PANTHERS ON MAIN
PANTHER VILLAGE
NEWS PG 3
Take an inside look at the second phase of Panther Village — the apartment-style complex at UNI.
CAMPUS LIFE PG 8
UNI students showed their Panther pride on Main Street in Cedar Falls.
FOOTBALL Running back David Johnson speaks about this year’s upcoming football season. SPORTS PG 11
Northern Iowan
HISTORY
Perceptions shattered at MLK event JORDAN AUNE
News Editor
It isn’t often that Martin Luther King Jr. is described as a revolutionary rather than a reformist. “We have orchestrated a fraud with our representation of his greatness,” said Michael D. Blackwell, director of the Center of Multicultural Education. “We have selected aspects of his life deemed sellable to the citizenry and consequently we have softened his persona.” Blackwell’s presentation, “The Real Martin Luther King Jr.: Reformist or Revolutionary?”, was well received by an audience of approximately 40 people in the CME. It followed a march to the Campanile and a short program commemorating King’s march on Washington in 1963. Blackwell’s passion about the subject was easy to see
PAIGE BUNS/Northern Iowan
Michael D. Blackwell, the director for Multicultural Education, talks to students about Martin Luther King Jr. as a revolutionary and a reformer.
as he projected his voice with power and confidence and was met with many nodding heads and yells of acknowl-
edgement. “If you truly examine the sermons and speeches of Doctor King, you’ll see at the
very least a budding revolutionary,” said Blackwell. “One who finally did not have to constrain himself after he
broke off with the Johnson administration. He was tired of giving in to the benefit of the doubt and argued for a more direct civil disobedient approach to the struggle for human rights.” Leading off his presentation was a short clip of King on the Mike Douglas show, an American daytime talk show. During the show, a calm and poised King was badgered by questions and comments on his alleged communist ties. “A lot of people aren’t used to seeing him in that way,” said Blackwell. “He’s usually very animated. See him calmly respond to question that we all know were ignorant.” Blackwell followed the clip with a reading from his work on King, during which he sought to differentiate between King the reformer and King the revolutionary. “A reformist is one who < See KING, page 2
UNI STAFF
WELCOME WEEK
Faculty evaluations suspended
Good times and good food kick off the school year
LINH TA
Executive Editor
When University of Northern Iowa students evaluate their professors this fall semester, their comments and ratings won’t affect the tenure or salary of their professors, according to Joe Gorton, president of United Faculty, an American Association of university professors collective bargining chapter. According to a collective bargaining agreement between United Faculty and the Iowa Board of Regents, a new student assessment system needed to be in place by the beginning of this fall semester, or else professor evaluations would be suspended. It was required that both the president of United < See EVALUATIONS, page 4
JACINDA RUGGLES Staff Writer
In a crowd filled with purple and gold, the smell of hamburgers, the inflatable obstacle course and the general cheer of students and faculty at the Welcome Week Panther Picnic was hard to miss. Held Thursday, Aug. 22, at the northeast corner of the University of Northern Iowa’s campus, the picnic enticed students with free food, free games and activities and, of course, music and dancing. Attendees gathered on the makeshift dance floor on the lawn of the Honors Cottage to dance to songs such as the “Wobble.” “Everybody got up and danced when the Wobble was on,” said Zach Owens, senior textile and apparel major. A steady flow of people came and went as the picnic continued. Booths were set up and
MEGHAN RANKIN/Northern Iowan
University of Northern Iowa students participate in the Interlude dance at the Panther Picnic Aug. 22. The Panther Picnic kicked off the start of Welcome Week 2013-14 at UNI.
run by a few clubs on campus, including the UNI Tae Kwon-Do club and the UNI Ultimate Frisbee club. The Ultimate Frisbee club
said that in years past there seeking out their booth at the had just been visitors curi- picnic. ous about what the booths Students also stopped by were, while this year they were happy to have students < See PANTHER PICNIC, page 8