The University of Northern Iowa’s student-produced newspaper since 1892
Northern Iowan
Friday, October 1, 2010 Volume 107, Issue 10 Cedar Falls, Iowa northern-iowan.org
Opinion In defense of Bieber Fever Page 9
Football
Key conference match inhabits UNI-Dome Saturday
UNI graduate student hopes to restore Cedar Bend Savanna RACHEL ZIDON
Page 2
Is a college education worth it?
DAKOTA FUNK
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
Whether it’s cutting down entire forests, bringing in invasive species, hunting animals to extinction or polluting rivers, we humans have a knack for harming whole ecosystems. What we’re not so good at is repairing the damage we’ve done. However, one woman is working to change that. University of Northern Iowa graduate student Mary Cox spent her summer working to restore the Cedar Bend Savanna, a 55-acre oak savanna situated in the north part of the Black Hawk Park Complex in Cedar Falls. Flooding, absence of grazing animals and years without natural fires have caused the CBS to become degraded. Oak savannas like the CBS have special ecological importance because they are a particularly rare ecosystem. These savannas fall between prairies and forests with “scattered trees and a
Is college education all that it can be? We spend all this money to sit in a classroom and absorb all the information in the hopes of getting a job someday, but is there more to college than just learning inside the classroom? According to a study sponsored by the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center, a college education gives students the chance to interact with others with others and to learn about independence, self confidence, job skills and critical thinking skills. The study also states that the most valuable part of a college education is its financial benefits. According to a report by the Chronicle of Higher Education, “Over the course of a 40-year career, the average college graduate earns about 66 percent more than the typical highschool graduate and those with advanced degrees earn two to three times as much as a highschool graduate.” The study also says the average salary of a college graduate who works yearround is $55,700, which is $21,900 more than the average salary of a high school graduate. “College is great for opening the mind and learning life facts, not just about getting a job afterwards,” said Amandajean Nolte, a University of Northern Iowa instructor of communication studies. She said college is more than just passing a test; it is about getting to know new people and experiencing new opportunities. “No matter what we’ve learned while we’re in college, it prepares us to do something else,” said Amy Rohrberg, an associate professor of theatre, when describing her college expe-
See SAVANNA, page 3
PHOTO COURTESY OF MARY COX
The Cedar Bend Savanna, located in the north part of the Black Hawk Park Complex in Cedar Falls, is in desperate need of restoration due to flooding, absence of grazing animals and years without national fires.
NISG establishes new chalking policy JESSICA SNOOK Staff Writer
JESSICA SNOOK/Northern Iowan
UNI students have been using chalking as a way to advertise, express opinions and let other students know about events for years. However, this year the chalking policy has undergone a change and become more strict.
A new chalking policy has been put in place as of Aug. 2010. The policy is meant to describe the expectations of students when chalking on sidewalks and to verify that messages agree with the law and university policy. Action will be taken if the policy is not adhered to. Those that feel the policy is being violated should contact the dean of students office at 273-2332 or the director of Maucker Union at 273-2256. Northern Iowa Student Government will then be contacted and may initiate disciplinary action against the offending student or organization.
Requirements of the policy:
• Chalking is permitted only in open areas that can be directly washed by rain. • Each individual chalking must bear the name or signature of the sponsoring organization or student and this must be legible. • Chalking is prohibited on all structures and vertical surfaces including the Campanile. • Overwriting, erasing, defacing or altering the chalking of another person or organization is prohibited. • The material used to mark the sidewalks must be watersoluble (sidewalk chalk). • The content of the chalking must adhere to the law and other university policies.
See COLLEGE EDUCATION, page 2