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UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA CEDAR FALLS, IA THURSDAY, APRIL 5 VOLUME 114, ISSUE 42
CEDAR FALLS, IA
VOLUME 118, ISSUE 21
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2021
OPINION
CAMPUS LIFE
SPORTS
OPINION PAGE 3
CAMPUS LIFE PAGE 5
SPORTS PAGE 6
Opinion writer Bailey Klinkhammer reviews Joe Biden’s first year in office.
Panthers upset by Redbirds Saturday, 17-10.
Built in the late 1800’s, Central Hall was an iconic building on campus until 1984.
UNI Theatre in jeopardy Funding concerns prompts emergency department meeting, student action NIXSON BENITEZ Executive Editor
After 143 years on campus, TheatreUNI will be facing possible closure and program suspension due to a university funding crisis. On Wednesday, Nov. 3, faculty and students in the UNI Theatre Department held an emergency meeting to discuss the future of the department and the funding issues within the department. “We’re stressed, we’re fatigued, we’re upset and we’re uncertain about the future,” Department Head and Associate Professor of Theatre Eric Lange said. “To actually waive some requirements for students, that’s not easy. I mean, that’s not something we just do casually.” Due to a hiring freeze within the department, the Drama and Theatre for Youth Emphasis will no longer be accepting new applicants. As a result, this program will be suspended. Drama and Theatre for Youth is designed to teach theatre professionals who work with professional theaters and assist with education or youth-centered programming.
UNI PR students raise $7,500 Fundraiser organized for speech, language disability care
MALLORY SCHMITZ Staff Writer
NIXSON BENITEZ/Northern Iowan
In response to budget cuts and low faculty numbers, students vote at a meeting to create a group advocating for theatre.
Any students who are midway through the current program will be waived or accommodated with a replacement class to finish with their education. “One way or another, if necessary, we’re going to find the resources to make sure that anyone who is midstream will have a pathway to finishing their degree requirements,” Lange said. “I can’t say exactly, in each situation, what that pathway will be.” TheatreUNI currently has
close to 120 students in the program. Last year, TheatreUNI had eight full time faculty working in the theatre department with students. After the end of the 2020-2021 academic year, two of those faculty members left the department. At the start of this academic year, two faculty in the theatre department announced their retirement in the theatre department’s emergency meeting. It was announced at the emergency meeting that
TheatreUNI will not be hiring any more faculty as the university is in the midst of a hiring freeze. In a matter of two years the department will be left with four full time faculty and will be missing four full time faculty, leaving many holes in the department. The second decision discussed during the meeting was a reconstruction in the Com mu n icat ion-T he at re Teaching curriculum.
On Saturday, Nov. 6, fall fun seekers gathered at Hick’s Place just north of Cedar Falls for a day of food, vendors and all sorts of fall activities. However, the event was not just an excuse to enjoy the beautiful fall weather; it was all for an incredible cause. The students in UNI’s Public Relations Special Events Planning class were the engineers of the first Fallin’ into Fun Festival, with all of the proceeds being donated to the Scottish RiteCare Early Language Program.
Alumni House, Honors Cottage saved from demolition at BOR meeting See THEATRE, page 2
Proposal can be reintroduced at future Board of Regents meeting CAROLINE CHRISTENSEN News Editor
The most historic buildings on UNI’s campus will live to see another day as the Board of Regents (BOR) did not approve the demolition of the Honors Cottage and Alumni House at their meeting Nov. 4. The university proposed razing both buildings in the BOR meeting in an effort to save on maintenance costs. Both houses are in need of renovations and updates as a result of their age. The proposal recommended the buildings be demolished with trees and grass planted over the area where they once stood. However, according to the
KARLA DE BRUIN/Northern Iowan
The Honors Cottage and the Alumni House (above) has been saved from demolition for now.
BOR Senior Communications Director Josh Lehman, the project is not completely withdrawn. The proposal has been tabled and can still be brought back to the BOR for consideration at their future meeting in February.
BOR member David Barker said, “There are some areas at UNI that have a surplus of space, but also areas that need additional space. I feel like I’d like to learn more about what the overall space situation is like here at UNI
and what the larger plan is before we start demolishing these structures, particularly structures with some historical significance. I don’t have a purpose for them in mind yet, but I would like to have additional study to see
See UNI PR STUDENTS, page 3
if there is use for these buildings.” Discussion of what the two houses could be used for was also discussed. “As we learned yesterday, students need places that feel like home,” BOR member Barker said. “Perhaps these structures could serve and function like that.” Concerns about the historical significance of the buildings continued to be raised, as the Honors Cottage is the oldest standing building remaining on campus built in 1890 originally built for the university president and family. See DEMOLITION, page 3