FACEBOOK.COM/NORTHERNIOWAN
WWW.NORTHERNIOWAN.COM
UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA CEDAR FALLS, IA
CEDAR FALLS, IA
TWITTER: @NORTHERNIOWAN
THURSDAY, APRIL 5
THURSDAY, AUGUST 20
VOLUME 114, ISSUE 42
VOLUME 116, ISSUE 1
OPINION
DEAN’S LIST
TOP 5 FILMS
OPINION PAGE 3
DEANS LIST PAGE 5-8
CAMPUS LIFE PAGE 9
Opinon Columnist Addi Seybert reflects on the dangers of bars during a pandemic
Spring 2020 CHAS Dean’s List released.
Film critic Hunter Friesen list the top 5 movies released over quarantine.
Students return to the “classroom” ELIZABETH KELSEY News Editor
tesAfter a spring and summer of empty classrooms and silent halls, the UNI campus was once again filled with thousands of students on Monday morning. Masks donned and hand sanitizer at the ready, they sat in socially distanced lecture halls, ready to learn under a strange new normal. Others took their seats outside, in their dorm rooms or in front of their laptops. This fall, the idea of the “classroom” has expanded. In hopes of mitigating the spread of COVID-19, UNI is utilizing three main options for fall 2020 classes—fully in-person, fully online and hybrid, in which small groups meet in person throughout the week while other students complete work online. According to the university’s fall 2020 reopening plan at forwardtogether.uni.edu, more than 80% of UNI classes are meeting fully or partially faceto-face. Most students interviewed by the Northern Iowan preferred these in-person class-
ELIZABETH KELSEY/Northern Iowan
es, including junior elementary education major Kayla Laufenberg. “My motivation is just not there in an online class,” she said. “I like to just be in the atmosphere of the classroom. I like to personally see the professor and… see them writing on the board.” The board, however, may be
in a different building than students are used to. To facilitate social distancing, many classes have been moved to larger spaces in different buildings, meaning that Spanish classes may meet in McCollum and math classes in the ITTC. “It’s very strange,” Laufenberg said with a laugh. In these classrooms, no
a senior majoring in psychology, described the additional training as a kind of mini orientation. “There was...[training] to tell us about what is going on, what are the changes, what is expected,” Cheah said. “Like, we’re supposed to wash our hands before we go to work and every so often just wash our hands. Just to make sure everything’s clean.” The training also covered all additional tasks required of a Dining Service Assistant at Maucker Union: these include spraying and wiping down tables with neutral disinfectant once they’re done being used, flipping over a card provided on each table to indicate it’s cleanliness, disinfecting door handles to the kitchen and instructing customers on how to execute self-checkout for their meals.
When asked about the challenges of her job now mid-pandemic, Cheah replied with a polite laugh saying, “I think one of the major challenges is, like, getting used to it.” The changes made across UNI’s campus are necessary, but many in number to workers like Cheah, who echoed this sentiment in a comparison between her job at the food court preCOVID-19 and present day. “It’s not to say there is less work [normally], but [now] there is extra work,” said Cheah. “But [the Maucker Union staff ] take turns to, sort of, do our duties.” While in Cheah’s case, sharing the workload with fellow staff members is a necessary solution for the effect COVID-19 has had on her job; in another case,
more than 40% of room capacity is being used if possible, meaning some tables and chairs have been marked for non-use. In addition, every classroom will undergo daily enhanced cleaning and disinfecting, and ventilation systems have been changed to non-recirculating air. Air in rooms is now exchanged at least six times per
hour, according to forwardtogether.uni.edu. Generally, classes of more than 50 students are not meeting together in person, instead utilizing a hybrid or online format. First-year classes have been prioritized for face-to-face instruction, but since many freshmen are enrolled in larger Liberal Arts Core or introductory classes, some online courses are inevitable. Freshman pre-nursing major Summer Howard has all her classes online except a biology lab and lecture, she said. Her fellow freshman Ben Andersen, a history education major, has three hybrid classes, one online and only one in-person. For these new students, who are already experiencing a schedule shift from high school, the mix of online and in-person classes can be tricky. “Online [classes] are just a little complicated to navigate,” said freshman marketing major Allie Burk, who has two online, two hybrid and two in-person classes. “I definitely prefer in-person classes.” See COVID CLASSES, page 2
New procedures keep campus clean KAYLA LAWRENCE Staff Writer
During the midst of a pandemic, there really is no such thing as too clean; UNI, it seems, has taken that to heart. Even before the much-debated return to campus, both students and staff had experienced firsthand the expectations and stress the university placed on cleanliness. Every student was required to complete the Protecting Our Panthers: COVID-19 Training before returning to campus for the fall. A majority of staff, both full and part-time, were also given additional training that included new university protocol for keeping campus clean. Amelia Cheah, a Dining Service Assistant at the Maucker Union Food Court and
GABI CUMMINGS/Northern Iowan
a worker feels the pressure to endure a serious time crunch and a multitude of now essential tasks. “It’s hard on staff. But [the student custodians] help a lot,” said Kathy Benson, who has been a custodian at UNI for five years now. She went on to explain that despite the work
being split up for the custodial staff by assigned building and designated area, it was still very time-consuming. The disinfection process, in particular, requires multiple steps and needs to be checked and redone often. See CLEANING, page 4