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 o wa’s s t u d e n t - p r o d u c e d n e w s p a p e r s i n c e 1 8 9 2
APRIL 9, 2013
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TUESDAY
VOLUME 109, ISSUE 47
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
CEDAR FALLS, IOWA
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NORTHERN-IOWAN.ORG
PRIDE WEEK
Ternus speaks on Varnum v. Brien Said she has ‘no regrets’ on 2009 ruling
LGBT
Gibson shares poetry during Pride week
The poet Andrea Gibson brought many members of her Lang Hall Auditorium audience to tears Wednesday night as she spoke of love, society, spirituality and other topics. < See PAGE 6 OPINION
Legalize the cure
Citing 80,000 people waiting for a kidney donation, columnist Monnier makes a case for allowing the legal, regulated sale of kidneys. < See PAGE 4
IN MEMORIAM
A tribute to the late Roger Ebert
The NI’s film critic takes a moment to remember the influential and prolific Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert, who died last week at age 70. < See PAGE 6
went before the Iowa Supreme Court. Staff Writer In Varnum v. While gay marBrien, the high court riage has been a topic “concluded the statuof debate nationwide, tory restriction limitthe issue hit home ing marriage to one April 4 as former man and one woman Iowa Supreme Court excluded gay and lesJustice Marsha Ternus bian couples ... and shared details on the therefore violated the Iowa Supreme Court Iowa Constitution’s case Varnum v. Brien equality clause,” to a crowd in Lang Ternus told listeners Auditorium. at Thursday’s event. Ternus’ lecture was The Iowa Supreme part of University of Court unanimously Northern Iowa’s 2013 overturned the existPride and Progress ing law that restrictweek. During her leced marriage solely to ture, Ternus acknowlbeing between a man edged that many Iowa and woman. citizens were upset by “The Supreme the court’s decision on Court granted the the Varnum v. Brien plaintiffs the relief COURTESY PHOTO case, which ruled in they sought,” Ternus favor of legalizing Former Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court speaks at the University of Northern Iowa said of the ruling. regarding the Varnum v. Brien case and her role in the decision. same-sex marriage. The controversial However, Ternus ruling led to Ternus, said, “I never regretted my decision.” who served as chief justice, and two other Supreme Court jusVarnum v. Brien stemmed from several gay couples attempt- tices not being retained. The justices were targeted by consering to apply for marriage licenses in Des Moines, Iowa. They vative groups who opposed same-sex marriage, and the groups were denied and eventually filed suit. launched a campaign that led to the justices being ousted by A district court judge determined that an Iowa law stat- Iowa voters in 2010. ing a valid marriage could only be between one man and one Ternus said the Iowa Supreme Court is reputable for woman was unconstitutional, and ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. Polk County appealed the ruling and the high-profile case < See TERNUS, page 3 ELIZABETH LYNCH
STUDENT GOVERNEMNT
NISG finalizes 2013-14 budget Breaking up the old boys’ club LINH TA
News Editor
TRACK AND FIELD
UNI sophomore sets javelin record
Paige Knodle notched a UNI all-time record in the javelin throw to help propel the Panthers to a successful meet in the Joey Haines invitational in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Several Panthers had successful individual events over the course of the meet. < See PAGE 8
INDEX I SPY AT UNI......................2 OPINION............................4 CAMPUS LIFE....................6 SPORTS.............................8 GAMES............................10 CLASSIFIEDS...................11
POLITICS
For the past two weeks, the Northern Iowa Student Government deliberated over the 2013-14 NISG budget. Student organizations and NISG operations rely on the budget to keep things running.
“Funds being allocated this year are down from last year, primarily because of less funds being available, which stems from the dip in enrollment as well as a general conservative mindset on how student dollars should be spend, budgeted or allocated,” said Dakotah Reed, director of administration
and finance. Student organizations request funding and submit it to the Organization and Finance Committee of NISG, where they recommend the budget and senate ratifies it. As of April 4, the amount of money student < See BUDGET, page 3
2013-14 NISG Allocations and Contingency Fund Student Services Fee Allocation:
$170,000
NISG Operations Budget:
$100,383
Allocations to student organizations: Remaining dollars for contingency fund:
—
$41,093.44 $28,068.56
LINH TA
News Editor
On April 4, a group of panelists in the Center for Multicultural Education discussed and answered a longtime question rooted in Iowa: “Women in Politics: Does It Matter?” Right from the start, chair of the panel and head of the political science department Donna Hoffman said, “yes.” As part of the American Democracy Project, the panel covered various topics regarding gender balance in the state of Iowa were addressed, < See GENDER, page 2