The Daily Iowan

Division I sports’ ﬂimsy future

The NCAA House se lement reshapes DI college athletics,

A Friday night news dump is supposed to be innocuous, but not when the entire college sports world is waiting for the announcement, bracing itself for a historic change.

The AA’s pillar of amateurism has been slowly eroding, especially in , when the association created a policy for athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness, or I . On une , . . enior

istrict udge laudia ilken shattered that cracked pillar altogether, ruling that schools would directly pay student-athletes for the first time ever.

ilken’s ruling, established almost eight months after her preliminary approval, settled three federal antitrust lawsuits against the AA the suits alleging the AA and its power conferences illegally limited athletes’ earning power. Former Ari ona tate niversity swimmer rant ouse was one of these plaintiffs, and his surname became etched in what has become known as the ouse settlement, which took effect on uly .

Billions of dollars will be paid to former athletes, schools will operate under a . million financial cap for compensating athletes this season, and third-party I payments will be sub ected to more scrutiny. But not every athlete will be receiving money. ot every school is opting in to the settlement. egal challenges were launched and will likely continue in the future.

“There will be a transition period and certainly bumps in the road, AA president harlie Baker wrote in an open letter on une . “Opportunities to drive transformative

IC dive bar gains national recognition

Named a USA Today “Bar of the Year,” Gabe’s is famed for its music history.

Inﬂuential music acts, a divey atmosphere, and an outdoor beer garden vaulted Iowa ity’s abe’s to a recent ranking as one of the country’s top bars. A year after its th anniversary, abe’s was named on A Today’s “Bars of the ear list, featuring best bars in the nation on uly .

essica ish, reporter for the Iowa ity ress- iti en, which has the same parent company as A Today, wrote the abe’s review for A Today, noting, “A night at abe’s is a night of rock n’ roll history. ish said lists like these from A Today are created by writers within different communities and are sent in for consideration, rather than flying people out in search of the best bars in the nation. In addition to abe’s, she submitted five other Iowa ity bars for consideration, including The Fo head Tavern, ild ulture, ouble Tap, The en, and The ead-

wood Tavern. owever, abe’s was the only bar to make the list.

A key reason abe’s was highlighted likely had to do with how many memories it holds for locals, ish said. umerous iconic acts have performed there throughout the decades, including irvana, The mashing umpkins, hance the apper, and The Black eys.

These are ust a few of the bands that have hit abe’s small stage.

“ aving these live collective e periences, such as going to a show, are core memories for people, especially young adults, ish said. “It is a special place.

abe’s eneral anager ete c arthy said while the bar has already established a name for itself and business has remained consistent since the list was posted, it has been great to receive this sort of recognition.

“ e’ve got a lot of comments and compliments, he said. “It’s cool to be recogni ed, and we appreciate it.

c arthy also said that having such a distinct community and being in a college town helps sustain a great business.

“ e have such a diverse local music scene that everybody supports it, he said. “ hen you have so many different people with so many different tastes, you can try so many different things, because you’re going to have people coming out to support it, no matter what it is.

Iowa ity local arter ussell said he has been coming to abe’s for four years now, primarily because his friends are in bands and he sells merchandise, but the vibe of the bar keeps him coming back.

“It’s inviting and inclusive, he said. “ ore than some of the other bands

The university’s late-night bus service will now operate on a fixed route.

omplaints from students regarding the ite ide bus service have steadily increased throughout recent years, causing niversity of Iowa ampus afety to take notice of this feedback and implement changes to the service in an attempt to improve the overall system, especially wait time. In early August, ampus afety announced significant changes to the late-night transportation service to better assist riders this school year. The changes went into effect on Aug. , shortly before campus filled with students and staff.

ith the service’s two vehicles in service, ampus afety says wait times are e pected to drop between and minutes. The transition has been a little rocky as the buses are still ad usting to the Transit app system, according to staff. The free service made a few considerable changes, such as e panding to two buses and operating on a fi ed route. These awkeye-colored vehicles allow up to people at once and are what’s considered “mini buses. The route comprises the most fre uent student pick-up and drop-off spots around campus, with the black line hitting dorms such as ayflower all, urrier all, and ienow all.

The gold line operates farther to the east side of Iowa ity with stops on overnor treet. and ashington treet as well as on . arket treet and odge treet. The service pushed back their daily operating hours from p.m. to a.m., which were previously p.m. to a.m. ite ide also discontinued its mobile app and combined with Transit, the same app that allows individuals to track Iowa ity buses and I campus buses. assengers will use the app to locate the ite ide bus and simply walk

Concern about student-used AI therapy options grows

Developments in AI worry UI sta and students as it becomes a popular therapy tool.

With artificial intelligence chatbots becoming a popular way to access therapy and counseling, University of Iowa experts raise concerns.

According to a consulting firm Oliver Wyman Forum, one third of the 77 percent of respondents who have not used in-person therapy resources would consider using AI-based therapy.

Multiple states have brought forth legislation meant to limit the use of AI for therapeutic practices, according to CNN. As of now, Iowa has not introduced any such regulations.

The legislation stemmed from reports of chatbots saying and encouraging destructive behavior.

These sorts of stories have been showing up more frequently, leading some to keep an eye on the situation. Lauren Gil Hayes, PhD student at the UI’s College of Social Work, has been following this topic since it ﬁrst came to light. She emphasized that AI is not a therapist or a human, and therefore lacks the emotional connection between a doctor and a patient.

“As a clinician, I’ve been approached by companies on LinkedIn trying to pay me to ‘check’ their AI tools and resources for therapy-like tasks, and I’ve declined every time. There is no substitute for sitting with a neutral, present human being when we are processing di culty, she said.

Some services like BetterHelp, an online therapy resource, are meant to connect individuals to a licensed provider in their area. Other services similar to ChatGPT craft responses based on what the user wants to hear rather than refer them to another service.

Students and professors alike are wary of artificial intelligence being used in this way. Stephen Cummings, clinical associate professor at the UI’s College of Social Work, has mi ed opinions on AI in the social work field, saying it has consistent flaws.

“What ChatGPT was developed to do was engage, and so it’ll give you what you want, and if you’re nice to it, it’s nice back, she said. Cummings said that this sort of responsiveness indicates to the user they are being heard

and understood.

therapy] and be incredibly sensitive towards it because people are using these platforms to get healthcare information. They’re going to it and want to use it because it feels non-judgmental compared to a human provider. Of course, ChatGPT is going to be an attractive alternative. I’m very concerned that this is going to continue being a problem because it’s not human, he said.

Students at the College of Social Work learn about the presence of AI therapy in their classes. Third-year Emma Dake is one UI student who has recognized the increasing talk about chatbot therapists.

“The only thing my professors have said is that I shouldn’t be using it to generate reﬂections it should be a human’s original thoughts, ake said.

Overall, she does not agree with using AI as a mental health resource and encourages those who are looking for support to seek professional help with a human provider.

“ egardless of what you ask it artiﬁcial intelligence], it will tell you what it thinks you want to hear, she said. “Therapy is supposed to be working through something with another individual to attempt to assist them in the way they need. That’s also an important

part of therapy — working with the client to ﬁnd a treatment plan that actually supports and provides the client with a safe space to heal.

Students at the UI are utilizing AI technologies in this way, as well as for simple advice. Third-year student Avishma Muthyapu said she uses ChatGPT for its straightforward responses.

“I have [used AI] because I felt like I could explain what I was feeling the best without any prior bias since it was AI, she e plained.

There is a category of AI therapist chatbots users can utilize as a resource. AI services that were developed by mental health professionals are able to help individuals in need, rather than them turning to ChatGPT. Some of these chat services have shown positive results with users having reduced anxiety and stress, according to the National Library of Medicine.

Muthyapu understands that some people may not see her line of reasoning.

“I don’t talk about it much because I feel like people are going to think it’s weird. However, I think it can help me a lot, she said. “For example, when me and a friend or my boyfriend ﬁght and I don’t understand their side, I think AI helps me better understand their side with the information I give, and this helps me in return.

ICPL sees increased use in At Home Services

Five years after the initial onslaught of COVID-19, students are beginning to return to pre-pandemic reading levels, according to the results of a Spring 2024 Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress.

Despite these results, concerns over literacy rates persist as the assessment reveals signiﬁcant gaps for students eligible for free or reducedprice lunch, students learning English, and students with disabilities. The Iowa City Public Library’s At Home Services is one program in Johnson County working to eliminate barriers to literacy and encourage students to read at home.

The service allows library card holders to request material from the library and have it shipped directly to their residence free of charge. The program has been a part of a portfolio of services the library provides to make accessing the library’s resources easier since 1974, and includes services to the Johnson County jail, the Book Bike, and the Bookmobile.

“What we were trying to accomplish with outreach services is enhancing access to folks who may not organically or easily be able to come to the downtown institution, am elmick, the community and access service coordinator at ICPL, said. “Whether that’s a barrier to travel, economical, familial, or sometimes physical.

People interested in utilizing the service simply need to fill out a form they can re uest be mailed or emailed to them, or they can call the library directly to have the form filled out. The form allows people utilizing At Home Services to select specific material they would like to check out, or to help librarians build a profile on the type of material a user is interested in being recommended.

The material is then mailed to the borrower’s address in a sturdy bag with a return stamp, eliminating any sort of costs that might be associated with delivery services and providing access to essential resources to those who otherwise would remain unconnected.

“When you’re providing access to information, what you’re really doing is providing access to opportunity, elmick said. “This is something the community can use to make sure everybody is welcomed, everybody is in a community, everybody feels like they belong, and everybody is given an opportunity for access.

While At Home Services are available to anyone unable to physically visit the library, Helmick said they see the services being especially helpful for those going through transitional phases in their life and those with health concerns that limit their ability to access the downtown library. In the ﬁscal year, the library was able to serve 210 users, delivering 3,329 items through At Home Services.

Audrey Brock, manager for At Home Services, said the service is also available to people in rural Johnson County who are not associated with an a liated town. Brock said she sees isolation being one of the biggest issues people utilizing At Home Services face.

“One thing I’ve noticed talking to a lot of my patrons is they’re not as upset about their physical issues as they are about the fact that they’re isolated, Brock says. “ o having the opportunity to, in some way, participate in the community is something that they tell me means a lot to them.

The services could also help with literacy rates

in Iowa by exposing children to a diverse range of texts that they can read with their parents at home and removing barriers to accessing print text, Leah Zimmermann, the assistant director of the Iowa Reading Research Center, said.

She referenced research that showed that the more books that children have at home can predict their literacy skills down the line, as shown in a two-decade long study published in Social Science Research, which found evidence that immersing children in an environment with books beneﬁts their future education.

“A program like the Iowa City Public Library’s At Home Services opens up that access so that students and parents can read a variety of books, get new books as often as they might like, in order to provide those rich and varied experiences with text that are really important to literacy development, she said.

For Brock, it’s not just children’s literacy that should be a topic of discussion, but adult literacy as well, following a 2019 study conducted by the National Center for Education tatistics estimated one in ﬁve adults possess low literacy skills.

“Anybody who doesn’t have the opportunity to continue expanding their mind, whether that’s through reading or any other kind of brain e ercise, I think that can aﬀect anybody’s well-being, Brock said.

For Helmick, another benefit of At Home Services is it brings the services the library provides that are essential for improving the quality of life and well-being of all library users. The library, Helmick said, is not only essential to democracy but is an important infrastructure for maintaining quality of life in the U.S.

“Wherever you are in your journey as a person living in Johnson County, the library is there to support you in that journey civically, socially, emotionally, and entertainment-wise,

Helmick said. “If the library doesn’t come to you, then we’re not leveling out the playing ﬁeld for everybody to en oy their library the same.

earned recognition on the national stafe. rairie ights bookstore in Iowa ity has been named to similar “best of lists, including Business Insider’s “ bookstores every book lover must visit in their lifetime.

an eissmiller, owner of rairie ights, said the bookstore has grown signiﬁcantly since its founding in and recognition on lists like these boosts its social media presence, online attention, and attracts tourists passing through town.

identiﬁed the service issues through student feedback and later changed the system to best address the students’ responses.

“ e consistently hear from students that while ite ide is appreciated, the wait times and unpredictability of the current system make it di cult to rely on, she said. “These changes are designed to improve the service to better meet the evolving needs of our campus community.

he also added being named to such lists allows all sorts of people around the world to connect with the store on social media.

“ e usually get tons of attention and comments from people that have known the store over the years, eissmiller said.

“There are also generations of people that know it and don’t necessarily live here anymore. eissmiller said the businesses’ Facebook page has followers from diﬀerent countries. rairie ights was also on Tim-

and ite ide have been working together since to reduce wait times and have continued to during the implementation of this new service. assisted ampus afety by gathering student feedback across campus. After evaluating all the factors, the I decided it was time for a change. According to I ampus afety, ite ide ﬁrst started operating in as a resource

eout.com’s list of “Best Independent Bookstores in the . . The ebster, a high-end restaurant, was named one of The New York Times’ “ Best estaurants in the . . It also earned a spot on A Today’s “ estaurants of the ear list.

amburg Inn o. made the list of “Best ult Favorite estaurant in very tate ,according to ovefood.com.

Beyond individual businesses, Iowa ity itself has earned recognition as one of the best places to live in the . . in by ivability.com and was named a “Top Best ollege Town by Best ollege eviews. org in . Through over years of business, c arthy said abe’s continually welcomes everyone, no matter who they are, to come and en oy the bar.

“I think the coolest thing about abe’s is how it doesn’t really have a crowd, he said. “It welcomes anybody that comes through the doors.

for women on campus to get home safely as the number of se ual assault cases rose. The service was e panded again in to serve all members of the university, and later, an app was developed, allowing individuals to re uest a pickup. ite ide has adapted in the past to ﬁt the growing needs of the community. Assistant vice president for ampus afety ark Bullock said these changes will improve the service.

Additionally, he said the improvements are a necessary reprioriti ation of ite ide’s role in a safe, late-night transit market ite ide shares with services like ber and is supported by ’s awk ouchers partnership program designed to provide ber coupons to students.

“The original goals of ite ide remain, but how we achieve them has to evolve, he said. ayley Bruce, I ampus afety’s chief of staff and public information o cer, said staff are actively working to address and improve upon issues that arise. Bruce said the incident was a one-off but troubleshooting may still occur withinthe transition process. he also e pressed the importance of campus feedback when implementing these changes.

“ e have consistently received feedback over the past few years, she said. “ e were told the service was unreliable and wait times were almost twenty minutes long. Before, they weren’t able to track the bus, so they’d be waiting for a long period of time and end up cancelling the pick up, which then makes wait times longer for others. The buses now allow riders to track them using Transit.

OPINIONS

War on DEI threatens UI

Lawmakers are a empting to make an example of University of Iowa sta .

Iowa Republican lawmakers U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra and state Rep. Taylor Collins have called for the firing of University of Iowa employees Drea Tinoco and Cory Lockwood. If these employees are ﬁred, the university stands to lose a lot more than just funding. It, consequently, would set a horrible example and further cripple the UI’s creative and literary community.

The evidence against the employees consists of two videos captured through a hidden camera. The ﬁrst video, uploaded to Fox News, shows Tinoco calling Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds “cuckoo bananas” for signing the bill in May to disband and dismantle the diversity, equity, and inclusion department, Senate File 2435.

The second video, uploaded to the

more than just a tactic of fearmongering by the GOP. By building a pyre of fear, they make it clear anyone attempting to do any diversity, equity, and inclusion work, or even discussing it, will be sent packing.

The torch to light that pyre is now in the university’s hands. Ultimately, the UI will choose the fate of the two employees.

First, we should consider what we stand to lose if we refuse to ﬁght blatant suppression and fearmongering. What kind of example would firing the two employees set?

“This sets a precedent. It’s going to keep happening because they understand they got away with it this time,” Danika Jacobsen, a second-year student at the UI, said. “[They say] ‘Oh, let’s do it a little bit more severe next time.’ It keeps going like that until you don’t have it at all.”

Most at risk is the literary community. The UI has already fallen in the national rankings of top writing schools, from ﬁfth to ninth. You don’t need to look far to see why.

The gutting of the International Writing Program, or IWP, comes to mind as a colossal loss to the literary community in Iowa City. The IWP has previously produced three Nobel Peace Prize recipients, including Mo Yan of China, Orhan Pamuk of Istanbul, and most recently in 2024, South Korean writer Han Kang.

The program, although still open, has been signiﬁcantly reduced in si e. Federal grants from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of ducational and ultural Aﬀairs were terminated, and as a result, the IWP lost nearly $1 million. Because of budget cuts, the Iowa Summer Writing Festival and the Youth Writing Project have announced their closure.

Diversity is the blood of creativity. Good stories aren’t pulled out of thin air; more often than not, stories are shaped and inspired by the people and narratives around us. If we remove the people around us, what narratives are there to write?

conservative news site “Townhall,” is a thirty-second clip filled with cuts conveniently removing most of the context so the footage appears “damning” to viewers.

This Big Brother style of espionage is

It’s worth mentioning the damage to these programs for what they brought to the literary community. Out of everything they contributed, it is diversity that I am most concerned about losing.

The UI’s literary community is already stumbling from the loss of these writing programs. If we want to send it crashing to its knees, there’s no better way than by accepting the epublican party’s call to ﬁre Tinoco and Lockwood. Because it won’t just be them.

If they truly want to remove any professor still doing “DEI work,” they’d have to sack the majority of the liberal arts department, which is obviously impractical, given the College of Liberal

Arts & Sciences has 710 faculty members. The college is also the largest of twelve at the UI, with nearly 15,000 undergraduate students. It appears the Republican party will seek evidence to justify its terminations however they can. We’re already using hidden cameras, what’s to stop some rogue from bugging classrooms or professors’ o ces ne t Yes, more budget cuts might be coming if we don’t follow the GOP’s demands, but we’ll possibly be losing just as much — or more — if we see them go. So if we’re going down, I’d like to see us do it with our writing hand free, defending the values we claim make this community great.

An apology from an electric scooter user

University of Iowa students continue to ride electric scooters despite concerns.

I’ve gotten every type of dirty look possible while riding my electric scooter - a glare that says, “I shouldn’t have to comply with you.” I see wide, scared eyes from someone imagining the medical bills a scooter crash would result in, and a sneer from someone mentally pushing me into tra c. I’m aware of how I must look to pedestrians. My stance not only shows oﬀ my perfectly functional legs but also gives me a perpetual air of haughtiness as I hold my head high to look for potential roadblocks as though I’m a spoiled king surveying my rulers from the world’s smallest carriage.

Instead of riding down the almost always empty bike lanes downtown, I’d much rather travel down the busy, more dangerous sidewalks where I can play a high-stakes version of Frogger where I get to be the — metaphorical — car. I will not deny that I perform these risks to public safety out of my own hedonistic desire to avoid any form of exercise, but if anyone’s going to be hurt by my scooter, it’s me. In the year since I began riding my electric scooter, the closest I’ve come to injuring someone with my scooter is a light bump to a passerby’s shoulder, which was followed by profuse apologies.

In contrast, the worst injury I experienced on my scooter was a golf-ball-sized

hole in my chin that required six stitches to close. Every other electric scooter user I’ve talked to has a similar experience to recount, from tumbles down hills to bumps from unobservant drivers.

In a case study written by Craig Aronow, esquire. of Rebenack, Aronow, & Mascolo, LLP, roughly 220 of the over 1,000 electric scooter-related injuries that occurred in the U.K. in 2021 were sustained by pedestrians. The rest were in uries inﬂicted on the riders.

Twenty-two percent isn’t a comforting ﬁgure, I reali e, but I have found no evidence to show that these types of collisions have occurred in Iowa City to any notable degree. As condescending as it may sound, I think pedestrians’ fear of electric scooters boils down to prey instincts. A person being struck by a motorized metal object is at more danger of damage than the person controlling said object, but that doesn’t automatically put e-scooters at the top of the food chain. In fact, if you were to lay this food chain out, we’d be closer to the bottom than the top. Obviously, a semi would demolish a

pedestrians are graceful gazelles avoiding slaughter by any of the vehicles above.

Scooter riders commandeering sidewalks are selﬁsh and prioriti es us over pedestrians, but we are both facing more dangerous creatures. So, forgive me if I’d rather take my chances with Stephanie the morning jogger rather than Billy-Bob in his Chevy pickup in the bike lane.

As of now, there are only three laws in Iowa City’s Code of Ordinances regarding electric scooters under Section 9-10-2. They mostly outline rules for riders to keep a headlight on at night. No moves are being made to enact any other laws. For now, electric scooters are allowed to go as they please as long as they aren’t purposely hurting people.

I reached out to the executive director of Iowa City’s Metropolitan Planning Organization, Kent Ralston, to make sure there weren’t any secret rules I was acci-

dentally breaking. Many guidelines boil down to electric scooter users trusting their instincts, Ralston said. Other than the central business district, where electric scooters must be on the road or bike lanes, scooters can be driven wherever their rider feels safest. “We have good quality, low-speed roads where individuals can choose to ride and an incredible network of wide sidewalks and trails whereby scooters can ride safely and comfortably alongside other users,” Ralston said.

I think Iowa City has accommodated for the use of electric scooters wonderfully. I realize a statement like this can’t automatically make someone feel safer. But just know that I’m not some Evel Knievel type who gets oﬀ on danger. I’m ust a tired student who only has ﬁve minutes to get from the English-Philosophy Building to Van Allen Hall.

Prius on impact, but trucks and cars take the top spot in the food chain. Motorcycles are second, despite taking up the same amount of space as cars and trucks. Bicycles are third because even though cyclists’ tear through sidewalks, there is always a risk of being mowed down on the roads. Iowa City might have clearly deﬁned bike lanes, but roads are still a dangerous place. And scooters are at the bottom as the slowest vehicle, or at least adjacent to the bottom. In a concrete jungle (or at least Iowa’s equivalent of one)

change don’t come often to organizations like ours. It’s important we make the most of this one.”

The word “billion” is hard to ignore, especially with a dollar signed attached.

The ﬁrst part of the ouse settlement declares the NCAA will pay $2.8 billion over the next 10 years, divided among all Division I athletes who participated in their sport between and . ow these “back damages” are paid is at the NCAA’s discretion.

The money will be paid in yearly installments of about $280 million, according to a brief on the settlement from the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, an independent reform organization based in Miami. The NCAA reserves and insurance will cover $1.1 billion of the total, while the remainder will be withheld from future distributions to DI schools.

“Every year the NCAA distributes more than $650 million to DI schools,” Knight Commission CEO Amy Privette Perko told The Daily Iowan. “That money comes primarily from the March Madness basketball tournament … [Schools] will still receive money, but it’s being reduced by about 20 percent overall.”

These withheld distributions are levied diﬀerently. The Big Ten, , Big , A , and PAC-12 – known as the Power 5 and now as the Power 4 when the PAC-12 lost a majority of its teams in 2024 – are the defendant conferences in the settlement. Forty percent of the $1.6 billion remainder will be withheld from the Power Five conferences, while 60 percent will be withheld from other DI conferences.

The Knight Commission and other outlets report an estimated 95 percent of back pay will go toward football and men’s and women’s basketball players. Critics argued this would be a violation of Title IX, the federal law that mandates gender equity in public education.

owever, ilken said the back damages are the result of an antitrust case, and Title IX claims are a separate issue. On June 11, eight female athletes ﬁled an appeal of the settlement, claiming the back damages did violate Title IX. The litigation is ongoing and the back pay is on hold as a result.

hile all schools in the defendant conferences must abide by the settlement’s ruling and directly pay athletes, others are left with an option. The Ivy League and the service academies all declined to participate, as did the Patriot League, which doesn’t offer athletic scholarships. The opt-out choices are only temporary, as non-defendant schools decide every year, according to the settlement.

itting the . million cap isn’t a requirement in the settlement. Schools technically only have to pay one athlete if they choose. Yet the reality is that power conference schools like the University of Iowa are expected to pay the $20.5 million this season, as they can easily aﬀord to do so.

The $20.5 million figure is based on 22 percent of the average Power conference school’s athletic revenue in terms of ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, and media rights distributions. owever, payments to athletes are not required to come from these sources.

For the Big Ten, these categories amounted to over $1.5 billion in revenue in 2024, equaling 64 percent of what the conference raked in that year, according to data from the night ommission. The Big Ten began a new seven-year media deal worth $7 billion in 2023.

UI athletics earned nearly $68.5 million from media rights in 2024. After factoring in ticket sales and sponsorship, the $20.5 million cap is only 18 percent of what the UI made from those categories. In other words, the UI has flexibility. Other schools don’t have this luxury.

NCAA football is divided into two subdivisions. The Football Bowl ubdivision, or FB , contains the ower conferences as well as ﬁve other smaller conferences, known as the Group of Five. All other DI schools are in the Football Championship Division, or FCS.

earned $19 million in 2023, while the median non- ower Five FB school earned million. Both are a far cry from the $145 million of their Power Five counterparts. Unlike Power Five, more than half the funds came from student fees and government support.

For example, the University of Northern Iowa, an FCS school, made about $22.2 million in athletics revenue in 2024, and more than 72 percent of that came from student fees, government support, and donor contributions. Ticket sales, sponsorships, and media rights totaled roughly $3.9 million.

In its annual report, Opendorse, a leading athlete marketplace and NIL technology company, estimated that Group of Five schools, plus the PAC-12, will allocate an average of $4.3 million toward the cap this year.

To spend toward the cap but have money left over requires alternative strategies. In August, the school announced the UNI Athletics Competitive Excellence Funds, allowing for sport-speciﬁc donations. This is one option for smaller schools to get closer to the cap, but for Perko, it isn’t the only one available.

Perko said some institutions are turning to increase student fees, boost fundraising, or ask for more institutional funding.

Schools aren’t required to max out the $20.5 million, and that’s necessary because many would struggle to do so. Plus, this 22 percent cap will increase by four percent every year. Some would deride this landscape as unfair, as wealthier schools could dominate recruitment and the transfer portal. For amogi uma, there was never any e uality in the ﬁrst place.

A former football player at the University of alifornia- os Angeles, uma started

a combination of direct revenue sharing and enhanced scholarship support.”

Opendorse estimated Power Four schools will spend an average of 65.6 percent of their allocations on football, followed by men’s basketball and women’s basketball at 20.3 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively.

Using Opendorse’s estimate of 65.6 percent and the awkeyes’ -person roster, a UI football player would earn $128,076 for this season, but that’s not reality.

Football general manager Tyler Barnes told awk entral adio this summer, “Our best, most productive players and top leaders will make the most money.”

under the College Sports Commission, or CSC, an independent association responsible for enforcing the NCAA’s new policies on revenue sharing and third-party NIL payments.

The ouse settlement re uired all DI athletes to report any third-party NIL deal worth more than $600. This process is done via NIL Go, an online clearinghouse platform made by the CSC and the accounting firm Deloitte. The CSC’s website claims NIL Go doesn’t calculate the fair market value of a deal, but rather that the deal serves a valid business purpose, which it deﬁnes as “the promotion of endorsement of goods or services provided for the general public for proﬁt.

The CSC demands all deals must have an associated status between the deal sponsor and deal facilitator, as well as an appropriate range of compensation, where athletes with similar business obligations are paid fairly. These regulations are all designed to prevent situations where the athlete receives compensation for nothing other than representing the school, informally known as pay-for-play deals.

a student group that transformed into the National College Players Association, or A, a nonproﬁt advocacy group. e said unlike professional sports leagues such as the NFL, there’s never been competitive balance. A power conference’s revenue stays within that league, and recent conference e pansion only consolidates that ﬁnancial leverage.

“ hen’s the last time orthern Iowa won a recruit from Ohio tate uma said. “It’s all because of the money and the powers and the TV dollars. Athletes shouldn’t be denied compensation to pretend that competitive balance exists when it never existed.”

For uma, raising student fees is an option to close the gap, but so is cutting program e penses. e pointed to ivision II, where athletes are on scholarship but coaches are paid less than in DI.

“There’s still money in there,” he said. “If they operated their budget more like a DII school, they would have millions of dollars to spend on players.”

It’s no secret the UI will spend all $20.5 million. The question remains which sports will receive how much funding. Athletics

irector Beth oet told reporters in uly that payments were sent out to athletes via enmo, which partnered with the Big Ten. Not every athlete will be paid, Goetz said, but the department aims to be ﬂe ible.

“It’s sort of a moving target. At the end of the year, we’ll have to see,” Goetz said in a press conference. “Clearly, we’re focused on men’s, women’s basketball, and football; and wrestling is a priority for us as well. But, there’ll be a smattering of other individuals, I think, along the way that we’ll see.”

The DI and other outlets requested exact ﬁgures from I athletics via the Freedom of Information Act. The department said in an email data won’t be available until around mid-2026.

The department said in a statement select scholarship athletes and teams outside of football, men’s and women’s basketball,

UI graduate defensive lineman Aaron Graves started every game last season and entered 2025 as a Phil Steele preseason second-team All-American. e said the team is “blessed to be ﬁnancially supported, but hasn’t been outspoken on payments.

“ e addressed it right awayt when it came out, raves said. “ e were like, ou know, people are gonna get paid, but that’s a private thing.’”

For UI defensive line coach and former awkeye elvin Bell, revenue sharing was “long overdue. is best advice to players: “stay in business, stay available.” That availability, he said, hinges on success in the classroom. Student-athletes must be academically eligible to obtain revenue sharing.

“The better you play, the more money you make, Bell said. “The better you play, the more marketable you are. So I don’t think they should set their sights low. There is no ceiling.”

Kamari Moulton, a second-year running back from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, said he chose the UI because of the team culture. e e plained financial support doesn’t always equate to a program’s true acceptance.

“I wouldn’t go for a lot of money and you’re not at a place where the coaches really love you, in a sense,” Moulton said. “Just go where you feel you’re needed and wanted.”

Schools like the UI want to compete for championships across all sports, but the $20.5 million only goes so far in achieving that goal. Instead, Power Four schools are on a mission to “exceed the cap,” wherein extra money is brought in from third-party NIL payments, oftentimes from collectives. As the ﬁnal part of the ouse settlement, these NIL third-party details are subjected to regulation — a process that’s caused frustration and legal skepticism.

Brad einrichs okingly called it the “ﬁling cabinet in the sky.”

einrichs is the director of the Iowa warm ollective, or A , an organization that facilitates NIL deals for UI student-athletes. e didn’t mince words when discussing the new NIL regulations

For einrichs, these new rules limit the nonprofit portion of A , as the wants documentation of the third party’s effort to profit from the deal.

“This was the College Sports Commission trying to crush the collectives, einrichs said. “The A nonproﬁt component was, ey, donate to us. It’s a non-ta able contribution. And the work that’s being done by the student-athlete is for the nonproﬁt.’ einrichs said any deal A does is worth over $600, but added the approval process is taking too long. Athletes will agree to a deal with a business weeks in advance, but they might not hear back from the commission in time for their promotional event, then have to make the di cult choice of whether or not to attend. einrichs said athletes can fulfill all contract requirements, but they cannot be paid until approval is received. Athletes could also risk a loss of eligibility if they do a promotional event that is rejected by the clearinghouse.

“ e’re getting to the point where student- athletes aren’t going to want to go to events anymore that they could have otherwise been making money on,” he added. “They’re worried they’re never going to get paid for it.”

According to a Sept. 4 release from the CSC, 6,090 deals worth $35.42 million were approved from June 11 to Aug. 31, while 332 were rejected. The value of the denied deals was about $10 million.

Ferentz is all for revenue sharing, calling it “so deserved” and a “great deal” for his players. here he’s more hesitant, however, is third-party NIL deals.

“If we could just keep it to [revenue sharing], I’d be a perfectly happy person,” Ferent said in a press conference. “But unfortunately, we struggle with that as a rule … I just hope at some point we can contain what’s going on with NIL and that type of thing.”

Ferentz’s wish to regulate the NIL marker is seen in the CSC, but for some, any regulation at all would violate not just federal antitrust law, but state law as well.

“The NIL restrictions that stem from the settlement I don’t think are going to last,” uma said.

uma points to legislation in alifornia, Michigan, Ohio, and Virginia as examples where the ouse settlement’s provisions would contradict.

ichigan ouse Bill , led by tate Rep. Joe Tate, D-Detroit, a former football player at Michigan State University, is especially damning. The bill states schools can’t uphold any rule that prohibits a student of that institution’s NIL rights. Additionally, schools can’t comply with any NCAA investigation or regulation related to NIL agreements, compensation, or activities, or report any of that information to the NCAA or “association with authority over intercollegiate sports.”

uma also re ects the term “pay-for-play as being illegal.

“ hen you’re talking about somebody’s use of an arbitrary label, the concept that they can create or demonize an activity they don’t prefer by creating a label they try to demonize does not hold water in court,” he said.

For uma, the ouse settlement is constructed of cards ﬂimsy and temporary. e said he was “alarmed and disappointed when he ﬁrst read the ruling in the summer, but believes once the legal system does its job, then athletes can obtain their true worth.

“You’re going to see a free market,” he said. “If any schools can start paying players directly as much as they want, then you’re going to see, for the ﬁrst time, a free market that might exceed what the pros get.”

Gender-a irming care ban: ‘Cruelty

is the point’

Iowa law bans access to life-saving gender-a irming care with Medicaid funds.

Emma Denney, 32, originally from Washington, D.C. and now an Iowa City resident, wouldn’t feel like herself without having access to gender-afﬁ rming care.

Denney said since treatment, she can see the world more clearly and feel her emotions more vividly.

“I feel alive,” she said. “I look forward to days. I make plans for the future.”

While Denney herself is not on Medicaid, as of July 1, Iowa legislation made it even harder for transgender Iowans like Denney to obtain the medical services they desire. Individuals in Iowa are no longer able to use Medicaid to access gender-afﬁ rming care.

Gender-afﬁ rming care includes, and is not limited to, counseling and group work, surgical intervention, hormones, and puberty blockers.

Previous attempts at enacting a ban on using state funds for gender afﬁ rming care were declined due to laws in the Iowa Civil Rights Act, protecting individuals from discrimination against gender identity. But, in the 2025 legislative session, the ﬁ rst bill Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed was Senate File 418 — removing gender identity as a protected class in the Iowa Civil Rights Act.

As the Iowa legislature was crafting its state budget in early may, it passed Iowa House File 1049, which declares state funding will no longer be used for reimbursement for sex reassignment surgery, hormone therapy, or “other medical interventions intended to alter primary or secondary sex characteristics related to an individual’s gender dysphoria diagnosis.”

Iowa Rep. Ann Meyer, R-Fort Dodge, the bill’s ﬂoor manager, did not respond to two requests for comment from The Daily Iowan. She said, while introducing the bill on May 13, it was her priority to maintain mental health rates.

“If someone is in mental distress, if someone is suicidal, the treatment for those issues is not surgery. It’s not hormone treatment,” Meyer said. “It’s behavioral health, which we fully commit to covering.”

the bill passed the Senate on May 14 and was signed into law by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on June 11.

Iowa Rep. Aime Wichtendahl, D- Hiawatha, the ﬁ rst openly transgender lawmaker in Iowa history, disagrees with Meyer.

“The best way to treat gender dysphoria is through gender-afﬁ rming care,” she said.

Medicaid is a federal and state-funded insurance program providing free or low-cost health coverage to qualifying people, and has included the state funding that will no longer be made accessible for gender-afﬁ rming care.

Medicaid assists over 700,000 people in Iowa, providing them with health coverage each year, according to Iowa Health and Human Services, or HHS.

Between 2015 and 2024, Iowa directed roughly $3.4 million in Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program funds toward care for transgender residents, according to Iowa HHS. The money covered surgeries, hormone treatments, infertility care, mental health counseling, and voice and communication therapy.

State data shows about $1.24 million

went to hormone therapy and $1.14 million to counseling services. Nearly $967,000 was spent on surgeries, while voice and communication therapy accounted for about $16,600 and infertility services for less than $500 over the nine years.

That level of spending is minimal compared with Iowa’s broader Medicaid program, which operates on a budget of about $9 billion. Of that, $2.2 billion comes from state dollars, with the rest funded through federal and other sources.

The discussion over Medicaid funding comes as Iowa has scaled back legal protections for transgender Iowans. Earlier this year, Reynolds signed a measure eliminating gender identity from Iowa’s civil rights law — the ﬁ rst rollback of its kind in the nation.

Reynolds and Republican lawmakers said the protections undermined restrictions passed in recent years, including a 2023 law barring physicians from prescribing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, or performing surgeries for transgender minors.

Backers of the new law pointed to a 2023 ruling in which an Iowa judge struck down the state’s previous attempt to exclude gender transition surgeries from Medicaid coverage. The court found the ban violated both the Iowa Constitution’s equal protection clause and the Civil Rights Act, which at the time still included gender identity. kickstarting their campaign to repeal the state’s civil rights protections for gender identity.

National medical groups — including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Psychiatric Association — maintain that gender-afﬁ rming treatments are safe, effective, and medically necessary. In 2021, the AMA urged governors not to restrict access, citing research linking such care to lower rates of mental health problems and suicide attempts among transgender people.

Johnson County Board of Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz, who served on the Trans Advisory Committee, said transgender adults have been seeking gender-afﬁ rming care outside of Iowa to ﬁ nd cheaper options, including looking

need,” Rowe said.

Alongside detrimental mental health tolls, the loss of gender-afﬁ rming care would affect people physically.

Denney, the transgender Iowan originally from D.C., said after surgery, her body no longer makes estrogen, and if estrogen were no longer available to her, she would immediately go through menopause.

“I would have a lot of cascading and exponential health problems that would lower my quality of life, really dramatically, to the point where I would consider some drastic options,” she said.

Rep. Wichtendahl said she has continued to show up for her community, even against the wishes of the Republican majority.

Wichtendahl has friends who felt the need to relocate out of state because of this bill. She said Iowa is no longer safe for transgender people, making her community feel unwelcome and not valued.

“There is a real pessimism,” she said. “Iowa isn’t going to stop doing these anti-trans bills anytime soon.”

Wichtendahl plans to keep showing up and going to the capital in unity with the people who don’t have the privilege to pack and move out of the state.

“For those who are still in Iowa, I’m still here, and I’m still going to be ﬁ ghting for our rights,” she said.

to impose a world where you are suffering,” Denney said.

The Johnson County Transgender Advisory Committee — led by people directly impacted by discrimination against the transgender community — is another haven allowing individuals to assist each other in navigating the legislation. Recommended by the committee, Johnson County gave the Emma Goldman Clinic approximately $11,500 on June 17, in partnership with the Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund, alongside smaller amounts based on expressed needs.

Sean McRoberts, who works on the Trans Advisory Committee, hopes the amount given to the clinic will cover all requests to organizations, such as Lavender Legal and Iowa Trans Mutual Aid for people from Johnson County for a year.

The Emma Goldman Clinic has been a place where people can ﬁ nd and receive gender-afﬁ rming care, McRoberts said.

The clinic strives to create an environment where diversity is acknowledged and celebrated, according to its website. The wesbite states the clinic is actively committed to fostering staff diversity through its employment policies and practices. It provides access to abortion care, birth control, gynecological services, sexually transmitted infection testing, and transition-related care.

The clinic is an established nonproﬁt organization that helps care for individuals. They keep the records needed by the county to administer the grant, according to their regulations. As a mutual aid organization, Trans Mutual Aid does not have those abilities.

internationally, which can be a detriment to their safety and further pushes people to the margins.

If people are unable to access care at all, Fixmer-Oraiz predicts mental health impacts on their community, including higher rates of suicide and suicide attempts.

Andy Rowe, director of health care operations at The Project of Quad Cities, an organization that provides LGBTQ+ care, including mental health services and gender-afﬁ rming care, said over 50 percent of transgender people have reported either planning or having attempted suicide.

“If it were my kids who were staring down those kinds of statistics, I’d want them to be able to get the care they

Wichtendahl said, through her experiences, she can conﬁ rm gender-afﬁ rming care is life-saving, adding that without access, people resort to harmful actions, including ordering hormones and medications online or from other sources, which can lead to more psychological distress.

“Leaving [dysphoria] untreated sets people up for self-harm, unfortunately, but again, they know that, and they don’t care; cruelty is the point with this bill,” Wichtendahl said.

Denney said the right-wing government has an ideology and belief that transgender people shouldn’t go out in public, let alone exist.

“That is the baseline of what they want to impose on people. They want

The Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund is a nonprofit that offers fi nancial help to transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diversive Iowans seeking gender-affi rming care. It provides microgrants to cover costs such as hormone therapy, surgeries, binders, and related expenses, helping reduce fi nancial barriers. Applications are reviewed monthly.

While there are ways to still receive grants beyond Medicaid, Fixmer-Oraiz said it’s been devastating to see the laws passed in the last year.

“It’s usually out of fear, out of not understanding something or someone. It’s very debasing [for] humans to vilify us in this way,” Fixmer-Oraiz said. “Especially as a local elected ofﬁcial, it’s incumbent upon me to show people we are leaders in our community, and we have families, we have children, and we need health care.”

Fixmer-Oraiz hopes the legislation is ultimately undone and never pass to become law. They noted conditions are already risky, with rising food and housing insecurity, and limiting access to medical care only making matters worse. In their view, the policy does not serve residents but instead dictates what medical care people can receive — a decision they stressed should be made between an individual and their doctor.

Fixmer-Oraiz described the legislation as an unnecessary level of government intervention. They added that when lawmakers cannot directly restrict access to medical services, they instead look for ways to defund them.

“[This] just further criminalizes people of low wealth and reduces their accessibility to life-saving health care,” Fixmer-Oraiz said.

Denney said it’s important to understand transgender rights, reproductive care, access to vaccines, and immigrant rights are all one struggle for liberation.

Wichtendahl said this is not the end of bills being written to harm the transgender community. She said it is cynical politics at its worst, and it needs to be repudiated.

“You don’t want us to live,” she said. “You would rather people be dead than be trans.”

IC responds to Annunciation shooting

After a Minneapolis Catholic school shooting, Catholics in Iowa City share how they will move forward.

In just two minutes, the lives of many around the country were changed forever.

The shooting at Annunciation Catholic School took the lives of two children and injured 18 others on Aug. 27. Children were attending their back-to-school mass when shots were ﬁred through the church windows into their pews.

The tragedy in Minnesota resonates with Catholic communities across the nation, and the Iowa City Catholic community, whose religion was targeted in a place of worship, is no exception.

The University of Iowa’s Newman Catholic Student Center holds daily masses and provides a gathering place for campus Catholics and Iowa City community members. For many students, news of the shooting was disheartening.

ulia otty, a ﬁrst-year I student and a Minnesota native who frequents the Newman Center, said being Catholic and from around the area of the shooting made the news especially jarring.

“It was shocking to hear,” she said.

Being far from family and seeing the event turn into national news made her reﬂect upon the people in her faith, especially considering how close it was to her home, she said.

Rotty said when she went home for the weekend, the shooting was mentioned during mass. She said, continuing to practice faith and community in a time of loss remains important.

“ I deﬁnitely think it’s good to say prayers about everyone that was aﬀected, she said.

Angela Olson, head of schools at Regina Catholic Education Center, said the elementary, junior, and senior high schools had a pre-scheduled mass Wednesday afternoon. Their masses take place in the gym instead of a church. During the elementary school’s mass, the staﬀ chose not to mention what had occurred earlier that

day because of how young the student are.

The following day, Regina Catholic mentioned the tragedy in the morning announcements, and teachers are always encouraged to start class with prayer.

Olson said Coralville Rev. Chuck Adams asked if he could say something in front of the high school kids to help teachers manage breaking the news. During the high school mass, Olson said Adams mentioned what had happened in Minneapolis “carefully and intentionally,” in the prayers.

Since Regina Catholic holds its services in its gymnasium, the school plans for active shooter emergencies as they would for a regular school assembly drill, Olson

said. The schools have not had any of their drills, including ﬁre, tornado, or active shooter because the school year has only just started.

The administrator said some parents reached out to ask safety questions. She included reminders of what safety measures the school has in place in her weekly email to parents, such as keeping all doors locked and having visitors check in at the o ce. The school has a closed campus, meaning students cannot leave for free periods or lunch.

Regina Catholic has cameras installed, constant teacher supervision, and electronic door access so administrators can see when doors are unlocked or propped

open on an internal network viewable on their personal devices.

The Newman Center and Regina Catholic fall under the Catholic Diocese of Davenport.

In a statement sent to The Daily Iowan, Diocese of Davenport Bishop Dennis Walsh wrote for the Catholic community to join in prayer for the safety and wellbeing of the staﬀ as well as in solidarity for the victims of the Minneapolis shooting.

“We stand with the students, faculty, staﬀ, and families of Annunciation atholic chool, a rming our commitment to the sanctity of life and the call to build communities founded on compassion and nonviolence,” the bishop wrote.

The Black Angel welcomes local artists

Penny Peach, Aaron Longoria, and Sophie Mitchell performed for the Iowa City’s Songwriters Festival.

The dimly lit, tasteful ambiance of The Black Angel was brought to life by three local songwriters on Thursday night, tugging at the emotions of diners and festival-goers.

Elly Hofmaier, recognized musically as Penny Peach, Aaron Longoria, and Sophie Mitchell, shared the stage as part of the 2025 Songwriters Festival. All donning guitars, the trio prepared to alternate between their original songs for the small, chittering audience at the inaugural event.

As the first strum of a guitar floated through the air of the venue, the eager spectators fell into silence.

The set was relatively bare — three chairs, three microphones, and three artists sharing their stories through song.

The lack of ﬂashiness on stage allowed the crowd to focus their attention fully on listening to the music rather than being distracted.

“It was more about listening, rather than seeing any kind of spectacle,” Reagan Grieser-Yoder, an Iowa City community member, said. “It wasn’t quiet in a way that people weren’t enjoying it. People seemed really engaged, actually listening to what was being sung, paying attention to the lyrics rather than just vibing out to the songs.”

Grieser-Yoder was accompanied by Annalise Rummelhart, another community member. Both attended the performance to show support for Mitchell. Rummelhart, who had only previously heard Mitchell perform with a band, voiced appreciation for the simplistic stage setting.

“It was nice to hear just her voice; it was a lot more personal,” she said.

For the entire hour, the artists shared the stage, and the audience remained in appreciative silence. The only moments that broke through the shared quiet occurred when the performers spoke between their songs, eliciting laughter and engagement from the crowd.

Each artist took time before their songs to provide backstory for their writing, leaning on each other for emotional support and appreciative glances. Hofmaier stopped at one point to say, “I love these guys,” motioning to Longoria and Mitchell.

feel like everything sounded really clear and everybody was being very respectful.”

To Rummelhart, another standout moment was when Longoria performed a song, inspired by their experience as a transgender person and the struggles that followed. The song described what their family life was like after coming out, and walked the audience through how they were mentally dealing with it.

“I’ve been thinking a lot of similar thoughts, and it’s really cool to hear what they have done and put into action through their music,” Rummelhart said.

“It’s such an honor to be here right now. There are no other musicians I’d rather share the stage with,” Mitchell added. Their close-knit bond affected the audience, filling The Black Angel with a unanimous feeling of belonging and togetherness.

The appreciation between artist and audience went both ways. After the set was over, Mitchell remarked on how attentive and respectful the crowd was.

“People were really listening,” she said. “I

Several audience members were visibly transﬁ ed by the deeply personal performance, the lyrics resonating with quiet intensity even after the ﬁnal chord of the song was played.

The vulnerability displayed by all three musicians fostered a sense of intimacy, one usually not found in a public space. Each song acted as a glimpse into the artists’ inner lives, riddled with heartbreak, anger, joy, or conﬂict.

It wasn’t merely a performance. The Songwriters Festival debut felt more like a conversation-a shared moment of humanity.

Iowa City’s first Songwriters Festival

The inagural Iowa City Songwriters Festival was held at multiple venues from Sept. 4 to Sept. 6. Acoustic artists Je Tweedy and Joy Oladokun headlined at The Englert Theatre and were joined by dozens of fellow songwriters. Hundreds of community members a ended, including emerging creative scholars selected by the festival to receive backstage access.

SPORTS From patient to provider

pneumonia. ﬀects include inﬂammation and ulceration that targets the mouth, eyes, and genital area, along with a less prominent skin rash.

they’re going through.

ill yan didn’t get his ﬁrst look of Iowa ity when he oined the Iowa cross country and track and ﬁeld team three years ago. Instead, it was in the niversity of Iowa tead Family hildren’s ospital.

yan was born and raised in aukee, Iowa, and attended owling atholic igh chool in est es oines. is mother, elly, competed in track and ﬁeld at the niversity of outh akota.

ow a I third-year, yan was a patient at the children’s hospital in as he battled mycoplasma pneumonia mucositis. According to the partan edical esearch ournal, mycoplasma pneumonia mucositis is a rare, distinct manifestation of the bacteria that causes

“I couldn’t eat or drink without e treme pain, yan said. “ o, I lost about pounds, and I didn’t have pounds to lose. They couldn’t treat me over in es oines, so they transported me over to Iowa ity, where I stayed for about a week before they let me come back.

yan has given back to the community by oﬀering over hours of service in the past year to the children dealing with serious illnesses at the children’s hospital.

“Obviously, every patient has a diﬀerent e perience there, yan said. “ veryone has a diﬀerent sickness they might be going through, but I like to think that I have some type of understanding of what

“And because of that, I can say, ey, I was in your spot at one point, at some level,’ yan continued. “I kind of get it it sucks to stay in the hospital for days on end, not see your family, not see your friends, and the things that pass the time, like seeing athletes and doing events, really means a lot.

yan has volunteered at the Iowa ity Free edical and ental linic, the I obile linic, and the tead Family hildren’s ospital. yan said working at the children’s hospital was the most fulﬁlling for him because he was a patient there and met legendary awkeye athletes, such as former men’s basketball players ordan Bohannon and B Armstrong.

“I remember who came in, so to be able to do that, in some respects, really means a lot, and it’s cool to be recogni ed for those kinds of things, because you’re

Iowa field hockey’s global family

what it feels like to leave your home for a chance to pursue what you love.

“ ichael has so many great contacts all over urope. e go to many diﬀerent tournaments and clubs, head coach isa ellucci said.

But talent alone isn’t enough. For the Iowa coaching staﬀ, each student-athlete needs to display the same set of characteristics.

“It is important to make sure our contacts know what we are looking for in student athletes, ellucci said. “First and foremost high character people, people who want to be in a high-performance environment, and their skill level from versatility, athleticism, to their ﬁtness.

This international emphasis isn’t uni ue to Iowa. Across I it’s not uncommon to see teams consist of mostly international players.

doing it for the kids, yan said. One of yan’s favorite things to do is “Tuesday Teen ight, where athletes go to the children’s hospital to play games, such as the intendo witch and cards, and do crafts with teenagers who are in similar situations as yan was si years ago. yan not only connected with the kids through his volunteer work, but also became good friends with Iowa football long snapper Ike pelt , who fre uently visited the hospital with yan. “ e came in a lot with me, and we spent a lot of time with kids and that was a lot of fun, yan said. Another one of yan’s favorite activities was Book awk tory Time, where athletes would sit down with a group of kids and read books to them. yan also en oys getting to spend time with

Two goalkeepers, one goal

Iowa soccer’s goalkeepers utilize unique backgrounds to elevate the Hawkeye defense.

ed by a pair of goalkeepers in niversity of Iowa graduate student Taylor ane and second-year Fernanda ayrink, the team’s defense has found itself in a position united under one common ob ective victories. ane and ayrink have split starts so far into the season, with ane holding a - advantage. The two have complemented each other nicely, as the awkeyes have a - - record this year.

The two combine for over saves and have only allowed ﬁve goals on the season, earning awkeye soccer a o. ranking from Top rawer occer and a o. ranking from nited occer oaches.

ane spent the last three years patiently waiting for her turn to shine as the backup to acy nneking, Iowa’s all-time leader in shutouts.

ane’s patience and hard work has indeed paid oﬀ, as the awkeye goalkeeper ust received Big Ten oalkeeper of the eek honors for recording two saves and a shutout - win against estern ichigan.

“It’s been a ourney with Iowa soccer. I’ve loved every moment, ane said. “I put a lot of hard work and investment into this team and program. It’s deﬁnitely nice to have that recognition and to be acknowledged by the conference. But obviously, being a goalkeeper, we can’t be successful without all the people in front of us.

Iowa goalkeepers coach aladares was thrilled to see ane’s hard work get recognition from the conference. “ oalkeeper of the week is very awesome, he said. “It is very rewarding as a coach. I’m happy for her, and she’s been earning it. he’s done a great ob to keep investing in college soccer even when we are in the oﬀ months.

ane’s recent honor is a gentle reminder of how di cult it is to be honored at the goalkeeper position.

“It’s awesome. e talk so much to these kids about investing into the process, aladares said. “ hen you talk about goalkeeping, it’s a very hard position. e have

Moisio locks down defensively

The fourth-year transfer is poised to make a big impact as a libero.

Defense is a crucial component in any sport, and the libero is responsible for a large portion of this skill when it comes to volleyball. Despite only being in her first season with Iowa, fourth-year Milana ‘Mo’ Moisio is checking all the bo es.

Although she’s not the tallest on the team and doesn’t slam flashy kills, oisio has carved her impact on the court with dives, digs, and dedication.

“She came in this spring and just did wonderful, fourth-year head coach im Barnes said. “Now she’s one of our captains. She’s fit in really well. The team really respects her a great deal, and that’s what’s helping us play at such a high level so uickly.

Barnes also praised Moisio for her love for the program, a feeling that is mutual for the awkeyes.

“It’s home for her, and she knows how much we value her and the way she plays,” Barnes said. “She made all-tournament at the first tournament she played at, she had a career digs record — it just shows everything we thought about her is coming to fruition, seeing her on the court and really producing.”

Moisio spent the first three years of her collegiate career at the niversity of iami.

ailing from aukegan, Illinois, she appeared in 255 sets for the Hurricanes, a program that qualified for the NCAA tournament all three years.

espite plenty of postseason e perience in Florida, oisio was drawn to Iowa’s atmosphere and team culture.

“Iowa is genuinely one of the best places I’ve ever been to,” Moisio said. “I really didn’t think it could get this good when I came here. I like the people, the place, the culture that this team offers.”

The Carmel Catholic High School graduate said adversity during her time as a Hurricane made her more open to the differences that came with moving to Iowa City.

as egas during the ebel hallenge. Iowa knocked off and al tate Bakersfield with sweeps, bridged by a 3-2 win against tah Tech.

The Iowa defense proved to be key against tah Tech in particular, where oisio recorded a career-best digs, which Barnes regarded as wonderful work.

“ he was a lockdown passer and passed a really high rating for us,” Barnes said. “That was big. er defense was rock solid. The way she leads is e actly what this team needs. She’s really steady. She’s never too high or too low, and that’s what this team needs to play consistent volleyball.”

For second-year and fellow libero aimie Marquardt, who serves in a defensive specialist position for the awkeyes, this attitude and mindset has been key to oisio’s success.

“Mo has brought a lot of consistency to the position,” Marquardt said. “In volleyball, passing has to be consistent. I think her consistency, defensively and in serve receive especially, has really contributed and helped elevate our team to a new level.”

Marquardt also noted Moisio’s sound leadership skills as team captain that stem from three years of prior AA e perience.

Moisio tallied a total of 36 digs during Iowa’s as egas outing, averaging . digs per set. The libero also nabbed two kills and assists.

Last season, Iowa featured another transfer in the libero spot in oy alles. After four years at Ari ona, alles spent her final season of eligibility at Iowa, starting all 32 matches and tallying digs. For Barnes, the transfer portal offered another e perienced option.

“ oy was a senior libero and a great player for us with good e perience, Barnes said.

“That’s what we needed. We needed to find a couple of liberos that had some e perience, and Mo fit that perfectly.”

Barnes also credited Moisio for her smooth transition to a conference as competitive as the Big Ten.

“ he had three years of e perience, under her belt playing in the ACC, and when we watched her on film, [we] really thought she could be a really good libero in the Big Ten,” Barnes said. “We’ve been really happy that she’s shown that she’s more than capable.” Moisio also attributes her defensive success to her mindset.

“It was very challenging at Miami to be on that team,” Moisio said. “All those challenges made me become open to other things. I think that really helped me when I came into a new program like this. I was all ears.

After a - mark last season, Iowa volleyball started its new season with a 3-0 trip to

“She’s a senior, so she has that leadership role naturally already,” Marquardt said. “She does a great job forming relationships with each person on the team. That really helps each player build trust with her to help lead us as a captain.”

Q&A | Iowa goalkeeper

Taylor Kane

The Daily Iowan: Your parents are in town, where are you going to eat in Iowa City?

Taylor Kane I am a big fan of Baroncini. It’s a little hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant. It’s a really good spot to go.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

I would probably live in pain, and I think it’d be fun to live in Europe because you’d be able to travel to lots of other European countries.

Is there any music that you refuse to listen to?

I don’t think I’ve ever been asked that uestion before. I don’t think there’s any music I refuse to listen to, but there’s definitely music that I am not as in touch with certain genres like rap. I don’t know a ton of rap songs, but we always have some on in the locker room. I’ve definitely been e posed to a lot more Bra ilian music over the years, which has been fun. Are there any pre-game rituals or routines that you follow?

“I came to Iowa ust like, o balls are [going to] hit the floor,’” Moisio said. oisio said her showing in as egas represents just some of the impact she hopes to have on the court.

“I’m glad I can help the team out in any way,” Moisio said. “It was the first tournament. I’m hoping I get more.”

up with my shin guards, so I put them on last.

What is your favorite stadium you’ve played at during your career here at Iowa?

Beating Iowa tate last year was pretty cool. I like winning at Iowa State; that always feels good as a awkeye. I also think playing in A is really fun. I am from alifornia, and A was always the team to beat growing up in my mind.

What is your favorite pre-game hype music?

y kind of superstition is I always put my cleats on, then my gloves, and then my shin guards. hich is kind of uncommon. ormally people ust put their shin guards on before, but I don’t warm

I definitely listen to the classic 2000s throwback. It’s kind of a mi of fun, energetic pop songs. I think the one I specifically always listen to is “ o ands by aka Flocka Flames.

Who will win the Big Ten football championship?

Over the last years, the enn State Nittany Lions have consistently found themselves near the top of the Big Ten standings under head coach ames Franklin. Having won their last conference championship in , the nineyear drought has raised a sense of frustration and distrust directed at Franklin in the media. That nine-year drought should end in December. Not only do the Nittany Lions enter the 2025 season with a roster full of F ﬁrst-round talent, but they also come loaded with e perience. In fact, according to a report from CBS Sports’ Cody Nagel, Penn tate ranks fourth in the country among ower Four schools in returning starters with . Among those returning starters

lies the focal points of the offense uarterback rew Allar and run ning backs ic ingleton and Kaytron Allen. Fourth-year Allar ranks second in Bleacher Report’s Top-25 Quarter back ankings. hile he struggled in their playoff semifinal matchup with Notre Dame, let’s not forget the amazing junior season the quarterback had. ith , total yards and 30 total touchdowns, there’s no denying Allar was a difference maker and will prove pivotal to the Nittany Lions’ success this season. Penn State’s one-two punch running back room is easily the best in the nation. ith two , yard rushers in Singleton and Allen, the Nittany Lions will not only thrive in the passing game with Allar but will have the ability to dominate in the run game as well. The Nittany Lions are loaded and hungry after last season’s disappointing conclusion, having missed out on a spot in the Big Ten championship game and losing in the ollege Football layoff semifinal. enn tate is built to achieve Big Ten glory this season and even have a shot at capturing a national championship as well.

Realistically, the Big Ten champion this year will boil down to either Penn State or Ohio State, and if the ﬁrst week was any indication, the Buckeyes will take the conference by storm.

Before the season even began, Ohio tate was ranked by the Associated Press as the No. 3 team in the nation, and for good reason.

The Buckeyes had an e plosive 2024-25 season that ended with the honor of being the lowest-seeded team in college football history to win the national title. espite the loss of key seniors, such as running back Tre eyon Henderson and wide receiver meka gbuka, who recorded a career-high in receptions, Ohio State came out with a burst of energy to start the 2025-26 sea-

son, knocking oﬀ o. Te as, - . While the Nittany Lions also won their season opener, it was a - blowout against a lesspolished Nevada team. In other words, it was a game they should have won. While both teams will run a similar gauntlet of Big Ten foes, the ﬁrst week alone has given the Buckeyes a more challenging overall schedule.

The ultimate test will be when these two titans face each other in the ov. game. It will no doubt be Penn State’s toughest game of the season, but for Ohio State, it will more or less be another Longhorn matchup.

In terms of tangible statistics, the Buckeyes are looking strong as ever, with uarterback ulian ayin up to yards in one game, not to mention a team receiving average of . yards per reception. aybe it’s a little basic to pick last year’s national champion, but Ohio State simply has the best odds to be a Big Ten champion, much like they would have been last year had it not been for ill-timed losses to Oregon and Michigan.

patients in their rooms, as he received the same act from athletes while he was in the hospital.

“Getting to visit patients in their rooms — that was me, because I couldn’t leave my room. So, that’s also pretty special to be able to do that,” Ryan said.

Ryan also volunteered at the UI Dance Marathon, an event that has raised $37 million for kids since 1995. He got to speak at the event and sign autographs for the kids.

Ryan was Iowa’s male nominee for the Jackie Robinson Big Ten Community and Impact Award this year, which recognizes one male and one female athlete from each Big Ten school and selects two winners for the entire conference.

“You can’t say enough about Jackie Robinson,” Ryan said. “Him as an athlete, as a person and his community, and to break down barriers — to even be mentioned with that award, it’s truly special.” Ryan was nominated alongside Iowa women’s wrestler Nanea Estrella, who was named a national winner of the award in its first year.

“She actually won the whole thing for the Big Ten,” Ryan said. “So it was cool to be recognized alongside her as well.”

The Des Moines native’s commitment to his work also earned him recognition at the Golden Herkys Awards Show, which recognizes the achievements of Hawkeye athletes on and off the field. Ryan was also selected as one of five honorees on the Allstate NACDA Good Works Team for this fall.

“It really means a lot,” Ryan said. “I really started volunteering, just because I kind of passed my freshman and sophomore year, and I wanted to start to give back to the community that gave me so much. I grew up a Hawkeye fan, and I’ve

While field hockey is mainly a women’s sport in the U.S. starting in high school, the sport is much more ingrained abroad. England formalized the modern game in the late 19th century. Today, both men and women

always wanted to be here in Iowa City.”

The junior said he hopes his nomination and selections for these awards will inspire other athletes to step up and serve the community. Ryan already sees the impact he has made in that endeavor.

“I’ve already gotten a few teammates that want to come and help me and do similar things,” Ryan said. “So I think that’s what those kinds of things

compete in the sport throughout Europe.

“The international players have been playing since they were 3 or 4 years old,” Cellucci said. “Our golf and tennis clubs here in the U.S. are like field hockey clubs overseas, allowing their skills to be much higher than those here in America.”

But choosing the athlete is one thing. Having the athlete accept those invites

a very unique situation where every goalkeeper — one of them has to be playing. For a goalkeeper to invest in the process is usually a long-term thing. But it’s a daily investment, too.”

Born in Santa Barbara, California, Kane spent one year at Pomona-Pitzer College. At the Division III school, Kane compiled a

is another. To many of the student athletes on the current field hockey team, Iowa felt more familiar than foreign.

“When I got here on my initial visit, it felt like a second family to me,” said third-year Dionne van Aalsum, who is originally from Castricum, Netherlands. “Being so far away from home, it was important for me that it felt like

9-0-1 record with 23 saves and a .920 save percentage before transferring up to the Big Ten.

Hailing from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Mayrink transferred into the Iowa soccer program last January after spending one year at Barry University. At Barry, Mayrink posted three shutouts along with 49 saves and a .817 save percentage.

Mayrink has also brought experience from her time on the Brazilian National team to Iowa, where she gained valuable experience in the U20 FIFA World Cup.

“The experience from the Brazilian National team improved my ability to play with my feet,” Mayrink said. “Brazilian culture is very soccer-centric — being comfortable with the ball, being deceptive with the ball, and commanding the game with your feet.”

Playing on a global stage added perspective for Mayrink. The motivation to win

home, and it felt safe. The team that was here at the time gave me that feeling as well as the coaches and the community.”

First-year Felicia Zonnenberg, from Geertruidenberg, Netherlands, echoed that sentiment.

“The town is really connected with the university, giving off a great vibe and culture that spread across multiple nationalities, allowing you to not only relate with people who also are far

for her country applies to winning for her college.

“I deﬁnitely brought my competitive side here,” Mayrink said. “To make it on the national team is competitive already. Then, being able to play on the national team, you have to embrace the competition.”

ommunication on the ﬁeld and during practice is paramount to a team’s success.

What makes Mayrink and Kane’s relationship on the ﬁeld special is how they have had to persevere through a language barrier.

Mayrink mainly speaks Portuguese, so she and Kane had to form some special communication on the pitch.

“Since I got here, Taylor has been paramount for my learning on how to communicate on the ﬁeld, ayrink said.

“Since the beginning, she’s been very patient with me.”

Mayrink said the process started with Kane teaching her how to give commands to teammates.

The relationship transitioned from simple jokes to Kane and Mayrink listening to Bra ilian music on the ﬁeld together, even before big games.

The close relationship, combined with their diﬀerent e periences, has strengthened the Iowa defense.

Part of the pair’s strength is the fact they both have diﬀerent playing styles when defending the net.

Valadares explained while each is improving on areas of weakness, the duo sport contrasting strengths. Kane, standing taller at -foot- , is more eﬀective on aerial shots and crosses. Mayrink, on the other hand, is more agile and technical with her feet.

Featuring two options in net, ready to go at a moment’s notice, has allowed the Hawkeye defense to shine. As the season continues to progress, look for the solid Iowa goalkeepers to be the anchor of the Iowa defense.

from home but meet new people, backgrounds, and cultures,” she said.

For Iowa, the international presence on the team is more than a recruiting strategy. It is a reflection of the program’s values and culture. By embracing diversity, prioritiz-

ing character, and fostering a sense of belonging, the Hawkeyes’ field hockey team has developed a strong program that welcomes international talent.

For these athletes, Iowa City isn’t just a place to play the game they love, it is a place to grow, connect, and call home.

HAWKS CAN’T HANG

The Iowa State Cyclones defeated the Hawkeyes, 16-13, during a football game at Jack Trice Stadium on Sept. 6. The Cyclones beat the Hawkeyes in Ames for the first time since 2011.

REHEARSING A CLASSIC AT RIVERSIDE

Director Adam Knight discusses the mechanics behind Riverside’s season opener, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

A

Rehearsing a classic at Riverside

detailed look into the process behind Riverside Theatre’s upcoming production.

Adapting a canonical work of theater is di cult for any company, let alone one tucked away in Iowa ity’s bustling edestrian all, detached from the ample resources of Broadway. et iverside Theatre will open its 2025 season with dward Albee’s classic play, “ ho’s Afraid of irginia oolf

“It’s one of those plays every theater nerd reads in high school and thinks, I wish I was doing this play right now,’ Adam night, director of the show, said.

Albee’s Tony-winning play was written in 1962 and is often cited as one of the ma or works of both playwriting and literature, making it a ﬁtting choice to open the company’s ne t year of programming in the city of literature, night said.

The play is also set in the world of academia, following an embittered older couple, artha and eorge, hosting a young professor and his wife, ick and oney, after a faculty party. Taking place entirely within the couple’s living room, the play is a psychological drama that e amines love, gender dynamics, and reconciling with the past.

iverside has predominantly programmed contemporary work in the past few years, a decision made to reﬂect the social and political climate, night said. But reaching into theater history and pondering its relevance was a factor in choosing “ irginia oolf.

“It’s about highly educated people struggling with big uestions, like the role of the individual in a world that seems more ridiculous and tragic, night said. “Those uestions felt present today. They certainly haven’t lost their power. art of the di culty in adapting a play as famous as “ irginia oolf proved to be the preconceived notions of what it looks like. night had the entire story in his head before rehearsals began because of his familiarity with the script and ﬁlm.

“Flushing away everything I thought it was to make it fresh for an audience was the goal, night said. “To do that, you sit with the te t and listen to it, really read it and feel it until it’s fresh, and we can make it our own.

reparedness is important, but night

notes being open to the wiggle room provided by the rehearsal process and what the actors will bring is key. In fact, night’s favorite part of the process is running scenes and making changes depending on the feel.

On ept. , a mere week away from the opening of the show, the cast and crew gathered at iverside’s co y black bo stage for more tinkering. The house was clustered together, and the seats in which the audience would be swept away by the story of “ irginia oolf served as backpack storage and script displays. night sat in the middle of the second row, a table beside him with a script open and ready for choreography rehearsal. hile it might not seem obvious from the synopsis, there are uite a few physical altercations within “ irginia oolf, and ﬁght choreographer evin ichael Moore was positioned to walk the cast through them.

Before the process could begin, stage manager eenakshi hinmai asked the actors to check in, to which they all responded “green, e cept evon tone, who noted he had been nursing a migraine the past few days.

“It’s a good thing this is a whispering show, risty artsgrove ooers, who plays artha, said.

Immediately, the actors and crew were receptive and understanding of tone’s note and checked in several more times throughout the night. hile gauging actor comfort is a part of any production, the fre uency at which hinmai or other members of the crew conﬁrmed everyone was contented gestured to the intimate nature of the play.

In ust one rehearsal, actors were thrown to the ground, pinned against walls, choked, and shoved. Because of the collaborative atmosphere, though, night and oore were able to tinker with the ﬁnest details within every stunt.

uring one scene, artha entertains ick and oney on the couch by telling a long story and clearly getting some things oﬀ her chest. eanwhile, eorge, played by Tim Budd, sneaks around the set with an umbrella-mechani ed shotgun prop that had ust recently been built.

Once ueued through the dialogue, eorge aims at artha, is spotted by

oney, who screams, and pulls the trigger, initiating a colorful umbrella canopy to burst open. It’s a practical oke played on artha, but even this small interaction became the center of the workshop.

hile hinmai and assistant stage manager iles eterson reloaded the umbrella shotgun, night and oore discussed timing with Budd. For a moment like this, making sure the audience has enough time to register each character’s reaction is important for the scene to deliver maimum impact.

For the ne t run, Budd aims the prop toward the chair artsgrove ooers is sitting in, but this only kind of looks like he’s pointing at her, oore said. Budd moved the shotgun slightly to his right.

“ ow it looks like you’re shooting oney, oore said.

The actors laughed before resetting to the start of the scene and running it once more, this time with streamlined physicality from Budd and an added beat in artsgrove ooers delivery. hen the scene completed, the actors e press the natural feeling of this tweaked scene, and the crew decided to move on.

The back-and-forth communication between how actors feel within the scene and how the run-throughs play from the house sets a pace for the room. uch like how the dialogue shoots between characters in rapid succession in the play, actors and crew members are uick to check with each other about choices.

In one scene, which was so e hausting and long that only one full run-through was possible, eorge uses the full space of the set to deliver a monologue to oney, played by auren alliart. eorge’s story is full of repeated lines and phrases as other characters constantly interrupt to react, making timing all the more important to the actors.

“I’m ping-ponging everywhere, Budd said. “It’s Albee’s writing - you tell these long stories and hear these little responses. ong story, little response, more long story, little response. aving the full range of the set to work with at this stage of rehearsal benefits instinctual choices. everal times throughout these long run-throughs, an actor would add a movement without consulting night first, only to find that it feels

perfectly natural.

The set engulfs iverside’s black bo theater space, with a full wall and neatly designed living room the house seems to blend into the scene. art of the process of this rehearsal was making sure none of the set decorations blocked the preplanned choreography.

As artsgrove ooers and tone practiced an intimate scene against a wall, night repositioned himself among the house seats to make sure no couches or lamps obfuscated the view.

One way to practice these scenes, and to have enough time to check angles, was to deploy what the crew called water speed. In this mode, actors still speak their lines as they would normally, but their movement is slowed to more minutely detect how timing will line up with dialogue. For most scenes, water speed was used for the initial run of a scene before playing it closer to a normal pace. Although, playing the script at normal speed still feels uick due to of the rapidity of Albee’s writing.

Albee was so particular about the intricacies of the story that anything other than a realistic production keeping close to the te t has not been attempted. night said realism was key to Albee the subte t of the writing relating to real-world topics was most readable through a realistic lens. The estate upholds strict rules for casting, too, sticking predominantly to white actors without messing with the original interpretation, night said. In , however, an all-Black cast performed a slightly altered version of “ irginia oolf at oward niversity, a historically Black university, with the estate’s blessing. This version has lived on in the decades since, and it still performs today, including a recent production this past summer at ortland tage in ortland, aine.

Once the choreography reached a satisfactory point, oore took his leave from the stage after a round of applause from the actors, and intimacy choreographer arrie o dol stepped in. The ne t portion of the rehearsal focused on the many scenes in which characters were physically intimate with each other. uch like at any point in the process where actors were made to touch each other, o dol and the rest of the crew checked in with their comfort level. ue to the comfortable atmosphere, most of the scenes involved actors taking moments further rather than easing up.

In one scene where eorge chokes artha from behind, the actors took the scene at water speed and planned out every hand placement and facial e pression to deliver the hardest impact. To command the audience’s attention, o dol suggested Budd pound his ﬁst into the sofa chair to punctuate the moment and draw eyes to the pair.

“I’m riveting - they’re already going to be looking at me, artsgrove ooers said. o matter how intense the scene, actors remained playful and in uisitive, led by the calming guidance of o dol and night. By the end of the rehearsal, when pieces had been built and it was time to put them together, scenes ﬂowed naturally without interruption.

The rehearsal process is not one audiences are fre uently allowed to spectate, as much of it falls into minuscule ad ustments that stack on top of each other to craft the show presented on opening night.

“The work only deepens after every run. As we’re now in the running and polishing stage, you stop thinking as much. There’s an ebb and ﬂow that leads to a real alchemy of surprise and play emerging, night said.

Audiences can discover the ﬁnal product of the ever-evolving rehearsal process when iverside’s production of “ ho’s Afraid of irginia oolf opens on ept. .

6 binge-worthy shows to ring in the fall season

This collection of current and throwback shows are perfect for se ing the fall vibe.

For those who love fall, the transition from summer can be a time to reinvent oneself. It’s the time when one can finally switch over to pumpkin spice lattes, cinnamon and apple candles, and chunky knit sweaters.

Arguably, the best part of autumn is finding a new series to binge-watch and cozying up on the couch with a fuzzy blanket, pumpkin bread, and a cup of hot tea. To make this as easy as possible, here are six fall TV shows to watch as classes restart.

Loosely based on the 1985 film, this modernized version of “Teen Wolf” follows teenager Scott McCall after he is bitten in the woods by a mysterious creature. With the help of werewolf mentor Derek Hale

‘The

and his best friend Stiles Stilinski, Scott has to figure out how to live with his newfound powers. Running six seasons, this spooky show is perfect to watch between classes as the weather gets colder.

This dark television show spans 15 seasons and follows Dean and Sam Winchester’s reunion after their demonhunting father, John, goes missing.

Fortunately, John left a trail of clues for the boys. Unfortunately, most of the clues involve fighting some spirit, demon, or other monster. The two boys travel back and forth across the country in Dean’s 1967 Chevrolet Impala fighting demons and saving people. The first three seasons have the best spooky season vibes. You might need to sleep with a night light after watching episodes filmed during the predigital camera era.

On her 16th birthday, Sabrina Spellman – a high school student who lives with her two eccentric aunts, Hilda and Zelda, and their talking cat, Salem – finds out she’s a witch. With the help of her aunts, Sabrina learns how to sensibly use her powers while navigating the real world and, most difficultly, high school. The 1996 sitcom ran for seven seasons.

Everyone knows the fall season means “Gilmore Girls” can finally play in the background all day. The show follows Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, a mother and daughter duo living in a small fictional town just outside of picturesque Hartford, Connecticut.

The girls navigate many situations, including being accepted into private school, running an inn, and messy love lives. Rory’s determination and Lorelai’s sassiness will keep you invested, while the love story sideplots will have you rooting for the girls’ relationships. There are seven seasons of “Gilmore Girls” for your bingeing pleasure.

If you want a fall hit filled with nostalgia, this 1969 animated series is perfect. The group of four teenagers, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy, Fred, and their talking dog, Scooby-Doo, ride around in their van called the Mystery Machine, sleuthing out cases of weird phenomena. The gang somehow always ends up running into these mystery situations, even when they don’t try to.

Each episode follows an identical arc, with episodes typically ending with, “I would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for you meddling kids!”

Although “Sherlock” isn’t explicitly a fall show, the gloomy England set makes the show all the more cozy.

In this classic retelling of the iconic Sherlock Holmes originally created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Dr. Watson and Holmes become roommates. They begin to solve several mysteries and crimes – crimes Holmes’ typical nemesis, Professor James Moriarty, always seems to play a part in. Sherlock ran four seasons and is available on Hulu.

Now, go make yourself some pumpkin-flavored treats, get comfy in your coziest sweater, and curl up on the couch to immerse yourself in the spirit of fall with any of these vibesetting autumnal shows.

Thursday Murder Club’ is a must watch

This new Netﬂix original film is funny, refreshing, and heartbreaking – a satisfying watch for mystery fans.

hen you hear a ﬁlm is both a Netflix original and a book adaptation, you typically don’t have high hopes it’s going to be anything extraordinary. Despite this, “The Thursday Murder Club” blew past my expectations and kept me entertained throughout the entire movie.

Originally a novel written by #1 New York Times bestselling author Richard Osman in 2020, “The Thursday Murder Club” is a fun spin on the classic whodunit genre. Despite being a relatively new mystery series, there are already ﬁve books in Osman’s series. Instead of being young, truecrime-loving detectives who solve mysteries, this group of investigators consists of elders living at Cooper’s Chase retirement community. They’re definitely not who you would expect to be solving murders for fun, but they know how to get the job done.

The ﬁlm begins with a gruesome photograph of a woman lying dead in the road with a knife stuck through her chest. Three members of the Thursday Murder Club, Joyce, Jon, and Ibrahim, are hypothesizing the details of the dead woman’s murder.

The photograph is from an old cold case, which is what the Thursday Murder Club specializes in solving. However, when a real murder case lands on the very doorstep the club calls home, they realize they might have to use their skills to solve something a lot more personal.

A money-hungry investor who wants to repurpose the land Cooper’s Chase sits on, a mysterious landscaper, and an e -professional athlete suﬀering from a career-ending injury collide with the Thursday Murder Club. The seniors quickly realize things aren’t what they seem at the retirement community.

The plot intrigued me from the start, and I was pleasantly surprised to ﬁnd myself en oying it as much as I was. The mystery was compelling and pulled me into the story, and I couldn’t wait to ﬁgure out who the culprit really was. There were plenty of twists and turns that kept me on my toes and the edge of my seat.

And yet, what really sold the movie for me was the refreshing input of the characters and the humour throughout. While the basis of the film is a thrilling mystery, the comedy shines throughout and gives the ﬁlm a refreshing feeling.

The star-studded cast, including Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben

Kingsley, and Celia Imrie, truly brought their characters to life. They were so dynamic and lifelike that I found myself both laughing and crying along with them.

The witty, feisty characters brought this movie together. I especially liked Mirren’s character, Elizabeth, for her love of baking and the fresh sense of humor she brought to the team.

She added a sense of young energy to the group, despite all of them being well into retirement,

which starkly contrasted with Joyce, played by Imrie. Joyce is the direct opposite of Elizabeth tough, witty, and demanding of answers. She made me wish I could be that cool when I’m old and gray.

Another aspect of the movie I really enjoyed was the scenery.

The retirement home is a gorgeous castle located in Kent, England.

Cooper’s Chase is always seen as beautifully decorated, bustling with activity, and dancing with bright colors and lighting.

This peaceful retirement community contrasts with the underlying mystery at the center, highlighting the difference between the two worlds.

If anything, the movie has inspired me to consider reading the source material.

If you’re looking for a thrilling, fun movie to watch, “The Thursday Murder Club” delivers on both counts.

The ﬁlm is currently available to stream on etﬂi .

New Stanley Museum revives former UI talent

‘Hayward Oubre: Structural

Integrity’ highlights versatility and profound history.

A lecturer, a World War II veteran, an African American artist, and an engineer - University of Iowa alum Hayward Oubre did it all. Known for his unique 3D wire sculptures, the late artist’s work is now displayed at The Stanley Museum of Art. The exhibit is titled “Hayward Oubre: Structural Integrity.

Over 50 of Oubre’s works were divided amongst two rooms in the Stanley. The ﬁ rst room, accented by a light purple wall, housed his well-known wire sculptures, “Young Horse” and “The Rooster.” As part of the opening reception for the exhibit, viewers were invited to replicate these sculptures using colorful magnetic tiles.

Along with his well-known sculptures, the room also contained numerous oil paintings as well as bronze and wood sculptures. Attendee Jodi Duke was particularly drawn to his “Self-Portrait” painting, and said it felt like she could see him through the art.

Having never heard of the artist before the exhibit, Duke said she was particularly impressed by the range.

“He’s very versatile and he has so many mediums he seems to excel at,” Duke said. “The paintings, sculptures, and metalwork are really unique.”

The second room contained more of Oubre’s wire sculptures as well as vibrant geometric-themed paintings. A breakdown of Oubre’s process to make his famous horse sculpture, “Young Horse,” was included.

The sculpture was separated into three parts, and each three-dimensional part was made out of multiple 2D wire squares woven together.

The inspiration for Oubre’s wire sculptures came from his background as an Army engineer in World War II. The museum provided a short video about Oubre’s construction of the Alaska-Canadian Highway in 1942, serving in one of three African American regiments to construct the highway.

After his time in the military, Oubre and his wife, Juanita, enrolled at the UI where he obtained an MFA in 1948. Before his military service, Oubre had been the ﬁ rst student to earn a BFA

from Dillard University. His degree certiﬁcate was displayed alongside rare photos and other mementos in the exhibit’s second room.

Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art Diana Tuite talked about Oubre’s time as a Black artist at the UI, alongside Elizabeth Catlett.

“That was building up a legacy of race-blind admission at the UI, so someone like Oubre, and preceding him, Elizabeth Catlett, could study at the UI, but not at other schools,” Tuite said. “There’s a real, rich history of the University of Iowa serving as a training ground for artists who then went with their graduate degrees in hand to build art departments at other schools.”

The exhibit had previously been at the Birmingham Museum of Art in honor of Oubre’s time as a ﬁ rst-chair of Alabama

State University’s art department. After its time here at the Stanley, the exhibit will continue to the New Orleans Museum of Art, Oubre’s hometown.

In the meantime, Tuite expressed how thrilled she was that the Stanley had gotten a chance to showcase his wide variety of work and what it means for his story to be on display.

“I think it’s signiﬁcant that we’re a venue that is bringing this story beyond the [Southeast] region to a wider audience,” Tuite said. “Too often, these stories just remain bound within the communities where those individuals may have spent their life.”

Attendee Nena Honkanen was also excited the exhibit was in Iowa City.

“I’ve been to a lot of the exhibits here and I would say this one was really vibrant and fun,” she said

Honkanen was impressed with Oubre’s versatile mediums and works, hoping other viewers would see that as well. Honkanen said the solid sculptures especially held a lot of emotion.

“Any medium he touched [he used] such an even hand,” she said. Tuite said if Oubre had been alive today, she hoped seeing his works on display would have made him proud, and that viewers would appreciate his history with the university.

“What we hope at the UI is that this exhibit really makes people take notice of a moment in time when the university really threw open its doors to veterans,” Tuite said.

“Hayward Oubre: Structural Integrity” opened on Aug. 26, and will remain open at the Stanley Museum of Art until Dec. 7.

Grammy-nominated artist is a triple threat

The Iowa City Songwriters Festival’s first resident artist speaks on her new poetry collection.

Courtney Marie Andrews is a singer, songwriter, and poet originally from Phoenix, Arizona. After acting as the keyboardist and backing vocalist for Jimmy Eat World’s 2010 album, Invented, Andrews made her debut in 2016 with her own album, “Honest Life.” Now a Grammy-nominated artist, Andrews is releasing her second collection of poetry in her book, Love Is a Dog That Bites When It’s Scared.” Andrews read a group of poems from her collection at Prairie Lights on Friday as part of the inaugural Iowa City Songwriters Festival. Andrews also performed at the Englert Theatre on Saturday.

The Daily Iowan: What inspired you to write this poetry collection?

Courtney Marie Andrews:

A whole lot of love, and the absence of it, and everything in between. I was going through a really intense time; my father was terminally ill, and I was sort of embracing love at the same time as I was losing it.

I think when those kinds of things happen, you have this zone, where your interest is zoomed into a very basic thing, and you don’t really think of anything else. One thing you think about is just how it all threads through everything and how, really, when you zoom out of all the noise, it’s the most important thing.

Which poem is your favorite from the collection, and why?

I think there are a few poems that just ﬂopped down from the sky and felt very important to me in the moment. I feel like they were little gifts from the universe. One of those poems is called “Our Street,” and it’s about the imperfections of love and embracing them. Another one is “Embroidered Stars,” which is in the third section, and that poem is about world love - a love to the world, and how important that is, and how to have compassion for yourself is to have compassion for the world.

I think that poem was written after a few of the wars were announced, and it felt important for me to reckon with.

Do you have a favorite line of poetry you have ever written?

In “Embroidered Stars,” there is a line that says, “How can you pull a part of yourself and stand proudly looking up at the sky?” That line is just about how we are all from the stars. How can you kill another human when we are all made from the same thing?

Is there an album or song you’ve written that you associate with your poetry?

I wrote “Love Is a Dog That Bites When It’s Scared” in tandem with a record, two records actually, which have yet to be announced. I sort of do a swirl in all art forms.

Is there a speciﬁc message you want to convey with your music and poetry?

It’s really distilled down to compassion: for ourselves, for life. In writing, I think it’s really important to realize all things are connected. Every feeling and every experience is connected.

I think that’s why I say compassion, because actually, if you zoom out enough, you realize we’re all made of similar stuﬀ. But obviously, with this collection, love is the big theme that sort of ties it all together across every poem.

How did you get involved with the Iowa City Songwriters Festival?

Well, I played Mission Creek Festival a couple of years ago, and Brian Johannesen, the founder of Iowa City Songwriters, has been a big supporter and asked me to be the inaugural artist in residence, which is really exciting. I think I share similar values on these things, so he asked me to be a part of it.