Northern Iowan t h e u n i v e r s i t y o f n o r t h e r n i owa ’ s s t u d e n t - p r o d u c e d n e w s pa p e r s i n c e
18 9 2
Homecoming Throwback Edition
No. 109
University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Friday, October 19, 2012
Issue 16
Homecoming
HOMECOMING
UNI students to crown Homecoming royalty again The tradition of haivng a Homecoming king and queen has returned with a new twist; students showed off their talents while TAPP students competed for the chance to adorn the winners.
< See PAGE 6
BRANDON BAKER/Northern Iowan
University of Northern Iowa students gather on the roof of Maucker Union to watch the Pride Cry on Oct. 15. Nine teams competed in the Pride Cry, which kicked off the 2012 homecoming week.
Pride Cry kicks off Homecoming JENNY PAUK
Staff Writer
FOOTBALL
UNI looks to bounce back vs. SDSU Despite a record that looks disappointing on paper, the Panthers still have potential this season if they can work on their turnover margin. < See PAGE 8 RELATIONSHIP ADVICE
A blast of spirited sound came from the top of Maucker Union on Monday night. Huge crowds of people dressed in purple and gold packed the area to witness the Homecoming kickoff. The event began with the Panther Marching Band playing the University of Northern Iowa fight song. The crowd joined in by singing and clapping. Next, the emcees of the event danced to get everyone in the Homecoming mood. Through their old-school dance moves, they paid tribute to this year’s Homecoming theme: throwback. After that, the nine Pride Cry teams took center stage one by one to show what they could do. Each team had to sing the fight song in its entirety along with whatever other song they wanted, but the performance couldn’t be
He said, she said: the freshman Campaniler
In their 50th column, Mitchell and Hunt advise first-time Campaniling participants on locking down a midnight kiss. < See PAGE 6
< See PRIDE CRY, page 7
Academics
Students, faculty share experiences with Mandarin Chinese course BLAKE FINDLEY
Academics Writer
PANTHER PROFILE
DeGeest evolves into team leader
Krista DeGeest has been an integral part of UNI’s successful volleyball team.
< See PAGE 8
INDEX OPINION............................4 CAMPUS LIFE....................6 SPORTS.............................8 GAMES............................10 CLASSIFIEDS...................11
BRANDON BAKER/Northern Iowan
One of nine teams compete at the Pride Cry on Oct. 15. Teams had three minutes to sing the fight song in its entirety and any other song they wanted.
This semester, the University of Northern Iowa began offering two threecredit co-requisite Mandarin Chinese courses. After half a semester of the courses, students enrolled in and faculty involved with the new Mandarin Chinese courses shared their experience with the courses and how the courses have affected them. Julie Husband, interim head of the department of languages and literatures — which is the department offering the courses — said she was struck by the engagement and accomplishment of the students. According to Husband, the class atmosphere is exceptionally relaxed yet simultaneously productive. Chang-Li Huang, whom Husband
identified as an “exceptional teacher,” instructs the course and said every student has displayed a strong motivation, need and interest in learning Chinese. “Some of them studied and worked in China before and are planning to study and work in China again in the near future, so this course serves them as a solid foundation and preparation,” said Huang, a visiting faculty member from National Taiwan Normal University. “The rest of the students are interested in the Chinese language and the affairs related to China and are taking the course for personal enrichment and to broaden their horizon.” Huang said having 12 students in the class is the perfect number for a language class in that everyone can have opportunities to interact with the instructor and their classmates. Some students had experienced chal-
lenges in learning the Chinese characters because they are entirely different from the Roman alphabet, so Huang invited Allison Alstatt, an assistant professor in the UNI School of Music, to share her experience learning Chinese and offer some advice to the class. Huang said he also worked with the Office of International Students in order to improve the listening and speaking ability of his students. He connected his students with those from China and Taiwan to develop an exchange program. “Each student can sharpen their language skills mutually and experience different culture(s) from each other,” Huang said. “In addition, the Chinese language films are shown in the class (so) that the students can have more perspectives on the Chinese language and culture.” < See MANDARIN, page 3