FACEBOOK.COM/NORTHERNIOWAN
WWW.NORTHERNIOWAN.COM
TWITTER: @NORTHERNIOWAN
UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA CEDAR FALLS, IA THURSDAY, APRIL 5 VOLUME 114, ISSUE 42
CEDAR FALLS, IA
VOLUME 118, ISSUE 22
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2021
NEWS
CAMPUS LIFE
SPORTS
NEWS PAGE 2
CAMPUS LIFE PAGE 5
SPORTS PAGE 6
TheatreUNI will perform ‘The Fractured Mind of Eric Coble’ this Friday at 8 p.m.
Panthers come up short in season opener vs. Nicholls State.
Students painted festive fall trees Tuesday in Rod’s Makerspace.
Antwan Kimmons: A spark plug on and off the court COLIN HORNING
Sports Editor
As the 2021-22 UNI men’s basketball season approaches, it appears that this season will be more of a return to what we’ve known compared to last year’s unprecedented circumstances caused by COVID-19. For sophomore guard Antwan Kimmons, this year’s return to normalcy will be a welcomed sight. Kimmons, who had to leave the team early in the year during the 2020-21 season, has had quite a difficult year and a half. But because of his resilience and dedication, he is back with the Panthers and is focused on making this the best possible season for the Panther men’s basketball team. “COVID was really hard being away from my mom and my little sister. My mom was going through some things and I felt like me being the only man that I had to go home to help them,” Kimmons said. “Mentally I was strug-
Courtesy/UNI Athletics
UNI basketball player Antwan Kimmons returns to the court with his signature energy which gave him the nickname “spark plug.”
gling a lot, and I felt like being here wouldn’t have went well for me personally. But I decided to come back in August for my coaches and my team, and I think I made the right deci-
sion. Now I’m ready to be back and do what I do best.” Collegiate and professional athletes are oftentimes seen as immortal and almost superhuman to an extent, leaving
most people to perceive them untouchable. But Kimmons wants everyone to know that they have struggles just as much as everyone else, if not more so. “Playing football or basketball isn’t easy. The daily grind that we got to go through every day is not easy, and we’ve been doing it our whole lives. It’s hard, it’s really hard, and not just for me but for everybody. I felt like last season would have been better for everyone to be with their families because we all had that struggle to deal with,” he said. As a player during his freshman year, Kimmons earned the reputation of being the “spark plug” off the bench for the Panthers. He would routinely come into the game in the second unit and provide the extra juice that the team needed. His career high of 13 points came on Jan. 26, 2020 against Loyola-Chicago, leading the Panthers to the 67-62 overtime win. See SPARK PLUG, page 6
NISG to host events honoring veterans
Veterans recognized through display and ‘Veterans Night Out’ TEYHA TOURNIER Staff Writer
As the nation celebrates and remembers those who have served this Veterans Day, the Northern Iowa Student Government (NISG) will be hosting events to honor those serving currently or in the past. One way in which NISG is paying tribute to veterans is a display in Maucker Union for students and faculty to take a look at in order to honor and support lost or active soldiers. Additionally, people can write a thank you note to a veteran for their service.
Panther Pantry hosts food drive ANNA STEVENS Staff Writer
The Panther Pantry, located in the basement of Maucker Union, provides food and groceries for UNI students who qualify as food insecure. The pantry’s shelves are stocked by donations from the community. Connecting Alumni to Students (CATS) is having their first Panther Pantry food drive this Thursday to load the shelves. “There are three branches that make up our mission,” CATS advisor Sarah Craw said. “Connecting Alumni to students, so working to engage alumni and students with each other, the university and the Division of Advancement where the alumni office sits.” “But we also own and operate the Tradition challenge on campus,” Craw said. “So con-
CATS is hosting their inaugural food drive for the Panther Pantry Thursday, Nov. 11.
necting students with the pieces of the Panther experience that continue through generations of Panthers.” CATS hopes this food drive
will be an annual event. In weeks prior, they have been challenging student organizations to collect food. Whichever organization
KARLA DE BRUIN/Northern Iowan
brings in the heaviest donation will receive a prize. CATS will purchase snacks for the organization that wins to bring to their following meetings to help
See VETERANS, page 2
motivate students. Donations are not limited to student organizations. Individual students can donate and will be rewarded with a free T-shirt while supplies last. Students are invited to the event where games and activities will be available. It will be held in Maucker Union on Thursday, Nov. 11 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. If schedules interfere with the donation time, contact CATS at catsexec@uni.edu prior to the food drive, or donations can be made at the Panther Pantry in the lower level of Maucker Union at any time. “This is a great organization on campus, a great service that we provide on campus, and it’s great for students to help students who are right here in their own neighborhood and their own community,” Craw said.