Monday
/NorthernIowan
October 10, 2016
@NorthernIowan
Volume 113, Issue 13
northerniowan.com
Opinion 4 Campus Life 6 Sports 9 Games 10 Classifieds 11
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
ORANGE PARTY Dance Marathon smashes their ‘18k today’ goal. CAMPUS LIFE PAGE 6
RNC Columnist questions one presidential candidate’s past actions.
OPINION PAGE 4
VOLLEYBALL
SHELBY WELSCH Staff Writer
The “clown epidemic” has spread like wildfire across the nation. People dressed as clowns have been spotted strolling along roadsides, cornfields, local businesses and even on UNI’s own campus. According to The Guardian, the clown craze supposedly all started in Greenville, South Carolina, where a little boy spotted two clowns in the woods near his home in early August. The sightings have increased to hundreds in just two months. Most sightings are reported as harmless and innocent, but numerous have involved kidnappings, theft or other forms of violence. The phenomenon has caused many people to feel uncomfortable, and especially made UNI students squirm when cases reports of clowns
The Panthers came away from Drake with their 39th consecutive win against them.
occurred in their own backyard. Freshman biology major Taylor Gruber shared her clown-sighting story. Last Tuesday night, Gruber decided to poke fun at her clown-fearing friends and go “clown hunting” around campus. She admitted that she wasn’t expecting to find any clowns, that is, until one began to chase her around campus at around 1 a.m. “I was going to go by the campanile and go towards my dorm but I noticed someone coming t owa r d s me at a very fastp a c e d walk,” Gruber said. “I saw wild hair flying around in the wind,
so I panicked and took off running towards Bartlett Hall.” After assuring herself that the clown was gone, she made her way back to the campanile, only to find a clown mask lying on the ground. Gruber said that she was alone and terrified by the situation. She decided to grab the mask so nobody else would be freaked out by it, and turned it into her RA.
Gruber doesn’t think students should be afraid or question their safety on campus and that the people participating in this clown epidemic are likely a bunch of college kids pulling pranks on each other. She did, however, mention that if students are concerned about walking alone at night, they should find a buddy to walk with, or to carry an extra form of self-defense protection. UNI Public Safety did not return the Northern Iowan’s request for comment. Sophomore Spanish major Connor Lang also spotted a pair of clowns on campus. He said they were on top of the big University of Northern Iowa sign and swinging their legs back and forth. He said that it was very surreal and creepy to hear about all the clown sightings on social media, then actually see some in the flesh. See CLOWNS, page 7
SPORTS PAGE 9
Panthers suffer close loss against SD, 28-25 RYAN NELSON
Sports Writer
The 11th ranked UNI Panthers fell victim to the upset bug on Saturday, when they dropped a Missouri Valley Football Conference game on the road at South Dakota, 28-25. After trailing by as much as 11 points, the Panther
comeback fell just short in the fourth quarter. The first quarter ended in a 14-14 tie, after UNI and South Dakota traded touchdowns back and forth. Aaron Bailey punched a 12-yard run into the end zone to even the score 7-7, in response to a 67-yard South Dakota touchdown run. Then, after another South Dakota touchdown, UNI
responded with a 12-play drive, capped by a 17-yard touchdown pass to Michael Malloy. The second quarter saw UNI briefly take a 17-14 lead on a 29-yard Austin Errthum field goal. Seconds later, South Dakota answered with a 75-yard touchdown pass. UNI went into halftime trailing 21-17.
In the third quarter, UNI’s offense struggled, being forced to punt and also being picked off. Late in the third quarter, South Dakota tacked on seven more points on a 29-yard touchdown pass. This put the Coyotes up 28-17. In the final quarter, UNI capped a long drive off with another short run by Bailey into the end zone. The
Panthers were able to score the two-point conversion on a pass to Trevor Allen. This drive pulled UNI within three, down 28-25. The Panthers had a couple missed chances, including a 34-yard field goal to tie, and being forced a turnover on downs in the waning minute. See FOOTBALL, page 9