CAMPUS LIFE

OCTOBER 7, 2021 | NORTHERNIOWAN.COM | VOLUME 118, ISSUE 12 “Whose Voice” museum exhibit

Museums have been used as a source of information, a childhood field trip and sometimes as a date night. But how often do the visitors stop and think about how the artifacts were obtained? The colonial past of museums cannot be denied. In the early years, items were stolen and confiscated from various groups of people around the world, taken as the thieves’ own and are now put on display as historical pieces. Do these current museums have the right to display these artifacts and tell their story and the unique story of the people they once stole from? The varying perspectives may alter the truth about the colonies that were robbed. Coming Monday, Oct. 11, UNI Museum will be opening its new exhibit titled “Whose Voice?” The purpose of the exhibit is to ask visitors to question who has the authority to tell the stories of these Indigenous cultures, as well as how these stories are presented to the public. It’s a thought-provoking question. Do museums have the right to present and share the artifacts and stories of these communities? It has been several hundred years –for some, thousands of years – since the thievery. Does it matter now? Take some time to ponder that question. There are a few ways to conclude about this. Perhaps the thought is, “No, museums don’t have the authority. These are stolen artifacts and the true owners should hold them and choose if and when to share their stories.” Possibly, “Yes, museums do have the authority. Their job is to inform the public about his-

COURTESY/Rod Library

“Whose Voice” exhibit will be available to see at the Rod Library starting Monday, Oct. 11 from 4-6 p.m. torical artifacts and events. Because of that, they have every right to display these items.” Or, “This doesn’t pertain to me nor my life, therefore I have no opinion.” These varying positions will make for an interesting discussion. To better understand and get some insight, head over to the UNI Museum in the lowest level of Rod Library on Monday, Oct. 11 from 4-6 p.m. with remarks being given at 4:15 p.m. Bring a buddy and an open mind to explore the eye-opening “Whose Voice?” exhibit.

FROM THE NI ARCHIVES Bartlett Hall – From the NI archives

Referenced from The College Eye, printed Sept. 29, 1915

Up to the year of nineteen fifteen all students have been in quartered in private houses, but this year the new dormitory known as Bartlett Hall opened its doors to one hundred and twenty four students. Bartlett Hall is named in honor of Professor Bartlett, the senior professor in what was formerly the Iowa State Normal school. Professor Bartlett was a native of New England, so it seems quite appropriate that the new dormitory have a colonial touch in its architectural plan. The exterior, perhaps, can not justly be commented upon because it constitutes only one half of a quadrangle which is to be completed, by another hall, similar in construction. As we reach the interior we see, first the lobby, with its settees, and fireplace, and piano and some beautiful as well as comfortable rockers. We next enter the parlors with their appropriate furnishings, including some splendid reproductions of such great paintings as Turners Sunset. The draperies and the upholstering on the chairs and settees are a beautiful blue. The floors are covered in Whittall rugs which add greatly to the cozy appearance of the rooms. Mrs. Marion McFarland Walker and Miss Lillian Goodwin purchased the furnishings and deserve much credit for their tasteful choice. The girls’ dwelling rooms or the dormitory (etymologically), proper, are furnished with a bed, two chairs, a dresser, two study tables, a rocker, and a large arclight. Each room is equipped with a lavatory, hot and cold water, and two roomy closets. Besides this there are four shower bath room on each floor for general use. So much for the equipment and furnishings. But we want to say just a word about the government. The government of Bartlett hall is under the general supervision of Miss Helen Broeksmits, Head of House, be student control. In the first place an upperclassmen will be appointed House Chairmen. She together with our other students will constitute the House Committee. The other persons are to be chosen, one from each wing, to act as proctors, in the four wards. These proctors hold office for four week. In addition to these proctors there will be appointed a kitchenette proctor, who will probably be familiarly known as the “Candy Kid.” A social chairman will be chosen a little later to arrange the social events of Bartlett Hall. With this governmental machinery then, Miss Brocksmit proposes to govern the six score and four girls who are making Bartlett Hall their college home. In justice to the public we think it might be of general interest to know at least those rules which concern the department of state. Of course after ten o’clock no noise, except snoring and hte sighs of those enjoying sit-ups for examination, are tolerated, and it is requested that the former be indulged in as little as possible. Calling hours will be observed on Friday and Saturday evenings and on Sundays from 8 until 9:30.

STUDENTS SPEAK OUT

continued from page 1 On Wednesday, Oct. 6, there will be a resolution introduced in the Northern Iowan Student Government (NISG) meeting to recognize “The consequences currently decided upon by the University for Dr. O’Kane resulted in a punishment not only for him, but for his students, who have neither violated policies nor made any actions that necessitate punishment.” The Board of Regents sent a statement to the Northern Iowan stating “Regarding Professor (O’Kane), personnel matters are handled at the university level, and the decision was made by UNI. The Board was not involved in that decision. The Board of Regents very much appreciates hearing from students at our public universities. The well-being of our students is always top of mind.” University Relations sent a statement to the Northern Iowan as well, stating the following: “After listening to the concerns and working closely with all parties involved, the University of Northern Iowa has reached an agreement with a faculty member to continue teaching his course. Board and university policy has not changed and masks will not be mandated in the class. Biology Professor Steve O’Kane will instead teach his Plant

OCTOBER 7, 2021 | NORTHERNIOWAN.COM | VOLUME 118, ISSUE 12 Systematics course and lab online. Another high-qualified professor will handle other classroom duties. UNI continues to support the rights of all our faculty, staff and students and is pleased to have reached a resolution that protects all of those involved. As noted in previous statements from the university, under Board of Regents directives, neither the university nor faculty members can mandate that face coverings be worn on campus, including in classrooms. An exception to this is in limited spaces where masks are required, such as a healthcare or campus childcare setting or service.” The next classroom meeting will take place on Thursday Oct. 7 at 12:30 p.m. UNI faculty and students are invited. More updates will be provided in Thursday’s meeting in the greenhouse, room 26.

NIXSON BENITEZ / Northern Iowan

Amidst the university’s decision to remove Professor O’Kane from the classroom his students gathered to discuss the future of his course.

CANIDATES

continued from page 2

Blanford breaks down his platform into three main categories as well, and they include, community, economy and trust.

“The three points, community, economy and trust, are to me, the core functions of local government,” Blanford said. “I view the role of local elected officials as creating a community that is safe and welcoming, building a diverse local economy that provides opportunity, and generating trust in the idea that local government can be a partner and a force for positive change.”

Under community, Blanford discusses that he desires to create a healthier community with a focus put towards mental health, build partnerships within the community from schools to businesses helping each other, preserve historic downtown areas and plan and prepare housing for the expansion of the city.

With his economy platform, Blanford wants to expand internship opportunities and create a student loan forgiveness program for students who agree to stay in the community for a certain number of years. Additionally, he wants to create a new mode of public transportation and place a focus on energy efficiency.

Finally with his trust platform, Blanford discusses how he would be a “24/7 mayor.” He would remain engaged with the public and work to create an open and accessible City Hall.

The final candidate running for mayor is Sires. Sires is a lifetime Cedar Falls resident. He is also a business owner to several different businesses, and he has worked in construction for a portion of his life.

Currently he is serving on the Cedar Falls City Council as the Council Member at- large. He has held this position since Jan. 1, 2020 and will hold it until Dec. 31, 2023. If elected as mayor someone else would be elected to finish his role on the City Council.

According to Sire’s candidacy signs, he runs his platform on the statement to, “Put the People Back in Charge.” “It is time to put the power back into the hands of the residents and establish the people’s voice in the elected members that represent the public,” Sires stated in his Official Statement of Candidacy. Because his platform runs on being a voice for the community, much of his platform is based on what he believes the desire of the community is. He has a strong desire to be a voice for the residents of Cedar Falls and feels that in the past this has been something that has not happened. One of his main focuses is to have a separate fire and police departments because he believes that this will better allow each separate department to take care of the city and be more properly trained in their field. He also wants to eliminate the Public Safety Director position in support of establishing separate fire and police chiefs who maintain this role. He also wants to place a focus onto public safety, economic development and making sure that taxes people are paying in Cedar Falls are actually going towards projects that are taking shape and not just sitting. The election is particularly interesting this year because typically it is a two person race, but this year it is a three way race, so it becomes much harder for one candidate to receive a majority vote and win the election. “The Cedar Falls City Code of Ordinances calls for a runoff in the event that no candidate gets 50% +1 of the votes. If no candidate can get over 50% of the votes in the regular election, then the top 2 vote getters run against each other in a runoff election,” Cedar Falls City Clerk Jacque Danielsen wrote in an email interview. “This is to assure that the winner is elected by the majority of the voters who voted in the election. What is important to understand is that although one candidate may receive the most votes in the regular election (but not 50% +1), they can lose in the runoff because the votes of the third candidate who was eliminated may get directed to the second highest vote getter.”

INDUSTRIAL TECH

continued from page 1

The process for getting the modernization of the building approved has taken years. According to the Dean of the College of Humanities, Arts and Sciences John Fritch, UNI first made the proposal for renovations in 2017, and later proposed it to the legislature in 2018. However the proposals were turned down due to funding. In 2020 the project received partial funding, and full funding was granted this year. The building is in dire need of an upgrade, as little work has been done to keep up with the growing technology fields. “The building was built in 1975 and it was state of the art for 1975,” Fritch said. “It is still state of the art for 1975.” He continued, “The second thing is the structure of the building is dated. For example, each faculty office has only one power outlet. So you know, they had a place for a lamp and eventually a typewriter. But now nobody can get by with one outlet in their office. But now we’re doing robotics, and those kinds of things. We just do not have the power in there. Plus we’ve outgrown the building. We need much more space.” The renovation will allow UNI to develop new programs in continuously emerging fields and engage students in interactive learning and projects. The building renovations are specifically designed to be flexible and create space for new work. “Who knows what the world will bring in 20 years, so we want to be ready to make those kinds of changes,” Fitch said. Additionally the technology department hopes to attract new students. “We’ll be better able to tell students what it is that we actually do,” Fitch said. “Now you walk in the building and it looks like a very old, out of date building, so they may assume our programs are that way as well. We think students will better understand what we do.” The modernization project has received generous donations from sponsors to assist with the cost. Dave and Karen Takes donated $10 million to UNI in 2019, and $1 million of that money will be used with renovations. John Deere is providing $750,000 for the project, and Master Builders of Iowa is contributing $250,000. Fitch acknowledges how proud they are to have people and corporations recognize all the hard work the technology department at UNI has accomplished, and will continue to accomplish.

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