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THURSDAY, APRIL 5
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2
VOLUME 114, ISSUE 42
VOLUME 117, ISSUE 22
ELECTION DAY
BLUE MOON
SHORT SEASONS
NEWS PAGE 2
CAMPUS LIFE PAGE 4
SPORTS PAGE 6
Find out where and how to vote on election day.
Sports writer David Warrington discusses legitimacy of championships in shortened seasons.
UNI astronomy professor Siobahn Morgan informs about rare blue moon.
NISO performance, partially in-person AASHITA VADERA
Staff Writer
On Wednesday, Oct. 28, the Northern Iowa Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Erik Rohde, presented their fall 2020 concert. The performance, which featured a partial in-person audience, was the first live UNI School of Music show at the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center (GBPAC) in about eight months. The show was also broadcast live on YouTube, where hundreds more tuned in to hear some live music. The orchestra started their show at 7:30 p.m. by playing “Kaunana,” a composition by the Hawaiian composer Michael-Thomas Foumai, who tuned in virtually all the way from Hawaii to be a part of the concert. Foumai had also interacted with Rohde and the orchestra prior to
NORTHERN IOWA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA/Courtesy Photo
The Northern Iowa Symphony Orchestra performed their fall concert as a live stream from GBPAC’s Great Hall.
the show to give them advice and feedback on their perfor-
mance of his composition. “Kaunana” was followed by
“Serenade for Strings” by the composer Sir Edward Elgar.
See NISO, page 2
After reporting a more than 100% increase in the campus’
COVID-19 positivity rate for the week of Oct. 19-25, the
number of new cases and positivity rate on the UNI campus have both once again risen in the past week. As depicted in the accompanying graphic, from Oct. 26-Nov. 1, the UNI Student Health Center reported a 26.96% positivity rate, with 31 new positive cases through Student Health Center testing. The positivity rate may decrease slightly today when the Student Health Center updates last week’s data to include any tests conducted on Friday. Since the end-ofweek updates only include data collected through Thursday, Friday numbers are added to the weekly total by noon on the following Monday and are therefore not included in the NI’s weekly analysis. Last week at press time, the Student Health Center had reported a 24.27% positivity rate for Oct. 19-25. When Friday’s numbers were added on Oct. 26, however, that rate dropped to 23.08%. Even with that slight shift, last week’s numbers still represented
a substantial increase from the 13 new cases and 9.77% reported the week before. While this week’s numbers do not indicate such a drastic increase, the upward trend is noticeable after over a month of consistently low campus rates. In response, the UNI administration is appealing to the campus community to continue to follow public health regulations and get tested if necessary, according to an emailed statement from UNI public relations manager Steve Schmadeke. “The university continues to monitor the increase in COVID-19 case numbers across the county, state and nation. We know this is a community-wide problem and that our campus is not immune to this increase,” he wrote. “While the campus community has done a tremendous job getting through the semester to date, we encourage students staff and faculty to be especially vigilant in the coming weeks, including after the semester ends.”
COVID-19 on campus: continued rise ELIZABETH KELSEY News Editor
KARLA DEBRUIN/Northern Iowan
This graphic depicts the positivity rate on the UNI campus as well as other statistics regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in Black Hawk county.
PAGE 2
NEWS
ELIZABETH KELSEY News Editor
Election Day: Where, how to vote NOVEMBER 2, 2020 |
ELIZABETH KELSEY News Editor
Are you ready to vote? The 2020 general election is tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 3, and numerous federal, state and local races will be decided. This year’s election has not been so much a “day” as a season, since the COVID-19 pandemic has led many citizens to vote early in an effort to avoid crowded polling places tomorrow. According to the New York Times on Oct. 31, more than 90 million Americans had already cast their ballots through absentee, early or mail-in voting. That number represents almost two-thirds of the 136.5 million total ballots cast in the 2016 presidential election, according to CNN. In some states, such as Texas and Hawaii, early voting numbers have already surpassed total voter turnout from 2016. Despite the historic number of early voters, it’s still not too late to cast your ballot if you’ve not already done so. For members of the campus community planning to vote tomorrow, the Northern Iowan has gathered the information you need to help you cast your vote easily. (Note: this information applies only to Black Hawk County. Students choosing
to vote in their home counties, whether via absentee or in-person voting, should consult their county website.) WHERE DO I VOTE? Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some polling places have changed. To find your polling place, visit https:// www.blackhawkcounty.iowa. gov/190/Elections and click “Find Your Voting Location” in the blue menu on the left-hand side. A portal will pop up where you can enter your address and follow the instructions to find your voting precinct and polling location. However, this does not
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indicate whether you are registered to vote. To find out whether you are registered, contact the Black Hawk County Election Office. If you’re not yet registered, don’t worry — citizens are able to register at the polls on Election Day.
WHAT DO I BRING? All Iowa voters must provide an approved form of identification at the polling place, such as a voter identification card, driver’s license, non-operator ID, passport, military/veteran ID or tribal ID. For voters who are not registered or who need to
“It is everything that a serenade is supposed to be, which is something that we all need in this day and age,” Rohde said of the piece. “It is just lovely and beautiful, and it hopefully just takes you to a more peaceful, placid place.” The show finally came to an end with Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 1,” in honor of the composer’s 250th birthday this December.
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orchestra, such as Marinella Mulingbayan and Danielle Casale, who cheered for their cousin Tyler Darnall, graduate assistant for the School of Music. The Northern Iowa Symphony Orchestra plans to host its next concert in February of 2021, with logistics still to be determined based on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, visit follow the ensemble on Facebook or visit their website at orchestra.uni.edu.
continued from page 1
change precincts, you’ll also need proof of residence, such as a residential lease, utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check, other government document or property tax statement. According to a press release from Black Hawk County Auditor Grant Vedeer, citizens who can’t present an approved ID may have their identity attested to by another registered voter in the precinct. For more information about voter ID, visit http://sos.iowa.gov/ voterid.
Citizens participate in early voting in the UNI-Dome, which was held Oct. 6-10. Tomorrow, Nov. 3, is Election Day, and UNI campus community members still have several options to cast their ballots in the 2020 election.
“This should have been a big birthday year for Mr. Beethoven, but the pandemic has sort of interrupted what would have been like a global celebration for his 250th birthday,” Rohde said. Those watching the performance virtually seemed to enjoy it, judging from their comments posted alongside the livestream. Some viewers, like Sheila Benson, were just happy to have some live music. Others cheered on their family members who were part of the
NISO
VOLUME 117, ISSUE 22
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The Northern Iowan is published semi-weekly on Monday and Thursday during the academic year, except for holidays and examination periods, by the University of Northern Iowa, L011 Maucker Union, Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0166 under the auspices of the Board of Student Publications. Advertising errors that are the fault of the Northern Iowan will be corrected at no cost to the advertiser only if the Northern Iowan office is notified within seven days of the original publication. Publisher reserves the right to refuse any advertisement at any time. The Northern Iowan is funded in part with student activity fees. A copy of the Northern Iowan grievance procedure is available at the Northern Iowan office, located at L011 Maucker Union. All material is © 2020 by the Northern Iowan and may not be used without permission.
Although it’s now too late to request an absentee ballot, UNI students and campus community members with absentee ballots still have time to submit them. Voters wanting to return an absentee ballot by mail must ensure it is postmarked by today, Monday, Nov. 2, to guarantee it will be counted. However, according to the Black Hawk County website, even if the ballot is postmarked on time, it must also be received in the Election Office by the receipt deadline of noon, Monday, Nov. 9 in order to be counted. If you still need to turn in an absentee ballot, the best way to ensure it will reach the Election Office in time is to hand-deliver it to the Black Hawk County Courthouse (316 E 5th St., Waterloo, IA 50703) before 9 p.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 3. Ballots may be delivered to the Election Office in Room 210 or simply placed in the drop box by the entrance to the courthouse. For other voting-related questions, contact the county Election Office at 319-8333007 or election@co.blackhawk.ia.us. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. tomorrow, so if you haven’t already done so, get out and vote to make sure your voice is heard!
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Letters must be less than 300 words in length and are subject to editing. Not all submissions will be printed. Send submissions to maase@uni.edu.
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Tell us what’s happening on campus. Email submissions to northern-iowan@uni.edu. Do you want to have an event listed here? Email us at northern-iowan@uni.edu with information about the event to have it featured.
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OPINION
EMMA’LE MAAS Executive Editor
NOVEMBER 2, 2020 |
NORTHERNIOWAN.COM
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VOLUME 117, ISSUE 22
Disclaimer: The following opinion articles featured do not reflect the opinion of the Northern Iowan newspaper or staff as a whole.
Don’t idolize Adele’s weight loss
ADDI SEYBERT Opinion Columnist Ever since Adele debuted her incredible weight loss, people have been buzzing about how fantastic she looks. While her losing weight is great for many reasons (her long-term health, potential confidence boost, etc.), the drastic change in appearance has come as a shock to many of her overweight fans, including myself. To her fans, Adele was an icon that slightly bigger people could look up to without having to listen to her be objectified; her looks did not matter, because her insane talent was the focus of her career, as any musician’s talent should be. Yet now that
she has lost weight, people only seem to care about how great she looks and “how much prettier she is now.” The thing is, Adele was always beautiful. Her face did not change, her wardrobe is the same — but now that she has lost weight, people are only now regarding her as pretty. Tabloids from every magazine suddenly care about her appearance and love life, something which never really happened before. It seems that the public did not regard her as beautiful until she revealed her weight loss. This sudden shift in public interest is incredibly harmful for people like me who are on the bigger side, as it sends the message that someone can only be seen as beau-
tiful or wanted if they are thin. No one seems to be paying attention to the fact that Adele is the proud recipient of 15 Grammy Awards, and 18 Billboard Music Awards, along with many other prestigious and sought-after prizes. She did all of this as an overweight individual — her talent was not hindered by her weight. So then why was her staggering talent alone not enough? Why do people only seem to respect her now that she’s skinny? Now that she has lost weight, however, the tabloid’s coverage on her has shifted to who she is dating, how great she looks, how popular she is “now that she’s pretty” and anything else relating to her newfound thinness. No
one seems to recognize the incredible contributions she has made to music anymore, because they are too focused on her weight loss. People seem to be missing the fact that she was always dating, always falling in love, always wearing amazing outfits – but the media only cares now that she adheres to the traditional standards of beauty. All in all, if Adele feels better about herself after losing weight, that is fantastic. No one is shaming her, or anyone else for that matter, for losing weight. Weight loss can boost self-confidence, decrease longterm health risks and even increase life expectancy to an extent. What is being shamed, however, is the public’s gross response to it. The increased
Tribune News Service
Adele hosted SNL on Oct. 24.
respect and attention Adele is receiving for her weight loss is incredibly harmful to the overweight community. She is beautiful now and was beautiful then — weight loss did not change that, nor did it change her talent or musical ability. Losing weight is not (nor has it ever been) the key to beauty or success, and Adele is no exception.
Have an attitude of gratitude this season itude towards our growth. Expressing gratitude can result in several beneficial out comes. Ryan M. Niemic, author November is a time of busy of “Character Strengths schedules, heavy academic Interventions,” places substancommitments and stretching tial emphasis on the overall ourselves to meet the needs perks of spotlighting a grateof others. The colors of the ful mindset in our lifestyle. trees changing and leaves fall- Niemic claims that gratitude ing reminds us that autumn is positively correlates with “posa season of transition. These itive emotion, life satisfaction, little moments remind us to optimism, prosocial behavior, reflect on how we have trans- increased cardiovascular and formed as individuals through- immune functioning, longevity, out the year. Our thoughts may lower levels of anxiety and be filled with observations of depression, openness to expewhat we learned in our stud- rience, agreeableness, consciies, what we accomplished as entiousness, and low neurotileaders or what we discovered cism.” about ourselves. This means that with every During this time of con- effort to extend gratitude, each templation, it is important to one of these aspects of our implement an attitude of grat- lives has the opportunity to STUDENT WELLNESS SERVICES
Guest Opinion Columnist
increase. In other words, we have every reason to practice being thankful. This process can only transform us to have a brighter perspective on life. During COVID-19 and a semester that may seem topsy-turvy, it may be more difficult to think of things to be grateful for. Luckily, gratitude is a muscle that all of us are capable of developing as long as we focus on fine tuning it. Student Wellness Services at UNI offers a variety of opportunities for you to exercise your gratitude strength. We want to help students find the strategies that work for them so they are able to feel the benefits of gratitude, including lowered stress, better sleep and stronger relationships. Below is a list of ideas to get you
started: ● Keep a gratitude journal ● Mail a handwritten letter of gratitude to someone special in your life ● Compliment a stranger ● Reflect through mediation ● Say three things you’re grateful for in the morning or right before bed ● Check out our gratitude journal on our website to add a little challenge every day ● Find out where you’re currently at by taking a gratitude quiz such as the one from Greater Good ● Discover the power of gratitude by watching Soul Pancake’s “Experiment in Gratitude” video on YouTube How are you practicing gratitude? What are you adding to your daily practices?
Let us know by commenting on our social media posts this month! Check us out on Facebook (UNI Student Wellness Services), Instagram (unisws) and Twitter (@UNI_ SWS)! Let’s work together to spread an attitude of gratitude around campus. Need help setting goals for gratitude and sticking to them? Our Wellness Coaches are ready to help you explore what you’re grateful for and help you find ways to increase your gratitude practices! Sign up for a Zoom session at studentwellness.uni.edu/wellness-coaching today! Wellness Coaching draws upon your strengths to help you create and maintain your goals. Sessions are free to all enrolled UNI students, confidential and unlimited.
Utilize music in education for better results
the middle of his video: Opinion Columnist “This is how you get someone interested in a topic, (for) every school in America. I real ize that after I did this, I had Recently, I was watching a essentially made a research video essay by music Youtuber paper about dementia.” A Bucket of Jake on The That got me thinking about Caretaker’s “Everywhere at the the educational value of music, End of Time,’’ a six-hour musi- both in how it affects the brain cal masterpiece that could war- neurologically (in terms of rant a thousand dissertations memory, for example) and how written on it. “Everywhere at it creates a sense of empathy the End of Time” is a work and investment in a topic. By that manages to capture the appealing to both logical and existential horror and dread of emotional facets of neurolodementia by presenting music gy, music can (and should) be that slowly becomes more and applied in educational settings more distorted as it progress- to make learning more produces through the six stages of tive, fulfilling and well-rounddementia until it becomes an ed. unrecognizable mess of sound. People often joke that they While this project warrants can easily remember lyrics a discussion of its own, I was to a song they heard once a particularly fascinated by a decade ago but can’t memorize brief detour that Jake took in information for an upcoming EMERSON SLOMKA
test. Turns out, there’s science behind that. Rhymes and patterns in music cause your brain to store musical information easily, and the more you listen to a song, the more it becomes cemented into your brain. Music has such a strong effect on memory that many patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia who have lost a majority of their memory will often still remember their favorite songs. Music (and any art, by extension) has the ability to trigger extreme emotional responses from us and engage us better than academic text. While one can learn that dementia causes brain cells to die, this fact ultimately leaves them emotionally disconnected from the topic. However, if they listen to “Everywhere at the End of Time” and experience the sim-
ulated confusion and horror of the project, they will get a taste of what it’s like to experience said brain cell death. Another good example of music sparking curiosity in academia is the Broadway musical “Hamilton,” a historical retelling of the story of Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton’s story has elements of struggle, war, romance, betrayal and death – elements that should be intriguing. However, as kids we were presented with a textbook depiction of these events and it’s exceedingly difficult to empathize with a historical figure when all you know are their achievements. That being said, when you watch or listen to “Hamilton,” Alexander Hamilton starts to become a person – someone who could exist today. Though “Hamilton” can certainly
be criticized for having certain historical inaccuracies, it has undoubtedly succeeded in inspiring curiosity in the subject of Alexander Hamilton’s story, which only raises the question: what other topics could be made more accessible via music? While academic texts are absolutely necessary in education, I think it’s clear that art, particularly music, has a place in education. Not just music for the sake of music, but for the sake of memorization, understanding more complex ideas (as in the case of “Everywhere at the End of Time”), or simply for making concepts that much more entertaining (as in the case of “Hamilton”). Learning doesn’t have to be emotionally-removed and distant; it can be as involved and as personal as we’d like it to be.
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CAMPUS LIFE
ANTHONY WITHEROW Campus Life Editor
Blue moon lands on Halloween NOVEMBER 2, 2020 |
SARA QUALLEY
Staff Writer
On Halloween, the world viewed a special phenomenon: a global blue moon. Contrary to the name, this moon did not appear blue. “Blue moon” is a term for two full moons in one calendar month. The Farmer’s Almanac shared that October’s previous full moon, called the harvest moon, appeared on Oct. 1. Siobahn Morgan, head of the Department of Earth & Environmental Studies and a professor of astronomy at UNI, said that the event was special due to falling on Halloween in various parts of the world.
She estimates that the instance of a blue moon falling on Halloween takes place once every 19 years. While the blue moon might have made Halloween feel all the spookier, Morgan said that it couldn’t be blamed for any unusual activity. She said that various studies haven’t found evidence to suggest full moons cause unusual activities or increase emergency room visits or police station calls. Morgan shared that full moons can present problems for astronomers. If they are viewing faint celestial objects, a full moon makes it difficult to see those objects
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VOLUME 117, ISSUE 22
due to its brightness. Morgan said that a few planets accompanied the blue moon in the sky on Halloween. Mars was visible toward the east and Jupiter toward the south. Saturn appeared faintly near Jupiter. Night sky viewers can identify planets by their brightness and non-twinkling nature. The full moon was visible anywhere from dusk until dawn, so long as there were no clouds. Morgan said that it rose to the highest in the sky at midnight. “That’s of course when all the werewolves come out,” Morgan joked.
Pexels This past Halloween saw the first appearance of a worldwide blue moon in 76 years.
Final Thursday Reading Series goes virtual KAYLA LAWRENCE Staff Writer
This past Thursday night, the Final Thursday Reading Series, which hosts Cedar Falls’ most dedicated writing community, could not be stopped by neither cold temperature nor a pandemic. Like many other events, the FTRS had been moved outside of its place of residence at the Hearst Center for the Arts to accommodate the regular crowd. The established plan for Thursday had been to gather at 7 p.m. outside the building, with masks and social distancing required. The night would usually begin with an open mic segment, and people who wish to take part show up early to sign up. Participants for the open mic have a lot of freedom when it comes to their performance, enabling them to perform original songs, poems, stories or anything of the sort as long as they don’t go over the tentative time limit. However, when Interim Department Head, professor, founder and
host of the FTRS, Jim O’Loughlin got word of the low temperatures, he sought to spare the crowd from the cold and adapted to an online platform instead. So, on Oct. 26, an email was sent out to both inform students and staff of the Languages and Literatures Department who the keynote speaker was and how to participate. Now a Zoom meeting, attendees had to register online. From there, theyreceived their invitation to the online panel. Due to the last minute change in scheduling, the open mic portion had to be canceled. Near the end of the panel, however, O’Loughlin was open about his hopes that he would figure out a way to keep the tradition going by the next FTR. “This is kind of an experiment,” said O’Loughlin, “I’m hoping it all goes well.” He explained to the attendees that instead of the usual chat box in Zoom, they had a Q&A box that they could type questions into for the speaker, author and UNI professor Jeffery Copeland, which he would
Courtesy Photo/Jeffrey Copeland
Jeffrey Copeland read his book “Lt. Elsi Ott’s Top Secret Mission” in a Virtual FTRS installment.
keep track of until the end of the presentation. The speaker would then have a dedicated time to address the questions, which O’Loughlin would make sure were asked and answered. O’Loughlin then gave a brief presentation of his own to the crowd where he incorporated and analyzed classic rock songs that included crime, which he would then solve for the audience. There were snippets of well known songs such as “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen, “Rocky Racoon” by the Beatles and “Wanted Dead or Alive” by Bon Jovi. Once his presentation came to an end,
O’Loughlin introduced Copeland to begin discussing his recently published book “Lt. Elsie Ott’s Top Secret Mission.” Copeland, whose book was published on March 15 and is being sold in stores such as Barnes & Noble and Amazon, had plans for a book tour which has since been placed on hold. Copeland, a professor of creative nonfiction, explained that his book also belonged to the genre, but made sure to specify some key elements. “We call this type of literary nonfiction – you ready for this – ‘bio lit,’” said Copeland. “‘Bio lit’ because it’s heavy on the biography. It also shares
features with the biopic, the film genre, in that it’s written in a very very visual sense. And it features more than anything the how and why of a person’s life that we’re writing about.” Copeland‘s subject matter for the book was Lt. Elsie Ott, the first woman to get the Air Medal in the Armed Forces. In his book, Copeland recounts a secret mission in which she transported five critically ill and wounded patients over a six-anda-half day journey via air transport. His book brings her story out of the shadows, shining light on the long successful attempts to bury her story, as well as the road she paved for the future establishment of the flight evacuation nurse program. If interested in learning more about the book from the mouth of the author himself, head to the Final Thursday Reading website www. finalthursdaypress.com. There you can read more about Copeland’s latest book or find a recording of last month’s FTRS.
The Bird is the word! Follow our Twitter accounts for quick news updates on the go! News:
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ANTHONY WITHEROW Campus Life Editor
CAMPUS LIFE NOVEMBER 2, 2020 |
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VOLUME 117, ISSUE 22
“Wounds Run Deeper” at the Interpreters Theatre AASHITA VADHERA
Staff Writer
On Thursday, Oct. 29, the UNI Interpreters Theatre released a YouTube Show titled “Wounds Run Deeper.” The show was written and directed by Austen Carnahan, a Bachelor of Liberal Studies student. The show featured an ensemble cast that explored how Austen risked his life to save another and ended up losing parts of himself in the process. Running just over one hour, the show discusses topics such as mental health, suicide, assault and trauma. Following Austen in the aftermath
of the incident in his life where his thumb was cut off trying to save his friend, the show communicates with us the difficulty and trauma the incident left on his life. It is an emotional ride as viewers see Austen through his journey of battling the darkness
seemingly all alone. Feeling abandoned and lost, Austen bottles up all his emotions until he finally breaks down. Throughout the show, the audience can witness some of Austen’s darkest events with no one by his side but his imaginary friend. The story show-
Courtesy Photo/Interpreters Theatre
Austen Carnahan brought his show “Wounds Run Deeper” to life through a live script reading.
cases the struggles and pain that trauma inflicts upon people and how important it is to seek help. Even during times where it would be hard to hold shows, the Interpreters Theatre is dedicated to bringing per-
formances to life by having consistent Zoom sessions and releasing shows through their YouTube channel. The department has about 16 videos up on YouTube for this semester alone and are free for anyone to view.
Panther PORTRAIT: CAB Fall fest
ANTHONY WITHEROW
Campus Life Editor
Katie Crow/Northern Iowan
Students gathered in the Maucker Union ballroom for the annual CAB Fall Fest.
The UNI Campus Activities Board hosted their annual Fall Fest in the Maucker Union on Thursday, Oct. 29. This was
the organization’s first in-person event of the semester. Students were treated to music, pumpkin carving and fall treats. The event took place in
two different sessions. The first session took place at 7 p.m. and the second at 9 p.m. Students were required to register online in order to attend.
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SPORTS
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
NOVEMBER 2, 2020 |
NORTHERNIOWAN.COM
COLIN HORNING Sports Editor
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VOLUME 117, ISSUE 22
Iowa State defeats Kansas, Iowa falls to Northwestern COLIN HORNING
Sports Editor
With the UNI Panthers and the rest of the Missouri Valley Conference not playing their football season until next spring, there are two remaining Division 1 collegiate football teams in the state of Iowa. Iowa State, as members of the Big 12 Conference, have been playing their entire season as scheduled, which began back in early September. Iowa, who plays in the Big Ten Conference, had their season delayed but ultimately began last week after the conference reversed their original decision to play fall sports in the spring. The two teams were in action on Saturday, Oct. 31, with Iowa State traveling to Lawrence, Kan. to play against Kansas
University and Iowa playing their home opener against Northwestern University. Iowa State came into their game with a 3-2 record and ranked 17th in the country. After dropping their first game of the season to unranked Louisiana, they bounced back and have regained a position in the top 25 rankings. Kansas, on the other hand, came into the game with an 0-5 record. Despite the home-field advantage for Kansas, Iowa State came out strong and never looked back, winning the game by the score of 52-22. Consistent scoring throughout the first half put the Cyclones up 20-7 at the break. The Kansas defense could never seem to get a rhythm going against the ISU offense, as quarter-
back Brock Purdy threw for 239 yards and a touchdown, along with running back Breece Hall rushing for 188 yards and two touchdowns while averaging nearly nine yards per carry. The only bright spot for Kansas was a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Kenny Logan in the second half. Aside from the lone special teams play, the Jayhawk offense struggled mightily. Quarterback Jalon Daniels was 16-29 in passing for 165 yards. He also threw one touchdown and one interception. As a team, Kansas ran for 74 total rushing yards for the whole game, with ISU running back Breece Hall surpassing 100 rushing yards total in the first half alone. The win moves Iowa State to 4-2 on the year and 4-1 in the Big
12. Kansas fell to 0-6 and 0-5 in conference play. Iowa matched up against Northwestern at Kinnick Stadium for the home opener of the Hawkeyes. Iowa came into the game following a loss the previous week against Purdue, while Northwestern came into the contest having beaten Maryland by 40 points in week one. Fan attendance was limited only to family members of coaches and players on both sides. Iowa started out the game strong, jumping out to a 17-0 lead after the first quarter. Both of the touchdowns scored by the Hawkeyes came off of Wildcat turnovers, putting Iowa in good position to score both times. However, the Iowa offense could not execute throughout the remainder of the
game and Northwestern was able to claw back into it. The Wildcats scored two touchdowns in the second quarter countered by an Iowa field goal, leaving the halftime score with Iowa on top 20-14. Sloppy execution on offense saw Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras throw three interceptions in the second half of the game, two of them coming off deflections from Iowa receivers. Northwestern would take advantage of the Iowa miscues, moving down the field in the third quarter and scoring on a one-yard touchdown run by running back Jesse Brown to put the Wildcats up 21-20. This would remain the final score of the game, dropping Iowa to 0-2 for the first time since 2000. Northwestern now moves to 2-0 for the season.
OPINION
COVID-19 era champs deserve more respect DAVID WARRINGTON Sports Writer
The month of October has been a fantastic month for Los Angeles sports. On Oct. 11, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat to win the 2020 NBA Championship, while on Oct. 27, the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays to win the 2020 World Series. While this should be a call for the sports world to shower LA sports with celebration and adulation, many outside of the winning fanbases have claimed that these championships should have an asterisk in front of them, and should not be thought of in the same category as championships from more conventional seasons. However, I find this to be completely untrue. These championships are at the very least equally as meaningful as any other season, and potentially even more so. The 2019-20 NBA season was a marathon season if there ever was one. Opening day took place on Oct. 22, 2019, and the season finally came to an end nearly a full year later, on Oct. 11, 2020. There were countless twists and turns along the way, most notably when all NBA games were halted indefinitely on March 11 after a positive COVID-19 test from Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert. After that, much like the rest of the world, the NBA was on lockdown, with no direct return to play in sight. The league finally came
up with a bubble idea, where players and staff would go to Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, with no one going in without a negative COVID-19 test and a good reason for being there, such as being a player, coach, referee, or otherwise necessary individual for a game or hotel. On July 30, the season finally resumed in Orlando, with only the top 22 teams making the bubble, and the top 16 qualifying for the playoffs after eight regular season games inside of the bubble. The main argument against the legitimacy of this championship for the Lakers is that they got such a long break to rest and recover. However, this break was problematic for many players. While star players likely have enough money to have personal weight rooms and basketball courts in their homes, many younger players had very limited access to weight equipment, and some didn’t even have access to a basketball hoop for the entirety of the break. On top of this, players were completely isolated away from family and other loved ones while inside the bubble, leaving an unprecedented emotional strain on the athletes. There was also no benefit of home court advantage throughout the postseason, and overall the players had a lot of added difficulties that no team has ever had to deal with. The 2020 MLB season was scheduled to begin March 26. However, just weeks before
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Sports writer David Warrington discusses why he believes that championships during the era of COVID-19 deserve more respect, rather than being discounted.
the scheduled start, the world came to a halt, and the MLB was forced to delay plans to start the season. After a very lengthy debate process between the team owners and the players, it was finally agreed upon that the teams would play a 60 game regular season, as opposed to the usual 162, with games being played in home ballparks without fans. This abbreviated season began July 23, with the postseason beginning Sept. 29. The top eight teams in both the American League and the National League qualified, and after the first round was played in home stadiums, games in later rounds were played in neutral sites, somewhat like what the NBA did. The main argument against the legitimacy of the Dodgers championship
is the fact that there were only 60 games this season. However, much like the 2020 NBA season, the MLB season had many unprecedented challenges. For starters, teams had to play knowing that at any time they could lose a player for over a week due to a positive COVID-19 test. They also had very little room for error. Due to the fact that there were so few games, a slump that would usually have no real effect on a team’s standing could completely ruin a team’s chances at the postseason. The postseason was also brutal, with more rounds than normal and teams getting almost no days off. The Dodgers at one point played seven games in seven days, and by the end of the postseason I’m sure all teams involved were very exhausted.
With all of this being said, I think that the most important thing to remember is that every team played under the same set of rules. The Lakers and Dodgers didn’t manipulate the schedule or break the rules in place, they simply followed the rules set by their respective leagues, just like everybody else. The only difference between the Lakers and Dodgers and the rest of the NBA and MLB is that the two Los Angeles teams managed to find the most success and bring home a championship. It is a disservice to the hard work of the winning players and coaches to downgrade their accomplishments and ignore the unprecedented difficulties they had to overcome due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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FUN & GAMES
KARLA DE BRUIN Managing Editor
NOVEMBER 2, 2020 |
NORTHERNIOWAN.COM
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VOLUME 117, ISSUE 22
Down
Across
1 Moment of remorse 5 Portrayer of a big scaredy-cat 9 One thing on top of another 14 Saucony rival 15 Resort town near Santa Barbara 16 Buffalo hockey player 17 *They’re for the dogs 19 French clerics 20 Make rough 22 __ tick: disease carrier 23 Open, as toothpaste 26 By any means 28 It may be proper 29 Start to mature? 32 Poll gathering 33 Lancelot and Mix-a-Lot 34 “La Cage __ Folles” 35 Bleak 38 Linguistic suffix 39 *Enter on the sly 41 Word before and after “oh” 42 Freshwater minnow
44 Chaps 45 2002-’03 viral outbreak, briefly 46 Together, so to speak 47 Droop 48 Plasm prefix 49 Followers of shots 52 Taj __ 53 Put the brakes on 54 Phantom 58 “Mental Illness” Grammy winner Mann 60 Jiffy Lube service, and a hint to the start of the answers to starred clues 64 Engagement ring centerpiece 65 Lackluster 66 Like some U.S. mail 67 Belarus capital 68 Start of a decision-making rhyme 69 Actor Miller of “Justice League”
CROSSWORD
1 Bud 2 Park in NYC, e.g. 3 Long of “NCIS: Los Angeles” 4 Garage containers 5 “Copacabana” showgirl 6 Open a bit 7 Verbal hesitations 8 Reacts to yeast 9 ID issuer 10 Laptop alternatives 11 *Two-time women’s soccer Olympic gold medalist 12 Espresso foam 13 “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” novelist 18 Short trip 21 Dropping (off) 23 Indy racing family name 24 Din 25 *Gravlax 27 Key 29 They go for the gold 30 Feel remorse for 31 Finals, say 36 Major artery 37 Germ-killing brand 39 Triangle ratio 40 Hawaii’s Mauna __ 43 Buckles, as a seat belt 45 Yachting event, e.g. 49 Great divide 50 French-speaking Western Hemisphere country 51 Fine English china 52 “So-so” 55 Kerry locale 56 Extended family 57 Frozen dessert chain 59 “Yikes!” 61 Pince-__ glasses 62 Watchdog’s warning 63 ORD posting
Puzzle Answers SUDOKU ONE
SUDOKU TWO
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PAGE 8 KARLA DE BRUIN Managing Editor
NOVEMEBR 2, 2020 |
NORTHERNIOWAN.COM
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VOLUME 117, ISSUE 22