1-22-18

Monday

/NorthernIowan

January 22, 2018

@NorthernIowan

Volume 114, Issue 30

northerniowan.com

Opinion 3 Campus Life 4 Sports 6 Games 7 Classifieds 8

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Family leave 2

Aziz Ansari sexual abuse 3

24 hour study space 4

2018 softball season preview 6

What about Whataboutisms?

at their opponent, deflecting the original question with the intention of changing the subject to the wrongdoings of their opponent.

One notable example occurred when Trump responded to the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election with a tweet reading, “So many people are asking why isn’t the A.G. or Special Counsel looking at the many Hillary Clinton or

Comey crimes. 33,000 e-mails deleted? What about all of the Clinton ties to Russia, including Podesta Company, Uranium deal, Russian Reset, big dollar speechs etc.”

Another instance of this technique was the president’s controversial “both sides” response to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia last year.

Trump’s backers often view the administration as outing the hypocrisy of Trump’s opponents when using whataboutism, while Trump’s detractors view whataboutism as a dodge to avoid discussing or defending the Trump administration’s actions.

Whataboutism, as it is today, originated in the Soviet Union during the Cold War, where the technique was frequently used as a propaganda device.

“It was a very common technique that the Soviet propaganda folks used,” said Kenneth Basom, a political science professor at UNI who specializes in Russian and Soviet politics and history.

“If the United States is fil-

partnered with the VCCV to organize the event.

Mikaela Heikens, a junior majoring in leisure, youth and human services, was one of the NLA members helping with the fair. Heikens currently volunteers with the Spectrum Project and her church’s Sunday School.

She also plans to start a program with Love, Inc. “I think [volunteering] is a good experience,” Heikens said. “You can gain a lot of knowledge from the organizations you volunteer with.

It looks good on a resume to know that you care about your community. I guess I just enjoy it a lot because you feel like you’re making a positive impact.”

Vendors at the fair ranged from major nonprofits like the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army to local organizations, including the ASPIRE Therapeutic Riding Program and UNI PALS (Panthers Allied with Local Schools).

UNI alumna Janelle Brehm is an Americorps VISTA at the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, which serves 16 Iowa counties.

Their on-site pantry serves around 5,800 people each week.

Brehm listed some of the food bank’s volunteer opportunities for students: sorting through donated food items, rescuing unsold produce from farmers’ markets and gleaning harvest at the end of the growing season.

Last week, hundreds of UNI students packaged food for the organization’s “Backpack Program” during UNI’s MLK Day of Service.

“I think it’s important to volunteer to give back to your community,” Brehm said. “And I think it just better helps you understand your community and how these different organizations are working together.”

“I just feel like it’s a really rewarding experience to help mothers and families in the community,” said Carolina Arce, a senior family services major who interns with Alternatives Pregnancy Center in Waterloo. The faith-based nonprofit provides free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds and parenting classes.

According to a news

GABRIELLE LEITNER/Northern Iowan

Dr. Kenneth Basom describes how whataboutism is used in politics to debate and deflect questions and criticisms.

JOSHUA DAUSENER Copy Editor

Whataboutism has been making headlines and creating a stir in the political world as of late due to the frequent use of the debate technique by the Trump administration, media figures and regular citizens discussing politics.

Whataboutism is when someone responds to a question or argument with another criticism or question directed

ing an official complaint, saying, ‘Hey, you violated Soviet citizens’ human rights, their freedom of speech’[…], the Soviet spokesperson would say, ‘Well, what about the rights of black citizens in your country? They’re discriminated against.’[…] That was a frequent whataboutism,” Basom said.

Basom cited Jim Crow laws and the lynching of black Americans as major “whatabout” talking points to Soviet propagandists and public figures.

Whataboutism continues to see use in Russian politics today when the policies and actions of President Vladimir Putin come under fire, but of particular interest is the increasing use of whataboutism in the United States.

Justin Holmes, a UNI political science professor who specializes in American politics and media, said that Trump is not the first American politician to employ whataboutism, but he seems to utilize the technique more frequently.

“It’s something Trump is clearly engaged in,” Holmes said. “There were some complaints from Republicans that Obama spent a lot of time shifting blame in the early years of his administration to Bush — that’s potentially a little different than whataboutims, though […] That’s saying, ‘Your policy messed this up, and I have to fix it,’ which is different.

Whataboutism is about deflection.”

When asked about the use of whataboutism in the media, Holmes said that people should judge media outlets individually, rather than the media as a single entity.

“When we talk about media, you have to be really specific about what source,” Holmes said. “We’re in this post-broadcast era where you can’t just say, ‘The media does this, the media does that.’”

Holmes also noted that partisan outlets are far more likely to engage in whataboutism than more neutral outlets.

See RHETORIC, page 2

Volunteer Fair connects students with community SOFIA LEGASPI Staff Writer

Approximately 200 people visited the volunteer fair in the Maucker Union ballroom on Jan. 18.

The fair, sponsored by the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley (VCCV), featured about 30 different vendors with whom students could network to find both volunteer opportunities and internships.

Lauren Finke, executive director of the VCCV, estimated this to be their 15th year sponsoring the event on campus. This was the first time the fair took place during the spring semester.

“A lot of the volunteers in our community come from the university, and so let’s help make it easier and be a good outlet for those potential volunteers to make those connections,” Finke said.

Aside from students, several UNI faculty and staff members also attend volunteer fairs, according to Finke.

The Nonprofit Leadership Alliance (NLA) on campus

GABRIELLE LEITNER/Northern Iowan

The Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley held the volunteer fair in the Maucker Union Ballroom on Jan. 18. The fair featured about 30 vendors from the area.

release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2016, volunteer rates among 16- to 19-year-olds in the United States are comparatively high at 26 percent.

However, those aged 20 to 24 years old have the lowest rates, with only 18 percent of them volunteering.

See VOLUNTEER, page 5

PAGE 2

NEWS

JACOB MADDEN News Editor

FMLA not “student-first” at UNI JANUARY 22, 2018 |

According to some faculty members, the administration of family leave has been handled poorly at UNI.

NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

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In 1993, Congress passed the FMLA, which guarantees that certain employees have up to 12 weeks of unpaid and job-protected leave per year, according to the Department of Labor. The University of Northern Iowa’s FMLA Leave policy reiterates a compliance with the federal act.

According to the policy, “the University provides eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job protected leave annually […] leaves must be arranged with the employee’s supervisor, who will collaborate with Human Resource Services.”

According to Carissa Froyum, associate professor of sociology, anthropology and criminology, there are many unaddressed issues in the current policy. Because the policy states that leaves must be arranged with the employee’s supervisor, faculty have different experiences, as they are left to individually negotiate with their department heads.

Froyum had three children under two different deans and three different department heads.

“For my first pregnancy, I was required to ask my col-

leagues to cover my classes,” Froyum said. “As a new faculty member, I didn’t want to ask my colleagues to do extra work so that I could recover.”

Emily, a UNI faculty member who wished to remain anonymous for fear of termination or other disciplinary action, said, “For my first child, my department head repeatedly told me, ‘We will figure it out,’ and they would not say more than that. I didn’t know if I would have two more weeks of leave or if I would be called back to class the next day. Not knowing how long your leave adds undue stress.”

“My baby was due at the end of the semester,” said Abigail, a contingent faculty member who wished to remain anonymous. “I had to do a lot more work to prepare the substitute. I was emailing students and the sub during my leave. I came back during finals to grade the presentations. I worked throughout my leave because I had to help my students and substitute. It was unfair to my students to have a stranger come in and grade them.”

Although many faculty women receive six weeks of

“Fox has a lot of straight news reporting during the day, but Fox and Friends or Tucker Carlson and things like that — those guys are very opinion [oriented], and they do quite a bit of that,” Holmes said.

Basom and Holmes each seemed to question the legitimacy of whataboutism as a valid, fruitful way of discussing world events.

“It’s a way of avoiding the issue,” Basom said.

“There is a way that I don’t think it’s entirely wrong […] I think that can be fair,” Holmes said. “Trump has done this occasionally where he says, ‘Hey, wait a minute, you Democrats supported building a wall back when it

wasn’t me supporting building a wall.’ Well, that’s a valid critique […] if it’s accurate.”

Holmes then raised three major concerns he holds with the use of whataboutism in the United States.

“The concern that I have […] is, of course, polarization. You are just getting this narrative, constantly, if you’re in that particular information bubble, that Democrats are corrupt, Democrats are horrible, Republicans don’t do anything bad and vice versa, and I think that reinforces polarization,” Holmes said. “The second issue is this deflection.

It really distracts people from the important parts of the news.”

Holmes also referenced the Russia investigation.

“This is a very serious scandal going on here by any

estimation,” Holmes said. “I think it needs to be discussed on its merits.”

The final chief concern that was raised was a continuing distrust in government from American citizens.

“It really reinforces this notion of cynicism that Americans have about politics,” Holmes said. “Americans have always been a little skeptical, but I think there are some concerns here. By blowing up this whole whataboutism thing, it makes people distrust everybody. It’s like, yeah maybe Trump’s dirty, but hey Clinton’s dirty. Everybody’s dirty, politics sucks, the end […] You are just undermining faith in the whole shebang, the whole set of institutions, everybody involved with them […], which I don’t think is healthy.”

NORTHERN IOWAN

EDITORIAL STAFF

CIRCULATION

JACOB MADDEN News Editor maddenj@uni.edu

RILEY SCHULTEJANS

CLINTON OLSASKY

LEZIGA BARKIOR Campus Life Editor barikorn@uni.edu

PRODUCTION STAFF

SIERRA STEEN

DYLAN PADY Sports Editor padyd@uni.edu

BRENNA WOLFE Staff Writer

During the spring 2017 semester, United Faculty, the labor union for UNI’s faculty, formed a committee to review the current Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) policy at UNI, which includes when faculty take leave for family and medical reasons, including childbirth and adoption.

“We do not expect [the committee] will complete its work until sometime during the spring semester,” said John Vallentine, head of the committee and associate provost for faculty. “Upon the completion of its work, the committee will be making recommendations to the Faculty Handbook Committee for its consideration of any potential changes or additions to the Faculty Handbook.”

RHETORIC

continued from page 1

L011 Maucker Union Cedar Falls, IA 50614 www.northerniowan.com northern-iowan@uni.edu 319.273.2157 Executive Editor olsaskyc@uni.edu 515.344.7949 Managing Editor steens@uni.edu 319.939.8190

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Circulation

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Business Assistant

SARAH RITONDALE Business Assistant

VOLUME 114, ISSUE 30

paid leave for a birth of a child and up to 12 weeks of unpaid, the three faculty women said that it is not enough.

“I had a child with severe medical conditions and we didn’t have a diagnosis for months,” Froyum said.

“I was stressed and was not sleeping. I felt like I couldn’t take COURTESY PHOTO/Department of Labor time off during the The Department of Labor is responsible for the worst time in my federal execution of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. life.”

“I was told I to two very small children. had six weeks from the time I was struggling to surmy baby was born to come vive. My only option was to back or I would have to take adapt my courses because I unpaid leave,” Abigail said. couldn’t perform at my nor“Because the birth of my mal standard. My struggling child bumped up against win- throughout the semester was ter break, I came back when not effective learning condimy child was just over six tions for the students and not weeks old. Contingent fac- healthy for my physical or ulty make significantly less mental health. Professors and than tenure-track professors, instructors may have better and I could not afford to leave policies than other protake unpaid leave. I started fessions, but UNI’s policy is that spring semester exhaust- still hurting faculty and, in ed, sore and uncomfortable turn, students.”

— my body was still recovering, and I was a mother See FMLA, page 5

Sexual assaults reported on-campus NORTHERN IOWAN STAFF Staff Writer

Over the weekend, the UNI Office of Public Safety issued two campus-wide emails reporting that two sexual assaults had occurred.

The first occurred in the afternoon on Friday, Jan. 19, at approximately 3 p.m., and the second occurred between 11:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19, and 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20.

According to the email, the first assault occurred in the UNI Dome during a non-athletic event. The perpetrator was a male. The The Northern Iowan is published semi-weekly on Monday and Thursday during the academic year, except for holidays and examination periods, by the University of Northern Iowa, L011 Maucker Union, Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0166 under the auspices of the Board of Student Publications.

Advertising errors that are the fault of the Northern Iowan will be corrected at no cost to the advertiser only if the Northern Iowan office is notified within seven days of the original publication. Publisher reserves the right to refuse any advertisement at any time.

The Northern Iowan is funded in part with student activity fees.

A copy of the Northern Iowan grievance procedure is available at the Northern Iowan office, located at L011 Maucker Union.

All material is © 2017 by the Northern Iowan and may not be used without permission.

second assault occurred in an on-campus residence hall.

The perpetrator was a male acquaintance.

These assaults mark the first and second instances of sexual misconduct reported this semester and the fifth and sixth reports of sexual misconduct reported on campus this academic year at UNI. Victims of sexual assault or misconduct can contact UNI police at 319-273-2712 and can also seek support by contacting the Riverview Center’s 24-hour sexual assault crisis and support line at 888-557-0310.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letters must be less than 300 words in length and are subject to editing. Not all submissions will be printed. Send submissions to olsaskyc@uni.edu.

SEND US STORY IDEAS

Tell us what’s happening on campus. Email submissions to northern-iowan@uni.edu.

Do you want to have an event listed here? Email us at northern-iowan@uni.edu with information about the event to have it featured.

CLINTON OLSASKY Executive Editor

JANUARY 22, 2018 |

OPINION

NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

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VOLUME 114, ISSUE 30

Bringing emotional abuse to the spotlight Last week, an anonymous photographer, referred to by the pseudonym “Grace,” described a detailed date with Aziz Ansari with Babe news. I highly encourage everyone to read the original article for the whole story.

In summary, “Grace” and Aziz went out for dinner, and Aziz was in a hurry to go back to his apartment.

Once there, Aziz immediately began aggressively making out with her and making sexual advances.

Within minutes, Aziz was performing oral sex on Grace. She kept repeating the word “slow” to Aziz, who, in return, took her hand and moved it to his crotch. She pulled her hand away about five to seven times, and he put it back each time.

Grace said, “I stopped moving my lips and turned cold” […] “I wasn’t really even thinking of [sex], I didn’t want to be engaged in that with him. But he

kept asking, so I said, ‘Next time.’ And he goes, ‘Oh, you mean second date?’ and I go, ‘Oh, yeah, sure,’ and he goes, ‘Well, if I poured you another glass of wine now, would it count as our second date?’”

He then poured her a glass and handed it to her.

Finally, towards the end of the date, when Grace realized how violated she felt, she recalled, “I remember saying, ‘You guys are all the same, you guys are all the fucking same.’” Ansari asked her what she meant, and when she turned to answer, she says he met her with “gross, forceful kisses.”

The reactions to this piece have been mixed. Some say that this is sexual assault and coercion. Many others say Aziz is the victim, and his career is at stake.

Journalist and CNN host Ashleigh Banfield read an open letter to Grace and repeatedly said that it was a “bad date,” implying that Grace was ruining the #MeToo Movement.

Another headline said, “Aziz Ansari Is Guilty. Of Not Being a Mind Reader,” while an NYT editor is call-

ing it “bad sex,” and still others are saying “female helplessness.”

So far, the #MeToo Movement has only addressed physical assaults and verbal harassment.

Grace’s “Worst Night of My Life” is an example of an average sexual encounter for many women, and it is emotional abuse.

That’s why we need to talk about it.

Aziz coerced Grace into oral sex. This is still sexual assault. Grace used body language combined with verbal language of “slow” or “maybe next time,” and Aziz still pressed on and pressured her.

This isn’t just about Grace and Aziz. This is about a society where women have been socialized to please others and to not stir up situations.

Men have been taught to go after what they want and to not stop until they have it. Grace walked into Aziz’s apartment wanting to make out, and Aziz pressured her into oral sex. Aziz had the power as a male and as a celebrity; he kept going after what he wanted like he was

conditioned to.

The #MeToo movement has come to a point where we need to set a new standard. Simply “not sexual assault” isn’t good enough anymore.

We need to always be having healthy, consensual interactions. We need to end situations where men plead with their girlfriends to have sex until they say yes.

This is not healthy. This is coercion, and it is sexual assault. And this is what most average men are actively engaging in.

Most men aren’t the rapists that stalk around house parties. A lot of perpetrators are pressuring their girlfriends into unwanted sexual activity in order to check the box on “consent.”

This is why enthusiastic consent is so important!

Don’t “convince” someone to have sex with you. Ask them if they want to have sex. If they say no, respect their decision!

We need enthusiastic consent! If you are engaging in sexual activity, you need to be able to communicate with your wants and needs to your partner. Sex without

TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

Opinion columnist Brenna Wolfe discusses the emotional abuse tied to acts of sexual coercion, such as the highly publicized incident with comedian Aziz Ansari.

a verbal “no” can still be sexual assault.

So, welcome to 2018, where we are kicking male entitlement and dominance out of the bedroom for good.

Instead, enthusiastic consent and respect are the new standard.

If you would like to discuss this topic further, please join Northern Iowa Feminists on Tuesday, Jan. 23, at 8:00 p.m. in the Oak Room of Maucker Union.

LTE: alleged Russian ties continue to haunt Trump Editor’s note: the following letter to the editor was submitted by Steve Corbin, professor emeritus of marketing at UNI. Jan. 20, 2018 concluded Donald Trump’s first year serving as our 45th president.

While the self-described “very stable genius” has successfully appointed a Supreme Court justice, reversed numerous Bush and Obama executive orders, taken credit for America’s stock market prowess, retreated from America’s historical free trade agreements and climate control commitment and passed tax reform, a larger story still haunts Americans: Trump-

Russia.

Simply put, patriotic Americans will not sleep well until the final chapter of the Trump-Russia mystery has been written.

David Leonhardt, op-ed columnist for The New York Times, and Susan Hennessey, managing editor for Lawfare and Brookings Fellow in National Security Law — two respected authorities who have thoroughly investigated this conundrum — offer their theories behind this haunting scene.

One year ago, Leonhardt asserted five possible explanations for Trump’s “Russophilia.”

The storylines still exist today.

The first justification of

TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

Steve Corbin, professor emeritus of marketing, pens a letter to the editor addressing the Trump administration’s alleged ties to Russia.

Trump’s ties to Russia is where Trump claimed with fewer USA-Russia tensions, humanitarian crisis situations throughout the world would decline. Hence, we should be nice to Russia.

Trump’s business conspiracy is the second explanation. Because most regulated American financial institutions refuse to lend money to Trump’s debt-ridden company, he relied on Russia Federation banks (i.e., “Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets” — Donald Trump Jr., 2008).

Since Trump won’t release his tax returns, 68 percent of Americans surmise Trump’s hiding something.

A third possible motive — “the most alarming,” according to Leonhardt — is Trump publicly expressed he is enamored with Putin’s power and also wants “very strong control over his country,” including the government’s legislative and judicial branches.

The fourth account is the political conspiracy (the center of the FBI investigation led by Robert Mueller, Republican) where “it’s alleged Putin’s government, in cooperation with Trump’s aides, directed pro-Trump

cyberattacks prior to the 2016 election.”

The fifth reason, the idea contained in a dossier compiled by private investigators Fusion GPS and Christopher Steele that Russia had compromising material on Trump, has resurfaced as being more and more credible.

Besides Leonhardt’s five theories, Susan Hennessey, a cybersecurity expert, offers two other scenarios to help Americans solve the puzzle.

First is the “innocent” plea where Trump aides, who had never been involved in politics, “unwittingly blundered into a campaign by Russia to influence American policy and create chaos. The Trump officials cooperated with Russian nationals because they didn’t know they shouldn’t. They then lied about their contacts because those contacts were embarrassing, not because they were part of a sophisticated conspiracy. The cover up is worse than the crime.”

Hennessey’s last surmise is, in essence, “guilty as charged, your Honor.” The Trump team knew what they were doing in getting Russia to help their campaign.

Because of Trump’s Russia bank financial entanglements (and other possi-

ble compromises) the Trump campaign officials had no choice but to advance the interests of a foreign power and lie about the Russia contacts.

Patriots of America’s constitution — whether they are a White House aide or cabinet member, in Congress, journalist or citizen — must come forward with known credible information to ensure truth prevails.

Anyone who withholds information of the TrumpRussia mystery or impedes the House, Senate or FBI independent investigations should be charged with treason.

Let’s put the final chapter of the quandary to bed so Congress can address significant issues that have been largely ignored for the past 365 days like the budget, children’s health insurance, civil rights protection, criminal justice reform, cybersecurity, defense, disaster aid, education, energy grid fortification, farm bill, federal deficit, foreign policy, homelessness, immigration, infrastructure, Medicaid, Medicare, opioid crisis, Social Security, tamper-proof election security, veterans and women’s inequality, to name a few.

PAGE 4

JANUARY 22, 2018 |

CAMPUS LIFE NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

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LEZIGA BARIKOR Campus Life Editor

VOLUME 114, ISSUE 30

Restaurants delivered to students ANNA FLANDERS

of the nearly 50 participating restaurants in the Cedar Valley area and get it delivFor off-campus dining, ered for a fee of $3.99.

UNI graduates Jacob options like Urban Pie, The Pump Haus, Montage and Beyer and Russel Karim startChick-fil-A could be out ed Cedar Valley Food Runner of reach for students who in August 2016. A class the don’t have transportation or two took together at the John time in the day to try a new Pappajohn Entrepreneurial restaurant. But a new compa- Center pushed their idea ny has taken the dining-out closer to reality.

“That was a class that experience into a dining-in experience just a few clicks helped us a lot with the setup and the legal stuff,” Beyer away.

Cedar Valley Food said. “We went into it with Runner is a web-based ser- the idea that we were going vice. Through this service, to make some kind of delivanyone can order from one ery or takeout software that’s locally focused.

Within the first w e e k or two of that class, we realized if we want to do this, we’re going to KIRBY DAVIS/Northern Iowan have to The Cedar Valley Food Runner is a web-based service provide Staff Writer

allowing people to order delivery from any restaurant on it.

drivers and then the idea kind of evolved from there.”

The service has been utilized by the brand-new restaurant Freshii, a fastfood restaurant with a heavy focus on providing healthier food which opened in Cedar Falls in the fall of 2017. The chain has locations all over the globe, but the Cedar Falls location is the first to open in Iowa.

“A couple weeks before Freshii contacted me, I was in Minneapolis for the weekend,” Beyer said. “I was in Mall of America, and I saw they had a location there.

That was the first I’d seen of them, so it was kind of funny to get an email from them a few weeks later.”

The service has worked well for Freshii.

“I think there’s a lot of businesses here in the Cedar Valley, people that are working during the day and they can’t leave during lunch,” said Samantha Burgin, team leader and marketing head at the Cedar Falls Freshii. “So, Cedar Valley Food Runner has been really popular to

COURTESY PHOTO

New to Cedar Falls, Freshii is on the Cedar Valley Food Runner website.

“It’s been awesome,” said Samantha Burgin, Freshii team leader.

restaurants that don’t typically [do] delivery. It’s been awesome. It think that’s really helped our business, and it gives us a standout element.”

Cedar Valley Food Runner delivers to a wide-range of customers, including 9-1-1 dispatchers and other workers with limited time or mobility, such as medical dependents and busy families After a slow first few months, Cedar Valley Food Runner took off and has been experiencing great successes.

“Ever since January 2017, this whole last year — every month — we’re doing more orders than the last,” Beyer said. “Especially now with the cold weather, more people know about us. We have a pretty big majority of the Cedar Falls restaurants, with the exception of a couple bigger ones and some of your smaller local ones as well.”

Cedar Valley Food Runner also delivers to on campus residence halls.

CME to hold 24-hour student study space SARAH RITONDALE

of students, specifically within Staff Writer the CME who hang out here late hours of the night. They A long-discussed request were getting tired of getting by students has come to frui- kicked out after 12 a.m.,” said tion. A 24-hour study space is Jamal White, Northern Iowa now available on the Plaza level Student Government (NISG) of the Maucker Union. This president.

“We were just able to use space is accessible through the door near the Center for their voices to be able to speak Multicultural Education, with up and let them know that a student ID, from 12 a.m. students really want this and to 6:30 a.m., Sunday through are obviously here and wanting Thursday night. The Maucker to be here past hours when Union opens for the day at 6:30 they need to study to be acaa.m. on weekdays, essentially demically successful,” White granting students 24/7 access said. “I think that was the main to the area during the work turning point to really make it happen.” week.

The students’ voices did play “One of the big milestones in making this happen was a lot a large part in receiving this 24-hour s p a c e right in the center of campus. The 24-hour space is something NISG had been discussing for quite s o m e KIRBY DAVIS/Northern Iowan The Plaza level of the Maucker Union is now has extended time now, hours for students wanting to study from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. a c c o r d -

LIVE ON CAMPUS

REASON #37

ing to Northern Iowan (NI) archives and White.

NI archives reported that students have long wanted a late night study space. In addition to the allocated space in Maucker, students are given 24-hour access to the Redeker Center and the Towers Center.

“The Tower Center and the Redeker Center – we think those are really underutilized,” Tristan Bernhard told the NI in April of 2017.

At that time, there were concerns with creating a 24-hour space, such as lack of students actually using the space, costs, the resources needed and safety.

According to NI archives Mike Bobeldyk, director of student life and event services, stated a space like this would come with more negatives than positives.

“One of our goals coming into our administration and our term as student body president and vice president with Tristan is we would try to work to make this a possibility,” White said enthusiastically.

Student voices were one aspect of making this possible.

Tiger Angel, sophomore environmental science major is one of these voices.

“I work in the evenings so,

basically that would work,” Angel said. “I could just come here and work late at night […] and you would never have to worry about having to leave or be done by a certain time or anything of the sort.”

Senior elementary education major Olivia Terronez, expressed concerns about the new 24-hour study space.

“I think the Union is a great choice for the location since it is close to everything, and I spend most of my time in there anyways, but it makes me a little nervous that there are not many resources in the Union, especially once the labs close,” Terronez said.

However, White said that all of the printers and computers on the Plaza level will be easily accessible.

The possibility of additional costs was another road bump NISG has surpassed. “[The cost is] really nothing, just the cost of basic electricity,” White said. “We made it so where there’s no additional building staff [that] has to be present to monitor, so that would have been the primary cost of it. As of right now there’s no huge estimated cost just because it would be the

We clean your bathroom.

price we already pay for building operation, which is a set price through our facility.”

Another potential issue NISG has looked into was that of parking. According to White, NISG is tackling this problem by creating a partnership with Public Safety and Parking Services that opens up the Lang parking lot and the metered parking. Students should not receive tickets as long as they are studying in this space.

NISG set the goal for completing this, according to NI archives, in the fall of 2017.

“As far as the impact, I’m hoping that it’s just a place that students can come and feel safe and know that it is accessible at all times,” White said. “I think the biggest thing is not that students want to stay up super late until 3 a.m. to use the study space, but a big one is the study space will be open early enough in the morning, like if they have an 8 a.m. class and they want to study before-hand. They have the access, so you can come in at 6:30, at 5:30, whenever that may be, before your classes or your tests. That’s accessible for you.”

#LIVELIKEAPANTHER

dor . u ni .e du

LEZIGA BARIKOR Campus Life Editor

JANUARY 22, 2018

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CAMPUS LIFE NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

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VOLUME 114, ISSUE 30

FILM REVIEW

‘Jumanji’: welcome to boredom CLINTON OLSASKY

Executive Editor

Marketed as a stand-alone sequel to the original 1995 film starring Robin Williams, “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” shares little in common with its predecessor in terms of tone, story or characters.

The new film centers on four high school students who are magically transported into the world of Jumanji, which has now taken the form of a classic video cartridge, rather than the antiquated board game from the first movie.

Sadly, that’s where the reinvention stops, as “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” almost immediately devolves into a predictable and uninspiring series of poorly conceptualized set pieces that offer little in the way of innovation or even entertainment.

To be sure, the film’s talented cast of comedic heavy hitters do provide isolated moments of genuine humor, but beyond that, “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” simply falls short.

Directing: 2/5 Directed by Jake Kasdan (“Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,” “Bad Teacher”), “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” evidently takes some major visual cues from many of the big-budget comedy films of the past decade.

As a result, Kasdan’s film rarely ever breaks from conventional Hollywood shot structure, opting almost exclusively for traditional shot/ reverse shot compositions that, while effective when used wisely, quickly become visually monotonous and repetitive.

When it comes to the many

FMLA

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According to Froyum, UNI’s policy is not student-first.

“UNI’s faculty working conditions are student learning conditions,” Froyum said.

“The University should move away from a policy that is interruptive and stressful for students.”

All three women agreed that student evaluations are another problem surrounding leave because they received negative evaluations during the semester of pregnancy and the semester after the birth.

“Some students don’t understand and harshly review in a time with great stress,” Emily said. “There was never an option to skip evaluations.”

Froyum suggested offering

action sequences that comprise the bulk of “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” Kasdan also fails to deliver the goods due to an overreliance on quick cuts and nonsensical editing that ultimately distract and disorient from the combat on screen.

If there is any saving grace to this film in terms of its visual style, it is that the virtual world of Jumanji is truly breathtaking at times, complete with lush jungles, rolling hills and towering mountains — not to mention the many wild animals that inhabit the magical game.

However, this sense of grandeur and spectacle is quickly lost as a result of the harshly synthetic look of the film.

Indeed, the overuse of CGI and the lack of practical effects is a true detriment to a film that constantly begs its viewers to suspend their disbelief.

Writing: 2/5 Now, certain credit should be given to “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” for its efforts to reinvent and adapt by not only transforming the titular board game to a video game, but by also incorporating new characters, environment and humor.

However, that’s where the originality ends.

Outside of a few moments of genuine humor, “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” struggles to stand out as anything more than just another cookie cutter action film.

Again, in addition to the poorly executed action sequences, the plot itself fails to reinvent, as nearly all of the characters featured in “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” rarely rise above the one-dimensional archetypes they so obviously an automatic one-year addition to tenure clocks and to not have evaluations for either semester.

Emily brought up another unaddressed issue in the current FMLA policy and that is sharing medical information like miscarriages to supervisors.

“I shouldn’t have to give my medical conditions to my boss in order to get time off for miscarrying,” Froyum said. “I also miscarried my first year, and I was never presented with any leave options. In fact, my supervisor required me to attend meetings while I was miscarrying, even though he knew I was miscarrying.”

The FMLA committee is scheduled to discuss all the issues and propose recommended changes to the Faculty Handbook Committee this semester.

TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

“Jumani: Welcome to the Jungle,” directed by Jake Kasdan, has received a 76 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was released on Dec. 20, 2017 and has an overall box office of $666.2 million as of press time.

resemble.

So, yes, the plot is mind-numbingly formulaic, and the characters are one-dimensional.

But most importantly, this new “Jumanji” fails because it is unable to convey any real sense of depth to its painfully obvious one-note story — ironically, unlike its predecessor.

While not a cinematic achievement by any means, the original “Jumanji” was an enjoyable family action comedy that, although flawed, did possess an undeniable charm that this modern-day iteration simply lacks.

Acting: 2/5 As previously mentioned, “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” does benefit from a talented cast, and nearly all of

VOLUNTEER

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“There are a lot of reasons [to volunteer in college]. One of the biggest is that it’s an awesome way to network and

the principal actors are provided ample time to flex their comedic muscles.

Still, “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” doesn’t provide enough belly laughs to make up for the predictability and unoriginality that plague the film from the outset.

With that being said, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is characteristically charismatic as Dr. Smolder Bravestone, a courageous archaeologist that insecure teenager Spencer Gilpin inhabits in the game.

Kevin Hart is the source of several memorably funny moments as Frankin “Mouse” Finbar, the game’s zoologist, who, for better and worse, resembles little more than the stand-up comic persona that Hart has meticulously crafted over his career.

However, Jack Black is the real scene stealer in the film, as he hilariously adopts the mannerisms of the ditzy and self-absorbed Bethany Walker, who unwittingly chooses the corpulent cartographer as her in-game avatar.

Overall: 2/5 “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” is a mildly amusing, if not relentlessly tedious action comedy that offers nothing memorable or fresh to the Hollywood blockbuster formula.

Notwithstanding some brief comedic flashes and a couple of charismatic performances, this modern “Jumanji” is nothing more than a new skin on a bored game.

meet new people,” Finke said.

“I think when you’re in college and prepping for the next chapter of your life, the more people you can meet, the more experiences you can have can help direct you to your next

steps.”

“People who are college-aged students have the enthusiasm and the want and the ability to get involved in such a wide variety of activities, too,” Finke said.

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JANUARY 22, 2018

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SPORTS

NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

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DYLAN PADY Sports Editor

VOLUME 114, ISSUE 30

SOFTBALL

Panthers 2018 softball preview JOEL WAUTERS Sports Writer

The UNI softball season is just around the corner.

Coming off a 33-19 campaign where the Panthers went 20-6 in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play and finished as regular season champions, the purple and gold are gearing up for another successful season on the diamond.

UNI returns with a handful of starters from 2017, when they fell two runs shy of a conference tournament crown. Sophomore infielder Sammy Bunch leads the Panthers in batting, as well as in doubles, triples, home runs (seven) and runs batted in (32).

Additionally, sophomore infielder Ashley Chesser comes back to the plate leading the team with a batting average of .340. As for getting on base, that’s no problem for senior first baseman Kennedy Bailey, who found herself on base 43.6 percent of the time.

On the mound, sophomore Jaclyn Spencer takes control of pitching, following a 2017 season with a 2.51 earned run average, 14 wins in 29 games, 147 strikeouts and an opposing batting average of .247.

The Panthers will open the 2018 season at home with the Ramada UNI-Dome Classic, Feb. 9 through 11. This unique event gives fans the oppor-

tunity to see the purple and gold play indoors on a field that is not typically played on AstroTurf.

UNI will face four teams that weekend in the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks, the Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits and the Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos. The UNI-Dome Classic will be followed by four additional invitational events on the road.

They include the Diamond nine Orange Blossom, Feb. 16 through 18 at the University of Central Florida, the Easton Bama Bash, Feb. 23 through 25 at the University of Alabama, the Belmont Tournament, March 2 through 4 in

Nashville, Tennessee and the Kansas Invitational, March 9 through 11 in Lawrence, Kansas.

UNI will kick off MVC play on the road with a doubleheader on March 17 against the Bradley Braves before returning home to face the Missouri State Lady Bears in a doubleheader on March 30.

In-state non-conference games will include a showdown against the Iowa Hawkeyes on April 4 in Iowa City and an April 11 match-up with the Iowa State Cyclones at home.

The Drake Bulldogs will play host to the MVC Tournament this season, May 10 through 12, at Buel Field in Des Moines.

Northern Iowan Archives

eSports roundup: Overwatch, Magic and League ESPORTS

COURTSEY PHOTO

JACOB MADDEN News Editor

The past few weeks have seen some major developments in the world of eSports, and it is becoming increasingly clear that these games are not just for geek and nerd culture anymore — or, for that matter, just games anymore. Here is this week’s Northern Iowan eSports Roundup: Magic the Gathering On Jan. 15, a new banned and restricted announcement came down for the standard format. The ban became effective Jan. 19, banning Attune with Aether, Rogue Refiner, Rampaging Ferocidon and Ramunap Ruins. According to the announcement, Temur Energy and other energy variants are seeing some bans for three reasons: the length of time that the decks have been dominant (nearly five months), a lack of change from the most

recent standard rotation and a lack of proven counterplay despite the metagame having months to adapt.

The Temur energy deck, with or without black, had an average match win rate of 51 percent — excluding the mirror match — according to data from Magic Online Competitive Leagues.

Ramunap Red also had targeted bans this announcement.

Ramunap Red, while not the most played deck in the metagame, was the most winning deck in Standard, according to the Magic Online Competitive League data, with a match win rate of nearly 60 percent — excluding the mirror match.

The next banned and restricted announcement is scheduled to come out on Feb. 12.

League of Legends The North American League Championship Series (NA LCS) kicked off on Saturday, with

CLG v. Cloud9 and Liquid v.

TSM headlining the event.

Cloud9 won the best of one against CLG in a rematch of the NA LCS regional qualifying final last fall, where Cloud9 edged out CLG in a close fourgame series. Liquid also took home a big win against TSM on Saturday. Other winners included Echo Fox over FlyQuest, 100 Thieves over Optic Gaming and Clutch Gaming over Golden Guardians. As of press time, none of the Sunday matches have started.

Overwatch Over the weekend, Overwatch League (OWL) continued its intense takeover of the eSports community, dominating in the ratings over the last two weeks. OWL beat some NFL games in viewership, with over 400,000 viewers last weekend. This past weekend, OWL beat out the LCS in viewers as well, dethroning the long-reigning eSport in cover-

age and viewership.

Beyond the views, however, OWL is shaping up to be a spectator-friendly and intense league, with teams garnering support from across the country and around the world for stage one, which began on Jan. 10.

The notable winners of stage one week one included the LA Vailant and the LA Gladiators, as well as the Seoul Dynasty, London Spitfire, Boston Uprising and New York Excelsior. After week two, the Seoul Dynasty, New York Excelsior and London Spitfire are in the top three, with Shanghai Dragons falling into last place, tied with the Dallas Fuel at 0-4. Florida Mayhem and Boston Uprising also fell hard, moving to 1-3, as OWL heads into week three starting Wednesday.

Pine, a flex player for the New York Excelsior, saw a breakout performance as

McCree, where he dominated and quickly became the player to watch for much of the coverage and community. xQc, a tank player for the Dallas Fuel, also quickly became news after making a homophobic remark on his Twitch steam about an openly gay fellow OWL player, Muma, of the Houston Outlaws. xQc apologized on Twitter but was fined $2,000 and suspended for four matches by the Overwatch League team.

After the OWL team ruling, the Dallas Fuel decided to suspend xQc for all of stage one, stating that they would be providing him resources to work on his professionalism and conduct.

Summary These past few weeks have seen eSports come back in a big way setting the stage for an exciting and competitive year in eSports, both between the teams in each game, as well as between the leagues themselves.

PAGE 7

FUN & GAMES

SIERRA STEEN Managing Editor

JANUARY 22, 2018 |

SUDOKU ONE

That’s so punny!

NORTHERNIOWAN.COM |

VOLUME 114, ISSUE 30

SUDOKU two

A friend of mine tried to annoy me with bird puns, but I soon realized that toucan play at that game.

Crossword

56 Craven of horror 59 Mental haze 60 Fast clip down the slopes 65 “Toodles!”

67 Evening get-together 68 One-named Deco artist 69 Curved paths 70 There for the __: easy to get 71 Plug-in vehicle, briefly 72 Chinese toy 73 Comes down hard?

74 Dines

Across 1 Filet mignon source 5 __ price 11 Ran together 15 Actress Paquin of Netflix’s “Alias Grace” 16 Tremble 17 Slick 18 Team first managed by Casey Stengel

19 Volcanic archipelago state 20 Eyelid bump 21 Fast clip around the racetrack 24 Internet subdivision 25 Feathered layer 26 USPS assignment 29 Eagerly took in 30 Flutist of Greek myth 33 Romanov rulers

35 Classic shoe polish brand 39 Surmounting 40 Fast clip from the pitcher’s mound 45 “Field of Dreams” setting 46 Lowered the grade of 47 Take potshots 49 Simple survey answer 50 Poetry Muse 55 Own, to Burns

Down 1 Greek letter whose lowercase indicates wavelength 2 Developer’s unit 3 Early enough 4 Bahamian capital 5 Pale as a ghost 6 __-Pei: wrinkly dog 7 Fuzzy fruit 8 “Ghostbusters” director Reitman 9 Secretariat utterance?

10 Complaint 11 Anjou kin 12 Intelligentsia 13 English cathedral town 14 Easter egg dip 22 A bit buzzed 23 Aardvark snack 27 Bouncy gait 28 Best Game or Best Play 30 Christmas candle scent 31 Fit to be tied 32 Super stars?

34 Plant pouch 36 Put out of sight 37 “I’m game”

38 Newcastle Brown brew 40 Wolfgang Puck creation 41 New Rochelle college 42 Twice-baked bread 43 Hit with a laser 44 “Awake and Sing!” playwright 48 Farm mom 51 “Slumdog Millionaire” money 52 Brief summary 53 Line dance step 54 Military instructions 57 Bridge seats 58 Scandinavian toast 59 Surfboard stabilizers 61 Got up 62 “Just do it” brand 63 Niagara Falls source 64 Penny 65 Ballplayer’s hat 66 Choler

answers on page 8

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JANUARY 22, 2018 |

FOR RENT 1 bdrm apartment, West Waterloo. Rent $575/ month, includes utilities except cable. One car garage. $500 deposit, month-month lease.

No pets. Call 319-230-7676

FOR RENT Nice selection of studio and 2 bedroom apts just 1-2 blocks from UNI campus. 12 month leases begin June 1. All units super clean, non-smoking, with parking. Cable TV and Internet included with rent. Reasonable rents, responsible landlord. Mature renters only, no pets or keg parties. If interested call Dennis (319) 232-6819.

FOR SALE YOU WON’T BELIEVE what you can get for $14,000!

(2) Large bdrms, (2) baths, newer furnace & laminate flooring, stainless steel kitchen; wood-burning fireplace, chain link fence.

Incl. 42” FLAT SCREEN TV and no lot rent until March.

Call: 319-239-1920 Coachlight Homes, Inc.

FOR SALE (3) BR (2) bath (16x70) (1056 sq. ft.). Stove, refrig, washer & dryer, eye-level microwave, dining set, (1) bed, central air, deck & shed, snowblower. (1) mi. west of UNI Dome.

Financing avail. $19,900Call Dennis 319-239-1920 Coachlight Homes

FOR SALE XBOX 360 PES 2017 for sale. $35. (319-610-9142)

Advertise with us! we have various optionsin the paper, on our app as a tile or as a coupon, and on our website! contact either sierra or michele. contact info on page 2.

Some simple de-stressing tips to get you back on track!

-Take a ten minute walk -eat a filling snack -take a minute to look away from -your screen and rest your eyes -put on your favorite tunes -watch a funny video (or two... or three...)

-write down a list of things you need to do and prioritize them

CLASSIFIEDS

NORTHERNIOWAN.COM

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SIERRA STEEN Managing Editor

VOLUME 114, ISSUE 30

we are a newspaper, not a snooze paper. with us, you’ll always stay up to date with the latest campus and local news, as well as finding cool events and games! @NorthernIowan /NorthernIowan NorthernIowan.com

have an opinion you want to share? we are hiring opinion columnists!

This is a paid position.

Contact clinton if interested. contact information on page 2.

Puzzle answers

sudoku one

sudoku two

Crossword