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THURSDAY, APRIL 5
MONDAY, OCTOBER 5
VOLUME 114, ISSUE 42
VOLUME 117, ISSUE 14
DEFUNDING
WCF SYMOHONY
BASKETBALL
NEWS PAGE 2
CAMPUS LIFE PAGE 4
SPORTS PAGE 6
Opinion Columnist Dani Goedken argues against defunding Planned Parenthood.
The Cayman Islands Classic is canceled due to changes in NCAA season.
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony holds virtual concert “Celebrating Beethoven.”
UNI community marches for justice ANNA ALLDREDGE Staff Writer
On Thursday, Oct. 1 at 6 p.m. UNI students, faculty and community members gathered at 3025 S Main Street in Cedar Falls to begin “A March for Justice.” The event was organized by Cedar Valley Black Lives Matter, a predominantly student-led group which was recently launched. After opening remarks by student leaders, protesters flooded Main Street and marched to the intersection of University and Main. Here, student leaders and Black students spoke on their experiences being Black in America. Cries of “No justice, no peace,” “Say her name: Breonna Taylor” and “These racist cops have got to go” echoed through the streets. The protesters’ final destination was Cedar Falls City Hall, nearly two miles from where the march began, where organizers presented a list of demands for the Cedar Falls City Council. These included the decriminalization of marijuana, the creation of a citizen’s community review board to
review misconduct and bias claims made against police officers, the firing of officers accused of domestic violence and excessive use of force, the abolishment of paid administrative leave for officers under investigation and transparency and accountability for the city’s police budget. Cedar Valley BLM coordinators also demanded that the City Council state a public apology on the racist history of the city, as they believe denouncement of its racist past is necessary if Cedar Falls ever intends to be a safe and welcoming community for people of color. After several speeches from march attendees, protesters marched back down University and ended the march where it began. Max Tensen, senior secondary math education major, was one of the major organizers of the event. He said his goal in organizing the march was “to put people together and uplift Black voices.” “As a white person, I know it’s not necessarily my place to be a leader, especially in this movement that is not about white people, but I
recognize that I’m involved in NISG, and I have built pretty good connections all across the university in multiple capacities,” he said. “I knew I was pretty far-reaching and I could utilize that.” Reflecting on the march after the fact, Tensen was pleased with the turnout. “I don’t think any of us expected it to be this big,” he said. “There were students; there were community members; there were professors; there were faculty and there were just families that walked out of their house and participated.” Though the march remained peaceful, opposition to the march was also evident. “Unfortunately, there were some aggressors: folks with Confederate f lags yelling racial slurs at our protesters. So, in that capacity, it’s disappointing,” Tensen said. “But part of the reason we do these protests is to draw attention to that. Like, this is a real, actual thing. Racism is not dead, it is still very much alive, and it’s here and existing in the Cedar Falls area.” See BLM MARCH, page 2
ANNA ALLDREDGE/Northern Iowan
Cedar Valley Black Lives Matter lead members of the UNI community in “A March for Justice.”
COVID-19 on campus ELIZABETH KELSEY News Editor
Cases of COVID-19 at UNI have remained both fairly low and relatively consistent over the last few weeks, according to information released Friday by the UNI Student Health Center. This week’s seven positive cases as reported by the Student Health Center and ten positive self-reported cases represent a very slight decrease from the previous week, in which 11 cases were reported both through the Student Health Center and through the Panther Health Survey self-report. Self-reported cases may also be counted in the Student Health Center weekly totals
and therefore, the numbers cannot be combined for a grand total. During the period from Sept. 28-Oct. 1, one UNI employee self-reported a positive test of COVID-19. The other nine self-reported cases came from UNI students. As previously reported in the Northern Iowan, adjusted guidance from the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) now requires individuals exposed to COVID-19 to quarantine only if both parties were not wearing a mask during the time of exposure. UNI is now following this change in regulations as well, which may contribute to differences in quarantine and isolation numbers as reported by the Department of Residence. KARLA DEBRUIN/Northern Iowan
This graphic depicts UNI’s COVID-19 positivity rate since the begining of the semester as well as other statistics regarding COVID-19 on campus.