slashed the price of its signature acai bowl from $10.99 to just $2.22 on Feb. 22, coinciding with Clark’s jersey number, No. 22.

“One of the best business days we’ve ever had at the store, over 1,000 people showed up,” Law said. “We’ve seen a lot of those same customers come back after that, it’s helped business a lot in the long run.”

the

47-point

RAYGUN, which operates a chain of T-shirt shops in the Midwest, saw success in its Iowa City location by forging deals and partnerships with the women’s basketball team.

RAYGUN Manager Ky Schutzman said the impact of their legal collaborations with the team through their Name, Image, and Likeness, or NIL, deals, grew their business substantially.

“Our store in particular has been doing significantly better since we’ve been doing NIL stuff,” Schutzman said. “For each of the players, we just reached out to them or their agents, to see if they were interested in that, and they were given 20 percent of the earnings.”

Contrary to this, Think Iowa City President Josh Schamberger said Clark’s widespread fame has resulted in unauthorized production of merchandise using her name and brand.

These unauthorized products violate licensing agreements and exploit Clark’s success without her or the team’s permission.

Dale Arens, the trademark and licensing director at the University of Iowa, said the process of partnering or utilizing

Clark’s brand or name for profit involves an intricate legal process.

“If someone wanted to propose a T-shirt design with Caitlin on it, we don’t move forward until or unless Caitlin has granted permission,” Arens stated. “In Caitlin’s case, there weren’t many of those relationships. There were only four products that had ‘Iowa’ marks on it, and they were all Nike products.”

“I think a lot of people have certainly benefited and profited off of her name, whether they do it legally or not.”

Josh Schamberger Think Iowa City President

Arens said Clark’s achievements are not confined to her gender. Instead, her success resonates strongly with both male and female basketball enthusiasts, positioning her as a symbol of equality in sports viewership. This has become

increasingly evident, particularly with the release of Clark’s trading cards in stores.

“Traditional collectors are guys, but cross-generational, boys and girls are buying Caitlin Clark cards,” Arens said. “They’re seeing the potential with new demographics and collecting.”

Arens said the interest from investors purchasing the cards with the intention of resale was unexpected.

“Someone from Topps told me they sold out of her series in seven minutes. A lot of investors trying to buy these things, just as a speculative investment, for the purpose of reselling,” Arens said.

Schamberger said Clark’s sudden rise to fame has provided financial benefit to each sector of Iowa City’s economy. He noted the hospitality industry in particular has seen the most success.

“The restaurant sector first and foremost has been most successful, along with hotels of course. They generate a lot of tourism,” Schamberger said.

Jay LeaVesseur, a manager at the Graduate Iowa City hotel, explained how the “Clark Effect” hit Iowa City in full volume as Clark’s final season as a Hawkeye neared its end.

“There was a definite quantifiable uptick during home games the back side of the season, especially when she was breaking records and such,” LeaVesseur said. “We would probably see 20 rooms a game, directly related to people attending. It was definitely noticeable.”

The Graduate emphasizes its convenient location near Carver-Hawkeye Arena, specifically targeting basketball enthusiasts through its website.

The website offers an exclusive 15 percent discount for men’s and women’s basketball fans, providing a tailored experience for those attending games.

This high revenue being brought in from women’s basketball coincides with Carver-Hawkeye Arena’s overall season attendance numbers. Comparing her first 2020-21 season and her final 2023-24 season at Iowa, Clark and the team had generated roughly 220,000 additional attendants over the course of those four seasons, according to The Common Sense Institute. The average out-of-state Iowa Women’s Basketball attendee will spend roughly $230 in Iowa City per visit. Clark has brought in an additional 38,000 out-ofstate fans to Carver-Hawkeye Arena in her final year, showing her impact on and off the court.

Arens added that he thinks Clark’s success has transformed the perception of women’s basketball, going from background noise to must-watch television. Arens said he believes her fame will carry over to her post-collegiate career with the Indiana Fever.

“When we look back on this 10 years from now, what will the WNBA look like?” Arens said. “The turning point may just be Caitlin Clark.”

Isabella Tisdale | The Daily Iowan

at

RAYGUN Printing Facility in Des Moines on Feb. 9. RAYGUN increased

shirts following

record-breaking

game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena the previous night.

Sahithi Shankaiahgari | The Daily Iowan

Women’s Resource & Action Center Director Linda Kroon speaks about the history of the program at the center home on April 25. Kroon has served in her role since 2011.

LEVIN HEADS TO BIGGER STAGE

She will be the only first-year from Iowa joining the women’s basketball team.

Jami Martin-Trainor Managing Digital Editor

jami-martin-trainor@uiowa.edu

When Callie Levin was in sixth grade, she would tag along with her sister for basketball practice with coach Darryl Moore’s Court 45 training program. Levin wasn’t working with Moore yet, but she would substitute in if there was a player missing. Even while playing against girls two or three years older than her, Moore said she was one of the best players on the court.

“You can see right away that she was

good and that she was determined,” Moore said. “She wasn’t just a kid that knew how to play, but a kid that was really motivated to play, and get better, and do well all the time.”

Now, Levin is approaching the end of her senior year of high school as the Iowa women’s basketball team’s only recruit from Iowa in the class of 2028.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted to go to Iowa,” Levin said. “Going to the games and stuff watching them play — I always wanted to be a Hawkeye.”

According to Prep Girls Hoops, Levin is the No. 2 recruit from Iowa. The 5-foot-10 point guard from Solon High School is second only to Aili Tanke, an Iowa State commit from Johnston, Iowa.

Moore, who is now her personal trainer, started working directly with Levin in high school, aiming to refine her skills for a bigger stage.

The trainer has worked with other players who now play professional collegiate basketball — including Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke from

Cedar Rapids — and said intrinsic motivation and willingness to learn make these players stand out.

“Players like that actually give me energy,” Moore said. “When we’re working out with Callie, she brings the energy all the time, and it boosts my energy as well.”

Levin said her positivity has been rooted in her from a young age and she is grateful to her family for instilling positive values and faith into her life at a young age.

Over the years, Levin said she learned to value herself and her identity outside of basketball, allowing her to enjoy the sport even more.

“You’ll see on the basketball court just after I make a three with my teammate, and it’s definitely awesome,” Levin said, “Just celebrating because basketball is fun, so that’s how it should be played.”

Jamie Smith, the head coach for the Solon girl’s basketball program, said he saw the passion the point guard brings to the table his first year coaching for the Spartans when Levin was in seventh grade.

When Levin’s older sister played for Smith, Levin had already “bought into the program” before she started playing. Smith said there was a particularly tough loss the team faced where Levin came down tearing up. Smith asked why she was crying, and Levin responded that she was just sad the team she cared for lost.

“There’s just a lot of other memories, you know? There’s just so many,” Smith said. “I’m gonna miss the van rides and the team meals and stuff.” Both Smith and Moore commended Levin for her positive mentality and ability to uplift her teammates. Maintaining that energy under stress, however, is a learned skill. Smith said that near the beginning of her career, Levin was putting a lot of pressure on herself. As the leading scorer for her team putting up 20 points a game for the Solon Spartans as a 14-year-old, Smith said there was a lot of pressure on her as a player. Smith said the pressure culminated in the LEVIN | 3B

experienced

like, ‘It’s alright we have some time,’” Olsen recalled. “My mom was, like, ‘I want to go outside and look,’ but we just went down to the locker room and hung out there, watched the news until it was over.”

Earlier that day, Iowa assistant coach Abby Stamp told Olsen that back in her playing days with the Hawkeyes, a tornado entered the area, but the team continued its workout. These words must have rubbed off on Olsen, as ESPN’s sixthranked transfer shrugged off the whirlwind weather experience and signed with Iowa two days later. The nation’s third-leading scorer last season, Olsen enters Iowa City with high expectations amid the departure of superstar guard Caitlin Clark. Yet just like her experience with Iowa weather, Olsen is unbothered by outside pressure, trusting her game’s flexibility and newfound leadership capabilities.

Having dribbled a basketball since she was in kindergarten, Olsen said it wasn’t even a question on if she would play in college. Hailing from Collegeville, Pennsylvania, Olsen stayed in the state with Villanova and soon realized college basketball wouldn’t be a cakewalk. Arriving early in the summer for her first year, Olsen said she was “bumped around” a lot during a scrimmage session, where forward Maddy Siegrist never missed a shot.

While Siegrist was the face of the team for Olsen’s first two years at Villanova, the guard was well prepared to take the reins when Siegrist departed for the WNBA. That offseason, Olsen started working with trainer Rod Raines, who instilled more efficient dribble techniques.

“Getting to the spots I want to get to

David Butler II | USA TODAY Sports

Former Villanova guard Lucy Olsen shoots against Marquette guards Rose Nikumu and Mackenzie Hare in a game during a women’s basketball game between Villanova and Marquette at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on March 9. The Golden Eagles defeated the Wildcats, 50-48.

Emily Nyberg | The Daily Iowan

The solon varsity girl’s basketball team stands for the National Anthem before the quarterfinal between Solon and Dubuque Wahlert at the 2024 state tournament at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on Feb. 27. Callie Levin’s jersey is No. 23.

Softball

Wednesday, May 1

At Northern Iowa

5 p.m.

May 3-5

At Illinois Big Ten Plus

Baseball

Wednesday, May 1

vs. North Dakota State

6:05 p.m.

Big Ten Plus and Hawkeye Radio Network

May 3-5

vs. Northwestern Big Ten Plus and Hawkeye Radio Network

Track and field

May 10-12

Big Ten Outdoor Championships

THRIVING AS A PRO

After eight months adjusting to a new culture on and off the court, Amiya Jones is back in the United States. Jones, a former Iowa volleyball player, just finished her first professional season with Polkky Kuusamo, a club team in Finland. Leading the Finnish Volleyball League in hitting percentage, the Indianapolis native helped her new team capture its third straight championship. Jones never experienced an accomplishment of such magnitude during her time with the Hawkeyes, as the program hasn’t had a winning season since 2016. Jones’ squad had to win 12 playoff games over one month to claim the title. The quarterfinals and semis are “best of five,” while the championship is “best of seven.” “There’s just moments where I’ve been able to just dominate on the court,” Jones said. “In the last three games, I served the game-winning ace. So, it’s just stuff like that where I’m like, ‘Damn, this is so fun.’ It’s nice to be a part of a winning team and see everything that it took to be a winning team,” she said. Jones’ transition to Finland wasn’t easy, though. The seven-hour time difference was the first challenge she had to overcome. Jones said it was hard to get over jet lag because of the constant sunlight in Finland in the summer. Because of the time difference, she only spoke to her family every couple of weeks. She said her family had a hard time keeping up with the team’s results throughout the season because “it was super hard to access” the app needed for score updates. There was also a language barrier to overcome. Jones will rest for about a week in the U.S. and then get right back in the gym to prepare for her return to Finland. In the meantime, Jones plans to spend lots of quality time with her mother and friends, travel to Las Vegas, and take a long-awaited bite of American fast food. “Qdoba, Culver’s, Taco Bell, a dryer, my hair products — literally everything,” Jones said of what she’s excited about back home. “I can’t wait to be somewhere warm. I just cannot wait to go home.”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

TRACK AND FIELD

Journey with the javelin

Iowa third-year javelin thrower Lizzy Korczak reflects on the move from England to Iowa. She was ready to give her all at Iowa’s program.

Mia Boulton

Sports Reporter mia-m-boulton@uiowa.edu

In the middle of a game of rounders — the European version of softball L izzy Korczak was recruited to throw on a middle school track and field team. About a decade later, the University of Iowa recruited Korczak to throw the javelin.

From coaches and athletes to professors and students, Korczak said everyone she talked to before arriving in Iowa City seemed enthusiastic about life in the Black and Gold.

“Everyone seemed like they enjoyed being here and enjoyed what they were doing,” she said. “I wanted to be a part of it.”

Ready to dive head-first into the program, Korczak was halted by an ulnar collateral ligament elbow injury during her first season.

Throughout the healing process, Korczak underwent surgery, rehab treatments, and strength training — all while adjusting to life as a Division I athlete living 4,000 miles away from home.

Iowa throws coach Ray Robinson, who started with the Hawkeyes during Korczak’s first season, believes her health struggle led to motivation.

“It lit a fire under her,” Robinson said. “She’s come into each season extremely focused.”

After a year of healing, Korczak’s focus generated a fifth-place finish in the javelin throw at the Big Ten Championships. She posted a 49.40-meter season-best and scored points for the Hawkeyes at the conference meet.

During her third season, Korczak won the javelin throw at the USF

Q&A | JADA GYAMFI

Alumni Invite with a throw of 50.62

meters and etched her name as the second-best javelin thrower in Iowa school history.

But it didn’t come easily. Behind the scenes, Korczak was battling a demanding school schedule as a biomedical engineering major, making it hard for her to find training time.

“It adds a lot of extra stress for her,” Robinson said. “It does affect practice schedules a lot, which makes things difficult for her. It’s impressive that she is able to hold it together.”

While most other athletes have the luxury of choosing between various time slots for their class schedule, Korczak found the engineering program had limited alternatives.

With the help of her roommate, teammates, friends, and coaches, Korczak continues to handle the busy days without burning herself out. Korczak said her lifting and throwing coach has provided her with this confidence throughout her career.

“They keep me grounded and teach me that everything is going to be OK,” Korczak said.

Her training partners, second-year Mike Stein and fourth-year Drake Woody, understand Korczak’s commitment to her education and do their best to accommodate the training schedule.

The javelin group makes it a priority to foster team culture and prevent their event group from being isolated — a problem Rob-

Jada Gyamfi talks WNBA, on-court experiences

Matt McGowan Sports Reporter matthew-r-mcgowan@uiowa.edu

The Daily Iowan: How was the experience of attending the WNBA Draft with Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin, and Gabbie Marshall?

Jada Gyamfi: I personally knew Kate was going to get drafted, but we were there as Caitlin’s friends, and then obviously, everybody knew she was going to go No. 1. So when that happened, it was no big surprise. But when Kate got drafted, I was literally sobbing. I was like, ‘This is so embarrassing.’ But it was amazing to see because she works really hard. There’s no one more deserving to get her name called.

Do you have a funny moment off the court that sticks out to you? When we were overseas [last offseason] — I think we were in Croatia — and we went kayaking. I had never been kayaking before. Gabbie was my partner, and we were terrible at it. I thought we were going to have to call a helicopter to come and get us out. We were drifting off over into islands, getting lapped by the group that went behind us. Even coach [Lisa] Bluder zoomed past us. And

Wisconsin

“There’s been no real off period, and for me, I feel like that’s a really good thing. It just keeps the momentum rolling.”

Caitlin Clark told IndyStar after the first day of WNBA training camp.

STAT OF THE WEEK

56.84 meters

Kat Moody’s lifetime best

There’s no doubt that Wisconsin and Nebraska have dominated Big Ten volleyball for the past five to seven years. Last year, Nebraska claimed the conference title with its late season win over Iowa. This year will be Wisconsin’s redemption year to claim the conference title.

The Badgers were one of two teams to beat the Cornhuskers last season — the other loss being against Texas in the national championship game, who had beaten Wisconsin the round prior. They were a force to be reckoned with and will be again next season as they’ve returned eight players. Of those eight returners, seven of them played at least 100 sets last season and all combined for 85 percent of the team’s total points for the 2023 season. Outside hitter Sarah Frank -

that’s how you know it’s really bad. Coach Bluder should not be beating us … We were just spinning in circles. By the time we got back to land, we had cried five times but laughed the whole time. Have you always been the type of person who brings energy and positive vibes to a group?

inson says is common on many teams.

Since javelin throwers do not compete during indoor track and field season, they do not travel with the team or compete as a part of the roster until the outdoor season begins. However, the Iowa javelin trio helps at the Hawkeyes’ indoor track and field meets and supports its teammates as often as possible.

“They could become an outcast group by default, but with our group, that’s not the case,” Robinson said.

Still, the group has a unique bond that is hard to replicate with a bigger training group, and it’s aided in Korczak’s success thus far.

“They’re kind of like siblings,” Robinson added. “They will do anything for each other.”

I’m the youngest of four siblings, so I grew up being the mediator, just the chill person, whereas my other siblings had more distinct words. When I got [to Iowa], I was the same person I was on my high school team and my AAU team. Genuinely, what you see is what you get. What I’m like on TikTok is exactly what I’m like in person. I don’t understand people who change up their personality. I don’t have enough energy for that.

What was your “welcome to college basketball moment” where you realized this wouldn’t be the same as high school? When I got here, I played offense with the guards and defense with the posts, just because of my size, and that quickly changed. I remember the first person I guarded in the paint was [former Iowa center] Monika [Czinano]. She gave me a nice one to the chest that really took the wind out of me.

lin recorded 540 points and 486 kills throughout the 2023 season, which led the team in both cat egories and puts her at the fifth spot for total kills and the sixth spot for total points in the Big Ten. Middle blockers Anna Smrek and Devyn Robinson were the team’s second and third-leading scorers, combining for 671 points and 553 kills. Middle blocker Carter Booth was arguably the best defensive player in the conference. She led the Big Ten with 116 blocks and 164 assisted blocks while recording the third-most solo blocks with 22. Another key defensive piece is middle blocker Caroline Crawford, who was second in the conference with 149 assisted blocks and third with 100 blocks.

Nebraska

Jada Gyamfi

Second-year Forward Johnston, Iowa Sports recreation major

What are those pregame meetings like with Coach Bluder where you guys all sit in a circle at center court?

[Bluder] does a nice job of grounding us, and a lot of the time, it’s focused on mindfulness. Like, why we’re there, what we did to get there, and who we’re playing for. Toward the end of the season, we would highlight a senior and talk about things that we love about them, things that had nothing to do with basketball. And then she always did a great job of incorporating some literature into it. We read a book by Billie Jean King, who is one of our favorites. We talked about Dr. Christine Grant a lot.

What’s one thing about Caitlin Clark that people don’t know?

I always say that she’s so lovey, like she loves being around her people. She loves hugs, she’s like a cuddle monster. And you can’t tell that on the court at all. It’s so weird because on the court she doesn’t like people to touch her and be in her face, even though that’s what she’s used to. [She’s] probably one of the most mushiest people I know, and it’s weird because I’m not that way at all. I’m like, ‘Why are you so weird?’ She’s just so cute.

The Badgers went 2-0 during their spring schedule with sweeps over the University of Illinois Chicago and Northern Iowa. Wisconsin hit 4.74 against the Panthers and only had three attacking errors. Robinson and Franklin led the offensive attack with 15 kills each. Julia Orzol and Smrek that each had seven kills on the night as well. With this consistent offensive efficiency and the leadership of elite head coach Kelly Sheffield, the Badgers can beat anyone in the country.

While Wisconsin managed to split the meets against Nebraska last season, the Badgers were more vulnerable during the rest of the Big Ten schedule, losing two other meets in the regular season. Their Cornhusker counterparts lost once in the Big Ten for a 19-1 conference record and a fourth Big Ten title.

Nebraska’s dominance in the conference showed in the postseason awards as Cornhuskers were littered throughout the first and second All-Big Ten teams and took home four of the five individual postseason awards.

Nebraska has four AVCA AllAmericans returning. Third-years Merritt Beason and Lexi Rodriguez were named to the first team, while first-years Bergen Reilly and Harper Murray had impressive rookie seasons, making the second and third teams, respectively. Rodriguez has won a litany

of awards during her time at Nebraska. She’s been named to an All-American team three times and won Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year twice, becoming the fifth player in conference history to do so. She anchors a solid Cornhusker defense that consistently ranks near the top of the country in opponent-hitting percentage.

Riley became the youngest player to win the Big Ten’s Setter of the Year award since the award’s conception in 2012 and was 17th in the country in assists per set. With one Big Ten season under her belt, she’ll continue to improve and play a vital part in the Cornhuskers’ offense. The Nebraska faithful have also shown their support for the team. Four of the top five mostattended volleyball games include the Cornhuskers, which creates a unique environment for any opponent.

Nebraska, which finished second in the NCAA last year, is returning with an experienced and motivated roster. The team hopes to avenge last year’s national championship loss and bring home its first title since 2017. With AVCA National Coach of the Year and Big Ten Coach of the Year John Cook leading the way, the Cornhuskers are poised to defend their title as Big Ten Champions.

Chris Meglio Sports Reporter

Isaac Elzinga Sports Reporter

Jones

Photo contributed by Lizzy Korczak

Robinson

last game of her freshman season with a loss against Daven port High School’s team. With chants of “overrated” from the opponent’s crowd, Smith said Levin wasn’t playing her best.

“It was hard for me to watch her go through that,” Smith said. “As time went on, that didn’t faze her. I think that drove her more than anything.”

Four years later, and that mental growth is beyond clear. Levin ended her senior season averaging 22.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 4.8 steals for the year. The Spar tans went 24-3 this year, and have been 79-20 since she joined the team.

Levin was named Miss Iowa Basketball 2024 by the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association: a lofty achievement for the state that prompted the explosive growth of women’s basket ball with Iowa’s Caitlin Clark.

Now, Levin is onto her next endeavor with the Iowa wom en’s basketball team.

When Levin first got the call from head coach Lisa Bluder asking her to visit campus after a tournament game with All Iowa Attack — a youth basketball program in Ames, Iowa — it was a manifestation of her childhood dreams coming true.

“I was going crazy in the car,” she said. “I was like, ‘Lisa wants to call me? Are you kidding me?’ It was an insane moment.”

“Callie is going to draw a lot of people to be Hawkeye fans that maybe weren’t.”

Even before that call, however, Levin had connections to both Iowa and the women’s basketball program. With both of her parents finishing their college careers at the University of Iowa, plus her sister’s current position as a member of the rowing team, Iowa was a natural choice.

The recent notoriety surrounding Iowa’s program also helped, which Smith said will only grow as more Iowans are recruited and come into the program.

“Callie is going to draw a lot of people to be Hawkeye fans that maybe weren’t, or women’s basketball fans that maybe weren’t,” Smith said.

As the only incoming first-year on the Iowa women’s basketball team, Levin said she was excited to represent Iowa on a team she has been watching since the second grade.

“I think it’s pretty cool that I can be a hometown Hawkeye,” she said. “I’m just so grateful for that kind of fan base that’s gonna follow me along.”

Levin also had the opportunity to work with current players on the team during her time at All Iowa Attack. She said Stu-

OLSEN from 1B instead of letting the defense dictate,” Olsen said. “It was more, like, ‘They’re going to have to guard you.’”

In addition, Olsen also honed her leadership qualities. Preferring to lead by example, Olsen said she learned how to be more adaptable with her teammates. She explained how not everyone listens the same way and as a result, she must be either more straightforward or demonstrative with her instruction.

In her final season with the Wildcats, Olsen had career-highs in points per game at 23.3, rebounding at 4.8 per game, steals at 1.9 per game, field goal percentage at 43.8, and free throw percentage at 80.7 as Villanova advanced to the finals of the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament in April. That offseason, Olsen entered the transfer portal, preferring to play out her final season of eligibility at a bigger school as women’s basketball rises

“Just their confidence in each other, you can see that when they’re passing the ball to someone else. They’re not worried that they’re going to mess up. They’re like, ‘It’s your turn, hit that shot.’”

Incoming Iowa basketball player

to new heights.

elke, Taylor McCabe, Jada Gyamfi, Kylie Feuerbach, Sydney Affolter, and herself all played together on the team in Ames, and she is looking forward to continuing their connections and chemistry.

Both the coaching staff and the fans surrounding the program also influenced Levin’s choice to commit to Iowa. She said the culture she experienced while visiting campus valued every player, both as athletes and humans, which played an important role in her decision.

“Coach Bluder and all the other coaches, they just — they make the girls better women, and I think that’s something to look at,” Levin said.

In terms of melding into the team, Moore and Smith said while it will require hard work, Levin undoubtedly has the skills to succeed at the collegiate level.

Bluder was one of the first coaches to reach out to Olsen. After a Zoom meeting with the head coach, Olsen said it felt like the two had known each other forever.

Bluder emphasized that the Hawkeyes wanted Olsen not just for her playing ability, but also for her persona, as building team culture was just as important.

“She was the sweetest person ever, so caring,” Olsen said of Bluder. “It felt like family when I talked with her for the first time.”

The same could be said for Olsen’s Hawkeye teammates, whom she had dinner with during her visit.

Watching Iowa highlights on TikTok and national television, it was clear to Olsen she would be joining a group that values one another.

“Just their confidence in each other, you can see that when they’re passing the ball to someone else,” Olsen said of the Hawkeyes. “They’re not worried that they’re going to mess up. They’re like, ‘It’s your turn, hit that shot.’”

Modeling her game after 19-year NBA veteran point guard Chris Paul, Olsen said she wants to be a facilitator just as much as a scorer when she steps on the court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. A fan of the midrange game, Olsen said she wants to take more drives and three-pointers. Yet most of all, Olsen said she’s not a fan of losing, and with 15,000-plus fans in attendance at Carver, she will have plenty of support.

“The only time I’ve ever played in front of that big of a crowd [at UConn], they were all cheering against me,” Olsen said, laughing. “Picturing it, I can’t even imagine, so I’m excited for that first step.”

Smith said Levin’s ability on defense and her strategic mind are two undervalued components of her play that he’s excited to see flourish under Iowa’s program. Moore said while Levin might not be putting up 30 points a game, there are other benchmarks that Levin is sure to meet in order to excel.

“I’m really excited to see her at the next level,” Moore said.

“I really don’t worry about Callie because her motor runs at such a high level that she will succeed no matter what.”

Ultimately, Levin said she is excited to take this opportunity to improve with Iowa’s program, the coaching staff, and her future teammates.

“I’m definitely looking forward to growing and just getting better, on the basketball court and off the basketball court,” she said.

David Butler II | USA TODAY Sports

Villanova guard Lucy Olsen looks for an opening against Marquette in the first half during a women’s basketball game between Villanova and Marquette Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on March 9.

Emily Nyberg | The Daily Iowan

Solon’s Callie Levin talks to teammates in the workout room before a varsity girls basketball game between Solon and Center Point-Urbana at Solon High School on Jan. 26. The Spartans defeated the Stormin Pointers, 79-39.

Lucy Olsen

Jamie Smith Solon basketball coach

SOLON STAR TO HAWKEYE HOOPS

Callie Levin is the first commit of Iowa women’s basketball’s 2024 squad. Originally from Solon, Levin grew up supporting the Hawkeyes.

“MORE THAN A MOMENT”

Emily Nyberg | The Daily Iowan

(Top) Members of the Solon girl’s basketball team get ready for the 3A Iowa High School Girls Athletic Union state championship basketball game between Solon and Estherville Lincoln Central at Wells Fargo Arena on March 1. The Spartans defeated the Midgets, 54-47. (Below left) Solon senior Callie Levin writes in her notebook before the championship game. (Below right) Levin practices shooting outside of her home in Solon on April 2. Levin has signed to the Iowa women’s basketball team as part of the class of 2028. (Bottom left) Levin and three of her siblings make cookies in their home in Solon on April 2. Both of her parents along with her older sister attended Iowa as student athletes. (Bottom right) Levin shoots a layup during the championship game.

book

2023-24 Iowa women’s

are impacted by

are changed by women’s sports.

Facing the future of humanities

Three senior liberal arts majors speak about post-collegiate endeavors.

Isabella Nekvinda Arts Reporter isabella-nekvinda@uiowa.edu

Riley

Dunn Arts Reporter

riley-dunn@uiowa.edu

In each of Jenna Mather’s writing and publishing classes at the University of Iowa, the vast majority of her classmates have been female-identifying.

Similarly, Mather, a third-year English and creative writing major graduating this May, noticed only one male-identifying student in her intern cohort at a New York City publishing press last summer.

The female domination of the authorship and publishing industry is not unique to Mather’s experience at the UI, however. Rather, it is an anecdotal representation of the broader gender breakdown of the publishing industry in the U.S.

A 2019 study conducted by Statista revealed that 74 percent of employees in the publishing industry — including the “Big Five” publishing houses Penguin/ Random House, Hachette Book Group, Harper Collins, Simon and Schuster, and Macmillan — are cisgender women; cisgender men accounted for 23 percent, while nonbinary individuals accounted for less than 5 percent.

Despite the vast female majority, the same study indicated that cis men are more likely to hold executive positions over other positions in the industry, as 80 percent of the cis women employed are in lower-level marketing or public relations positions.

While Mather attends the last few writing classes of her college career, she is unsure that the predominant female demographic in her classes will translate into leadership roles after she turns the tassel at graduation in just a few weeks.

“There has been a lot of uncertainty because graduation is coming up,” Mather said. “I would love to have a job lined up when I graduate.”

Mather hopes to secure a job in marketing, communications, or writing positions after graduating. She has also applied to some remote positions as well.

Though she has found the hiring process to be taxing, Mather came prepared. This was in part due to her collegiate coursework and the extracurricular activities she engaged in while at the UI.

As a first-year, Mather served as both the social media editor and editor-inchief of Ink Lit Mag, the UI’s only student literary magazine run by first-years. Then, she worked with the magazine Earthwords before returning to Ink Lit on the upperclassmen management team as an assistant publisher during her third and final year.

In addition to her work with literary magazines, Mather has also gained useful insight into the job market through her courses at the UI.

She cites the class, “Iowa Chapbook Prize: Publishing Practicum,” as one that gave her the most hands-on experience with the publishing process.

“We discussed submissions, and each person selected the one that they liked best. I also had to typeset, so I got experience working with InDesign, Photoshop, and other software like that,” Mather said.

Despite her publishing endeavors, however, Mather’s career goals have shifted as she learned more about the industry.

“I’m certainly interested in publishing — I love books, but I think my perspective on working in publishing has changed a little bit,” Mather said.

One of the major drawbacks Mather

sees in the publishing industry is the overlap that would exist between her job and her creative work. She said it would be nice to have some separation of the personal and professional.

“I started seeking out more marketing and communications jobs, because then I’d still be learning skills and contributing my experience, but also kind of be separate,” Mather said.

Reflecting on the job hunting process as a whole, Mather said it wasn’t what she expected. Job opportunities are determined based on the relative job market, and creative markets are not currently in high demand, she said.

“It is not like engineering or business where employers are actively searching for you,” Mather said. “So you have to go out and be actively searching on all of the

reading groups, allowing her to learn how to advertise both herself and her writing.

“It was nice to be a part of groups that showed me how I can get people to read my work outside of class,” Bishop said.

Bishop also found that many of her political science and writing workshop classes helped build skills applicable to her career. “Women in Gender Studies” was one particularly influential course.

“I learned about the barriers minorities face in college, it just really helped give me perspective and helped me look beyond school,” Bishop said. “I want to be able to use my skills to make the world a better place.”

Currently, Bishop hopes to learn about online journalism and copywriting to improve her writing skills. Eventually, she hopes to fulfill her dream of receiving

“It is not like engineering or business where employers are actively searching for you. So you have to go out and be actively searching on all of the job sites and going to the career fairs.”

Jenna Mather

Graduating English major

job sites and going to the career fairs. I feel like I expected it to be difficult, but maybe not as difficult as it is.”

Similarly, UI third-year Abby Bishop has used internship experience to pave her way to graduation. A double major in political science and English and creative writing, Bishop plans to graduate next winter.

Though Bishop doesn’t know exactly what the future has in store, she said, she has a strong background to rely upon. Last summer, she was a writing intern for Eco Stylist, a sustainable clothing company.

While in college, Bishop has been an active part of several creative writing and

a Master of Fine Arts in poetry. However, a graduate program wasn’t originally in the cards for Bishop before she came to the UI.

“I never even considered getting my master’s, but working closely with professors and being so close to the writer’s workshop really changed my perspective,” Bishop said.

UI graduates are continuing their education by studying 357 different fields at 351 universities from 2020 to 2022.

For UI fourth-year student Sabrina Lacy, graduate studies were the most appealing.

“It kind of developed over time — want-

ing to apply to grad school. From my first year through the first half of my third year, I thought I was going to apply for psychology graduate programs, whether that be an MA or a Ph.D.,” Lacy said. Lacy will graduate in the spring with a double major in English and creative writing and psychology.

As she progressed through college, Lacy discovered she didn’t want to dedicate five to seven years of her life to studying psychology. She still enjoyed the subject but liked it more as a secondary interest instead of the main focus of her career.

“I realized that I like creative writing. I had an epiphany my junior year and I decided — I’m going to apply to graduate programs for creative writing,” Lacy said. Lacy ended up applying to several graduate programs between December 2023 and February 2024. Since she was applying mainly to creative writing programs, many of them wanted 40-page-long writing samples. Alongside that, she also needed letters of recommendation, as well as a personal statement that could range anywhere from one to five pages.

Lacy’s biggest advice to those wanting to begin graduate school applications is to start working on them early. She also advises students to have trusted professors, as well as others applying to schools in the same department, who can look over their applications before submission.

Relying on the community around her has been the most helpful part of Lacy’s process, as the information she has learned both from her peers and on different programs’ websites aided her when solidifying which programs to apply to. In the end, Lacy chose to commit to Ohio University, where she will earn her Master of Arts in fiction writing.

“I wanted to have the opportunity to experience a place different from here, getting involved in the creative writing community in other places,” Lacy said.

UI alum writes play on Taylor Swift fandom

“Anti-Hero: Revenge of the Swifties” debuted at the IC New Play Festival this week.

Riley Dunn Arts Reporter

riley-dunn@uiowa.edu

Fans and haters of Taylor Swift came together on the night of April 29 to watch

“Anti-Hero: Revenge of the Swifties,” the fandom-inspired opening production of this year’s New Play Festival.

The New Play Festival is an annual University of Iowa event that features four full productions and several stage readings. Each full-length play was written by a UI Master of Fine Arts playwright and developed by students in the theater department.

“It seems like it’s just about Taylor Swift, but it’s really not. It’s more about fandom and consumerism.”

Maggie McClellan Stage manager

This year’s festival will take place from April 29 until May 4.

Written by playwright Derick Edgren Otero, “Revenge of the Swifties” has been in development since November 2022. Edgren Otero’s play explores what being a fan of something truly means.

“[Inspiration] comes from everywhere because Taylor Swift is everywhere,” Edgren Otero said. “I got inspiration from being on my phone, going on Twitter, and watching people talk about her albums.” During his first live reading of the play

two years ago, Edgren Otero believed that Taylor Swift was at the height of her popularity and was as famous as she would ever be.

“That obviously wasn’t true. Now she’s ten times as famous,” Edgren Otero said.

Though Swift has gained even more popularity since then, the play still regards her cultural impact as it was in the fall of 2022. His play has evolved in the two years since it was conceived; the main changes revolve around improved character arcs and plot clarifications.

“It seems like it’s just about Taylor Swift, but it’s really not. It’s more about fandom and consumerism,” Maggie McClellan, the play’s stage manager, said.

A first-year Master of Fine Arts candidate, McClellan has been a stage manager professionally since her time as an undergrad and was thrilled to get experience working on an original play.

“It’s a really exciting creative space. I can see the work develop in a different way than I would if I continued to work in opera and musicals that are set in their ways and well known,” McClellan said.

McClellan said communication and creativity are key parts of her job that many people don’t consider in stage crew.

Similarly, the play’s director, Meredith Healy, has enjoyed the camaraderie and community in the production, even during the most hectic days.

“It’s been rewarding to see the full community coming together and helping out the different productions. They show up for each other on and off stage,” Healy said.

She first became involved in the production on her second day of graduate orientation after one of the other playwrights asked about the most memorable

part of her summer. When Healy answered it was her time at Swift’s Eras Tour’ she was directed to Edgren Otero.

“I thought it sounded fun right off the bat,” Healy said. “We talked a lot about the script and what relationships we were most invested in, and which characters we thought could be adjusted.”

Healy and Edgren Otero also talked extensively about the humor and language in the show.

“Our rehearsal set pieces and props were like playgrounds for the actors,” Healy said. “We encouraged them to follow their impulses and the things they felt from the get-go.”

Shaely Odean | The Daily Iowan

Assistant publisher of Ink Lit Magazine and graduating UI Student Jenna Mather poses for a portrait at Prairie Lights Bookstore in Iowa City on April 29.

WEEKLY

THURSDAY

MAY 2

• DAISYCHAIN WITH HAMBONE & THE MAPLE BABIES AND EARLY GIRL

Psychedelic rock band Daisychain headlines a night of alternative rock with Hambone & The Maple Babies and Early Girl.

8 P.M. | GABE’S IOWA CITY 330 E. WASHINGTON ST.

FRIDAY

MAY 3

• ARTS FEST

UI Art & Art History’s open house presents creative works from undergraduate and graduate students in several mediums.

3 P.M. | VISUAL ARTS BUILDING 107 RIVER ST.

• CHICAGO

Hancher Auditorium’s Broadway series continues with “Chicago.” This classic musical opens on May 3 and runs all weekend to May 5.

7:30 P.M. | HANCHER AUDITORIUM 141 PARK ROAD.

SATURDAY

MAY 4

• NOLTE ACADEMY’S SHREK JR.

Coralville’s Nolte Academy is staging a children’s performance of Shrek Jr. Based on the classic DreamWorks film, performances begin May 3 and run until May 5.

2 P.M. | THE JAMES THEATER 213 N. GILBERT ST.

SUNDAY

MAY 5

• TRIO GRISMORE

Trio Grismore will take the stage at the Englert for an intimate, personal performance with the audience joining the lauded musician on stage.

7:30 P.M. | ENGLERT THEATRE 221 E. WASHINGTON ST.

MONDAY MAY 6

• HEATHER GUDENKAUFEVERYONE IS WATCHING

NYT best-selling author Heather Gudenkauf will present her upcoming thriller novel “Everyone Is Watching” at Prairie Lights.

7 P.M. | PRAIRIE LIGHTS BOOKSTORE 15 S. DUBUQUE ST.

TUESDAY

MAY 7

• SEAMUS ISAAC FEY IN CONVERSATION WITH CARMEN MARIA MACHADO

LA-based poet Seamus Isaac Fey will discuss their new poetry collection “Decompose,” which explores the concept of pruning the past to make way for the future.

7 P.M. | PRAIRIE LIGHTS BOOKSTORE 15 S. DUBUQUE ST.

WEDNESDAY

MAY 8

• JOHN R. MILLER

Flood the Wildwood dance floor on Tuesday night during singer-songwriter John R. Miller’s debut album performance.

8 P.M.

Margaret Yapp

Iowa Writers Workshop graduate has eye for balance in “Green for Luck.”

Isabelle Lubguban Arts Reporter isabelle-lubguban@uiowa.edu

Margaret Yapp is an Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate with a Master’s in Fine Arts in poetry. Her works have appeared in The Minnesota Review Peach Mag, Apartment Poetry and more. She is the managing editor of Prompt Press and runs Rampage Party Press Her debut book, “Green for Luck,” is a poetry collection which was released on April 23. On Friday, Yapp read from her book at Prairie Lights Bookstore and Cafe in Iowa City. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The Daily Iowan: You mention in your contributor spotlight for the Midwestern Gothic that the “Midwest makes its way into almost every piece regarding poetry.” Why do you think this is?

I think I was an undergrad or close to it. I’ve only ever lived in the Midwest — Iowa and Minnesota — so it is part of my life and part of my writing. It’s hard because it’s the only place I’ve lived to really distinguish where and how that’s showing up and how my writing may be different if I’d grown up somewhere else.

The Midwest shows up in the place the poems are set in, like the plants I might mention or parts of the landscape. A lot of my poems too are dealing with and using everyday speech as material so if I’m writing how I speak, that’s going to show up in my poems, too. I’m not setting out to write about the Midwest, but because it’s part of who I am it shows up in what I write, through language and place.

What is the story behind the title “Green for Luck”?

I submitted this manuscript under the title “Chump.” The etymology of that word comes from a block of wood. A book, depending on what the paper is made out of, could literally be a block of wood. “Chump,” after talking with friends and teachers about that title, that was the title of my thesis when I was in the poetry program [at Iowa]. I decided that it was a little too playful and I wanted a more serious-sounding title. I decided on syllable and word count first. I knew I wanted three words, and three syllables — counting and numbers are very important in my poems. “Green for Luck” got on the list pretty early. It’s a line that repeats in the sort of central poem of the book which is a long poem called “Sea.” It felt like the right title

Is ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ good?

Evan Weidl Opinions Columnist

I had been mostly indifferent to Swift’s music throughout her rise to superstardom. I could pick a few of her hits that I enjoyed and a few of her songs that I thought were terrible, but all in all, no strong feelings occupied my brain.

That changed upon the release of her sister albums “folklore” and “evermore” in 2020. The albums turned away from the pop sound that Swift had established in favor of a more lush, analog style. The removal of the anthemic pop production allowed me to connect more with her themes; the tracks felt less like songs manufactured to be Top 40 hits and more like honest, heartfelt conversations with a wise friend.

I was very happy to see her going in that direction, and I felt that I better understood what people saw in her. More than anything, I hoped it was a path she would stay on.

With “The Tortured Poets Department,” Swift has taken a sharp turn off the path. As she goes barreling off-road, the skid marks and smell of burning rubber left behind are repulsive to the senses.

While Swift’s best moments of lyricism throughout her discography are excellent, this album

Marandah Mangra-Dutcher Managing Editor, Enterprise and Design

YES

Taylor Swift’s callbacks to past albums and personal lyrics in “The Tortured Poets Department” have cemented another stellar album under her belt.

I have always been a fan of Swift’s. Heck, the first concert I attended was Swift at Wells Fargo Arena for her “Fearless” tour. However, I don’t think I entered my true “Swiftie” era until my first year of college. Today I use Swift’s music to connect with my coworkers, friends, and my siblings back home. So, when a new album drops, a flurry of texts assaults my phone as we all listen. Even weeks after a release, I have her work on a constant shuffle while I do mundane tasks.

“The Tortured Poets Department” release is no different. I spent my Thursday night and some of Friday’s early morning listening to her new creation. I was even graced with it 15 minutes early thanks to Apple Music.

instinctually. It sounded and felt right. Content-wise, it worked for the book. There’s a lot in the book about reckoning with one’s own brain, and the concept of luck and wishing comes up a lot and so does the color green in terms of the life cycle of nature and newness. “Green for Luck” hit on a lot of the different threads that are in the book and could work for both the older poems that are mentioned and the newer stuff that’s in there and could bring it all together.

Who inspired your book?

My friends and my family show up in my writing a lot. I always joke that half of what I write is just stuff that people say to me — a funny line or a word, I’ll just quickly type it, and that stuff makes its way into my writing, and so I’m extremely inspired by the people around me, the people that I love.

Online refer

Read more abut Margaret Yapp’s new book “Green for Luck” at dailyiowan.com.

had far more contributions to her lowlight reel than her highlight reel. With cringy one-liners such as “Touch me while your bros play Grand Theft Auto” and non-sequitur stories and topics, it felt that she was consistently trying way too hard to be poetic and pack in themes and words, rather than letting the calm simplicity speak for itself, as she did on her 2020 albums.

“I Hate it Here” contains the line “My friends used to play a game where we would pick a decade we wished we could live in instead of this; I’d say the 1830s but without all the racists and getting married off for the highest bid.” What on earth is she talking about? I can not imagine she put much thought into that one. I could write an en tire article on how flat-out strange that lyric is. All of this is on top of pro duction and instrumentals that stick to the brain as well as a tennis ball to a brick wall. Bland melodies, flat atmosphere, forgettable vocals. I tried to imagine a quirky synonym for “boring” to use, but I don’t want to overthink it- it’s just boring.

REVIEW | ‘CHALLENGERS’

An intense volley of love and tennis

The romance drama stars Zendaya at the center of a toxic love triangle.

Tennis movies are few and far between, but Luca Guadagnino’s “Challengers” delivered a riveting and occasionally laugh-out-loud romantic sports drama.

To make matters worse, Swift unexpectedly dropped an additional 15 songs the same night as the main album dropped. I understand this was to please the fans, but 31 songs and two hours of monotone and predictable music is nothing less than excruciating. Unfortunately, this album has quickly entered into the conversation of Swift’s worst to date. I’m going to go listen to “folklore” to cleanse my brain.

With “The Tortured Poets Department,” Swift offers a new look into the rise and fall of her past and current relationships with parallels embedded in the lyrics calling back to earlier albums. In “Fresh Out The Slammer” a lyric containing “imaginary rings” pulls fans back to her song “Paper Rings” in the album “Lover” famously speculated to be about former boyfriend actor Joe Alwyn.

“The Alchemy” contains phrases like “touchdown” and “Where’s the trophy,” hinting at her current relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. The little teasers in all of the songs act as a fun mystery for fans to solve while they listen, something we all know “Swifties” enjoy when looking back at the release of Swift’s rerecordings.

A lot of the content on the album is assumed to relate to her relationships, but a couple of tracks go beyond, speaking more to her career with songs like “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me” and “Clara Bow.” They both directly relate to her perception as a public figure and the success she has achieved, which haven’t been touched on as heavily in other albums.

For someone who has religiously followed her work over the past three years, this album feels like the end of an era but the start of a new age.

Guadagnino has been on a directorial hot streak over the last decade, delivering classics like “Call Me by Your Name,” the horror hit “Susperia,” and the gory romance “Bones and All.” While every film in his catalog is unique, his visual flare for capturing his subjects as statuesque, glowing figures shines brighter than ever here.

Starring Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor as the bestfriend tennis-playing duo Art and Patrick, the film takes place over fifteen years as the duo falls apart following their respective sports careers. Wedged between the talented tennis double is Zendaya’s portrayal of the powerful tennis superstar Tashi Duncan, who sparks an insane love triangle that drives the two men to mental anguish.

Going into the film, I worried the professional tennis setting would be nothing more than just that: a setting. Rather, the sport is intrinsically woven into the story of Art, Partick, and Tashi’s relationship.

Instead, every tennis match is treated like life and death, and the intensity between the players is palpable. Guadagnino slows every movement, highlighting every twitch and glance. Every drop of sweat that drips from Art or Patrick’s brow lands on the court like a gunshot. Guadagnino frames his characters in almost divine lighting, contributing to the stakes which only grow as we learn more about the players.

If you are a fan of psychological romance drama, sports drama, toxic throuples, or most of all tennis, “Challengers” is sure to thrill you.

Cartoon by Avi Lapchick

Charlie Hickman Assistant Arts Editor

Redefining Indigenous fashion in Iowa City

The event featuring Iowa City fashion designers and artists

Sophia Connolly Arts Reporter sophia-connolly@uiowa.edu

Models at “The Future is Indigenous” fashion show strutted the Englert Theatre stage on April 27 donning ribbon skirts and shirts, every piece telling its own story. As the stage went dark, the pieces lit up, illuminating the space with a multitude of colors.

Alicia Velasquez, an Apache and Yaqui Iowa City-based artist and designer, was inspired to create the event and fashion show to redefine Indigenous art from its stereotype.

“For some reason, society has not allowed Native Americans to evolve,” Velasquez said. “They keep us back in the 1800s with all the frames and the beadwork and all that, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but if we want to create new art, we should be allowed to, and be able to be put in certain spaces.”

Velasquez started the idea for “The Future is Indigenous” fashion show. The event combined Native American fashion — ribbon skirts and shirts, and clothes worn during Indigenous ceremonies — with technology displayed during the fashion show, including colorful LED lights.

“The idea came about when I was at one of my art shows, and Native American artists stopped at my booth and we were talking, and they said that they’re artists themselves,” Velasquez said. “But they don’t identify as Native American artists because they don’t do the stereotypical Native American art, and ‘stereotypical’ meaning what the movies and society and all that depicting what Native American art should be.”

The project received funding from a Community of Engaged Scholars Program grant from the University of Iowa Office of the Vice President of Research. The grant, worth up to $5,000, supports projects where the university collaborates with the community.

Kirk Cheyney, the director of operations for the Iowa City Fab Lab, helped Velasquez implement the technological aspects, including adding lights to the pieces.

“It shows that Indigenous art is ever-changing,” Cheyney said. “It’s like any other culture. It’s a living culture … A lot of times people think of feathered headdresses and the old stereotypes, and we wanted to show that this is a living culture that can change and grow with new technology.”

He believes the event and addition of technology show the possibilities of Native American art in the present day.

“If they’re Indigenous and they do art, it is Indigenous art,” Cheyney said.

Over the past two months, members of Indigenous communities around the country enrolled in sessions with Velasquez to create ribbon shirts and skirts for the fashion show. They learned how to sew, create the pieces, and add the lighting technology.

“It’s been a really amazing process to be able to share the teachings that I was taught to me by my elders and my family, to share that with other Indigenous people and to be able to bring it to fashion-forward to where we are putting technology into that,” she said.

Kay Ramey, an assistant professor in learning sciences and educational psychology at the UI, helped plan the

workshop and event with Velasquez, Cheyney, and UI anthropology professor Margaret Beck.

Ramey saw the workshop as an opportunity to engage young people in the community and get people in touch with traditional Native American art and culture while also bringing in modern tools and technology.

“It’s been great to see the creativity that everyone brought to the projects and a highlight from talking to some of the participants was how nice it was to have [the workshop] be so open where they could take [their pieces] in a lot of different creative directions,” Ramey said.

Marianna Cota, a recent graduate of the UI and a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona, felt appreciative for the opportunity to participate in this workshop.

“We also got to learn from and about other people’s journeys in either reconnecting or strengthening their connection with their identity, particularly the Native or Indigenous aspect of their identity,” Cota said.

During the fashion show, ribbon skirts and shirts were displayed as participants walked down the runway. During the panel, each person who created a piece explained its meaning to the crowd.

Velasquez described one participant’s ribbon skirt, which included sunflowers to symbolize her children and show motherhood.

“Each color represents something to the participant — putting lights on there or putting applications on there also tell a story,” Velasquez said.

In Cota’s piece, she included flowers as they are important to Yaqui culture and represent renewal, sacrifice, and a celebration of life. She also included cacti to pay homage to the desert landscape from which her people came.

“My grandmother, who I refer to as Nana, also really loves butterflies and hummingbirds like myself,” Cota said. “It’s another one of those things on my skirt representing the important relationships in my life as well.”

Mary Binzley attended the event to support her friend who was participating in the show. She said her favorite part was seeing all the different pieces people made.

“I liked how people who were in the same family would sometimes stay up on stage together, and it was cool to see different generations [and] why they chose their designs,” Binzley said.

Velasquez believed the event helped the public see Indigenous art and culture in a new light.

“One thing I want people to understand is that we are still here as Native Americans. We are still here,” Velasquez said. “We’re not a ghost. We are not an endangered species. We are not something of the past. We are here and we are evolving in our ways.”

Edited by Will Shortz No. 0327 Public Health

Ava Neumaier | The Daily Iowan

Artists walk down the rows during “The Future is Indigenous,” a fashion show displaying the work created by Iowa Indigenous artists at the Englert on April 27. This is the first year that the fashion show was held.