The Daily Iowan - 09.16.2020

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The Daily Iowan THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA COMMUNITY SINCE 1868

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2020

INSIDE

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First Edition of Amplify The Daily Iowan's first edition of "Amplify," a page focused on community and culture, features Latinx individuals' support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

DAILYIOWAN.COM

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No spring break at UI, classes to remain in hybrid format for spring semester The University of Iowa will delay the start of the spring semester by one week, and nix spring break. BY RYLEE WILSON

rylee-wilson@uiowa.edu At the University of Iowa, there won’t be a spring break in the spring 2021 semester, and classes in 2021 will operate in a similar format to the fall 2020 semester. In a campus-wide email sent Monday, the UI wrote the spring semester will begin on Jan. 25, a week later than originally scheduled, and will end

on May 14. The University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State University will also forego a spring break. The winter instruction session at the UI will still take place, and will be extended by one week, and the majority of classes will take place online. “This change was made in consideration of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the ability to maintain the same

number of instruction days while starting one week later,” the email stated. For the fall semester, nearly 80 percent of undergraduate hours were conducted online. There have been 1,804 cases of COVID-19 among UI students since the beginning of the semester, with 72 new student cases since Sept. 11. “The university will closely monitor cases of COVID-19

throughout the winter and spring semesters and will take action deemed necessary to help mitigate the transmission of the virus,” the email said. There have been 27 cases among employees since the beginning of the semester. Currently, two students are in quarantine in the residence halls and 30 are in isolation. Several other universities nationwide have announced plans

for the spring semester, with most planning to continue operating in a similar format to the fall semester. The UI has made temporary work arrangements available for university employees who don’t want to work inperson. According to the campus-wide email, the UI Human Resources has received 482 requests — 253 from faculty, 105 from staff, 114 from graduate assistants, and 10 from

fellows and student employees. Of those, 469 were approved, 12 are pending approval from the college, and one was withdrawn. The UI also has received and approved 352 requests for a temporary learning arrangement for students who are at risk according to CDC guidelines or are living with someone who is at risk.

The cost of UI COVID-19 preparations

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University of Iowa faculty, staff, and students have access to free coronavirus testing

Tippie Associate DEI Director Inducted

Gabriela Rivera, associate director of Diversity, Equity and inclusion at the Tippie College of Business will be inducted into the Iowa Latino Hall of fame.

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BY LILLIAN POULSEN AND NATALIE DUNLAP daily-iowan@uiowa.edu

80 Hours: Public Space One to present first virtual 24-hour Art-A-Thon Public Space One will hold its first virtual telethon-style Art-A-Thon this weekend to support the local art community. The festival will showcase a range of talent from artists with ties to Iowa City, from dancers and painters to multi-media creators

80 hours, 1B

6 Raquele Decke/The Daily Iowan Masks, sanitizer, and tissues are seen available in the Pomerantz Center on Sept. 15.

The University of Iowa offers free testing for students, faculty, and staff if they are symptomatic or have a known exposure to someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus. However, with a consultation before the appointment, testing can be expensive. The UI released in its latest COVID-19 campus update that as of Sept. 11, there have been 1,804 self-reported coronavirus cases among students and 27 among employees since the beginning of the semester. As the coronavirus continues to spread, more people are looking for ways to get tested. Director of Student Health Paul Natvig said the UI offers free testing for students, faculty, and staff, but they must complete a telehealth video call beforehand with a health-care provider to determine whether they need a test. UI Campus Health Officer Dan Fick said a test costs the university $100, the DI previously reported. Natvig said if someone has health insurance through the university, the telehealth video session doesn’t cost them anything. He said UI SEE STUDENT, 2

Iowa City hot spot for vaccine trials

80 Hours: Marching On Freshman marching band members have been tasked with adjusting to the transition to collegiate level band, along with COVID-19 restrictions.

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first few weeks of class. Students and faculty from both Iowa universities called in sick on Sept. 15 to advocate for online classes. BY NATALIE DUNLAP

natalie-dunlap@uiowa.edu

Hawkeyes across the NFL found success on both sides of the ball, with all three Hawkeyes on the Denver Broncos having memorable performances. Also, a new Green Bay Packer as well as a new Cleveland Brown had a considerable impact on defense in their games.

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Gary Dolphin and Ed Podolak should be calling Iowa football games on the radio by this point in the calendar. But with the Big Ten’s postponement of the season, they’ve had an extended offseason and have some thoughts on the upcoming football season.

Tune in for LIVE updates Watch for campus and city news, weather, and Hawkeye sports coverage every day at dailyiowan.com.

Ames and Iowa City

The University of Iowa is approaching its target of enrolling 250 volunteers have both experienced COVID-19 breakouts in the in a trial for a COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNtech.

Former Hawkeyes shine in NFL’s opening week

Dolphin, Podolak discuss upcoming football season

Rival schools come together for Iowa sickout

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BY SARAH WATSON

sarah-e-watson@uiowa.edu The University of Iowa — home to a top medical college and now a national COVID-19 hotspot — has nearly all the participants enrolled in its COVID-19 vaccine trial. The UI is one of about 120 sites worldwide selected to test a vaccine manufactured by drug companies Pfizer and BioNtech. The UI began enrolling volunteers for the trial in July, aiming to recruit 250 participants. Now, the trial has about 220 volunteers, 120 of whom have already received a second dose of the vaccine, and the UI plans to recruit its final volunteers by Sept. 23. That date was extended after Iowa City saw a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases as thousands of students returned to campus in August, and made the New York Times list for top outbreaks among metro cities. Between 20,000 and 30,000 people nationwide will be enrolled in the trial of the vaccine, making the UI just a small segment of the trials. Pfizer anounced Sept. 5 the

Photo Illustration by Katie Goodale company had enrolled more than 25,000 participants in its trials. The vaccine is administered by injection. Half of the people in the trial received a salt water placebo and half received the vaccine. Two important components when studying the vaccine, lead University of Iowa researcher Patricia Winokur said, are the efficacy — or how effective the vaccine is in preventing the COVID-19 virus — and the vaccine’s safety. And being in a location like Iowa City helps vaccine researchers assess better whether the vaccine is effective. “Being in a hot spot is advantageous because our people participating in the vaccine study are going to be coming in contact more readily with COVID-19 and perhaps showing that the vaccine is superior to what we call a placebo.” Because the UI study is a fraction of the larger study, the UI group won’t be able to draw conclusions from it. But, Winokur said so far two people in the study tested positive for the virus — though because the study was conducted blindly, they didn’t know whether those people received the vaccine or the placebo. SEE COST, 2

The University of Iowa and Iowa State University are often against each other in their state school rivalry, but on Sept. 15, students and faculty from both universities joined together to call in sick and demand online classes for another sickout. As of 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 15, the UI sickout received 510 pledges, which were fairly evenly split between the two schools, according to UI sickout organizers. Some University of Northern Iowa and Kirkwood students also signed the pledge. In an email to The Daily Iowan, UI sickout members said they were contacted by Iowa State University organizers who wanted to organize a sickout at their school. UI held their first, independent sickout on Sept. 2, in which 916 students, faculty and staff participated, the members said. “The first sickout was successful in terms of numbers, but this sickout is focused on showing solidarity with other college communities across Iowa,” the UI sickout organizers said. “We are aware that this is not a problem unique to the University of Iowa and its administration. Across Iowa teachers, students, staff, and faculty, are risking COVID-19 exposure due to face-to-face instruction. By partnering with other schools, we hope to bring more attention to our cause, and to show people that this isn’t just a UIowa issue — in fact, these harmful decisions are being made statewide and nationwide.” Since students returned to campus, both Ames and Iowa City have been SEE SICKOUT, 2


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