Thursday
/NorthernIowan
December 7, 2017
@NorthernIowan
Volume 114, Issue 27
northerniowan.com
Opinion 3 Campus Life 4 Sports 6 Games 7 Classifieds 8
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Art dir. says farewell 2 Faculty insurance changes 3 Rider RLC missing 4 Swimming finishes 4th in Kansas 6
UNI plans to buy Book & Supply CLINTON OLSASKY
Executive Editor
This past Monday, Dec. 4, UNI made an announcement that was truly one for the books. UNI and University Book & Supply (UBS) announced on Monday that the two parties had signed a letter of intent for the university to purchase the bookstore for a disclosed sum of $2.4 million, plus inventory costs, according to a press release issued by UNI’s Office of University Relations. “We’re feeling very excited and confident that we made the right decision because I think there will be a benefit to the students,” said Doug Johnson, vice president of UBS. The announcement was initially made Monday via a letter by Michael Hager, senior
vice president for finance and operations at UNI. According to Hager, UNI will not be using general education funds in the proposed purchase and will instead be relying on a loan that the university plans to pay back in full from bookstore operations. Hager also stated that the transaction will likely be completed by the beginning of next March. The request for purchase was considered at the Iowa Board of Regents meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 6. According to Hager’s letter, which was addressed to UNI faculty and staff, UBS’s current status as a privately-owned business will end upon completion of the university’s purchase, at which point the bookstore will become an auxiliary of UNI. Hager also said that the
bookstore will operate as a “not-for-profit entity” once UNI assumes ownership, according to the press release issued by the Office of University Relations. The completed transaction would mark the end of UBS’s 80-year run as a privately-owned business, as the bookstore first opened in 1937. “It’s been a revolving ownership — basically, it’s been employee-owned for the majority of those 80 years,” Johnson said. “So, when someone retired, the other employees would buy them out. And that has always worked very well up until the last few years. We just haven’t had the people that are willing and able to buy out those that are retiring […] And that’s what prompted this course of action.”
IRIS FRASHER/Northern Iowan
The University of Northern Iowa plans to acquire University Book & Supply before March of 2018.
“UBS has had a great relationship with UNI for 80 years,” said UBS President Kathleen Hesse in a statement to the Office of University Relations. “When it came to sell the business, all the
stockholders agreed that the university would be the best buyer to continue serving the students, faculty and community.”
clear as to what will fill the other two vacancies. With the reconstruction and reopening of Great Wall, Zheng said she brought a few changes to the store, including the sale of liquor, beer and cigarettes. Although Zheng said this new addition to her store has proven successful, she admitted that some theft has occurred because of these newly featured products. “Only in the late hours, between 11 to 2:30 a.m., sometimes the drunk people, they steal the stuff,” Zheng said. In addition to new commercial spaces, the Hill has seen some old businesses either leave the area or shift around. Regardless, storefronts have remained filled. Little Bigs, a bar that sits on the east side of College Street, was one of the first changes seen in 2016. Replacing Beck’s Sports Grill, Little Bigs serves as both a restaurant and bar.
Along the same side of the street, Sub City recently relocated, moving three spaces over to the corner of College and 23rd Street. A new tobacco shop also joined the scene in August of this year. Up In Smoke, owned by Omer Noorwala, provides locals with an opportunity to hang out on the Hill. “People can have a seat on the couch,” Noorwala said. “We have a PlayStation 4 to play videogames, free Wi-Fi, listen to music [or] play whatever they want to. It’s pretty cool.” The new shop’s arrival to the Hill has gone well, according to Noorwala. “The majority of the clients are students, like 70 percent, 30 percent locals — people from Waterloo, you know,” Noorwala said. “This is just a brand-new business, so it takes a while for people to get to know us.”
See BOOKSTORE, page 2
Past semester sees changes come to College Hill NICOLE BAXTER Staff Writer
IRIS FRASHER/Northern Iowan
IRIS FRASHER/Northern Iowan
The burning of Great Wall Chinese Restaurant came as a shock for many in April of 2016. However, what began as a disaster for several businesses on College Hill ignited a new wave of construction and enterprise. Since the catastrophe, there have been changes to old storefronts, as well as new additions that have brought a fresh face to College Street. After the fire, the building that originally housed the Chinese restaurant was torn down and in its place a new retail space was built. The commercial structure accommodates four spaces in total, leaving room for three other tenants. According to Wendy Zheng, the owner of Great Wall, a smoothie shop will be moving into one of the empty spaces soon. As of press time, it is not
See COLLEGE HILL, page 5
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