FOOTBALL
PHILANTHROPY
SEE SPORTS, 8
SEE CAMPUS LIFE, 7
BEARING IT ALL
UNI FALLS TO NDSU
Northern Iowan OPINION 4 | CAMPUSLIFE 6 | SPORTS 8 | CLASSIFIEDS 10
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
November 1, 2011
I
TUESDAY
Volume 108, Issue 19
| GAMES 12
Cedar Falls, Iowa
I
northern-iowan.org
the university of northern iowa’s student-produced newspaper since 1892
TUITION
CIVIL LAWSUIT
Student leaders support proposed tuition increase, call for change
Court rules in favor of UNI in Barrett suit
AJ CASSIDY Staff Writer
JUSTIN ALLEN/Northern Iowan
Dakota Hoben, president of the ISU Government of the Student Body, and Spencer Walrath, president of the Northern Iowa Student Government, address the Board of Regents in Maucker Union Thursday.
JOHN ANDERSON Executive Editor
The student government presidents of Iowa’s public universities sent a message to the Board of Regents last Thursday: the costs of public higher education should not continue to be increasingly placed on students. “I believe that we have reached a turning point. Students have been willing to cover our share of the costs, but we are now doing more than our share,” said Spencer Walrath, University of Northern Iowa student body president. “When students are paying for almost 60 percent of the cost of their education at a public university, something in the formula must
change.” During the board’s October meeting, the student leaders from UNI, Iowa State University and the University of Iowa all expressed their support for the proposed 3.75 percent tuition increase for next year, the lowest increase in recent years. The proposed increase falls within the Higher Education Pricing Index range, which measures the inflation of higher education costs and is projected to be 2.6 to 4.2 percent. The tuition increase is intended to maintain the quality of education at Iowa’s public universities, according to the board’s proposal. “UNI students cherish our small class sizes,” Walrath said. “For many students it was a deciding factor when they chose
NISG
New York Times coming to campus LINH TA Government Writer
Starting in spring 2012, University of Northern Iowa students will be able to pick up a copy of The New York Times right in Maucker Union. On Oct. 26, the Northern Iowa Student Government passed a resolution to have an eight-week trial period during the spring semester in which The New York Times will be available in the Union. “I would personally love to have The New York Times, but it could be something that not everyone could want and that’s why
we have this trial period,” said Chris Miller, senator for the College of Business. For the first four weeks of the trial period, The New York Times will pay for each copy of their newspaper that is taken. For the next four weeks, NISG will use its funds to pay for each copy. “I think it’s going to be really popular with students,” Miller said. “I don’t think we’re even going to have enough copies of it, so hopefully we’re going to request more. But I really think that it’s going to be popular.” See NY TIMES, page 10
to come to UNI, and there are many students who are willing to pay the cost of the tuition increase if it means maintaining their small class sizes.” Elliot Higgins, president of the University of Iowa Student Government, emphasized the relatively low cost of attending an Iowa public university over comparable institutions. “Even with the increase, Iowa’s public universities remain a great value, as their tuition and fee rates are approximately 17 percent less than the national average, and tuition and fees rank near the bottom of their peer groups,” he said. While the leaders supported the See TUITION, page 3
On Oct. 28, the lawsuit levied against the University of Northern Iowa by Brad Barrett, former UNI music professor, was decided by a Black Hawk Country jury in favor of the university. Thus, Barrett will receive no monetary award. Barrett, who was removed from the tenure list and placed on leave in April 2009 and ultimately fired in December 2009, claimed in the lawsuit that the university breached his contract and did not follow due process in his dismissal. Barrett taught junior high and high school music at a public school district in southern Missouri in the 1990s. He was placed on leave from UNI when a former student from that time came forward with allegations of sexual abuse. Despite the dismissal of that case and no formal conviction of Barrett, UNI investigated other complaints See BARRETT, page 2
NATION
iraq war no more OLIVIA HOTTLE
Staff Writer
On Oct. 21 in a televised address to the public, President Barack Obama announced that American troops in Iraq would return home by Dec. 31. “After nearly nine years, America’s war in Iraq will be over,” Obama said in his address. Obama and Iraqi Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki spoke a few hours before the address. Obama told viewers that Maliki had “spoke(n) of the determination of the Iraqi people to forge their own future,” and said both were in agreement to proceed with the decision. “This December will be a time to reflect all that we’ve been through in this war,” Obama said. “I’ll join the American people in
paying tribute to the more than one million Americans who have served in Iraq.” The war with Iraq began March 19, 2003. According to the Brookings Institution’s Iraq Index, 40,000 troops remained in Iraq in September 2011, and at that time, 4,481 soldiers had been killed since 2003. See IRAQ WAR, page 3
Photo Courtesy of MCT CAMPUS
Iraqi Special Forces demonstrate their capabilities in a choreographed demonstration at Contingency Operating Site Marez. As the U.S. military prepares to leave Iraq, they continue to train and partner with Iraqi security forces.