/NORTHERNIOWAN
@NORTHERNIOWAN
WWW.NORTHERNIOWAN.COM
UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA CEDAR FALLS, IA THURSDAY, APRIL 5 VOLUME 114, ISSUE 42
CEDAR FALLS, IA
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2024
VOLUME 120, ISSUE 16
News briefs
FROZEN
Gifts from the Grassleys T he u n iver sit y announced two historic gifts to UNI from Senator and Mrs. Chuck Grassley at the beginning of January. The couple donated papers and other historical materials from Senator Grassley’s time in the U.S. Senate to Rod Library, and a gift of an endowed professorship in the Department of Political Science to Donna Hoffman, Ph.D. Senator Grassley is an alumni of UNI and the longest serving U.S. senator from Iowa.
OVER NEWS
Volunteers braved the cold weather with the goal of packing 60,000 meals for children in northeast Iowa for the MLK Day Pack the Dome event. SEE PAGE 4
MALLORY SCHMITZ
News Editor
FAFSA Now Open The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is now open for the 2024-2025 academic year. Current and prospective students should fill out the application by Feb. 1, 2024 to maximize their financial aid opportunities. UNI’s school code for the FAFSA is 001890. Incoming students can expect their financial aid offers to become available in March.
The start of the spring semester has been frozen in its tracks. Following blizzard-like conditions over the weekend and facing dangerously low wind chills, the University of Northern Iowa made the call Sunday morning canceling in-person classes. The announcement noted that professors may choose to move classes online, and that supervisors should communicate to employees about working remotely. See SNOW DAY, page 5 CAROLINE CHRISTENSEN
The West Gym: at the heart of campus history CAMPUS LIFE
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the official @northern_iowa Instagram account. SEE PAGE 8
SPORTS
UNI wrestling defeats Utah Valley 32-6. SEE PAGE 9
MALLORY SCHMITZ News Editor
A vacant brick building sits behind a chain-link fence directly west of the Campanile. Stone busts of football players adorn the top of the eastern wall, now being held up by steel support beams. The nearly 100-year-old West Gym is silent — a stark contrast to its rich and bustling history in the heart of campus. Constructed in 1925, the building has stood tall through a second world war, devastating flooding in the state of Iowa, a global pandemic and countless cultural shifts that have impacted students of yesterday and today. However, those years have finally come to a close as the Iowa Board of Regents voted in November to demolish the building. The West Gym was deemed unsuitable for occupancy in July and has since sat vacant. The request approved by the Board of Regents lays out a humble future for the over 50,000 square foot plot of land — that the utilities and foun-
COURTESY/UNI SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
The photograph above apeared in an August 1925 edition of the College Eye, one of the previous names for UNI’s student newspaper. It shows the West Gym nearing completion before it opened in November of that year. The Iowa Board of Regents approved a request this past November to demolish the West Gym after nearly a century on campus.
dation will be removed and the basement filled with soil and seeded with grass. While it is uncertain exactly when the building will be demolished or what the future may hold for that space on the west side of campus, President Mark Nook has stated that elements of the building will be preserved as a way to honor its central role in UNI’s history. According to UNI Special
Collections, the gymnasium was originally constructed to attract more men to the teaching profession following World War I. When built, the West Gym — at the time called the Men’s Gymnasium — was the second gymnasium on campus in addition to what is now the ITTC, at the time called the Women’s Gymnasium. See WEST GYM, page 2
New Director of Joh n Pappajoh n Entrepreneurial Center Announced Patrick Luensmann has been named director of the University of Northern Iowa John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (UNI JPEC) following the retirement of former Director Laurie Watje. Luensmann is a 2012 graduate of the Economics and Finance Departments at the University of Northern Iowa and began his career at UNI in the Regional Business Center as a counselor for the Small Business Development Center. UNI Gallery of Art announces spring exhibition The art exhibition “UNI Department of Art Faculty +1” opens Jan. 17 and will be on display until Feb. 23. The art features the work of current UNI faculty. Each faculty artist also invited a UNI Department of Art alum to showcase their work alongside them. There will be an opening reception Tuesday, Jan. 23 at 6:30 p.m.